“The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’ The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings on the day of His wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore He will lift up His head.” Psalm 110:4-7
Devotional Thought For The Day
We rejoice to recall over and over again the blessings that have come to all mankind in the priestly sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, blessings which are appropriated by faith. And these blessings are dynamic; they not only change our status in the sight of God, with His pronouncement of forgiveness, mercy, and cleansing of our sin and guilt, but the experience of His love by faith also powerfully renews our hearts and minds in the ways of love, God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. This is the heart of relationship with God, and the center of our being as children of God.
The history of the world since the time of this great sacrifice of atonement has been a period of God’s gracious patience and steadfast love for mankind, the exercise of His will to build His church, not willing that any should perish in unbelief, but that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. We continue to live each day in this precious time of blessing, even though we also tolerate and endure the many wicked dynamics of this fallen world of sin. We too must patiently persist in repentance and faith, steadfastly enduring all that seeks to destroy our faith and trust in God and our peace and joy in His love. And it is our great privilege and pleasure to participate in this process of “making disciples” by baptizing people in His Name and teaching all that He has commanded us.
More blessedness is coming. God has sworn and will not change His mind! Evil will not be allowed to afflict God and His children forever. The same Melchizedekian Priest of God will also return in glory as the great cosmic conqueror. It is a dreadful description – His execution of judgment on the Last Day when all earthly authorities which defy His grace and salvation will be shattered and destroyed. It will be exhausting even to God, but He will be refreshed and upheld in His work. His Word and promise must be fulfilled, the final crushing of the devil’s head and the utter destruction of all evil in the eternal fire of hell.
Mankind is resistant – both to living in the gracious mercy of God’s salvation and also to considering what we inherently know is coming, the day of reckoning. We need to remember and recall both things, lest we give up hope and come to despair, and lest we give up resolve to love and capitulate to the lure of sin. There is much that draws our attention away from these greatest of cosmic realities, so we must be reminded frequently. The older and wiser we get the more convinced we are of the necessity and the inevitability of the judgment of God. So let us take care to continue on in our faith and trust in God’s great Priest and the blessed atonement He has provided for us. And let us grow in our commitment to the ways of love, understanding with great clarity and fear the judgment that all sin and wickedness demands.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, thanks and praise to You for making us Your friends and calling us Your friends. Grant that we live in constant repentance and faith in Your great atoning love, that we grow more devoted and committed to love. Keep us faithful and steadfast in the face of the great stench of wickedness that permeates and dominates the world. Remind us, and keep us in eager expectation, of the great Day of Judgment that is coming, when You will rout and destroy all evil. Amen.