From Mark Booker
Psalm 109: Where is Yahweh? Where is our God? Verse 31 is incredibly encouraging: "He stands at the right hand of the needy." As we grow in our understanding of our own neediness, this verse should encourage us all the more. We are not alone. We are not alone. We are not alone. The psalmist feels alone, being pursued by "wicked and deceitful mouths" by "lying tongues" (v2). But he cries for God's rescue and help (vv21-25) and addresses his own doubts by the assurance of verse 31. May we do the same.
Psalm 110: This psalm is assured that God will one day manifest his sovereign claim upon the world through his representative who will sit at his right hand. And he has. Jesus alludes to himself as the fulfillment of this psalm. He is the ruler who will be seated at the right hand of God (Mt 26.64, Mk 14.62, Lk 22.69). Peter quotes Psalm 110 in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2.34-35). And this Psalm is referenced repeatedly in the New Testament in relation to Jesus: Rom 8.34, Eph 1.20, Col 3.1, Heb 1.3, Heb 1.13, Heb 8.1, Heb 10.12, and 1 Pt 3.22. Through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 110. He is the world's true king. We can either resist him as rival or revere him as Lord.
Acts 2.42-47: Just after the sermon in which Peter references Psalm 110, we see the earliest Christian community, under Jesus's rule and empowered by the Holy Spirit, overflowing with praise, thanksgiving, generosity, and joy. This picture challenges and inspires us who are under the same King and empowered by the same Spirit.
Acts 4.32-37: Verse 34 is a direct quotation of the Greek translation of Deuteronomy 15.4, "There was not a needy person among them." Luke is quick to show us that the result of the enthronement of Jesus and the empowerment of the Spirit is the fulfillment of the ideal in Deuteronomy: that everyone would have what they need. These early Christians were "of one heart and soul" and "they had everything in common" because they were recipients of such a great gift in Jesus. They had received everything from the Lord and so held what was 'their own' with an open hand. We needn't make public policy from this passage but we should let it deeply challenge our relationship 1) to our stuff and 2) to the needs of fellow Christians around the world.