Seder 108: Investigating Psalm 108 in Canonical Context

 Psalm 108 is an often-neglected psalm.  Its first five verses are largely a repetition of Psalm 57:7-11, and verses 6-13 come from Psalm 60:5-12.  To save space in long commentaries on the psalms, commentators frequently treat Psalm 108 briefly by saying, "See my comments on Psalm 57 and Psalm 60."  

In a recent dissertation, Wyatt Graham takes a close look at Psalm 108, paying attention both to the slight changes the psalm makes in the material from Psalm 57 and Psalm 60, and to the placement of this psalm within the psalter.  With regard to the placement of Psalm 108, Graham observes that Book IV of the psalter ends in Psalm 106:47 with a plea for restoration from exile.  The at the beginning of Psalm 107, those redeemed from exile rejoice and give thanks to God (107:1-3).

Then Psalm 108 follows with David's confident prayer and statement of God's sovereignty, with a promise that God will again bring victory to his people in the future.  After that come the imprecatory Psalm 109, which has traditionally been associated with the betrayal of the Messiah: and Psalm 110, which pictures the Messiah ascending to the right hand of God and serving as a priest like Melchizedek.  Graham sees Psalm 108 contributing to the Psalm 108-110 trilogy., which looks forward to the coming of the Messiah to bring salvation and further restoration.   

The superscriptions for Psalm 57 and Psalm 60 associate those psalms with particular times in David's life when God was with him.  In Psalm 108, David seems to be looking ahead and anticipating future deliverance.  We can see Psalm 108 fitting into the overall "story" being told by the psalter as a messianic prophecy.

Seder 5 Sermon: Noah and the Coming of the Son of Man

 In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on November 11, 2023, Kyle Kettering explored Jesus' teaching about his return, recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 17.

For one thing, Jesus taught that it would be impossible to predict the time of his return (Mt 24:36).  We are to live our lives in readiness for that time.  

Jesus also compared the time before his return to the time before the flood:  "For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man"  (Mt 24:37; cf. Lk 17:26).  

In this saying, Jesus spoke about himself in the third person as "Son of Man," as he often did.  Kyle reminded us that the title "Son of Man" is actually a more exalted title than "Son of God" is.  "Son of God" is a term associated with a Davidic king (2 Sam 7:14).  "Son of Man" can refer to 

• a son of Adam---i.e., a human being, as in the book of Ezekiel.
• Abel, the son of Adam, who in some traditions was expected to return as a Judge (e.g., in the Testament of Abraham).
• the divine figure of Daniel 7:14ff.  

It is this third sense that is in view in Matthew 24 and Luke 17.  

In what sense will the time before Jesus' return be like the days of Noah?  Genesis 6 describes the days of Noah as a time of violence (Gen 6:11 ,13), which was a major reason for the Flood.  God's "soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence" (Ps 11:5).  The king of Tyre, a type of Satan, was "filled with violence," which led to his downfall (Ezek 28:16).   

Jesus taught in Luke 17 and in his Olivet discourse that many would be surprised and caught unawares by his return.  Luke 17 closes with the cryptic saying, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."  

Some see a reference in Luke 17:37 to God's sovereignty as expressed in Job 39:30, or to God's judgment as pictured in Psalm 110:6.  In context, Jesus is referring to the place where those taken in judgment at Jesus' return will be taken.  The Bible pictures birds of prey devouring wicked nations that are gathered against God (Ezek 39:4, 17-20; Rev 19:17-21).

As part of being ready for the coming of the Son of Man, Kyle said, we should 

• not abide violent images, music, or actions in our lives.
• speak out against all forms of violence.
• resist the increasing violence of our times. 

Seder 116: Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7---Who Was Melchizedek?

 A major image in Seder 116 is the rod or scepter, a symbol of leadership and rulership (Num 17; Ps 125:3; Isa 10:10, 24).  This symbol appears in prophecies of the rule of the Messiah (Ps 2:9; 110:2).  

