The big picture
Psalm 110 is only seven verses, yet The Book of Psalms compresses throne, enemies, willing people, divine oath, priesthood, judgment, and renewed strength into that small space. The ruler does not seize his position; the LORD tells him to sit at the right hand and promises to deal with his enemies. Then a second extraordinary identity appears: “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” The royal and priestly lines meet because God swears that they do. Later New Testament writers repeatedly return to this language when speaking about Jesus, especially the right hand and the enduring priesthood. Within the psalm itself, authority remains received, opposition remains real, and the chapter ends with a raised head after judgment and refreshment along the way.
Central truth
Psalms 110 and 118 present God’s chosen king as enthroned, priestly, victorious, once rejected yet finally welcomed, with deliverance opening into public praise and procession before the Lord.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Psalms 110:1: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
Slow down at the turning point
Psalms 110:1: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
Keep this word trail visible
LORD, enemies, hand, right, beauties, bodies
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Psalms 110 and 118
Two psalms the apostles quoted most
Begin by telling the class that Psalm 110 is the psalm most often quoted or alluded to in the New Testament, and Psalm 118 is not far behind. Both were sung in Israel about God's king, and both became central to the earliest Christians' understanding of Jesus. Psalm 118 is the last of the Hallel psalms, sung at Passover, and so may have been what Jesus and his disciples sang before going to the Mount of Olives in Matthew 26:30. Teach this first so learners hear both psalms in their original setting and then in the light of Christ.
Psalm 110:1-3
Sit at my right hand
Read verse 1 and explain the two words for Lord. Explain the right hand as the place of honour and power next to a king, and the footstool as the picture of conquered enemies under the feet. Then teach verse 2: the LORD extends the king's rule from Zion even among his enemies. Explain verse 3, a difficult verse: the king's people offer themselves willingly on the day of his power, in holy splendour, his young warriors like dew from the womb of the morning. Teach that this king's people are volunteers, not conscripts.
Psalm 110:4-7
A priest for ever
Read verse 4 slowly. Explain that the LORD has sworn and will not repent, an oath that cannot be changed. Then tell the account of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20, king of Salem and priest of God most high, who blessed Abraham. Teach how Hebrews 7 argues that Jesus is a priest of this order, eternal and not from Levi. Then read verses 5-7, the king's victory over kings and nations. Explain verse 7, drinking from the brook by the way and lifting the head, as refreshment and triumph after battle. Handle the language of judgment soberly.
Psalm 118:1-18
Mercy at the gate
Read verses 1-4 as a call and response: Israel, the house of Aaron and those who fear the LORD each say his mercy endures for ever. Then teach the testimony of verses 5-18. Distress, an answer, a large place. The LORD on my side, better to trust him than princes. Enemies swarming like bees and burning out like thorns. The LORD my strength and song, as in Moses' song at the Red Sea in Exodus 15:2. I shall not die, but live. Teach that the testimony includes discipline, chastened sore, but not given over to death.
Psalm 118:19-24
The refused stone
Teach verses 19-21 as arrival at the temple gate, where only the righteous may enter, and praise for an answered prayer. Then read verses 22-23 and explain the building image: a stone inspected by builders, rejected as unfit, then set by God as the head stone of the corner, the key stone holding the walls together. Show Jesus' use of it in Matthew 21:42. Then teach verse 24, this is the day which the LORD hath made, in its setting: the day of God's reversal, the day the rejected stone was raised up. It is about a day of salvation, not every ordinary day.
Psalm 118:25-29
Hosanna, blessing and the altar
Teach verse 25 as the cry hosanna, save now, and verse 26 as the blessing of the one who comes in the LORD's name. Read Matthew 21:8-9, where the crowds shout these words at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Then teach verse 27, light from God and the sacrifice bound to the horns of the altar, and verses 28-29, the closing vows of praise and the return to the opening refrain. End by linking the two psalms: the enthroned priest-king and the rejected stone, both pointing to Christ.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"Psalm 110 is just about King David, so the New Testament stretched it."
Jesus himself argued from 110:1 in Matthew 22:41-46: David calls this king "my Lord", so the Messiah must be more than David's son. And 110:4 promises an eternal priesthood that no son of David held. Peter in Acts 2:34-36 notes that David did not ascend to the heavens. The psalm describes a king greater than David, which is why the apostles read it of Jesus.
"This is the day which the LORD hath made means every day is happy."
In 118:24 the day is the day of God's marvellous reversal, when "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner" (118:22). It is a day of salvation, and Christians have often sung it on Easter Day. Every day is God's gift, but the verse is about rejoicing in a particular act of deliverance, not a command to feel happy regardless of circumstances.
"Hosanna just means praise God."
