Psalm 110

“The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up the head.”  Psalm 110:1-7 (NKJV)

Today’s psalm is an “Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign,” and it prompts us to ask a few questions.  1) If Messiah is eternal and has existed from eternity past (Micah 5:2; Revelation 13:8), why did He wait so long (after Adam and Eve sinned) before coming to earth and redeeming mankind? 2) If Jesus has conquered sin and death, why is He sitting at the right hand of God, waiting for Him to make Jesus’ enemies His footstool?  The simple answer is that God, in His wisdom, has ordained a timing by which history’s events are to unfold.  And His timing will not be hastened or shortened even one second before or after He has ordained things to take place.  There is no panic in heaven, only planning.  We should praise the Lord for that, because within the window of His timing, we have been given the opportunity to put our faith and trust in Jesus for salvation!

“The Lord is not slow [slack] concerning His promise, as some count slowness [slackness], but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

The idea of waiting on the Lord is intimately related to our trusting in Him because it communicates that we do not need to see the results of His faithfulness in order to validate our faith in Him.  We simply must trust that if He said it, then it will certainly come to pass.  And that should be enough for us.  It is also why His Word (the Bible) is essential to our faithfulness.  In the Bible, we are reminded over and over about His past faithfulness.  If we are to consistently live by faith, we cannot do so without that daily reminder in His Word.  (Romans 10:17)  Another concept to consider is when God leads with His strength, we are encouraged to volunteer.

“Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying: When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord!” Judges 5:1-2 (NKJV)

Finally, we are introduced to the Old Testament idea of Messiah as High Priest, not according to the Levitical Priesthood, but in the order of Melchizedek.  (Genesis 14:18-20; Hebrews 5:7-9) Again, some things in the Bible may seem obscure in the moment, yet they unfold in God’s timing to reveal His wisdom and perfect plan.