YEAR 3, WEEK 6, Day 7, Sunday, 8 February 2026

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Psalm+110;+Job+9

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 8 February 2026:

Psalm 110:1 — The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

This psalm opens with a mystery that unfolds the entire New Testament. David speaks of his Lord being invited to share the throne of Yahweh. No king of Israel ever occupied this place. The verse announces a greater King whose authority is both divine and delegated. Power here is not seized; it is bestowed. The enemies are not destroyed immediately, but decisively placed under sovereign restraint. God rules history with patience as well as power.

Jesus used this verse to explain that David too waited for the Messiah, Jesus. David understood something about Jesus and looked forward to His coming. In Luke 20:41-44, Jesus uses Psalm 110 to reveal Himself as the Messiah. The risen Christ reigns now, even while the final submission of all enemies awaits completion. This tension explains the Christian life: Christ is already enthroned, yet opposition persists. Faith rests not in visible dominance but in seated authority.

Psalm 110:2-3 — The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter…. Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

The reign of this King advances outward from Zion, not by coercion but by willing allegiance. The people are not conscripted; they volunteer. Power produces devotion, not fear. Holiness adorns them like morning dew — quiet, pervasive, life-giving. This is a kingdom marked by transformed hearts before transformed circumstances.

The New Testament mirrors this exactly. Christ’s rule spreads as people are made willing, not forced. Obedience flows from love. Holiness is not imposed; it is awakened.

Psalm 110:3 which is labeled “a Psalm of David” is actually a prophesy of the reign of Jesus Christ. In Luke 20, Jesus pointed out that this Psalm refers to him, his Son-ship, and his Kingship — the Jews had missed the message of this Psalm. Jesus, who proclaimed “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel,” reminds every one of the words of Psalm 110 – “I make your enemies your footstool.” As we have discussed in previous readings, God’s Elect will reign on earth with Jesus upon His return (1 Corinthians 6, Revelation 20), and Psalm 110:3 gives another clue as to how events will occur – “the dew of your youth will be yours.” This statement can also be interpreted, “your young men will come to you like dew.” This coincides with what is prophesied in Micah 5 concerning “the Ruler… born in Bethlehem” — “Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which delay not for a man nor wait for the children of man. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.” (Micah 5:7-9) These are the people who have diligently obeyed their King and have gone throughout the world, to every Nation, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all of God’s commands; advancing the Kingdom of God one heart at a time; preparing people across the globe for the return of Jesus; this is a global, spiritual insurgency, treading down and tearing to pieces the forces of darkness and the strongholds of evil.

The “Christian Soldier” is in a battle every day, but not a physical battle but rather a spiritual battle – “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:5, 6) We are to live as “Ambassadors for Christ” and as a “Kingdom of Priests” in the midst of the kingdoms of men, not in timidity but as lions, destroying strongholds through divine power and the authority of Christ. We have been given our mission orders by Jesus himself:

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
forward into battle see his banners go!
At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.
Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
but the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
we have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.
Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King,
this through countless ages men and angels sing.

Psalm 110:4 — You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Here the psalm reaches its theological summit. The King is also a Priest — permanent, sworn by God, not inherited, not temporary. This is not Levitical mediation with repeated sacrifices; this is a singular, enduring priesthood grounded in God’s oath.

The gospel rests here. Christ does not merely rule; He intercedes. He does not merely command; He reconciles. His authority is inseparable from His sacrifice. The One who reigns at God’s right hand is the One who has already dealt with sin.

Hebrews chapters 7 & 8 reveal that this priesthood of Melchizedek points to Jesus.

• Hebrews 8:1-2, 6-7 — Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man…. But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

Psalm 110:5-7 — The Lord is at your right hand…. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

The final movement blends judgment with humility. The conquering King is also the suffering Servant. He pauses to drink; He does not rush. Victory is certain, yet carried out with restraint and purpose. This anticipates the path of Christ: humiliation before exaltation, obedience before triumph.

