The Last Emperor-- Psalm 110

A Davidic Psalm
This is one of the most controversial Psalms in the Bible, mostly due to Jesus’ interpretation of it. Jesus had an exchange with the leaders of the Jewish nation that went like this:
"How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit, 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET."' David himself calls Him 'Lord'; so in what sense is He his son?" (Mark 12:35-37). Jesus specifically says that Psalm 110 was written by David, although the internal story of the psalm doesn’t indicate that. The idea that Jesus has of this psalm is that David is writing about the Messiah who is not really the so-called “son of David” because a father cannot call a son “lord’. Rather, Jesus says, the messiah is the “son of man” as in Daniel, who is greater than David because David does not himself sit at God’s right hand.
In understanding this psalm, it is clear that it is talking about God support of His King in battle. It could be speaking of any Davidic king, but it is certainly commonly understood to be concerning the Messiah.

Yahweh says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
Until I make your enemies your footstool."
Yahweh will extend the scepter of your strength from Zion
"Rule in the midst of your enemies."
This is often translated in the confusing manner, “the LORD said to my Lord…” But since the first word is actually God’s name, YHWH, it makes more sense read as that. God is speaking to the king of Israel and promising him that all of his enemies would be defeated. In the meantime, God promises, the king of God would sit at Yahweh’s right hand and so, literally, be God’s “right hand man”. This is the position of co-rule with God himself. It is, more specifically, the position of emperor or “king of kings” where one ruler is placed above all other rulers. Thus, the Messiah is, more than anything else, the emperor of the world, ruling alongside God.
For God to “extend the scepter” is to expand the rule of the emperor over all of his enemies, thus any nation that attempts to take over the people of God.

Your people give themselves willingly on the day your army mobilizes,
From the womb they have arrayed in holy splendor
At dawn, your youth are you as the dew
This verse is very difficult to translate, having many terms that are vague and the metaphorical understanding of “dew” and “womb” is hard to understand. I believe that this passage is speaking of the devotion of the army of the emperor to his kingship. From birth they are prepared to fight to defend their nation against their enemies. The soldiers cover the battlefield as the dew covers the grass.

Yahweh has sworn and will not change his mind
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek."
God appoints the emperor not only as king, but also as a priest. The priesthood position is inherent in the fact that the emperor sits at God’s right hand. The priest is an intercessor for the people so that they may be heard by God. But this emperor needs no priest, since he already has God’s ear anytime he wants.
The reference to Melchizedek is to Genesis 14, where Abraham, after assaulting a large army, is blessed by the king of Salem (later Jerusalem) who is also a priest. Here, the psalmist says that the king of Jerusalem is both a king and a priest, apart from the Levitical priesthood that also rules over God’s people. So the psalmist is not denying the Levitical priesthood, but is saying that the emperor has his own kind of priesthood, one in connection to kingship of Jerusalem.

The Lord is at your right hand
He crushes kings in the day of his wrath.
He will judge among the nations
With an abundance of corpses.
He will shatter the chiefs over a wide area.
This is a pretty graphic description of God’s war against the enemies of the emperor. God is the one who does the fighting, here, and it is God who defeats the armies that come against Jerusalem. The kings of the enemies will be defeated and their armies will all be destroyed.

He will drink from the stream on the way
Therefore he will lift up his head.
This is also a pretty subtle metaphor. After the battle, God walks away from the battlefield, drink from the stream and lift up his head. Both of these are symbols of victory. And God, ultimately is the one who becomes Lord over the enemies. Yes, God does it for the sake of the emperor, but God gains the glory and the power.

There are two messages of this psalm:
a. God is the only king over His people and
b. The Messiah is God’s emperor who is always able to pray to God without a mediator