"Luke 20:43 until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."'

The Lord said to my Lord, "sit at my right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." Psalm 110:1 NKJV

The footstool symbolizes humility, submission, and worship. It represents our posture before God, recognizing His authority and sovereignty. Additionally, it is a metaphor for God’s throne, representing His rule and reign over all creation.

Psalm 110:1 reads, “Of David. A psalm. The LORD says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” But who is this “lord” the LORD speaks to? Is this meant to pertain to us?

Verses must be read in their context. Psalm 110:1 tells us that this psalm was written by David. In it, David describes the actions of “the LORD,” which is how we render the Hebrew name of God, YHWH, into English. YHWH, or Yahweh, then speaks to “my lord” (Hebrew Adonai), telling this person, this Adonai, to sit at His right hand. This same person has a worldwide rule (Psalm 110:6) and is called “a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (verse 4).

David says that Yahweh tells this king and priest whom David calls “my lord” to sit at His right hand. It is important to note that the Lord does not tell David to sit at His right hand; this place is reserved for another.

This person, who isn’t David, is someone whom David as king still considers “Adonai,” an address of honor for someone more notable than the speaker. Who, besides Yahweh, would be more notable than the king?

Jesus claims this title for Himself. The New Testament records Jesus’ references to this passage in multiple places (Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:42–43). In each passage, Jesus proves that the Messiah, the Christ, is David’s Lord and the One who will sit at Yahweh’s right hand.

The Lord God Almighty, then, will put all of Jesus’ enemies under Jesus’ feet. Hebrews 1, while establishing Jesus’ superiority over the angels, says, “To which of the angels did God ever say, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’?” (Hebrews 1:13).

Psalm 110 predicts the victory of Jesus Christ over all His enemies and the glory He will receive. The apostle John caught a glimpse of this victory, and he wrote, “Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war. He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. . . . He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God. . . .

And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:11–15). Any victory we attain and any glory we share will be the result of our being in Christ.

Since the promise of Psalm 110 is not for us, we must look at how we as believers are to relate to our enemies:

In Luke 6:27–28, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Romans 12:19 adds, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

We are promised to overcome, by faith (1 John 5:4). The punishment of our enemies will come in God’s time and in God’s way. Anyone who sins is ultimately sinning against God, and the enemies of God will be placed under the feet of Jesus.

A footstool is a humble piece of furniture. It is rarely expensive or flashy and is often overlooked. It exists only as a place to rest one’s feet, so a footstool is not considered as valuable as a couch, bureau, or an easy chair. In Matthew 5:35, Jesus referred to the earth as “God’s footstool.” Isaiah 66:1 records the Lord as saying, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” God used this metaphor to help us comprehend how great He is and how insignificant we are by comparison. If our entire planet is nothing but a footstool to our Creator, how small are we in the grand scheme of things?

In Bible times, being near feet or having to touch feet was dishonorable. Feet were dirty, and cleaning them was the job of the lowest servant. To be at a place near someone’s feet—at a footstool, for example—was humbling. That’s why it was so startling when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:4–5).

Several places in Scripture refer to a footstool as a place of humility. Hebrews 1:13 and 10:13 quote Psalm 110:1, which has the Father saying to the Son, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” To be a footstool for someone’s feet is to be in a place of inferiority. Sports teams and others involved in competition or conflict use related idioms such as we’re gonna stomp you or we walked all over them.

God says that, despite all Christ suffered on earth, He would make Him victorious over His enemies—He would make them His footstool. Those who mocked and spit on Jesus as they crucified Him will one day bow in worship. All those who reject Jesus today and work against His purposes will one day be humbled at His feet (Philippians 2:9–11; 1 Corinthians 15:25).

James 2:3 also mentions a footstool. James rebukes those who show favoritism by seating the wealthy in the best seats while telling the poor to “sit here by my footstool.” Believers should be no respecters of persons. The poor in a church congregation should have equal status with the rich. There should not be a hierarchy of “best seats” and “footstools.” Everyone stands on level ground before the Lord.

A footstool in the Bible is a symbol of lowliness, humility, and unimportance. It signifies that the one using the footstool is far superior to the footstool itself. It’s amazing that, while God calls the earth His footstool, He still humbled Himself and took on human flesh to become One who lived on that footstool. And He requires that kind of meekness and humility in each of His followers (Philippians 2:5–11).