this king is none other than “the Lord’s Messiah.” This Davidic messiah, for whom the psalmist prays, is a royal messiah. He is a military ruler who rules with force, defeats Israel’s enemies, cleanses the city of its Gentile occupation, and destroys “the unlawful nations.” This form of messianic expectation, which does not shy away from using language of violence to describe the activities of the messiah, is borne out of a specific historical situation: the violence that had previously been committed against Jerusalem.
