The book of Hebrews could be summarized as a Christ-centered, expository sermon on Psalm 110. In it, the author uses the psalm to argue for the significance of the resurrection, ascension, and session (literally, the “sitting”) of Christ at the right hand of the Father. This threefold exaltation by God becomes proof that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. As God’s Son, he is our supreme king ruling with the greatest authority and our all-sufficient high priest interceding for us in our time of need. Furthermore, the author demonstrates that this exaltation was planned and revealed from the pages of the Old Testament.
In what follows, I want to meditate on the use of Psalm 110 in the book of Hebrews. The author argues that the Father’s exaltation of the Son is the reason we draw near with confidence in the Spirit to the Father (Heb. 4:16; 10:22–23) and now serve as a kingdom of priests in and under Christ (Hebrews 13)—all empowered by the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant (Hebrews 8). Thus, Christ over all at the right hand of the Father is the great assurance (Heb. 6:11;11:1) and hope (Heb. 6:18–19; 10:23) for every Christian as we worship God in the “wilderness” of this life (Hebrews 3) until God shakes the earth and heavens once more (Heb. 12:25–28) and establishes his eternal kingdom alone!
Why Did the Author Choose Psalm 110?
Of course, we cannot say with absolute certainty, but Psalm 110 seems to have pride of place in the minds of the New Testament authors. The New Testament quotes or alludes to this psalm at least twenty-two times![1] No wonder Charles Spurgeon said, “This Psalm has been well designated the crown of all the Psalms, of which Luther said that it is worthy to be overlaid with precious jewels.”[2]
1. See Matt. 22:44; 26:64; Mark 12:36; 14:62; 16:19; Luke 20:42; 22:69; Acts 2:34; Rom. 8:34; 11:29; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Heb. 1:3, 13; 5:6; 6:20; 7:3, 11, 17, 21; 8:1; 10:12.
2. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 88–110, Volume 4 (London; Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 464.
Psalm 110 is one of the royal psalms that speak of David or his descendants.[3] They rehearse the promises to Adam (Gen. 3:15) and Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3) and claim that they are being fulfilled in David. Further, Psalm 110 is a coronation psalm. The procedure for the coronation of Israelite kings consisted of two main parts: 1) the anointing in the sanctuary (1 Kgs. 1:33–34) and 2) the enthronement in the king’s palace (1 Kgs. 1:35). Because the king was the “anointed one,” set apart to God for rule, the ideal picture was that the kingdom would be filled with justice and righteousness.
3. The Royal Psalms include Psalms 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 89; 101; 110; 132; 144.
The royal psalms, then, are a major source of Messianic hope. Even after the failure of the Davidic dynasty (Psalm 89), the hope is in a future Davidic ruler and future Davidic kingdom (Psalm 90). After the exile, this hope would turn to an eschatological one of the future Messiah King who would bring in the kingdom of God. It is no surprise then, that the author of Hebrews (and all those who quote Psalm 110 in the New Testament) transform this hope into the reality of the kingdom of God brought in by Jesus the Messiah.
Further, Psalm 110 adds the important element of the Messiah’s eternal priesthood. Jesus’s resurrection, ascension, and session become proof that he is the Davidic heir (Ps. 110:1–3) and high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4–7). Thus, the author chooses Psalm 110 because in it he can appeal to the Messianic expectations of sonship, kingship, and priesthood.
How Does the Author Use Psalm 110?
The author organizes his sermon around four themes found in Psalm 110:
- Introduction: “God has spoken to us in a Son” (Heb. 1:1–1:4),
- The superiority of Jesus Christ the king (Heb. 1:5–4:16),
- The superiority of Jesus Christ the High Priest (Heb. 5:1–7:28) and the superiority of his priestly ministry (Heb. 8:1–10:18), and
- Our privileges as sons (and daughters) in Christ the Son (Heb. 10:19–12:29) and our priestly ministry in him (Heb. 13:1–25).
Hebrews 1 begins with what the Father says to the Son, “Sit at my right hand” (Heb. 1:13). All things are placed under his feet by the Father including enemies (Heb. 1:13), angels (Heb. 1:14), and creation and the world to come (Heb. 2:5–9). The Father has counted Jesus worthy of glory (Heb. 3:3) because he is a son (Heb. 3:6). The author then moves onto the implications of being a “high priest after the order of Melchizedek” from Psalm 110:4 (Heb. 5:6, 10). He argues that in Jesus, the Father has kept all his Old Testament promises and proven himself faithful (Hebrews 6). Furthermore, because Jesus is a Melchizedekian high priest and not a Levitical high priest, he possesses an eternal, permanent priesthood (Hebrews 7). Here, he gives us his main point: “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man” (Heb. 8:1–2), and again, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:12:14).
