What "The Lord Said to My Lord" Actually Means (Psalm 110:1 Is the Most Quoted Verse You Have Never Studied)

"The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1)

This is the most quoted Old Testament verse in the entire New Testament. More than Psalm 23. More than Isaiah 53. More than any of the verses you have on your wall.

Jesus quoted it. Peter quoted it on the day of Pentecost. The author of Hebrews built entire arguments around it. Paul referenced it repeatedly. The early church treated Psalm 110:1 as one of the most important verses in all of Scripture.

And most Christians have never studied it.

That is about to change. Because what this verse reveals about Jesus, about His identity, about His authority, and about what He is doing right now while you read this, is staggering.

The Question Jesus Asked

Before we unpack the verse itself, let's start with how Jesus used it. Because the way He used it tells you how important He considered it.

In Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus turned the tables on the Pharisees. They had been asking Him trick questions all day, trying to trap Him. So He asked them one:

"What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?"

They answered immediately: "The son of David." That was the standard Jewish answer. The Messiah would come from David's line. Everyone knew that.

Then Jesus dropped Psalm 110:1 on them:

"How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.' If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"

Nobody could answer Him. And from that day on, nobody dared ask Him any more questions.

We covered this moment in the Mark 12:35-37 post, but the question Jesus asked deserves a deeper look because it unlocks everything about who He is.

The Two Lords

Here is what makes Psalm 110:1 so remarkable and so confusing at first glance.

David wrote this psalm. And David says, "The Lord says to my Lord."

In Hebrew, the first "Lord" is Yahweh, the covenant name of God. The second "Lord" is Adonai, a title of supreme authority.

So David, the king of Israel, the most powerful man in the nation, is calling someone else "my Lord." Someone other than God the Father. Someone who is invited to sit at God's right hand. Someone whose enemies God Himself will subdue.

David had no human superior. He was the king. No one in Israel outranked him. So who is David calling "my Lord"?

That is the question Jesus was asking the Pharisees. And the answer is the one they did not want to give: the Messiah is not merely David's descendant. He is David's Lord. He is greater than David. He existed before David. He is divine.

Jesus was not just claiming to be the Messiah. He was claiming to be the One who was seated at the right hand of God before the world began. And He was using David's own words to prove it.

What "Sit at My Right Hand" Means

In the ancient world, the right hand of the king was the position of highest honor and authority. It was the seat reserved for the one who shared the king's power, spoke with the king's authority, and acted on the king's behalf.

When Psalm 110:1 says "sit at my right hand," God is telling the Messiah: "Take the position of supreme authority next to Me. You share My throne. You carry My power. You act with My full endorsement."

This is not a junior position. This is co-regency. The Messiah is not a servant standing beside the throne. He is seated on it. That is the authority behind every promise in the New Testament. When Jesus speaks, He speaks with the full authority of the One who sits at God's right hand.

After the resurrection, this is exactly where Peter said Jesus went:

"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God..." (Acts 2:32-33)

And Hebrews drives it home: "After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Hebrews 1:3)

He sat down. The work is finished. The sacrifice is complete. The purification is done. And now He sits, not in rest, but in authority. Reigning over everything, right now, at this very moment.

What "Until I Make Your Enemies a Footstool" Means

This is the part that gives the verse its edge.

"Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

In the ancient Near East, a conquering king would literally place his foot on the neck of a defeated enemy. It was the ultimate symbol of total victory. The enemy is not just defeated. The enemy is under your feet. Subjugated. Finished.

God is telling the Messiah: sit in authority, and I will systematically bring every enemy under your complete dominion. Not some enemies. Every enemy. Sin, death, disease, injustice, evil, the grave itself. All of it is going under His feet.

Paul picks this up in 1 Corinthians 15:25-26: "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

That means right now, between the ascension and the return of Christ, He is reigning. Enemies are being subdued. The process is not finished, which is why the world still has suffering, evil, and death. But it is underway. And the outcome is guaranteed.

