Sit at My Right Hand

Psalm 110 and Ascension Day

Today is Ascension Day, when, forty days after rising from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven to take His throne at the right hand of His Father (Acts 1:3).

Jesus’ Ascension fulfills the promise of Psalm 110, which means the Psalm is worth a few moments of your time.

Psalm 110 has seven verses. One scholar describes is as a “menorah pattern,” alluding to the seven-branched lampstand in the tabernacle.

The structural seven reminds us of the creation week. When Yahweh installs the Lord at His right hand, He establishes a new creation.

The Psalm introduces two characters. By translating two different Hebrew words with the same English word (“the Lord said to my Lord”), translators obscure the first verse of the Psalm.

In Hebrew, the first “Lord” is “Yahweh,” the covenant Name of Israel’s God, while the second is ‘adon, which is not a name but a title (cf. Gen 18:12; 19:2; 40:1; Ruth 2:13; etc.), as in “Lord Emsworth.”

‘Adon can be a title for Yahweh (cf. Exod 34:23; Deut 10:17). ‘Adon Yahweh should be translated as “Lord Yahweh” or “Master Yahweh” (e.g., Psa 69:6).

Yahweh is David’s ‘adon because He is David’s God. Remarkably, David calls the other character his master (“my Lord”), even though this master is different from Yahweh.

Who’s this ‘adon? Whom does David think he’s talking about? There are two answers to this.

First, the Old Testament reveals a Person who is distinct from Yahweh yet also somehow identical to Yahweh, sometimes called the “angel of Yahweh” (Gen 18; Zech 1:7-17), sometimes the “Name” (1 Kgs 8:16, 18, 20, etc.), sometimes, as here, “Lord.”

Second, David prophesies in this Psalm, looking forward to an “Anointed One” who is greater than he. Psalm 110 is directly prophetic of Messiah Jesus.

The New Testament confirms this. It repeatedly quotes Psalm 110 to explain the significance of Jesus’ exaltation in His resurrection and ascension (Acts 2:34ff; 1 Cor 15:25; Heb 1:13; 10:13).

Psalm 110 thus gives us a peek into inner life of the Trinity. It’s a peek into the future, when the Father will install His faithful Son Jesus on the heavenly throne as David’s successor and David’s Lord. Psalm 110 is a teaser for Ascension Day.

Notably, it’s a Psalm of victory. Yahweh installs David’s Master so He can make His enemies a footstool (v. 2) and rule in the midst of His enemies (v. 2).

From the right hand of Yahweh, He will “shatter kings” and “judge among the nations” and “shatter the chief men over a broad country” (vv. 5-6).

Ascension Day is VW-Day, the Day of God’s Victory over the World. An eschatology based on Psalm 110, an eschatology of Ascension, is an eschatology of victory.

That’s good reason to celebrate Ascension Day.