As priests, we are privileged to be chosen by God.  God has chosen us to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  As priests, we have purpose, e.g., “to proclaim the praises or excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” by both the Word and life.  Because of this closeness to God, we have no need of another earthly mediator. We can all come boldly into His presence.

Anyone reading or studying the Bible regularly will tell you that one can be surprised at seeing something delightfully new that has been missed perhaps for a quarter or half century!  In other words, we can learn something new or gain an insight no matter how many years we read God’s divine revelation.

Earlier this week, I was reading Psalm 132 referred to as a “Song of Ascents.” Jews sang these songs on the ascent uphill on the road to Jerusalem, and the priests also sang them as they ascended the steps to the temple to worship God.  It appears the Psalmist is David who wrote this Psalm before the temple was conceived or built.

In verse 9 he says, “Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.” Then in verse 16 Jehovah God speaks, “Her priests will I clothe with salvation; and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.”  The version I am reading is the American Standard Version.  It is the Bible used in the 1960s as students at Columbia Bible College.  It is heavily underlined and with notations in the margins.

Now more than 50 years later I am literally delighted with an insight that relates to those of us who are New Testament believers.  In the margin of verse 9, over 50 years ago I jotted down 1 Peter 2: 5 and 1 Peter 2: 9.  I had turned to that chapter and was blessed by a renewed thought.

Both the Psalmist and Jehovah God spoke of the priests:

The Psalmist:        Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness . . .
Jehovah God:       Her (Israel) priests also will I clothe with salvation.

Both the Psalmist and Jehovah God also spoke of the saints:

The Psalmist:        And let thy saints shout for joy . . .
Jehovah God:       And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

Let’s now consider what the Apostle Peter said in his first epistle in chapter 2.  Verse 5, “ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  Then this in verse 9, “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Do you see what I see?  In the Psalms this describes the priests:

• Priests were all from the same family—all descendants of Aaron—one family.
• Priests were all one race—Jews or Israelites.
• Priests were all one gender–men.

The Apostle Peter, on the other hand, declares that those who were once simply non-priestly saints are now also priests!  In Christ, we are all counted as a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood.

Do you see what I see?  Peter describes the priests as the priesthood of believers:

• Priests are no longer from one family only; as believers and saints we are all now a family of priests.
• Priests are no longer from one race only; priests are now from any and every race.
• Priests are no longer men only; priests are now men and women.

What does this mean to us?  Are we now all clergy?  No, not at all!  What it means is we all have direct access to God.  In the Old Testament, access to God was through the priesthood. Jesus is now our great High Priest. There are no longer earthly mediators between God and man.  We can go directly to God through Jesus Christ.

As priests, we are privileged to be chosen by God.  God has chosen us to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  As priests, we have purpose, e.g., “to proclaim the praises or excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” by both the Word and life.  Because of this closeness to God, we have no need of another earthly mediator. We can all come boldly into His presence.

Back to Psalm 132. Doesn’t the Apostle Peter’s shedding light on our privilege and purpose in Christ contribute to what those verses—once  specified to those of one specific family only—Aaron’s, one race only—the Jews, and one gender only—men— can mean to us?

Our responsibility:               Let thy priests be clothed in righteousness . . .
God’s promise:                    Her (Church) priests also will I clothe with salvation.

Our responsibility:               And let thy saints shout for joy . . .
God’s promise:                    And her saints will shout aloud with joy.

What an awesome and dynamic privilege and purpose to which we’ve been called!  How can we escape a sense of being so loved, so special? Privilege is the blessing. Purpose is the burden. Think about the words that describe us as followers of Jesus Christ: “a holy priesthood . . . a royal priesthood.” Can there possibly be any higher calling than this?  How many of us will “shout for joy and shout aloud with joy?”  We should put sports fans to shame with such joyful shouts!

A Psalmist and an Apostle together give us great joy. Thank you, David and Peter, for being instruments of the Holy Spirit to speak through you then and these thousands of years later.

Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.