Thursday 3rd
Philippians 2:9
NIV – ‘Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name . . .’
ESV – ‘Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name . . .’
‘All hail the power of Jesus’s name!’
Edward Perronet – RH 2
Yesterday we considered the glorious message concerning the Lord Christ, today we consider the glorious majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of his obedience in coming into this world to save sinners, ‘God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’
Scripture informs us of the coming of Jesus into this world, it tells us of his life and his ministry, it tells us of his death, burial and resurrection and continues to tell us of his ascension, that moment when he returned to his Father, Acts 1:9 ‘And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.’ The following verses show that he went up into heaven, then in verse 33 of Acts 2 we read that he has been exalted to the right hand of God, and then our text verse above tells us that he has been given a name which is above every other name, he is in a position that is above any other, he is seated in majesty.
Our hymn today is all about the powerful and majestic name of Jesus and the glory and the honour which he rightly deserves. The chorus part says, ‘Crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.’
The first line of the hymn, ‘All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name’, is a timely reminder of the power that is in the name of Jesus. The name Jesus, although an ordinary name in some parts of the world today, is an extraordinary name when it is ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a name to which we owe so much, it is the name we love to hear. In our hymn yesterday we had the line, ‘glory to his name, glory to his name’. There is another hymn in the RH by Tersteegen that goes, ‘Name of Jesus! highest name! Name that earth and heaven adore! From the heart of God it came, leads me to God’s heart once more.’ John Newton wrote ‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear; it soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.’ Frank Whitefield wrote ‘There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth, it sounds like music to mine ear, the sweetest name on earth. What about the words that W. C. Martin wrote, ‘The name of Jesus is so sweet, I love its music to repeat; it makes my joys full and complete, the precious name of Jesus. Jesus! oh, how sweet the name, Jesus! every day the same! Jesus! let all saints proclaim its worthy praise for ever.’
If there is anything that we should dislike as those who believe in this precious name is when we hear unbelievers taking the name of our Saviour and using it as a swear word, or as a cussing word, the same must also be said about the taking of God’s name in vain, it has become so common place today, even yesterday I was out in the garden and I heard one of the neighbours children behind us, who is very young just continually blaspheming and sadly with the way that we love to shorten words today to a few letters is being used with the three letters ‘omg’ – it saddens me when I hear Christians using it or saying it, God’s name is a holy name, Jesus’ name is an exalted name, and we who are blood washed need also to honour both the name of Almighty God and of the name of our wonderful Saviour. When the world despises both these names, we exalt them, we give to them the highest place.
Another hymn encourages us to ‘Take the name of Jesus with you, child of sorrow and of woe; it will joy and comfort give you—take it then where’er you go’ May we continually with our lips and by the testimony of our lives exalt the name of Jesus, the same hymn continues, ‘Precious name, oh how sweet! Hope of earth and joy of heav’n; precious name, oh, how sweet! Hope of earth and joy of heav’n’.
All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall,
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him, crown Him,
Crown Him Lord of all!
Crown him, ye martyrs of our God,
Who from his altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse’s rod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race,
A remnant weak and small,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown him Lord of all.
Ye Gentile sinners, ne’er forget
The wormwood and the gall,
Go, spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all.
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
Join in the everlasting song,
And crown him Lord of all.