God rules all things through His Church, so be sure to be a strong part of it.
Read / Listen
Read Psalm 110
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 50
Q. Why the next words:
“and is seated at the
right hand of God”?
A. Christ ascended to heaven,
there to show that he is
head of his church,
and that the Father
rules all things through him.
Summary
We left off on Friday with a description of Jesus' triumphal homecoming into heaven written 1,000 before it happened in Psalm 24. What a tremendous celebration it was - not just that Jesus had returned, but the invitation that He received from God the Father we read about today to sit at His right hand and "rule in the midst of your enemies," "crush kings," and "judge the nations."
David here also reminds us of the guarantee God makes that we read about on Friday in 2 Corinthians. "The Lord has sworn," David writes, "and will not change His mind: you [Jesus Christ] are a priest forever!" One of God's most comforting attributes is that He is immutable - He does not - can not - ever change. He will not change His mind and He by His very nature must keep His promises.
If Psalm 24 were the only passage from scripture we had, it would be sufficient for us to live confidently. The LORD is in charge, He is and will crush all who stand against Him, and nothing can change His mind or prevent His victory.
Dig Deeper
Think Jesus is just a nice guy, welcoming children to sit on his lap, all while turning His cheek to all who wish to strike Him? Yes, He very much is all of those things, but this gentle nature is but a fraction of who Jesus is. Passages like Psalm 110 are necessary to round out our understanding of Him, and to remind us to worship Him in reverence and fear!
Yet it sure doesn't seem that Psalm 110 is accurate in our day and age. The kings and rulers of society seem to be thriving in careless indifference to God's unchanging will, and nothing seems to happen.
This is why it's good to follow the catechism. In summarizing all of scripture, it helps interpret every part of scripture. Today it reminds us that God is realizing these victories with Jesus at His right hand, and that they are being won not in the political or social spheres, but in the Church, of which Jesus is the head.
But even still, the Church seems to be weaker than ever. Our churches are emptier than they were decades ago, and many people we know and love have abandoned it.
But just like the angels reminded the disciples not to come to conclusions based solely on what they saw as they watched Jesus disappear behind a cloud, don't base your understanding of the Church only on what you see in the pews around you.
Know that at this very minute, that God rules all things through Jesus, the head of the Church, who sits at His right hand. Therefore, remain confident that it's through the Church that God will make His enemies a footstool despite the fact that the gates of Hell will rise up against it.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who will never change His mind and will achieve victory through the Church;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for your local church, and pray that God will strengthen you in it so that you can heed God's call to serve Him arrayed in holy splendor (v3)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 23
