Psalm 110:4














This name meets us first in Genesis 14:18; then in the text; then it is referred to in Zechariah 6:13, where it is said Messiah shall be a priest upon his throne, and then in Hebrews 7. The record in Genesis is but brief, but the recurrence of the name leads to the inquiry as to the meaning and significance of that early record. The Epistle to the Hebrews supplies the answer. Note -

I. THE FACTS CONNECTED WITH MELCHIZEDEK. He is mentioned in the account of Abraham's intervention on behalf of the inhabitants of the district in which Abraham's nephew Lot lived. He was probably a Canaanitish chief, lived at Salem - that is, Jerusalem; was evidently a man of much distinction. He was "great" because of the combined high office he held; he was both priest and king. But yet more from his character - peaceful, righteous.

II. His RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST. From this psalm and from Hebrews 7. we learn that he did bear such relationship. He was a type of Christ:

1. In the mystery of his person. We read of no predecessor or progenitor, nor of any successor. Human records are silent on all these points. And so with our Lord - "great is the mystery of godliness."

2. In his priesthood. It is to this that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews mainly refers, and argues from Christ being a Priest after the order of Melchizedek, that therefore his Priesthood was far superior to that of Aaron; for Melchizedek was like Christ, and greater than Aaron in antiquity, catholicity, independence, perpetuity, and spirituality of his priesthood.

3. In his kingly character. No king could be a priest, no priest a king, in the Jewish dispensation; but Melchizedek and Christ were both.

4. In the effects of his administration. Righteousness and peace.

5. In his ministry of blessing.

CONCLUSION. Abraham shows us our duty to Christ, in self-dedication; this the meaning of the tithe offering. - S.C.

Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
I. DIVINE AUTHORIZATION TO PRIESTHOOD.

1. The Divine oath has a reference to Christ, for it is the Divine authorization of His priestly office. What spiritual power resides in this mandate of God! It not only creates this office, with all its heavy duties and responsibilities, but it gives it full and free scope for the play of its functions.

2. The oath has also a reference to the sinner, the warrant for his approach to God. What stronger assurance of God's willingness to pardon, nay, rather, heart yearning anxiety to bring us into a justified state?

II. THE OFFICE TO WHICH THE SON WAS CALLED — PRIESTHOOD. Christ, in His struggle with the powers of hell and darkness, was not an overborne subject, He was not a conquered victim, but He was in very truth an active, official, priestly agent), working out and bringing in, amidst sweat and agony and blood, that righteousness which is "unto all and upon all them that believe."

III. THE DURATION OF CHRIST'S PRIESTHOOD.

1. Christ was Priest on earth. His whole life, from the manger to the cross, was an offering — a sacrificial oblation of sweet-smelling savour to God.

2. He is now a Priest in heaven.

(S. McComb.)

I. CHRIST IS A PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.

1. That order was unique.(1) In its loneliness, Melchizedek stood alone. He was the one true priest before the Mosaic dispensation. Christ is the one true priest after it, and He stands alone.(2) In that it was underived and untransmitted. Melchizedek did not follow, nor was he succeeded by, a priestly line. So Christ's priesthood is "not after the order of a carnal commandment"; nor does it "pass over to another."(3) In its efficacy.

2. That order was righteous. His very name, "King of righteousness," is significant of that. But in a far more real and valuable sense is this so with Christ.(1) He is absolutely righteous in Himself. As such He was predicted (Isaiah 53:11; Jeremiah 23:5). As such He was by the confession of both friends and foes (Luke 23:4; 1 Peter 2:23).(2) As the King of righteousness, He makes His subjects righteous (Isaiah 53:11). By cleansing away their unrighteousness and imparting His Holy Spirit, and encouraging and directing their holy lives.

3. That order was peaceful. He was "King of Salem which is King of peace." Christ is(1) absolutely peaceful in Himself. As such He was predicted and acknowledged. "The Prince of peace." "He shall not cry," etc.(2) As King of peace Christ gives peace, promotes it, and reigns over peaceful subjects. "My peace I leave with you," etc.

4. That order was royal. He was king as well as priest. So is Christ a "priest upon His throne." Christ rules from His Cross: "I, if I be lifted up," etc. And adoring Christendom says, "Thou art the King of glory, O Christ," because "when Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death Thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers."

5. That order was superior.(1) In its antiquity. It was before the authorized priesthood of Aaron. So Christ is "the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world."(2) In its perpetuity. "For ever." Christ "continueth ever," and "ever liveth to make intercession."(3) In its universality. Christ is "a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

II. CHRIST'S APPOINTMENT TO THIS PRIESTHOOD IS HELD UNDER DIVINE AUTHORITY, "The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent." Persons occupying important offices must show their credentials.

(J. W. Burn.)

