Jehovah hath sworn, and doth not repent, 'Thou art a priest to the age, According to the order of Melchizedek.'Psalm 110:4 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleThe Lord hath sworn - Has most firmly purposed, and will most certainly perform it, feeling himself bound by his purpose, as an honest man would by his oath.
And will not repent - Will never change this purpose; it is perfectly without condition, and without contingency. Nothing is left here to the will of man or angel. Christ shall be incarnated, and the Gospel of his salvation shall be preached over the whole earth. This is an irresistible decree of that God who loves mankind.
Thou art a priest for ever - The word כהן cohen signifies, not only a priest, but also a prince; as, in the patriarchal times, most heads of families had and exercised both political and sacerdotal authority over all their descendants. Every priest had a threefold office:
1. He was an instructor of the family or tribe over which he presided.
2. He offered sacrifices for the sins of the people, to reconcile them to God, and give them access to his presence.
3. He was their mediator, and interceded for them. So is Christ, the grand, the universal Instructor, by his word and Spirit; the Lamb of God, who, by his sacrificial offering of himself, takes away the sin of the world, and still continues to exhibit himself before the throne in his sacrificial character; and also the great Mediator between God and man: and in these characters he is a Priest for ever. He will instruct, apply the sacrificial offering, and intercede for man, till time shall be no more.
After the order of Melchizedek - For the elucidation of this point, the reader is requested to refer to the notes on Genesis 14:18, Genesis 14:19, and to the observations at the end of that chapter, where the subject, relative to the person, name, and office of this ancient king, is fully discussed; and it will be necessary to read that note, etc., as if appended to this place.
Melchizedek was king of Salem, that is, king of Jerusalem; for Salem was its ancient name: but שלם salem signifies peace, and צדק tsedek, righteousness. Christ is styled the Prince of peace; and he is the king that rules in the empire of righteousness; and all peace and righteousness proceed from him, Hebrews 7:2.
He is priest after the order of Melchizedek - after his pattern; in the same kind or manner of way in which this ancient king was priest.
Calmet properly observes that there were three orders of priesthood.
1. That of royalty. All ancient kings being, in virture of their office, priests also. This seems to have been considered as the natural right of royalty, as it obtained in almost every nation of the earth, from the beginning of the world down to the end of the Roman empire.
2. That of the first-born. This right appertained naturally to Reuben, as the first-born in the family of Jacob.
3. That of the Levites, instituted by God himself, and taken from Reuben, because of his transgression. The Levitical priesthood ended with the Jewish polity; and that also of the first-born, which had been absorbed in it.
This order, therefore, was not perpetual; it was intended to last only for a time. But that of royalty is perpetual, though not now in general use, because founded in what is called natural right. It is, therefore, according to this most ancient order, that Christ is a Priest for ever. The kings of England as heads of the Church appointing all bishops, continue to assume, in a certain way, this original right.
continued...
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lord
Psalm 89:34-36 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips...
Hebrews 5:6 As he said also in another place, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 6:13-18 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself...
Hebrews 7:28 For the law makes men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, makes the Son...
will not
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: has he said, and shall he not do it?...
thou
Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Zechariah 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne...
Hebrews 6:20 Where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 7:1-3,11,17 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings...
Revelation 1:6 And has made us kings and priests to God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 110:4 Parallel Commentaries
Age Change Forever Manner Melchisedek Melchizedek Melchiz'edek Mind Oath Order Priest Repent SwornAge Change Forever Manner Melchisedek Melchizedek Melchiz'edek Mind Oath Order Priest Repent SwornTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.Psalm 110:4 Mobile Bible
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