Christ is King Over All

William Dyer, Christ's Famous Titles, pp. 25-30:

...the second title of Jesus Christ is King of Kings, I pray you to take notice of it, it is now to be handled, in Rev. xix. 16, "He had a name written, saith the text, KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDS. Here is his title now, KING of kings. Beloved, Jesus Christ is a threefold king:

First, His enemies King.

Secondly, His saints King.

Thirdly, His Father's King.

The first, he rules over.

The second, he rules in.

The third, he rules for.

I shall begin with the first, and take them in order.

First, Christ is his ENEMIES King. That is, he is King over his enemies. Christ is a King above all kings, and over all kings, and therefore the Scripture calls HIM, "King of kings!" as you have it in 1 Timothy 6:15. Christ is a King above all kings; for if he were not a King above all kings—he could not be a King over all kings. Two Scriptures prove that Jesus is a King above all kings. God the Father says, "I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth." Psalm 89:27. Now, who is the first-born? Why, it is Jesus Christ; as he is elsewhere called, "the first-born of every creature." "Now," says God, "I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth: higher in glory, higher in power, higher in majesty!" So in Revelation 1:5—there Christ is called, "the Ruler of the kings of the earth."

Alas! alas! what are all the mighty men, the great, the honorable men of the earth—compared to Jesus Christ! They are but like a little bubble on the water; for if all the nations, in comparison to God, be but as the drop of the bucket, or the dust of the balance, as the prophet speaks in Isaiah 40:15— Oh how little then must be the kings of the earth!

Nay, beloved, Christ Jesus is not only above the kings of the earth, and higher than kings—but he is higher than the angels. Yes, he is the head of angels; and therefore all the angels in heaven are commanded to worship him! Col. 2:12, "He is the head of all principalities and powers," which includes angels. And in Hebrews 1:6. "Let all the angels of God worship him." God will have the angels worship Christ—as well as men.

Oh, sirs, Christ is a King, before whom angels veil their faces, and kings of the earth cast down their crowns!

Again, as he is a King above all kings—so he is a King over all kings too. Jesus Christ is an universal King. He is the King over all kingdoms, over all nations, over all governments, over all powers, over all people! Daniel 7:14, "He was given authority, honor, and royal power over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.'' You here see that Christ is not only King of saints—but King of nations too! Therefore you find in Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth Your possession!" The very heathen are given to Christ, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.

As the Lord Jesus Christ has all the kingdoms of the earth given to him—so likewise he has all power given to him. If this were otherwise, he would have no ability to rule his kingdoms. Matthew 28:18, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Oh, here is a text that should revive the hearts of saints! So that it is he who binds kings in chains, and princes in fetters of iron! It is he who allows no man to do them wrong; yes, he reproves kings for their sakes, and breaks mighty kings in pieces for the saints' sake! And therefore it is he who over-rules kings, and overcomes the kings of the earth that make war with the saints!

Revelation 17:14, "These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them," and why? "Because he was King of kings, and Lord of lords!" This is the first, Jesus Christ is his enemies King, that is, he is a King above their kings, and over their kings. As Jesus Christ is his enemies King—so he is his saints King.

Secondly, Christ is his SAINTS King. I will give you two Scriptures to prove it: Revelation 15:3. There Jesus Christ is called the saints' King, "O King of saints." So also in Matthew 21:5, "Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey—even on a donkey's colt." So that by these two Scriptures, you see Jesus Christ is King of saints.

Now, beloved, I beseech you here to listen carefully. Jesus Christ you see, is King of the wicked, and of the godly; but as for the wicked, he rules over them by his power and might; but the saints, he rules in them by his Spirit and graces. Now to this the Scripture witnesses, that Jesus Christ rules in the saints, and is the King of the saints; and therefore it tells them, Col. 1:27, "Christ in you the hope of glory," and elsewhere, "Know you not that Christ is in you." Mark, Christ must be in you, "Christ in you the hope of glory." So in Psalm 24:7, "Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in." Here Christ is called the King of glory; and the psalmist calls upon men to open their hearts that the King of glory may come in. So in Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me."

