Skip to main content

The Exalted King Who Humbles Earthly Kings

Today I read: 2 Kings 1, Psalm 46-47, Daniel 5, and 2 Thessalonians 1.

Gospel summary: God is the exalted King of kings, who uses his awesome power to humble earthly kings who refuse to acknowledge his exalted power and come to the rescue of his own people for the glory of his name. Jesus, the exalted King, will return to humble unrepentant sinners who refuse his grace and to rescue his own people for the glory of his name.

Prayer: King of kings, you alone are the sovereign God and there is none other worthy of everlasting praise but you. Thank you for humbling yourself to the point of bearing my sin and God's wrath on the cross. Thank you also for humbling me by giving me the gift of repentance and faith and regenerating my dead heart to new life by the power of your Spirit. You alone are my refuge, awesome God, so help me never exalt myself above the position your blood purchased for me and always see myself as being graced with a salvation that has me already seated in the heavenlies with Christ. Although I am an ungodly worm and deserve eternal torment for my rejection of you, you overcame my rebellion and resistance and won me to your eternal kingdom and for that I praise you God. Fill me with joy in you and a passion to tell others of your life-changing gospel and give me strength in you to persevere until you humble all your enemies at your awesome return. Be exalted O God my King and may your name receive all the glory you deserve from my life for all eternity. In your majestic name Jesus I pray, amen.

Hymn: "O Could I Speak The Matchless Worth" by Samuel Medley

O could I speak the matchless worth,
O could I sound the glories forth
Which in my Saviour shine,
I'd soar and touch the heav'nly strings,
And vie with Gabriel while he sings
In notes almost divine,
In notes almost divine.

I'd sing the precious blood He spilt,
My ransom from the dreadful guilt
Of sin and wrath divine!
I'd sing His glorious righteousness,
In which all-perfect heav'nly dress
My soul shall ever shine,
My soul shall ever shine.

I'd sing the characters He bears,
And all the forms of love He wears,
Exalted on His throne:
In loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
I would to everlasting days
Make all His glories known,
Make all His glories known.

Soon the delightful day will come
When my dear Lord will bring me home,
And I shall see His face;
Then with my Saviour, Brother, Friend,
A blest eternity I'll spend,
Triumphant in His grace,
Triumphant in His grace.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

7 Steps to the Pulpit

Many times I’ve sat on the front pew just prior to the sermon time looking at the steps to the pulpit. In these moments each Sunday morning I’m reminded of the great task with which I have been entrusted and my own weakness to perform it. After hours of painstaking study and prayerful preparation, I still stare at those steps and feel under qualified, knowing I’ve only scratched the surface of the message. There is a certain holy trembling a preacher feels before climbing those steps to proclaim God’s eternal Word. In centuries past, preachers like Charles Spurgeon and Martyn Lloyd-Jones had to climb winding staircases to reach the “sacred desk”, but many pulpits today are just a few steps above the floor. Whether you have many steps or none at all, it is an other-worldly task we have been given. The following are a few practical steps preachers can take before climbing the real ones on Sunday morning... 1. Get in the Word We must immerse ourselves in the text at the outset o

Pastors & Spider-Man

The other night my wife and I decided to watch one of the Spiderman movies we owned at the house. During the movie, I felt an odd connection with Peter Parker and his Spiderman persona. It was then that I started thinking about all the ways pastors and Spiderman have a very similar calling. First, like Spiderman, pastors are urged to serve because of the serious need they see around them and the unique calling given them. Whereas Peter Parker is urged by the screams of people who are in danger, we are urged by the lostness around us. When Paul was at Athens, his spirit was provoked when he saw the idols they worshiped (Acts 17:16ff). As pastors, we must never stop seeing the spiritual desperation in people’s lives. All believers are called to serve others for the sake of Christ, but pastors have a unique calling to shepherd their souls as well. Second, both pastors and Spiderman share the struggle of their calling with one woman (our wives, except in the case of Peter Parker).

Sleep: Keeping in the Guardrails

Sleep is great. Who doesn’t want to get a full eight hours every night and wake up feeling rested and refreshed? Yet most of us find this quite challenging, if not impossible. There can be any number of reasons why we don’t get a good night’s sleep: work demands, small children who often cry out at night, household chores that must be completed, our favorite TV show that comes on late, a guilty conscience or racing mind, or even a health problem. For those of us who don’t have as much responsibility,  over sleeping can be a temptation: college students who don’t have class until 11am, the retired or unemployed who don’t have a boss waiting on them, or the self-employed who don’t have a fixed schedule. What can we do to avoid losing control of our sleep and this causing damage in other aspects of our lives? God’s Word teaches us to stay between two guardrails: too little sleep and too much sleep. The first guardrail, too little sleep, is found in Psalm 127:2: “ It is vain that you r