The Lord said... — The usual prophetic phrase, generally translated, “Thus saith,” &c. (See Note, Psalms 36:1.)
The psalmist may possibly be quoting an old prophetic saying, but, according to the usual way in which the expression is used, it marks an immediate inspiration.
My Lord. — Heb., adonî, an address of honour to those more noble than the speaker, or superior in rank: to a father, Genesis 31:35; to a brother, Numbers 12:11; a royal consort, 1 Kings 1:17-18; to a prince, 1 Kings 3:17; with addition of the royal title, “my Lord, O king,” 2 Samuel 14:19.
The question of the person here intended is, of course, closely bound up with the general question of the authorship and meaning of the psalm. Here the various views that have been held are briefly enumerated: —
(1) The Messiah; and, if so, with a prophetic consciousness of His Divinity, or, at least, His superiority as a Prince over all other princes. (2) David himself: this is, of course, inconsistent with the Davidic authorship of the psalm. (3) Solomon. (4) Hezekiah. (5) Joshua son of Josedech. (6) One of the priest-kings of the Asmonean dynasty.
We now come to the words of the oracle: “Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
Commentators have sought in the customs of Arabia, and even in the mythology of the Greek poets, for proof that this expression denotes viceroyalty or copartnership in the throne. If this meaning could be established from Hebrew literature, these parallels would be confirmatory as well as illustrative; but the nearest approach to be found in the Old Testament only makes the seat at the king’s right hand a mark of extreme honour. (See the case of Bath-sheba, 1 Kings 2:19; of the queen consort of Psalms 45:9; of Jonathan, 1Ma. 10:63.)
Nothing more can be assumed, therefore, from the words themselves than an invitation to sit at Jehovah’s right hand to watch the progress of the victorious struggle in which wide and sure dominion is to be won for this Prince. But even this is obscured by the concluding part of the psalm (see Psalms 110:5), where Jehovah is said to be at the right hand of the person addressed, and is beyond question represented ac[??] going out with him to battle. Hence, we are led to the conclusion, that the exact position (“at the right hand”) i not to be pressed in either case, and that no more is intended than that, with Jehovah’s help, the monarch who is the hero of the poem will acquire and administer a vast and glorious realm.
Footstool. — The imagery of the footstool (literally a stool for thy feet) is no doubt taken from the custom mentioned in Joshua 10:24.