Meditation on the Text of the Week

But We See Jesus, Crowned

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14

The prophecy of Habakkuk is well known to the Lord's people. It speaks of the prophet's consternation that the Lord of history would use the ungodly and evil Babylonians to punish His own people, Israel. But the Lord assures Habakkuk and the Church that His use of the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment does not mean that He is winking at their sin and idolatry.

Babylon, too, will fall under the aegis of the Lord, and will know His retribution—in His way, and in His time. But lest any think that this world is one ceaseless turmoil of sin, wrath, and judgment with neither direction nor purpose, think again. For all people, all nations, all epochs and all times are moving towards one goal and direction. All Unbelief and all is fruits upon the earth will become dessicated and ephemeral. The earth instead will become filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Our text impresses us with the comprehensiveness of the outcome. The waters covering the sea are deep, expansive, wide and complete in their extent. There is no one part of the sea floor that escapes the all encompassing weight of water pressing down from above. The image conveys the totality of the presence and manifestation of the glory of the Lord. None, and no place will be exempt. There will be no islands of resistance nor pockets of Unbelief remaining.

This is the direction of history. History is neither static nor circular. It is being meaningfully directed towards this great end. This indeed is progress one can believe in.

This great enterprise of subduing the earth under the glory of the Lord as promised through Habakkuk began at the resurrection and the ascension of our Lord. The Great Commission of Matthew 28: 18—20 is the epochal announcement that tells us the time has come—the time of the in-gathering and the extension of His kingdom, so that all the nations will be discipled, learning to observe all His commands from the heart. From this we learn how His glory is to come, how history is to progress towards this breathtaking and glorious climax. It will come to pass through the conversion of all peoples to Christ under the sound of the Gospel preached.

In other words, the Great Commission is not some fools' errand—something which we are to work at, all the while knowing in our heart of hearts that it will fail and that the nations will not be discipled to Christ. The Lord is emphatic: His glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. It will be self-consciously known to mankind, for the prophet Habakkuk speaks of the the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covering the earth. Our imperious, risen Lord commands us to go forth and subdue the nations under the willing and joyful sound of the Gospel. His power and authority ensures its success.

We are blessed indeed to live and serve in this period of redemptive history—which ultimately is the only history that is real and abiding. It is essential that we take our understanding of what is really going on around us and throughout the world from the Scriptures and not simply the newspapers.

Paul in Hebrews tells us how we are to do this. Speaking of the glorious kingdom that commenced at the Ascension of our Lord, when all things were placed in subjection under His feet, he says:

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour.
Hebrews 2: 8,9

Our eyes of faith are to remain clearly upon Him whom we see—crowned with glory and honour. Clearly there is much to secure and do, for all around us there remain parts of the world that are not yet in subjection to Him. There is much in this world that as yet does not manifest the glory and honour of the Lord. And while there is one sliver of reality which is not subject, there is work to be done and progress to be made—for He has left nothing that is not to be subject to Him.

This day, and this week, and this month will see progress in bringing more and more of all reality into subjection to Him. Around the world many thousands will be converted. His people will grow in faithfulness and service. And we, as His servants, will be used of Him to bring His glory into the creation just that little bit more—for we have been made His servants, brethren, and co-labourers in this relentless sweep of history.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.