Hosanna is the Hebrew of "Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD" (118:25). It is a cry for rescue. When the crowds shouted it as Jesus entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9), they were asking God to save through this king. Over time it became a shout of praise too, but its root is a plea for salvation. Teach both meanings together.
"The violent language of 110:5-6 shows God approves of war."
Psalm 110:5-6 pictures the final judgment of the LORD's king over rebellious powers, "in the day of his wrath". It is God's judgment, not a mandate for human armies, and the same psalm describes the king's people as willing volunteers in holy splendour (110:3). The New Testament reads it of Christ's final victory over every enemy, the last of which is death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Learning objectives
- Identify royal and priestly claims in Psalm 110.
- Explain the rejected-stone reversal in Psalm 118.
- Trace victory language across both psalms.
- Connect “save now” with the welcomed one in Psalm 118.
- Distinguish what each psalm says before combining them.
- Show how the New Testament later uses both psalms messianically.
Teacher preparation
- Read Psalm 110 and Psalm 118 separately before making connections between them.
- Mark throne, right hand, rule, priest, kings, gates, stone, salvation, and “blessed be he.”
- Review Genesis 14 for Melchizedek and the major New Testament citations of Psalm 110.
- Note that “Save now” in Psalm 118:25 is the source behind “Hosanna.”
- Keep the procession imagery grounded in the psalm’s gates, house of the Lord, altar, and gathered voices rather than inventing choreography.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Psalm 110:1–4 explicitly joins enthronement, rule from Zion, willing people, and an irrevocable priesthood after Melchizedek.
Scripture-supported
Psalm 118:22–23 supports the reversal theme: the stone refused by builders becomes the head corner, and the change is the Lord’s doing.
Strong inference
Taken together, the psalms strongly support a pattern of divine choice overcoming human opposition and rejection.
Possible or traditional reading
Jewish and Christian interpretations differ sharply on the identity and fulfillment of Psalm 110’s “my Lord”; teach the Christian New Testament use clearly while acknowledging the interpretive history.
Limit
Neither psalm by itself supplies a complete chronology of messianic events. Do not force every battle, procession detail, or image into a one-to-one prediction.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. Who are the two Lords in Psalm 110:1?
What a good answer contains
"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool" (110:1). The first LORD, in capitals, is God's covenant name; the second Lord is a master or sovereign whom David, to whom the heading attributes the psalm, calls his own lord. A good answer explains the enthronement at God's right hand, the place of delegated authority, and then shows how Jesus asks in Matthew 22:41-46 how David's son can be David's Lord, and how Peter uses the verse in Acts 2:34-36. A weak answer jumps straight to the New Testament or misses the two different words.
Show teacher guidance
Begin with David’s wording and the enthronement command. Then show how Jesus and the apostles use the verse rather than skipping straight past the psalm.
2. Why is priesthood surprising in Psalm 110:4?
What a good answer contains
Because in Israel kings and priests were kept apart. Kings came from Judah and priests from Levi, and King Uzziah was struck with leprosy for burning incense (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). Yet the LORD swears to this king, "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (110:4). Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the most high God in Genesis 14:18. A strong answer sees an oath that cannot be revoked, an eternal priesthood, and the joining of the two offices, which Hebrews 5-7 explains. A weak answer misses why the line was startling.
Show teacher guidance
The enthroned ruler is also named priest forever after Melchizedek, joining roles that ordinary Israelite institutions usually kept distinct.
3. What happens to the rejected stone in Psalm 118:22–23?
What a good answer contains
It is turned upside down. "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes" (118:22-23). The builders inspected it and threw it out; God made it the most important stone in the building. A good answer sees that the reversal is credited to God alone, and that Jesus applies it to himself in Matthew 21:42 after the parable of the tenants, as Peter does in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7. A weak answer treats it as a proverb about underdogs.
Show teacher guidance
The builders refuse it, the stone becomes the head corner, and the psalm attributes that reversal to the Lord.
4. How does Psalm 118 move from private distress to public worship?
What a good answer contains
The psalm begins with a personal crisis: "I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place" (118:5), and enemies who "compassed me about like bees" (118:12). Then songs of salvation sound in the tents of the righteous (118:15); the speaker asks, "Open to me the gates of righteousness" (118:19); the procession moves through the gate to the altar, "bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar" (118:27). A strong answer traces distress, rescue, testimony, gate, house and altar. A weak answer misses the procession.
Show teacher guidance
Trace calling, rescue, victory songs, gates, congregation language, blessing from the Lord’s house, sacrifice, and thanksgiving.
5. What is being asked in “Save now”?
What a good answer contains
"Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity" (118:25). Save now is the Hebrew hosanna. It is followed by "Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD" (118:26). A good answer sees a prayer for rescue and blessing addressed to God, joined with welcome for the king or pilgrim arriving at the temple, and then shows the crowds shouting these words as Jesus entered Jerusalem in Matthew 21:9. A weak answer knows hosanna as a word of praise only and misses that it is a cry for salvation.
