The Lord in Glory (3)

The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Psalm 110.1, 2

Reenchanted with Christ?
In his book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund succinctly expressed what we’re trying to accomplish in this study: “Allow yourself to be allured. Why not build in to your life unhurried quiet, where, among other disciplines, you consider the radiance of who [Jesus] actually is, what animates him, what his deepest delight is? Why not give your soul room to be reenchanted with Christ time and again?”

This is the aim of our study, “We Would See Jesus” – to consider Jesus more closely, carefully, and continuously, praying as we do that God would open the eyes of our heart that we might know the hope, inheritance, and power we have in Him; see the glory radiating from the face of Jesus Christ; grow in love for Him; and be transformed increasingly into His likeness.

Having considered Jesus in His incarnation, and found him to be welcoming, strong, compassionate, poetic, and resolute, even in the midst of excruciating suffering, we are now considering Jesus glorified, as He ascended into heaven amid the shouts and praises and trumpets of an innumerable multitude of angels and departed saints. The court of heaven welcomed the returning King like the crowds in Jerusalem hailed Him at the beginning of His passion week. But here the hurrahs and the rejoicing were perfect and infinitely magnified, sustained, and sincere, as we observe this holy congregation thronging around Jesus and ushering Him to the throne of the Ancient of Days.

If you have not yet, stop now to contemplate this scene. I’m only asking you to see, with the eye of your heart, what the Scriptures vividly describe in the passages we have considered thus far. Let the vision of Jesus’ ascension grow in your soul like a flowering plant of revelation, as you let your hope soar, focus on Him Who is your inheritance, and enter with that heavenly multitude into His glory and power. As Ortlund says, “Why not give your soul room to be reenchanted with Christ time and again?”

Believe that you can see Him in this setting, and you will see Him more and more clearly each time you consider Jesus, the Lord in glory.

Silence in heaven
As Christ arrived at the throne of God, we can imagine that a great silence fell upon the multitudes of heaven, as is sometimes the case (cf. Rev. 8.1). The eternal God was about to speak, and His speech has been recorded for us (Ps. 110.1, 4):

“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool…
You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Whereupon Jesus received the crown of glory which He earned by His obedience to the Father, a crown which is actually many crowns (Rev. 19.12), since He was given rule not only over the Kingdom of David but over “all peoples, nations, and languages”, that “they should serve Him” for “His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7. 14, 15; Rev. 11.15). At that, the multitudes in heaven, led by the saints of God, could no longer restrain themselves (Rev. 11.17, 18):

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

God spoke again: “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” And now Jesus is given the Name above all names – the Name, which is also His title: Lord. And the hosts of heaven fall to their knees in joyful celebration, and confess, as one day all will, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2.9-11).

Now King Jesus speaks, showing that He clearly understands and embraces His charge: “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Ps. 2.7, 8).

The eternal decrees of God are placed in the hands of King Jesus, a scroll and scepter of uprightness (Ps. 45.6), symbolizing Jesus’ authority to administer the divine economy through glorious seasons of refreshing unto the restoration of all things (Rev. 5.1-8; Acts 3.19-21; cf. Eccl. 7.29). Then, “when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:

‘You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.’’ (Rev. 5.8-10)

Beautiful Savior
Jesus took His seat at the right hand of God the Father – the fairest of all the sons of men, our beautiful Savior and Lord and King (Ps. 45.2; Ps. 27.4). Beautiful music – strings and horns (Pss. 45.8 NASB; Ps. 47) and glorious praise pour from every sector of the heavenly realm as the hosts of heaven rejoice and give praise. The sweet smells of myrrh and aloes and cassia emanate from Jesus’ royal robe as the celebration continues (Ps. 45.8). Our beautiful Savior has taken His throne; He has received the government upon His worthy shoulders, and He has begun to reign as the wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and the Prince of peace, for justice and righteousness over a Kingdom which will know no end (Is. 9.6, 7).

In the midst of the celebration, the Ancient of Days speaks unto the ages:

“Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the LORD with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Ps. 2.10-12 NASB)

We do not have to imagine this scene; it has been revealed for us. But we must believe that God wants us to glimpse this glorious coronation, indeed, to contemplate it frequently, and to enter it by faith, survey it with the eye of our heart, and let it become firmly and ever more clearly incised on our heart, mind, and conscience.

For now we begin to consider Jesus in His glory, that we may be transformed, from glory to glory, to be more and more like Him.

For reflection
1. Have you taken the time to meditate thoroughly on this scene? How does it appear to you?

2. What does it mean to “take refuge” in Jesus as Lord? Does it include considering Him in His glory? Explain.

3. How would you expect regularly revisiting this scene to affect your daily walk with the Lord?

Next steps – Transformation: Take time today to review the scene of Christ’s enthronement several times. Do you find it becomes clearer and more “enchanting” each time you consider it?

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.