Psalm 110:6 Komentář

This psalm is pure gospel; it is only, and wholly, concerning Christ, the Messiah promised to the fathers and expected by them. It is plain that the Jews of old, even the worst of them, so understood it, however the modern Jews have endeavoured to pervert it and to rob us of it; for when the Lord Jesus proposed a question to the Pharisees upon the first words of this psalm, where he takes it for granted that David, in spirit, calls Christ his Lord though he was his Son, they chose rather to say nothing, and to own themselves gravelled, than to make it a question whether David does indeed speak of the Messiah or no; for they freely yield so plain a truth, though they foresee it will turn to their own disgrace, Mat 22:41, etc. Of him therefore, no doubt, the prophet here speaks of him and of no other man. Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the office of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, with reference both to his humiliation and his exaltation; and of each of these we have here an account. I. His prophetical office (Psa 110:2). II. His priestly office (Psa 110:4). III. His kingly office (Psa 110:1, Psa 110:3, Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6). IV. His estates of humiliation and exaltation (Psa 110:7). In singing this psalm we must act faith upon Christ, submit ourselves entirely to him, to his grace and government, and triumph in him as our prophet, priest, and king, by whom we hope to be ruled, and taught, and saved, for ever, and as the prophet, priest, and king, of the whole church, who shall reign till he has put down all opposing rule, principality, and power, and delivered up the kingdom to God the Father. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 110 A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David, as the title shows, and which is confirmed by our Lord Jesus Christ, Mat 22:43 and by the Apostle Peter, Act 2:34 and was not written by anyone of the singers concerning him, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; nor by Melchizedek, nor by Eliezer the servant of Abraham, concerning him, as Jarchi and others: for the former could not call Abraham his lord, since he was greater than he, Heb 7:7 and though the latter might, yet he could not assign his master a place at the right hand of God; nor say he was a priest after the order of Melchizedek: and as it was written by David, it could not be concerning himself, as the Targum, but some other; not of Hezekiah, to whom some of the Jews applied it, as Tertullian (m) affirms; but of the Messiah, as is clear from the quotation by Christ, Mat 22:43 and from the references to it by the apostle, Act 2:34. And that this was the general sense of the ancient Jewish church is manifest from the silence of the Pharisees, when a passage out of it was objected to them by our Lord concerning the Messiah; and is the sense that some of the ancient Jews give of it; says R. Joden (n), "God will make the King Messiah sit at his right hand, &c:'' and the same is said by others (o); and it is likewise owned by some of the more modern (p) ones; and we Christians can have no doubt about it. The psalm is only applicable to Christ, and cannot be accommodated to any other; no, not to David as a type, as some psalms concerning him may.

He shall judge among the Heathen,.... Either rule among the Gentiles, making them through his Gospel obedient by word and deed, and so reigning in their hearts by his Spirit and grace; and, by making many converts among them, enlarge his dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth: or inflict judgments on the Heathen; that is, the Papists, as they are called. These are the Gentiles to whom the outward court is given; the nations that will be angry when the time of his wrath, and to judge the dead, is come; and whom Christ will break in pieces with his iron rod; and are the Heathen that shall perish out of his land, when he is King over all the earth, Rev 11:2. He shall fill the places with the dead bodies: the Targum adds, "of the ungodly that are slain;'' namely, at the battle of Armageddon; when the fowls of the air shall be called to eat the flesh of kings, captains, and mighty men; of horses and their riders; of all men, bond and free, great and small, Rev 19:17. He shall wound the heads over many countries; that is, kings over many countries; as the Targum explains it: it is to be read in the singular number, "he shall wound the heads over a large country" (c); him who is the head over a large country; meaning either Satan, the god of this world, the wicked one, under whom the world lies; and who has deceived the inhabitants of the earth, and rules them at his pleasure; him Christ has wounded and bruised, even his head; destroyed him and all his power, policy, schemes, and works, agreeably to the first hint concerning him, Gen 3:15 or else antichrist, who is head over a large country, or many countries; the whore that sits on many waters, which are people, nations, and tongues, and reigns over the kings of the earth; who has seven heads and ten horns; one of whose heads has been wounded already, of which it has been curing again; but ere long this beast will receive such a wound from Christ, as that he will never recover of it; when he shall consume him with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming; see Rev 17:2, Th2 2:8. Musculus renders it, "the head of the country of Rabbah": and refers it to David's conquest of the king of the Ammonites, whose head city was Rabbah, Ch1 20:1. (c) "caput super terram multam", Pagninus, Montanus; "vel amplam", Piscator, Coceius; so Gejerus & Michaelis.

"He shall judge among the heathen: He shall fill up what has fallen" [Psalm 110:6]. Whoever you are who art obstinate against Christ, you have raised on high a tower that must fall. It is good that you should cast yourself down, become humble, throw yourself at the feet of Him who sits on the right hand of the Father, that in you a ruin may be made to be built up. For if you abide in your evil height, you shall be cast down when you can not be built up. For of such the Scripture says in another passage: "Therefore shall He break down, and not build them up." Beyond doubt he would not say this of some, unless there were some whom He broke down so as to build them up again. And this is going on at this time, while Christ is judging among the heathen in such a manner as to fill up what has fallen. "He shall smite many heads over the earth." Here upon the earth in this life He shall smite many heads. He makes them humble instead of proud; and I dare to say, my brethren, that it is more profitable to walk here humbly with the head wounded, than with the head erect to fall into the judgment of eternal death. He will smite many heads when he causes them to fall, but He will fill them up and build them up again.

This Psalm may be regarded as an exposition of Psa 111:10, presenting the happiness of those who fear and obey God, and contrasting the fate of the ungodly. (Psa 112:1-10) True fear produces obedience and this happiness.

The person is again changed. The Messiah's conquests are described, though His work and God's are the same. As after a battle, whose field is strewn with corpses, the conqueror ascends the seat of empire, so shall He "judge," or "rule," among many nations, and subdue the head--or (as used collectively for "many") "the heads," over many lands. wound--literally, "smite," or "crush" (compare Psa 110:5).