TEXT: Psalm 110

SUBJECT: Christ in the Old Testament #21: Session

Today, with God’s blessing, we’ll continue our study of Christ in the Old Testament. Thus far, we’ve looked at some key events in the history of salvation. Genesis 3 foresees the Incarnation of our Lord. Psalm 22 describes His suffering and death. Psalm 16 has the Resurrection. Psalm 15 speaks of His Ascension to God’s Right Hand. Before long, Lord willing, we’ll look at the Outpouring of His Spirit (in Joel 2) and His Second Coming (from Daniel 12).

So there you have it. Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Outpouring, Coming in Judgment.

That’s the whole picture. Or is it? No it isn’t. Jesus Christ does one more thing for us—one more work to save us from our sins.

Do you know what it is?

Theologians call it His Session (or His Present Session). You know I don’t like jargon or technical terms. Paul would rather speak "Five words with understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue". Today, theology is an unknown tongue. To the world, of course, but also to the Church.

How many of you can define the Lord’s Session? What does that mean? It refers to what Jesus Christ is doing right now in heaven.

What’s that? And how does it contribute to our salvation? Psalm 110 goes a long way in answering the questions. Now, let’s get to it.

The writer of this Psalm is David. We know that because the New Testament says so. Scholars spend a lot of time trying to determine the authorship of the Bible, often to no end beyond proving their scholarship. It usually doesn’t matter much who wrote the Book as long as God inspired him to do it.

But here it does matter! It matters very much. For David was the king of Israel and subject to no authority but God’s. Yet listen to what he says,

"JEHOVAH said to my Lord,

The king of Israel is saying that he, too, has a king. And that God Himself has seated the King on a Throne at His Right Hand.

WHO?

Who is David’s King? It is Jesus Christ. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter made this clear (cf. Acts 2:34-36),

In a society that valued age over youth and thought more of their ancestors than they did of themselves, it’s strange that David’s Son was also David’s Lord. That could not be true unless that Son were the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is David’s King.

WHEN?

Every king is crowned at some point in his life. David became king at thirty; Joash at seven; and so on. When did our Lord assume His throne?

We don’t have to guess. Peter identifies it with the Lord’s ascension to God’s Right Hand. Though He was king in the Manger, King in Mary’s womb, even King on the Cross, Jesus Christ was formally crowned forty days after the resurrection, when He

Peter asserted that on the Day of Pentecost. In the Epistles, Paul and others gave the details.

HOW LONG?

Jesus Christ is King. He was crowned when He took His place in heaven. How long is He going to be there? V.1 tells you how long,

Jesus Christ will sit in heaven until God humbles His every enemy. When will that be? According to I Corinthians 15, the "Last enemy is death". It’s a Hungry Beast, gobbling up everyone who ever lived. Death will be put under His feet at the end. This means Jesus Christ will remain at God’s Right Hand until the Second Coming.

WHAT’S HE DOING?

What’s He doing there?

To sit at a king’s right hand was a term well known to the Ancient World. It meant two things: (1) To receive honor, and (2) To rule in the king’s name.

That’s just what our Lord is doing in heaven. First, He’s receiving honor. In the Book of Revelation, we have several Palace Visions, where the Lord is seated on the Throne and receiving the praise of "Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands". 5:12 is the best known example,

This is hinted at in Psalm. But only hinted at.

Its big idea is the Rule of Christ. Many Christians look forward to the day when Christ will rule on earth. You don’t need to—it’s already here! When God seated Christ at His Right Hand, He made Him

Not potential Lord, or future Lord, but Lord--both now and forever!

A King’s first duty is to defend his people. If He fails at this, nothing else matters. David did this very well, throwing back the Philistines and others who threatened the people. His Son does it even better.

He makes war on our enemies. The words could not be more violent,

What’s a "rod"? It’s not a scepter which is a symbol of power, but a club for knocking enemies in the head! Right now, Jesus Christ is in the middle of His enemies, breaking them to pieces.

There’s more,

Our King is on the warpath! He’s not waiting for men to shoot first, He’s got the initiative! He’s on the move. He’s not falling back, His enemies are!