Show teacher guidance
Keep the plea in verse 25 beside the blessing of the one who comes in the Lord’s name in verse 26.
6. What shared movement links the two psalms?
What a good answer contains
Both place God's chosen one at the centre of God's victory and lead to public acknowledgement. In Psalm 110 the king is enthroned and his enemies become his footstool; in Psalm 118 the rejected stone becomes the head of the corner, and the one who comes in the LORD's name is blessed. Both show God's work: "Sit thou at my right hand" (110:1) and "This is the LORD's doing" (118:23). A strong answer sees why the New Testament quotes both so often of Jesus. A weak answer treats them as unrelated.
Show teacher guidance
Both place opposition under God’s chosen rule and move toward public acknowledgment of the deliverance God establishes.
Responsible application
Do not confuse rejection with final verdict
Use Psalm 118:22–23 to examine how human gatekeepers can reject what God appoints as structurally central.
Hold kingship and priesthood together
Use Psalm 110:1–4 to map the two roles before discussing their New Testament fulfillment in Christ.
Turn rescue into public praise
Use Psalm 118:19–29 to design a response where deliverance is remembered communally rather than kept as private relief.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Two famous psalms
Read 110:1 and 118:22-24 aloud. Ask if anyone recognises them from the Gospels.
Sit at my right hand
Read Psalm 110:1-3 and Matthew 22:41-46. Take question one and confusion one.
A priest for ever
Read 110:4-7 and Genesis 14:18-20. Take question two. Address confusion four briefly.
From distress to the gate
Read 118:5-21 and take question four.
The stone and hosanna
Read 118:22-29 and Matthew 21:9, 21:42. Take questions three, five and six. Address confusions two and three.
Praise
Read the key verse together and pray 118:28-29.
90 minutes
Quoted most
Read Acts 2:32-36 and Matthew 21:42. Tell the class both quote today's psalms.
The LORD said unto my Lord
Read Psalm 110:1-3 and take question one. Read Matthew 22:41-46. Address confusion one.
Melchizedek
Read 110:4-7, Genesis 14:18-20 and Hebrews 7:1-3, 7:23-25. Take question two and confusion four.
His mercy endureth
Read 118:1-18 responsively, with groups saying his mercy endureth for ever. Take question four.
The rejected stone
Read 118:19-24 and 1 Peter 2:4-7. Take question three and confusion two.
Hosanna
Read 118:25-29 and Matthew 21:1-11. Take questions five and six and confusion three.
Application
In pairs, name a time when God turned something rejected into something valued, and thank him.
Handout and praise
Read the key verse together and sing or read 118:1 and 118:29.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Bring building blocks and one odd-shaped block. Let children build and set the odd one aside, then show how it can become the most important piece at the corner. Read 118:22. Then act out Jesus entering Jerusalem with palm branches, shouting hosanna. Teach that hosanna means please save us. Keep the judgment verses of Psalm 110 out.
Youth
Start with rejection: being left out, overlooked, not chosen. Read 118:22-23 and talk about how God works through the rejected, and how Jesus was rejected. Read 118:6-9 on trusting God rather than people. Use Psalm 110 to talk about who Jesus is: King, priest and Lord. Address confusion two about this is the day.
Adults
Give time to the use of both psalms in the New Testament: Matthew 22, Acts 2, Hebrews 5-7, Matthew 21, Acts 4 and 1 Peter 2. Discuss the priesthood of Melchizedek and Christ's eternal priesthood. Talk about 118:8-9 and where adults are tempted to trust in princes. Read Matthew 26:30 and imagine Jesus singing Psalm 118 before Gethsemane.
One to one
Ask whether they have ever felt rejected. Read 118:22-23 and talk about Jesus, the rejected stone. If they are in distress, read 118:5-6 and 118:17-18. Pray 118:25, save now, for whatever they need. Close by reading 110:1 and reminding them who reigns.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Psalms 110 and 118
The passage in brief
Psalms 110 and 118 are about God's chosen king. In Psalm 110 the LORD tells David's Lord to sit at his right hand until his enemies are defeated, and swears that he is a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus and the apostles used this psalm to show who Jesus is. Psalm 118 gives thanks for God's enduring mercy, rescue from enemies, and the rejected stone that became the cornerstone, and cries hosanna, save now, blessing the one who comes in the LORD's name.
A verse to keep
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
Psalms 118:22-23 · King James Version
Questions to take home
How does Jesus use Psalm 110:1 in Matthew 22:41-46?
What does the rejected stone in 118:22 teach about how God works?
What does the word hosanna mean, and what do you need God to save you from?
This week
Read Matthew 21:1-11 this week and pray Psalm 118:25 as your own prayer.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
