Brian Berry, Instructor of Biblical Studies at Texas Baptist College, preached from Psalm 110 in SWBTS Chapel on November 5, 2024.
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Good morning Southwestern and TBC family. Amen. It’s good to see each and every one of you this morning. And yes, it is election day, but it also is the day that the Lord has made, and the Scripture says, I will rejoice and be glad in it. That counts for today, tonight, into the late night when there’s still not decision, into tomorrow and even to January. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Well, it’s my privilege this morning to preach the Word of God before you. So, it’s good to see your smiling faces, or at least your smiling eyes. Amen. I see some smiling faces too. And also, I want to recognize my wife. She made it so she surprised me, and amen, and she was able to get off work. Amen, Hallelujah. And then I see my pastor, also, who is Doctor James Womack, since he finishes defense of his PhD here at Southwestern Baptist the hospital seminary. So I wanted to say congratulations to you as well, and to I see some other friends and family that’s among us. And I say family because we’re all brothers and sisters in the Lord amen. Amen, because we’ve been bought by the blood and been adopted into his family. But that’s not my sermon today.
We’re going to preach from the Old Testament, even though you can get those things from the Old Testament as well. We’re going to look at Psalm 110 this morning, as you’ve already seen from the CSB version. But before we get into Psalm 110 if you will, if you would bear with me, I’d like to pray and seek the Lord’s face one more time before we get into God’s word. So, let’s pray.
Father God, we want to thank you. Thank you for this day, God. Thank you for the breath in our lungs. Thank you for reviving us, to making us alive again, God, you are taking our sins away from us, as Dr Ford said last week, as far as the east is from the rest, Father, you have washed us, you have renewed us. You have adopted us God and given us a new name, and now we can be called children of the living God. So, Father God, for that alone, God, there’s not enough time just to give you as a response what you are due for all the things you have done for us. But the best thing we can give God is to give you ourselves. So, Father God, as we give you ourselves, we also, in this moment, give you, our ear. Give us the ears to hear what you are saying this morning. Give us faith to be able to look into the wonderful things of your word, God and glean from your promises. Glean from your word. Give us steadfast hope. God, even though beyond this moment, God into the night as the rest of our country and even our society, our world, God will be anxious and tiptoe anticipation, but Father God, our hope is steady. Our hope is sure. You are the anchor for our souls. So, help us to look on things above and not on things that are today. Help us to look into your Word, and God give me your servant. God, confidence in your word, clarity in my speech, wisdom and thought. But also, God help me also to share in my brothers and sisters as we break forth the bread of life, we ask all these things in Jesus’ name, everyone who agreed, let us say, amen, amen.
So, without further delay, we’re coming from Psalm 110 this morning, as we’ve been making our way through the Psalms this semester in chapel. And I don’t know about you, but it’s been reviving to my heart to hear most of our professors here and even staff members who have preached the Word of God to us. Every single time I’ve come into this building and heard the word of God, I’ve been refreshed. I’ve been renewed, sometimes challenged. But we need all those things in the Christian life, amen. Sometimes we need the Lord to prod us, to poke us, to convict us, to reprove us, to train us in righteousness, to correct us, to encourage us, to revive us. So hopefully, even in Psalm 110 we will receive some of that today.
So just to put a title to the Psalm, and actually, before I get that, I want to thank Dr Dockery for asking me to preach on this occasion, not only on the preaching chapel, which is honor anytime I get chance to do so, but especially on election day. To some, that might be a setup, but to me, I believe that it once again shows Dr Dockery’s confidence in his staff and his professors and as well, personally, for me, so I want to. Thank you, Dr Dockery, for this privilege, but, but I want to title this this message that Psalm 110 is the most interesting Psalm in all the Psalter. Yes, that’s a big claim, 150 Psalms, but I believe I propose, that it’s the most interesting Psalm in all of the Psalter. And to give you some Bible trivia this morning, I’ll give you a few reasons why.
