Revisiting the implications that Psalm 110 has on the divine identity of the Messiah Pt. 2

We continue from where we previously left off https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/revisiting-the-implications-of-psalm-110-has-on-the-divine-identity-of-the-messiah-pt-1/. 

Only God could be David’s Lord

The only one who could possibly be David’s Lord is Yahweh God himself, just as the following passages affirm: 

“To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord (Adonenu), how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
 who hast set thy glory above the heavens.” Psalm 8:1

“Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord (Adonay): my goodness extendeth not to thee;” Psalm 16:1-2

“Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord (Adonay).” Psalm 35:23

And yet Psalm 110 clearly shows that David’s Lord is a distinct Person from Yahweh since the Psalm has Yahweh personally addressing David’s Sovereign, promising him that he would rule over his enemies and function as a priest for God forever.

Therefore, the only way to reconcile this is to assume that Israel’s God is not a singular Person, but rather exists as a plurality of divine Persons. As such, David’s Lord could be both distinct from and identical with Yahweh. This is a fact which is further confirmed by the second half of Psalm 110.

Adonay at Yahweh’s Right Hand

Here is what the Psalm goes on to say:

“The Lord (Adonay) 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. HE shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall HE lift up the head.” Psalm 110:5-7

With two possible exceptions, Adonay is the one specific Hebrew word that is used particularly for Yahweh God Almighty, and therefore provides further confirmation that David’s Lord is truly divine in nature.

It is clear from the context that the Adonay at “thy right hand” is none other than David’s Lord, just as a comparison of v. 1 shows:

110:1: The LORD (Yahweh) said unto my Lord (ladoni), Sit thou at my (Jehovah’s) right hand…

110:5: The Lord (Adonay) at thy (Jehovah’s) right hand…

This is further brought out from the fact that the Adonay is pictured as not only destroying his enemies in battle, but of also drinking from a brook, obviously for the purpose of refreshing himself. And since this is clearly a human function, the Adonay must therefore be a human being, a point that is further confirmed by the fact that he shall reign from Zion itself, meaning from Jerusalem:

“The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” Psalm 110:2

And since only a Davidide could rule from Jerusalem this means that the Adonay at God’s right hand must be a human descendant of David.

In other words, David’s Lord is God in human flesh, a truly divine Being who becomes a flesh and blood descendant of David himself!

This explains why other prophecies identify the coming Davidic king as an eternal Being,

“Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.” Micah 5:1-4

As the Mighty God,

“Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined… For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7

And as Yahweh our righteousness:

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD our righteousness (YHWH Tsidkenu).” Jeremiah 23:5-6

Hence, Psalm 110 furnishes us with a clear-cut OT example for the multi-Personal nature of the one true God of Israel, as well as the essential Deity of the coming Davidic King, whom the NT identifies as the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. ” Matthew 2:1-11

“Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Matthew 4:12-16

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:1-11

“And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? 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. David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.” Mark 12:35-37

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:26-35

“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:29-36

“And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:” Acts 13:22-23

“concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” Romans 1:3-4

“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:” 2 Timothy 2:8

“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Revelation 22:16

All Scriptural quotations taken from the Authorized King James Version (AV) of the Holy Bible.

Related Articles

Examining Psalm 110:1 http://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/psalm110_1.htm

The Binitarian Nature of the Shema [Part 1] http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/binity_shema1.html, [Part 2] http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/binity_shema2.html

Psalm 110:1 – Another Clear Testimony to Christ’s Deity Pt. 1 http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/psalm110_1_1.html, Pt. 2 http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/psalm110_1_2.html, Pt. 3 http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/psalm110_1_3.html, Pt. 4 http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/psalm110_1_4.html

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