What does it mean that, "the LORD said unto my Lord"?

In the book of Psalms, it is written: The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. This important psalm was penned down by king David. The king was moved by the Spirit of God to make such prophetic utterance which carries deep theological significance. This psalm is the most frequently quoted psalm by the new testament authors, which conveys the idea that it is a psalm worthy of our consideration and deep study. Let us by the help of the Spirit dig deep into the meaning of the Messianic psalm. The psalm reads: "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool". The first LORD in the Hebrew is "Yahweh" translated in English as "Jehovah" which means the self existent God, the great I AM. 

The second Lord in the Hebrew is "Adon" which means, sovereign ruler or Master. The first LORD is used in reference to God the father and the second Lord points to Jesus the Messiah. So the prophet was in effect saying, that God the father said to my Lord who is Jesus the Messiah, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. David under the influence of the holy Spirit, and with the lens of the Spirit, saw into the future and he prophesied the exaltation and session of his Lord at the right hand of God. Psalm 110; 1 supports the trinitarian view of God, for we can see in the text that there are two distinct members of the Godhead.

Learn this, the title "Son of David" was very popular among the Jews at that time, because it was a title for their anticipated Messiah whom they envisaged will rescue them from the yoke of the Romans. They called the Messiah, the Son of David because they understood from the scriptures that he will sprout from the house of David, see (Isaiah 11; 1). The pedigree of the Messiah can be traced all the way down to the family of David. And when Jesus came on the scene, many of the people recognized him as the "Son of David", their Messiah, see (Matthew 9; 27, 15; 22, Luke 18; 38, 39). One day, Jesus reasoned with the scribes and Pharisees by asking them a question, Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? "They said to Him, "The son of David. "He said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put your enemies beneath Your feet"'? If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?" No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question (Matthew 22: 41-46). 

The religious leaders answered correctly when Jesus asked them, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? "They said to Him, "The son of David. He went further with his question by asking them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put your enemies beneath Your feet"'? If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?" Unfortunately, the religious leaders failed to defend the implication of their answer, because they were ignorant of the true identity of the Messiah as revealed in Psalm 110; 1. They thought the Messiah will be a physical descendant of David only, but Jesus revealed to them that the Messiah is much more than that, he is David's Lord as well. In the book of Revelation, Jesus said: "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star" (Revelation 22: 16).

 Jesus is saying, that he is the root of David which signifies that He is the very source of David's being, and yet he is David's son, in the sense that he is a direct descendant of David according to his human nature. Jesus is the Son of David according to the flesh, but he is David's Lord in respect to his divine nature. The Messiah is both God and Man at the same time, for that is the point Jesus wanted them to comprehend. He wanted them to fathom the fact that their Messiah is not an ordinary Man as they presumed, because he is infinitely greater than David. The two distinct natures of Christ, which constitute the uniqueness of his person is true and scriptural. 

Let us examine the other part of the passage, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool". The prophecy of David came to pass when Jesus ascended into the heavens after he finished the work of our redemption, and was made to sit down at the right hand of the father. To sit down at the right hand of a superior signifies honor, power, authority and dignity conferred on such a one (Psalm 45; 9). Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of God denotes the honor, power, authority and glory conferred on him by his father, as a token of his obedience. His session at the right hand of the father also signifies rest from all his labors. The author of the book of Hebrews wrote: And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1: 3). If Jesus had not finished his course, he will not have sat down at the right hand of the father. His session at the right hand of the father means that he has completed the work of our salvation.

 His session at the right hand of the father also denotes his continual reign as king over the church and over the world. He is reigning and will continue to reign as king on his throne, until all his enemies be subdued under his feet: For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death (1 Corinthians 15: 25-26). Does that mean he will cease to reign after he has annihilated the last enemy? Certainly not, he will reign throughout eternity. Those who will not suffer Christ to reign over them will be destroyed by him on that day. He will utterly destroy all who opposes him and his kingdom, as well as the church whom he has purchased with his own blood. Therefore, if you do not have any personal relationship with the one who sits at the right hand of the father, you should trust in him for salvation. You must believe in his death and resurrection from the dead, and to confess him as your savior, and the sovereign Lord over your life and thou shalt be saved (Romans 10;  9-10). But if you persist in unbelief, then your enmity with him still remains and on that day he will trample you under his feet. God bless you

                           A thought to ponder 

If Jesus had not finished his course, he will not have sat down at the right hand of the father. His session at the right hand of the father means that he has completed the work of our salvation

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