New Park Street Pulpit · Sermon No. 74
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, April 13, 1856, New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.
“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 at 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 that hath no subjects to make up its fulness. Where, then, shall Christ find that which shall be the fulness of him that filleth 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 subjects. Ofttimes do we ask, “O Lord, where shall we find thy subjects?” When we have preached to hard hearts, and prophesied to dry bones, our unbelief at times says, “Where shall we find children for Christ? Where shall we find people who will constitute the subjects of his empire?” Our fears are all put to rest by this passage: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning;” and by the second promise, “Thou hast the dew of thy youth.” These thoughts are placed here to allay the anxieties of God’s believing people, and to let them see how Christ shall indeed be king, and never lack a multitude of subjects.
First, here is a promise concerning his people; and secondly, here is a promise concerning Christ himself, that he shall always be as strong, as fresh, as new, and as mighty a Christ as ever.
I. First, we shall look at THE PROMISE MADE TO CHRIST’S PEOPLE. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning.” Here is a promise of time; “in the day of thy power.” Here is a promise of people: “thy people.” Here is a promise of disposition: “thy people shall be willing.” Here is a promise of character: “thy people shall be willing in the beauties of holiness.” And here is a majestic figure to show the manner in which they shall be brought forth. By a very bold metaphor, they are said to come out as mysteriously as the dew drops from the womb of the morning. We know not how, but they are produced by God. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness.” In the womb of the morning they shall come.
1. First, here is a promise concerning time. Christ is not to gather in his people every day, but on one special day, the day of his power. It is not the day when man feels himself to be the most mighty, that souls are gathered; for alas! God’s servants sometimes preach until their self-complacency tells them they have been exceedingly eloquent and mighty, and that, therefore, men must be saved: but there is no promise that in the day of our power we shall ever see men gathered to Christ. There are times too when the people seem to have a great power of seeking after God, and when they have the power of hearing, but there is no promise that just when an excitement reigns, and when there appears to be power in the creature, that such a day shall be the day of God’s ingathering. It is “the day of thy power”—not of the minister’s power, nor of the hearers’.