Psalms 110:3

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. The King, Messiah, has not only "enemies," but a "people" peculiarly His own, who are also His warriors. 'In seasons of danger all subjects are also warriors: he is a bad servant who dares to stand still when he sees the general advancing' (Hengstenberg). The Hebrew [ nªdaabowt (H5071)] is 'thy people of (or, are) free-will gifts.' 'A people of free-will gifts' is a people freely consecrating themselves to the Lord. So Psalms 68:9, "a plentiful rain" - literally, a rain of liberalities. The image is from the free-will offerings in the temple (Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:29; Exodus 36:3; 1 Chronicles 29:14; 1 Chronicles 29:17). The parallel passage which David had in mind was Judges 5:2; Judges 5:9, "when the people willingly offered themselves" - namely, as soldiers for the war in the cause of the Lord and Israel. So 2 Chronicles 17:16. So here it is for the battle of God Almighty that willing soldiers offer themselves to serve under Messiah against the enemy, both in the present "good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12), and in the final and decisive conflict (Revelation 19:14; Revelation 16:14: cf. Isaiah 66:20; Romans 12:1). The ground of their thus giving themselves as free-will offerings follows in Psalms 110:4 - namely, the mediating priesthood of Messiah. They unreservedly, in the present time of warfare, are moved by "the power" of God's Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7; Acts 1:8; Luke 24:49) to dedicate themselves to God through their High Priest. "The day of" Messiah's "power" is the day when He shall manifest openly that "power" which He now wields unobserved by the worldly. Revelation 11:17, "thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and reigned." It answers to 'the rod of His strength' sent out of Zion, Psalms 110:2: cf. also 2 Peter 1:16. The Hebrew [ chaayil (H2428)] is the same for "power" here, and "valiantly," Psalms 108:13 and Numbers 24:18.

In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. So the accents require the clauses to be joined. The English version reading is more probable than that which alters a Hebrew letter-`on the mountains of holiness.' "In the beauties of holiness" is a poetical phrase for 'in holy garments,' such as those worn by the high priest on the great day of atonement (Leviticus 16:4). Psalms 29:2 is not parallel; because there the singular is used, "in the beauty of holiness" - i:e., 'in the beautiful sanctuary.' But here the plural (Revelation 19:14) is parallel in sense, and refers to the same coming event. Though now, too, Messiah's people wear as their priestly garb the beauties of holiness unseen by the world, then their king-priesthood and its beauties shall be manifested. Compare Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 3:4, with Isaiah 61:10. David, at the bringing in of the ark to Zion, wore sacerdotal garments (2 Samuel 6:1), thereby typifying the heavenly garments of Messiah and His army at the future restoring again of the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6).

From the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth - literally, 'out of the womb of the morning, heaven to thee (is) thy youth dew;' i:e., thy ever-youthful soldiery (Isaiah 40:30-23). Messiah's warriors, clothed in holy attire as the 'royal priesthood' (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6), resemble the dew in their beauty, vigour, and countless numbers. The dew of Messiah is similarly associated with Christ's coming, and the resurrection of the saints with Him (Isaiah 26:19). On the attribution of a womb to the morning-heaven, cf. Job 38:8; Job 38:28-18. "The remnant of Jacob," in Micah 5:7, is called "a dew from the Lord," in respect to its numbers and fresh vigour. It shall fall, overwhelming the enemies, "as the dew falleth on the ground" (2 Samuel 17:12). The dew comes pure from heaven, even as Messiah's people are 'born from above,' (John 3:3, margin.) The dew glistening in the morning light, after the night has passed, symbolizes the spiritual seed sprung from Messiah, "the dayspring from on high," who has dispelled the darkness of pagandom and the moonlight of the Mosaic dispensation (cf. Hosea 6:3). Others translate, 'the dew of thy birth,' referring it to Messiah's own pure sinless conception. The Syriac and the Septuagint apply it to Messiah, with some variation of reading. But this verse evidently refers to 'His people,' as the parallelism of the second clause to the first shows. The ground of their willing spirit, beauty of attire, and ever-fresh youthfulness, is stated in Psalms 110:4 as due to the everlasting priesthood of their King.