Psalms 110:1

Psalm 110 ¹ 

A psalm of David.

110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation ²  to my lord: ³ 

“Sit down at my right hand ⁴  until I make your enemies your footstool!” ⁵ 

Psalms 144:2

144:2 who loves me ⁶  and is my stronghold,

my refuge ⁷  and my deliverer,

my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,

who makes nations submit to me. ⁸ 

Psalms 144:1

Psalm 144 ⁹ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ¹⁰  deserves praise ¹¹  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ¹² 

and my fingers for war,

Colossians 1:25

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ¹³  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ¹⁴  the word of God,

[110:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.

[110:1]  ² tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.

[110:1]  ³ sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king. NT references to the psalm understand David to be speaking about his “lord,” the Messiah. (See Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-35).

[110:1]  ⁴ tn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-and Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.

[110:1]  ⁵ sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).

[144:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).

[144:2]  ⁷ tn Or “my elevated place.”

[144:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”

[144:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ¹² sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[1:25]  ¹³ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ¹⁴ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.