Well, in Psalm 110 we have we have poetry that bends the rules of typical grammar, typical Hebrew grammar and typical syntax within Psalm 110 we have idioms that not only in ancient times, but even today, scholars still don’t know what to do with in Psalm 110 it’s also the most quoted Old Testament Psalm in all of the New Testament. For all of these things, I believe Psalm 110 is the most interesting Psalm in the Psalter. But that’s not the most important reason why Psalm 110 is interesting. I believe Psalm 110 is the most interesting Psalm because it talks about the most interesting person in all of the scriptures. See my brothers and sisters, I go ahead and give you my points this morning. So, if you’re taking notes, here we go.
Psalm 110 is interesting and is relevant for us, because Psalm 110 describes a king without comparison, and also Psalm 110 describes for us a priest without end. We have a king without comparison and a priest without end. Well, let’s look at that first point. He is a king without comparison. And we see this in verse one of our text for the psalm of David, Psalm 110 opens up from the CSB version. It says, this is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. This first part of this psalm, we have a king without comparison. And the reason why this king in Psalm 110 is without comparison is because he is greater than the standard. He’s a king without comparison because he is greater than the standard.
You see, my brothers and sisters, this psalm opens up with naom, a message, a declaration from Yahweh and David. Through the inspiration of Holy Spirit, he gets chance to be a fly on the wall in the courts of the Lord. So, he hears this naom, this message from Yahweh, and this message is directed to another figure. Now in this text, we know that this figure is a king, by way he is described. We know from verse two of our text that this king is Jewish, because he reigns from Jerusalem. But my brothers and sisters, this is the most bewildering aspect of this text. The most berelding aspect of verse one is that this King Who reigns from Jerusalem, David, calls him Lord. My brother says. This causes us to ask the question, what Jewish king? What king is great enough that King David would call him Lord. We see my brothers and sisters.
There’s number of kings from the line of David, the number of great kings that we still study, and we know the names of even down to this day, you see Solomon. He had greater prosperity than David, but David would never call Solomon his Lord. We have kings like Hezekiah that went through greater trials, greater political trials, than David. But David would never call Hezekiah his Lord, but, but here in this text, we have David calling this king Lord. You see, my brothers and sisters, David is the standard by which all the kings of Judea and Israel are judged by. For the Bible says they either walked in the way of their forefather David, or they forsook the way of David by the way they led their people. My brothers and sisters, David is the standard, by the way the other kings are judged by but this king in Psalm 110 he is greater than David. This king in Psalm 110 he is greater than the standard. This king in Psalm 110 he is greater than all of his lineage.
Yes, this king is so great that even David, the gold standard of kings, calls this king his own Lord. Psalm 110 describes for us, my brothers and sisters, a king without comparison. This king is without comparison because he is greater than the standard. But not only is he greater than the standard that we have in David, but this king is greater than the standard. He is a king without comparison because the Lord exalts him to some pregnancy. The Lord exalts him to supremacy. Let’s look at, look back at verse one, for there’s no um, this message, this declaration from Yahweh, he says to my Lord David says, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. See my brother and sister the view that the Lord lifts up leaders. This is not new from the perspective of the Bible. For the book of Judges, reminds us that the Lord lifts up leaders sometimes to bring deliverance.
The book of First Samuel reminds us that the Lord can lift up a leader and take him all the way from the pasture to the palace. The Book of Chronicles reminds us that the Lord can lift up even a king, Cyrus, and use even a pagan king to do His will on Earth. But this king, in Psalm 110 the Lord listen to a place of supremacy. Look with me in verse one, Yahweh says to this king, Yahweh says to David, says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand. You see my brothers and sisters. This is the vine talk. This is the type of talk there’s almost unheard of in the land of Israel. It exceeds Second Samuel chapter seven, where David’s seed, his offspring, is treated as a son. It exceeds what we see in Genesis one, where the Lord shares his dominion, with the Adam, with a man this type of talk. It has been building that we see in Psalm 10. It’s been building throughout the Psalter.
