Wednesday, December 06
Jesus Christ, the Conquering King
Psalm 110:1-7
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 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.
4 The LORD has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."
5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Today as we see the world around us spiraling down into chaos, anarchy, violence, corruption, war, hatred, debauchery, and evil, it would be so easy to personally slip into dismay, discouragement, despair, and even depression. Nothing seems to be getting better and we might feel that there is no hope for a better future. Well my friend, Psalm 110 is one of those Messianic Psalms that remind us that one day this will all be changed by our coming King!
We can never forget what Jesus said in John 14:1-3; "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Jesus promised His disciples that He is coming again, and I assure you He will keep His promise!
All of the "royal psalms" contain predictions about battles and victories for God's King (Psalms 2:7-9, 12; 18:16-19, 31-34, 37-42; 20:1-2, 7-8; 21:8-12; 45:3-5; 61:3; 72:8-9; 89:22-23; 132:18). Today is the day of Lord's grace and is the "day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:1-2), when Jesus is calling sinners to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-21). But there will come a day of wrath, "the day of the Lord," when Jesus the Lamb of God will begin to "roar" as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5-6), and judgment will fall on the world.
This is the victory the Father promised in verse 1 and also in Psalm 2:5, 9. The psalmist here in verse 6 describes stacks of corpses on the battlefield with nobody to bury them. Even allowing for poetic license, the picture is not a pretty one. John (the apostle of love), wrote about this same event in Revelation 14:17-20 and 19:11-19 (and see Isaiah 66:24). The word in verse 6 translated "heads" or "chief men, rulers" is singular in the Hebrew. It could be a collective noun or it may refer to the last great world ruler, the Antichrist or Beast (Rev. 13:1-10) whom Jesus Christ will destroy at His coming (2 Thess. 2:1-2; Rev. 19:17-21).
Verse 7 says, “He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.” The warrior David, who knew something about battles, is possibly saying, "Nothing will detain Him, detour Him, or discourage Him as He attacks the enemy. Like every good soldier, He will linger only long enough to get a sip of water, and then He will raise His head and continue the chase." We remember that before His crucifixion, Jesus refused to receive the narcotic drink, but tasted death to the full on the cross (Matt. 27:34). Gideon and his men also come to mind (Judges 7:4-7), for their fitness for the battle was tested by the way they drank at the river. Remember the 300 careful and courageous men kept their head lifted up as they drank from the brook.
My friend, in this crazy mixed up world today, we need to remember that Jesus Christ is the exalted King and enthroned in heaven! He is our Great High Priest seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. And one day He will come again and conquer the devil and his armies and establish His kingdom on earth!
Hallelujah, what a Savior! Are you prepared for His coming?
God bless!