Psalm 110 is very precious. Verse 4 reads: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’”
This verse is very precious and rich in meanings! Actually, God doesn’t need to swear, as every word that He says greatly surpasses man’s oaths. Yet, the Father swore and would not change His mind. Being the High Priest, the Lord had to endure the greatest pain that no one in the whole universe can ever comprehend, yet, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit endured this pain together. This is most stunning!
Isaiah chapter 53, verse 10 reads: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” (NKJV)
God’s love is overwhelming. It seems unreasonable that He was pleased to crush His beloved Son. However, He loves us and the Lord so much. The Lord has accomplished what pleases the Father most. He has risen from the dead and completely solved the problems of our sin! He is risen and He sees me. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2 reads: “…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…” He sees His offspring. It’s so precious that He sees me. He sees that He will gain me for eternity! Both Abba’s and the Lord’s joy is over me. I am the joy that was set before Him. Each one in God’s family is very precious; how much more when we’re all together! What pleases the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit the most will surely come true!
Psalm 110, verse 4 is very precious! It reads: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4) For our eternity, God appointed Him our High Priest forever. One of the most important duties of a priest is to bring people to God, so that man and God can be the closest. Being a priest, the Lord’s aim is to bring us closest to God and for us to enjoy Himself.
Abba knows that the Lord desires to be a man forever and to die for us. He has gloriously and stunningly gained us forever. This glory of His is indescribable. The Father has sworn and will not change His mind. He has appointed the Lord as our High Priest. This is the glory of the Father. These actions demonstrate the immense love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the Lord’s determination to endure the greatest pain. He also saw the joy that was set before Him.
It’s very precious that “the Lord has sworn and will not change His mind.” This is very precious, isn’t it? For you and me, God has prepared a priest to solve the problem of sin. Furthermore, this brings us closest to God. We ought to exercise our free will to desire, embrace and enjoy what the Lord has accomplished for us. We should not use our freedom to obstruct His will; rather, we should cooperate with Him. He wants to be the closest to us and this is true love. We can be heart to heart with Him. It’s very important for us to use our free will to respond to Him, because this shows our true love to Him.
The Book of Hebrews specifically tells us that the Lord is our priest. This priest is exceedingly precious, and surpasses all priests in the Old Testament time. Think about it: the priest is God Himself! The beloved Son of God became a man forever so that He can be our priest. Though He had to endure the greatest pain, He is very willing to do so. It’s so precious that we have the Book of Hebrews, I treasure it so much. The enemy hinders us to draw close to God and to experience God. But the Father has prepared for us this priest, a mediator. It reminds me of Zechariah chapter 3, where the Lord rebukes our opponent. God calls us righteous; we are justified by the Lord’s blood.
Revelation chapter 12, verse 11 reads: “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” The Lord has caused us to have such faith and love for Him.
Hebrews chapter 8, verse 1 reads: “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.” What He accomplished for us is perfect! He is infinitely great. His love is also stunning! God shows His full acceptance by saying, “Sit at my right hand.” The Lord has accomplished the most perfect work requested by the Father—the Father has sworn to appoint Him the High Priest.
Psalm 110, verse 1 reads, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” (Psalm 110:1)
Speaking of priests, I can’t help but to talk about this High Priest. Because of sin, we were once far away from God and separated from Him. What the Lord has done is so perfect! It’s beyond our imagination that not only our sins were forgiven, we are righteous before God. But more than that, we can be priests! Isn’t this wonderful? A priest is the closest to God. Isn’t this amazing? I think of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 13: “… you who once were far off and have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Isn’t this remarkable? Our current identity is in such fierce contrast to the old. We were once far off from God, but now we are priests of God. No wonder Revelation chapter 5 says that we will lead all creatures to praise God! It is so precious that we are the firstborn in the entire universe, and one of our glories is being priests. It is most glorious that all of us are firstborn. Being a priest is very glorious. Hebrews writes that man cannot take the honour of a priest for himself. God’s loving-kindness to us is so extraordinary. It is so precious that the Lord is the priest as well as the sacrifice. It is so touching! By His own blood—the blood of the Son of God, He redeemed us. He is forever living for you and me.