Weekly Devotional 11th October, 2024
by Bruce Billington
Weekly Devotional 11th October 2024
We are continuing to explore the knowledge of God as expressed in the Psalms. This week we will continue to look at Psalm 110 which is also a Psalm of David.
Psalm 110:3-4 – “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Verse 3 is about those who are in Christ. Its description of those people is wonderful. The Psalmist says they are in holy array and as dew. How truly beautiful is holiness! God himself admires it. How wonderful also is the eternal youth of the mystical body of Christ!
Dew is fresh at dawn and this term is used to state that these people will be youthful, strong, full of vigour and willing to fight. In the fulfilment of these promises, the Lord Jesus Christ will come with saints and angels to judge the world, but it will be the powerful word of the Lord that will destroy the enemies as is described in Revelations 19.
We need to put this mantle on. Because Jesus lives forever, so will His church flourish forever. His strength never fails and nor will our youthful vigour as we go about His business. Our holy God and Father Jesus will never be satisfied by ceremony or religious actions. He must be worshipped with true reverence as He leads us into the presence of God.
As He is a Priest-King – so are we. We are told in 1 Peter 2:9 that we also are priests and kings and that we are called out to proclaim His excellencies as we invade the kingdom of darkness. Of interest here, is that the Hebrew word being used for the recipients of these blessings is yalduth, which is always used as a collective noun, meaning that it does not refer to an individual – it refers to a community or society. It is always plural.
The calling for those in Christ is to execute God’s commands promptly and cheerfully and be led by His holy Spirit and guided by His will. This does mean work, but it is not a chore, it is a yoke, where we are joined to Him in all that He is doing. It is a huge privilege and something we should willingly embrace.
Verse 4 tells us that Jesus’ order of priesthood does not come from the order of Aaron and the Mosaic law, but from the order of Melchizedek, who was a priest-king of ancient Jerusalem (Genesis 14:18). Melchizedek, as a priest of God Most High, blessed Abraham—ancestor of all Israel—and received his tithe; he was the ideal pattern for this new priesthood (Hebrews 5:6–10; 7:22).
This concept is important because it is not only the heart of this Psalm, but it is the very centre and soul of our faith. Our Lord Jesus is a Priest-King by the ancient oath of Jehovah: being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:10), not the Levitical order.
This is such an interesting concept and causes much discussion amongst theologians. Melchizedek’s office was exceptional and unique. No one preceded or succeeded him; he suddenly arrives on the page of history, and little is said about him. He blesses Abraham, receives his tithe, and vanishes from the scene amid honours which show that he was greater than Abraham who is the founder of the nation of Israel. Commenting on the superior office of Christ, Spurgeon says,
It is done and done forever and ever; Jesus is sworn in to be the priest of his people, and he must abide so even to the end, because his commission is sealed by the unchanging oath of the immutable Jehovah. If his priesthood could be revoked, and his authority removed, it would be the end of all hope and life for the people whom he loves; but this sure rock is the basis of our security—the oath of God establishes our glorious Lord both in his priesthood and in his throne. It is the Lord who has constituted him a priest forever, he has done it by oath, that oath is without repentance, is taking effect now, and will stand throughout all ages: hence our security in him is placed beyond all question.
Our Lord and King Jesus Christ stands upon His own personal merits and the declaration of God who calls Him, His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17).
May we never treat Him casually or flippantly – our role is to bow before Him in holy worship and always seek to do His bidding.
God bless you.