Prayer
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:3-4)
Today’s Hymn
Words: Walter C. Smith, Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life, 1876. Music: St. Denio, Welsh melody, from Canaidau y Cyssegr, by John Roberts, 1839.
IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE
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Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish-but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.
All laud we would render; O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
Thought Provoker
To properly understand Christ’s salvation you must understand Christ in all of His fullness as Prophet, Priest, and King. Today’s passage focuses on Jesus the High Priest. He is a High Priest that is superior to any priest of the Old Testament. To show us the greatness of Christ our High Priest, the writer to Hebrews introduces us to a mysterious man by the name of Melchizedek, the first priest mentioned in the Bible. God made Melchizedek to be a type or shadow of Christ (Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 100:4). Read together Hebrews 7:1-10 and see how many ways your can find that Melchizedek was a type or shadow of Christ.
1. Melchizedek means king of righteousness (v. 1).
2. King of Salem means king of peace (v. 1).
3. No ancestry. No mention is giving of Melchizedek’s ancestry, birth, or death. This is an illustration of the eternal, changeless priesthood of Christ.
4. Both greater than Abraham.
Dad’s Study
The main point of today’s passage is found in verse 25. The big picture is that Christ’s priesthood is superior to the Old Testament priests. Today’s glorious truth follows the Wherefore. What is the great conclusion about the superiority of Christ’s priesthood? Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them (v. 25). What a great verse with three great promises!
1. Christ is able to save your soul forever! The greatest need in everyone’s life is the need to be saved from the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). Christ alone shed His blood as full payment for sin.
2. He lives forever to make intercession for you! The reason God gave priests in the Old Testament was to intercede between God and man. Priests entered the holy of holies with the blood of sacrifice for the remission of sin. This was a picture of Christ the Lamb who would shed His blood once for all for the remission of sin. God provided priests who continually had to make sacrifice in the Old Testament and has now provided His own Son as the final High Priest. Christ would not be able to save you forever if He wasn’t making intercession for you forever. Jesus died once but continues to pray for you eternally! If you are one of His, He prays for you unceasingly as your advocate before the Father, and you will therefore never perish!
3. This salvation and intercession is for all who continue to come to God through faith in Christ. It is not that God’s salvation is conditioned on you coming to Christ and continuing to come to Him. That would make it a work. The Bible is clear that there are none that seek after God. Paul reminds us, As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God (Romans 3:10-11). It is only by God’s grace that He effectually calls His elect unto salvation (Romans 1:5-6). Christ also intercedes for you daily, that you will faithfully continue to come to Him for mercy (E.g. John 17:11,15 etc).
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
Christ’s invitation to your family today is to come and draw near to God. Draw near to Him through your High Priest, Jesus Christ. Draw near to Him in confession for sin! Draw near to Him in heartfelt praise and thanksgiving! Meditate together on this great promise – Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Catechism
Question 38
Q. What shall be done to the wicked at their death?
A. The souls of the wicked shall at their death be cast into the torments of hell (Luke 16:22-24), and their bodies lie in their graves till the resurrection and judgment of the great day (Psalm 49:14).
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Words: Evelyn A. Cummins, 1922. Music: Manoah, arranged from Gioachino A. Rossini in Collection of Church Music, by Henry W. Greatorex, 1851.
Words: From The Yigdal of Daniel ben Judah, a Jewish judge in Rome, circa 1400, paraphrased by Thomas Olivers, circa 1765; first appeared in The Gospel Magazine, April 1775. The lyrics are based on the 13 creeds of Moses Maimonides (circa 1130—1204). Music: Leoni, Hebrew melody, Sacred Harmony, 1780
Words: Fanny Crosby, in Songs of Redeeming Love, by John R. Sweney, C. C. McCabe, Tullius O’Kane, and William Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1882).
Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742. 