LESSON 1, VERSE 1:
Psalm 110 is often called the ascension Psalm. That is because of it’s
first verse. “The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy
footstool.”
We believe these are the very words God the Father spoke to
Jesus on His return to Heaven forty days after His
resurrection. Thus we believe Jesus is right now sitting at the
right hand of the Father. What is He doing? According to our
verse He is waiting. He is waiting for the Great Second Coming,
when He rides that White Horse of Revelation 19 back to earth,
conquering all His enemies.
Thank God for this vital truth, taught primarily in Psalm
110.
Now let’s discuss one more thing today. In the meantime,
what occupies Jesus’ attention? In Hebrews 7:25 we learn that
Jesus is praying. He ever liveth to make intercession for us,
His children. I personally believe our Lord’s prayers right
now in Heaven are compatible with His petitions found in John
Chapter 17.
Just think of that, we have a Saviour who has conquered
Death, Hell and the Grave. Gone back to Heaven to be with His
Father. Awaiting the final victory over antichrist, the dragon,
the false prophet and all the demons of Hell. Yet also today, He
will be praying for you and me!
Praise the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2, VERSE 2:
The second
verse of Psalm 110 talks of God’s Power. Let’s listen to it.
“The LORD shall send the rod of thy
strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.”
This we believe is God the Father talking to God the Son,
sometime in eternity past.
Some day Jesus is coming back to earth, literally. This time
not merely as Lamb of God either! Rather as the Lion of God,
ruling and dictating and directing the planet!
God here invests in Jesus “the rod of strength.” Reminds one
of the prophecy about the Messiah spoken long ago in Genesis
49:10, about His now well known “scepter.”
This rod, “matteh” in Hebrew, sort of typifies the
comforting “rod and staff” of Psalm 23 as well, when pointed
toward God’s Own children. But a rod of correction when applied
to the rebellious lost of a future time, a rod of destruction!
Jesus shall “rule,” serve as King, with “radah” meaning “to
have dominion” over all God’s enemies too!
Thank the Lord today. We are on the winning Side! Things may
at times look bleak in this apostate age, but Jesus is coming
again!
As Victor!
Praise His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3,
BACK TO VERSE 1:
We are studying Psalm 110. One of its most amazing features is how often
it's quoted in the New Testament. Jesus Himself included, a
superb Student of Scripture!
For example, in Mark 12:36 we read these word, Jesus talking:
"For
David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool."
Wow!
Beyond doubt Psalm 110 is Messianic. That means that its main Subject is
the Messiah, the coming King of Israel, God's Anointed One!
That's Jesus to us Christians! Really, that's Jesus,
period!
So here David just said to God, to the Lord in Heaven: "God, Thou hast
made Thy Messiah, Thy Son Jesus, to sit at Thy Right
Hand!" Sharing the very Throne of Omnipotence with Thee!"
God the Father ... calling Jesus the Lord!
That's critically important!
If this event happened, and it did, then Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is God!
Jesus is the Eternal Son!
Jesus is on the Throne!
What a Verse to prove the Deity of Christ!
Even Jesus used it that way too!
The One Who died to save me from my sins in None Other than God.
Psalm 110 proves this fact conclusively.
A Bible Lesson today, from the lips of Jesus our Saviour!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, VERSE 3:
Today we look
at part of the third verse of Psalm 110, a Messianic chapter of
God’s Word. We’re paying special attention to the clause
“Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.”
Here’s the
whole sentence: “Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the
beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the
dew of thy youth.”
Again, this is Psalm 110:3.
The noun
“dew” is “tal” in Hebrew. It means just what it says, “the
morning moisture.” But it’s built upon a verb that means “to
cover with a roof!” The dew does that to all creation! However,
Biblically it is an emblem of freshness and fertility and power!
The noun
“youth” also is essential to our thought today. “Yalduth” means
“childhood,” being taken from “yeled,” a “son, a child,
offspring.” The “fruit” of one’s loins.
