“The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”—PSALM cx, 4.
CONCERNING this wonderful divine oracle it may well be said, as of heaven, “The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof,” for there is a whole heaven of grace and glory in these marvellous words, in which Jehovah the Father puts Himself rejoicingly on oath to attest to Jehovah Jesus, the Son, the perpetuity of that office which deals with sin for the purpose of expiating, and forgiving and eternally abolishing it, to the glory of God in the redemption of a people that no man can number. “Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
I need not enter at any length on the nature of our Lord’s priesthood; no better statement could be given with that view than that with which we are intimate from infancy—”Christ executeth the office of a priest in His once offering up of Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us.” Nor do I require to point out to one that has tried to understand it, that it is on this office that our redemption most directly and immediately depends, inasmuch as Christ could have nothing to reveal as prophet, nor rule as king (except to destroy), were it not that He is primarily a priest. It is from the priestly office all the grace overflows to the kingly power and prophetic revelation, so that what He reveals as prophet is for our welfare and profit because He is a priest, and the gentleness of His kingly power arises from His being the Lamb of God, who was given over for our offences and rose again for our justification.
The prophetic office is promised and prophesied of without an oath—”a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up of your brethren like unto me,” etc. (Deut. xviii, 18). The kingly honour also is conferred on Jehovah Jesus without an oath—”The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand,” (Ps. cx, 1). But in the case of the priesthood Jehovah imposes the solemnity of His sacred oath—”The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
* We regret that this sermon cannot be printed in one issue. Will those interested note that concluding part will appear next month (D.V.).—Editor.
The kingly office is embraced in the stability of the oath as reward for His priesthood. Every function roots in the priesthood, partakes of the stability, and comes under the full sweep of this wondrous office. Speaking of that kingly office, here made to unite with the priesthood in the person of Jesus, we find a union not in similitude—one that was not in Aaron’s priesthood. In the Messiah, kingship and priesthood are combined, because He is priest after the order of Him whose name is King of Righteousness, and who by designation was King of Salem, i.e., King of Peace. No less obvious is the harmony of divine attributes and divergent interests; for mercy and truth are met, righteousness and peace have embraced each other in a priest faithful and merciful, who is at once a king of righteousness and a king of peace.
We are not to suppose that Melchisedec was without father or mother literally: if he was, he did not belong to our race, but was really a second man, and the Lord from heaven would then be the third man. What we are led to understand is, that the narrative brings him before us without speaking of father or mother, without mention of genealogy, without anything about the commencement of office, or his retirement from office—thus presenting him as priest without predecessor or successor, beginning of days or end of life, made in this respect (according to the literary aspect of the story) like unto the Son of God, so that Jesus might be made like him, not having His priesthood transferred to Him from another, or by Him to another. So is Jesus a priest after the order of Melchisedec.
In attempting to open up a little the wonderful contents of this verse, feeling our need of the light and teaching of God’s Spirit, we may consider—
- The call to the priesthood which it constitutes.
- The commandment it involves.
- The constitution of office it effects.
- The pledge of success it implies.
- The congratulation it expresses.
- The Testimony it bears.
- The oath by which it is sealed.
I. Christ’s Call to the Office.
Hereby God the Father calls Him, saying, “Thou art a priest.” Such a call was necessary. A call from God is necessary to all office in the service of God, especially to the office of priesthood, for priesthood is with a view to the worship of God. The High Priest is minister of the true sanctuary. On His shoulders rests the responsibility of the worship of God. All will-worship is abhorrent to the Divine Mind and injurious to the Divine glory. Whatever is according to these must stand the test of this divine rule, “of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.” First, “of Him,” originating with Him before it can find a place among the all things “through Him and to Him.” God’s worship stands pre-eminent in this; all will-worship is peculiarly offensive to God. Christ’s priesthood, intended to take the lead and headship of worship to the Father throughout all eternity, must pre-eminently find its origin in the will of God, and come into existence at His call. Hence the divine expositor in Hebrews, speaking of the priesthood, says, “No man taketh this honour to himself but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” The general principle thus exemplified was not violated or dispensed with in the case of Christ; even God the Son would not assume office without the call of God the Father. “So Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest”; but He that said unto Him, “Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten Thee,” “Thou art a priest for ever.” Behold, then, the fountainhead of salvation, the divine origin and authorisation of the priesthood of Christ in the call of God.
