Psalm 110:1 is David’s announcement that God the Father has invited the Messiah to sit in the place of highest honor and wait while God brings his enemies under his feet. The verse speaks of two figures: “the LORD,” meaning God, and “my Lord,” a person the psalmist honors above himself. The speaker is David, and he addresses a royal figure who is destined to rule with God’s authority.
The LORD says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
Psalm 110:1 (WEB)
What Psalm 110:1 Means
The phrase “the LORD says to my Lord” presents a divine decree spoken from God to a figure David calls “my Lord,” a title that signals more than an ordinary king. The invitation to “sit at my right hand” is a picture of shared authority and favor. In the ancient world, sitting at a ruler’s right side meant being the most trusted and honored person in the room.
The second half of the verse says God will act until enemies are made a footstool. Footstools symbolize complete subjection, so the image is of total victory achieved in God’s time. The verse promises that the Lord’s opponents will be defeated, but it does not say how or when, and it does not promise an easy path for the faithful in the meantime.
The Context of Psalm 110:1
Psalm 110 is one of the psalms of David, and Jesus himself cited it in the Gospels to ask how the Messiah could be both David’s son and David’s Lord (Matthew 22:41-46). The psalm is royal and priestly at once, which is why the verses that follow describe a king who rules from Zion and a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Early readers would have heard it as a coronation hymn for the Davidic king.
The surrounding verses shape the meaning of the opening line. Verse 2 pictures the king’s rod of strength going out from Zion, and verse 3 describes willing people gathering around him. Verse 4 declares God’s unchangeable oath that the king will serve as priest forever. Read together, verse 1 is not a private comfort but a public declaration of a ruler’s permanent authority.
Key Phrases in Psalm 110:1
Acts 2:33
Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
(WEB)
Peter quotes this psalm’s theme on the day of Pentecost to explain that the risen Jesus has been exalted to God’s right hand. The verse shows how the early church understood Psalm 110:1 as fulfilled in Christ’s ascension and in the gift of the Spirit.
Hebrews 1:13
But which of the angels has he told at any time, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?”
(WEB)
The writer of Hebrews uses the same opening words of this psalm to show that the Son is greater than the angels and has been given a seat of unique honor. Reading it alongside Psalm 110:1 helps you see the exalted Christ as the one who has finished his work and now reigns.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 110:1
Lord, you have declared that your Son is seated in honor and authority, and I thank you that nothing in my life stands outside his rule. When I feel pressed by opposition or uncertainty, help me remember that you are working toward the day when every enemy is brought under his feet. Give me patience while I wait, steady trust in your timing, and a heart that rests in the reign of the one at your right hand. Amen.
