“He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall He lift up the head” (Psalm 110:7).
Psalm 110, a Messianic Psalm, is quoted 25 times in the New Testament, making it the most quoted passage in the Bible! It speaks of Christ’s eternal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek (see Heb 6:20–7:28); and His final triumph as He takes His seat at the right hand of God the Father. Yet, this final verse of Psalm 110 brings us to a curious ending that has me doing some thinking.
Psalm 110:7 reveals to us that the conquering Christ will, along the way, drink and refresh Himself from a brook which enables Him to lift His up head.
Jesus, while here on earth, knew just how to locate that “brook” of refreshment. We read how Jesus would frequently go off alone to spend time in precious devotional time with the Father:
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35; and Cf. Mat 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 5:15-16; Luke 6:12; Luke9:18; Luke 11:1).
Amazingly, right after quoting Psalm 110:4 and giving us the revelation of Christ’s eternal priesthood, Hebrews continues by giving us detailed insight into Jesus’ prayer life which sheds New Testament light on Psalm 110:7’s prophecy of Jesus drinking from the “brook in the way.”
“Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared” (Heb 5:7).
This was no casual drinking. This was drinking with passion! Jesus knew the need for staying plugged into His Father’s heart.
The application here is quite obvious: if Jesus needed to stop and drink of the brook in the way to keep His head lifted up, how much more do we need to practice this invaluable skill!
Let’s consider the following to see just how we might apply this passage to our lives:
“The Brook.” – One day, Jesus expressed His thirst and need for refreshment to a Samaritan woman near a well. As usual for Jesus (who was always about His Father’s business!), the entire conversation switched to that woman’s real need. (I don’t think Jesus ever did get the drink He originally asked for!) He told her about the eternal Springs of Living Water – something He well knew for He drank there often!
Jesus also spoke about the “Rivers of Living Water” that would spring forth from within those who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). Those who have received this experience don’t have to look very far to find the “Brook” – it’s right within them! Isaiah prophesied about this experience. Paul quoted Isaiah and directly connected it to speaking in tongues (1 Cor 14:21-22):
“For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, THIS IS THE REST wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and THIS IS THE REFRESHING: yet they would not hear” (Isaiah 28:11-12).
Speaking in tongues is the “REST” and “REFRESHING”! Praying, praising, singing, and blessing in the spirit in unknown tongues is the “Brook” we can drink from as often as we so choose! Hallelujah!
“In The Way.” – This expression gives the impression that this drinking from the Brook is not merely for those special, mountain top, “sacred moments” (which rarely come). Rather, I believe that this drinking should be done all along the way – the way we take in our normal every day routine!
More than ever before, people today realize just how important it is to stay hydrated with genuine H2O throughout the day. People with water bottle in hand is a common sight. So, too, we must learn to drink from that Brook “in the way” and all along “the way” – our “going out” and ” our coming in”! We should never make the costly error of separating the “sacred” times from the “secular” times. Instead, we must convert the “secular” (and often mundane) moments into “sacred” opportunities by drinking deeply and frequently from the Brook – staying spiritual “hydrated” on a continual basis all throughout our day!
“Therefore He Shall Lift Up The Head.” – The Brook’s rest and refreshment – using that spiritual language – “edifies” and builds us up in our inner man (cf. 1 Cor 14:2; Eph 3:16-20; Jude 1:20). A head bowed down speaks of shame and defeat; but a head lifted high is a sign of confidence and victory – the direct result of deep inner strength. The Psalmist said that God was the “Glory and the Lifter of his head” (Psalm 3:3). He also spoke of how God is the One who lifted his head above his enemies (Psalm 27:6).
If we give the Lord permission, He will raise our sensitivity to spiritual thirst. He can heighten our passion for staying spiritually “hydrated” by giving us little inner alerts and reminders. So let’s keep sipping all along the way from that Brook of Living Water which heals, refreshes, invigorates, edifies and strengthens so that we, too, may lift high our heads and be the testimony this world needs to see more than ever before!