That call springs from the love of God, and carries the authority of God; it is a call which came from God, as sovereign in grace, in authority, and in government too. Now is verified that word in which the Father, addressing the Son, says, “The Lord Jehovah hath called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand and keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people,” etc. What magnificent help this consideration affords to the poor and needy soul struggling under a conviction of the guilt and strength of sin, when wondering whether sin can possibly be forgiven, vanquished, and expelled—whether conscience, perishing under the shame of sin and its matchless perplexity and confusion, can ever be cleansed and brought to bask in the sunshine of self approbation! What magnificent help is it to such a soul, when ready to strike sail and to be driven before the wind helpless, to be told that there is One called of God waiting on this continually—to be told that on the authority sin hath violated, and for the evil introduced to the soul that eats as a canker—to be told, I say, that there is a great responsible office-bearer, whose very call of God is to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in an everlasting righteousness—to cleanse confused, polluted, self-affronted souls to a delightful purity, whiter than snow, God Himself being judge! What an aspect of preciousness Christ’s priesthood assumes, having the approbation of God, and originating in His authority, His love, and His call!
“May I draw on the services of this great High Priest?” the soul asks. “Have I a warrant to solicit His services?” Is not His call to the office warrant enough for you to present yourself before Him, that He may have an opportunity to exercise His office? This opportunity He cannot have without having poor sinful souls to trust in Him and commit their case to Him. Besides, is this call the only call you ever heard about? Is not Christ’s call to the priesthood the great root call—the parent of many more? Even now a branch shall grow out of its roots. To whom shall it bend, and into what bosom shall it seek to deposit its clustered fruitfulness? To thine here if thou wilt have it. Every branch call comes from the root call, partaking of the root and fatness of that call. Strong in the might of the Father’s oath, and love to the Son, comes the call to thee, “Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” The gospel call comes to thee in spirit and in truth, in presence of God the Father, as He swears and will not repent, “Thou art a priest for ever.” Hear Him as He goes on to call thee to come boldly to a throne of grace, that thou mayest obtain mercy. Take thy call as coming out of Christ’s call. Remember, thou never had’st been called had He not been called; out of His and its glorious vitality springs the call to thee; and dost thou not feel as if such a call, so grounded upon and as springing out of Christ’s call to His priesthood, were grappling with thine inmost heartstrings, and bringing thee effectually to taste and see that the Lord is gracious?
II. The Father’s Commandment.
Christ’s priesthood is the fruit of divine commandment. The Father speaks as sovereign, and in the language of command—“The Lord sware,” etc. As Lord He contemplates the Son as incarnate, calls a servant, and gives commandment—“Behold My servant whom I uphold; Mine elect in whom my soul delighteth.” In intimate relation with His character as God’s elect, but also as servant, is it true that “He will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax.” Such, however, is not the service to which He has been called. He has finer work to do than that. Great as His love for His office is, it is as the servant of the Father, strictly under commandment, that He fulfils all that His office requires of Him. “I lay down my life . . . This commandment have I received of my Father.” It is by commandment that He offers Himself to God to satisfy justice, that the Father may freely forgive. It is by commandment He rises again from the dead and makes intercession—that other great department of the priest’s office, for listen, “Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” The Mediator has to obey the commandment first—“Ask of Me,” and He obeys through intercession for His people. Blessed be the condescension of the Son of God, for He has been pleased to come to circumstances in which it is His duty to relieve sin-burdened souls, when they come to Him. It is not only His call—He will attend to it: it is not only His profession—He will not be above it—but it is His duty, He will have to perform it. He received commandment to this effect, and now that it is His duty—“Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” Why? Because it would be a violation of His duty, as well as against His loving disposition. He made it His duty to receive weary perplexed sinners, for “I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” “And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life.” If you have cause to bless God that His call to Christ is His commandment, are you to forget or be less thankful that His call to you is His commandment—“This is His commandment, that ye believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.” And if the commandment to Christ to be priest involved all that it did to Christ, shall it, to escape from shame, sorrow, and death, be burdensome to you? Surely this is not a grievous yoke—“My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
