If the previous reflection described the people of the Master
as the kingdom of Yhwh, then here, in this second reflection, we can describe
the Messiah as constituting his people as priests. What is interesting, though,
is that the imagery from the first section continues—the imagery of
establishment of order through the destruction and suppression of enemies. Why
then Melchizadek? Why a priesthood?
We have already referred to the unity that Adam lived in,
when he walked in the Garden. He was both a priest, who was to protect the
inner sanctuary and “till” it. He was also a king, though, and in that capacity
he was to protect it from external threats. Moreover, as king, he would enlarge
the Garden such that it would spread across the cosmos—turning all of creation
into a Garden Temple by and through his participation within Yhwh’s ongoing act
of creation and the taming, shaping and making fruitful of the deep Chaos. All
of this, however, shattered when Adam and Eve listened to the Tempter. Their
unified roles and king and holy-mother fell into so many pieces. The rest of
salvation history is Yhwh’s rebuilding these pieces, step by step, shaping
Israel into the Adam-and-Eve-of-Yhwh. Seen as a corporate body, Israel would
have a king, would have a temple and would have priests. But these were
separate institutions for most part.
Here, the psalmist sees in Melchizadek this bright spot of
Adam’s original unity. He was the unified priest-king. And, importantly, he was
the priest-king of Salem (which would later be Jerusalem). The resonances with
David are deep, both in the Melchizadek scene in Genesis and in this Psalm. The
psalmist clearly wants his readers to see the priest-king of this psalm as
being a son of David and the inheritor of his perpetual covenant with Yhwh.
But, by aligning this with Melchizadek, the psalmist is pointing to something
more. There are resonances in the Scriptures of David performing priest like
activities, but they are subtle and never made too explicit. In this psalm,
however, the priestly function of the king is brought to the center. It is
unavoidable. What I believe we see here, then, is something like a second Adam
in the future realization of this priest-king. The First-King and the
First-Priest are merged together this future Priest-King, this future
Second-Adam. And, in this, the face of Christ begins to surface.
This Second Adam’s relationship to Yhwh will be so
intertwined that his ‘day’ and Yhwh’s ‘day’ will become the same. In Christ,
this “day” becomes absolutely wed together. The same “day” that Christ becomes
the Priest-King is the same “day of Yhwh”—the ‘day’ and ‘hour’ of Christ’s
crucifixion, and his consequent resurrection and ascension. That entire
momentum is the great key that turns the ages, such that, even now, does the
New Day begin to dawn. Remarkably, though, in this psalm, the act whereby the
Second Adam destroys the kings is his own destruction and death. Revelation (and
Paul) all recognize this. Revelation by putting a lamb that was as if slain on
the Throne. Paul, by his continuous emphasis on ruling in the Spirit through
cruciformity. Hebrews will see Christ’s becoming the High Priest in his Ascension
through the Heavens and into the Heavenly Temple; it is then that he will be a
forever priest like Melchizadek.
In all of this, we see the way in which, through Christ, he
creates a nation of priests. This phrase—‘nation of priests’—is important in
the Old Covenant because it is used prior to Sinai to describe Israel. However,
after Sinai, when the Levitical priesthood is established, the term largely
drops out. In the New Covenant, the term reappears, and is applied to the
Church, the Bride. Through Christ, then, the ‘nation of priests’ is re-born,
but now through the High Priest in the order of Melichazadek—a priesthood that
existed prior to the Levitical priesthood.
Just as in the first part of the psalm, Christ’s Priestly
role is apportioned out to his people. Through his Spirit, they are united and
participate within his priestly reign. They become re-Adamized, in the Second
Adam.
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