Jack Hayford and his wife Anna were vacationing in Britain during the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth II. While there, the Hayfords saw constant reminders of royalty which, along with visits to several castles, caused Hayford to sense what it might be like to be “raised as a child in such regal settings.” With this thought in mind, he asked Anna to write down these words one day as they drove through the countryside:
“Majesty, worship his majesty. Unto Jesus be all glory, power, and praise.”
Thus “Majesty” one of today’s most glorious praise songs was born.
In the Bible, Jesus is called “High Priest”, “Prince of Peace”, “Lamb of God”,
“Bread of Life”, “Light of the World”, and “Good Shepherd".
So how are we to respond?
We are to “exalt, lift up the name of Jesus” each day, and in all we do “glorify Christ
Jesus the King”. Our primary task in life is to worship His Majesty! It is not with
great trumpets - or magnificent choirs - but in simple acts of service that we reflect and
reveal the glory of God. Maybe it is while washing dishes at home, or vacuuming the
carpet, or changing diapers, or caring for crying babies. Maybe it is while driving on the highway, or when you display a different attitude than any of your co-workers at work. Maybe it is out there in a world that seems so alienated from God that you can just consistently day after day witness, share, reflect, and reveal the glory of God.
In the United States today, we do not see that reverence or respect for our leaders. In fact, our leaders are subjected to intense scrutiny and often harsh criticism and sometimes unjustified attacks. One doesn’t get the sense of majesty and respect in the tone of journalists as they interact and question our leaders. Instead, our leaders are the subject of laughter and ridicule as our comedians make a living off of their perceived weaknesses and mistakes. Unfortunately, it seems that we bring that same attitude to our understanding of the Bible and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
As you think back over the last few years, have you noticed that our view of God has
suffered from our failure to capture a sense of His Majesty? The God of contemporary
evangelicalism is a very personal God -- someone with whom we can enjoy intimate
fellowship. He is our best friend and the One to whom we can bring all of our troubles to.
We have a great High Priest who became flesh and blood so that He can be a perfect
mediator between God and man.
However, there is an old saying that states: familiarity breeds contempt. We even have
those who refer to God as “the man upstairs”, “the Boss” and other demeaning titles - none of which appear in scripture!
So what have we attained by emphasizing that God can be no different than the neighbor next door?
Yes, we can have a closeness to God, an intimate relationship with Him: but as always we Americans stretch things a bit too far. It has resulted in this consequence -- we have lost sight of His Majesty. There is a great gulf that exists between God and us because of His greatness. He is not like us, although we were made in HIS image. God is not limited, like we are, in His wisdom, in His presence, in His power, in His effectiveness. He is Eternal, Infinite, and Almighty. He deserves our reverence and adoration. The Bible tells us that the Majesty of God is tied to the fear of God. Not to be afraid of Him but to have awe and reverence for who He is.
Perhaps our lack of the sense of the Majesty of our LORD is one of the key reasons why our faith is so weak and our worship so floppy and flabby. We don’t serve a God who is big enough to solve our problems. We don’t have a God that we believe is not worthy of our time and effort expended in prayer and praise and adoration. We have a God that we want to manage and control. We have a God that we have remade into our own image instead of remembering that HE IS the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who reigns and is Supreme over the universe.
He is the Creator, the Master Designer and Controller of the entirety of the world. He is not a part-time God we can call on just when we need help. He is not a Santa Claus who is to do our bidding, to fulfill all our desires and dreams. He is the soon coming King who will return to earth again and every eye shall see.
This Christmas don't just think about HIM as a "cute, little baby who was born in a manger a long time ago". This Christmas, take time to truly worship HIM as HE IS! He is the One who was and who is and who is to come and we need to be sure to worship HIM in all of HIS MAJESTY!
“Majesty, worship his majesty. Unto Jesus be all glory, power, and praise.”
Thus “Majesty” one of today’s most glorious praise songs was born.
In the Bible, Jesus is called “High Priest”, “Prince of Peace”, “Lamb of God”,
“Bread of Life”, “Light of the World”, and “Good Shepherd".
So how are we to respond?
We are to “exalt, lift up the name of Jesus” each day, and in all we do “glorify Christ
Jesus the King”. Our primary task in life is to worship His Majesty! It is not with
great trumpets - or magnificent choirs - but in simple acts of service that we reflect and
reveal the glory of God. Maybe it is while washing dishes at home, or vacuuming the
carpet, or changing diapers, or caring for crying babies. Maybe it is while driving on the highway, or when you display a different attitude than any of your co-workers at work. Maybe it is out there in a world that seems so alienated from God that you can just consistently day after day witness, share, reflect, and reveal the glory of God.
In the United States today, we do not see that reverence or respect for our leaders. In fact, our leaders are subjected to intense scrutiny and often harsh criticism and sometimes unjustified attacks. One doesn’t get the sense of majesty and respect in the tone of journalists as they interact and question our leaders. Instead, our leaders are the subject of laughter and ridicule as our comedians make a living off of their perceived weaknesses and mistakes. Unfortunately, it seems that we bring that same attitude to our understanding of the Bible and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
As you think back over the last few years, have you noticed that our view of God has
suffered from our failure to capture a sense of His Majesty? The God of contemporary
evangelicalism is a very personal God -- someone with whom we can enjoy intimate
fellowship. He is our best friend and the One to whom we can bring all of our troubles to.
We have a great High Priest who became flesh and blood so that He can be a perfect
mediator between God and man.
However, there is an old saying that states: familiarity breeds contempt. We even have
those who refer to God as “the man upstairs”, “the Boss” and other demeaning titles - none of which appear in scripture!
So what have we attained by emphasizing that God can be no different than the neighbor next door?
Yes, we can have a closeness to God, an intimate relationship with Him: but as always we Americans stretch things a bit too far. It has resulted in this consequence -- we have lost sight of His Majesty. There is a great gulf that exists between God and us because of His greatness. He is not like us, although we were made in HIS image. God is not limited, like we are, in His wisdom, in His presence, in His power, in His effectiveness. He is Eternal, Infinite, and Almighty. He deserves our reverence and adoration. The Bible tells us that the Majesty of God is tied to the fear of God. Not to be afraid of Him but to have awe and reverence for who He is.
Perhaps our lack of the sense of the Majesty of our LORD is one of the key reasons why our faith is so weak and our worship so floppy and flabby. We don’t serve a God who is big enough to solve our problems. We don’t have a God that we believe is not worthy of our time and effort expended in prayer and praise and adoration. We have a God that we want to manage and control. We have a God that we have remade into our own image instead of remembering that HE IS the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who reigns and is Supreme over the universe.
He is the Creator, the Master Designer and Controller of the entirety of the world. He is not a part-time God we can call on just when we need help. He is not a Santa Claus who is to do our bidding, to fulfill all our desires and dreams. He is the soon coming King who will return to earth again and every eye shall see.
This Christmas don't just think about HIM as a "cute, little baby who was born in a manger a long time ago". This Christmas, take time to truly worship HIM as HE IS! He is the One who was and who is and who is to come and we need to be sure to worship HIM in all of HIS MAJESTY!
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