As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
I will not detain the Reader with a long observation on what the Holy Ghost hath here said concerning the same authority which made Christ High Priest, which said also unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee. To enter into the whole of this passage to the full, and follow it up with the remarks which arise out of the Scripture, would fill many pages. Let it in this place be sufficient to observe, that, in whatever sense the words be taken, they are most highly expressive of the eternal nature and glory of the Son of God. They are a quotation from the second Psalm (Psalms 2:1); where Christ, being set by Jehovah a King on his holy hill of Zion the Church; and having, as is represented by vision in the revelations, been alone found worthy to open the book, and loose the seals thereof, (Revelation 5:1-10) now, as King in Zion, declares the decree. And the first Chapter in this mysterious volume, which none but Christ could open, is the sovereign purpose of Jehovah, and addressed to Christ, as Christ, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Reader! pause one moment, and remark the superior blessedness of all that God the Father saith to his dear Son, to every other declaration whatever. Very blessed it is to hear the Lord speaking in a way of grace to the Church. And very blessed, when all that the Lord saith to the Church, the Lord gives grace to hear and obey. But, oh! how sweet beyond the expression of all language is it, when we hear the Lord the Father speaking to his dear Son, concerning his blessing the Church in Him? Here the Father is the Almighty Speaker, Christ is the sum and substance of all his proclamations to the Church; and God the Holy Ghost gives the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, to believe the record God hath given of his Son, 1 John 5:10-11
The blessedness of the words themselves, in confirmation, that He who called Christ to be an High Priest, said also unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee; very plainly were designed to shew, that in no office of Son-ship, or Priesthood, did Christ, as Christ, enter uncalled of God. So that the words are very important, in proof of Christ's authority. But, it should be observed also, that they are no less very precious, in confirmation of Christ's being set up from everlasting, in his high Mediator-character. To-day cannot refer to the nature and essence of the Son of God, as God; for eternity is never called in Scripture language, to-day. And although Christ, as Christ, could not have been set up in his Mediator-character from everlasting, had he not in his divine nature and essence as God, been one with the Father and the Holy Ghost from all eternity; yet, here the Holy Ghost is evidently speaking of Christ, as Christ, in his character of Mediator. This is the decree which the Book, when unsealed and opened, was found to contain; and the Son of God, who came forth from the bosom of the Father, came forth to declare, John 1:1. But it was no decree, or the result of any covenant-settlement, between the persons of the Godhead, concerning mans redemption, to declare the Son of God, as the Son of God in his essence of Godhead; for, this, he was, and is, and will be, in the eternity of his nature, forever. In relation to Christ being said to be a Priest, after the order of Melchizedec, we shall have occasion to speak of it more fully (Hebrews 7:1), to which therefore I refer.