Spiritual Hiccups - Long Live the King!

"Rejoice, the Lord is King!" says the opening line of the hymn.  In The Presbyterian Hymnal, this hymn is in a section labeled "Christ the King/Ascension."  Psalm 97 begins, "The LORD is king!  Let the earth rejoice."  In the case of Christ being the king, we can speak of that happening.  Jesus takes his place on the throne.  Long live the king.  But the LORD (Yahweh) is different.  Does Yahweh become king?

Actually the Old Testaments contains many texts where God is enthroned.  There are ancient echoes here of a time when people thought of Yahweh as one of many divine beings, and within this divine council, Yahweh had been chosen as the ruler, the head of the gods.  "The LORD is king!  Let the earth rejoice."

We're not accustomed to kings in America, but we have some idea how they work.  British monarchs don't have very much real power, but there was time when that power was nearly absolute.  But such kings could die or be overthrown.  Some were better than others.  "Long live the king" carries with it some hope that this king will be a good one.  It also a voice of support for a new king and thus recognizes there were or may yet be other options.

"The LORD is king!  Let the earth rejoice."  Long live the king.  Be glad because this is a good one.  We could have gotten a different one.  But are there really other options?

My Presbyterian heritage (along with others in the Reformed/Calvinist family) like to speak of God's sovereignty.  The idea of predestination, a concept often distorted or misunderstood, grows out of this notion of sovereignty.  God is in charge.  God's purposes shall be worked out.  What God desires shall be.  But for all our claims of divine sovereignty, we often live as though there were other options, other candidates for ruler.

As a pastor, I am often tempted to think that my successes are simply a matter of my prowess or my hard work.  I make calculations about what to try or not try based on the same sort of measures any organization use, without much reference to any authority or power on God's part.  Successful congregations have good leaders and less successful ones less capable leaders.  Congregations often see what they can or can't do as a simple function of the resources brought by the members.  They can do what their energy, funds, and talents will allow.  We may talk about a king, but often that king has no real power, no authority to say to us, "Do this."

Those ordained in the Presbyterian Church take vows in which we proclaim Jesus Christ "Lord of all and Head of the Church."  In other words, he is our ruler, our king.  But of course our congregations are often better reflections of what we want than what Jesus wants.

"Rejoice, the Lord is King!"  But there are indeed other options. 

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