January 4: King of the Saints
♫ Music:
Day 38 - Tuesday, January 4
Title: KING OF THE SAINTS
Scripture: Revelation 15:3; Micah 5:2-5
“Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
And this One shall be peace.
Poetry:
[1487]
by Emily Dickinson
The Savior must have been
A docile Gentleman—
To come so far so cold a Day
For little Fellowmen—
The Road to Bethlehem
Since He and I were Boys
Was leveled, but for that 'twould be
A rugged Billion Miles—
KING OF THE SAINTS
The Prophet Micah in our Scripture passage today, paints a compelling portrait of Christ as the Ruler of Israel, the Davidic King, the great Shepherd who feeds His flock with strength and majesty at all times, in all places—even to the very ends of the earth. The promise is that Christ will make all things new and bestow everlasting peace on His people, for Christ IS peace. Micah’s prophecy dovetails beautifully with the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (Revelation 15:3), the canticle we are exploring this week.
The Israelites sang the song of Moses at the victory over the pharaoh's drowned army. Now, surrounding the throne, faithful martyrs and those who have been victorious over the Beast and the kingdom of darkness, sing the song of the Lamb, praising God for His righteousness and justice. “Just and true are your ways, O King of the Saints.” Through His death and resurrection Christ has made all things right. The “Worthy Lamb” is also the “King of kings and the Lord of lords” as today’s music powerfully proclaims. Some versions of the Bible translate Revelation 15:3 to read, Christ is “King of the nations.” Others say that Christ is “King of the ages.” The New King James Version, however, translates Revelation 15:3 as “King of the saints.”
There are striking similarities between Daniel 7 and Revelation 13-15. In Daniel 7:15-27 the word “saint” appears five times. Those reading Daniel Chapter seven, would definitely conclude that "God is King of the saints.” These parallel accounts in Revelation and Daniel, seem to indicate that Revelation 15:3 is best translated as "King of the saints" rather than “King of the nations” or “King of the ages.” While it is clearly understood that Christ as King exercises complete sovereignty over everything in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, it is both sobering and moving to unpack the title, “King of the saints.”
Martyrs and saints are the precious treasures of heaven. Their great joy is Christ, who has transformed them into His likeness. They are the “pure in heart,” the righteous, those who have died to the world; “Little Christs” who devote themselves to prayer and worship. They live in the light of His all-consuming love. Saints are proof that Christ has conquered sin and death because they have been set free from the passions and sins that naturally weigh so many of us down. With humility and thanksgiving saints rejoice in the midst of their sufferings. Christ is uppermost in their thoughts and actions, giving them grace to endure anything for Him, even death by martyrdom.
Today’s work of art, Christ, The Great High Priest Enthroned Icon, shows Christ seated on His throne surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists or gospel writers. As we visually focus on Christ, our Great High Priest in this work of art, we can at the same time imagine the throngs of martyrs and saints surrounding the throne as they sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Here, Matthew is depicted as an angel reflecting the incarnation of Christ. John is depicted as an eagle not only because of his “soaring gospel” but also because the eagle is an ancient Christian symbol of resurrection and ascension. Mark is depicted as a winged lion, symbolizing the royalty of “Christ the King'' who executes His duties with strength, courage and honor. Luke is depicted as a winged ox or bull, a figure of sacrifice and service. This icon is a fine example of Christ the all-powerful “Pantocrator'' or ”Ruler/Sustainer of All.” Jesus offers a gesture of blessing with one hand as He holds the open gospel text or a passage from the book of Revelation with the other, signifying that He is our great teacher as well. For some reason, when I first encountered this richly symbolic icon, I immediately thought of the Prophet Isaiah’s vision of Christ in Isaiah Chapter 6. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
Pastor John MacArthur notes, “To know that God in Christ is absolutely sovereign is the only thing that will anchor your soul in the midst of a time and a world in crisis. No one usurps Christ’s power. He is absolutely holy, He never makes a mistake—never makes a misjudgment for His glory is fully intact and infinite. The most needful thing in our time is to get a vision of the greatness, glory, holiness, and majesty of God that also contains elements of fear and judgement.” I have known living saints whose simple bedrock faith in Christ, whose very beings radiated His light and love, put the rest of us to shame. Sometimes, especially in moments of discouragement, I wonder if I will be one of those “saved so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). Isaiah’s response at entering into the presence of Christ was, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Elder Porphyrios writes in his book Wounded by Love, “Fix your gaze upwards towards Christ. Become familiar with Christ. Work with Christ, Breathe with Christ. Suffer with Christ. Rejoice with Christ. Let Christ be everything for you. There is nothing higher in life than love for Christ. Whatever we desire we find in Christ. Christ is everything: all joy, all gladness, all Paradise. When we have Christ within us, we possess all magnificence. The soul that is in love with Christ is always joyful, however much pain and sacrifice this may cost.”
