Hail, Thou agonizing Savior, Bearer of our sin and shame!
By Thy merits we find favor: Life is given through Thy Name.
2. Paschal Lamb, by God appointed, All our sins were on Thee laid;
By Almighty Love anointed, Thou hast full atonement made:
All Thy people are forgiven, Through the virtue of Thy blood;
Opened is the gate of heaven, Peace is made 'twixt man and God.
3. Jesus, hail! Enthroned in glory, There forever to abide;
All the heavenly hosts adore Thee, Seated at Thy Father's side:
There for sinners Thou art pleading; There Thou dost our place prepare;
Ever for us interceding, Till in glory we appear.
4. Worship, honor, power, and blessing, Thou art worthy to receive:
Loudest praises without ceasing, Meet it is for us to give.
Help, ye bright angelic spirits, Bring your sweetest, noblest lays;
Help to sing our Savior's merits, Help to chant Emmanuel's praise.
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Jesus Christ is a Threefold King
First, His enemies' King; Secondly, His saints' King; Thirdly, His Father's King.
First, Christ is His enemies' King, that is, He is King over His enemies. Christ is a King above all kings. What are all the mighty men, the great, the honorable men of the earth, as compared to Jesus Christ? They are but like a little bubble in the water; for if all the nations, in comparison to God, be but as the drop of the bucket, or the dust of the balance, as the prophet speaks in Isaiah 40:15, how little then must be the kings of the earth! Nay, beloved, Christ Jesus is not only higher than kings, but He is higher than the angels. Yes, He is the head of angels, and, therefore, all the angels in heaven are commanded to worship Him, Colossians 2:10, Hebrews 1:6. He is King over all kingdoms, over all nations, over all governments, over all powers, over all people, Daniel 7:14. The very heathen are given to Christ, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession, Psalm 2:8.
Secondly, Jesus Christ is His saints' King. He is King of the bad, and of the good; but as for the wicked, He rules over them by His power and might. But as for the saints, He rules in them by His Spirit and graces. Oh! this is Christ's spiritual kingdom, and here He rules in the hearts of His people, here He rules over their consciences, over their wills, over their affections, over their judgments and understandings, and nobody has anything to do here but Christ. Christ is not only the King of nations, but the King of saints; the one He rules over, the other He rules in.
Thirdly, Jesus Christ is His Father's King, too, and His Father calls Him My King: "I have set MY King upon My holy hill of Zion." Well may He be our King when He is God's King. But you may say, how is Christ the Father's King? Because He rules for His Father! There is a twofold kingdom of God committed to Jesus Christ; first, a spiritual kingdom, by which He rules in the hearts of His people, and so is King of saints; and, secondly, a providential kingdom, by which He rules the affairs of this world, and so He is King of nations.
--William Dyer (1632-1696) "Christ's Famous Titles", 1665
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Christ the King!
When we look up and attempt to view Him sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high in all His exalted dignity and power as King of kings and Lord of lords, then we feel as if dazzled and overborne with a sight and sense of His surpassing glory. In the days of His flesh, the beloved disciple could lean on the bosom of Jesus and stand by His cross; but when in Patmos' lonely isle, He appeared in His majesty so that "His eyes were as a flame of fire," and "His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength," John fell at His feet as dead! Yet if He has made us willing in the day of His power, has brought us to His feet in all humility to touch the scepter of His grace and own Him Lord of all, we may, in company with His saints, "speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom." (Psalm 145:11, 12.) --J. C. Philpot - 1802-1869
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