I see a generation

Does anyone else get a kick out of singing praise songs?

I certainly do. A bit of bass, youth camp vibe, raise your hands in the air and it’s all happening! But do you ever stop to think about what you’re singing about?

Checkout this song

I see the King of Glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

Who is the king?

I don’t know what the songwriter, Christy Nockels was thinking when she wrote this, but I can imagine she was pretty excited. The king of glory, the whole earth shaking. What’s it talking about?

Funnily enough, one of the songs in the Bible asks this same question

‘Who is this king of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle’
(Psalm 24:8)

This is a song, or psalm about how to worship God. The king of glory is God.

Earlier on, it talks about how big God’s reign is. He made the world and everything in it. He is the king over the whole world.

What does this mean?

The people singing this would have been excited about being in the presence of God. They would have reminded themselves that God is king as they went to worship God in his holy place. They would have quite literally been walking and singing and speaking about who God is. His is the king of glory and they and everything in the world belonged to him. That’s why they worshiped.

I don’t know if you’ve ever climbed a mountain and looked out as far as you can see. It seems like everything is so small. But can you imagine God looking out over the whole world? That’s a pretty big place. That is what God is king over.

This is the God we worship.
The king of glory.
God is king over the whole world.
That’s why we worship Him.

Jesus the King

Later on in the Bible another king walks into Jerusalem on a donkey.

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
(Matt 21:9)

This is Jesus coming in to meet His people. People in the crowd shout out praise because they recognise him as God. This is Jesus the king.

Jesus is the maker of the universe comes as a human being into the world. People who see Jesus for who he is worship Him.

But that’s not all. Cos this king on a donkey doesn’t stay there. He dies for the sake of the whole world to set them free from death. And he comes alive again because he is stronger than the devil. This is the ultimate battle over which he is victorious.

Worship the King

So what is our response?

Seeing Jesus for who he is makes us praise him. And it makes us change.

The next part of the song I began with goes like this:

I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith

Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the Highest (x2)

Our response to Jesus is to be part of a generation of people who take our place and seek revival where we are. It’s to see Jesus for who he is – the king of the world – and being part of a generation of people to share this message with the world. It’s about revival.

Is this you?

Do you sing these words and get a bit excited? That’s cos it is. God’s awesome power is seen in Jesus, the king of glory. He’s the king of the world and calls us to share this with the world.

If not, let me challenge you to get more in touch with Jesus. Cos he is the king of the world and will one day come back. We can trust our lives to Him.

I see a generation. Rising up to take their place. Are you one of these? Let’s not just be singers but doers. Cos we’ll have the whole of eternity to keep getting kicks out of praising our God.

If you want to hear more about how to get involved, checkout Get off the Couch and What in the World.