The last enemy is death. And death has already been defeated at the cross. Its final destruction is coming. And when it comes, Psalm 110:1 will be completely fulfilled.

Why This Verse Matters for Your Life Right Now

You might be thinking, "This is interesting theology, but what does it have to do with my Tuesday?"

Everything.

It means Jesus has authority over whatever you are facing. The One seated at the right hand of God is not a distant, disengaged figure watching from a throne. He is actively reigning over the very circumstances that feel out of control in your life. Your problem is not too big for the One who sits at God's right hand.

It means your enemies have an expiration date. Whatever is opposing you, threatening you, or trying to destroy you, it is going under His feet. Not if. When. The timeline is God's, not yours. But the outcome is certain. That is why you can take heart even when you have trouble. The trouble has a clock. Jesus does not.

It means you are not waiting for a victory that has not happened yet. The victory happened. Jesus sat down because the work is finished. You are living in the aftermath of a battle that has already been won. The remaining enemies are being mopped up. You are not fighting for victory. You are fighting from it.

It means Jesus is interceding for you right now. Hebrews 7:25 says, "He always lives to intercede for them." Right now, at the right hand of God, Jesus is advocating for you. Not against you. For you. While you were still a sinner, He died for you. And now, seated in authority, He is praying for you. That should change how you carry every single burden.

The Identity Claim

Here is the deepest layer of Psalm 110:1, and it is the reason Jesus used it to silence the Pharisees.

If the Messiah is merely David's descendant, a human king from David's line, then David would never call him "Lord." In Jewish culture, a father does not bow to his son. An ancestor does not call his descendant "my Lord."

But David did. Which means the Messiah is not merely a man. He is divine. He is the Son of God who existed before David, who will exist after David, and who holds an authority that David himself, the greatest king Israel ever had, recognized as superior to his own.

The Pharisees could not answer Jesus' question because the answer would have required them to admit that the Messiah was more than human. And if the Messiah was more than human, then the carpenter from Nazareth standing in front of them might be exactly who He claimed to be.

He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the vine. He is the good shepherd. He is the light of the world. And according to Psalm 110:1, written a thousand years before He was born, He is the Lord who sits at God's right hand.

That is not a metaphor. That is a claim about the nature of reality. And everything in your faith depends on whether it is true.

How to Live Under His Authority

Pray with confidence. You are not praying into the void. You are praying to someone who sits at the right hand of God with all authority in heaven and earth. Ask boldly. Not because you deserve the answer. Because the One hearing the prayer has the authority to act.

Stop fearing what is already defeated. Fear is real, but it is not authoritative. The enemies you face have already been put on a clock by the One seated at God's right hand. They do not get the final word. He does.

Trust the process. "Until" is a process word. It implies duration. The enemies are being subdued, but the process is not instant. Waiting on God is hard. But when you know who is on the throne and what the outcome will be, the waiting becomes endurance, not despair.

Worship the One who is seated. If Jesus is at the right hand of God right now, with all authority, then worship is the only appropriate response. Not just on Sunday. Every day. In every circumstance. Even when you do not feel like it. Because worship is the declaration that the One on the throne is worthy, regardless of what is happening on the ground.

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Keep Going

If you want to start every morning under the authority of the One seated at God's right hand, the Do Everything in Love: A 365-Day Devotional gives you one truth per day to carry with you. Not religion. Relationship with the King who already won.

If you need space to bring your battles to the One who is already interceding for you, the After Amen Prayer Journal gives you room to write the honest prayer and listen for the voice of your advocate.

And if wearing your faith is how you declare daily who sits on the throne, the Love1614 collection puts 1 Corinthians 16:14 where the world can see it and ask about the King behind it.

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Let all that you do be done in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)

Read next: What Mark 12:35-37 Actually Means (Jesus Asked a Question Nobody Could Answer)