Psalm 110 Overview
Sit at my right side
Psalm 110
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 110
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 110 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 110
Author
- David
Book
- Book 5 of the Psalter (Chapters 107–150)
Psalm 110 in Brief
- This psalm presents a startling picture of the enemy kings being violently smashed, and their nations filled with corpses, as the first step to YHWH and his promised king reigning over these nations. YHWH vows to extend this king’s reign from Zion throughout the wide world; in the words of Ps 2, to the ends of the earth. YHWH does this for the king whom he invites to sit next to him, sharing YHWH’s own throne. This king is one whom David addresses as his superior: a descendant of his who will nonetheless be greater than he is, because he will receive the eternal and universal promises YHWH has made. This descendant will be greater not only in the extent of his kingdom, but also in his relationship to YHWH: he will be both priest and king, having immediate access to YHWH and receiving assurance of success because YHWH, himself, will do battle against his enemies.
“Sit at My Right Side” This title is a memorable phrase that helps remember the unique character and content of this psalm.
- A way to remember this Psalm is with the phrase, "Sit at my right side!" With these words God invites a human king, from the line of David, to join him, sharing YHWH’s throne, to reign over the earth together.
Purpose The Purpose was the psalmist's probable intent or reason for writing this psalm.
- To assure the king of his certain success.
Content The Content is a concise summary of the whole psalm's content.
- YHWH will subdue your enemies and extend your dominion!
Message The Message is the main idea the psalmist probably wanted the audience to remember upon or after hearing the psalm.
- YHWH will give universal dominion to his king (cf. Ps. 2).
Psalm 110 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 110
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
Background Orientation for Psalm 110
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- David is a prophet (cf. 2 Sam. 23:1–7; Acts 2:29–30; David's Compositions; cf. Kugel "David the Prophet" 1990).
- To sit at YHWH's right side implies access to YHWH's presence as a priest.
- Melchizedek was both the king of the ancient city of Jerusalem/Zion and a priest of El-Elyon (see Gen. 14:18ff).
- Drinking foreign water is a gesture of dominance (cf. 2 Kgs. 19:24 // Isa. 37:25; cf. von Nordheim 108).
- A king's conquest is ultimately the work of the king's god (cf. 1 Kgs. 5:3; cf. Neo-Assyrian royal prophecies in Hilber 2005 and Nissinen 2019).
Background Situation for Psalm 110
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Background Situation for Psalm 110
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 110
Participant Set List
There are six participants/characters in Psalm 110:
| David/Psalmist |
| YHWH |
| "The Lord" (v. 5) |
| King |
| "lord" (v. 1) |
| "priest" (v. 4) |
| King's people |
| "young men" (v. 3) |
| "dew" (v. 3) |
| Wicked |
| "[Rebellious] kings" (v. 5) |
| "Head [of the rebellious kings]" (v. 6) |
| Nations |
- King: The oracle begins with YHWH speaking to a person whom David calls “my lord.” This person is a king who rules alongside YHWH over the entire earth. David addresses this king as his superior: a king greater than he is, because he will see the fulfillment of the eternal and universal promises that YHWH has made. This superior will be greater not only in the extent of his kingdom, but also in his relationship to YHWH: he will be both priest and king, having immediate, special access to YHWH, and he will be successful because YHWH, himself, will do battle against his enemies.
- King's people: The king's people will be willing to serve in his army. In the ancient world, extending a kingdom happened when armies fought over territory. Professional, full-time soldiers were not common in the ancient world, so kings depended largely on volunteers to serve in their armies. It was not easy for kings to find volunteers to serve in their army. It is not difficult for this king, however. His people, i.e., his potential army, will be willing to serve in his army as soon as he announces his plans for war. He would start his campaign in the holy mountains which surround Jerusalem, and these mountains will be covered with young soldiers in the same way the grass is covered with dew in the early morning.
- Enemies: Although the king's enemies are never explicitly identified in this psalm, their fate is clearly stated: YHWH will destroy them. Moreover, the imagery of enemies as a footstool (v. 1) was also used to express both authority and victory over enemies. In other words, Psalm 110 depicts YHWH bringing victory, and then authority, over all the king’s enemies. In David's vision, YHWH smashed the heads of the rebellious kings across the wide world, and so he has extended David's lord's scepter from Zion and made his enemies a footstool for his feet. The king rules alongside YHWH over the entire earth.