Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms, by Witness Lee

More excerpts from this title...

SUMMARY OF PSALM 110

We have covered the first four Psalms of Book V, Psalms 107 to 110. Of these, Psalm 110 is the climax. In fact, no other Psalm is higher than Psalm 110 regarding Christ. It is a short Psalm with only a few main points, but these points are immensely significant. The first is that Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. This refers to His exaltation and enthronement. The significance of this verse is seen in the fact that it is mentioned approximately twenty times in the New Testament. Even the Lord Jesus Himself quoted this verse frequently. It is profitable to look into all these New Testament quotations: there are some in the first three Gospels, some in the Acts, some in Ephesians, some in 1 Corinthians, and many in Hebrews.

The second point in this Psalm is the victory of Christ. He has won the victory, and He is going to win many more victories. The fact that God has promised to make all His enemies His footstool is an aspect of His victory.

The third point is His power, His authority, His scepter. He is the exalted One, the enthroned One, the Victor, and the One who has the scepter. The rod is in His hand (v. 2).

The fourth point is that Christ is still fighting, and He will fight to the end. In verse 3 we have this phrase: “In the day of thy power.” The word “power” in this phrase has another meaning. The margin of the American Standard Version says, “in the day of thy army,” and the Goodspeed translation has “on your day of war.” It is not only the day of His power, but also the day of His fighting. It is then that the people will offer themselves willingly in the splendor of their consecration. It is then that the young men will be as the dew out of the womb of the morning and as the brook on the way. Christ needs refreshment because He is fighting. On one hand this Psalm tells us He has won the victory, but on the other hand He is still fighting. He will fight to the end. So many things may be realized from this short Psalm.

The fifth point is that He is today the Priest. He is the King, He is the Warrior, and He is also the Priest. He is a Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not according to the law of a carnal commandment, but in the power of an endless life (Heb. 7:16). We do not realize how much He prays for us, how much He is sustaining us all the day long, by being our Priest. He is there at God’s right hand as the King to care for God’s interest in the entire universe; He is there as the Priest to care for us; and He is also there as the Warrior, fighting against His enemies.

The sixth point is that He will eventually return.

It is clear, by combining all these six points, that Psalm 110 is the highest peak in the revelation of Christ. Christ today, according to Psalm 110, is at the right hand of God, the highest place in the universe. Hebrews 1:3 says that He “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,” the highest place. Psalm 110 tells us not only where Christ is, but also what He is. He is the King, He is the Victor, He is the Warrior, He is the Priest, and He is the Coming One—at least these five items. In such a short Psalm of seven verses we see all these things. This Psalm, which gives the highest revelation of Christ, is not in the first book, but in the last book of the Psalms. In Book V, we reach the highest peak.

(Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms, Chapter 19, by Witness Lee)