The psalm closes not in noise but in assurance. The King who stoops will rise. The One who suffers will reign forever.

Job 9:1-12 — Truly I know that it is so…. How can a man be right before God?

Job responds to Bildad by agreeing with the premise but rejecting the conclusion. Yes, God is just. Yes, God is powerful beyond measure. And precisely because this is true, Job sees no way to contend with Him. The problem is not God’s justice; it is the impossibility of standing before such a God unaided.

Job catalogs God’s sovereignty — over mountains, stars, seas, and storms — not just to praise, but to confess helplessness. God is not merely stronger than Job; He is unapproachable. Job’s theology is correct, but it drives him toward despair because it lacks a mediator.

Job 9:2 — But how can a man be in the right before God?

There is no one and never has been anyone who could claim righteousness before God apart from Jesus who becomes righteousness (Romans 10:4) for those who live by Grace through faith in Him. Job appreciated the Holiness and Sovereignty of God, knowing that no person could meet His standard apart from His righteousness imparted to them. He did not know that Jesus would fulfill this requirement.

Job 9:11 – Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.

God is Spirit and therefore is not fully perceived through physical senses, even though His activity is often visible through its effects. Job’s statement is not a complaint about God’s absence but an acknowledgment of the limitation of human perception. God may be profoundly present and powerfully at work while remaining unseen. This exposes a common misunderstanding: many assume that a visible or dramatic encounter with God would signal spiritual maturity or permanently settle faith. Scripture consistently teaches otherwise.

True intimacy with God is not primarily external or sensory; it is internal and relational. The deepest evidence of God’s presence is not spectacle but transformed love. Genuine love for God and others is the greatest miracle of all, far more profound than any physical manifestation. External signs may astonish, but they do not necessarily produce faith, obedience, or holiness. Love does.

Throughout Scripture, God most often uses physical manifestations when people are spiritually unreachable, when hearts are hardened, distracted, or resistant. Even then, signs are accommodations, not ideals. Jesus explicitly warned that the demand for signs reflects spiritual immaturity, calling it the posture of a wicked and adulterous generation. Signs can compel attention, but they cannot compel trust.

• Matthew 12:39 — But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

Jesus made this distinction unmistakable in His interaction with Thomas. Thomas wanted physical proof before he would believe. Jesus graciously met him where he was, but He also clarified the higher blessing: those who believe without seeing. Faith rooted in God’s character, not in visible confirmation, is the faith God commends. Obedience that flows from trust in who God is carries greater weight than belief sustained by evidence.

• John 20:29 — Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Job’s insight invites correction of our instincts. Do not seek God primarily through external confirmation or extraordinary experiences. Seek Him through internal transformation. Look for the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, self-control — taking root and maturing in your life. That quiet, steady transformation is the unmistakable mark of God’s nearness.

God may pass by unseen, but He is never absent. His presence is confirmed not by what the eyes observe, but by what the heart becomes.

• John 1:18 — No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
• 1 John 4:12 — No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
• John 4:24 — God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
• 1 Timothy 1:17 — To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
• Jeremiah 23:23-24 — “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
• Philippians 3:3 — For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh⁠….
• Isaiah 57:15 — For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Job 9:13-24 — Who will say to Him, “What are you doing?”… Where is He?

Job’s anguish sharpens. If God is this sovereign, how can suffering be explained? If God governs all things, why does injustice appear to flourish? Job does not accuse God of wrongdoing outright, but he confesses the terror of unaccountable power. A God without mediation feels indistinguishable from fate.

This is honest faith at the edge of comprehension. Job does not abandon God; he wrestles with Him. Scripture preserves this not to commend despair, but to show how desperately humanity needs a bridge between divine holiness and human frailty.

Job 9:15 – Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.

Job reaches a profound and humbling conclusion: even if he believes himself to be “in the right,” he recognizes that he cannot stand before God on that basis. Relative righteousness collapses in the presence of absolute holiness. Job intuits what later Scripture will make explicit, that moral comparison among humans is meaningless when measured against the purity of God. Even our best intentions, thoughts, and motives are stained by sin. Before God, self-defense gives way to dependence.

