Thursday in the Twenty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

Hebrews 1:8-9

Your Throne, O God

We are continuing with the topic of the Son’s superiority over the angels.  It might seem to us an unnecessary matter to prove, but we live in a day when belief in angels and demons (spiritual beings as a whole) is thought medieval by those of “scientific” persuasions.  However, as I stated yesterday, among devotees of the New Age movement, and the younger generations’ penchant for the more occult-like and darker books one finds in today’s book stores, it seems the “spirit-world” is becoming more popular, though in its ugliest and most dangerous forms.

But now the Preacher turns to another Old Testament passage to trumpet our Lord’s surpassing greatness.  First, he marshaled Psalm 2:7, 2 Samuel 7:14, and Deuteronomy 32:43; now he turns to the beautiful and majestic Psalm 45 which speaks of the enthronement and subsequent wedding of the Davidic king who is obviously understood in Messianic terms.  The Preacher specifically quotes verses six and seven: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.”  Now let us stop here for a moment and see what the Preacher is doing.  There is no doubt that in the psalm, the writer is not calling the king, “God,” but referring to our God and Father in heaven who is the God of the king being enthroned.  But the Preacher makes an advance on the psalm by interpreting these verses as to say that the one enthroned is God, and this is because the one being enthroned is the Son of God.  In other words, the Preacher reinterprets the psalm as referring to the Son who now sits at the Right Hand of the Father—the supreme place of authority and power.

Another advance the Preacher makes on the psalm is that while the Preacher quotes, “The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom,” the psalm says, “The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness.”  Now any grammarian will tell you that the being verb (copula) simply connects a subject and a complement such that the sentence can easily be turned around and mean the same thing; for instance, to say, “Sam is that man” and then, “That man is Sam,” is to say one and the same thing.  But still, the Preacher’s purpose in changing the place of the phrases suggests that he means to say that “righteousness and justice are the foundation of [the Son’s] throne” (Psalm 89:14) in such a way no earthly king can say nor kingdom shall ever be.  For, the Son “loved righteousness and hated wickedness” throughout his earthly sojourn, and so has been anointed—exalted—with the oil of gladness above all others—men and angels included.

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor

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