Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 110:7
He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
7. The subject of this verse is not Jehovah, though the O.T. does not shrink from the boldest anthropomorphisms (e.g. Psa 78:65; Isa 63:1 ff.), but the king. The transition is abrupt, but as in the prophets we pass insensibly from the words of Jehovah to the words of the prophet, so here we pass from the action of Jehovah to the action of the king, who is His representative.
The poet presents him to our imagination in hot pursuit of the enemy. Though wearied with the toil of battle, he does not desist. He halts but for a moment to drink from the mountain torrent which he crosses. Refreshed and invigorated, he presses forward to complete his victory, till he is exalted in triumph over every foe.
lift high the head ] i.e. be triumphantly victorious. Cp. Psa 3:3; Psa 27:6.
The martial language of the Psalm receives a natural explanation if its primary reference was to David, at a time when the nation of Israel had to fight for its existence against enemies on every side, rather than to the Messiah whom he expected. That such language should be imitated in the Psalms of Solomon (17:23ff.), in an age which looked for a conquering king as its Messianic ideal, is not to be wondered at. The passage is worth quoting for the sake of its contrast as well as its resemblance to this Psalm and Psalms 2.
“Behold, O Lord, and raise up for them their king, the son of David, in the time which thou knowest, O God,
That he may reign over Israel thy servant;
And gird him with strength to break in pieces unrighteous rulers;
To cleanse Jerusalem from the heathen that trample it down and destroy it,
In wisdom and in righteousness;
To thrust out sinners from the inheritance,
To break in pieces the arrogance of the sinners,
To shatter all their substance as a potter’s vessels with a rod of iron.
To destroy the lawless nations with the word of his mouth,
That the nations may flee from him at his rebuke,
And to punish sinners in the imagination of their heart.”
A translation of the Targum is subjoined. It will be noted that the Psalm is treated as referring to David.
Jehovah said by His word that He would make me lord of all Israel. But He said to me again, Wait for Saul who is of the tribe of Benjamin, until he die, for one kingdom approacheth not another [i.e. there cannot be two kings together], and afterwards I will make thine enemies thy footstool. [ Another Targum. Jehovah said by His word, that He would give me dominion, because I devoted myself to learn the law of His (Psa 110:1 my) right hand. Wait until I make thine enemy thy footstool.] The rod of thy strength shall Jehovah send forth from Zion, and thou shalt rule in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people of the house of Israel who devote themselves willingly to the study of the law, in the day of battle shalt thou be holpen with them: in splendours of holiness shall the mercies of God hasten unto thee like the descent of the dew: thy generations shall dwell securely. Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent, that thou shalt be appointed prince of the world to come for merit, because thou hast been an innocent king. The Shechinah of Jehovah at thy right hand hath stricken through kings in the day of His wrath. He is appointed judge over the peoples: he hath filled the earth with the bodies of the wicked who have been slain: he hath stricken through the heads of exceeding many kings over the earth. From the mouth of the prophet in the way shall he receive doctrine; therefore shall he exalt the head.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He shall drink of the brook in the way – The design here seems to be to represent the Messiah as a victorious king and conqueror pursuing his enemies. In the previous verse the psalmist had represented him under the image of one engaged in battle, and slaying his enemies with a great slaughter. He here represents him as pursuing those who should escape from the battle, and as pursuing them without fainting or exhaustion. He is like one who finds abundant springs and streams of water in his journeyings; who refreshes himself at those fountains and streams; who, therefore, is not faint and weary. He pursues his foes vigorously and with success.
Therefore shall he lift up the head – Therefore shall he triumph, or be successful. The head falls when we are faint and exhausted, when we are disappointed and are ashamed, when we are conscious of guilt. It is lifted up in conscious rectitude, in success and triumph, in the exuberance of hope. The idea here is, that the Messiah would be triumphant. He would achieve the victory over all his foes; he would pursue, without exhaustion, his flying enemies, and he would return from the conquest joyous, exulting, triumphant. All this is under the image of a victorious hero; all this will be accomplished in the conquest of the world by the Gospel; in the subduing of the foes of God; in the final scene when the Redeemer shall deliver up the kingdom to God. 1Co 15:24-28.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 110:7
He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
Refreshment through suffering
The words place before us two pictures. The one is that of want, and the other is that of its supply. He that drinks of the brook is he who needs its refreshment. He lifts up his head, when he has drunk of the running stream: it was drooping before; he had been faintly pursuing his object, but now he goes on his way with head erect, and with elastic tread.
I. The similarity between the features of nature and of grace.
II. The meaning of the text as spoken by David. In some of his sharp encounters with Saul, in some of those hot persecutions which he suffered in such number, there might have been some occasion in which the taste of water was the renovation of his strength; or perhaps he had special reference to the river Jordan, or the brook of Siloa, and coupled them with the holy city, and thought of them as typical streams, and looked at their waters, when tasted, as declaring that the city was nigh at hand, and that he that should drink it would be approaching its shining gates.
III. The application of the words to Christ. When we first read them, we deem them to speak of the refreshment of exhausted nature; and perhaps, in their primary application they do so. But surely the life of the Son of Man was not one of refreshment or relaxation, at least to Himself. We must remember, then, that water has another meaning, and it is that of distress and the overwhelming of the soul. And was this His refreshment? How could it be so?
1. Because it was the greatest of actions, the crucifixion of self in man.
2. Because it was the performance of the Fathers will, and, through this, the way of the redemption of the world. To these waters Jesus stooped down; of these He drank, and after drinking them, He lifted up His head, where now He sits above the clouds in the exaltation of the highest heaven.
IV. The application of the words to ourselves.
1. We must be partners in the fortune of our Head: what He endured, that,–it is a law of our union with Him–we must look to endure also; if His bark went through stormy seas, so surely must ours.
2. We are suffering now, and our reign is not until hereafter. But while we suffer we recruit; we derive immortal vigour from mortal woe; we live through our very death. (C. E. Kennaway, M.A.)
The brook by the way
We march with a Captain who makes common cause with the humblest. The contrast in this verse between a splendid destiny and the simplest life was never so true of any as of Him (Gal 4:4; Heb 4:15).
1. See how true this is of the lowest part of human life, the life of the body. For thirty years Jesus lived the frugal and simple life of a carpenters son in a quiet village among the hills of Galilee. His first recorded temptation was to break His fellowship with us by claiming miraculous supplies, at least of bread; but this help, which He gave to others, He would not Himself employ.
2. Observe, however, that He does drink. You will not find one innocent pleasure, which came in the way to Jesus, and which He sourly or wilfully refused. He would leave a feast at once, if called by Jairus to a sick-bed; but He would not refuse the feast of His friends in Bethany, though He knew that He was reproached for eating and drinking. How does His example affect us? We may have to refuse pleasures because we are weak, because temptations must be avoided. Or, like St. Paul, we may deny ourselves for our weak brothers sake, which is an honour, and a Christ-like thing; but the rule, apart from special cases, is that the best and truest life is such as welcomes and is refreshed by all simple pleasures.
3. It is still more wonderful to think of the spiritual life of Jesus nourished by the same means of grace which are available for us all. As if we saw Him rise from the throne of heaven to stoop by our waysides and drink from the rills of earth, so should our heart burn within us, when we observe our Masters constant use of the very means of grace which men neglect. Our prayers are formal, and easily interrupted; but He once rose up a long while before day, and again continued all night in prayer. We easily absolve ourselves from public worship; but He was careful to frequent the synagogues, and attended the festivals in Jerusalem. We neglect the Supper of our Lord, concerning which He said, Do this in remembrance of Me; but with desire He desired to eat the Passover with His disciples. We rely on our own judgment and conscience, and but few of us feel it a duty to instruct our conscience and keep it sensitive by a constant study of Gods Word, which is as a lamp to the feet. But He was never at a loss for spiritual guidance from the Old Testament, saying, in every emergency, It is written. It is surely a bitter reproach to us every one, that a stranger who watched our Master and His followers might easily suppose that He it was who needed help most, that we could better afford to dispense with it. The brooks which refreshed Him on His march are not dried up; neither are they, like Solomons fountain, sealed. (C. A. Chadwick, D.D.)
Christ invigorated in the prosecution of His redemptive work
I. Christ in the prosecution of His redemptive work is refreshed and invigorated because He drinks from the inexhaustible fountain of His own love. He still prosecutes His work of mercy, because He drinks of the brook in the way–the brook of His eternal inexhaustible love!
II. Christ may he said to drink of the brook in the way, because of the perfectly righteous work in which He is engaged. All His victories are righteous in their end, and in their means. The consciousness of the rectitude of His entire work is a brook from which He drinks in the way.
III. The joy in prospect of the final salvation of all the subjects of His kingdom is another brook from which He drinks in the way.
IV. Christ may be said to drink of the brook in the way, from the certainty He has of a final victory over all His foes. He must reign. All enemies shall be vanquished. Christ is expecting this. (John Lewis, B.A.)
