Meditation on the Text of the Week

The Cleansing of the Shire

The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.

Psalm 110:1

Psalm 110 is the most frequently cited Older Covenant text in the New Testament. This should indicate something of its central importance to the Kingdom of God.

Firstly, we should note that the body of the Psalm expounds the opening stanza. It speaks of God stretching forth His hand to establish His rule in the midst of all God's enemies upon the earth. The people of God would volunteer freely and in great numbers to engage in the task of destroying the enemies of the Lord. The army would be continually refreshed by youth—forthcoming generations would rise to join the armies of the Lord and enter the lists of battle. Every day, like the dew, more soldiers would be added to the armies of God.

Secondly, we need to inquire when the events described in this Psalm were or are to be fulfilled. There are those who would cast it off into the distant (or near) future and see it as a reference to the Last Judgment. Others see it referring to Christ returning to earth to set up a physical kingdom which will hold sway over all the nations of the earth, prior to the Last Judgment. Both alternatives see it as a future event.

But the Scripture is its own interpreter. Most crucial, then, is when the Scripture sees this event taking place—the event of the Lord saying to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.” The scriptures of the Newer Covenant are clear and explicit on this.

At Pentecost, at the first apostolic proclamation of the Gospel, the apostle Peter declares that Jesus had recently been raised from the dead and had recently been exalted to the right hand of God. Then he quotes Psalm 110:1, and ends his sermon immediately thereafter with the words: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:32—36)

The Scriptures reveal that the declaration of Psalm 110:1 was given out in history, in heaven, when Christ ascended to God. At this point in time, which is the investiture of our Messiah as the Lord of the heavens and the earth, He sat upon the Throne of the King of all kings, and the task of putting all enemies under His feet began.

The decisive exchange with the enemy had by that time already taken place. Christ had vanquished the Devil on the Cross. He had atoned for sin. He had cleansed His people. He had risen before them as the first born from the dead. Now, He is enthroned to apply the spoils of that victory to the earth. God the Father and God the Spirit now assume the responsibility of applying that great victory to the earth. The whole bent of the Godhead from that point on is to ensure that all the implications, all the reality of Christ's victorious work is brought to pass on the earth, according to the direction and specification of the Son of Man upon the Throne. Thus, in Psalm 110, God says to the Lord Jesus that He has now assumed the duty and task of ensuring that all Christ's enemies are to be placed under His feet.

Since we are privileged to live in this glorious age, let us then bow the knee and pray in terms of the realities spoken of and prophesied in Psalm 110. Let us pray and work for the weakening and vanquishing of the Lord's enemies. Let us pray and work for the willing subscription of the saints in the vast armies of God. Let us take our place in the line once again, in holy array, from the womb of the dawn.