4. The priesthood of
the king.
Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent] The king is also priest by an
immutable Divine decree. The immutability of this decree is affirmed in the
most solemn manner possible. The ‘oath’ of Him who cannot lie is no stronger
than His word; He who knows all things from the beginning cannot repent or
change His purpose (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29), though man’s failure or change
may necessitate a temporary interruption of His purpose which appears to finite
man in the light of a ‘repentance.’ But He who is absolutely true and
unchanging condescends for man’s sake to confirm His word by an oath. Cp. Am.
6:8; Ps. 132:11.
Thou art a priest for ever after the order (or, manner) of Melchizedek] Melchizedek, king of Salem, and priest of God Most
High (El Elyōn), appears in Gen.
14:18ff. as the representative of a true faith in the primitive world. He was a
type of that union of civil and religious life, which must be the ideal of the
perfect state. The thought here affirmed is that the new king of Jerusalem must
hold a position in no way inferior to that of the ancient king of Salem. As the
representative of “a kingdom of priests and an holy nation” (Ex. 19:6) he had a
priestly character. As the representative of God to the people and of the
people to God he had a mediatorial office. David, when he brought up the Ark
into the city of David, laid aside his royal robes and wore the dress of a
priest (2 Sam. 6:14): both he and Solomon exercised priestly functions in
offering sacrifice, or at least in directing the sacrifices, if they did not
actually offer them (2 Sam. 6:17, 18; 1 Kings 8:62ff.), and in blessing the
people (2 Sam. 6:18; 1 Kings 8:14, 55); Solomon deposed and appointed a
high-priest (1 Kings 2:27, 35). David’s sons, in whatever sense the term may
have been used, were styled priests (2 Sam. 8:18). But the priesthood of the
king is here implicitly distinguished from the hereditary priesthood of the
family of Aaron, as a priesthood ‘after the manner of Melchizedek.’
For ever, as
applied to an individual, may be a relative term, as in 1 Macc. 14:41, quoted
above, p. 663. Cp. 1 Sam. 1:22. But the promise of an eternal priesthood
corresponds rather to the promise of eternal dominion in 2 Sam. 7:13, 10, 25,
29. Made to an individual, it is realised in his descendants. Jeremiah speaks
of the priestly right of access to God which is to be conferred upon the
Messianic prince (30:21); and the union of civil and religious life was
symbolised under the altered circumstances of the return from Babylon by the
coronation of Joshua (Zech. 6:12, 13).
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews
dwells upon this verse in his exposition of the typical significance of the
priesthood of Melchizedek, quoting it to illustrate the divine appointment of
Christ to his high-priestly office, and the eternal duration and unique character
of that office (Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21). (A. F.
Kirkpatrick, The Book of Psalms [The Cambridge Bible for Schools and
Colleges; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1906], 668-69)