Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 110

The Lord said unto my Lord - In the Hebrew, “Spoke Jehovah to my Lord.” The word יהוה Yahweh is the incommunicable name of God. It is never given to a created being.

The other word translated “Lord” - אדני 'Adonāy - means one who has rule or authority, one of high rank, one who has dominion, or one who is the owner or possessor, etc. This word is frequently applied to a creature. It is applied to kings, princes, rulers, and masters. The phrase “my Lord” refers to someone who was superior in rank to the author of the psalm; one whom he could address as his superior.

The psalm, therefore, cannot refer to David himself, as if Yahweh had said to him, Sit thou at my right hand. Nor was there anyone on earth in the time of David to whom it could be applicable—anyone whom he would call his “Lord” or superior. If, therefore, the psalm was written by David, it must have reference to the Messiah—to one whom he acknowledged as his superior, his Lord, his Sovereign.

It cannot refer to God as if he were to have this rule over David, since God himself is referred to as “speaking” to him whom David called his Lord: “Jehovah said unto my Lord.” The reasoning of the Savior, therefore, in Matthew 22:43-45, was founded on a fair and just interpretation of the psalm, and was so plain and conclusive that the Pharisees did not attempt to reply to it (Matthew 22:46). See the notes at that passage.

No other interpretation can be given to it, consistently with the proper rules of expounding language, unless it be shown that the psalm was not composed by David and might, therefore, be applied to someone whom the author would acknowledge as his “Lord.” But there is no evidence of this, and there is no one in the Old Testament history to whom the psalm would be applicable.

Sit thou at my right hand - The position of honor and of rank. Compare the notes at Psalm 16:8. See also Psalm 45:9, Mark 14:62, Luke 22:69, Acts 7:55, Hebrews 1:3, and Hebrews 8:1. The phrase is properly applicable to the Messiah as exalted to the highest place in the universe—the right hand of God.

Until I make thine enemies thy footstool - Until they are entirely subdued under you. See the notes at Matthew 22:44. The enemies here referred to are the enemies of the Messiah considered as King ; and the promise here is, that he must reign until he shall have put all enemies under his feet. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 15:25.

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion — The scepter of your power; that with which you shall rule. It will be given to you by Yahweh; and it will be given to you, as it were, “out of Zion;” that is, as proceeding from the church, and as derived from that.

This appointment will be connected with the church, and it will be “as if” the church had conferred it on you. The idea is that the Messiah would receive, as it were, his designation, authority, commission, power from the church. He would spring from it (Isaiah 11:1); he would act for it; he would do what was needful for its good; he would wield the power which properly belongs to the church on the earth. .

Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies — Set up your power over them, and reign in them. This is a commission to set up a kingdom “in the very midst” of those who were his enemies; in the hearts of those who had been and were rebellious. His kingdom is set up not by destroying them, but by “subduing” them so that they become his willing servants.

They yield to him, and he rules over them. It is not here a commission to cut them off, but one much more difficult to execute—to make them his friends and to dispose them to submit to his authority. Mere “power” may crush people; it requires more than that to make rebels willingly submissive and to dispose them voluntarily to obey.

Your people - All who are given to You; all over whom You are to rule. This verse has been variously translated. The Septuagint renders it, With thee is the beginning in the day of thy power, in the splendor of thy saints, from the womb, before the light of the morning have I begotten thee. So the Latin Vulgate. Luther renders it, After thy victory shall thy people willingly bring an offering to thee, in holy adorning: thy children shall be born to thee as the dew of the morning. DeWette, Willingly shall thy people show themselves to thee on the day of the assembling of thy host in holy adorning, as from the womb of the morning, thy youth (vigor) shall be as the dew. Prof. Alexander, Thy people (are) free-will offerings in the day of thy power, in holy decorations, from the womb of the dawn, to thee (is) the dew of thy youth.

Every clause of the verse is obscure, though the general idea is not difficult to perceive. This idea is that, in the day of Messiah’s power, His people would willingly offer themselves to Him. They would do so in holy robes or adorning, like the glittering dew of the morning, or in numbers that might be compared with the drops of the morning dew.

