AI-assisted analysis for orientation; read the source transcript or listen to the sermon to evaluate the interpretation.
The sermon teaches that Christ is the enthroned King and that God will certainly provide Him with willing subjects. Since sinners are naturally unwilling, their response to Christ must be understood as the result of God’s powerful, effectual grace. Those whom grace brings to Christ are marked by the beauties of holiness, including self-denial and unselfish Christian character. Spurgeon also stresses that Christ has not weakened with time: He still possesses the fullness of the Spirit and can raise up faithful servants to proclaim a fresh and powerful Gospel.
Theological center: Christ’s mediatorial kingship is secured by God’s effectual grace, which creates a willing and holy people and sustains the Church’s mission.
Applications: Pray for God’s powerful work · Proclaim the Gospel boldly · God changes the human will · Christ remains fully powerful
Primary texts: Psalm 110:3 · Zechariah 1:18-21
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.” Psalm 110:3 NEVER verse in the Scripture has puzzled me more than this to find out its meaning and its connection. In reading it over hastily, at first sight, it may appear very easy. But if you search into it very carefully, you will find you can with difficulty string the words together or give them any intelligible meaning. I have taken down all the commentators I have in my possession. I find they all give a meaning to the words, but not a soul of them—not even Dr. Gill—gives a connected meaning to the whole sentence. After looking at the old translations and employing every means in my power to discover the meaning, I found myself as far off as when I began. Matthew Henry, one of the wisest commentators, certainly the best for family reading, makes the passage read as if it were like this, “Thy people shall come willingly in the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness. In the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth.” That is how he explains it, though he does not say that is the proper translation. He explains the last sentence, “Thou hast the dew of thy youth,” as meaning that in early life, from the womb of the morning, young people would give themselves to Jesus Christ. But it is no such thing. There is a colon after the word “morning” dividing the sentence. Besides, it does not say, the “people shall be willing; thou hast the dew of their youth,” as it would read if it were as the expositors understand it. But it says to Christ, “Thou hast the dew of thy youth.” It was not until we had thoroughly looked at the connection of the verse and tried to catch the scope of the Psalm, that we thought we had hit upon its meaning. And even now we shall leave it with your judgment to decide whether or not we have gained the mind of the Spirit, as we hope we have. The Psalm is a kind of coronation Psalm. Christ is bidden to take His throne. “Sit thou at my right hand.” The sceptre is put into His hand. “The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion.” And then the question is asked, “Where are his people?” For a king would be no king without subjects. The highest title of kingship is but an empty one if there are no subjects to make up its fullness. Where, then, shall Christ find that which shall be the fullness of Him that fills all in all? The great anxiety we have is not whether Christ is King or not—we know He is. He is the Lord of creation and of providence. Our anxiety is about His su…