Oh this is Christ's spiritual kingdom, and here he rules in the hearts of his people, here he rules over their consciences, over their wills, over their affections, over their judgments and understandings; and therefore he is called the King of saints. It is true, other kings may bear rule ever the estates of men; but as for the soul—that only belongs to Christ! Therefore believers are said to be all glorious within. "The king's daughter is all glorious within," Psalm 45:13. The King of glory rules there, and dwells there! God dwells in the highest heavens—and in the humble hearts. Christ is not only the King of nations—but King of saints; the one he rules over, the other he rules in.

Thirdly, Jesus Christ is his FATHER'S King. So his Father calls him in Psalm 2:6, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." Well may he be our King—when he is God's King. But you may say, How is Christ the Father's King? Because he rules for his Father. There is a twofold kingdom of God committed to Jesus Christ:

First, A spiritual kingdom, by which he rules in the hearts of his people, and so is King of saints.

Secondly, A providential kingdom, by which he rules the affairs of this world, and so he is King of nations. Now, beloved, the Scripture says, "That the Father has put all things in Christ's hands." And the apostle tells us, "God has put all things under his feet." The Father judges no man—but has committed all judgment to the Son, and he has appointed him over his own house. Now, as Christ has all, so he does all, and rules all for his Father; and therefore the Father calls him his servant. Isaiah 41:2, "Behold my servant." He rules for his Father, and does his Father's will. So that, beloved, in these respects, Christ is a King.

Bless God At All Times

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Ps. 34.1)

Thomas Brooks, The Unsearchable Riches of Christ (1655), in The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 3, pp. 24-25:

The seventeenth property of an humble soul is this: an humble soul will bless God, and be thankful to God, as well under misery as under mercy; as well when God frowns as when he smiles; as well when God takes as when he gives; as well under crosses and losses, as under blessings and mercies: Job. i. 21, 'The Lord gives and the Lord takes, blessed be the name of the Lord.' He doth not cry out upon the Sabeans and the Chaldeans, but he looks through all secondary causes, and sees the hand of God; and then he lays his hand upon his own heart, and sweetly sings it out, 'The Lord gives, and the Lord takes, blessed be the name of the Lord.' An humble soul, in every condition, blesses God, as the apostle commands, in the 1 Thes. v. 18, 'In every thing give thanks to God.' So 1 Cor. iv. 12, 'Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer.' The language of an humble soul is, If it be thy will, saith an humble soul, I should be in darkness, I will bless thee; and if it be thy wil I should be again in light, I will bless thee; if thou wilt comfort me, I will bless thee; and if thou wilt afflict me, I will bless thee; if thou wilt give me the least mercy, I will bless thee; if thou wilt give me no mercy, I will bless thee. An humble soul is quick-sighted; he sees the rod in a Father's hand; he sees honey upon the top of every twig, and so can bless God; he sees sugar at the bottom of the bitterest cup that God doth put into his hand; he knows that God's house of correction is a school of instruction; and so he can sit down and bless when the rod is upon his back. An humble soul knows that the design of God in all in his instruction, his reformation, and his salvation.

It was a sweet saying of holy [John] Bradford, If the queen will give me my life, I will thank her; if she will banish me, I will thank her; if she will burn me, I will thank her; if she will condemn me to perpetual imprisonment, I will thank her. Ay, this is the temper of an humble heart. An humble soul knows, that to bless God in prosperity is the way to increase it; and to bless God in adversity is the way to remove it. An humble soul knows, that if he blesses God under mercies, he hath paid his debt; but if he blesses God under crosses, he hath made God a debtor.

William Secker, The Nonsuch Professor (1660), p. 128:

To bless God for mercies is the way to increase them; to bless God for miseries, is the way to remove them. No good lives so long, as that which is thankfully improved; no evil dies so soon, as that which is patiently sustained.

William Dyer, Christ's Famous Titles, or The Believer's Golden Chain (1663), p. 179:

To bless God for merces is the way to increase them; to bless God for miseries is the way to remove them: no good lives so long as that which is thankfully improved; no evil dies so soon as that which is patiently endured.