Refreshment supplied by the way
The promises are fruits laid up to ripen in time to come, and as most fruits become ripest and sweetest in the winter, so have we found that Gods promises have a peculiar mellowness in our times of distress and affliction, such a sweetness as we did not perceive in the summer days of our prosperity. The train which starts from London to go to the North continues to traverse the distance day by day–how is it supplied with water? Why, there are trenches between the rails in several different places, and from these the engine drinks as it rushes along its iron pathway; it is supplied as it runs. That is just what our Heavenly Father has done for you. You are just like an engine on the road to heaven, and between here and heaven there are many stores of grace awaiting you; you will take up fresh water without slacking your speed, and so will be able to keep on to your journeys end. To use another illustration, when the Eastern nations used to trade across the desert in the olden times, in Solomons days for instance, there were stations built, wells sunk, and provisions stored at convenient halting-places, so that the caravans might pause and take in fresh provisions. The caravans reached their journeys end because the long way was broken up by a series of resting-places. Now, the promises are resting-places for us between here and heaven. There is a long line of them at well-ordered intervals, and as we journey through this desert world we shall be constantly coming, first to one, and then another, and then another, and another, and so we shall find fresh provision stored up, that we may not fail. The manna will fall daily till we come to Canaan. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Psa 111:1-10
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. He shall drink of the brook in the way] He shall have sore travail, and but little ease and refreshment: but he shall still go on from conquering to conquer.
Therefore shall he lift up the head.] Or his head. He shall succeed in all his enterprises, and at last be peaceably settled in his ample dominions.
But these verses, as well as the former, may be applied to our Lord. The fifth verse may be an address to Jehovah: Adonai at thy right hand, O Jehovah, shall smite kings – bring down all powers hostile to his empire, in the day of his wrath – when, after having borne long, he arises and shakes terribly the rulers of the earth.
Ps 110:6. He shall judge, give laws, among the heathen – send his Gospel to the whole Gentile world. He shall fill the field of battle with the dead bodies of the slain, who had resisted his empire, and would not have him to reign over them.
He shall wound the heads over many countries. – This must be spoken against some person possessing a very extensive sway. Perhaps Antichrist is meant; he who has so many countries under his spiritual domination. Christ shall destroy every person, and every thing, which opposes the universal spread of his own empire. He will be a King, as well as a Priest for ever.
Ps 110:7. He shall drink of the brook – he shall suffer sorely, and even die in the struggle: but in that death his enemies shall all perish; and he shall lift up the head – he shall rise again from the dead, possessing all power in heaven and earth, ascend to the throne of glory, and reign till time shall be no more. He must suffer and die, in order to have the triumphs already mentioned.
While all have acknowledged that this Psalm is of the utmost importance, and that it speaks of Christ’s priesthood and victories, it is amazing how various the interpretations are which are given of different passages. I have endeavoured to give the general sense in the preceding notes, and to explain all the particular expressions that have been thought most difficult: and by giving the various readings from the MSS., have left it to the learned reader to make farther improvements.
It has, however, long appeared to me that there is a key by which all the difficulties in the Psalm may be unlocked. As this has not been suggested by any other, as far as I know, I shall without apology lay it before the reader: –
The hundred and tenth Psalm is a WAR SONG, and every phrase and term in it is MILITARY.
1. In the first place may be considered here the proclamation of the Divine purpose relative to the sacerdotal, prophetic, and regal offices of the LORD JESUS CHRIST: “Jehovah said unto my Lord, SIT THOU ON MY RIGHT HAND.”
2. A grievous battle, and consequent victory over the enemy, foretold: I WILL MAKE THINE ENEMIES THE FOOTSTOOL TO THY FEET, Ps 110:1.
3. The ensign displayed: “THE LORD SHALL SEND FORTH THE ROD OF THY STRENGTH; the pole on which the banner shall be displayed, at the head of his strength – his numerous and powerful forces.
4. The inscription, device, or motto on this ensign: “RULE THOU IN THE MIDST OF THINE ENEMIES,” Ps 110:2.
5. The muster of the troops. A host of bold, spirited volunteers; not mercenaries, neither kidnapped nor impressed; but am nedaboth, a volunteer people; high-born, loyal subjects; veteran soldiers; every man bringing gifts to his General and King.
6. The regimentals or uniform in which they shall appear: “THE BEAUTIES OF HOLINESS; hadrey kodesh, the splendid garments of holiness. The apparel showing the richness of the King, and the worth and order of the soldiers; every man being determined to do his duty, and feeling assured of conquest. The Lacedaemonian soldiers were clothed in scarlet; and never went to battle without crowns and garlands upon their heads, being always sure of victory. Potter’s Ant., vol. ii., p. 55.
7. The number of the troops: THEY SHALL BE AS THE DROPS OF DEW AT BREAK OF DAY: – innumerable; and this shall be in consequence yalduthecha, of thy nativity – the manifestation of Jesus. THOU shalt be born unto men; THEY shall be born of thy Spirit, Ps 110:3.
8. The title of the commander: “THOU ART A PRIEST,” cohen, a Priest and a Prince. So was Agamemnon in Homer, and AEneas in Virgil. Both were princes; both were priests and both were heroes.
9. The perpetuity of this office: “FOR EVER;” leolam, for futurity – for all time – till the earth and the heavens are no more.
10. The resolution of setting up such a Priest and King, and levying such an army: ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK. The Commander, muster, and establishment of the corps shall be according to the plan of that ancient king and priest; or, translating the words literally, al dabarti malki tsedek, all shall be executed as I have spoken to my righteous king; I have sworn, and will not change my purpose. All my purposes shall be fulfilled. This speaking may refer to the purpose, Ps 110:1, confirmed by an oath, Ps 110:4.
11. Victory gained: ADONAI AT THY RIGHT HAND HATH TRANSFIXED ( machats) KINGS IN THE DAY OF HIS WRATH, i.e., of battle and victory. Jesus, the Almighty King and Conqueror, fights and gains his battles, while sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Ps 110:5.
12. Judgment instituted and executed: “HE SHALL JUDGE AMONG THE HEATHEN,” baggoyim, among the nations. He shall bring forth, judge, and condemn his enemies; and he shall fill pits with the bodies of executed criminals, Ps 110:6.
13. False religion, supporting itself by the secular arm, under the name of true religion, shall be destroyed. machats rosh al erets rabbah; “He smites the head that is over an extensive land” or country. The priesthood that is not according to the order of Melchizedek shall be destroyed; and all government that is not according to him who is the eternal King and Priest, shall be brought down and annihilated. Who is this great HEAD? this usurping power? this antichristian authority? Let the Italian archbishop answer, Ps 110:6.
14. Refreshment and rest, the fruits of the victories which have been gained: “HE SHALL DRINK OF THE BROOK IN THE WAY; THEREFORE, SHALL HE LIFT UP THE HEAD.” He and his victorious army, having defeated and pursued his enemies, and being spent with fatigue and thirst, are refreshed by drinking from a rivulet providentially met with in the way. But the rout being now complete and final,
15. The emperor is proclaimed and triumphs: God lifts up the HEAD, – rosh, the CHIEF, the CAPTAIN; as the word often means. Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, has a complete triumph; eternal peace and tranquillity are established. The Messiah is all in all – the last enemy, Death, is destroyed. Jesus, having overcome, has sat down with the Father upon his throne; and his soldiers, having also overcome through the blood of the Lamb, seated with him on the same throne, are for ever with the Lord. They see him as he is; and eternally contemplate and enjoy his glory: –
“Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in.” Hallelujah! The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth! Amen, Amen.
ANALYSIS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND TENTH PSALM
This Psalm is short in appearance, but deep and copious in mysteries. The subject, without doubt, is Christ; since both St. Peter (Ac 2:34) and St. Paul (Heb 1:13) expound it of Christ; and in Mt 22:44, Christ applies it to himself.
In this Psalm Christ is described as a Priest and a King.
I. Christ’s kingdom, in the three first verses.
II. His priesthood, from the fourth to the seventh.
I. In reference to his kingdom the prophet acquaints us, 1. With his person; 2. With his power, and the acquisition of it; 3. The continuance of it; 4. The execution of it – First, Over his enemies; Secondly, Over his own people, which is the sum of the three first verses.
1. The person who was to reign was David’s Lord; his son according to the flesh, but his Lord as equal to God; Php 2:6-7. As made flesh, and born of a virgin, the son of David; but as Immanuel, the Lord of David, which the Jews not understanding could not reply to Christ’s question, Mt 22:45.
2. As to his power, the Author of it was God: “The Lord said to my Lord,” c. Decreed it from everlasting. And again, “The Seed of the woman,” c.
3. And of his kingdom. He took possession, when the Lord said unto him, “Sit thou on my right hand.” Christ, as the Son of God, was ever at God’s right hand, equal to him in might and majesty but, as man, was exalted to honour, not before his glorious ascension, Ac 2:34 Eph 1:20; Php 2:9.
4. For the continuance of it. It is to be UNTIL, which notes, not a portion of time, but a perpetuity. “Sit TILL I make, c. Sit at God’s right hand, that is, in power and glory, till he shall say to all the wicked, “Depart from me,” Mt 25:41, but not so as to be then dethroned. But when once all his enemies shall be made his footstool, then he shall visibly rule, “sitting at his Father’s right hand for evermore” go on to reign, neither desist to propagate and enlarge thy kingdom, till all men bow the knee to thy name, till all opponents be overthrown.
The beginning of this kingdom was in Zion: “The Lord shall send.” c.
1. The rod of his power was his sceptre that is, “His word, the Gospel, the wisdom of God,” 1Th 2:13; “The sword of the Spirit,” Eph 6:17; “The mighty power of God,” c., Ro 1:16.
2. And this was to be sent out of Zion, Isa 2:3. “It behoved Christ to suffer,” c., Lu 24:46. The sound of the apostle’s words went into all lands but Zion must first hear, Ac 13:46.
And now the prophet comes to the execution of his power: “Rule thou in the midst,” c. Converting all such as believe his Gospel, and confounding those who will not have him to reign over them. Now these enemies are the most in number for the Church however greatly increased, is still surrounded by Turks, Jews, c. Rule thou be thou Ruler go on, and set up thy standard universally; for believers are easily dealt with; they love thy government.
