O come, O King of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease and be yourself our King of Peace.
Scripture
Psalm 47:8-9
“God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!”
Reflection
This verse O Rex: King of the Nations calls us to see two things. One, Jesus Christ is our promised king and two, Jesus is the King who unites all nations in peace.
First, Jesus is the promised king of whom Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, of the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness…“. As we know of earthly kings, they typically have authority over their kingdom, but time and again, the Lord has shown that He is above all kings on Earth. We can see how the Lord revealed himself in his dominion over the kings, like Pharaoh during the exodus and Nebuchadnezzar and Darius during exile, to name a few. These kings saw the mighty power of God and recognized that the Lord is God and he is the King over all. Look with me at the decrees made by Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:3: “How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation,” and by Darius in Daniel 6:26: “For he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.”
Second, kings try to unite all people to establish their kingdom. They try to do so by unifying languages, unifying governance, and at times using force. However, Jesus Christ unites us all in His love by redeeming us through His precious blood. In the kingdom of God, love is at the core of everything, from loving God to loving one another. This love of God brings us together, in peace, to worship and bow down before the King of Kings.
This season, as we remember the birth of Christ as a baby, let us also remember that he has promised to come back. This time Jesus Christ is coming back to conquer, rule, and reign as we read in Revelation 17:14: “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
Prayer
Our gracious and loving heavenly Father, we recognize your kingship and your dominion over all heaven and all of creation, and we give you praise. The world that we live in is hungry for power and control, but we take comfort that you are our king who loves and cares for us. During this Christmas season, we pray that you may bind our hearts together in love so that all our divisions will cease, and we may put away our differences. You are our “Prince of peace,” please rule and reign over our hearts.
In Christ,
Austin Samuel