Putting the
clause together now, “Thou hast the dew
of Thy Youth,” Jesus is here being called “eternally
young!” Or this, “forever strong, always potent!” The
theologians correctly say “omnipotent.”
Oh yes, He’s
the Saviour Who will “never grow old!”
He is
perpetually “vigorous and fertile” and perennially “fresh!”
I’ve never
been bored with Him, have any of you?
He is always
thrilling, uplifting, energizing!
He never
changes.
And Paul in
Hebrews 13:8 agrees. “Jesus Christ the
Same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
Amen!
Next time
you see the dew, think of Him!
He made it
as a picture of Himself.
--- Dr. Mike
Bagwell
LESSON 5, STILL VERSE 3:
The 110th
Psalm is our Text these days. We are traveling through this
great piece of inspired Literature a verse at a time.
We have today
arrived at that part of the third verse that says to Jesus,
“Thy people shall be willing in the day
of thy Power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the
morning.” This is today’s Lesson, these sublime words
spoken to Jesus prophetically.
When Jesus comes
again to this earth, in that great time of future Revelation of
the Son of God, His “people” will be more eager to obey Him than
ever!
Think of the
disobedience and stubbornness at least partial rebellion against
the Lord today, even in the so-called good Churches! The
half-heartedness, the luke-warmness, the me-first attitudes that
prevail! All of which are lived in a spirit of total or partial
disobedience to our Lord.
Things will
change when Jesus comes again! Again,
“Lord Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy Power.”
Willing
Baptists!
Then the remark
David makes about the “beauties of
holiness” is interesting. The noun for “beauties” is
“hadar” in Hebrew. It means “ornaments.” It is derived from a
verb that means “to adorn, to put one’s clothes on his body.”
This is likely a reference to Jesus as the Great High Priest!
That’s a truth the next verse mentions so powerfully too, about
Melchizedek.
The High Priest
of God, Jesus our Lord and Saviour, wearing the glorified
garments of the Priesthood! Praying for us, interceding for us,
ministering to us in all his Glory from the Father’s Right Hand!
Let’s put it all
together now. And worship Jesus accordingly!
“Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy Power, in the beauties of holiness
from the womb of the morning.”
Amen!
Oh, the
“womb of the morning” term
indicates eternal youth! We have a Master, the Darling Son of
God, Who will never grow old.
Praise his Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6, VERSE 4:
The words are
adamant, filled with resolve. And guaranteed by all the Power of
an Almighty God!
Psalm 110:4 has
God saying to Jesus, “Thou art a
Priest!” This is Jesus our Saviour. This is Jesus the
Virgin-Born Child of Bethlehem. This is Jesus the crucified yet
risen Lord of Life.
And He is also a
Priest?
Yes.
Yes indeed!
But watch the
language in which God cradles this promise, this vow about Jesus
being an eternal Priest.
“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent.”
Psalm 110:4, straight from the Word of God, King James Version.
God the Father
hath sworn Jesus to be a Priest! That Hebrew verb, “shaba,”
means “to promise by oath, to adjure, to risk one’s own
reputation upon a stated truth.” Note that “shaba” is derived
from a verb that means “to say something seven times!” The
Hebrew noun “seven” is spelled “sheba,” the similarity is
obvious.
If God says
something once it is true! He can not lie according to Titus
1:2. But if God feels so strongly that He declares a Matter
seven times, He “swears” to its authenticity, then rest assured
… it is so!
“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent”
… that Jesus is a Priest forever!
The term “will
not repent” incorporates the verb “nacham,” God will not “nacham.”
It means “to be sorry, to regret,” to change or repent in that
sense!
One of the
strongest statements in the Bible, for sure!
God doubly
promising a Fact!
What fact?
“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Psalm 110:4
This must be
critically important!
And, Lord
willing, we’ll study more tomorrow about Jesus’ Priesthood.
And about
Melchizedek.