The essential ideas are:

1. that He would have a people;
2. that their subjection to Him would be a willing subjection;
3. that this would be accomplished by His power;
4. that they would appear before Him in great beauty—in robes of holy adorning;
5. that they would in some way resemble the dew of the morning; and
6. that to Him in thus subduing them there would be the vigor of youth, the ardor of youthful hope.

Shall be willing - Literally, Your people (are, or shall be) willing-offerings. The word rendered willing—nedaboth—is in the plural number: your people, ‘willingnesses.’ The singular—nedabah—means voluntariness, spontaneousness; and therefore, it comes to mean spontaneously, voluntarily, of a willing mind.

It is rendered a willing offering in (Exodus 35:29); free offering in (Exodus 36:3); voluntary offering in (Leviticus 7:16); free-will offering in (Leviticus 22:18, Leviticus 22:21, Leviticus 22:23, Leviticus 23:38; Numbers 15:3, Numbers 29:39; Deuteronomy 12:6, Deuteronomy 12:17, Deuteronomy 16:10, Deuteronomy 23:23; 2 Chronicles 31:14; Ezra 1:4, Ezra 3:5, Ezra 8:28; Psalms 119:108); willingly in (2 Chronicles 35:8); plentiful in (Psalms 68:9); voluntary, and voluntarily in (Ezekiel 46:12); freely in (Hosea 14:4); and free-offering in (Amos 4:5). It does not occur elsewhere.

The idea is that of freeness, of voluntariness, of doing it from choice, doing it of their own will. They did it in the exercise of freedom.

There was no compulsion, no constraint. Whatever power there was in the case was to make them willing, not to compel them to do a thing against their will.

What was done, or what is intended to be described here, is evidently the act of them devoting themselves to Him who is designated here as their Ruler—the Messiah.

The allusion may be either

• to their devoting themselves to Him in conversion, or becoming His;
• to their devoting themselves to His service—as soldiers do in war; or
• to their devoting their time, wealth, talents, to Him in lives consecrated to Him.

Whatever there is as the result of His dominion over them is voluntary on their part. There is no compulsion in His religion. People are not constrained to do what they are unwilling to do. All the power that is exerted is on the will, disposing people to do what is right and what is for their own interest.

No man is forced to go to heaven against his will; no man is saved from hell against his will; no man makes a sacrifice in religion against his will; no man is compelled to serve the Redeemer in any way against his will.

The acts of religion are among the most free that people ever perform. Of all the hosts of the redeemed, no one will ever say that the act of his becoming a follower of the Redeemer was not perfectly voluntary. He chose—he professed—to be a friend of God, and he never saw the time when he regretted the choice.

In the day of your power - The power given to the Messiah to accomplish the work of His mission; the power to convert people, and to save the world (Matthew 28:18; Matthew 11:27; John 17:2). This implies

• that power would be employed in bringing people to submit to Him; and
• that there would be a fixed time when that power would be put forth.

Still, it is power which is not inconsistent with freedom. It is power exerted in making people willing, not in compelling or forcing them to submit to Him. There is a power which may be exerted over the will consistent with liberty, and that is the power which the Messiah employs in bringing people to Himself.

In the beauties of holiness - This power will be connected with the beauty of holiness; or, holiness will be manifested when that power is put forth. The object is to secure holiness, and there will be beauty in that holiness. The only power put forth in the case is to make people holy; and they will, in their lives and conduct, manifest all the beauty or attractiveness which there is in a holy and pure character.

The word rendered beauty is in the plural number, and the allusion may be to the raiment of those who are referred to. They would appear in pure garments—in sacerdotal vestments—as priests of God. .

The idea may be that they would be a kingdom of priests, clad in priestly vestments (Exodus 19:6; compare the notes at 1 Peter 2:5, notes at 1 Peter 2:9), and that they would be adorned with robes appropriate to that office.

This may refer, however, to their actual, internal holiness, and may mean that they would, when they were subjugated to Him, appear as a holy or a righteous people.

