“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
– Psalm 110:4
Now, there are a ton of things we could talk about at this point. Specifically when it comes to this picture of a priest in the order of Melchizedek. We can go to Hebrews chapter seven where the author of Hebrews quotes from this verse talking about the supremacy of Jesus as the unique priest King, and we could lead into all kinds of discussions about, well, some confusing things about who Melchizedek is, but that’s not the direction we’re going to go right now.
Instead, we’re going to focus on the first part of Psalm 110:4 that says, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.” Now, this is a picture we see at various points in the Bible. How God does not change his mind. That God never says, “I think this is best,” and then later turns around and says, “No, wait a second, something else is best.” That never happens. This is really, really good news. That God does not change his mind. He does not lie. He is never wrong.
This Verse Reminds Us God Keeps His Promises
You can rest in the Word of God and all His promises. You can put all of your trust in Him and know you will not be put to shame.
He never needs to correct himself because God is all knowing, all powerful, and all wise, and God never thinks one thing and then realizes later, oh, I was wrong in that. That happens to you and me all the time. With the best of intentions. I will do something with my kids and be like, okay, I think you need to do this, and I would give them counsel to do this. Then I’ll realize something that I didn’t realize before and I’ll go back and like, no, no, no, no, nevermind. Don’t do that. Do this over here. I didn’t realize this or that.
With good intentions, here I am changing my mind, or I may think at one point just a totally different scenario. I may think, okay, I want to go this direction, and then later I decide to change my mind and go in a totally different direction. You and I do these things. It’s really good news. God doesn’t do these things.
Just think if he did. Just think if like the universe was headed in one direction, then God was like, “I think I’m going to go in a different direction now,” and we had oriented our lives around this one direction and God totally turns it elsewhere. Or God said something to us in his word and says, “Walk in this way.” And so we do it and then God says, “I’m going to change my mind. That’s maybe not best. I thought it was.”
Psalm 110:4 Reminds Us We Can Trust God’s Word
This is where I just want to encourage you that you can rest in the word of God, in the promises of God, in the truth revealed by God, in the purposes of God in the world. They never, ever, ever change and this is a rock solid foundation to stand on. Particularly in a world where so many things are constantly shifting around us, even in us to know that things do not shift in God. His ways are always right. His word is always true. God’s purpose is always sure.
Psalm 110:4 Leads Us To Praise God
So God, we praise you that you are unlike us in this way, that you never ever change your mind. We praise you that your word is always sure. That as we open up your word and we read through it and you give us instructions, commands to follow, to obey. We thank you that we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt, that as we follow your instructions and obey your commands, that they will be good.
That we don’t have to wonder if they’re still good. That what you spoke 2,000 years ago is still good today. That your mind doesn’t change. That your purposes don’t change in all the more so God, when we realize that you have revealed your purposes to us. That you have told us what to live for, what matters most, and so God we pray in light of this. That you would keep us from banking our lives on the changing pursuits, and trends, and thoughts of this world.
God help us not to trust in the thoughts, trends, ideas, pursuits, pleasures, purposes around us in the world. Help us to live based on your always sure never failing. Always true word and purpose in our lives. God, help us to bank our lives on you and what you have said and what you are doing, knowing that you never change your mind.
All glory be to you for your wisdom, your knowledge, your sovereignty. Lord, your character is a bedrock foundation to stand on and to bank our lives on. We say together today, “We trust in you alone more than anyone. Anything else could even begin to compare. We put all of our trust in you.” In Jesus name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
