Interpretation of Psalm 110:1 in Consideration of the New Testament

Question

Psalm 110:1 (NKJV)

The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.

Could this be interpreted to mean The LORD [YHWH, Yahweh (H3068), God the Father) is telling King David's Lord [Adon (H113), Adonay (H136), God the Son] to wait until He (Yahweh) kills the wicked of the earth and has their bodies taken to "winepress of the wrath of God" (Rev 14:19). And that these bodies will be the Son of Man's (Adonay) footstool when "He will sit on the throne of His glory" (Mt 25:31) to judge the surviving Armageddon sheep/goats?

Scripture considerations:

For where the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. (Mt 24:28)

Observation: This event occurs before the Son of Man returns to earth (Mt 24:30, 31).

“where Lord?” ...”Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Lk 17:37)

Thus says the LORD of hosts: "... ¹⁹ Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury- A violent whirlwind! It will fall on the head of the wicked. ²⁰ … In the latter days you will understand it perfectly." (Jer 23:16)

³²Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, disaster shall go forth From nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest parts of the earth. ³³ “And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be refuse on the ground. (Jer 25:32, 33)

¹⁸ Thus says the LORD: " … ²³ Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD Goes forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind; it will fall violently on the head of the wicked. … ²⁴ … In the latter days you will consider it.” (Jer 30:18, 23, 24)

Answer 1

The OP asked: "Could this be interpreted to mean The LORD... is telling King David's Lord [... God the Son] to wait until He (Yahweh) kills the wicked of the earth..." (Rev 14:19)

Asked in this way (could), the answer can be nothing other than "Yes." The real question is should it be interpreted in the way suggested. To this, I would answer "no."

The argument hinges on the identity of the person called "my lord," who is addressed by the LORD. One need not be an anti-trinitarian to recognize that this is not God the son, but King David whose praises are being sung by the psalmist. The Catholic authorities who edited the online version of NABRE - strong Trinitarians themselves - interpret "The LORD says to my lord" as

A polite form of address of an inferior to a superior, cf. 1 Sm 25:25; 2 Sm 1:10. The court singer refers to the king.

In other words, God speaks to King David, whom the singer calls "my lord." It may be objected that David is the author of the psalm and it does not make sense that he would speak of himself as "my lord." However, Jewish commentators as well as modern critics point out that:

L’David literally means “to David” or concerning him, it does not simply mean “composed by David.”

As for the suggestion concerning the psalm's relation to the Book of Revelation, I think a simpler answer is better: the psalm refers to God inviting God's beloved David to sit at his right hand as God's co-regent, while God works to make their enemies an integral part of David's kingdom. Readers of Revelation may interpret the OP verse as related to Revelation but the text itself has a more practical meaning: King David enjoyed God's full support as he rose to power and subdued his enemies.

Readers are, of course, free to interpret the verse as they please. However, it requires a thick filter to interpret it as suggested in the OP. The more likely meaning is that it sings of God speaking to King David, whom the singer calls "my lord."

Answer 2

The key to understanding this passage in Ps 110:1 is Heb 10:12, 13 which says:

But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time, He waits for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet

Thus, the event prophesied in Ps 110:1 is still future, to reach final fulfilment as predicted by Rev 11:15 -

Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

Thus, while Christ gained complete victory over sin by making full and complete atonement for sin at the cross, it will only be at the conclusion of the great final judgement that all (including the wicked) will acknowledge Jesus as Lord (Phil 2:9-11), and thus, make the wicked a footstool for His feet; ie, have complete victory over the wicked.

APPENDIX - Literal or symbolic?

There is quite a degree of metaphoric/symbolic language in this idea of the enemies of God/Christ being a "footstool" as observed in the following references:

• Isa 66:1 - This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
• Acts 7:49 - “’Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?
• 1 Chron 28:2 - King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.

Answer 3

The account in Mark 12:36 is a reference to Psalm 110:1. Examining Psalm 110:1 we find,

The OP keeps insisting that the 2nd lord in psalm 110:1 is Adonay but it is not. Here is the what bible hub shows it.

to my Lord: לַֽאדֹנִ֗י (la·ḏō·nî) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 113: Sovereign, controller

My Lord.--Heb., adoni, an address of honour to those more noble than the speaker, or superior in rank: to a father, Genesis 31:35; to a brother, Numbers 12:11; a royal consort, 1Kings 1:17-18; to a prince, 1Kings 3:17; with the addition of the royal title, "my Lord, O king," 2Samuel 14:19

There is only one Adonay YHWH.

LORD” or “the LORD” in the OT represents (YHWH) God. This is not to be confused with the Greek word Kurios, which is used of Jesus and is a title of respect, honor and authority. The title “Lord” is used of many people in the Bible not just God and Jesus. God made Jesus both lord and Christ. Nobody makes God lord. Jesus as the Son of God, yes. But, God the Son, no. There is no God the son in the bible. –

The 1st LORD in Psalm 110:1 is Jehovah/YHWH. The second lord is translated from the hebrew word adoni. The word adoni is a title which never refers to God. It does not mean God the son. Peter narrated God's plan based on the truth of Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2:33-36 Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.

The God of Jesus made him both Lord and Christ.

Mark 12:36 ASV

David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet

Psalm 110:1 ASV

A Psalm of David. Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

This could not be interpreted to mean "The LORD [YHWH, Yahweh (H3068), God the Father) is telling King David's Lord [Adon (H113), Adhonay (H136), God the Son"because adoni is not the same as Adonay and that there is no God the Son" in the bible.

