Victorious King



Prayer: Now sing we, now rejoice,
             Now raise to heav’n our voice;

      He from whom joy streameth,
      Poor in a manger lies;
      Not so brightly beameth,
     The sun in yonder skies.
     Thou my Savior art! Thou my Savior art!



     Come from on high to me;
     I cannot rise to Thee.
     Cheer my wearied spirit,
     O pure and holy Child;
     Through Thy grace and merit,
     Blest Jesus, Lord most mild,
     Draw me unto Thee! Draw me unto Thee!



Read: Revelation 1:12–18

http://www.esvbible.org/Revelation+1%3A12-18/


Think about It: The Newborn King comes with humility and simplicity. He is humbled to the status of human rather than Creator. He is small and       dependent upon Mary and Joseph for His survival. We marvel at His birth and look forward to His saving work on the Cross.

In our reading for today, from the Revelation of John, we see a far different view of the Savior. Here He is resurrected from the dead and ascended to His throne. He stands in the center of His Bride the Church. He is dressed as Wisdom and King. His Word, spoken with truth and power, changes us forever. Rightfully so, John falls at His feet in awestruck worship. Jesus declares that there is no fear, for He has conquered death and sin for us. That Newborn Infant we revere is gone.


As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, it is important that we hold three pictures in our mind at the same time.

1. The Newborn King – humble and lying in a   
    manger

2. The Sacrificial Lamb – hanging on the cross for 
    the sins of the world

3. The Reigning King – victorious and eternal


Our Savior is all of these things – together at the same time. It is probably difficult for us to grasp all of these things together, but this is how He has revealed Himself to us through the Word. This is our King and our God. When the world tells us that He is not worthy of our attention and our adoration, they are wrong. And in the end, every knee will bow before His throne for He is worthy of such praise.



Prayer: Now through His Son doth shine,
            The Father’s grace divine.

        Death was reigning o’er us,
        Through sin and vanity
      Till He opened for us, A bright eternity.
      May we praise Him there!
        May we praise Him there!



      Oh, where shall joy be found?
      Where but on heav’nly ground?
      Where the angels singing,
      With all His saints unite,
      Sweetest praises bringing,
      In heav’nly joy and light.
      Oh, that we were there!
      Oh, that we were there!
Now Sing We, Now Rejoice . . . LSB 386 - Public domain

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more