Meanwhile, what
a Saviour we serve!
And worship!
Our High Priest
in Heaven right now!
Interceding for
us!
Praise the Lord.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7, STILL VERSE 4:
The Psalm we are
studying is fundamentally important to the understanding that
Jesus is our Great High Priest.
Especially verse
four, where God the Father says to God the Son:
“Thou
art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
As you know, all
the Old Testament priests were of the order of Levi, one of the
tribes of Israel. These men had to be born into that blood line,
descendents of Levi.
But God the
Father had ordained that Jesus be a High Priest too! The true
and living High Priest!
But this Plan
was problematic, humanly speaking. Jesus was born of the Tribe
of Judah, the ruling Tribe, the group from which the Kings of
Israel sprang!
Jesus was not of
Levi’s lineage!
Could He then
become a Priest?
Yes!
God made a way!
And he
illustrated that way beautifully and graphically for us all to
behold!
Jesus was made a
Priest after the type of Melchizedek!
But, who is he?
Not Levi, for
sure.
We meet this man
in Genesis 14:18. He meets Abraham right after the Patriarch’s
battle with the confederacy that had captured his nephew Lot.
“And
Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he
was the priest of the most high God.”
There he is!
The man is a
King!
The man lives in
the city of Salem, the city of Peace!
The man’s name
incorporates the Hebrew noun for “righteousness!”
He is obviously
special!
He is obviously
a pre-incarnation picture of Jesus, a Type of Christ!
Jesus is a king
from the City of Peace and is blamelessly Righteous!
And both men
were Priests too!
That what the
serving of bread and wine imply, demand really.
And the next
verse is informative too. From Genesis 14:19-20.
“And Melchizededek
blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high
God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high
God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.”
So now I can add
this about Jesus, about His being a perfect fulfillment of the
Melchizedek priesthood.
Jesus blesses
those under His Charge too!
Oh, does Jesus
bless us!
More tomorrow.
About this
unusual man of history and about the Son of God Whom he
pictures.
Meanwhile, pray
to your High Priest today! And remember, He is praying for you
too!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8, VERSE 4:
What do we know
about this man Melchizedek?
The Old
Testament tells us some things, but not a lot.
Then comes the
Book of Hebrews! There the author, perhaps Paul, tells us a good
bit more.
Hebrews 5:6 and
5:10 and 6:20 mention him. As do Hebrews 7:1 and 7:10-11 and
Hebrews 7:15 and 7:17 as well as 7:21. And each reference to
Melchisedec, using the New Testament spelling now, is linked to
Jesus!
Here are some
facts about Melchisedec gleaned from the foregoing verses:
He is “priest of
the Most High God!”
He is “without
father, without mother, without descent.”
He has “neither
beginning of days, nor end of life.”
He is “made like
unto the Son of God.”
He “abideth a
priest continually.”
He is a “great
man.”
He is older than
Levi, who was not yet born when Melchisedec ministered.
He is a Type of
Jesus Christ, after our Lord’s “similitude.”
He is yet
contrasted with Jesus, Jesus the Greater than any high Priest
who ever lived, “Jesus Who is made a Surety of a better
testament.”
Put all these
laudations together, all these heavenly accolades, and Jesus,
far greater than Melchisedec, is an Awesome High Priest!
Folks, I think
really the main emphasis here is that the Priesthood of
Melchisedec is endless, where the priests of the line of Levi
all had temporary careers!
Thus we may
confidently declare, JESUS IS ETERNAL IN HIS PRIESTHOOD! He will
never die again. He will be our Anchor at the Father’s Right
Hand for all the ages to come.
And our safety
as Believers is dependent on the efficacy, the power, the glory
of the Lord Jesus as our Intercessor!
Glory to his
Name!
Worship Him
today.
Enjoy His
Ministry today on your behalf!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9, VERSES 5 AND 6:
When Jesus came
the first time, via the Virgin Birth, little babies were slain
by a wicked king. All to try to kill the Lord Jesus, then just
an infant!
