Psalm 110:1: “The LORD said to my Lord, / ‘Sit at My right hand, / Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'”

April 25th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Since this is a psalm by David and he was a king, it seems at first that he was writing about God speaking to him; but in fact he was writing about “The LORD” (God the Father) speaking to “my Lord” (God the Son: Jesus Christ). Jewish theologians were looking for someone like a David to appear as a nationalistic, political leader. He would be God’s chosen one, God’s anointed one, but still simply a man, a natural descendant of David. But we see in this psalm that this Son of David, as Jesus is called, who had been predicted throughout the Old Testament, is also the Lord over David. Jesus’ commented on this verse in Matthew: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? . . . If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” (22:42,45). The thought of the Messiah being supernatural had never entered the picture.

How careful we must be, 3000 years later, to not let our prejudices blind us to God’s work in the earth today. It is so easy to be mistaken in how we expect God to work, because we base our ideas on what we think rather than on His freedom to do whatever He wills, even when it’s completely the opposite of our expectations. Or perhaps more pointedly, we often expect God to conform to our understanding.

There is an interesting story from the American Civil War that illustrates this point. During the early days of the war, a pastor said to President Lincoln, “Let us have faith, Mr. President, that the Lord is on our side during this great struggle.” Lincoln quietly responded, “I am not at all concerned about that, for I know the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer, that I and this nation may be on the Lord’s side.”

“LORD, we want to be on Your side in the war for men’s hearts in this generation. Give us the wisdom and discernment to be useful to You this day.”