Prayer:
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
—St. Paul (Ephesians 3: 14-21)
Devotion Author:
Barry Krammes
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
The Great High Priest Enthroned
Holy Monastery Dormition of Theotokos, Parnitha
This is a beautiful Greek Orthodox icon of Jesus Christ the great high priest. The Lord Almighty sits on a throne as the ruler of the universe, and in his left hand he holds an opened Gospel. With his right hand he blesses, the fingers of his hand forming the Greek letters IC XC, which is the abbreviation for Jesus Christ. On the four corners of the throne the four evangelists are symbolically represented: Matthew as a young man, Mark as a lion, Luke as an ox, and John as an eagle. All four have wings to portray their angelic nature and all carry Gospel books.
https://skete.com/product/great-high-priest-enthroned-j60/
https://aperges.gr/en/shop/specialized-printing/gilded/christ-blessing-9259/
About the Artist:
Unknown Artist
About the Music:
“Agnus Dei / King Of Kings” from the album At Easter
Lyrics:
Alleluia alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia alleluia
For the Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia holy holy
Are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy holy
Are You Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
Amen
In the darkness we were waiting
Without hope without light
Till from heaven You came running
There was mercy in Your eyes
To fulfil the law and prophets
To a virgin came the Word
From a throne of endless glory
To a cradle in the dirt
Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit three in one
God of glory
Majesty
Praise forever to the King of kings
To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross
For even in Your suffering
You saw to the other side
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake You died
And the morning that You rose
All of heaven held its breath
Till that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death
And the dead rose from their tombs
And the angels stood in awe
For the souls of all who’d come
To the Father are restored
And the Church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel shall not faint
By His blood and in His Name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me
We praise forever to the King of Kings
About the Performers:
Passion Music featuring Brooke Ligertwood, Jenn Johnson, and Chidima Ubah
From its start in 1995, Passion Music has been rooted in the truth of Isaiah 26:8: “Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts.” One of the most impactful and stirring aspects of the movement founded by Louie and Shelley Giglio has been the sea of voices uniting together to lift up the name of Jesus. Passion, currently helmed by Kristian Stanfill, Brett Younker, and Melodie Malone, has ushered in the writing, recording, and leading of some of the most recognizable and unforgettable worship anthems of this generation. Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, David Crowder, Christy Nockels, and others have also lent their voices alongside Passion throughout the years. With a multitude of chart-topping singles such as “Glorious Day,” “Build My Life,” “God, You’re So Good,” “How Great Is Our God,” “God Of This City,” “One Thing Remains,” “Even So Come,” and “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord),” listeners across the world continue to be impacted by the music of Passion. Through it all, Jesus remains at the center.
https://passionmusic.com/story/
Brooke Ligertwood is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer, and worship leader, and is the head of Hillsong Worship globally. Brooke has called Hillsong Church home since 2004, serving the church through creativity and song whilst also enjoying a successful fifteen-year mainstream career under her maiden name (Brooke Fraser). She passionately asserts that all of life, for the follower of Christ, is ministry. She and her husband, Scott (also a songwriter), along with their two young daughters, are based in Orange County and are part of Hillsong California. Brooke is obsessive about the marriage of theology and art, and as such has penned beloved congregational anthems like “What a Beautiful Name,” “King of Kings,” “Hosanna,” and “Man of Sorrows,” as well as devotional favorites like “Awake My Soul,” “New Wine,” and “None But Jesus.”
https://hillsong.com/contributor/brooke-ligertwood/
Jenn Johnson (b. 1982) is a co-founder, with her husband Brian of Bethel Music and WorshipU and together they have been integral in the production of over fifteen albums that have influenced the culture of worship across the global church. Jenn is the founder of Lovely by Jenn Johnson, a lifestyle brand intended to inspire, equip, and engage women of all ages to thrive. The Johnsons also head up Bethel Church worship ministry and are committed to cultivating community and fostering unity among worship leaders from around the world. Johnson is featured singing “God of Revival” with Brian Johnson and Phil Wickham in the first single to release in January 2020 as part of Bethel Music’s Revival’s In The Air album—a collection of songs that have ignited them as a family and church. Jenn wrote her song “Goodness of God,” released on the VICTORY album, after the adoption of her fourth son. It is about the goodness of the Father who chases us down.
https://bethelmusic.com/artists/jenn-johnson/
Chidima Ubah is an Atlanta-based musician, artist, and part of the worship team at Passion City Church.