1. “For thy people shall be willing.” Not forced by compulsion; “they shall flow together as water,” Isa 2:3.
2. But not before thy grace has brought down their hearts: “In the day of thy power,” that is, in the days of thy solemn assemblies, when the Gospel light shall be sent forth, and the apostles and messengers go abroad to preach thy truth.
3. The third quality of this good people is, “that they be holy.” For some read the words thus: “They shall offer freewill-offerings with a holy worship.” Our last translators point it, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” Here they pause, and read on thus: “In the beauty of holiness from the womb of the morning.” The Vulgate, In splendoribus sanctorum, “In the splendour of the saints,” and stops there; but let the reading be as it will, all expositors are agreed that holiness must be the ornament of Christ’s Church: –
4. Which sanctity these good people have not from themselves, but by the influence of the Holy Spirit, for “they shall worship in the beauty,” c. This is a very difficult place, and the rendering of it is so various, so perplexed by the several modes of pointing it, that the difficulty is increased. But see the notes. The fathers expound this passage of Christ himself, and the later divines, of his people, which is most probable. By their youth they understand their regeneration by the dews, the graces bestowed on them; which come immediately from God. The prophet phrases it, “From the womb of the morning.” As if the Holy Ghost had said, “The preaching of thy word shall bring forth a great and good people, plentiful as the drops of the morning dew. As the secret and refreshing dews come from heaven to refresh the earth, so thy power, regenerating the hearts of men by the secret operation of thy Holy Spirit, shall produce an immortal seed, children begotten to God. ‘Thou hast the dew,’ the grace of God, to beautify thy youth, and to make them holy by the direct influence of thy Spirit, to produce entire regeneration.”
II. The prophet, having foretold Christ’s kingdom, now predicts his priesthood, under which his prophetical office may be implied. That Messiah was to be a priest at his coming, God sware: –
1. “The Lord sware.” His word of assurance was given with his oath. In the priesthood of Christ lies the main weight of our redemption; therefore God swears that he shall be a priest to offer himself, and to intercede for us, without which he had in vain been our Prophet and our King.
2. “And will not repent.” This is also added for our greater assurance. God is sometimes represented as repenting, as in the case of Nineveh; but now that he was to save the world by this Priest, his Son, he takes an oath to do it, and he will not repent. His sentence for judgment is ever conditional; but his decree for mercy is absolute. “He will not repent,” c.
The matter of the oath follows: “Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
1. Thou is emphatical: Thou – David’s Lord, art a Priest, and none such a Priest as thou.
2. Art for this priest was the I am; therefore, justly said, Thou art.
3. A Priest; whose office the apostle describes, Heb 5:1.
4. For ever – Not as Aaron and his successors, who were priests, c., Heb 7:23-24.
5. After the order – The right, the law, the custom, the rites. See the notes.
6. Of Melchizedek. – Which is opposed to the order of Aaron. He was not then to be a priest after the order of Aaron but by a former and higher order.
The difference lies in this: –
1. In the constitution of him to the priesthood. He was made with an oath and so were not any of Aaron’s order, Heb 7:20-21.
2. In the succession. In Aaron’s priesthood, the high priest, being mortal, died, and another succeeded; but this priest, as Melchizedek, “had neither beginning of days nor end of life,” Heb 7:3.
3. Melchizedek was priest and king: so was Christ. Aaron was only a priest.
4. “Aaron and his sons offered up oxen,” c., Le 16:6. “But Christ, being holy,” c., offered no sacrifice for himself, but for our sins, Isa 53:9.
5. “Aaron was a local priest but Christ an universal priest,” Joh 4:22.
6. “Aaron was anointed with material oil Christ, with the Holy Ghost,” Lu 4:18; Lu 4:21.
7. “Aaron’s priesthood was temporary; Christ’s for ever.”
A priest is to be, –
1. A person taken from among men, but select, fit for the office; thus was Christ a perfect man.
2. A priest must be ordained by God: “For no man,” c. “So Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest.” “Thou art my Son,” c.
3. The high priest was ordained of men in things pertaining to God, to be their advocate, mediator, interpreter, and reconciler, in all those things in which men make their addresses to God, or God is to signify his will to them and so was Christ, for he is the Advocate, the Mediator for his people he reconciles them to God, he interprets his will to us by preaching his Gospel to the poor.
4. The high priest was ordained that he might offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. Their sacrifices were the blood of bulls, c. but Christ was most infinitely precious, even his own blood, Eph 5:2; Heb 9:26; Heb 10:10-12.
5. The high priest must have compassion on the ignorant, and those who are out of the way; such was Christ: “For we have not,” c., Heb 4:15.
6. Lastly, the high priest was compassed with infirmities and so was Christ: “In all things it became him,” c. “He took our infirmities,” c.
It remains now to show, –
1. How he is “a priest for ever?”
2. How a priest “after the order of Melchizedek?”
He is “a priest for ever,” in respect to his person, office, and effect.
1. In respect of his person and office. For he succeeded no priest, his vocation being immediate. Neither is any to succeed him in this priesthood “for he lives for ever,” and therefore needs not, as the priests under the old law, any successor to continue his priesthood.
2. A priest he is for ever in respect of the effect: because by that sacrifice which he once offered on the cross he purchased the inestimable effects of redemption and eternal salvation, in which sense the priesthood is eternal.
“That Christ is a priest for ever” is evident but it remains to be shown how he is a priest after the order – the rite, the manner, the word, and power given and prescribed to Melchizedek.
1. This Melchizedek was king of Salem, and priest of the most high God, Ge 14:18; so was Christ a King of Jerusalem above, God’s own city, and a priest, “offering himself a sacrifice for sin.”
2. Melchizedek is by interpretation king of righteousness; so is Christ the Lord our righteousness, Jer 23:6; 1Co 1:30.
3. Melchizedek is king of Salem, i.e., peace; so Christ is the Prince of peace, Isa 9:6.
4. “Melchizedek was without father or mother;” so was this our priest, as revealed by God to us, “without beginning of days or end of life,” as touching his Godhead.
5. “Melchizedek blessed Abraham;” so Christ us “in turning every one of us away from his iniquities.”
6. “Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine to refresh Abraham’s army;” so Christ instituted the sacrament, set forth in bread and wine, to refresh the hungry and thirsty souls of his genuine followers.
After the prophet had said “that the Messiah shall be a priest,” c., he intimates in this verse that, notwithstanding all opposition that shall be made against him, yet his priesthood should be eternal for,
1. “The Lord is on thy right hand.” Giving thee power in defence of his Church.
2. “And this thy Lord shall strike through kings,” c. The greatest of thy enemies.
3. “In the day of his wrath.” For such a day there is, and it will come, when the proudest tyrant shall not escape.
In the following verse Christ is described as a valiant conqueror.
1. “He shall rule and judge.” Not only the Jews, but all people.
2. “He shall fill the places,” c. Make such a slaughter among his enemies, as enraged soldiers do in the storming of a city, when they fill the trenches with the dead bodies.
“He shall wound the heads,” &c. Even kings and monarchs, those in the greatest power and authority.
The prophet, through the whole of the Psalm, had spoken of Christ’s exaltation: that he was set at God’s right hand by oath was made a priest and that, in defence of his kingdom and priesthood, he would subdue, conquer, and break to pieces his enemies. In this last verse he tells us by what means he came to this honour: his cross was the way to the crown; his passion and humiliation, to his exaltation: “He,” saith David, “shall drink of the brook by the way; therefore, shall he lift up his head;” as if he had said, with the apostle: “He humbled himself, and became obedient to death,” c.
1. “He shall drink.” To drink, is to be afflicted, Jer 49:12.
2. “He shall drink of the brook,” nachal, of the torrent and that is more than of the cup, for a cup contains but a certain portion of sorrows, but a torrent, a whole flood of miseries. In a cup, that which is drunk may be clear and clean; but in a torrent, a man can expect nothing but muddy and troubled water. Thus the prophet intimates here that the drink offered him should be much and troubled. And in his passion he descended into the depth of the torrent, and drank deep of it.
3. “In the way.” On his journey that preceded his resurrection and ascension.
But claritas humilitatis praemium, “glory is the reward of humility.” Because he thus humbled himself and willingly underwent his death and passion, for the glory of his Father, and the salvation of man; therefore shall God “lift up his head.” He shall ascend into heaven; sit on his right hand, and be constituted the Judge of quick and dead. He shall rise from the dead and have all power committed to him in heaven and earth.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He shall drink of the brook in the way: this may be understood either,
1. Properly, to express the fervency and diligence of the Messias in the prosecution of his business; who having routed and destroyed the main body of his enemies forces, pursues those that fled with such eagerness, that he will not lose any time in refreshing himself, as might seem necessary after such hot and hard service, but will content himself with drinking a little water out of the brook which he finds in his way, that being a little refreshed therewith he may proceed with more rigour and efficacy in his work. And so this place alludes to the history of Gideons three hundred men, who only lapped a little of the water; of whom see Jdg 7. Or,
2. Metaphorically, to express the humiliation and passion of the Messias, and thereby to prevent a great mistake which might arise in mens minds concerning him, from the great successes and victories here ascribed to him, which might induce them to think that the Messias should be exempted from all sufferings, and be crowned with constant and perpetual triumphs. To confute this conceit, he intimates here that the Messias, before he should obtain that power and glory mentioned in the foregoing verses, should have a large portion of afflictions in the way to it, or whilst he was in the way or course of his life, before he came to his end or rest, and to that honour of sitting at his Fathers right hand. Waters in Scripture do very frequently signify afflictions or sufferings, as Psa 42:7, &c. To drink of them, signifies to feel or bear them, as Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15; 49:12; Mat 20:22; and in this case it may note Christs willing submission to them.
