#DailyDevotion Jesus Is King! Honor & Praise Him!
Psalm 99 The LORD is King – the people tremble; He’s on a throne among the angels — the earth shakes. 2Great is the LORD in Zion and high above all the peoples. 3They should praise Your great and awesome name; it is holy.
The declared Himself King in Deuteronomy. He was Israel’s King before the Israelites were installed as king of the Israelites. David, while appointed as king after Saul, always continued to recognize the LORD as King. So the declaration the LORD is King is truly fitting. Here we see the LORD is above everything. He is transcendent. He is over the angels and He is above all peoples. His name is great and awesome. He is holy.
Which makes Pilate’s charge against Jesus on the cross all the more pertinent—Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Jesus, the son of Mary, the son of David, is not just King of the Jews being a descendant of David, He the LORD, the King of Israel. Think about that. Jesus, King over the angles, high above all the peoples, hung for us upon the cross for us. This Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God back to His place of glory.
4O Mighty King, You love justice and establish fairness! You do what is just and right in Jacob.
Jesus, the King, loves justice and establishes fairness. He did what is just and right in Jacob. By His innocent suffering and death He established justice, fairness and did what was right in Jacob. He took away the people’s iniquity, He took away our sins. He tells us if we put our trust in Him, His work of redemption is ours to claim. Yet, if we reject His love and mercy then He is still just and fair by giving us what we deserve.
5Honor highly the LORD our God and worship at His footstool – He is holy.
We should honor the LORD Jesus Christ and worship at His footstool. First, He is God, our Creator. He deserves our worship because He is holy. But more than that, He is our Savior who died and made atonement for our sins. He suffered for us what we truly deserve. He overcame sin and death for us by His resurrection from the dead. He is preparing a place for us, to live with Him in His kingdom. For these reasons also we should honor Him highly not only with our lips but with our lives. We do this by loving our neighbor, forgiving those who sin against us and having mercy on those needing mercy.
6Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called the LORD, and He answered them, and talked to them from a pillar of cloud. They kept the truth He wrote and the law He gave them. 8O LORD, our God, You answered them. You were their God Who forgave them but punished their wrongs. 9Honor highly the LORD our God and worship at His holy hill because the LORD our God is holy.
The prophets of old called upon the name of the LORD and He answered them. They kept His truth, i.e. the proclaimed and preserved it. Despite keeping His word and honoring Him, they at times sinned. The LORD certainly forgave them but He also disciplined them for their own good and as a warning to us. We may escape eternal punishment for our sins, but the LORD disciplines those whom He loves. We should not be surprised when we suffer in this life as a consequence of our actions. We can take comfort in knowing our punishments here are temporary.
O LORD God, heavenly Father, we worship and honor You and Jesus Christ, Your Son, for saving us from our sins. Give us Your Holy Spirit that we do not honor You with our lips but with our lives as well, living according to Your will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.