About the Composers/Lyricists:
Michael W. Smith, Scott Ross Ligertwood, Brooke Ligertwood, and Jason Ingram
Michael W. Smith (b.1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than eighteen million albums. Smith is a three-time Grammy Award winner, an American Music Award recipient, and has earned forty-five Dove Awards. In 1999, ASCAP awarded him with the "Golden Note" Award for lifetime achievement in songwriting, and in 2014 they honored him as the "cornerstone of Christian music" for his significant influence on the genre. He has also starred in two films and published fourteen books, including This Is Your Time, which he co-wrote with author Gary Thomas. At the age of ten, he had "an intense spiritual experience" that led to his becoming a devout Christian. After high school, he attended Marshall University while developing his songwriting skills but dropped out to move to Nashville and pursue a career in music. In 1979, Smith recommitted himself to the Lord and following that he auditioned for a new contemporary Christian music group, Higher Ground, as a keyboardist and got the job. In 1981, while he was playing keyboards for Higher Ground, Smith was signed as a writer to Meadowgreen Music, where he wrote numerous gospel hits which have become worship standards for artists such as Sandi Patty, Bill Gaither, and Amy Grant. The following year, Smith began touring as a keyboardist for Grant on her Age to Age tour. He would eventually become Grant's opening act and recorded his first Grammy-nominated solo album, The Michael W. Smith Project, in 1983. By the time Smith's second album, Michael W. Smith 2, was released in 1984, he was headlining his own tours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_W._Smith
https://michaelwsmith.com/
Scott Ross Ligertwood (b. 1983) is an Australian singer/songwriter and responsible for many Hillsong worship songs.
Jason David Ingram (b. 1974) is an American Christian music producer and songwriter. He has been a songwriter for many Christian artists, including Bebo Norman and Point of Grace. Around the end of 2001, he was the first artist to be signed to Resonate Records, an INO Records partnership with Sonicflood's lead vocalist Rick Heil. He subsequently released his first album, Jason Ingram, on March 5, 2002. Since 2003, Ingram has been the lead vocalist of the Christian pop rock band The Longing. Ingram is currently the lead vocalist for the band One Sonic Society. Ingram has written songs for many contemporary Christian music artists. He wrote Bebo Norman's "I Will Lift My Eyes" and Salvador's "Shine.” At the annual SESAC Awards, held in Nashville on March 5, 2007, Ingram received the "Christian Songwriter of the Year" award. After receiving the honor, he told Billboard, "I had no idea, it never crossed my mind. I am so thrilled. You write and you hope the songs affect people and get out there. It's cool when you see that really happens." He co-wrote three tracks on Brandon Heath's second album, What If We, including "Give Me Your Eyes", which won two GMA Dove Awards in 2009. He also co-wrote songs for Tenth Avenue North, including a number-four song on the Christian Billboard Charts, "Healing Begins." Ingram co-wrote "One Day" with Nick Jonas and Dan Muckala in 2011 for the pop artists Charice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Ingram
About the Poet:
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American lyric poet who lived in seclusion and commanded a singular brilliance of style and integrity of vision. Dickinson is widely considered as one of the two leading nineteenth-century American poets, alongside Walt Whitman. After studying at the Amherst Academy, she briefly attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst, Massachusetts. By the 1860s, Dickinson lived in almost complete isolation from the outside world, but actively maintained many correspondences and read widely. Dickinson’s poetry was heavily influenced by the metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, her reading of the Book of Revelation, and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town, which encouraged a conservative approach to Christianity. While Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet and regularly enclosed poems in letters to friends, she was not publicly recognized for her poetry during her lifetime. It was not until after her death—when Lavinia, Dickinson's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Emily’s work became apparent. A complete collection of her poetry became available for the first time when scholar Thomas H. Johnson published The Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson
About the Devotion Author:
Barry Krammes
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
Artist and educator Barry Krammes (b. 1951) received his B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his M.F.A. in two-dimensional studies from University of Wisconsin, Madison. For thirty-five years, he was employed at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he was the Art Chair for fifteen years. Krammes is an assemblage artist whose work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally. His work can be found in various private collections throughout the United States and Canada. He has taught assemblage seminars at Image Journal’s annual Glen Summer Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Krammes has served as the Visual Arts Coordinator for the C. S. Lewis Summer Institute in Cambridge, England, and has been the Program Coordinator for both Biola University’s annual arts symposium and the Center for Christianity, Culture and the Arts for several years. He has also been the editor of CIVA: Seen Journal for Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), a national arts organization. For the last five years of his time at Biola, he was the planning coordinator for the CCCA. Krammes was the originator of the Advent and Lent Projects.