In Psalm 110, seen by New Testament authors as a key messianic prophecy, there is a cryptic reference to the Messiah being "a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (verse 4).  I have discussed this reference in a previous post.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Sept 10, 2022, Kyle Kettering presented more on Melchizedek.   

Kyle explained that because of Psalm 110:4, there was widespread speculation about the identity of Melchizedek during the Second Temple period, as seen in texts like 11QMelch and 2 Enoch.  The latter presents Melchizedek as the product of a miraculous birth to Sopanim, wife of Methuselah's grandson Nir.  Melchizedek was often seen as a supernatural, exalted figure.  Kyle mentioned a third-century Christian sect called the Melchizedekians that saw Melchizedek as a heavenly power superior to Jesus! 

Some Christians have held Melchizedek to be a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Messiah.  Others argue against this view.  James Borland, who believed that a number of appearances of the angel of the Lord were Christophanies, argued that Melchizedek did not fit the pattern of these other appearances. Rather, Genesis seems to present Melchizedek as a Jebusite priest-king.

Some confusion can result from misunderstanding the argument of Hebrews 7.  The author of Hebrews is not saying that Melchizedek is an eternal being.  Rather, he is saying that Melchizedek is a fitting type and forerunner of the Messiah (who is an eternal being) because there is no record of his birth or death.  Kyle pointed out that a major thrust of the book of Hebrews is the superiority of the Messiah to all people and angels.

Seder 51: Psalm 16---A Prophecy of Resurrection

 Psalm 16 is one of six psalms labeled a "miktam".  The others are Psalms 56-60.  All six are associated with David.  We do not know the meaning of the word "miktam".  It may be a musical term.  

The midrash on Psalm 16 contains three suggestions about the possible meaning of miktam:

• It is a reference to David, a combination of Hebrew words meaning "meek" and "undefiled."
• It is derived from the word ketem, which means "fine gold."
• It is a reference to David confessing his sins by saying, "Stained with sin (mekutam) am I."  (David says in v 2, "I have no good apart from you.")

In Psalm 16 David rejoices in the "beautiful inheritance" that God has granted him (v 6), apparently thinking in particular of God's promise that his descendants would rule forever (2 Sam 7:12-16; Acts 2:30).  Because God is so good, he is confident that God will care for him always, even beyond death (vv 8-11).  

Early Christians recognized in verse 10 a reference to the resurrection of the Messiah, the "holy one" mentioned in verse 10:

"For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption."

The word for "holy one" in verse 10, hasid, is a messianic title.  It is also used in Ps 89:19-21, where it is related to other messianic designations.  

The mention of God's "right hand" in Ps 16:8,11 also links Ps 16 to Ps 110, another important Messianic reference for early Christians.  

The apostles saw verse 10 as a reference to the fact that Jesus would not "stay dead" long enough for his body to "see corruption."  They must have felt that this was a particularly persuasive messianic prophecy, since both Peter and Paul used it in sermons (Acts 2:24-31; 13:26-37).

Seder 24: Psalm 80---The Son of Man at God's Right Hand

 In Psalm 80, Israel prays for restoration and blessing at a time when it is threatened by enemies.  Those enemies may have been the Assyrians.  (The LXX adds the phrase "concerning the Assyrians" to the superscription, and there are references to the northern tribes in verses 1-2).

The refrain in verses 3 and 7 says, "Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!" These words remind us of the Aaronic blessing.  

The third stanza (vv 8-14a) likens Israel to a grapevine, with God as the vinedresser who had planted the vine in the land and guided its growth until it spread from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates (v 11) in the time of David and Solomon.

But at the time the psalm was written, the vine was threatened by "the boar from the forest" (v 13), an enemy nation.  Israel beseeches God to "visit this vine" (v 14).

The most striking verse in the prayer, especially for Christian readers, is verse 17:  "But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man you have made strong for yourself!"

