God's great King will rule from Zion
110:1This is a royal psalm. It tells us what God promised to the great king that he has chosen to rule the world.
1 The Lord said to my Lord,
110:1The Lord is God's own name. ‘My Lord’ means ‘My master’. Jesus used the words from this psalm to show that the Messiah was greater than King David, because David called him ‘my Lord’. See Matthew 22:43-44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43. Peter also used these words when he spoke to many people after Jesus had died. See Acts 2:34-35. ‘Sit at my right side until I win against your enemies.
110:1The right side is where the powerful, important person would sit.
Then you will be able to put your feet on them.’
2 The Lord will give you great authority,
as you rule from Zion.
110:2 Zion is God's special place where he rules. On earth, it was part of Jerusalem where they built the temple. But heaven is also God's special home, where he rules the world.
You will rule over all your enemies
that are around you.
3 When you go to fight your enemies,
your people will be happy to fight beside you.
As the sun rises on the day of battle,
your young men will be there,
on the hills round Zion.
4 The Lord has made a strong promise.
He will not change it.
He has promised, ‘You will be a priest for ever,
in the same way that Melchizedek was my priest.’
110:4Melchizedek was both a king and a priest. See Genesis 14:18-20. Later, the Israelite priests had to be Levites, so they were not the right family to be kings. Jesus was not a Levite, but he was a priest like Melchizedek. See Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:17. A Levite is a person who belonged to the tribe of Levi, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. God chose the Levites to do special work for him in his temple. They helped the priests in the temple. 5 The Lord is standing at your right side.
When he becomes angry,
he will knock down kings!
6 He will punish the nations,
so that dead bodies cover the ground.
He will destroy kings everywhere on the earth.
7 He will drink from a stream at the side of the road.
With new strength, he will lift up his head.