Peter already identified who the second lord of Psalm 110:1 is and it is Jesus whom he says was crucified. This further proves that the second lord of Psalm 110:1 is adoni because crucifying Adonay is not possible.

Answer 4

The purpose for why the Lord adduces this psalm is to rise the intellect of Jews in their expectation of the Messiah. It is taken for granted that one of the Lords in David's Psalms, namely "my Lord", denotes Messiah and another - God the Father.

If so, then who this Messiah, the addressee of the Psalm, can be? Jews think he will be a son, that is to say, a descendant of David in just a human, genetical (although this term is anachronistic) way, and only that. But the Lord wants them to understand that the Person or Hypostasis of the Messiah was alive already then when David said those words about Him. Thus, David addressed the Person of the Messiah as "my Lord".

Now, can this "my Lord" be a man? No, because no man lives before a historical birth. Angel? - Impossible, for angels do not sit on throne, as does this "my Lord", who is asked to sit on the throne. Now, who can be higher than all angels and all men, being neither of the two, and sitting on throne? Only God whom men should worship. In this psalm, they are two in the sense of Persons, but one in the sense of sharing one throne and authority.

Answer 5

Could this be interpreted to mean The LORD [YHWH, Yahweh (H3068), God the Father) is telling King David's Lord [Adon (H113), Adonay (H136), God the Son] to wait until He (Yahweh) kills the wicked of the earth and has their bodies taken to "winepress of the wrath of God" (Rev 14:19). And that these bodies will be the Son of Man's (Adonay) footstool when "He will sit on the throne of His glory" (Mt 25:31) to judge the surviving Armageddon sheep/goats?

No, I don't think that's the case. Rather, the reference to "footstool" in Psalm 110:1 is, I believe, a reference to the temple.

See the following:

1 Chronicles 28:2 ESV,

Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building.

Psalm 99:5 ESV,

Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

Psalm 132:7 ESV,

“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

Isaiah 66:1 ESV,

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?

Lamentations 2:1 ESV,

How the Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.

In each of the five instances listed above, there is ample proof that "footstool" is a metaphor for the temple, that is, the House of YHWH.

The question then assumes, from Psalm 110:1 that since the enemies are to be turned into a footstool, it conjures the image of a conqueror with his foot on the neck of the subdued.

But consider, in light of the Messianic nature of the prophecy, and how it was interpreted to apply to Jesus of Nazareth, that within a Christian context, Jesus came to save (i.e. not conquer) His enemies.

For example, Jesus taught His students to "love [their] enemies".

Paul, quoting from Proverbs 25:20, writes that if an enemy hungers, the Christian disciple should feed him/her. If the enemy thirsts, the Christian disciple should give that enemy something to drink (Romans 12:20).

Earlier in Romans, Paul writes of how Christ died for His enemies, in order to save them from the wrath of God:

Romans 5:6-11 ESv,

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Jesus didn't come to destroy, but to save (John 3:16-17).

Indeed, the whole mission and purpose of the Messiah, from both an Old Covenant, prophetic context, and a New Covenant, fulfillment context, the overwhelming evidence is that Jesus was sent by His Father YHWH to redeem and save, reconcile, forgive, purge of sin, justify, and sanctify people who had been alienated from God, and in their alienation, had become His enemies.

This then lends to the idea that YHWH sent David's Lord, that is, the Messiah, Jesus, to peacefully and lovingly subdue, as it were, His enemies, by taking their place and paying the ultimate price for them, a substitutionary death on a cross under the judgment and wrath of God.

So, when I read Psalm 110:1, and I see the reference to the Messiah's footstool, I think of what God and His Son accomplished to save sinners and turn them into recipients of the Holy Spirit, whereby they are made a temple, that is, a footstool unto YHWH and King David's Lord (See, e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, and Ephesians 2:21).

Answer 6

1. There is no reason to discredit the authorship of Psalm 110 to David. authorship of Psalm 110

What was the initial position of "lord" of the verse 1 of Psalm 110? It cannot be behind יְהוָ֙ה as this is pejorative against the dignity of God as per 2 Sam. 2:21 עַל־יְמִֽינְךָ֙ So it is certain that this "Lord" was on the left!

"... They make me repay what I did not steal!" (Ps. 69:4 NET)

So this Lord of verse five as a fleshly descendant of David is at his right hand, but will be in the future at the right hand of God as made the only Lord.

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; (Acts 2:29-30 KJV)

2. Mary's lineage came from Nathan, David's son by Bathsheba. Therefore Jesus was descended from David through Nathan and legally through Solomon to exercise the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek

"So then, exalted to the right hand of God... " Acts 2:33 NET

"τη the δεξια right ουν therefore του of the θεου God υψωθεις was set on high.." Acts 2:33 NET

The Author of Acts of Apostles indicates in this verse the literal fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalms 110.1

Which he wrought in Christ (Priesthood and Kingship/Elohim), when he raised him from the dead (to the left), and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places (enthroned), Ephesians 1:20 KJV

The Lordship quality of the first verse of Psalm 110 was explained by Jesus: "...David in the spirit..." (Matthew 22:43 KJV). Already in verse 5, David is no longer in the Spirit, and therefore only sees him as his fleshly descendant, from which he would come out of his loins, therefore, he is "at his right hand".