The enemies of Christ are Legion. Think of the devil, fallen angels, and bad men. All are fighting Christ; some seem to be gaining the upper hand. But their success is an illusion.

Where they kill Christians, the words of Tertullian come to pass,

Where they forbid the Gospel and God’s Law, they destroy themselves with despair and anarchy. Francisco Goya is one of my favorite artists. Though capable of painting beautifully, his masterpieces were all hideously ugly. He looked at the world Atheism had made and recoiled in horror. His best known drawing has a man asleep on his desk. All around him are bats and predatory birds. It’s called,

The enemies of Christ often see things more clearly than we do. Julian the Apostate was a Caesar who tried to bring the Roman Empire back to paganism. Dying on the field of battle, his last words were

Every man, every idea, every party that opposes Christ is ultimately destroyed by Him.

Pharaoh sneers and is struck by ten deadly plagues. Hitler mobilizes a nation against the Lord, but ends up putting a bullet in his head. Communism has fallen. American Materialism has hit a dead end.

The Lord is a Man of war. And, unlike other warriors who get old, tired, or fat, He’s always young, fit, and ready to rumble,

This means: The believer has nothing to fear from his enemies. No matter how smart they are or how powerful or how many, they’re whipped. The victory belongs to Christ.

We say with David,

That’s the first thing our Lord does in heaven. He defends us from our enemies. The second is even better. He enables us.

The Bible teaches that man is totally depraved. That, on his own, no one is able to believe in Christ or to serve God acceptably. But, if we’re to be saved, we must do both. How do we do them?

By the power that Christ gives us!

We believe in Christ—not because we wanted to more than other men—but because He gave us the will and the power to do it. The same is true of serving Him. It’s not that we just try harder than others, but Christ

Whatever we’ve done for Christ, we’ve done by Christ! At God’s Right Hand, all power has been given to Christ. He uses it to make us "Willing".

That’s the second thing He’s doing in heaven, enabling us.

The third thing He’s doing is praying for us. This is suggested in v.4,

A Priest has two chief duties: To offer a sacrifice for sinners and to pray for them. Psalm 110 has nothing to say of the former. It’s the latter that it implies.

On the cross, our Lord began His priestly work for us. But He didn’t finish it there. Right now, at God’s Right Hand, He

Jesus Christ is praying for you!

God doesn’t hear every prayer. But He does hear the prayers of His Son! That was true long ago—"I know you always hear Me" the Lord said at the graveyard. Had He asked to be rescued from the cross, God would have sent "More than twelve legions of angels" to do it. There’s nothing in Christ to hinder His prayers.

He’s praying for every Christian. That he would persevere to the end and be saved.

That means the believer is safe! No matter how weak he is—he’s safe! No matter how strong his temptations are—he’s safe! We are safe in Christ!

Not because we pray enough or well enough. But because Christ prays enough and well enough to guarantee our salvation.

When you’re weak, Christ is asking the Father to strengthen you. When you’re scared, He’s telling God to give you courage. When you’re confused, He’s pleading for wisdom. When you sin, He’s asking God to forgive you.

His prayers will be answered. You’ll have what you need when you need it. The prayers of Jesus Christ make that sure.

Jesus Christ is enthroned at God’s Right Hand. There, He’s attacking His enemies and taking care of His people.

If you’re an enemy, I want you to know His power is more than you can bear. "The great day of His wrath has come and who will be able to stand?" Nobody will. Not you, that’s for sure.

So why don’t you submit to Him right now? The King who’s wrath is terrible is full of grace and mercy for those who come over to His side. Come to Christ in faith, repenting of your sins, and He’ll receive you. With no questions asked. You’re welcome.

If you’re a friend of Christ, take heart! He has won the battle. That doesn’t mean your life will be carefree, but it means you must come out on the winning side in the end. In the meantime, fight the good fight of faith with every hope that The Battle is the Lord’s".

That’s the Promise. Now, say with the man in the Gospel,

The love of God be with you. For Christ’s sake. Amen.