This is not false humility; it is spiritual clarity. Job understands that argument, explanation, or justification cannot secure him. His only posture is appeal, not to fairness as he defines it, but to mercy as God defines it. This anticipates the gospel with remarkable precision. Scripture later affirms that no one is righteous, not even one, and that every mouth is stopped before God. Standing before Him, the issue is not whether we are better than others, but whether we are holy — and we are not.

Here the distinction between mercy and grace becomes essential. Mercy is not receiving the judgment we deserve. Grace is receiving the good we do not deserve. Job appeals first to mercy because without mercy there can be no grace. Judgment must be withheld before gift can be given. This is the daily reality of the believer’s life. Every day we live is sustained by mercy, and every good we enjoy is the result of grace.

Grace, however, is far more than forgiveness, though forgiveness is foundational. Grace is everything God supplies that we cannot generate ourselves. Every breath, every moment of restraint from sin, every step of obedience, every ounce of endurance in suffering is grace at work. We often reserve the word “grace” for dramatic moments of salvation or restoration, but Scripture presents grace as the ongoing power of God sustaining life itself. We do not outgrow our need for grace; we grow deeper into it.

Paradoxically, the more God entrusts us with — greater responsibility, deeper ministry, broader influence — the more dependent we become on grace. Increased calling does not signal increased self-sufficiency; it demands increased reliance. Stepping out in faith is not an act of personal bravery so much as an act of trust in God’s supply. Faith does not draw from internal strength; it draws upon divine provision. More faith requires more grace.

This posture reshapes how we treat others. Those who live aware of mercy become merciful. Those who depend on grace extend grace. Self-righteousness fades when we remember that our standing before God is not maintained by performance but by mercy continually received. Job’s insight dismantles both pride and despair. Pride has no ground because mercy alone sustains us. Despair has no claim because mercy is always available.

Job’s appeal for mercy is not weakness; it is wisdom. It is the only posture that can stand before God — and it is the posture that opens the door to grace, transformation, and life.

Job 9:17 — For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause.

It is impossible for us to fully understand God’s purposes and ways, and it is the height of arrogance to suppose that God owes us an answer. In faith, we ask for answers and trust Him when there is silence. However, when there is silence, we must be cautious not to presume to know what God is thinking or doing. We must simply remain obedient and lean not on our own understanding.

Job 9:20 — Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

Job knew he could not see his own unrighteousness or count on his own righteousness. If God’s mercy and grace depended upon Job’s righteousness, Job had no hope. Job’s friends told Him to repent and be saved, but Job did not know from what to repent. When you are being sanctified, you will look back at your past amazed at how foolish you were when at that the time you couldn’t see it; so what should that tell you about where you are currently? You can’t see now what you will understand later as you continue to grow; so, walk in humility; growth can only occur in humility. Pride is where learning ceases.

Job 9:25-31 — My days are swifter than a runner…. I cannot lift up my head.

Job feels time collapsing. Life accelerates toward death, and cleansing feels impossible. Even if he washed himself with snow and lye, God’s holiness would still overwhelm him. Job recognizes that moral effort cannot close the gap. This is not laziness; it is clarity. Works cannot rescue him.

Here Job unknowingly dismantles every transactional theology. If righteousness could be achieved by effort, Job would have it. Yet he knows that effort cannot survive God’s gaze.

Job 9:27, 28 — If I say, “I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,” I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent.

Job recognizes that forced optimism cannot resolve a broken spiritual reality. He knows that simply changing his attitude, silencing grief, masking sorrow, or projecting cheerfulness, does not change his standing before God. Pain cannot be managed away, and guilt cannot be outpaced by positivity. A positive mental attitude may dull the edge of suffering for a moment, but it cannot address the deeper problem of alienation from God. Hope does not rest in mood management; it rests in God’s providence and mercy.