People
David, Melchizedek, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Age, Change, Forever, Manner, Melchisedek, Melchizedek, Melchiz'edek, Mind, Oath, Order, Priest, Repent, Sworn
Outline
1. The kingdom
4. The priesthood
5. The conquest
7. And the passion of Christ

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 110:4

     1120   God, repentance of
     1150   God, truth of
     1160   God, unchangeable
     1210   God, human descriptions
     1235   God, the LORD
     1340   consistency
     1680   types
     2230   Messiah, coming of
     2306   Christ, high priest
     2366   Christ, prophecies concerning
     5036   mind, of God
     5100   Melchizedek
     5366   king
     5431   oaths, divine
     5467   promises, divine
     7377   high priest, OT
     7413   priesthood, OT
     9121   eternity, nature of

Psalm 110:1-4

     5089   David, significance

Psalm 110:1-7

     5849   exaltation

Library
June 11. "Thou Hast the Dew of Thy Youth" (Ps. cx. 3).
"Thou hast the dew of thy youth" (Ps. cx. 3). Oh, that you might get such a view of Him as would make it impossible for little things ever to fret you again! The petty cares and silly trifles that have troubled you so much ought rather to fill you with wonder that you can think so much about them. Oh, if you had the dew of His youth you should go forth as the morning and fulfil the promise of a glorious day! What a difference it has made in life since we have seen it was possible to do this! How
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

September 17. "Thy People Shall be a Freewill Offering in the Day of Thy Power" (Ps. cx. 3).
"Thy people shall be a freewill offering in the day of Thy power" (Ps. cx. 3). This is what the term consecration properly means. It is the voluntary surrender or self-offering of the heart, by the constraint of love to be the Lord's. Its glad expression is, "I am my Beloved's." It must spring, of course, from faith. There must be the full confidence that we are safe in this abandonment, that we are not falling over a precipice, or surrendering ourselves to the hands of a judge, but that we are sinking
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Soldier Priests
'Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.'--PSALM cx. 3. It is no part of my present purpose to establish the reference of this psalm to our Lord. We have Christ's own authority for that. It does not seem to be typical--that is to say, it does not appear to have had a lower application to a king of Israel who was a shadow of the true monarch, but rather to refer only to the coming Sovereign, whom
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Willing People and an Immutable Leader
The Psalm is a kind of coronation Psalm. Christ is bidden to take his throne: "Sit thou at my right hand." The sceptre is put into his hand. "The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion." And then the question is asked, "Where are his people?" For a king would be no king without subjects. The highest title of kingship is but an empty one that hath no subjects to make up its fulness. Where, then, shall Christ find that which shall be the fulness of him that filleth all in all? The great
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Divine Love, the Principle of all Good.
To those who follow this path, divine love is all-sufficing. While despoiling of all things those souls who give themselves entirely to Him, God gives them something in place of them. Instead of light, wisdom, life, and strength, He gives them His love. The divine love in these souls is like a supernatural instinct. In nature, each thing contains that which is suitable to its kind. Each flower has its special beauty, each animal its instinct, and each creature its perfection. Also in the different
Jean-Pierre de Caussade—Abandonment to Divine Providence

Christ's Interpretation of Psalm cx. , 1 (Mark, xii. , 35-37. )
We return now to the order of the narrative. We are informed by the Evangelist that in the course of these controversies with his opponents Christ put to them the question, how it could be that Messiah was to be the Son of David, and yet David called him "Lord" (Ps. cx., 1). We are not precisely told with what view he proposed the question; though it might, perhaps, be inferred from Matthew's statement, that after he had so answered their captious queries as to put them to shame, he sought in turn
Augustus Neander—The Life of Jesus Christ in Its Historical Connexion

A Glorious vision.
THE Epistle to the Hebrews, this profound and blessed portion of the Holy Scriptures, unfolds a most wonderful vision of the Person, the Glory and the great Redemption work of our adorable Lord. The portion of the Epistle which is the richest in this respect is the Second Chapter. Here is a vista for the eyes of faith which is sublime. Our Lord in His Person, in His humiliation and exaltation, in His suffering and glory, stands out in a way which makes the believing heart rejoice with joy unspeakable
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Ecclesiastical Trial
Over the Kedron, up the slope to the city, through the gates, along the silent streets, the procession passed, with Jesus in the midst; midnight stragglers, perhaps, hurrying forward from point to point to ask what was ado, and peering towards the Prisoner's face, before they diverged again towards their own homes.[1] He was conducted to the residence of the high priest, where His trial ensued. Jesus had to undergo two trials--the one ecclesiastical, the other civil; the one before Caiaphas the
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

