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Pope John Paul II held his general audience Nov. 26 with several thousand pilgrims who gathered in Paul VI Hall. He continued his series of meditations on the psalms and canticles from the Liturgy of the Hours' evening prayer. The focus of his talk was Psalm 110, which the Holy Father characterized as “one of the most famous psalms in Christianity.” He pointed out that the psalm “has been the subject of many splendid musical compositions throughout the history of Western culture.”

Even though the psalm was originally composed for the enthronement of an earthly king born of the line of David, the Holy Father noted that Psalm 110 also prefigures the enthronement of Jesus Christ, who is our King and High Priest, at the right hand of the Father. It celebrates the final victory of Christ, the Messiah, over all his enemies through his resurrection.

“The text refers to a confrontation of a general nature between the plan of God, who works through his chosen one, and the plans of those who would like to assert their power in a hostile and deceitful way,” the Pope said. “Thus, we see the eternal clash between good and evil, which unfolds in events throughout history and through which God manifests himself to us and speaks to us.”

From his heavenly throne, the Risen Lord invites us to contemplate the glory to which we are called as members of his Mystical Body. The Holy Father concluded his talk by quoting St. Maximus of Turin, who depicts Christ as the conqueror of all evil and a truly unique mediator for the whole of humanity through his passion, death and resurrection.

We have heard one of the most famous psalms in the history of Christianity. Psalm 110, which is recited every Sunday during evening prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, is, in fact, repeatedly quoted in the New Testament. In particular, the first and fourth verses are applied to Christ, following the example of an ancient Jewish tradition, which transformed this hymn from a royal song of David into a messianic psalm.

This prayer also owes its popularity to its constant use during Sunday vespers. For this reason, the Latin Vulgate version of Psalm 110 has been the subject of many splendid musical compositions throughout the history of Western culture.

According to a practice upon which the Second Vatican Council decided, the liturgy leaves out the rather violent-sounding verse 6 of the original Hebrew text of the psalm, which, in fact, has only 63 words. This verse imitates the tone of the so-called “psalms of imprecation” and describes the Israelite king as he advances in a sort of military campaign where he crushes his adversaries and judges the nations.

Since we will have the opportunity to return to this psalm on other occasions, given its frequent use in the liturgy, we will content ourselves for now with an overview.

The Lord Is King

We can clearly distinguish two parts in this psalm. The first part (verses 1-3) contains a prophecy that God directs to the one whom the psalmist calls “my lord,” the ruler over Jerusalem. This prophecy proclaims that David's descendant will be enthroned “at the right hand” of God. The Lord, in fact, addresses him by saying: “Take your throne at my right hand” (verse 1). Most likely, this verse is referring to a ritual according to which the chosen one would be seated at the right hand of the Ark of the Covenant, thereby receiving his power as ruler from the supreme King of Israel—the Lord.

In the background, we perceive some hostile forces, which, however, have been neutralized in a victorious conquest: These enemies are depicted at the feet of the ruler, who advances solemnly in their midst holding the scepter of his authority (see verses 1-2). Undoubtedly, this is a reflection of a concrete political situation, which occurred when power was handed over from one king to another following a rebellion by some of his subjects or some plot to overthrow him. Here, however, the text refers to a confrontation of a general nature between the plan of God, who works through his chosen one, and the plans of those who would like to assert their power in a hostile and deceitful way. Thus, we see the eternal clash between good and evil, which unfolds in events throughout history and through which God manifests himself to us and speaks to us.

Christ Is the High Priest

The second part of the psalm contains, on the other hand, a priestly prophecy, whose protagonist is once again a king from the line of David (see verse 4-7). His royal dignity, which is guaranteed by a solemn oath from God, is also combined with a priestly dignity. The reference to Melchizedek, king and priest of Salem, the ancient Jerusalem (see Genesis 14), is per-haps a way to justify the special priesthood of the king in relationship to the official Levitical priesthood of the Temple of Zion. It is noteworthy, therefore, that the Letter to the Hebrews uses this very prophecy, “Like Melchizedek, you are a priest forever” (Psalm 110:4) in order to illustrate the special and perfect priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Later on we will examine Psalm 110 in greater depth and analyze its individual verses more closely.

Christ Triumphed Over Evil

In conclusion, however, we would like to read again the beginning verse of this psalm with its divine prophecy: “Take your throne at my right hand, while I make your enemies your footstool.” We will do so with St. Maximus of Turin (who lived at the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth century), who, in his Sermon on Pentecost, made the following comments: “According to our custom, sharing the throne is offered to someone who, having victoriously accomplished some undertaking, deserves to be seated there as a sign of honor. In the same way, Jesus Christ the man, by vanquishing the devil through his passion, by opening up the kingdoms below through his resurrection and by arriving victorious in heaven after having completed his mission, hears this invitation from God the Father: ‘Take your throne at my right hand.’ We should not be surprised if the Father offers to share his throne with the Son, who by nature is of one substance with the Father. … The Son sits at his right hand because, according to the Gospel, the sheep will be on the right while the goats will be on the left. It is necessary, therefore, that the first Lamb occupy the side of the sheep and that the unblemished Head take possession beforehand of the place destined for the unblemished flock that will follow him” (40,2: Scriptores circa Ambrosium, IV, Milan-Rome, 1991, p. 195).

(Register translation)