Kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the LORD. [NIV]

There are different kinds of kings in the world. There are dictator kings who rule over everyone without much compassion, always seeking to preserve their power. The history of mankind is filled with kings like these. The Bible had a very famous one, even connected with the early life of our Savior Jesus: King Herod. Herod was so ruthless that he killed his own sons out of fear that they were plotting to overthrow him. On the other hand, we have figurehead kings who have very little power vested in themselves; they serve mainly as showpieces for the people. The monarchy of England falls into this category. As Americans, we have no king. Our founding fathers of this nation saw the negative results of European monarchy, and did everything they could to prevent one from developing in this country. It is obvious then: kings have had a very checkered past in the history of this world. Yet we Christians thank God this Christmas morning for the King He has given us!

The King whom God sent is no dictator, nor a powerless figurehead. He is a king who has never let power go to his head, yet has all the power of the universe in his hands. The government he heads is not an earthly one, but a peaceful, heavenly one, built by the work of his hands. The Father gave us this king out of pure love, which in itself should cause people of all ages to rejoice. As Psalm 148 says: “He has raised up for his people a horn (Christ), the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart.”

You will notice that this passage doesn’t speak literally of a king; instead we hear of God raising up a horn . In the Old Testament Times, a horn represented strength. When God the Father raised up for his people a horn, He was raising up someone very strong who would defeat all spiritual enemies of the human race— sin, death, and the devil. This strong horn was and is the King of Heaven . This was the king all the earlier believers of the world were waiting for, but never saw. Adam and Eve waited; Moses, Joshua, Naomi, and Samuel waited; David and Isaiah waited. Then, suddenly this King did arrive! He lay in that manger at one time, in the dark, in the cold, cared for by his young parents, worshipped by shepherds smelling of sheep, praised by angels. Hidden in his infant body was the eternal Son of God who had come to establish His kingdom by dying to overcome sin for us, and then rising again to overcome death. But it took faith to recognize his appearance. It took faith, which only God can give, to see through the swaddling clothes of his infancy to the divinity concealed inside. When He began His earthly service, it took faith to see he was more than a nice guy— here was the Savior king who, in His eagerness to extend his kingdom of peace, traveled far out of his way one day to bring salvation to an adulterous woman drawing water from a well (John 4: 4- 26). When He died on the cross, it took faith to see the atonement for all the world’s sins. When He rose again— His dead body now alive, God dead and now God alive— it took faith to believe it, since it went against all the natural laws of this world. Appearances aside, faith recognized that Jesus was the king of heaven and the world’s Savior!

Yet, on this Christmas morning, we must acknowledge that we still allow surface appearances to distract us from the Bible’s testimony about Jesus, our King. Martin Luther put it this way: “God is amazing. The Babe is in a manger, not worthy of a cradle or a diaper, and yet he is called Savior and Lord. The angels sing about him, and the shepherds hear and come and honor him whom no maid serves as he lies with an ox and an ass. If I had come to Bethlehem and seen it, I would have said: ‘This does not make sense. Can this be the Messiah? This is sheer nonsense. ’ I would not have let myself be found inside the stable.”

We remember the Israelites also struggled with appearances regarding their Savior king. There came a time in their history when they wanted to be like all the other nations around them— they wanted a figurehead king, that is, a human king, to lead them. They went to Samuel, God’s prophet, and said: “Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have ” (I Samuel 8: 5).

In asking for a human king they were rejecting God, their true king, and asking for trouble because human kings often lead people astray, but God never does. So God told Samuel to warn them about having a human king: “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with the chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves” (I Samuel 8: 11- 18).

We, of course, in our sins, fall for the same desires. We want our heavenly king to be more visible to our eyes, at least in the way He exercises His power for us. We say: “If Jesus truly wants my trust, He should come down here and start taking away some of my problems!” Or this: “If He is really the King of kings, He should put all the little human kings of this world in their place so that all this terrorism and other fighting will stop.” (As if the Savior ever came to stop wars and bring peace between nations!) If we continue to test the Lord like this, He will no longer be king enough for our hearts. But we can be content in our Savior king, if we don’t let appearances get in the way.

Faith recognizes that the Savior king came as the true king of all believers, whether Jewish or Gentile. He came after a long wait. But when He came, He came as no other king did: He was sinless, conceived in Mary’s virgin womb by the Holy Spirit. In the flesh, He came as the exact representation of God to save you and me and all the world. He came with no thought of power or castles or armies or banners, but only to die for the sins of all, to bring spiritual peace between man and God through His atoning work on the cross for all sins— for our sins! Through faith in Him, our hearts rejoice everyday in the peace of His forgiveness!

In the words of the Psalm, God has raised up a horn. That is, has raised up His royal strength ! What more could we want! He entered this world to take away our sins from God’s sight at the cross by his blood shed for us! What more could we want! By His perfect life, His atoning sacrifice, His resurrection, heaven is open to all sinners who believe! What more could we want! He has done it because we are close to his heart! As His believing people, to whom He has given faith by the power of His Spirit and Word that we may cut through the surface appearances, let us be content in Jesus the King! He did not come to build a great castle and take away our lands from us; He came to build a spiritual kingdom by taking away our sins from us at the cross! Good Christians, now rejoice, with heart and soul and voice! God has raised up our King to save! SOLI DEO GLORIA

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER: WE THANK AND PRAISE YOU FOR THE KING YOU HAVE RAISED UP TO SAVE US. BY YOUR WORD AND SPIRIT, CAUSE US ALWAYS TO BELIEVE AND REJOICE IN WHAT HE CAME TO DO FOR US, TO SUFFER FOR OUR SINS AND TO RISE AGAIN THAT WE MAY SOMEDAY ENTER YOUR HEAVENLY KINGDOM! AMEN.

[NIV] New International Version used throughout.