The Throne of Righteousness
Hebrews 1: 8, 9, 10, Part 1
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. (Hebrews 1:8)
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Hebrews 1:9)
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (Hebrews 1:10)
Verses 8, 9, and 10 combine to make a whole. The thought of these three verses are continuous and on-going. It is addressed by the Father to the Son, as the Son of righteousness, and we may say, ‘with healing in his wings.’ All that has gone before in this chapter was the guiding hand of God the Father, leading us to this grand coronation. The Son has come out of heaven as the righteous God, to be crowned as the righteous man, and is now on His righteous throne, to wait for His righteous kingdom on earth. This is His heavenly coronation, which precedes His earthly coronation. This is His eternal throne, and kingdom of all creation and eternity. The Father addresses the Son of God in such a way that it is like being at the Philharmonic listening to the 1812 Overture; we are brought to the highest point when the cannons roar throughout all eternity, as the royal diadem is placed on His brow. Once smitten and afflicted, and wearing a crown of thorns, He is now in glory as this golden crown is placed upon Him. It is ‘thy throne, O God,’ not to be shared with another, or taken by another. He is the eternal King, ‘I am the Lord God, and beside me there is no one else.’ Considering this throne, our heart moves with the psalmist, as the psalmist is indicting a good matter concerning the King. Psalm 45
<<To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves.>> My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. (Psalm 45:1)
Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. (Psalm 45:2)
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. (Psalm 45:3)
And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. (Psalm 45:4)
Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. (Psalm 45:5)
¶ Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. (Psalm 45:6)
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Psalm 45:7)
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. (Psalm 45:8)
Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. (Psalm 45:9)
¶ Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; (Psalm 45:10)
So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. (Psalm 45:11)
And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. (Psalm 45:12)
The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. (Psalm 45:13)
She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. (Psalm 45:14)
With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace. (Psalm 45:15)
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. (Psalm 45:16)
I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. (Psalm 45:17)
As the tongue of the psalmist was the ‘pen of a ready writer,’ he spoke of things as touching the King. So, my heart expresses itself to the ‘pen of a ready writer.’ I also speak of things touching the King. Please read this 45th Psalm slowly, and muse upon it as a matter touching the King of glory. Moses was shown the heavenly things in relationship to the things of the tabernacle, that they were shadows of things in the heavenlies; and as the Lord in John 14, verse 2 tells His disciples, and us, In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; or as Paul speaks, by the Spirit of God, that we as the children of God belong to the Jerusalem which is above. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26) A great heavenly city which tongue cannot describe, And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. (Revelation 21:10) This city is filled with the glory of God; it is the city of the great King. The Apostle Paul was caught up into heaven, he saw things that were not to be revealed, mysteries to be revealed at a later time — line upon line — precept upon precept — here a little — there a little, until we all come to the full knowledge of God. His continuous revelation of Himself is not done — there is much more to come. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (Ephesians 1:17) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:18)
When John was on Patmos, he was told to seal up the book, and also Daniel (concerning the end times), was told to seal those things for a latter day. And as we look at the revelation of His coronation, this is the King most Holy. So let our hearts ascend above that we may get a spiritual look at our great King. Turn to Psalm 24: 7-10.
¶ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. (Psalm 24:7)
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. (Psalm 24:8)
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. (Psalm 24:9)
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. (Psalm 24:10)
Prophetically, we have a great procession approaching the gates of glory. The gates are told to lift up their heads; the head sees, hears, smells, thinks, makes decisions, tastes of the good Word of God, and much more. These gates receive a divine order, and they obey; then, the everlasting doors are to be lifted up. Here we get a glimpse of eternity in the soul. Before any work of the Spirit of God can begin in the soul, He, the Spirit of God has to break down the things that oppose Christ in one’s heart. The gates have to be lifted up before the doors can be opened. These are everlasting doors, once they are opened by the Holy Spirit of God, then the King of glory comes in, and takes His place on the throne of the soul. The thought is that once the work of the Holy Spirit is performed, then it is not ‘if,’ but ‘shall’ come in. The King of Righteousness must have His rightful place, whether it be on the throne of glory in heaven, or in the throne-room of the soul— He must be King. Then we have the question to those who are outside the veil of grace, “Who is this King of glory?” We answer, Christ working in us produces His love in us so that we, as the children of God, should have an answer for every man. It is the will of the Son of God that His gospel should be heralded to every man. And we, as the children of God, have a divine responsibility to the world to tell them the truth, that both grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. It is He who paid the great price by making His soul an offering for sin. From the high walls of eternity, we shout to the world below, ‘the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, He is the King of glory.’ He sits on His throne as the Judge of the whole earth and eternity. There is not one sin that He does not see. There is not one soul that He does not have compassion for. The proof lies in His death upon the cross. The sin of the whole world was placed on Him. He saw the travail of His soul, (Isaiah 53) and offered His soul for sin so that all righteousness would be fulfilled in Him, and by Him. He walked amongst men with a spotless life as the lamb of God. God the Father always watching His Beloved Son. He was the perfect man come down from heaven. He was God manifest in the flesh, yet Jesus of Nazareth. He was the King of glory; yet, the man of sorrows, how marvelous is the work of redemption, and how great is the work of salvation. This is the King of glory in this book of glory, the book of Hebrews. We see Him as a cut gem, and all the facets speak of His many glories. There is also suffering in this book. He was made perfect through suffering.
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; (Hebrews 5:7) Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; (Hebrews 5:8) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:9)
His glory cost Him pain and suffering. His throne was bought with a price, and righteousness was paid for with His precious blood. The scepter of righteousness which He holds, is a right scepter. Although Psalm 45 is numbered, its title is ‘a song of love.’ I see the hearts and souls of all the redeemed singing this Psalm, all in unison, and in perfect harmony, echoing through the portals of eternity; rejoicing in the embrace of His love, the smell of His garments, the grandeur of His throne, the great expanse and the splendor of His ivory palaces, with the pearl of great price by His side (His bride betrothed to Him before He laid the foundations of the earth). She is bought with a ring of blood that will never lose its power. If we allow ourselves a spirit’s view, the bride looks into the eyes of eternity and her heart is full of love, and she says to him, ‘you, my King, loved me and gave yourself for me.’ (Galatians 2:20) This love divine cannot be expressed by tongue, nor pen; it can only be expressed in the heart by the movement of the Holy Spirit of God. The story of the King of kings, who could tell or write all the chapters to come? Who could write of His love if they lived for a thousand years? As the queen of Sheba said of Solomon, ‘the half has not be told.’ Those who love the Lord Jesus have much more to come, our life on earth will only be a dim shadow compared with our eternity with the King of Kings. We will have all of heaven to explore, our eyes will then be full of light, and righteousness will guide all our thoughts, and the soul will be happy in His love.
I think of all this to come, and say in my soul, ‘Even so, come Lord Jesus.’ The green meadow lies beneath us in all its beauty, and yet, cannot compare to the beauty of the Creator and Possessor of all things. The river runs strong day by day, only at the word of His power. The stars light the sky at night only to show forth His majesty. The sun and the moon continue their courses that they may reflect not their light but reflect His glorious light of eternity. All these are but little glimpses of the glory to come. Amen.
© Copyright 2015, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)