If you remember back in Psalm two, where Dr Williams preached. In Psalm two, we see the Lord’s anointed, And Yahweh gives him the nations as an inheritance. It’s been building since Psalm 89 where the Lord’s anointed, it is raised up to a level where he is the greatest of the kings of the earth. And my brothers and sisters here we see in this psalm, in Psalm 110 this king, this king who is from the line of David, this King Who reigns from Jerusalem, this king who will rule in the midst of his enemies. Yahweh says to this king, come on up, sit down at the right hand of the throne of God, my brothers and sisters, words can barely express how significant this passage is, what Yahweh is saying to this king, for we have Yahweh, The God of Israel, the One who created the heavens and the earth, we have Yahweh the God of Israel, the one who shares his glory with no created being.
We have Yahweh the God of Israel who, Job says, sits on the circle of the earth. We have Yahweh who humbles the king of Egypt and to submission, we have the God of Israel, who humbles Nebuchadnezzar to be like a beast before him. We have Yahweh, the God of Israel, the only true God. Say to this king, come on up, sit down to the very throne of God, my brothers and sisters, this king is not just exalted to supremacy, to prominence. He’s exalted to divine supremacy. He is a king without comparison, because he sits at the right hand of the throne of God. He is a king without comparison because he is greater than the standard. He is a king without comparison because he’s been exalted to supremacy. But also, we see in his text, this king is a king. Without comparison, because he receives the full supports of the saints. For we see in verse three, he says, David says to us, your people will volunteer on your day of battle in holy splendor from the room of the dawn, the doer of your youth, youth belongs to you.
You see, my brothers and sisters, this king, he’s like no other king, because he receives the full support from the saints of God. For you see, unlike the divided support that Moses received as he took the children of Israel through the desert, unlike the divide support that the line of David experienced as they ruled in the age of the monarchy, unlike the division and hostility and even nastiness that we see in our own political time, this king in Psalm 110 he will see the full supports of the saints, Mom, my brother and sister this psalm, if I could get a little closer this morning, this Psalm is a reminder that we are not there yet.
This Psalm. Psalm 110 is a reminder that there is still a king to come. Psalm 110 is a reminder to us in 2024 that though this election is important, there is still a king. There was still an anointed one, there is still an elect of God who is more important than the kings and the presidents and the Prime Ministers and all over this world. Psalm 10 is a reminder my brothers and sisters, that God’s anointed will wane. He is a king without comparison, because he has the full support of the saints. And the text says, on the day of his hayel, on the day of his strength, on the day of His power, he will have the angel armies behind him, and he’ll have the saints some full support with him, my brothers and sisters, this is our king. This is the king that we are waiting for.
Psalm 110 describes this king for he is a king without comparison. But not only is this figure a king without comparison, but this same person, he is also a priest without end. Look with me in verse four. Verse four of our text says the Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back. You are a priest forever, according to the pattern of Melchizedek, the same person from verses one through three of our text is also our priest without end. Once again, we have David given us a report what he overhears from the court of God. He hears this oath. He hears Yahweh makes this promise, and he makes this promise to this king, and he promises that He will make the same king from earlier in his text. He will make him a priest forever, like Melchizedek, well, my brothers and sisters, what is a priest?
It says, we’re in the Old Testament. What does the role of a priest in the people of God in the Old Testament? Well, my brother says the role of the Priest. Priest is to represent the people. The role of the priest is to make sacrifices for their sins. The role of the priest is to give gifts and offerings on their behalf. The role of the priests is to intercede for the saints and usually my brothers and sisters. The Office of priests and King. They are separate in the land of Israel, but in Genesis 14, there seems to be a shadowy figure. There is a type of what we see in Psalm 110 this figure that shows up in Genesis 14 in only a couple verses. He is called the priest of the Most High God.