From the womb of the morning: you have the dew of your youth - Margin, more than the womb of the morning, thou shalt have, etc. The expression here is evidently designed to refer to the source of the dew—the dew of the early dawn—as having its birth then, or as seeming to be born then. The morn is represented as the mother of the dew. The figure is highly poetic and beautiful. The ground of the comparison may be either

• that the beauty of holiness—the beautiful array of the saints—is more than that produced in the womb of the morning; or
• that the dew of youth is more beautiful than the dew produced in the morning.

As the word dew, that on which the comparison must turn, occurs in the last member of the sentence, it is probable that the second of these interpretations is the true one, as indicated in the margin: More than the womb of the morning (more than the morning produces) thou hast the dew of thy youth. That is, as the young morning—the youth of the day—has its beauties in the abundance and luster of the dewdrops, so shall the dew of thy youth be—the beginning of thy glorious day.

May there not be here also an allusion to the multitudes that would be among His people—numerous as the dewdrops of the morning, and as beautiful as they—on His going forth to the world with all the beauty of a bright dawn?

The meaning of the whole, I understand, is, “Your reign shall be like the day—a long bright day. Your coming—the morning of that day—shall be like the early dawn—so fresh, so beautiful, made so lovely by the drops of dew sparkling on every blade of grass. More beautiful by far—more lovely—shall be the beginning of the day of your reign; more lovely to the world your youth—your appearing—the beginning of your day.”

Thus understood, the verse is a most beautiful poetic description of the bright morning when the Messiah should come—the dawn of that glorious day when He should reign. .

The Lord hath sworn - He has confirmed the appointment of the Messiah by a solemn oath, or as by an oath. That is, it is as sure and fixed as if he had taken an oath. . The “time,” so to speak, if the word time can be applied to transactions in a past eternity, was that when he was designated in the divine purpose as Messiah; in the eternal counsels of God. .

And will not repent - Will not change his purpose.

Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek - The word rendered “order” here means properly a word, a thing, a matter; hence, a way or manner. The meaning here is, that he would be a priest “after the manner” of Melchizedek; or, such a priest as he was. He would not be of the tribe of Levi; he would not be in the regular line of the priesthood, but he would resemble, in the characteristics of his office, this ancient priest-king, combining in himself the two functions of priest and king; as a priest, standing alone; not deriving his authority from any line of predecessors; and having no successors. See this verse explained at length, in its application to the Messiah, in the notes at Hebrews 5:6 (note), Hebrews 5:10 (note), and Hebrews 7:1-3 (note).

The passage as it stands here, and as looked at without any reference to the use made of it in the New Testament, would imply these things:

1. That he who was spoken of would be, in a proper sense, a priest.
2. That he would have a perpetual or permanent priesthood - “forever.”
3. That he would not be of the established line of priests in the tribe of Levi, but that his appointment would be unusual and extraordinary.
4. That the appointment would come directly from God, and would not be “derived” from those who went before him.
5. That as a priest he would “resemble” Melchizedek, according to the record which was found of Melchizedek in Genesis.
6. That as Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God, so he would be.
7. That as Melchizedek combined in himself the functions of both priest and king, so these would be found in him.
8. That as Melchizedek had no successors in office, so he would have none.

How far these things were applicable to the Lord Jesus Christ, and with what propriety the passage might be applied to him, may be seen by examining the Epistle to the Hebrews, Hebrews 5–7.

The Lord at your right hand - See the notes at (Psalms 16:8).

Shall strike through kings - The Hebrew word here rendered “shall strike”—from מחץ mâchats—means “to shake, to agitate”; then, “to shake in pieces, to dash in pieces, to crush.” In this context, it has the sense of dashing in pieces, smiting, wounding, crushing.

The “kings” referred to are the enemies of God and the Messiah. The idea is that all would be subdued before him—that he would set up a universal dominion, that none would be able to stand before him, or that he would reign over all the earth.

The “language” is that which is derived from conquests in war, from the subjugation of enemies by force of arms. Compare the notes at (Psalms 2:9–12) and the notes at (Isaiah 11:4).

In the day of his wrath - (Psalms 2:12).