Psalm 110 — 111
come to mind (Judg. 7:4–7), for their fitness for the battle was tested by the way they drank at the river.
because He was from the tribe of Judah and not from Levi. But because His priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek, who was both a king and priest (Gen. 14:18–24), He can minister in heaven today. Melchizedek was not an appearance of Jesus Christ on earth; he is only a type of Jesus in His present priestly ministry. (See Heb. 5:1–11; 7–8; Zech. 6:12.) No Aaronic priest was "a priest forever" because each high priest died and was replaced by his eldest son. Being a mere human, Melchizedek died, but there is no record of either his birth or death in the Scriptures. This makes him a type of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and the High Priest forever. In Jesus Christ, David has a throne forever (2 Sam. 7:13, 16, 25, 29; Luke 1:30–33) and a priest forever, and all who have trusted Christ share in those blessings. Jesus Christ is our glorified King-Priest in heaven, interceding for us (Rom. 8:34). His throne is a throne of grace to which we may come at any time to find the help we need (Heb. 4:14–16).
Jesus Christ is exalted and enthroned in heaven! One day He will come and conquer the devil and his armies and establish His kingdom on earth! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
PSALM 111
Life was not easy for the Jewish remnant that returned to Jerusalem after their exile in Babylon. Their neighbors were often hostile, the Persian officials were not always cooperative, and the economic situation was difficult. Ezra the scribe and the prophet Haggai describe some of these problems in their books and point out that the Jewish people were not always faithful to the Lord or generous to each other. This was why God withheld His blessing. This psalm may have been written by one of the Levites to remind the people to put the Lord first and trust Him to meet every need. The next psalm describes the blessings God will give to those who truly fear Him and do His will. Both psalms are acrostics with each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Other acrostic psalms are 9, 10, 24, 34, 37, 119, and 145. This was a special style of writing and perhaps the arrangement helped the people to memorize God's Word. The writer gives us four instructions to follow if we would enjoy the help and blessing of the Lord in the difficult situations of life.
Vindication: The King-Priest Is a Conqueror (vv. 5–7) All of the "royal psalms" contain predictions about battles and victories for God's King (2:7–9, 12; 18:16–19, 31–34, 37–42; 20:1–2, 7–8; 21:8–12; 45:3–5; 61:3; 72:8–9; 89:22–23; 132:18). Today is the Lord's "day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:1–2) when He is calling sinners to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18–21). But there will come a day of wrath, "the day of the Lord," when Jesus the Lamb of God will begin to "roar" as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5–6), and judgment will fall on the world. This is the victory the Father promised in verse 1 and also in 2:5, 9. The psalmist describes stacks of corpses on the battlefield with nobody to bury them. Even allowing for poetic license, the picture is not a pretty one—but consider what John (the apostle of love) wrote in Revelation 14:17–20 and 19:11–19 (and see Isa. 66:24). The word in verse 6 translated "heads" (kjv) or "chief men, rulers" (nasb, niv) is singular in the Hebrew. It could be a collective noun or it may refer to the last great world ruler, the Antichrist or Beast (Rev. 13:1–10) whom Jesus Christ will destroy at His coming (2 Thess. 2:1–2; Rev. 19:17–21).
Begin with Worship and Praise (v. 1) Psalms 111 and 112, along with 115–117, are "hallelujah" psalms that either begin or end with "Praise the Lord!" If we cannot rejoice in our circumstances, we can always rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). This opening verse is actually a vow; the writer is determined to praise God no matter what happens. Sometimes we simply need to get ourselves by the nape of the neck and decide to do what is right no matter how we feel! But he does not stay at home and worship in private, as important as that is; he goes to the sanctuary and joins in with others, for we encourage one another as we praise God together. The "company [assembly, council] of the upright" is a smaller group of the psalmist's friends who, like him, are a part of the larger "congregation." All of us have people in church who are very special to us, and as long as we do not form an exclusive clique, there is nothing wrong with worshipping God with your close friends. The "growth group" movement in the church today has proven very helpful, especially in larger congregations. But the important thing is that we are wholehearted in our worship, giving God our very best.
The image in verse 7 is difficult to decipher. The NIV margin reads, "The One who grants succession will set him in authority," meaning that Christ will win the victory and receive the promised throne. But it is necessary to alter the Hebrew text to get this meaning. The picture is obviously not to be taken literally, for a King riding out of heaven on a horse doesn't need a drink of water to keep going. The warrior David, who knew something about battles, is saying, "Nothing will detain Him, detour Him, or discourage Him as He attacks the enemy. Like every good soldier, He will linger only long enough to get a sip of water, and then He will raise His head and continue the chase." We remember that before His crucifixion, Jesus refused to receive the narcotic drink, but tasted death to the full on the cross (Matt. 27:34). Gideon and his men also
Remember God's Great Works (vv. 2–6) God's people do not live in the past, but they know how to use the past to give them encouragement in the