Catholic Commentary on Psalm 110

"The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4)

The Most Quoted Psalm in the New Testament

Psalm 110 is quoted or alluded to more frequently in the New Testament than any other Old Testament text. Its opening verse, The LORD said to my Lord: sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet, is cited by Jesus in the Temple to confound the Pharisees, by Peter at Pentecost as proof of the Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Letter to the Hebrews as the basis of the whole priestly theology of Christ. The psalm itself is brief but theologically explosive, declaring both the royal and the priestly dignity of the one to whom it is addressed.

The priestly verse is equally significant: The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: you are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem who offered bread and wine and blessed Abraham in Genesis 14, is the type of a priesthood that precedes and transcends the Levitical priesthood. The Letter to the Hebrews devotes five chapters to developing this theology: Christ is the eternal high priest after the order of Melchizedek, whose one offering is sufficient for all time, who intercedes forever at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 7-10). The Catechism calls this eternal intercession the foundation of all Christian confidence in prayer (CCC 1544).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, Christ sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for you right now. That is not a metaphor. The eternal priest of Psalm 110 holds your name before the Father at this moment. Bring your needs to him with confidence, not because of your worthiness but because of his priesthood, which never ends and never fails.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, seated at the right hand of the Father: intercede for us. Present our needs before the Father in the same eternal offering that you made once for all on Calvary. We trust your priesthood more than our own prayer. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

110
God’s Faithful Messiah
(Genesis 14:17–24; Hebrews 5:1–10)
A Psalm of David.
 
1 The LORD said to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.”* 110:1 Cited in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42–43, Acts 2:34–35, and Hebrews 1:13
 
2 The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3 Your people shall be willing
on Your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
 
4 The LORD has sworn
and will not change His mind:
“You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.Ӡ 110:4 Cited in Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:17, and Hebrews 7:21
 
5 The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead;
He will crush the leaders far and wide.
7 He will drink from the brook by the road;
therefore He will lift up His head.

*110:1 110:1 Cited in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42–43, Acts 2:34–35, and Hebrews 1:13

†110:4 110:4 Cited in Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 7:17, and Hebrews 7:21

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