Job’s fear is not irrational. He understands that pretending everything is fine does not make him innocent. If God is truly just and holy, then superficial cheer cannot erase the deeper need for mercy. Job is honest enough to admit that denial only compounds anxiety. Trying to “move on” without reconciliation leaves the soul unsettled. What Job needs is not emotional relief but restored relationship, something he cannot manufacture or earn.

This exposes a question that cuts across every generation: if God were to remove your suffering right now — heal your body, fix your finances, restore your relationships — would that be enough? Would relief satisfy you if reconciliation remained unresolved? Job understands that temporary, earthly solutions cannot cure eternal, spiritual need. Comfort without communion leaves the heart empty. Relief without restoration only postpones the deeper crisis.

This is why Jesus repeatedly asked people who came to Him for healing, “What do you want me to do for you?” He was not lacking compassion; He was inviting clarity. He was drawing hearts beyond symptom management toward the deeper gift of life in Him. Physical healing matters, but it is never the final answer. Jesus consistently pressed beyond quality of life to the question of eternal life, beyond relief to redemption.

Job is already wrestling with this reality. He senses that true life will require more than escaping pain, it will require grace. To truly live, he must be willing to let go of lesser hopes. Scripture later makes this explicit: those who seek to save their lives will lose them, but those who lose their lives for God’s sake will find them. If the ultimate desire is comfort, suffering will always feel intolerable. But if the deepest desire is life in God, then even suffering can be endured without despair.

So the question remains deeply personal: what do you want from God? Relief, or relationship? Comfort, or Christ? If you truly desire life in Him, you will not allow comfort to become your god, nor relief to replace reconciliation. You will be willing to lose what cannot last in order to gain what cannot be taken away.

• John 5:6 — When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
• Mark 10:51 — And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”
• Luke 18:41 — “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
• Mark 10:36 — And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Job’s honesty teaches us that real hope is not found in suppressing pain or pretending strength. It is found in bringing our need fully into the presence of God and trusting Him not merely for relief, but for life itself.

Job 9:32-35 — He is not a man, as I am…. There is no arbiter between us.

This is the cry at the heart of Job and of the human condition. God is not like us. We cannot summon Him to court. We cannot negotiate terms. What Job longs for is a mediator, someone who can lay a hand on both God and man.

This longing finds its answer far beyond Job’s horizon. The gospel declares that what Job could only ache for, God Himself provided. The One seated at God’s right hand is also the Priest forever. The distance Job feels is precisely the distance Christ came to cross.

• 1 Timothy 2:5 — For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus….
• Hebrews 9:15 — Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
• John 14:6 — Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• Hebrews 8:6 — But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
• Hebrews 12:24 — And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

In Christ, you don’t need to go through another person to get to God, another priest isn’t required, though other Christians can encourage you to seek Christ directly. Through salvation, we have direct access, a personal, one-on-one, constant relationship with God. However, Romans 8:34 also says, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” The Holy Spirit within you is your Counselor, Teacher, and Guide, and Jesus is your constant Advocate before the Father who you can confidently call “Daddy.” Of course, familiarity should never breed contempt. The love we receive demands our complete and humble gratitude and respect.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 8 February 2026: Ask yourself honestly: Where do I know truths about God that quietly intimidate me instead of comforting me? Identify one place where God’s holiness feels like distance rather than refuge. Bring that fear into prayer today and consciously place it under Christ’s mediation, trusting not your understanding, but His intercession.

Pray: “Father, You are holy beyond measure and sovereign over all things. Left to myself, I cannot stand before You or explain Your ways. Thank You that You did not leave me without a mediator. Thank You for Christ, my King and my Priest, who reigns in authority and intercedes in mercy. When Your greatness overwhelms me, anchor me in Your grace. Teach me to trust not in my ability to explain You, but in Your commitment to redeem me. I rest my life in the One who sits at Your right hand for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”