He is from a place called Salem or Shalem, and he has a name which means the King of Righteousness. And this king, in Genesis, 14, he gives a blessing to Abraham. And Abraham, he. Plays him a homage. And then, after Genesis 14, he disappears from the pages of the Old Testament, until here in Psalm 110 where Yahweh says, there is another King of Righteousness. There is another king priest who will represent my people. There is another figure who will hold both anointed offices of both King and priests, and his priesthood will last forever. His priesthood would have no bounds. His priesthood will have no limits. His priesthood has no expiration date for he will be a priest forever for my people, just like Melchizedek in Genesis 14, this figure of Psalm 110 he is a king without comparison.
And then the author of Hebrews helps us here he will sanctify us forever, because his priesthood has no end, a king with no comparison, a king that has been exalted to the right hand of the throne of God, a king that breaks the mold, and also a priest that lasts forever. My brothers and sisters, when we put these descriptions together, we were left with the most interesting picture of any person in both the Old and the New Testament. You see my brother and sister. This king of verse one, Yahweh, speaks to him with no prophet, vision or filter. This king of verse one, He is exalted to share the throne with Yahweh. This king from verse three, he receives full support from the saints of God. This king, from verses five through seven, not only does Yahweh crush the heads the roach of the nations, but at the end, Yahweh will lift up his Roach his head. This king, from our text, this same figure is also a priest forever.
According to verse four, he’s one who represents the people of God. He’s the one who, even Abraham, gives homage. He’s the one who was sanctified, who has set us apart forever, my brothers and sisters, after we have heard these descriptions, after we have heard the report of David, after we have listened to the promises, and we have heard what Yahweh says about this figure, this psalm should leave us all crying out with the same question, who is worthy to fulfill this description? Who is worthy to fulfill this picture in Psalm 110 who is worthy to sit at the right hand of God, who is worthy to have his enemies at a footstool, who is worthy to receive full devotion from the saints, who is worthy to be a priest forever, who is worthy to have Yahweh lift up his head.
Well, my brothers and sisters, I’m glad you asked that question, because the New Testament authors gives us the answer for the New Testament authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit reminds us over and over again who this person is, who is worthy. In fact, they even give us his name. His name is what? Yes, his name is Jesus, the Sunday School Sunday School answer, Jesus is worthy. Jesus is the King, without comparison, Jesus is our high priest who sets apart his people forever. Jesus is the only one who can set us apart. Jesus is the only one who is the warrior who defends for us. Jesus is the only one worthy of this description, and one day, according to Revelations five, there’ll be a myriad of the voices of angels, and there’ll be a number of living creatures, and there’ll be 24 elders before the throne, and they will cast down their crowds before him, and They were all seen together like the crowd behind us.
They were all seen together like a cappella that just sang for us. They will say, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power, wisdom and honor, glory and blessings, and. This is the king of Psalm 110 and we know him by the name of Jesus. So as we look on the polls this evening, as we see the reports that will come through late into the midnight, you may have already submitted your votes. You may have already cast your vote in the early voting that happened last week, but we all have pledged our allegiance to another king, a king that’s risen to the right hand of the throne of God. We pledge our allegiance to another king, a king without comparison, we pledge our allegiance to another king who also serves as our priest forever. This king, this Anointed One, is the king of Psalm 110 and he is the king of our hearts.
Psalm 110 is the most interesting Psalm in the Psalter, because it describes the most interesting King, the most interesting priest, the most interesting person, the most loving person, the most majestic person, the most worthy person in all of the universe. Psalm 110 is interesting, not because of the grammar, not because of the idioms, because of the scribes, our Lord, our King and our priest.
Let’s pray. You Father, God, as we’ve looked into this psalm from your servant David, as you have given him a message to give to us as He is recognized, one that he recognized is greater, one who is greater than his lineage. One is greater than his position, one who is the greatest king of all, and the one who be a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world for his people. Help us to stay steadfast on this king. Help us to put our hope in this king. Help us to lean on the sacrifices and the representation of this priest. Give us faith to stand, give us hope to conquer, give us eyes to see this king and to await the day when he will return. Thank you, Father for this privilege. Thank you for your word. Thank you for your faith that you will give to your saints as we go on to walk in your spirit and your power. In Jesus name, we pray. Everyone who agree, let’s say, Amen.
