Chapter One Hundred Nine

Psalm 109 is prophetic-messianic. All its content cannot be attributed to any historical person, since the subject of the psalm is depicted here as possessing Divine nature and attributes. Since every revelation is given by God in connection with and on account of some historical events, the following could have been the occasions for writing the psalm. In the first three verses of the psalm the Lord is depicted as the victor over all enemies, and in the last four – as the high priest. In accordance with the content of the psalm, the occasions for writing its first part could have been some victory won by David, and the second – the promise concerning the birth from him of a great Descendant, called to serve mankind. David’s thoughts moved from concrete historical facts into the realm of the distant future and here found clear and precise answers to questions about the ministry and ultimate result of the ministry of his Descendant. The words of verse 1 are directly applied by Christ to Himself (Matt 22:44; Mark 12:36), and other writers also refer them to Him (Acts 2:34; Heb 5:6)

The Lord said to another Lord: “I give You authority over enemies. The Lord will send You His scepter from Zion to rule, and the people will appear before You in the day of Your power in splendor; You, as dew, are born from Me” (1–3). The Lord appoints You to be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. All Your enemies He will shatter. This Lord according to the order of Melchizedek will be glorified (4–7).

Psalm 109:1. The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. One God said to another God: Sit at my right hand. To sit “at the right hand” means to enjoy not only equal honor but also authority. “Until I make your enemies” – by the very content of this place the word “until” means an indefinite, or rather – endless stretch of time: if one Lord gives another equal authority with Himself at a time when it is contested by enemies, then naturally, after these enemies are defeated, when no one will any longer be able even to threaten to take away his authority, the latter remains with Him forever. “Until” is often used in the Bible to mean endless duration (Job 27:3-4; Gen 8:7).

Psalm 109:2. The Lord will send the scepter of your power from Zion: rule in the midst of your enemies. “Scepter of power” – the scepter is a symbol of authority, that is, the first Lord transfers to the second Lord authority over all enemies.

Psalm 109:3. In the day of your power your people will offer themselves willingly in the splendor of holiness; from the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you like dew. “Day of power” – the day of the triumphant manifestation of Your authority and power over the world. “Your people will offer themselves willingly in the splendor of holiness,” that is, the people will meet You in solemn, sacred vestments and in a solemn religious ceremony, or – will display “holy splendor,” great moral excellence, bearing witness to deep and heartfelt seeking and service to You. Victory must belong to You: You are born from the substance (“from the womb”) of God before the appearance of light (“before the morning star”), that is, before the creation of the world. As dew contains in itself all the properties of moisture from which it comes, so the one born possesses the nature of the One who begat Him. This last expression indicates that the second Lord is the true God by His very nature; but He – not a separate and independent God, but the Son of God, the Second Person of the one God. Under “day of power” one can then understand the moment of the Last Judgment, when all enemies of the Lord will be destroyed, and the righteous before the whole world will receive their reward. This judgment will be a solemn manifestation and acknowledgment of the authority of this Lord over the whole world. As is evident from the last verses of the psalm, this victory and dominion of the Son of God is given to Him in His human nature.

Psalm 109:4. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind” – the Lord gives an oath which He does not revoke, that is, the Lord gives an irrevocable determination, a decree. It is – in the appointment of the Son of God to be a priest “forever according to the order of Melchizedek,” the ministry of the Son is to be a high priestly ministry after the pattern of Melchizedek. The latter was a minister of the true God, was king of Salem (later Jerusalem), and the Son of God likewise fulfilled the will of the one true God, and is king of heavenly Jerusalem, where under His authority all believers in Him will be gathered. The Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 7 (Heb 7), expounds at great length the typological significance of Melchizedek and the superiority of the ministry of Jesus Christ over his ministry.

Psalm 109:5. The Lord is at your right hand; He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath, Psalm 109:6. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; He will shatter the head in the wide land. Under “day of wrath” – is meant the universal judgment, when all kings and nations will see over themselves the manifestation of the power of the Son of God and of which the evangelists speak at length (Matt 25:31-46; Luke 13:27-30).

Psalm 109:7. He will drink from the brook along the way, and therefore he will lift up his head. “He will drink from the brook along the way.” “Way” – activity; to drink from the brook along the way – to be strengthened in activity for the achievement of the purpose of his ministry. One can also understand it as an indication of the sufferings of Christ, because He Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed to the Father: “if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matt 26:39), understanding by the cup the sufferings awaiting Him. “Therefore he will lift up his head” (Church Slavonic) – either as a natural consequence of strengthening, when strength increases and victory is thereby won, or – as a contrast (in the second understanding): because He will endure sufferings, the Lord “will lift Him up,” will give Him victory, will exalt Him above the whole world and peoples. Both understandings of this passage found exact fulfillment in the activity of the Messiah – Christ: He steadfastly carried out His calling, receiving strengthening from the Father (voice from heaven: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again”) (John 12:28), the appearance to Him at the Transfiguration of Moses and Elijah, or the Angel in the Garden of Gethsemane; for His humble service on earth and shameful death He was deemed worthy of glory – sitting with God on the throne, the spread of His teaching, and subsequently the judgment over the whole world. * * * Notes According to the translation of the Seventy: from the womb before the morning star I have begotten you