When we hear of "the man of your right hand," we think of David's "Lord" in Ps 110:1.  When we hear about "the son of man", we think in part of the supernatural figure of Daniel 7.   Ps 80:17 is the first place in the Bible where the two figures are mentioned together.

In the prayer, Israel is asking for help through the Davidic king, and ultimately, praying for the coming of the Messiah. 

We know that Jesus later identified himself as both David's Lord and son of man.  He combines the two in Mark 14:62, for example, when he is asked at his trial if he is the Messiah.  Ps 80 may be in the background here.

Another place where Ps 80 may be in the background is in John 15, where Jesus describes himself as "the true vine", the one who personifies and completes Israel's mission.  Israel placed its hopes in the Messiah in Ps 80, and we still do so today.

 There is a fairly recent dissertation on Ps 80 and its possible New Testament connections, written by Christian scholar Andrew Streett. I would like to check it out when I have time. 

Seder 18: Another Messianic Connection in Psalm 110---verse 3b

The Old Testament chapter most often referenced in the New Testament is Psalm 110.  The New Testament references are to verse 1 (about the position of David's Lord on the divine throne at God's right hand) and verse 4 (about the special priesthood of David's Lord patterned after that of Melchizedek).

Verse 3b also adds to the Messianic import of the psalm.  In the ESV, translated from the Masoretic Text, it reads: "from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours."

It's not clear at all what this means.  But the Septuagint has a definite Messianic thrust:  "From the womb, before the morning star, I brought you forth."  This translation seems to imply that David's Lord is a Son of God with ancient origins.

On the importance of the Septuagint in bringing out the full Messianic implications of the Old Testament, a good source is Michael Rydelnik's book The Messianic Hope.  In connection with Ps 110:3b, Rydelnik notes that some scholars believe the Masoretes arranged the vowel pointing in order to obscure the messianic implications of the verse.

At any rate, in the Hebrew consonantal text, there is an important word link between Ps 110:3b and Psalm 2:7:  "The LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.' "  This verse identifies the Davidic Messiah as a unique Son of God.  The word for "begotten" is common to Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:3.

We see a pairing of Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 in some New Testament passages---in Heb 1:5,13; Heb 5:5-6.  There is further evidence in Luke 22:69-70 that this connection was part of Jewish understanding in the days of Jesus.  For more discussion, see the paper "Hebrew-Only Exegesis:  A Philological Approach to Jesus' Use of the Hebrew Bible," by R. Steven Notley and Jeffrey P. Garcia, pp 349-376 in The Language Environment of First Century Judaea, Brill, 2014.

Ps 110:3b, as translated in the Septuagint, was important to early Christians.  For example, Justin Martyr used it to argue in Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 63, "does not this declare to you that [he was] from of old, and that the God and Father of all things intended for him to be begotten by a human womb?"

Seder 16: Psalm 110 and High Christology

Psalm 110 is a royal psalm.  Without any extra information, we might interpret it in much the way we do Psalm 45.  A prophet has received a revelation from God about his lord, the king of Israel.  And since the king of Israel is a type of the Messiah, the psalm points ultimately to the Messiah.

However, we do have extra information.  The psalm's superscription connects the psalm to David.  Moreover, Jesus (Matt 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44) identified the psalmist as David and David's lord as the Messiah.  For his argument to have been convincing, his listeners must have accepted these identifications as well.  (Later rabbinic interpreters saw the psalmist as Abraham's servant Eliezer and Abraham as Eliezer's lord.  Were they, in part, reacting against Christian application of Psalm 110?)

The first verse of Psalm 110 is especially important in Christian theology:  "The LORD says to my Lord:  'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' "  This verse places the Messiah in a very high position.  To be at God's right hand is to be very close to God, with God's full support.

