45.4 Praise The Ruler Of All The World

(Psalm 47)

Clap your hands for joy, all peoples!
Praise God with loud songs!
The Lord, the Most High, is to be feared;
he is a great king, ruling over all the world.
He gave us victory over the peoples;
he made us rule over the nations.
He chose for us the land where we live,
the proud possession of his people, whom he loves.

God goes up to his throne.
There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets,
as the Lord goes up.
Sing praise to God; sing praise to our king!
God is king over all the world;
praise him with songs!

God sits on his sacred throne;
he rules over the nations.
The rulers of the nations assemble with the people
of the God of Abraham.
More powerful than all armies is he;
he rules supreme.

45.3 Jesus, The Same Yesterday, Today And Forever

(Hebrews 13:6-15)

Let us be bold, then, and say,

“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

Remember your former leaders, who spoke God’s message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you from God’s grace, and not by obeying rules about foods; those who obey these rules have not been helped by them.

The priests who serve in the Jewish place of worship have no right to eat any of the sacrifice on our altar. The Jewish High Priest brings the blood of the animals into the Most Holy Place to offer it as a sacrifice for sins; but the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. For this reason Jesus also died outside the city, in order to purify the people from sin with his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp and share his shame. For there is no permanent city for us here on earth; we are looking for the city which is to come. Let us, then, always offer praise to God as our sacrifice through Jesus, which is the offering presented by lips that confess him as Lord.

45.2 He Is Higher Than The Angels

(Hebrews 1:1-13)

In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to posses all things at the end. He reflects the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact likeness of God’s own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of mankind, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.

The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the name that God gave him is greater than theirs. For God never said to any of his angels,

“You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” Nor did God say about any angel,

“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”

But when God was about to send his first-born Son into the world, he said,

“All of God’s angels must worship him.”

But about the angels God said,

“God makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.”

About the Son, however, God said:

“Your kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever!

You rule over your people with justice.

You love what is right and hate what is wrong.

That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has given you the joy of an honor far greater than he gave to your companions.”

He also said,

“You, Lord, in the beginning created the earth, and with your own hands you made the heavens.

They will disappear, but you will remain; they will all wear out like clothes.

You will fold them up like a coat, and they will be changed like clothes.

But you are always the same, and your life never ends.”

God never said to any of his angels:

“Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet.”

45.1 He Is Before Anything Else

(Colossians 1:15-20)

Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lord, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things. For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. Through the Son, then God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s death on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.