That wonderful hymn, Crown Him with many crowns includes a line that bursts out the following thought, “Thy praise shall never, never fail throughout eternity.” As the Lord of glory bows His dear head and gives up His spirit, he has reached the end of enduring the cross, scorning its shame, because of the joy that stood unshakeable before Him. He knew that in His Father’s presence was the fullness of joy forever. I find such delight in thinking of the exultant moments through which the lovely Jesus passed as He spoke those words, “It is finished”, and then gracefully pillowed his head and exploded into the presence of His Father (John 19:30). The verse of the hymn quoted above begins by crowning Jesus as the Lord of love. It says, “Behold His hands and side; Rich wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified.”

At that moment Jesus’ spirit is thrust into the unspeakable joys of His Father’s presence. All the millions upon millions of glorious heavenly beings are bursting to look upon the great Hero of God. The gates of heaven swing open and the blinding glory of the Lamb appears. Such a vision of glory is beyond the capacity of even His heavenly creatures to endure and they must shield their faces as did the vision of Isaiah (6:2). They gasp at His splendour and are dazzled by His sheer beauty. Spirals of song burst out, cascading through the universe, unstoppable, unrelenting, overwhelming. Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in. Who is this king of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle (Psalm 24:7-8).

Heaven is saturated with the aroma of Christ and the pleasure of the Father. Never has the face of the Father beamed more delightfully upon His Son. The triumph of the anthem surges to thunderous proportions, praise fitting for the king of glory. There He appears in all His beauty. He has accomplished a mission that no other could even dream of accomplishing. It cost Him more than we can conceive.

This is the dearly loved Son who stood before His Father and said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” (Hebrews 10:9) His Father’s will included a most gruelling and torturous long-haul. Yet Jesus stood there and said, “I have come to do your will.” Oh the wonder of those words He uttered in agony in Gethsemane, “…not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)