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Pentecost Season · Corpus Christi: The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ · Year C

Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4 (4b)

A Priest Forever

The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, Peter Paul Rubens
The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1625National Gallery of Art, Washington · public domain

Overview & Insights

“The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)

Psalm 110 is a royal psalm composed originally for the preexilic Davidic kings and was later applied to the Messiah, as the many NT citations make evident (the NT cites this psalm more than any other OT passage). Like Psalm 2, it refers to Yahweh’s installation of the king on Zion and to his promise of military dominion over enemies. Both of these psalms may have been sung at the king’s enthronement (implied by “sit at my right hand”) or annually “in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war” (2 Sam. 11:1). Also like Psalm 2, it includes prophetic oracles. These provide the structure of our psalm: verses 1–3 and 4–7 each consist of a brief introduction, an oracle (in quotations), and its expansion.

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Why is Psalm 110 read at Christmas?

It is the royal psalm the New Testament quotes most: the Lord's Anointed is enthroned at God's right hand and is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, King and Priest in one.

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