WEEK 51
JESUS – MEEKNESS AND MAJESTY
“For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] ‘Yes’” (2 Cor 1:20 AMP).
“One shows one’s greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between.”1 C.S. Lewis
“In the Person of Christ we see infinite majesty and transcendent meekness come together.”2
JESUS is the most incomparable Person—One who deserves our constant praise.
“[T]he glory of Christ is his combining of attributes that would seem to be utterly incompatible in one Person. The worth and beauty of the Son come not just from his majesty, nor just from his meekness, but from the way these mingle in perfect proportion.3
One of the sermons of Jonathan Edwards that God used to kindle the Great Awakening in New England in 1734-1735 was titled ‘The Excellency of Christ.’ In it Edwards unfolds the glory of God’s Son by describing the ‘admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Christ.’4
Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is so high, that he is infinitely above any needs of us; above our reach, that we cannot be profitable to him; and above our conceptions, that we cannot comprehend him. And yet he is one of infinite condescension. [H]is condescension is sufficient to take a gracious notice of the most unworthy, sinful creatures to become their friend, to become their companion, to unite their souls to him in spiritual marriage, to take their nature upon him, to become one of them, that he may be one with them.5
Some of us may have a strong sense of the transcendent glory of Jesus—as vital an aspect of who he is as any. We tremble at the thought of him. His resplendent greatness looms over our daily consciousness. We approach him with reverence and awe. As we should. But he who is both Lion and Lamb is both transcendent and immanent, both far and near, both great and good—both King and Friend.6
Even in Christ’s present state of exaltation in heaven, we see the attributes of both the lion and the lamb! In his exalted state, he most eminently appears in strength of a great lion, but he still appears as a lamb. Though Christ be now at the right hand of God, exalted as King of Heaven, and Lord of the universe, yet as he is still in the human nature, he still excels in humility! [H]e is a lamb still, even amidst the throne of his exaltation, and he that is Shepherd of the whole flock is
himself a Lamb.7
ENDNOTES
(51) Shout to the LORD
1. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 35.
2. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” 16 March 2016, Monergism, 08 April 2021 https://www.monergism.com/blog/jonathan-edwards-excellency-christ.
3. John Piper, The Pleasures of GOD (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1991) 29-30.
4. Piper, 30.
5. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.
6. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 27.
7. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.
8. Edwards.
9. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 32.
10. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.
11. Edward Perronet, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” 1780, Hymnary, 08 April 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/all_hail_the_power_of_jesus_name_let.
12. Perronet.
13. “Praise the LORD . . . praise him in his mighty heavens” (Psalm 150:1 ESV)!
14. “The LORD will reign forever . . .” (Psalm 146:10 ESV).
15. “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD . . .” (Psalm 112:1 ESV).
16. “For great is his steadfast love toward us . . .” (Psalm 117:2 ESV).
Bonnie's Prayer Affair 