179. Lord sets up Princes and Thrones
1 Samuel 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
The promise of God’s Word to us is that the Lord will set us up among princes and make us inherit the throne of glory. This is fairly unbelievable, that poor, lowly, miserable sinners like us should be set up as kings on thrones, but this is precisely predicted and promised by Jesus and in the Book of Revelation. We will sit with Christ on His throne in glory. Hannah sings and prophesies that the Lord will lift up and raise the poor and the beggar from the dust and the dunghill. This is where we are as sinners in a sinful world, on a dung hill. We need the Law to reveal that to us, and so we repent in dust and ashes. We need the Gospel to show us how far up the Lord Jesus Christ will carry us, from the lowest place to the highest place in God’s invisible Creation. Mary sings, “He has exalted those of humble estate.” Christ has promised for us what we call the Great Reversal. It is reported that Luther’s last words were, “It is true, we are beggars.”
We don’t know exactly what and how we shall rule as kings on thrones, but we know that our God and Father has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We shall “sit on thrones.” When we were baptized and brought to faith in Christ God has lifted us up to inherit the throne of glory. Through being humbled and trusting in Christ through the Gospel we are granted what Adam was tempted to gain through the lies of Satan: “to be like God.” Amazingly, God had already given Adam (and us) the likeness of God, to reflect His glory and goodness. But Adam couldn’t see the likeness, so he believed Satan’s lie according to earthly, visual sight, and He sinned and fell.
The promise of being princes on thrones has been fulfilled in Christ, who has restored to us the image and likeness of God in the spirit. And He gave us the highest places in the spiritual world. We do indeed rule with love, grace, forgiveness and kindness to all. Oh, what God has promised, and what God has wrought!
What are the “pillars of the earth?” They are most likely the principles of life on earth revealed in God’s Word, the Law and the Gospel. The Law is the good life, at which we failed; the Gospel is the eternal life, which Jesus gives for free. Christ is the Foundation