What does it mean that “the Lord said to my Lord” (Psalm 110:1)?

from the old testament

• Psalm 110:1 reads, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” It’s a reference to two “lords” talking. In most English translations, the first “lord” is all in caps (LORD). That lets the reader know it is God’s personal name, Yahweh. The second “lord” is in normal case, and is Adonai, a word commonly translated as “lord.” Thus, to see the differences, this verse can be translated as: “Yahweh says to my Adonai ....”
• In Hebrew, Adonai is a general term for someone in a position of authority. It can be used to refer to someone politely as “sir” (Genesis 23:6). It can also be used of a king, such as when David called out to Saul and said, “My lord the king!” (1 Samuel 24:8). However, because God is the ultimate authority, it is often used to refer to Him. For example, “Moses said to the LORD [Yahweh], ‘Oh, my Lord [Adonai], I am not eloquent …’” (Exodus 4:10a).
• The superscription of Psalm 110 reads “a Psalm of David,” indicating that David wrote this Psalm. He is the one who refers to the second Lord as “my Lord” (Psalm 110:1a). Because Adonai refers to someone in authority, it means that this Adonai was in authority over David. However, as king, he held the highest human authority, being subject only to God. Thus, Adonai in this passage refers to God.
• However, Adonai is also a distinct Person from Yahweh. He sits at Yahweh’s right hand (Psalm 110:1, 5a), and Yahweh sends Adonai to rule (vv 2–3), be a priest (v 4), and to judge the nations (v 5b–6). While the passage itself doesn’t explain the relationship, this verse, among others in the Old Testament, hints at God being one (Deuteronomy 6:4) while also being in multiple Persons.
• The passage also hints at another unusual feature of this Messiah: he would combine the roles of king and priest, functions that were to remain separate for mere human rulers and priests (e.g., 2 Chronicles 26:16–18). Thus, Adonai is somehow both God and distinct from the Yahweh figure in this passage.
• Another key Messianic passage helpful for understanding a New Testament use of Psalm 110 is 2 Samuel 7:12–13. In that passage, God is speaking to David through Nathan the prophet and says, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” The Messiah was to be a descendant of David, that is, his son.

from the new testament

• The Pharisees often tried to stump Jesus with tricky theological puzzles. One day Jesus turned the tables on them. We read, “Jesus asked them a question, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’ (Matthew 22:41b–42a). They rightly understood some of the Old Testament, so replied confidently, “The son of David” (v 42b). Then Jesus confounded them, saying, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord?” and then quotes Psalm 110:1 (vv 43–44). He pressed the point, saying, “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” (v 45).
• They had no answer because they realized that Psalm 110 referred to someone in authority over David, indicating that one was greater. Yet, a son is always under one’s father, being subject to the father.
• The puzzle is solved when one rightly understands Jesus. Jesus is fully God (John 1:1), being the Son of God (John 3:16). As such, He is in authority over David. But to save humanity (to be the Messiah), “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
• Being “made like His brethren” refers to Jesus humbling Himself and adding a human nature (Philippians 2:6–7). While remaining fully divine, Jesus also became fully human. Jesus thus has two complete natures. In His humanity, He was born into the world to Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:4–7), descendants of David (Matthew 1:1), making Jesus also the son of David.
• Therefore, the solution is that Jesus is both the Son of God and the son of David. As the Son of God, Jesus was David’s Lord. As the son of David, Jesus was the promised descendant of David who is bringing an eternal kingdom.
• Psalm 110 is not only quoted by Jesus. Other biblical authors use it to support the fact that the resurrected and ascended Jesus is now ruling at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:13) as the final high priest (Hebrews 5:6). We also learn that there is a day when He will return to subjugate and judge the nations (1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 10:12–13).

implications for today

The implications of Psalm 110:1 are immense: Jesus' divine status and the doctrine of the Trinity are not merely New Testament ideas. Psalm 110 is not the only Old Testament passage to reveal a divine, distinct Person. Daniel 7:13–14, for example, describes "one like a son of man" coming with the clouds of heaven (cf. Psalm 104:3) yet standing before the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9–14). Other examples include the Angel of the LORD passages (e.g., Exodus 3:2–6) and texts where the Lord speaks of or acts alongside the Lord (e.g., Genesis 19:24).

Why, then, were so many first-century Jews blind to Jesus' divinity? They longed for a political deliverer who would overthrow Rome and restore Israel's national glory (John 6:15), not a Savior who would first rescue them from their sin (Romans 10:2–3). They expected the Messiah to be merely the Son of David who would reign on an earthly throne, not the eternal Son of God who would humble Himself, suffer, and die for sinners (Philippians 2:6–8).

People today often make a similar mistake. Many are content to admire Jesus as a great moral teacher, a compassionate leader, or an inspiring example because they assume they are basically good and only need encouragement, not salvation. But Jesus did not come merely to show us how to live—He came because we could never save ourselves. Psalm 110 reminds us that the One David called "my Lord" is the divine King, Priest, and Judge, and the only right response is to repent, believe the gospel, and confess Jesus Christ—fully God and fully man—as Lord (Romans 10:9–10).