Section 26-36. That the Son is the Co-Existing Word
Section §26-36. That the Son is the Co-existing Word, argued from the New Testament. Texts from the Old Testament continued; especially Ps. cx. 3. Besides, the Word in Old Testament may be Son in New, as Spirit in Old Testament is Paraclete in New. Objection from Acts x. 36; answered by parallels, such as 1 Cor. i. 5. Lev. ix. 7. &c. Necessity of the Word's taking flesh, viz. to sanctify, yet without destroying, the flesh. 26. But that the Son has no beginning of being, but before He was made
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Allegory of Melchizedek.
HEBREWS vii. 1-28 (R.V.). "For this Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, King of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually. Now consider
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Book ix. In the Last Book we Treated of the Indistinguishable Nature of God the Father And...
1. In the last book we treated of the indistinguishable nature of God the Father and God the Son, and demonstrated that the words, I and the Father are One [958] , go to prove not a solitary God, but a unity of the Godhead unbroken by the birth of the Son: for God can be born only of God, and He that is born God of God must be all that God is. We reviewed, although not exhaustively, yet enough to make our meaning clear, the sayings of our Lord and the Apostles, which teach the inseparable nature
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Do the Catholics or the Arians Take the Better Course to Assure Themselves of The...
Do the Catholics or the Arians take the better course to assure themselves of the favour of Christ as their Judge? An objection grounded on Ps. cx. 1 is disposed of, it being shown that when the Son is invited by the Father to sit at His right hand, no subjection is intended to be signified--nor yet any preferment, in that the Son sits at the Father's right hand. The truth of the Trinity of Persons in God, and of the Unity of their Nature, is shown to be proved by the angelic Trisagion. 100. Howbeit,
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose

First Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 12, 1-6. 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Peter's First Sermon
'This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, 35. Until I make Thy foes Thy footstool. 36. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son.
LUKE xv. The three parables of this chapter, like the seven in Matt. xiii., constitute a connected series. As soon as we begin to look into their contents and relations, it becomes obvious that they have been arranged according to a logical scheme, and that the group so framed is not fragmentary but complete. We cannot indeed fully comprehend the reciprocal relations of all until we shall have examined in detail the actual contents of each; and yet, on the other hand, a preliminary survey of the
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

History of Arian Opinions.
Arius's own sentiments; his Thalia and Letter to S. Alexander; corrections by Eusebius and others; extracts from the works of Asterius; letter of the Council of Jerusalem; first Creed of Arians at the Dedication of Antioch; second, Lucian's on the same occasion; third, by Theophronius; fourth, sent to Constans in Gaul; fifth, the Macrostich sent into Italy; sixth, at Sirmium; seventh, at the same place; and eighth also, as given above in §8; ninth, at Seleucia; tenth, at Constantinople; eleventh,
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Millennium in Relation to Sin.
In spite of the fact that Satan will have been removed from the earth, and that Christ reigns in person over it, yet conditions here will not be perfect even in the Millennium. Unregenerate human nature will remain unchanged. Sin will still be present, though much of its outward manifestation will be restrained. Discontent and wickedness will not be eradicated from the hearts of men, but will be kept beneath the surface by means of the Iron Rod. Multitudes will yield to Christ nothing but a "feigned
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Paul's Care and Prayer for the Church.
Text: Ephesians 3, 13-21. 13. Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 and that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strong
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity Paul's Thanks and Prayers for Churches.
Text: Philippians 1, 3-11. 3 I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, 5 for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now; 6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 even as it is right for me to be thus minded on behalf of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as, both in my bonds
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

The Tables Turned: the Questioners Questioned
'But when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Remaining Books of the Old Testament.
1. The divine authority of the Pentateuch having been established, it is not necessary to dwell at length on the historical books which follow. The events which they record are a natural and necessary sequel to the establishment of the theocracy, as given in the five books of Moses. The Pentateuch is occupied mainly with the founding of the theocracy; the following historical books describe the settlement of the Israelitish nation under this theocracy in the promised land, and its practical operation
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Ascension
"So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen." MARK 16:19-20 (R.V.) WE have reached the close of the great Gospel of the energies of Jesus, His toils, His manner, His searching gaze, His noble indignation, His love of children, the consuming zeal by virtue of which He was not more truly the
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The King on his Throne.
"Crown Him with many crowns, The King upon His Throne." When the time came for our Blessed Lord to return into Heaven again, He ascended in the presence of His Apostles, whilst in the act of blessing them; "and a cloud received Him out of their sight" (Acts i. 9). And, we are told, they "returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (S. Luke xxiv. 52), not sorrowing as before at His being taken from them. And when we consider what His Ascension implied, we can see that they had good reason for their joy.
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

The Debt of Irenæus to Justin Martyr
If we are to proceed with safety in forming a judgment as to the relation between Justin and Irenæus in respect of the matter which they have in common, it will be necessary not merely to consider a number of selected parallels, but also to examine the treatment of a particular theme in the two writers. Let us set side by side, for example, c. 32 of Justin's First Apology with c. 57 of the Demonstration. Justin has been explaining to his Roman readers who the Jewish prophets were, and then
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

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