1. Exaltation: Jesus Is King (vv. 1-3). “Jehovah says to my Adonai” is the way the psalm opens, and since David was the highest ruler in the kingdom, his Adonai had to be the Lord Himself. It was this fact that Jesus presented to the Pharisees (Matt. 22:41-46), asking them how David’s Lord could also be David’s son (Messiah). The only answer is by incarnation: The eternal Son of God had to come to earth as a human born into the family of David (Luke 1:26-38). As eternal God, Jesus is the “root [originator] of David” and as man He is “the offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16; 5:5). Had the Pharisees honestly faced this truth, they would have had to confess that Jesus is indeed the Son of God come in the flesh, but they refused to do so.

To sit at a ruler’s right hand was a great honor (1 Kings 2:19; Matt. 20:21). When Jesus ascended to heaven, the Father honored Him by placing Him at His own right hand, a statement repeated frequently in the New Testament. (See Acts 2:33-34; 5:31; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22). Jesus is “far above all” (Eph. 1:21; 4:10; Col. 2:10; see Phil. 2:9-11). When the Son was exalted and enthroned at His ascension, the Father made three promises to him, that He would defeat His enemies (v. 1), extend His kingdom (v. 2), and give Him a victorious army (v. 3). Note that in verses 1-3, the key phrase is “I will,” the Father speaking to the Son, but in verses 5-7, the key phrase is “he will,” the psalmist speaking about the Son. To use the enemy soldiers as footstools meant to defeat and humiliate them (Josh. 10:24; see 1 Cor. 15:24-25 and Eph. 1:22), and this victory is described in verses 5-7. See also the messianic promises in Psalm 2. Both David and Solomon extended the borders of the kingdom of Israel, but when Messiah establishes His kingdom, with Jerusalem as the center (2:6), the whole earth will share in the glory and the blessing (72:1-11; Isa. 2:1-4; Mic. 4:1-3). Today, the Lord has enemies who oppose Him, but He is sovereign and rules from His throne even though they refuse to submit. When our Lord was here on earth, the powerful ministry of the apostles brought defeat to the Devil (Luke 10:17-20), and today His church has victory through Him as we pray, share the Word, and depend on the Spirit.

The third promise is that Messiah would have a great army assist Him in the final battle against the enemies of the Lord (v. 3). This army is remarkable in three ways: it is made up of willing volunteers; they are dressed in holy garments like priests (Rev. 19:14); and they are a great multitude, like the dew that falls in the early morning (2 Sam. 23:4). Just as the dawn gives birth to the sparkling dew, so the Lord will “give birth” to this vast holy army. You expect kings to be warriors–David is a good example–but you don’t expect priests to be warriors. However, Benaiah was a priest (1 Chron. 27:5) who was also a soldier. He was one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam. 23:20-23), became captain over the king’s bodyguard (1 Chron. 18:17), and eventually was made general over King Solomon’s army (1 Kings 2:35). Imagine a huge army of men like Benaiah! The book of Revelation indicates that there will be great battles fought in the end times (see 14:14-20; 16:12-16; 19:11-21; 20:7-10) and that Jesus Christ will defeat the enemy.