And in the ancient world it was the ruler who sat.  Everyone else stood.  This verse pictures the Messiah sharing God's throne.  God rules everything because he created everything.  So the Messiah who shares his throne is a Creator, not part of the creation.

The apostles used Psalm 110 to describe Jesus' current position on God's throne:

Eph 1:20-23:  "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

The New Testament use of Ps 110:1 supports the "early high christology" position that the first Christians believed in the deity of Jesus.

The deity of the Messiah is also supported by Ps 110:5:  "The LORD is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath."  Depending on which Lord is which in this verse, it either says that the Messiah at God's right hand is himself the LORD, or that the LORD is at the Messiah's right hand.  Either reading would place the Messiah at a level equal with God.

Seder 12: The Mysterious Melchizedek

At Abram's triumphant return from his victory over the eastern invaders, he was met by Melchizedek, who was both king of Salem and "priest of God Most High."  Melchizedek blessed both Abram and God Most High and provided food and drink for Abram's men.  Abram expressed his thanks to God by giving to Melchizedek a tenth of the wealth that he had brought back (Gen 14:18-20).

It is generally agreed that Salem in Gen 14:18 is another name for Jerusalem.  We see this name used, for example, in Ps 76:2.  Also, there was later a ruler of Jerusalem with the name Adoni-zedek, a name very similar to Melchizedek (Joshua 10).

Despite the similarity of their names, Adoni-zedek did not have the connection with God Most High that Melchizedek had had.  In fact, Adoni-Zedek organized a coalition to oppose Israel's ally Gibeon and was later executed by Joshua. 

Adoni-zedek translates to something like "my lord is Zedek" or "my lord is righteous."  Since Adoni-zedek was a king, his lord may well have been a deity.  Scholars believe that there was a Canaanite deity named Zedek who was considered to be a champion of righteousness.  (For further discussion, check out episodes 166-167 of the Naked Bible Podcast).

Melchizedek translates to "my king is Zedek" or "my king is righteous."  In Melchizedek's case, his king was apparently God Most High, and he may have known God as "the righteous one."

Gen 14:18-20 tells us just enough to arouse our curiosity.  Here was an early Canaanite king of Jerusalem who was also acknowledged by Abram as a priest of the true God.  Josephus (at the end of War 6) would later write that Melchizedek was the founder of Jerusalem and served at a temple there.

Melchizedek is mentioned once more in the Old Testament, in Ps 110:4.  In Psalm 110 David records words spoken by God to someone he refers to as "my lord".  Jesus would later identify David's lord as the promised Messiah (Matt 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44) and used Psalm 110 to explain to the sages of his day that the Messiah was much more than just a human descendant of David.  Hebrews 1:13 cites Ps 110:1 as one of a number of instances in the Psalms in which God is addressing Jesus the Messiah.

In Ps 110:4, the LORD, still addressing David's lord, says, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

It is interesting to consider how David might have thought about Ps 110:4.  It may be that after David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites, he thought of himself as following in the footsteps of Melchizedek.  For example, during the celebration that accompanied the bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, David king of Salem  took on a kind of priestly role and "blessed the people in the name of the Lord and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins (1 Chron 16:2-3).

The author of the book of Hebrews builds on Ps 110:4 in Heb 5,7 to bring out what it means for the Messiah to be a priest "according to the order of Melchizedek".  He argues that Melchizedek's priesthood didn't depend on Melchizedek's ancestry. Melchizedek was a priest of God because God said that he was.  The Bible says nothing about his ancestry, or about anyone succeeding him in his priesthood.  So Jesus, even though he was from the tribe of Judah rather than the priestly tribe of Levi, could be this type of priest---again, because God proclaimed him to be in Ps 110:4.

Furthermore, the author of Hebrews argues that Melchizedek comes before Levi, so his priesthood is in fact superior to the Levitical priesthood.  This kind of priesthood is therefore appropriate for the Messiah.

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on June 6, 2020, David Waddle reflected further on this subject.