A brook or river of water is oft used in Scripture to express a great abundance, either of comforts, as Psa 36:8, or of tribulations, Psa 18:4; 124:4; and therefore may be more fitly used in this place than a cup, by which the afflictions of other men are commonly expressed, to intimate that the sufferings of the Messiah were unspeakably more and heavier than the sufferings of other men, and that he should drink up not a small cup, but the whole river or sea of his Fathers wrath due to our sins.
Therefore, which word may note either the effect or the consequent of his sufferings,
shall he lift up the head, i.e. shall be delivered from all his sorrows and sufferings, and exalted to great glory, and joy, and felicity, as this phrase usually signifies, as Psa 3:3; 27:6; Jer 52:31, and oft elsewhere; as, on the contrary, to hang down the head, is a signification of great grief and shame, as Lam 2:10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. As a conqueror, “faint,yet pursuing” [Jud 8:4], Heshall be refreshed by the brook in the way, and pursue tocompletion His divine and glorious triumphs.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He shall drink of the brook in the way,…. This some understand of the sufferings of Christ, compared to a brook, a flow of waters, because of the abundance of them, as in Ps 69:1, his partaking of which is sometimes expressed by drinking,
Mt 20:22 and this was in the way of working out the salvation of his people, and in his own way to glory, Lu 24:26. If this is the sense, there may be some allusion to the black brook Kidron; over which David, the type of Christ, passed when in distress; and over which Christ himself went into the garden, where his sorrows began, 2Sa 15:23, but seeing this clause stands surrounded with others, which only speak of his victories, triumph, and exaltation, it seems to require a sense agreeable to them; wherefore those interpreters seem nearer to the truth of the text, who explain it of Christ’s victory over all enemies, sin, Satan, the world, and death; and illustrate it by the passage in Nu 23:24, “he shall drink of the blood of the slain”; with which compare Isa 63:1. Others think the allusion is to the eagerness of a general pursuing a routed army, and pushing on his conquest; who, though almost choked with thirst, yet will not stop to refresh himself; but meeting with a brook or rivulet of water by the way, takes a draught of it, and hastens his pursuit of the enemy: and so this is expressive of, the eagerness of Christ to finish the great work of man’s salvation, and the conquest of all his and their enemies; see Lu 2:49. But I think the clause is rather expressive of the solace, joy, and comfort, which Christ, as man, has in the presence of God, and at his right hand, having finished the work of our salvation; then he drank to his refreshment of the river of divine pleasure, when God showed him the path of life, and raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, and introduced him into his presence; where are fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore, Ps 16:11.
Therefore shall he lift up the head; as he did at his resurrection; he bowed it when he died, he lifted it up when he rose again, and so when he ascended on high to his God and Father; when he took his place at his right hand; where his head is lifted up above his enemies, and where he is exalted above angels, principalities, and powers, and where he must reign till all enemies are put under his feet. Or, “so shall he lift up his head”, as Noldius d renders it; not that his sufferings, which he understands by “drinking out of the brook”, were the cause of his exaltation, but the consequent of it: these two, Christ’s humiliation and exaltation, though they are sometimes joined together, yet not as cause and effect, but as the antecedent and consequent; Christ having finished what, according to the divine order was to be finished, glory followed by the same order: and so the words thus taken respect not the cause, but the constitution of things, according to that writer.
d Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 727. No. 1941.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7 He shall drink Not a few interpreters, in my opinion, expound this verse in a very harsh manner: that the carnage would be so great, as to cause the blood of the slain to flow in torrents, out of which Christ, the Conqueror, might drink till he was satiated. (332) Akin to this is the exposition of those who would have it to be a figurative representation of misery and grief, and thus descriptive of the many afflictions to which Christ was liable during this transitory life. The similitude seems rather to be drawn from the conduct of brave and powerful generals, who, when in hot pursuit of the enemy, do not suffer themselves to be diverted from their purpose by attending to luxuries; but, without kneeling down, are content to quench their thirst by drinking of the stream which they are passing. It was in this way that Gideon found out the brave and warlike soldiers; regarding such as kneeled down to drink as destitute of courage, he sent them back to their homes, Jud 7:5. It therefore appears to me that David figuratively attributes military prowess to Christ, declaring that he would not take time to refresh himself, but would hastily drink of the river which might come in his way. (333) This is designed to strike his enemies with terror, intimating to them the rapid approach of impending destruction. Should any one be disposed to ask, Where then is that spirit of meekness and gentleness with which the Scripture elsewhere informs us he shall be endued? Isa 42:2; I answer, that, as a shepherd is gentle towards his flock, but fierce and formidable towards wolves and thieves; in like manner, Christ is kind and gentle towards those who commit themselves to his care, while they who wilfully and obstinately reject his yoke, shall feel with what awful and terrible power he is armed. In Psa 2:9, we saw that he had in his hand an iron scepter, by which he will beat down all the obduracy of his enemies; and, accordingly, he is here said to assume the aspect of cruelty, with the view of taking vengeance upon them. Wherefore it becomes us carefully to refrain from provoking his wrath against us by a stiff-necked and rebellious spirit, when he is tenderly and sweetly inviting us to come to him.
(332) This opinion is held by Michaelis and Doederlein. But although a fearful carnage of God’s and his people’s enemies is sometimes poetically described by His arrows being made drunk with blood, Deu 32:42; and as producing a stream of blood, in which his people, victorious over them, might dip or wash their feet, as in Psa 68:24; yet neither He nor they are said to drink such blood. There is a great difference between this latter and the two preceding metaphors; and we cannot think that the idea of drinking human blood, much less of making God drink it, would have entered the mind of any Israelite. The idea is abhorrent to human nature, and must have appeared particularly shocking to the Jews, who were strictly prohibited by the laws of Moses from eating even the blood of beasts.
(333) Similar is the opinion of Grotius. He regards the words as containing a description of a strenuous and active warrior, whom no obstacle can prevent from prosecuting victory with the utmost ardor; “Who,” to use his own language, “when pursuing the enemy, does not seek for places of entertainment, that he may refresh himself with wine, but is contented with water, which he takes hastily in passing; and whenever he can find it, not only from a river, but from a torrent.” “Schnurrer,” says Rosemüller, “seems to have perceived the true meaning of the verse, which he gives in the following words: — ‘Though fatigued with the slaughter of his enemies, yet will he not desist; but, having refreshed himself with water taken from the nearest stream, will exert his renovated strength in the pursuit of the routed foe.’” — Messianic Psalms, page 284.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) Drink . . . lift up.The victorious leader, faint yet pursuing (Jdg. 8:4), pauses at the stream that crosses his path, and then refreshed, with head once more erect, continues his pursuit of the foe. Such is undoubtedly the meaning of this verse, and we need not suppose a sudden change of subject, as some critics do, as if the picture representing a thirsty warrior were unworthy of Jehovah. Poetry knows nothing of such timidity, and with the grand scene of Isa. 63:1-6, of the hero stained with blood, we need not hesitate to admit this further detail so true to life, even if we had not in Psalms 60, 108 images of a still more homely type.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. He shall drink of the brook in the way The reader must transfer himself to ancient times. A great battle has been fought, the dead bodies cover the field, and the victor is pursuing the enemy. Exhausted and faint he refreshes himself by a hasty but cooling drink from a brook, and with new vigour resumes the pursuit. A figure founded in forms of war, but illustrating the resolute and unfailing spirit of our all-conquering King in the prolonged conflict with antichrist and antichristian systems of government. At length “He shall bring forth judgment unto victory.” Amen. Happy are the nations who submit to his rule. And happy had it been for the Jewish people had they penetrated the spiritual sense of this and similar prophecies, and accepted “the kingdom of heaven” when preached to them by Christ their King. See Rev 19:11-21.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 110:7. He shall drink of the brook in the way “That is,” says Houbigant, “the brook Cedron, I suppose;” David pointing out the passion of our Lord, by a continuance of the metaphor wherewith he began. Jesus was exalted because of his suffering, therefore did he lift up his head. See Heb 12:2. This is the more general interpretation of the verse. There are some, however, who give it a different meaning, and suppose that by drinking of the brook in the way, is meant the succour and supply of Almighty grace. That water is a usual symbol by which instruction, or rather the influences of the holy Spirit are represented, is evident from Isa 12:3; Isa 55:1. Joh 7:38-39. According to this sense the meaning of the Psalmist will be, “If it be asked how the Redeemer shall be enabled to execute the various and important offices foretold in the former part of this psalm; the prophet replies, He shall drink of the brook in the way. He shall not be left barely to his human nature, which would unavoidably sink; but, through the whole administration of his mediatorial kingdom and his incarnate state, shall be supported with omnipotent succours. He shall drink at the brook of Almighty power: He shall be continually supported by the influence of the Holy Spirit; and therefore shall he lift up his head. By these means shall he be rendered equal to his prodigious talk, superior to all opposition, successful in whatever he undertakes, and greatly triumphant over all his enemies.” See Hervey’s Meditations, vol. 1: p. 129 and Bishop Stillingfleet’s Sermons, vol. 1 p. 353. They who are inclined to see the first interpretation explained and elucidated, will find ample satisfaction in Bishop Reynolds’s fine explication of this psalm, to which we refer the reader with great pleasure. If we consider this psalm, says a writer, as every one should, not only as a prophesy, but a pathetic poem, I think we cannot fail of being charmed as much with the elegance of the competition as we are satisfied of the truth of the predictions which it contains. In the first verse our Lord is seated at the right hand of God, as a place of the greatest dignity which can be conceived; as the partner of his throne and power: agreeably to which, in the second he is invested with his authority, by having the sceptre of his power, and an universal and supreme command even over his enemies, delivered to him. In consequence of this, he receives the homage of his subjects, the free-will offerings of his faithful people, who are as numerous as the drops of the morning dew which overspread the earth. In the fourth verse the sacerdotal is added to the regal office. In the fifth and sixth the Psalmist returns again to describe the exercise of his supreme and sovereign authority; and in the last, he gives a reason why he was exalted to so much honour; namely, as a reward for that most astonishing act of his humiliation; which is expressed very poetically by his drinking of the brook in the way; upon which St. Paul seems to have given a comment, when he says, that being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death: wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, &c. See Php 2:8-9.
This prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus, when he arose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of his Father, from thenceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool; i.e. till Satan, the prince of this world, be confined for ever to the bottomless pit; till all the persecuting powers of earth be destroyed, and till death and the grave shall be no more; Psa 110:1. The kingdom to which he was advanced, was a spiritual kingdom: the sceptre with which he was presented in the heavenly Sion, was all power in heaven and on earth; to be employed for the protection of his subjects and the destruction of his enemies: Psa 110:2. The laws of his kingdom were the laws of the Gospel; which were to be published from Jerusalem: They who freely offered themselves to publish his laws, and gather subjects into his kingdom, were the apostles and first preachers of his gospel; who waited at Jerusalem, the beauty of holiness, till they were invested with power from on high to execute their commission; and when they went forth among the heathen, to subdue and reduce them to the obedience of faith, they spread his gospel over the known world in a few years, and gathered into his kingdom multitudes of subjects out of every nation under heaven: Psa 110:3. At the same time that Jesus was feared on his throne as king, he was made high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, to intercede for his people, and be their advocate with the Father: Psa 110:4. The sceptre was given him as well for the destruction of his enemies, as the protection of his subjects. When, therefore, the potentates of the earth opposed his gospel, and persecuted its publishers, he destroyed them with the breath of his mouth; first, by pouring out his wrath on Judea, in the excision of its inhabitants and the subversion of its state, and afterwards by executing his vengeance on the persecuting powers of the heathen world, as they rose up to oppose the advancement of his kingdom: Psa 110:5-6 and see Rev 19:11; Rev 19:21 to the end. When Jesus set out upon his warfare against the enemies of our salvation, he drank deep of the cup of sorrow and sufferings; but, in reward for his humiliation, he is highly exalted to the throne of glory at the right hand of God, that all should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; and hence he encourages his followers by declaring, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne; even as I overcame, and am set down with my Father on his throne. See Green on the Prayer of Habakkuk.
REFLECTIONS.The glory of our incarnate Saviour is the great subject of the Psalmist’s praise.
1. He is exalted to the highest dignity in heaven, and David owns him his adored Lord. The Lord, Jehovah the Father, said unto my Lord, Jesus the Messiah, Sit thou at my right hand, advanced to the seat of most transcendant glory and honour, until I make thine enemies thy footstool; enemies innumerable has our Lord to conflict with, the world, sin, Satan, death, &c. but he sits upon the throne, and they must bow before his footstool; some are already subdued, and shortly the conquest will be complete, when the last enemy shall be destroyed, and all his faithful people made to triumph with him in glory. Hasten, O Lord, this happy day!
2. All power is given him on earth. The Lord shall send forth the rod, or sceptre, of thy strength, the everlasting gospel, the power of God unto salvation; which, by the Spirit’s energy is made effectual to the conversion of the souls of sinners, bowing them to submit to the sceptre of his righteousness; and this went forth first out of Zion, and hath spread to the remotest corners of the earth: rule thou, or thou shalt rule, in the midst of thine enemies; the Redeemer’s kingdom will be established in spite of all opposition, and his church rise superior to all the malice of men and devils: yea, such will be the effectual working of his mighty power, that even those whose minds were enmity against him, and their lives open rebellion, shall be convinced, humbled, sue for mercy, and be converted unto him.
3. His subjects shall be a willing people, inclined to offer up themselves, their bodies, souls, and spirits, to his blessed service; cheerfully lifting under his banners in the day of his power; when in the preaching of the word, accompanied with the demonstration of the Spirit, they shall be drawn to him by the cords of love, and arrayed in the beauties of holiness, meet to attend their glorious head, from the womb of the morning; and their multitudes shall be as the drops of morning dew. Note; (1.) It is of grace that we become his believing people. (2.) There are transcendant beauties in Jesus, effectual when seen to engage supremely the sinner’s soul to him. (3.) Though Christ is to the believer all in all, it never makes him neglect internal purity, but makes him aspire after perfect holiness.
4. All is confirmed by the oath of God. The Lord hath sworn by himself, since he can swear by no greater, and will not repent, for he is without variableness, or shadow of turning; Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek; a priest, to make reconciliation for the sins of his people; for ever, the efficacy of the one oblation that he offered abiding the same, and he at the right-hand of God, ever living to plead it, and make intercession for us; after the order of Melchizedek, an order of priesthood, prior to and greater than that of Aaron, unchangeable and eternal. Note; The hope of the faithful soul is fixed upon the most solid basis, on the all-sufficiency of Jesus, and the oath of the eternal Jehovah. With what confidence then should we expect pardon, grace, and all the blessings of salvation, from the great high-priest of our profession; and how great is the dishonour that we cast upon him, when for a moment we dare question his power and grace, and stagger at promises confirmed by two immutable things, the word and oath of that God who cannot lie?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
I do not presume to decide the point, but I am very much inclined to think that Christ’s drinking of the brook, was meant in allusion to the sufferings of Jesus. The brook Cedron, over which he passed in his way to the garden, the night of his dolorous agony, received all the filth of the temple, arising from the sacrifices. Hence, therefore, Christ drinking of it in his way, should seem to imply that all the guilt and iniquities of his people were emptied upon Jesus. He drank of it. The cup of trembling was put into his hand, and he drank it off, that his people might drink of the cup of salvation. Sweet thought! and corresponding to that blessed scripture: He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2Co 5:21 .
REFLECTIONS
HAIL! thou glorious, gracious King in Zion! exalted as thou art at the right hand of thy Father and our Father, thy God and our God; it is thy lawful right to subdue everything to thyself; to govern, rule, bless, pardon, protect, reward, and make happy thy people. To thee it no less belongs to conquer and subdue thine enemies. Sit then, blessed Jesus, at the right hand of Jehovah, until all the nations submit to the sceptre of thy grace, and thy people are made willing, in the day of thy power! Hail! no less, thou sovereign Priest upon thy throne! Taken from among men, thou art ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that thou mayest offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. And blessed forever be thy name, thou canst have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for it is our happiness, and our joy, that we have not an High Priest that cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; for thou wast in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And our souls rejoice in the validity of thine office. Yes, blessed Jesus! thou wast called to it of God, as was Aaron. And our Father hath confirmed thy authority and commission with an oath. Jehovah sware and will not repent. Hail then! thou great Melchisedeck! Thy divine nature is the golden altar; thy merits, and righteousness, and blood, the sure ground of acceptance; and thou thyself, the great High-Priest, offering in thine own name, to make the sacrifice sure of being accepted! Never shalt my soul despair of pardon and acceptance in his name, while Jesus liveth and weareth the vesture dipped in blood.
And hail, thou divine Prophet! to explain to thy people the laws of God, Oh! for grace to receive thee, to accept thee, to delight in thee, and to attend to all thy blessed instructions! For, sure I am, the soul that will not hear thee, nor regard thy great salvation, will be cut off from among the people.
Oh! thou glorious Adonai! from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth. Make me, Lord, willing in the day of thy power! Make me all that thou wouldest have me to be. And while I view thee, and know thee to be Emmanuel, Jesus, The Lord Our Righteousness; be thou made of God to my soul, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that he that glorieth, may glory in the Lord.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 110:7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
Ver. 7. He shall drink of the brook in the way ] i.e. Of the wrath of the Almighty, pointing to Christ’s state of humiliation, as in the next words to his exaltation; or, he shall content himself with a low condition here, such as was that of Elijah when he drank of the brook, 1Ki 17:1-7 Or, in the eager pursuit of his enemies, he shall drink hastily of the water next at hand, i.e. as Gideon and his soldiers did, Vivet pauperem vitam, (Chrysost.). Aerumnas omnes durissimae militae perferet (Beza).
Therefore shall he lift up the head
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
of = from. The verse begins with this word (Hebrew = M = from), and thus corresponds with the “from” of Psa 110:3 (member M, above).
the head = [his] head.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 110:7
Psa 110:7
“He will drink of the brook in the way:
Therefore will he lift up the head.”
This verse is for the purpose of indicating the humanity of the Messiah. Just as in Isaiah, where Immanuel (The Messiah) is revealed as a member of the Godhead by his name (Immanuel), and then his humanity is stressed by the fact of his eating butter and honey (Isa 7:14-15), here we have a glimpse of the same thing. This great Judge of all men and all nations, “in the way,” that is, the way of his earthly ministry, which is literally “on the way” to the Judgment Day, he shall (as an ordinary man) quench his thirst with water.
“Therefore will he lift up the head.” This is a reference to the kind and healing character of the Messiah during his earthly ministry. It stands here in contrast with our Lord’s “striking through the head” with death, mentioned in the preceding verse.
This is one of the most wonderful psalms in the whole Psalter. It provides a description of the Coming Messiah that deserves to stand alongside the most eloquent prophecies of the Son of God in the entire Bible.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 110:6. This is a highly figurative passage and means the triumph of Christ over all enemies of righteousness. Judge among the heathen has special reference to the universal domain of the Christian Dispensation. It was to include all nations, not the Jews only. The same thought is signified by the phrase many countries.
