Psalm 110
The first verse has always been confusing to me. In a post from years past (which I cannot find) I attempted to shed some light on it, mostly to help my own understanding, but it still remains confusing. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” (v. 1) My Study Bible noted that long before Jesus’ birth the Jews considered this verse to be Messianic, that “my Lord” and the “your” pronouns referred to the coming Messiah. The NASB even has the “your” pronouns capitalized.
This first clarification has to do with the first two words, “The LORD”. Clearly this reference is to God. There is only One; there is no other “The LORD”. So we can rewrite the beginning of this verse as God says to my Lord … Then we ask ourselves, who is “my Lord”? As noted above, Jews believed this verse to relate to their coming Messiah.
My Study Bible suggested something new to me. Suppose “my Lord” and the “your” pronouns refer to David’s son, Solomon – at the point where David was stepping aside and turning the kingdom over to him. (See I Kings 1:28-40.) Then Solomon would indeed (to David) be “my Lord”. So we can again rewrite the verse as God says to Solomon… Furthermore, this Study Bible suggested that this verse could have been used as a coronation verse for all later kings in David’s line. If so, then finally the most important of these “kings” in David’s line is Jesus, whom many (most?) Christian scholars believe this verse to have referenced as the coming Messiah.
If you find yourself confused with this verse, take heart. Greater minds than ours have pondered these words. Jesus knew of the confusion that this verse created; He confounded the Pharisees by challenging them to explain “my Lord” to Him. See Matthew 22:41-45, a really fun read if this verse confuses you!!
Fred is right that the first “The LORD” in the text refers to God Himself. That would perhaps have been easier to discern in the original Hebrew, as the word wasn’t “Lord” at all, but YHWH — that is, the holy Name that God revealed for Himself to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM”. And yes, the “my Lord” refers to the Messiah, as is clear from all the New Testament references. Fred pointed you to one reference. Here are some more: Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42,43; Acts 2:34,35; Hebrews 1:13;5:6;7:17;7:21. As you can see, this psalm is one of the most oft-quoted psalms in the New Testament, and well worth meditating on as Jesus is even now “at [God’s] right hand” while God is “making [Jesus’] enemies [His] footstool.”
By the way, I think Fred was looking for the post from September 18, 2019.