We have here the very heart of the Christian character set forth as being willing consecration; then we have the work which Christian men have to do, and the spirit in which they are to do it, expressed in that metaphor of their priestly attire; and then we have their refreshing and quickening influence upon the world.
I. The subjects of the Priest-King are willing soldiers. In accordance with the warlike tone of the whole Psalm, our text describes the subjects as an army. The King is going forth to conquest. But He goes not alone. Behind him come His faithful followers, all pressing on with willing hearts and high courage. Then (1) the warfare which He wages is one not confined to Him. (2) That warfare is shared in by all the subjects. It is a levy en massean armed nation. (3) There are no mercenaries in these ranks, no pressed men. The soldiers are all volunteers. "Thy people shall be willing." (4) The soldiers are not only marked by glad obedience, but that obedience rests upon the sacrifice of themselves. This glad submission has come from self-consecration and surrender. (5) By a natural transition, the word "willing" comes to mean "free," and also "noble." The willing service which rests upon glad consecration raises him who renders it to true freedom and dominion. The Prince's servants are every other person's masters.
II. The soldiers are priests. "The beauties of holiness" is a frequent phrase for the sacerdotal garments, the holy, festal attire of the priests of the Lord. The conquering King whom the Psalm hymns is a Priest for ever; and He is followed by an army of priests. (1) Mark now the warfare which we have to wage is the same as the priestly service which we have to render. The conflict is with our own sin and evil; the sacrifice we have to offer is ourselves. (2) The great power which we Christian men are to wield in our loving warfare is character.(3) The image suggests the spirit in which our priestly warfare is to be waged. We are to be soldier-priests, strong and gentle, like the ideal of those knights of old, who were both, and bore the cross on shield, and helmet, and sword-hilt.
III. The soldier-priests are as dew upon the earth. We have here: (1) A picture of the army as a band of youthful warriors. He who has fellowship with God and lives in the constant reception of the supernatural life and grace which comes from Jesus Christ possesses the secret of perpetual youth. (2) The lovely emblem of the dew as applied to Christ's servants. It is as a symbol of the refreshing which a weary world will receive from the conquests and presence of the King and His host that they are likened to the glittering morning dew.
A. Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester,3rd series, p. 321.
I. Consider what is meant by the expression that Christ's people are a willing people. (1) This indicates that a vast change has been made upon them, for there is no man naturally inclined to follow and to obey the Saviour. (2) The willingness which is here spoken of is not to be regarded as a mere point of doctrinal theology, but as a great practical reality. A willing people is a people willing for whatever is Christ's will, because they love Him and trust Him.
II. Notice the decorations of Christ's people. "They appear in the beauties of holiness." Holiness is the peculiar and indispensable mark of Christ's people, and that which distinguishes them as His. The holy man, besides having all the distinguishing qualities of the good man, is one who loathes all impurity in thought, or speech, or conduct. When Christ's people are said to be clothed with the beauties of holiness, this implies that they are not only characterised by their outward conformity to the law of God, but that they seek to have the whole frame of the heart every thought, every feeling, every breathing of the soul regulated by God's holy will.
III. Notice what is here said respecting the number of Christ's followers. "They are as the dewdrops from the womb of the morning." This Psalm describes Messiah's triumphs over all His enemies. These shall not be completed until the morning of the Resurrection. Then it will be that this beautiful prophecy shall have its full accomplishment.
IV. Notice the way and time in which sinners are made Christ's willing followers. It is in the day of His power. (1) As to the way of it. Not by the power of eloquence of man, but by the Spirit of the Lord, are the rebels subdued, and the unholy sanctified. Christ administers His government not so much by terror as by love. (2) As to the time at which Christ makes His people willing. It is the dayof His power. Christ, indeed, has always the same power; but there are special seasons for the special exercise of it.
V. Observe how all these things redound to the glory of Christ.
A. D. Davidson, Lectures and Sermons,p. 66.
References: Psalms 110:3. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. ii., No. 74; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. v., p. 104; Homiletic Quarterly,vol. iv., p. 130; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons,p. 397; J. Vaughan, Children's Sermons,1875, p. 132; A. Pope, Thursday Penny Pulpit,vol. xvi., p. 37.