Psa 110:7. When a commander is engaged in a successful campaign into the territory of an enemy, he does not wish to take “time out” to return to headquarters for provisions. If he is being successful in his invasion, he will find drinking water right in the path of the march. Such an exploit will not only supply the army with the physical necessity of the body, but will strengthen the moral by the encouraging prospect, so that all parties will lift up the head in the spirit of a conqueror.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The Brook in the Way
He shall drink of the brook in the way:
Therefore shall he lift up the head.Psa 110:7.
1. This jubilant and magnificent psalm opens with a passage which was taken possession of by the Apostles, in the name of their Lord, so long ago that it has lost any suggestion of foreignness; and just as some of our older colonies have acquired a look of England overseas, so do we welcome these verses when we come upon them, as if they were an outlying tract of the New Testament. They give a description of the King, set at Gods right hand, a Priest for ever, which in itself is great; and yet, in the writers view, it was only a preparation for something else. These things were spoken of Him that faith might have a chance; for what possessed the poet was not that his King was great and highly favoured, but that a King so great would go far and that of His conquests there would be no end. It is through getting big thoughts of the King that men are prepared to cherish worthier expectations with regard to the Kingdom.
2. The poet first shows the kingship at rest, as it is in its dignity, created and secured by God, and when his heart is full of that he goes on to show the kingship in action. A royalty based upon the will of God, which, indeed, is nothing else than an instrument of that will, cannot but make way; present and future have nothing in them to withstand it, and thus it will go farther and farther, passing out at last beyond the imagination of men. That is the poets idea, which a rhetorician would have expressed in some resounding phrase; but as an artist this man had no liking for vague words without any picture in them. He wanted men to feel that the King beyond their sight was pushing His conquests still, and he manages that by a quaint touch of imagination. The King, urging on His enemies in their flight, stops for a moment to drink, and then He passes off the scene with head uplifted, fresh as when the battle-day began. There He isthe true King, Gods gift to men, travelling out beyond our sight, on always vaster enterprises, and without a sign of flagging strength. That fired the poets soul, and it should live with us as the scope and outlook of the psalm.
I
The Ideal King
1. Who is this King and Captain that the poet celebrates? The answer must be that we have here not a portrait but an ideal, which embodies the dream of those who trusted that God would give them one day a ruler who should be all that a king can be to men. The poet follows this warrior priest, this priestly king, to the war; he sees him winning victory after victory, until the earth seems filled with the slaughtered bodies of his foes. But he grows weary and tired in the conflict; his tongue cleaves to his mouth for thirst; his sword well-nigh drops from his hand for sheer weariness as he toils on beneath the fierce glare of the Eastern sun. And it seems as if he must faint and fall before the full fruits of victory are reaped, when suddenly a little brook of cool and limpid water presents itself to his gaze, and the faint and tired warrior stoops and drinks a long, deep draught, and the clear, cool water brings refreshing and new strength to his exhausted frame, so that, with new vigour and determination, he resumes the pursuit, and makes the victory final and complete. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
2. This ideal King overthrows all His enemies and wins a lasting dominion because He is Gods own partner. He knows how to conquer. He is content that His battles should be taken out of His hands, and that the victory when it comes should be Gods victory and not His own. In Him there is no self-assertion or display; He accepts what God allows and asks no more. Inferior men may be restless, as they take on themselves the burden of the world and its future, striking hotly in defence of their view of truth, and growing troubled and dejected when that view does not make way. But in the true Master of men there is a superlative trust in God; He suffers His own effort and His own message to pass into the sum of Gods providential forces, which are working for new heavens and a new earth. He does not bear the burden of the world anxiously, but leaves it in the strong hands of Him who can sustain it all. Peter speaks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, expecting, which is a word of admonition for all unquiet minds so ludicrously solicitous about the interests and the work of God. But whilst He was still on earth, Jesus suffered God to fight His battles for Him. He tarried for the Lords leisure. He believed in powers which work slowly and without noise, and He knew the rest of heart of those who wait for God and are content that He should work.
3. What is to hinder this man from governing? says Carlyle of the Abbot Samson. There is in him what far transcends all apprenticeships; in the man himself there exists a model of governing, something to govern by. He has the living ideal of a governor in him. In like fashion the poet sweeps aside the whole mob of kings so called, David and Solomon and their posterity, who in turn had claimed to sit on the throne of Jehovah. He did not mean that kind of thing at alla merely titular kingship, which had no promise in it. One day there will be born a King, possessing every gift of rule, born to command the wavering hearts of men; and when He comes the first to acknowledge Him will be God, who will make a place in His universe for Him, and raise Him not to where these spectral majesties have sat, these uneasy phantasms which have flitted across the scene, but to where none ever eat before. Sit at my right hand.
Thus Christ alone answers fully to the description of the conquering King, who is also a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. It is He alone who goes forth at the head of an army numberless as the dewdrops of a summer morn, every soldier in it clothed in holy garments, sweeping His enemies before Him, gaining one victory after another until they are all beneath His feet, and His Kingdom stretches from the river unto the ends of the earth.
4. This King not only sits as partner with the King of kings, but is content to share the lot of the common soldier. The Psalmist writes of his Lord at the right hand of Jehovah, that He shall be refreshed along His conquering march, not with the rich wines of Helbon cooled in the snows of Lebanon, but, like any private soldier, from the wayside brook. And He shall need refreshment, having taken His full share of toil. This contrast between a splendid destiny and the simplest life was never so true of any as of Jesus Christ. It is this contrast that moves St. Paul to astonishment in the words, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. We have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmity, but One who was tempted in all points like as we areweary, athirst, and faint. For thirty years Jesus lived the frugal and simple life of a carpenters son in a quiet village among the hills of Galilee. His first recorded temptation was to break His fellowship with us by claiming miraculous supplies, at least of bread; but this help, which He gave to others, He would not Himself employ. Never once did Jesus use His special powers for Himself to make a difference between His life and ours, or drink of other streams but such as ran by the wayside for all. His first miracle was to make large supplies of wine for a marriage feast; but, for His own part, He would sit by the wayside fountain, waiting, and would ask a lost woman to bestow on Him a cup of cold water. The fever of His cruel death was alleviated by the vinegar, the sour wine, of the private soldiers beneath His cross. Even after His resurrection, when He had already entered upon that sublime and mysterious life which it is our highest hope to share, He did not scorn to take of the fish which they had drawn from the Lake of Galilee, and, again, even of the cold fish which remained from a former meal.
The troops of Charles the Twelfth, in sore distress and half inclined to mutiny, brought him a specimen of their bread, which was hard and sour and black. To their astonishment, the king ate it with a relish, and quietly answered: It is not good bread, but it can be eaten. There was no more thought of mutiny in that camp; nor will such a leader ever lack men to follow, to suffer, and to die with him.1 [Note: G. A. Chadwick, Pilates Gift, 269.]
(1) The Son of God became one with us in taking our nature. He did not come to the world robed in cloud and fire and storm, and attended by an army of angels. Rather, He did much to conceal His majesty during the time that He lived on earth. He was born a Jew; and the Hebrew nation was the fewest of all peoplesnot one of the great broad streams of mankind, but as a brook in the way; yet the Lord Jesus drank of that brook. He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Without for a moment ceasing to be God, He stooped to become a babe in the manger, a humble and inquiring boy growing up a working carpenter in a country town, then a homeless wayfarer, a rejected religious teacher, and at last a crucified slave.
(2) Our Great Captain at length bowed His head to drink our cup of suffering and sorrow. That bitter cup was put into His hand in the garden of Gethsemane, and He did not refuse to drink it. He did not, as He might have done, use His almighty power to deliver Himself from His enemies. He gave Himself up, a weary and unarmed man, to their wicked will. Out of love for us, and with a view to our redemption, He allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross. And there He was made a curse for us, bearing our sin and shame and doom.
Nothing can have a more tranquillizing effect upon us in this world than the frequent consideration of the afflictions, necessities, contempt, calumnies, insults, and humiliations which our Lord suffered from His birth to His most painful death. When we contemplate such a weight of bitterness as this, are we not wrong in giving to the trifling misfortunes which befall us even the names of adversities and injuries? Are we not ashamed to ask a share of His Divine patience to help us to bear such trifles as these, seeing that the smallest modicum of moderation and humility would suffice to make us bear calmly the insults offered to us?1 [Note: The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales, 172.]
Before the apotheosis of the cross, suffering was a curse from which man fled; now it becomes a purification of the soul, a sacred trial sent by Eternal Love, a Divine dispensation meant to sanctify and ennoble us, an acceptable aid to faith, a strange initiation into happiness. O power of belief!All remains the same, and yet all is changed. A new certitude arises to deny the apparent and the tangible; it pierces through the mystery of things, it places an invisible Father behind visible nature, it shows us joy shining through tears, and makes of pain the beginning of joy. And so, for those who have believed, the tomb becomes heaven, and on the funeral pyre of life they sing the hosanna of immortality; a sacred madness has renewed the face of the world for them, and when they wish to explain what they feel, their ecstasy makes them incomprehensible; they speak with tongues. A wild intoxication of self-sacrifice, contempt for death, the thirst for eternity, the delirium of lovethese are what the unalterable gentleness of the Crucified has had power to bring forth. By His pardon of His executioners, and by that unconquerable sense in Him of an indissoluble union with God, Jesus, on His cross, kindled an inextinguishable fire and revolutionized the world.1 [Note: Amiels Journal (trans. by Mrs. Humphry Ward), 168.]