III. The Constitution of the Priesthood.
The oracle that calls the Son constitutes Him a priest. Nothing more is needed to His being a priest, or to the constitution of His priesthood, than this call. This call makes Him what it calls Him, in short, it is an effectual call. This is not a minute or superfluous distinction. “The word of the oath maketh the Son a priest.” Again, “Inasmuch as not without an oath He was made a priest,” and again, “Who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment.” What is the proof that He is made a priest? Nothing but God appealing to the oracle of call, “for He testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever.” The call made Him what it called Him, and that for ever. Such is the power of the word of God: it gives being to what it gives expression—it brings what it calls, even though it calls things that be not, into existence; for being called, they begin to be. The supreme instance is in the priesthood of the Son. As soon as God calls Him to the priesthood the office exists, for Jesus is not disobedient to the heavenly message. He says, “I come to do Thy will, O God.” And is not this supreme case intended to be in the church of God the ruling case—an example to all others? Is not this glorious effectual call of Christ to the priesthood the model of every effectual call God gives forth? Shall not God’s word be always credited with power to give being to what it gives expression? “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God? Called! Is it merely nominally? Does it not make those the sons whom it calls the sons of God? Brethren, whether is it easier to account for the call of God being effectual or ineffectual? Which is more likely to be regarded as the probable result of God giving a call—that it should be effectual or ineffectual?
Concerning effectual calling, then, are not two gospel calls, the one effectual and the other ineffectual, totally distinct? No, the gospel call is one and the same to the saved as to the lost. The difference is not that there is a different call, but that there is in the one case effectuality, which is not in the other. Again, I ask, whether is it easier to account for the call of God being effectual or ineffectual? Verily the real mystery should be the mystery of iniquity in unbelief, that great sin which with such daring and deadly effect stands in between the word of God and its accomplishment. The possibility of such a thing as that God should call, and I refuse, arises from the fact that my will must be free, and cannot possibly be forced. That the will should be such, that unbelief is certain, until it is renewed by grace, indicates such a depth of corruption and moral evil as reflects the character of infinite mercy on the provision made for its restoration—”The Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” He promises that the call to salvation shall be as effectual as His call to priesthood, for “The Lord shall send out of Zion the rod of His strength, and His people shall be willing in a day of power.”
IV. The Father’s Pledge that the Priesthood shall be Successful.
The office will be as effectual as the call to it, triumphant, inviolable, eternal. “Thou art a priest for ever.” Observe the force of this pledge as it applies to the point of danger, the sacrifice and actual death of Jesus, and guarantees its victorious completion and perfection. There shall never be a moment in which Thou shalt not be a priest, not even in the dread instant of death on the cross. In that moment, when all powers and forces shall conspire to quell and victimize Thee, they shall not succeed or reduce Thee to the condition of a mere victim. Thou shalt never more than then be a priest, for Thou shalt offer Thyself in death. No man taketh Thy life from Thee; Thou shalt lay it down Thyself, and the Father pledges grace and strength to do it. “Behold My servant whom I uphold, Mine Elect in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon Him, and He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” He through the Eternal Spirit shall offer Himself without spot unto God, “when,” by His own priestly action, “He makes 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.” If Jesus was not a priest on the cross, then He was vanquished in His conflict with death and hell; if not a priest, He was a victim in the coarse sense of being victimized; but no, no! Our Lord, no doubt, became an atoning victim; He is the Lamb slain—slain from the foundation of the world, and really slain on Calvary, and who is now in the midst of the throne as slain—the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
But while Justice slew the Lamb, He Himself as Priest offered the Lamb. This priest offered no less precious a lamb than Himself, and it could not be offered by a less glorious priest than Himself. He was a triumphant priest at the moment that threatened the extinction of His priesthood. Death terminated the priesthood of Aaron. “Take Aaron thy brother, and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people and shall die there,” etc. “And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death, but this man, because He continueth ever, has an untransferable priesthood.” The oracle proclaimed this, making the Son a priest once for all. It was not in the power of death to extinguish such a priesthood, for it was made after the power of an endless life—just “to destroy death and him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and to deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Break your bonds in the triumph of your Saviour’s death. This is the victory of salvation which faith finds in the cross—victory in death itself. He gave Himself as “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour”—in spiritual priestly glory offering Himself, in Him sinners succeed in offering themselves living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. How could a sinner offer himself to God if the Saviour was simply slain—merely a victim, and not a priest? No, this oracle pledges a triumphant offering of Himself. “The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
(To be continued.)