Why Did the Author Quote so many other Old Testament Passages?
The author masterfully weaves together a biblical theology of the Davidic Covenant to demonstrate the simple reality that Jesus is better (kreitton). In Hebrews, the Old Covenant is called a message “declared by angels” (Heb. 2:2), while this New Covenant is a message declared by the Son: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1–2). Numerous times the author concludes his exposition with an assertion that Jesus is better: we have a better hope in him (Heb. 7:19); a better covenant (Heb. 7:22; 8:6); a better sacrifice (Heb. 9:23); a better possession (Heb. 10:34); a better country (Heb. 11:16); a better resurrection (Heb. 11:35); and we have a better “blood” than Abel’s. Jesus is better! The Father speaking to us in the Son is the Father declaring the supremacy of Jesus as the long-awaited king, and the sufficiency of Jesus as our permanent high priest.
Jesus’s Supremacy as King
The author naturally runs to Psalm 2, 2 Samuel 7, Deuteronomy 32, and Psalms 104, 45, and 102 to strengthen his argument that the Davidic heir would rule and reign at the Father’s right hand over an eternal kingdom, which speaks to his ascension and session. But what about Jesus’s death and resurrection? The author employs Psalm 8 and 22 along with Isaiah 8 to explain the incarnation, suffering, and death of the Messiah before his resurrection and exaltation. The Father planned to exalt the Son through suffering! In doing so, the Son can not only free us from the fear of death but also bring us into the presence of God!
Jesus’s Supremacy as High Priest
The author naturally refers to Genesis 22 (Heb. 6:14) and Genesis 14 (Heb. 7:1) to connect Melchizedek to the Abrahamic promise that in one of Abraham’s descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. He also quotes Exodus 25:40 (Heb. 8:5), Jeremiah 31:31–34 (Heb. 8:7–12), Exodus 24:8 (Heb. 9:20), and Psalm 40:6–8 (Heb. 10:5–10) to argue Jesus as a permanent high priest brings better sacrifices and mediates a better covenant in a better sanctuary than that of the Old Covenant. The Father has exalted him as our high priest forever and he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.
How Should We Respond?: Five Exhortations
Meditate on the reality that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, the Son of David and the Son of God. If the resurrection proclaims, “He lives forever,” his exaltation and session proclaim, “He reigns forever!” Our own wilderness journey can cause us to doubt this reality. When we are tempted to doubt the present rule and reign of Christ, we must preach this simple truth to ourselves: Jesus is on the throne.
Furthermore, this supreme king is an all-sufficient high priest, which means we ought rest in our security in him. He is the one who purifies us from our sins (Heb. 1:3), who has bought us with his blood (Heb. 9:12), and who will bring us into the eternal kingdom (Heb. 12:22–24). Why are you still a Christian today? It is because of Jesus (Heb. 7:25)!
Draw near to God the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. As the author asserts in chapter 4: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16), and again in chapter 10: “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:22–23).
Listen to Jesus. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are the most Christ-centered persons in the universe. At the transfiguration of Jesus, the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him!” (Matt. 3:17). The author of Hebrews agrees, “In these last days, God has spoken in his Son” (Heb. 1:2). So too the Spirit’s ministry in the New Covenant is to glorify Jesus by speaking what he hears from the Father concerning Jesus (John 16:13:15). Throughout the book of Hebrews, the author asserts that the Holy Spirit speaks through the Scriptures, and that this exalts and proclaims Christ.
Run the race with endurance. The Father has exalted the Son at his right hand and he is our king and high priest. However, we are not yet home. When we grow weary, we should listen to the author of Hebrews, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God [emphasis mine]” (Heb. 12:2).
Conclusion
My prayer is that God the Father, the God of peace who raised Jesus from the dead and exalted him at his right hand as high priest through the blood of the eternal covenant would equip you by the Spirit with everything good that you may do his will as a kingdom of priests and that he would work in you through Jesus that which is pleasing to his will, that we too may run the race set before us with endurance, longing for the joy that awaits us.
