Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

110:3 in holy garments. In festive clothing, in honor of the great moment (cf. 2 Chron. 20:21). from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. As the ESV footnote observes, the meaning of the Hebrew is obscure. The "womb of the morning" is probably a poetic expression for the east, or for the dawn (which is when the dew appears). The "dew of your youth" may be a poetic term for refreshment, implying that the king has continual sources of fresh energy; or it might suggest willing soldiers as numerous as the dewdrops.

110:4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. Once this takes effect, it cannot be revoked. a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was "king of Salem" (i.e., of Jerusalem) and a "priest of God Most High" (Gen. 14:18-20) who met Abraham after a battle, blessed him, and received a tenth of his spoil. The Davidic king is to be "after his order," i.e., like him, probably in the sense that he is both a king and a priest (these are two distinct offices in Israel), ruling in Jerusalem (cf. Zion, Ps. 110:2). The prophet Zechariah foresaw a merger of these two offices in the person of the Messiah, or "the Branch" (Zech. 6:9-14). Since the OT records this of no other king of David's line, this shows that the psalm is primarily about the final king, the Messiah. The author of Hebrews (Heb. 5:6), who cited Ps. 110:1 (see note) throughout his book, uses this verse to explain to his Jewish audience why Jesus, the now-reigning heir of David (cf. Heb. 1:3; 5:5), is also the ultimate priest; now that Jesus has arrived, Christian Jews may not legitimately return to "ordinary" Judaism in order to escape persecution, hoping that the old sacrifices will still "work," for they will not. There is a text from Qumran (11QMelchizedek) that also foresees Melchizedek as a heavenly judge and deliverer.