A Word for Today | Hebrews 1:8-9
One lesson that has been pressed home by the coronavirus emergency is the frailty of all earthly supports. With our prosperous nation and remarkable technology, it is easy to think all will be well, but COVID-19 has shown us this is not necessarily the case. Now, as the weeks of shutdown turn into months, our political leaders are facing questions. I try to be generous toward our leaders since none of us has had recent practice at pandemics. Yet as the pool of data grows, we have anything but a growing consensus and (on the national level, at least) the normal political in-fighting has taken hold once again.
All of this should make Christians grateful to have a king like the one described in Hebrews 1:8: “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” This verse provides fascinating support for the doctrine of the Trinity, since God refers to His Son as “God.” Not only is Jesus specially suited to reign because of His deity, but also because of His “uprightness.” When you read the Gospel accounts of our Lord, how different He is from all other men! Jesus is in command of Himself and every situation because of His sterling uprightness. The writer of Hebrews further points out that Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit because of his righteousness: “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (Heb. 1:9). Jesus is exalted as Lord and anointed as Messiah and Savior because in His righteousness He is worthy to rule.
How safe is our soul in the kingdom of God’s Son! To whom else will we turn for the righteousness that we lack, but which we need if we are to stand in God’s judgment? Who else will reign over this earth to establish righteousness in the end? To what power or authority will we run seeking safety and refuge, except the One whom God has enthroned forever, who bears the title, “You, O God,” whose scepter is that of righteousness, and who will, at the end of days, establish peace on the earth?
I do not know how long the coronavirus pandemic is going to last or how long it will be until things are back to “normal.” But I do know how long Jesus’ reign is going to last! And I know that if we trust our souls to His care, confessing our sins and being forgiven at His cross, we too will be anointed with joy in the new heavens and the new earth, as companions to the King of Kings. Even in a pandemic, we, therefore, can sing:
Who trusts in God, a strong abode in heav’n and earth posseses;
Who looks in love to Christ above, no fear his heart oppresses.[1]
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Phillips
[1] Joachim Magdeburg, “Who Trusts in God, as Strong Abode,” 1597.