Christs Heart was wrung for me, if mine is sore;
And if my feet are weary, His have bled;
He had no place wherein to lay His Head;
If I am burdened, He was burdened more.
The cup I drink, He drank of long before;
He felt the unuttered anguish which I dread;
He hungered who the hungry thousands fed,
And thirsted who the worlds refreshment bore.
If grief be such a looking-glass as shows
Christs Face and mans in some sort made alike,
Then grief is pleasure with a subtle taste:
Wherefore should any fret or faint or haste?
Grief is not grievous to a soul that knows
Christ comes,and listens for that hour to strike.2 [Note: Christina G. Rossetti, Verses, 37.]
II
The Common Brook
He shall drink of the brook in the way. It is wonderful to think of the spiritual life of Jesus nourished by the same means of grace as are available for us all. At every point in Christs experience there was a sense of obstacle and resistance. Salvation for Him was every day a task entailing agony. But always He bore down the resistance, and, welcoming the reliefs that were given Him by God, He passed on with lifted head to the burden and the battle of the new day, sure of Himself, sure of His cause, very sure of God and victory. True souls always are hilarious. Think of Him when the disciples came back from their first excursion, elated, as small men will be, by their minute successes; their ministry, one may suppose, had scarcely drawn attention in the single province of Galilee, and He had taken on Himself the redemption of the world. But hear His comment, When you were away I was watching Satan and he was fallen (an imperfect tense followed by an aorist). The most meagre encouragement, the first faint effort of a soul to free itself, spoke home to His heart, and He drew water with joy out of the wells of salvation.
We do not find that one innocent pleasure which came in the way to Jesus was sourly or wilfully refused by Him. He would leave a feast at once, if called by Jairus to a sick-bed; but He would not refuse the feast of His friends in Bethany, though He knew that He was reproached for eating and drinking, and though He felt His death to be so near that the ointment then poured upon Him would go with Him to His burial. How does His example affect us? We may have to refuse pleasures because we are weak, because temptations must be avoided, because we have no longer any choice except to cripple our life, or, having two feet, to be cast into hell fire; but this is not a thing to boast of. Or, like St. Paul, we may deny ourselves for our weak brothers sake, which is an honour, and a Christ-like thing; but the rule, apart from special cases, is that the best and truest life is such as welcomes and is refreshed by all simple pleasures which sparkle and sing by our lifes path, which do not require us to leave the road of duty that we may drink of them.
Eastern people have a very skilful way of drinking from a flowing stream without stopping in their running. They throw the water up into the mouth. An Eastern traveller writes: In an excursion across an Arabian desert, some of the Arabs, on coming to water, rushed to it, and, stooping sufficiently to allow the right hand to reach the water, they threw it up into their mouths so dexterously, that I never observed any of the water to fall upon the breast. I often tried to do it, but never succeeded.
1. Jesus found refreshment in quiet communion with nature. In one of his letters Nathaniel Hawthorne speaks about bathing himself in the refreshing waters of solitude and open-air nature, and there is no season of the year in which we may not find this source of rest and refreshment for the mind and heart. The creation may always be our recreation. To be in love with this beautiful world is to be at the secret source of many a noble pleasure. To have a mind and heart open to the highest impressions of the natural universe, to be able to enter into the life of a summer or a winter day, to enjoy a night of stars, to feel the beauty of a flower, the grandeur of a storm, the spell of the wide waters or the high mountains, is to have abundant means of recovery and renewal always nigh at hand whenever we feel the need of calling ourselves off for a time from the excitement and strain of the daily conflict. It is true that nature does not yield the sympathy which the passionate human heart requires, but insensibly she helps her lovers to bear their burdens and to find rest in God. We are quickened and comforted by outward things more than we know. The sun and moon and stars, unaffected by our little controversies, rebuke and soothe us as we gaze on their tranquil glory. The mountains bring peace, and our fretfulness is carried away by the rushing river at our feet. Not only in the synagogue did Jesus find refreshment, but in the lilies of the field, in the sunset sky, among the hills, and by the Lake of Galilee.
In his suggestive journal, Amiel, describing a country walk taken when a dark and troubled mood was upon him, thus writes: The sunlight, the green leaves, the sky, all whispered to me, Be of good cheer and courage, poor wounded one! We are all at times poor wounded ones, needing all the refreshment and healing we can find. And,
What simple joys from simple sources spring!1 [Note: J. Hunter, The Angels of God, 32.]
By the avenue, on to the mansion,
There runs a clear stream all the way,
Pursuing my path, I can see it,
And list to its roundelay;
Still gleaming and glancing,
Still laughing and dancing,
It carols along all day.
In summer its rippling music,
Delight and refreshing instils,
In winter, by torrent-notes swollen,
Its songs all the dreariness fills;
Still leaping and bounding,
Its echoes resounding,
With rapture my soul it thrills.
And precious my Brook by the way is,
As Homewards I journey along,
New life in His depths I discover,
New courage I take from His song;
In gloom and in gladness,
In sunshine and sadness,
He is my Salvation strong!1 [Note: T. Crawford, Horae Serenae, 71.]
2. One of the richest streams that water the desert of life is that of social sympathy and helpfulness, whereby we give and take of the rich solace of brotherly love. To feel that the world is a little better for our being, that, when the little light of our life goes out, it will not have altogether failed to light some other fire of warmth and helpfulness; that some lives will go onward a little stronger, and more hopeful, for something we have been, or said, or even tried to be, this is a brook of consolation which becomes the more precious the nearer we draw to the isolation of death. Wretched is the man who has missed this brook of gentle human ministry in lifes way, and recognized too late how much of his souls life he has lost in saving it.
Nor, that time,
When nature had subdued him to herself,
Would he forget those Beings to whose minds
Warm from the labours of benevolence
The world, and human life, appeared a scene
Of kindred loveliness: then he would sigh,
Inly disturbed, to think that others felt
What he must never feel.
George MacDonald says: To know a man who can be trusted will do more for ones moral nature than all the books of divinity that were ever written. The beauty of the outward world is full of Divine help, but there is more beauty and more inspiration in living excellence than in the fairest natural scenes. Wonderfully refreshing is the hearts speech of the truly wise and good, but more beneficent is the brave thought when it becomes the brave deed, and more life-giving the Divine Word when it is made flesh and dwells among us. How rich the quickening and renewing influences which come from the presence and example of men who lift clearly before us the nobler ideals of life; from the memory of the faithful dead; and from the biographic page
Bright affluent spirits, breathing but to bless,
Whose presence cheers mens eyes and warms their hearts,
Whose lavish goodness this old world renews,
Like the free sunshine and the liberal air.1 [Note: J. Hunter, The Angels of God, 36.]
There is a mysterious power in sympathy, and I thank God that the stream of sympathy is ever in the way of sorrowing souls. I see much sorrow, much pain, much heartbreak, but I see also, and I thank God for it, much sympathy. Indeed, I am persuaded we never know what a wealth of sympathy and love there dwells in many a heart until sorrow calls it forth. And how a little sympathy comforts, and cheers, and refreshes the soul. She did help me, said a poor soul about one who was a veritable angel of mercy. I felt so much better for her visit. Well, what did she say to you? I asked. Well, she didnt say much, but she sat with me and held my hand. That good womans sympathy, silent sympathy, was a veritable brook in the way to that poor bereaved and lonely soul, and she drank of it and lifted up her head.
3. Another brook may be found in the appointed means of grace. Christ frequently drank of it. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. We must seek, as our fathers did, the perennial springs of refreshment that are to be found in the private and public ordinances of religion. The excitements and exhaustions of modern life make this duty even more imperative. Industry and enterprise are good; but life is not only action, it is thought and feeling also. We do ourselves the greatest wrong if we allow our activities to crowd meditation and prayer out of our days and to rob us of the secret of rest in God. To have depth and elevation and tranquillity in life, and the aim kept high, and the impulse true and steady, it is absolutely necessary for mind and heart to have constant access to the Source of inspiration. It is a moral calamity to lose the meditative and worshipful spirit. Reverence, faith, and aspiration are the springs of noble and fruitful living. Sunday and the Church stand for our highest life. They invite us to drink of waters that rise from cool and unpolluted depths. They offer an opportunity of finding that truest rest and recreation which come through mental and spiritual quickening and uplifting, and of verifying the word of prophecy, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
I know a little chapel in my own native land, away out in the country, far from village and town. But every Sabbath from miles around the farmers and farm labourers gather in the little building to hear the gospel preached. Their lives are hard and monotonous enough; but they find peace, joy, love, in the little chapel, and because of what it has been to them they have called it Elim. There the name stands graven over the doorElim, the place of springing water and shady palm trees. And that is what the sanctuary always is to the humble worshipper. Whether it is called by the name or not, it is an Elim to him. I read in the old Book of one who was sore distressed by the difficulties and troubles of life. They harassed him and well-nigh drove him to distraction. And it seemed as if the trouble would crush and overwhelm him, untilnotice thatuntil he went into the sanctuary, and then the trouble all disappeared and his heart was filled with the peace of God. I came to church tired, wrote one to me only last week. I came to church tired, and not a little soul weary; I left rested, refreshed, strengthened; I met my Lord there.1 [Note: J. D. Jones, The Elims of Life, 182.]
4. The brook that truly quenches our thirst issues from the throne of God. All merely ethical and philanthropic systems lack power to slake mans thirst, apart from the love of Him who was Love Incarnate. He, and He alone, it is who makes human life glad with the rivers of God; who gives us to drink not only of the still waters of His peace, but of the rich renewing wine of His blood.
