1. The king shall rejoice in thy strength, O Lord. Jesus is not merely a
King, but the King; King over minds and hearts, reigning with a dominion
of love, before which all other rule is mere brute force. He was proclaimed
King even on the cross, for there, indeed, to the eye of faith, he reigned as
on a throne. Jesus has wrought out the salvation of his people, but as a man he
found his strength in Jehovah his God, to whom he addressed himself in prayer
upon the lonely mountainside, and in the garden’s solitary gloom. That strength
so abundantly given is here gratefully acknowledged, and made the subject of
joy. The Man of Sorrows is now anointed with oil of gladness above his fellows.
Returned in triumph from the overthrow of all his foes, he offers his own
rapturous Te Deum in the temple above, and joys in the power
of the Lord. Herein let every subject of King Jesus imitate the King; let us
lean upon Jehovah’s strength, let us joy in it by unstaggering faith, let us
exult in it in our thankful songs. Jesus not only has thus rejoiced, but he shall
do so as he sees the power of divine grace bringing out from their sinful
hiding-places the purchase of his soul’s travail; we also will rejoice more and
more as we learn by experience more and more fully the strength of our covenant
God. Our weakness unstrings our harps, but his strength tunes them anew. If we
cannot sing a note in honor of our own strength, we can at any rate rejoice in
our omnipotent God. And in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice.
Everything is ascribed to God; the source is thy strength and the stream
is thy salvation. Jehovah planned and ordained it, works it and crowns
it, and therefore it is his salvation. The joy here spoken of is described by a
note of exclamation and a word of wonder: how greatly. The rejoicing of
our risen Lord must, like his agony, be unutterable. For the joy which was set
before him he endured the cross, despising the shame, and now that joy daily
grows, for he rests in his love and rejoices over his redeemed with singing as
they are brought out to find their salvation in his blood. Let us with our Lord
rejoice in salvation, as coming from God, as coming to us, as extending itself
to others, and as soon to encompass all lands.
PREVIOUS
NEXT
No comments:
Post a Comment