Thursday, August 2, 2012

Exaltation: Jesus is King (Psalm 110:1-3)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/2/2012 8:26:34 AM



My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  Psalm 110 PT-1



Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Psalm 110:1-3



            Message of the verses:  We will begin to look at Psalm 110 in Today’s SD by looking at several introductions from different Bible Commentators and then begin to comment on the psalm.



            “TITLE: — A Psalm of David. Of the correctness of this title there can be no doubt, since our Lord in #Mt 22:1 says, "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord." Yet some critics are so fond of finding new authors for the psalms that they dare to fly in the face of the Lord Jesus himself. To escape from finding Jesus here, they read the title, "Psalm of (or concerning) David," as though it teas not so much written by him as of him, but he that reads with understanding will see little enough of David here except as the writer. He is not the subject of it even in the smallest degree, but Christ is all. How much was revealed to the patriarch David! How blind are some modern wise men, even amid the present blaze of light, as compared with this poet prophet of the darker dispensation. May the Spirit who spoke by the man after God’s own heart give us eyes to see the hidden mysteries of this marvelous Psalm, in which every word has an infinity of meaning.



“SUBJECT AND DIVISION: — The subject is THE PRIEST KING. None of the kings of Israel united these two offices, though some endeavoured to do so. Although David performed some acts which appeared to verge upon the priestly, yet he was no priest, but of the tribe of Judah, "of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood"; and he was far too devout a man to thrust himself into that office uncalled. The Priest King here spoken of is David’s Lord, a mysterious personage typified by Melchizedek, and looked for by the Jews as the Messiah. He is none other than the apostle and high priest of our profession, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The Psalm describes the appointment of the kingly priest, his followers, his battles, and his victory. Its centre is verse 4, and so it may be divided, as Alexander suggests, into the introduction, verses #Ps 106:1-3; the central thought, verse 4; and the supplementary verses, #Ps 106:5-7.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)



“This psalm contains one of the most exalted prophetic portions of Scripture presenting Jesus Christ as both a holy king and a royal High Priest—something that no human monarch of Israel ever experienced.  It, along with Ps. 118, is by far the most quoted psalm in the NT (Mt. 22:44; 26:64; Mk. 12:36; 14:62; Lk. 20:42, 43; 22:69; Ac. 2:34, 35; Heb. 1:13; 5:6; 7:17, 21; 10:13). While portraying the perfect king, the perfect High-Priest, and the perfect government Ps. 110 declares Christ’s current role in heaven as the resurrected Savior (110:1) and His future role on earth as the reigning Monarch (110:2-7).  This psalm is decidedly messianic and millennial in content.  Jesus Christ (Mt. 22:43, 44) verifies the Davidic authorship.  The exact occasion of this psalm is unknown, but it could easily have been associated with God’s declaration of the Davidic Covenant in 2Sam.7:4-17.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)



“James and Peter both stated that David wrote this psalm (Matt. 22:43; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:33-35), and, since David was a prophet, he wrote it about the Messiah (Acts 2:30; 2Sam. 23:2). He certainly did not write about any of his own descendants, for no Jewish King was ever a priest, let alone a priest forever (v. 4; 2Chron. 26:16-23).  Also, no Jewish king ever conquered all the rulers of the whole earth (v. 6).  The psalm is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than any other psalm, verse 1 at least twenty-five times and verse 4 another five times.  Ten of these quotations or allusions are in the book of Hebrews alone.  Jesus used verse 1 to prove His deity and silence the Pharisees (Matt. 22:41-46) and also to answer the high priest during His trial (Matt. 26:64).  The psalm presents two pictures of Messiah from the past—His exaltation as King (vv. 1-3) and His consecration as Priest (v. 4)—and a third picture from the future, His victory over the enemies of God (vv. 5-7).”  (Warren Wiersbe)



            Exaltation:  Jesus is King (vv. 1-3):  “1 ¶  «A Psalm of David.» The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." 2  The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, "Rule in the midst of Your enemies." 3  Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.”

           

            The actual way that this psalm begins is “Jehovah says to my Adonai,” and this is God the Father speaking to God the Son.  When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:41-46 He presented a question to them, and the question came from this section of Scripture. “41 ¶  Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42  "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They *said to Him, "The son of David." 43  He *said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ’Lord,’ saying, 44  ’THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET"’? 45  "If David then calls Him ’Lord,’ how is He his son?" 46  No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.”  Dr. Wiersbe answers this question by stating “The only answer is by incarnation: the eternal Son of God had to come to earth as a human born into the family of David (Luke 1:26-38).” He goes on to write, “Had the Pharisees honestly faced this truth, they would have had to confess that Jesus is indeed the Son of God come in the flesh, but they refused to do so.”

            We see that the exaltation of Jesus came when He was enthroned at His ascension, and when this happened the Father made three promises to the Son that are found in this section of Psalm 110.  1. He would defeat His enemies (v. 1), 2. He would extend His kingdom (v.2), and 3. He would give Him a victorious army (v.3).  In Joshua 10:24 we see an example of the humiliation of having your enemies being made a footstool at your feet:  “When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks.”  Paul speaks of Jesus in Ephesians 1:22 by saying, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church.”  Paul writes the following in the resurrection chapter 1Cor. 15:” 24  then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Today, the Lord has enemies who oppose Hi, but He is sovereign and rules from His throne even though they refuse to submit.  When our Lord was here on earth, the powerful ministry of the apostles brought defeat to the devil (Luke 10:17-20), and today His church has victory through Him as we pray, share the Word, and depend on the Spirit.”  He writes this statement in reference to the second promise God gave to His Son.

            We see in the third promise that there is a promise of God giving a victorious army to the Son and this will happen when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to planet earth during the great battle of Armageddon, and while the armies of the world are fighting each other they will see the Lord Jesus coming back to earth with His army made up of (what I believe to be) the raptured saints that went to be with the Lord at the rapture of the Church spoken of in 1Thes. 4:13-18. The second coming of Christ is described in Revelations chapter 19:”11 ¶  And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12  His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13  He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15  From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 17  Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18  so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." 19  And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20  And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21  And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I continue to mourn the loss of my mother, but assured that she is now in heaven with the Lord, I look forward to the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will come for His bride, which was the hope of my mother, and I look forward to becoming a part of the armies which are in heaven to return with my Lord Jesus to help Him defeat all of His enemies on that great day when the Lord Jesus will return to planet earth to set up His kingdom.  Until that day I desire to be faithful in telling others about how they too can become part of that heavenly army to one day return to planet earth and reign with Jesus Christ.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.”



Memory verses for the week:  2Peter 1:1-8



1.       Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3. Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you can become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

5. Now for this reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge 6. and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7. and in your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.  8.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.



8/2/2012 10:41:37 AM




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