Faith that looks up to Him finds streams in the desert, and many a brook of consolation and refreshment in the way of lifes sternest conflicts. Of such a faith it is true
The stars of midnight shall be dear
To her; and she shall lean her ear
In many a secret place
Where rivulets dance their wayward round,
And beauty born of murmuring sound
Shall pass into her face.
I remember an incident in the biography of a prince in learning, who, alas, was not a little child in the family of God. Once, in a time of depression, John Stuart Mill found comfort in music, until the thought came to him that, the octave having no more than eight tones in it, there must be limitations to the possibilities of melody. Even this spiritual octave of ours, various and marvellous as its messages are, has its limitations. Let us quench our thirst at the Fountainhead.1 [Note: A. Smellie, Service and Inspiration, 70.]
Augustine tried the broken cisterns and he was thirsty still. Turned from Thee, the One Good, I lost myself among a multiplicity of things. I wandered into fruitless seed-beds of sorrow, with a proud dejectedness and a restless weariness. I bore about a shattered and bleeding soul, impatient of being borne by me, yet where to repose it I found not. So the eager and often disappointed quest went on, until, under the fig-tree in the garden at Milan, in the year of our Saviour 386, he put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and made no provision for the flesh. Then his lips were opened, and he could sing: This is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee and of Thee and for Thee; this is it, and there is no other. Too late I learned to know Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, too late I learned to love Thee! Many and great are my infirmities; but Thy medicine is mightier.
5. The use of the brook is to give refreshment and strength to continue the battle. Each age has its own impulse which carries it a little way, but then there is the temptation to relax and to rest in what has been attained, as if that were the measure of the thought of God. But with another age a new call has come and courage to deal with it. Men have not come to the end of the warfare to which Christ has committed them. The gospel has a promise for every creature under heaven; it has an application to every variety of condition; it proves its power in men of every age. It starts each epoch and each century with renewed ardour and redoubled vigour. The things that have been are the pale shadows of things which are to be. But every victory over sin in the present or in the future has its explanation in the greatness of the heart of the Redeemer, who still passes undiscouraged on His way.
At the extreme limit of his vision this poet saw not rest and quiescence, but the King setting forth upon yet greater conquests. We are a laggard race, ever anxious and unready, afraid of what may come, doubtful if righteousness can really win the day; and our chief need is to kindle faith for the world afresh by a better study of the worlds King. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.
I think I have sometimes noticed in you an impatience of mind which you should guard against carefully. Pin this maxim up in your memorythat Nature abhors the credit system, and that we never get anything in life till we have paid for it. Anything good, I mean; evil things we always pay for afterwards, and always when we find it hardest to do it. By paying for them, of course, I mean labouring for them. Tell me how much good solid work a young man has in him, and I will erect a horoscope for him as accurate as Guy Mannerings for young Bertram. Talents are absolutely nothing to a man except he have the faculty of work along with them. They, in fact, turn upon him and worry him, as Actions dogs didyou remember the story? Patience and perseverancethese are the sails and the rudder even of genius, without which it is only a wretched hulk upon the waters.1 [Note: Letters of James Russell Lowell, i. 183.]
The husbandman sows his seed and toils on, and persistence reaps the harvest. The scholar opens his books and toils on, and persistence reaps fame. The reformer attacks the evil and toils on, and persistence destroys the evil. The force that is constant will always overcome the force that is less constant. Indeed, there never lived a man that came to anything who lacked this quality of pertinacity and adherence. How is it that the mountain-climber reached that summit of 23,000 feet? Plainly by going on and on until his foot was on the last stone and the whole earth was under his feet. The motto of David Livingstone was in these words: I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose. When Livingstones work in Africa was done, the Dark Continent was mapped out and spread fully before the merchants of the world. He crossed Africa four times, and marched for days up to his armpits in water, endured twenty-seven attacks of fever, was surrounded with enemies on every side, faced mutiny, poisoned arrows, wild beasts, the bite of serpents, but never gave up. By sheer, dogged persistence and faith in God he conquered, acting as if he thought his body was as immortal as his spirit.1 [Note: N. D. Hillis, The Contagion of Character, 228.]
By his zeal, constancy, and wisdom, by his mechanical genius and his gift of languages, Mackay had made himself a household word and a power in the whole region of Uganda. His hopefulness and courage never failed him. The misfortunes which overtook the Uganda mission at various times were regarded by timid and fearful souls at home as indications from God that the work there should be abandoned. When Mackay heard of these proposals, he wrote: Are you joking? If you tell me in earnest that such a suggestion has been made, I only answer, Never! Tell me, ye faint hearts, to whom ye mean to give up the mission? Is it to murderous raiders like Mwanga, or to slave-traders from Zanzibar, or to English and Belgian dealers in rifles and gunpowder, or to German spirit-sellers? All are in the field, and they make no talk of giving up their respective missions! That was the spirit which burnt in the heart of Mackay to the end of his brief life.2 [Note: W. G. Berry, Bishop Hannington, 180.]
Literature
Chadwick (G. A.), Pilates Gift, 266.
Hanks (W. P.), The Eternal Witness, 81.
Hunter (J.), The Angels of God, 27.
Jerdan (C.), Gospel Milk and Honey, 245.
Jones (J. D.), The Unfettered Word, 145.
Norton (J. N.), Old Paths, 231.
Piggott (W. C.), The Imperishable Word, 190.
Smellie (A.), Service and Inspiration, 49.
Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible
He shall: Psa 102:9, Jdg 7:5, Jdg 7:6, Job 21:20, Isa 53:12, Jer 23:15, Mat 20:22, Mat 26:42, Joh 18:11
therefore: Isa 53:11, Isa 53:12, Luk 24:26, Phi 2:7-11, Heb 2:9, Heb 2:10, 1Pe 1:11
lift: Psa 3:3, Psa 27:6, Jer 52:31
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 110:7. He shall drink of the brook in the way That is, says Houbigant, the brook Cedron, I suppose; David pointing out the passion of our Lord, by a continuance of the metaphor wherewith he began. Jesus was exalted because of his sufferings; therefore did he lift up his head, Heb 12:2. This is the more general interpretation of the verse. It expresses, says Poole, the humiliation and passion of the Messiah, to prevent a great mistake which might arise in mens minds concerning him, from the great successes and victories here ascribed to him, which might induce them to think that he should be exempted from all sufferings, and be crowned with constant and perpetual triumphs. To confute this notion, he signifies here that the Messiah should have a large portion of afflictions while he was in the way or course of his life, before he should come to his end or rest, and to the honour of sitting at his Fathers right hand. Thus St. Paul, who may be considered as giving a comment on these words, observes, that being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, &c., Php 2:8-9. Waters in Scripture very frequently signify sufferings; and to drink of them signifies to feel or bear these sufferings. There are some, however, who give the verse a different meaning, and suppose that by drinking of the brook in the way, is meant the succour and supply of almighty grace: or, the influences of the Holy Spirit, frequently represented under the emblem of water, as Isa 12:3; Isa 55:1; Joh 7:38-39. Thus Mr. Hervey: If it be asked, how the Redeemer shall be enabled to execute the various and important offices foretold in the former part of this Psalm, the prophet replies, He shall drink of the brook in the way. He shall not be left barely to his human nature, which must unavoidably sink, but through the whole administration of his mediatorial kingdom, and his incarnate state, shall be supported with omnipotent succours. He shall drink of the brook of almighty power: he shall be continually supported by the influence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore shall he lift up his head. By these means shall he be rendered equal to his prodigious task, superior to all opposition, successful in whatever he undertakes, and greatly triumphant over all his enemies. Herveys Med., vol. 1. p. 129.
Upon the whole, we have in this Psalm as clear a prophecy of the Messiah, and of the offices which he should sustain, as perhaps we can find, in so few words, in any part of the Old Testament, and a prophecy absolutely incapable of any other application. Now this prophecy was completely fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, when he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of his Father; from thenceforth expecting till his enemies should be made his footstool; that is, till Satan, the prince of this world, should be confined to the bottomless pit; till all the persecuting powers of it should be destroyed, and till death and the grave should be no more, Psa 110:1. The kingdom, to which he was advanced, is a spiritual kingdom: the sceptre, with which he was presented in the heavenly Zion, is all power in heaven and earth; to be employed for the protection of his subjects, and the destruction of his enemies, Psa 110:2. The laws of his kingdom are the laws of the gospel; which were to be published from Jerusalem: they who freely offered themselves to publish his laws, and gather subjects into his kingdom, were the apostles, and first preachers of his word; who, in a few years, being invested with power from on high, spread his gospel over the world, and gathered into his kingdom multitudes of subjects out of every nation under heaven, Psa 110:3. At the same time that Jesus was seated on his throne as King, he was made High-Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, to intercede for his people, and be their advocate with the Father, Psa 110:4. The sceptre was given him as well for the destruction of his enemies, as the protection of his subjects. When, therefore, the potentates of the earth opposed his gospel, and persecuted its publishers, he destroyed them with the breath of his mouth; first, by pouring out his wrath on Judea, in the excision of its inhabitants, and the subversion of its state; and afterward, by executing his vengeance on the persecuting powers of the heathen world, as they rose up to oppose the advancement of his kingdom, Psa 110:5-6; Rev 19:11-21. When Jesus set out on his warfare against the enemies of our salvation, he drank deep of the cup of sorrow and suffering; but, in reward for his humiliation, he is highly exalted to the throne of equal glory, at the right hand of God, that all should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father: see Green, on the Prayer of Habakkuk.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
110:7 He shall {f} drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
(f) Under this comparison of a captain that is so eager to destroy his enemies that he will not scarce drink by the way, he shows how God will destroy his enemies.