But when Jesus
comes again, literally riding a white horse to earth, wicked and
rebellious and apostate kings will be slain, by our dear Lord
Jesus Himself!
Talk about
“turn-around!”
Talk about a
class of people reaping what they have sown!
Here’s my Text
for such a statement, part of the chapter we’ve all been
studying recently, Psalm 110.
“The
Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of
his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill
the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads
over many countries.”
Verses 5 and 6 here.
Sounds rather
militant, doesn’t it?
God the Father,
at Jesus’ Side right now, will do these things, these strange
acts of judgment.
The noun “wrath”
is “aph” in Hebrew, realty the little word of theirs that means
“nostrils” of all things! It pictures God so mad that He is
breathing hard through His Nose, nearly snorting in Holy Anger!
Judgment finally, on sin, worldwide!
So many dead
bodies that areas of the Holy Land, the entire earth really,
will be “filled.” This word, “male,” actually means “abundant,
overflowing.”
And the
expression “wounding heads” is self explanatory. Reminds me of
what Jesus did to the devil at the Cross of Calvary. He
gloriously crushed his head, that old serpent’s! In fulfillment
of Genesis 3:15, spoken to the prince of evil.
“He shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise His Heel.” In other words, Jesus will be
hurt at Calvary, but only his heels! Yet the enemy’s very head
will be bruised. And “shuph” here means “crushed, broken,
seized!”
Wow!
What victory
awaits Jesus!
Yes, Psalm 110:1
is right. Jesus is sitting at the Father’s Right Hand, waiting
until His enemies are made His footstool!
Even so, come
Lord Jesus.
What thoughts!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10, CONCLUSION, VERSE 7:
The last verse
of Psalm 110, our current Text, is truly the apex of the whole
chapter. The pinnacle of thought, the ultimate point of victory!
Talking about
Jesus, the coming Messiah, David writes:
“He
shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up
the head.”
Psalm 110:7
This word
picture has our Lord completing His great Battle with iniquity.
At His Second Advent to earth, conquering the Devil finally!
In the midst of
the Conflict, Jesus gets thirsty! He drinks, then continues to
pursue the enemy! The verb “drink” is “shathah,” meaning “to
consume a liquid vigorously.”
Much like He
thirsted on Calvary, then died for you and me! Paying all our
sin debt!
Then the
“lifting up of one’s head” is a sign of encouragement and
strength, fresh strength!
I read last year
that when a little deer overcomes his greatest enemy, the
serpent, he gets thirsty! And wants to drink from a nearby creek
or river! Jesus is that Hart, that Roe, that innocent and
beautiful little animal! Jesus is also the Lamb of God!
Another Bible
teacher suggests that the brook from which our Lord drank is the
polluted stream of sin and filth for which cause He died. He
tasted death for every man! “Brook” here is the Hebrew word “nachal,”
which suggests a “stream” but also at times a “river” and
occasionally even a “flood!”
He endured that
torrent and died for you and me, was subsequently buried … then
rose again! That’s the “lifting up of His Head!” Here “lifting
up” is rum,” a verb meaning “exalted, extolled.” He gloriously
came up out of the grave!
All kinds of
ideas about Jesus here,
“He
shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up
the head.”
What a God we
serve!
Yes, even the
noun “head,” spelled "rosh” in Hebrew, has a significant
meaning. It is defined as “chief, captain, principal one, the
ruler,” quite a range of Messianic meanings!
Jesus, Son of
God!
With all God’s
Essence because He is Lord. He is Divine. He is the Third Person
of the Godhead, the Trinity.
And among His
many ineffable attributes we must add this one, He is Victor!
He is the great
Man of War Who is successful in all He does!
Our ever living
High Priest!
Amen!
How safe every
child of God must feel in light of this Truth!
Thank You,
Jesus.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
