There are many parts of the Old Testament that are mentioned in the New Testament. An example of that is Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith.” It is also mentioned in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. But no other passage of the Old Testament is mentioned or referenced more than Psalm 110. It is mentioned or referenced in Matthew 22:44, 26:64; Mark 13:36, 14:62, 16:19; Luke 20:42, 22: 69; Acts 2:34-35, 5:31, 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13, 8:1, 10:12-13, 12:2, and 1 Peter 3:22-24.

Why is this Psalm so important? I mean, Psalm 22 is about the day and the events surrounding the crucifixion; why not quote this one over and over again? Well, this Psalm is about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. In it, along with Matthew 22, we are exposed to the Trinity and see YHWH, Adonai, and the Holy Spirit all working together. Jesus tells the Pharisees in Matthew 22:43 that the Spirit allows David to see this conversation in Heaven, 1000 years before Jesus was born. We have the entire Godhead; YHWH speaking to Adonai, and that is being allowed by the Spirit.

We have a world of churches that talk about Jesus, and all they preach is Jesus and His love – He loves everyone; He is love, love, love, and they never talk about the Jesus that is coming. But here in this Psalm, we get to see the entire person of the Jesus that will return shortly.

Let us set the tone; Jesus is told by YHWH (LORD) to sit at His right hand. Here we learn two things: that Jesus is sitting, meaning the job is done, and He is sitting at the seat of power. He is at Yahweh’s right hand. In Acts 7:56, Stephen sees Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand as He welcomed Stephen home. Jesus was in the seat of Power before He was born, and He returned to the seat of Power when He went back home to Heaven.

In verse 2, we see that he will reign in Zion, and He will reign in power and strength. By the way, Zion is Israel.

Verses 3-4: not only is He going to rule and be the King there, but He will also be the Priest after the order of Melchizedek. We first meet this Melchizedek in Genesis 14 when Abram is returning from rescuing Lot. He is met by the High Priest of Salem, who is also called the Prince of Salem. Salem will later be conquered by the Jebusites and be called Jebu-Salem, which is later conquered by David and comes to be called Jerusalem. Here is where Melchizedek lives, reigns as a King (called a Prince) in those days, and also is the High Priest. We are told in Hebrews 7:1-10 that this Melchizedek, whom Abraham met (verse 4), has no father and no mother, no genealogy. He has neither beginning of days nor end of life and is made like the Son of God. Jesus is this Priest forever, and He is also the King (Prince of Salem), which translates to Prince of Peace. This is Jesus!!!

Verses 5-7: What will Jesus, the High Priest and King, do when He comes? He will judge the nations (verse 6); also see the last part of Matthew 25: the judgment of the sheep and the goats. Then He will fill the place with dead bodies, and in Ezekiel 39:11-16, we see that when the Messiah returns, He will kill so many people that they will take 7 months to bury all the bodies, and they will use the armaments of war to burn fires for 7 years without cutting down any trees. And back in Psalm 110:6, Jesus will EXECUTE the heads of many nations.

Wow, justice will be done! Too many of us forget that Jesus is the God of wrath as well. When He comes the next time, there will be no humility, no meekness, and no loneliness. HE will come, and the skies will be filled; billions will die for their rebellion against the Most High God, and He will bring justice to the widows, the orphans, and the mistreated. He will kill the people who think their power and/or money camouflages them. They are wrong; Jesus sees it all, and it is all recorded. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

But in all this, God is still not willing that any should perish. His patience is longsuffering, and His grace is extended to all who will call on the name of the Lord Jesus, who will humble themselves and beg for God’s mercy on us rotten sinners. He will hear and save.

seangooding@yahoo.ca

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario

Over the past few weeks, I have had a chance to take time to review a few things about modern Christian music. Let me begin by saying that I like a lot of Christian music. My kids grew up and are growing up listening to Christian music. I have attended concerts and the like, spent money on cassettes and CDs, and I have sung songs in the car in times of deep sorrow and in times of joy as well. I love a lot of the Christian music out there. Christian music, like any other thing, can be abused and misused, and sadly that is happening.

The Psalms are the Songs of the Jews. They taught doctrine and told the story of the Bible in song. In the Psalms we can see the Creation – Psalm 139. We can picture the crucifixion in Psalm 22. We can find rest in Psalm 23. We can learn life lessons in Psalm 73, and on and on we can go. Many of the older songs of the Christian faith had doctrine to tell, songs like “It Is Well with My Soul,” “Blessed Assurance,” “How Great Thou Art,” and a myriad of others. Recently, there has been a drive toward the worship chorus, we have a few of these short Psalms as well, like Psalm 150.

One of the doctrines that has of late been watered down is that of sin. We hear a lot about mistakes, a lot about messing up and other things, but sin is not a big thing with many. It divides; it seems harsh, judgmental, and really is not inclusive. But in the Psalms that we will look at today, David is rather clear that we are sinners. He used words like iniquity; this means immoral, gross, and unfair; he uses words like transgressions, and, of course, sin. These are harsh words; they remind us that our sin, our grossness, our immorality put Jesus on the cross.

It was not a few mistakes, not a mess-up; no, my sin, your sin was the reason He was nailed to the cross. When we cheapen the language, we cheapen the sacrifice as well. Thus, when Horacio Spafford writes “My sin–oh the bliss of the glorious thought—My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,” it is a different understanding of what Jesus did.

We learn in Psalms 32 and 51 that confession is an essential part of the Christian walk. David tells us in Psalm 32:3-5 that keeping silent about his sin sapped his energy and that God’s hand was heavy on him in conviction; it was only when he confessed that there was forgiveness. In Psalm 32 we have the theory, so to speak, but in Psalm 51 we have the theory played out. Psalm 51 was written after Nathan confronted him, David, about Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. Notice the language in Psalm 51: transgressions, iniquity, sins, and in this Psalm, we see him begging for God’s tender mercies. David pleads with God to blot out his sins, to wash him, and to not remove the Holy Spirit from him.

At that time in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not indwell the redeemed as He does today. David asked God to restore the joy of his salvation in verse 12; he asked to be delivered from guilt in verse 14, and then he can truly praise God.

Sadly, we have churches filled with people who have unconfessed sin. They have no understanding that, even as saved people, they need to confess their sin, their iniquity, and their transgressions often; it should be daily, and as we mature more and more, a moment-by-moment confession that runs all the day long. Notice in Job 1:4-5, he offered a sacrifice on behalf of his kids in the event that they had sinned. He, as the high priest of his home, was the mediator between them and God.

Is there unconfessed household sin that is stealing your joy, your praise, and your worship? Confession is an essential part of the Christian walk. 1 John 1:8-9 calls us to repent, to confess, and to tell God all; He knows everything. We are sinners, horrible sinners saved by grace. When we diminish the gravity and the true depth of our evil (Isaiah 64:4, filthy rags), when we sugarcoat how egregious sin is to God, when we water down how offensive evil is to God, we also water down and take for granted His loving kindness, His grace, His forgiveness, and His patience.

Most of us – me included – do not want to confront the evil that lies within. Most of us that are maturing in Jesus are only beginning to realize just how sinful we truly are. It affects the way we think about others; it affects the reactions we have in many situations, and it seems to show up in every situation. Sometimes we can see the horizon, and we plan ahead, and we still sin; we still say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and react the wrong way. Oh my, how sinful we are!

We are reminded that love covers a multitude of sins; we bring the multitude of sins that is being referred to, and only the Loving, Gracious, Merciful, Kind, Supernatural God can cover them. Now…go out and forgive people with the same love and frequency that God uses to forgive you (Matthew 18:22).

seangooding@yahoo.ca

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario