Christ as Prophet Priest and King

Arthur Pink
 

The general office with which our Redeemer was invested by His Father is that of Mediator between God and men. To discharge that great office, it was necessary that He become incarnate, that He should take into union with His divine person a holy and perfect humanity. The manner in which He was fitted for the discharge of His office was by His "anointing," by receiving the Holy Spirit without measure.

The character of His mediatorial office involved the threefold functions of the prophet, priest, and king, which was typed out in Old Testament times by the anointing of prophets, priests, and kings—none other being formally and officially anointed. These three functions are not three separate offices, but are the varied activities of the one office of Mediator. Nor are they separate functions capable of successive and isolated performance. "They are rather like the several functions of the one living human body—as of the lungs in inhalation, as of the heart in circulation, and of the brain and spinal column in enervation. They are functions distinct, yet, interdependent and so, together constitute one life.

So the functions of prophet, priest, and king mutually imply one another. Christ is always a prophetic Priest, a priestly Prophet, and He is always a royal Priest and priestly King, and together they accomplish one redemption, to which they are equally essential.

The exercise of this threefold function of the mediatorial office was requisite for the complete deliverance of Christ's people by the circumstances in which the Fall had placed them. In other words, the moral condition in which they lay as sinners, makes it evident that not one of the three branches of His mediatorial office could be dispensed with. His people were immersed in ignorance, guilt, pollution, and bondage.

"Their ignorance is removed by the discharge of His prophetic office.
 Their guilt is removed by His priestly office.
 Their pollution and bondage is removed by His kingly office.

 As a Prophet, He dispels the darkness of their understandings.
 As a Priest, He atones for their sins.
 As a King, He delivers them from the bondage of depravity.

 He reveals God to us as a Prophet.
 He brings us near to God as a Priest.
 He renews us after the image of God as King"
(John Dick, 1764-1833).

Therefore are we told that God has made Christ to be unto us "wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

 

1. The PROPHETIC Office of Christ

Coming now more directly to the prophetic office of Christ, or, more accurately, the prophetic function of His mediatorship, a "prophet" is one who speaks for another. See Exodus 7:1 and compare Exodus 4:14-16. In spiritual concerns, a "prophet" is one who speaks to men from God. Hence, he must be a "seer" (1 Samuel 9:9), one who discerns the needs of men and who knows the mind of God, and, hence, is qualified to speak in God's name. Thus, a "prophet" is one who speaks in an eminent and extraordinary manner. He speaks by divine inspiration, whether the subject relates to the past, the present, or the future.

When the term is applied to Christ, it is used in its utmost latitude, to denote that He is the great Messenger of God, the Revealer of His counsels, the full and final Manifestation of the divine character, so that He could say, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

Of old, God declared unto Moses, "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Deuteronomy 18:18-19). This was one of the great Messianic predictions. It announced that the supreme spokesman of God should be of Israel, according to the flesh. That He should be like unto Moses, the typical mediator. That He would deliver the whole message of God, and that those who despised Him would do so at their imminent peril.

In all things, Christ has the pre-eminence. As Prophet, He far excels all other prophets.

First, unto each of them was communicated only a fraction of heavenly knowledge. But of the Mediator, it is written, "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell" (Colossians 1:19).

Second, they received the Spirit only in measure—He, "without measure" (John 3:34).

Third, they were unable to fully understand their own message (1 Peter 1:11). Christ had a perfect comprehension of the whole truth of God.

Fourth, they could not add one word, with the same authority and infallibility, to what they had spoken or written. But He, having "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3) stored up within Himself, did at all times and places give forth the mind and will of God as He would, so that what He spoke had its whole authority from His speaking it, and not from an agreement unto anything previously revealed.

Finally, Christ was not simply the Messenger, but in His own person was also the Message itself. "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by [were perfectly embodied in and personified by] Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). He was Himself all that He spoke (John 8:25).

"When contemplating Jesus Christ simply as a divine person, we must consider Him as the uncreated source of all intelligence and wisdom. He is 'the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into the world' (John 1:9). In His mediatorial character, however, He speaks not properly in His own name, but in the name of Him who gave Him His commission, and brings to us the Father's message.

"Hence, we say that He was invested with the prophetic office, implying that He acted a subordinate part, and by the authority of Another.

What has now been stated is conformable to His own declarations of which the following are a specimen. 'My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me' (John 7:16). 'For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak' (John 12:49)" (John Dick).

The exercise of Christ's prophetic function may be considered in three distinct periods:

The first, from the Fall to His birth. For, although He was not incarnate, He was the appointed Savior of His people, and, as far as was consistent with His present state, He acted the part of a mediator. The assumption of our nature was not indispensably necessary to prepare Him for giving instruction to men, although every gracious communication to His people presupposed that event as afterwards to take place, and was made in the view of it.

The theophanies, or appearances of a divine person in human form, who delivered commands and promises to the patriarchs, anticipated and adumbrated the divine incarnation.

The second period extended from the birth of Christ, or more properly, from His baptism, when He entered upon His public ministry, to His death. During this period, the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, "declared" Him unto men with His own lips (John 1:18). The eternal Word had become flesh to reveal the invisible God. He was the "brightness" [or "outshining"] of his glory" (Hebrews 1:3), for in Christ incarnate is God alone fully manifested (1 Timothy 3:16). The "Wonderful, Counselor" had now been born among men (Isaiah 9:6). The "messenger of the covenant" had come suddenly to His temple (Malachi 3:1). God's great "Apostle" (Hebrews 3:1) had been sent unto men. The people themselves acknowledged Him as such, saying, "A great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God has visited his people" (Luke 7:16). "Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world" (John 6:14). "Many of the people therefore said, Of a truth this is the Prophet" (John 7:40).

The third period extends from the ascension of Christ, or rather from the day of Pentecost, when He poured out the Holy Spirit upon His apostles, to the end of the world. But this period may be sub-divided into two portions, according to the difference in the mode of administration.

In the first, He instructed the Church by extraordinary means. The apostles were inspired by Christ and fitted by the Spirit to deliver unto the world the revelations made to them. "When he ascended upon high, he gave gifts unto men . . .and he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets" (Ephesians 4:8, 11). Thus, there was no difference in respect of authority between the doctrine of the apostles and that delivered by Christ Himself. They are equally His Word, and to be received with the same submission of mind, and the same undoubting confidence.

The last period of the ministry of Christ as Prophet reaches from the close of divine revelation until the end of time. During this interval, He exercises His office by ordinary means, that is, by the Scriptures, which men are required to read and understand, by His ministers, who are appointed to expound and apply them, and by His Spirit, through whose agency the understanding is enlightened, the affections inflamed, the will moved to action, the soul fed and built up, the life reformed and transformed.

Therefore, do we find the Scriptures representing Christ as still addressing us from on High. "If they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him who speaks from Heaven" (Hebrews 12:25). Whatever knowledge of God and His will, of the purpose and power of His grace, of the realization of the world to come, is found among men—has been derived from the prophetic ministry of the Lord Jesus.

"As there is but one sun in the heavens, from which light has flowed to irradiate every region of the earth, throughout the successive generations of mankind, so, our Redeemer is the one source of all the spiritual wisdom which has enlightened men from the beginning of the world in whatever form it has been communicated—whether as a record of the past, or a prediction of the future, a disclosure of mysteries which reason could not discover, or an authoritative publication of the will of the Supreme. And, hence, originates the unity of revelation, the harmony that binds together the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures, the identity in respect of substance, of the religions of the antediluvians and the men of the present age. For, great as the difference seems to be upon a superficial view, it is reduced to this single point, that the germ contained in the first notices of it, has now developed itself, and yields fruits in abundance." (John Dick, from whom the four preceding paragraphs are also condensed).

 

2. The PRIESTLY Office of Christ

"For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sin" (Hebrews 5:1). Thus, a priest is a person who officiates in the name of others, approaching unto God to make atonement for them by sacrifice. The design of his ministrations is to render the Object of our worship propitious, to avert His wrath from men, and to procure their restoration to His favor.

As Prophet, Christ treats with men, in the name of God, making known to them His counsels and commands.

As Priest, He treats with God in the name of men, prevailing upon Him to admit them to His friendship.

That Christ should officiate as Priest was determined upon in the eternal counsels of God. He was "set forth [or "foreordained"] to be a atoning sacrifice " (Romans 3:25). That is, to be a propitiatory sacrifice to make satisfaction for the sins of His people, which is one part of Christ's priestly office, on which redemption by His blood is founded.

To which He was "truly foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:18-20). The sufferings and death of Christ were all according to the "determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23), and whatever the Jews and Gentiles did to Him was none other than what God's "hand and your counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:27-28). All that He endured was in the execution of His priestly office, of which the decree of God was the spring.

To this priestly office, Christ was called by God. He did not promote Himself to be called a Priest, but His Father called Him to take upon Him this office (Hebrews 5:5), invested Him with it (Proverbs 8:23), swore Him into it (Psalm 110:4), in the counsel and covenant of peace (Zechariah 6:13), and this, to show the importance, dignity, validity, and perpetuity of His priesthood. To all which Christ agreed, saying, "Sacrifice and offering you do not desire" (Psalm 40:6)—I foresee that the blood of beasts offered by sinful men, will not be, in the issue, acceptable to You, nor sufficient to atone for sin, "But a body have you prepared for me" (Hebrews 10:5) in purpose, counsel, and covenant, which I am willing, in due time, to assume and offer up a sacrifice unto divine justice, "Lo, I come . . . to do your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7).

Christ is clearly set forth as Priest in the prophecies of the Old Testament. "And I will raise up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house" (1 Samuel 2:35). He was to be One who was to stand up with "Urim and Thummim" (Nehemiah 7:65). He would be "a priest upon his throne" (Zechariah 6:13). He would be "a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4). He was to make His soul "an offering for sin" and make "intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:10, 12). It is very striking to notice that, in some of His theophanic manifestations during Old Testament times, He appeared in the vestments of a priest "clothed with linen" (Ezekiel 9:2, Daniel 10:5).

"Concerning His priesthood, we have briefly to remark, that the end and use of it is, that He may be a Mediator, pure from every stain and by His holiness may render us acceptable to God. But because the righteous curse prevents our access to Him, and God in His character of Judge is offended with us—in order that our Priest may appease the wrath of God, and procure His favor for us, there is a necessity for the intervention of an atonement. Therefore, that Christ might perform this office, it was necessary for Him to appear with a sacrifice. For even under the Law, the priest was not permitted to enter the sanctuary without blood. That the faithful might know that, notwithstanding the interposition of the priest as an intercessor, yet it was impossible for God to be propitiated without the expiation of sin" (John Calvin's "Institutes," Book 2, chapter 15, 1509-1564).

It is in the epistle to the Hebrews, and there alone in the New Testament, that the theme of Christ's priesthood is unfolded. The reason for this being that, it was to the Jews only God had entrusted the sole representation of it in their typical priesthood. In that epistle, we are shown how Christ fulfilled all that was foreshadowed of Him both by Aaron and by Melchizedek. Unto those desiring to make a fuller study for themselves, we would point out, it is most important to observe that it is not until after the apostle had shown how Christ had fulfilled what Aaron foreshadowed (Hebrews 5:1-4), that He is saluted "a high priest after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 5:10). We would also emphasize the fact that our Lord is not said to be "a high priest of the order of Melchizedek," but "after the order of." The difference between the two expressions is real and radical. The word "of" would have necessarily limited His priesthood to a certain order, but that could not be. His priesthood is not restricted to any human order nor could any one man fully prefigure, still less perform, all that pertains to Christ's priesthood.

Both the typical persons of Aaron and Melchizedek were required to adumbrate the varied excellencies and activities of our great High Priest. The former sets forth in fullest detail the nature of His sacerdotal functions. There is no record in Scripture that Melchizedek offered any sacrifice unto God, officiated in any holy place (the tabernacle not being built until the days of Moses), or that he made intercession for transgressions—all of which are the very things which pertained to Christ's priestly office. But Aaron did offer a propitiatory sacrifice unto God (Leviticus 16), enter into the holy of holies, bore the names of Israel in the breastplate of judgment over his heart, and carried the sweet incense into the very presence of Jehovah.

Supplementing this, Melchizedek presaged the dignity of Christ's person. He was a royal priest, and his office was independent of human heredity. The "without father, without mother" of Hebrews 7:3, denoting that he owed not his sacerdotal office unto fleshly ancestry, as did the Levitical priests.

Socinians (Unitarians) and others, who are infected with their poison, quote Hebrews 8:4 to prove that Christ only entered upon the discharge of His sacerdotal office after His ascension. "For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." But this means, first, that had Christ's office been of the same kind as the Levitical, which functioned all the days of His flesh, He could not have been a Priest—because the office was vested in a tribe to which He did not belong.

And, second, that if the whole of His sacerdotal functions were to be executed on earth, He must be excluded from the priestly office—because He had no legal access into the holy of holies in the earthly temple at Jerusalem. There His blood could not be presented.

That Christ entered upon His priestly office, and that He exercised its functions, before His ascension, is abundantly established by the plainest evidence of Scripture.

First, He was made "a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17), and Romans 5:10 affirms that "We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son!"

Second, "We have a great high priest, who has passed into the heavens" (Hebrews 4:14), who "was [namely, in the time of His humiliation] tempted," etc. (Hebrews 4:15).

Third, in the days of His flesh, He "offered up [language which always denotes a priestly act] prayers and supplications" (Hebrews 5:7).

Fourth, "For such a high priest befit us . . . who needs not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice . . . for this he did once, when he offered up himself" (Hebrews 7:26-28).

Fifth, at Calvary, the Lord Jesus was not only the Lamb of God bearing judgment, but He was also His Priest officiating at the altar. "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer" (Hebrews 8:3)—He "offered himself without spot to God" (Hebrews 9:14).

Sixth, "But Christ being a high priest . . . by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place" (Hebrews 9:11-12).

Finally, if Christ was not a priest before His entrance into Heaven, if He did not enter therein on the ground of the sacrifice which He offered to God on the cross, then all the analogy between the type of Leviticus 16 and the Antitype is utterly destroyed.

"How does Christ execute the office of Priest? Answer: Christ executes that office of a priest in His once offering Himself a sacrifice without spot to God, to be a reconciliation for the sins of His people, and in making continual intercession for them" (Westminster Catechism).

In this answer, the two great branches of the Mediator's sacerdotal work are briefly described. The second duty of His priestly office was typified by the entrance of Aaron into the holy of holies, where he sprinkled the blood of the atoning sacrifice, and burned incense before the mercy-seat. The antitype of this is Christ's entrance into Heaven, "There to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24). As Aaron's entrance into the holiest was after the sacrifice had been slain, so it was with our Lord. Concerning the needs-be for and the nature of His intercession, who are the subjects, and what is its design, we have treated of in our articles on "The Intercession of Christ," which began in the November 1930 issue.

Because of the perfect union between His Deity and humanity, Christ is "a merciful and faithful high priest" (Hebrews 2:17). To be "merciful" is to be compassionate, ever ready, under the influence of a tender sympathy, to support, comfort, and deliver. Having trod the same path as His suffering and tried people, Christ is able to enter into their afflictions. He is not like an angel, which has never experienced pain. He is Man, nor have His sympathies been impaired by His exaltation to Heaven. The same human heart beats within the bosom of Him who sits at God's right hand, as caused Him to weep over Jerusalem! To be "faithful" means that His compassions are regulated by holiness. His sympathies are exercised according to the requirements of God's truth. There is a perfect balance between His maintenance of God's claims and His ministering to our infirmities.

 

3. The Kingly Office of Christ

Christ is King in a twofold sense:
First, as He is God.
Second, as He is God-man Mediator.

As God, He is King by nature.
As Mediator, He is so by office.

As the second person in the Trinity, Christ is "over all, God blessed forever" (Romans 9:5). Being the Creator, He has the right of dominion over all His creatures. "But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting King" (Jeremiah 10:10). All that God is essentially, Christ is too. As Mediator, His kingdom is limited and special, concerning only the elect of God and others, as they may have to do with them. And therefore, in this relation, Christ is called, "The King of saints" (Revelation 15:3), for they bow to His scepter and delight in His rule.

That Christ is "King" appears:

First, from the Father's designation and ordination of Him to this office. "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 2:6). The primary reference in this is to the setting up of Christ (Proverbs 8:23) in God's eternal purpose over His Church—note the "I will declare the decree" in Psalm 2:7. God calls Him, "My king," because of His choosing Him. As God appointed Christ to be a King, so He also appointed a kingdom to Him. This was observed by Christ, "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed unto me" (Luke 22:29).

Second, it appears from the types and shadows which prefigured Christ in His kingly office. "Melchizedek was a type of Him; not only in his priestly office, but in his kingly office; both offices meeting in him, as they do in Christ, who is a priest upon His throne. From his quality as a king, he had his name Melchizedek, meaning 'king of righteousness,' and such a one is Christ, Who reigns in righteousness; and from the place of His government, 'king of Salem,' that is, 'king of peace;' agreeable to which one of Christ's titles is 'Prince of peace' (Isaiah 9:6). David was an eminent type of Christ in His kingly office, for his wisdom and military skill, his courage and valor, his wars and victories, and the equity and justice of his government.

Hence, Christ, his antitype, is often (with respect to the Jews in the latter days) called, 'David their king' (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 33:23; 37:3-24; Hosea 3:5). Solomon also was a type of Christ as king. Hence, Christ, in the Song of Solomon, is called, 'Solomon' (Song 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11-12), because of His great wisdom, His immense riches, the largeness and peaceableness of His kingdom" (John Gill, 1697-1771).

Third, it appears from the prophecies concerning Him in this connection. In the first of all, it was said that the woman's seed would bruise the serpent's head, that is, destroy the devil and all his works (1 John 3:8). That is an act of Christ's kingly power and is expressive of Him as a victorious Prince and triumphant Conqueror over all believers and His people's enemies.

Balaam foretold, "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17). Isaiah announced, "The government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6). Jeremiah affirmed, "The days come, says the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper" (Jeremiah 23:5). Daniel owned Him as, "Messiah the Prince" (Daniel 9:25). Zechariah declared, "Behold, your King comes unto you: He is just, and having salvation" (Zechariah 9:9).

We shall now proceed to show that the purpose of God has been accomplished, the types realized, and the prophecies fulfilled—that Christ is King in truth and in deed.

First, He was so before His incarnation, during the Old Testament dispensation. He was King over the people of Israel, not as a body politic, but as a "Church" (Acts 7:38). He it was from Whose right hand went the fiery law, when He spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. He was the "Angel" that went before them to guide and direct, to rule and govern them, Whose voice they were to obey (Exodus 23:20-21). He it was who appeared to Joshua, with drawn sword in His hand, to be the Captain of the Lord's armies, fight their battles for them and settle them in the land of Canaan (Joshua 5). He it was who said to Samuel, "They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Samuel 8:7).

Christ was King in the days of His humiliation. He was "born King of the Jews" (Matthew 2:2). Nathanael made the following noble confession of faith concerning Him, "You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel" (John 1:49). When He entered Jerusalem in a very public manner, He was greeted with, "Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the LORD" (Luke 19:38). He displayed His kingly power by commanding the elements, rebuking disease, expelling demons—all of which were subject to His imperial will. He exercised His kingly prerogative by displaying His legislative authority, "I say unto you" (Matthew 5). Before He left this earth, He appointed ordinances and commissioned His ministers (Matthew 28).

Upon His ascension to Heaven, He was "made both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36), that is, He was both publicly declared to be so and made more manifest as such. He was highly exalted, and given a name above every name, "angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him" (1 Peter 3:22). He, then, received the promise of the Holy Spirit and His gifts from the Father, which He plentifully bestowed upon His apostles, whom He sent forth into all the world, preaching His Gospel with great success and causing them to triumph in Him in every place where they came. "The Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following" (Mark 16:20).

As King, He made the arrows of His Word sharp in the hearts of His enemies, the rod of His strength (the Gospel) went forth out of Zion, making many willing to submit themselves unto Him in the day of His power, whereby His kingdom was greatly strengthened in this world.

There are those who emphatically deny that Christ has yet taken unto Himself His kingly office, supposing He will not do so until the millennium. This is a serious error. Every mark of royalty is now to be found in Christ.

Were kings "anointed" (1 Samuel 10:1, 2 Samuel 2:4)? So has Christ been "anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows" (Hebrews 1:9).

Were kings coronated at the time of their inauguration? So has Christ been "crowned with glory and honor" (Hebrews 2:7).

Do kings sit on thrones when in state (1 Kings 2:19; 10:18)? So Christ "is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Hebrews 8:1).

Do kings hold scepters in their hands as an ensign of their royalty? So Christ has "a scepter of righteousness" (Hebrews 1:8).

Do kings appear in robes of majesty and state? So Christ is arrayed with majesty itself, "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the chest with a golden belt. His head and his hairs white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire" (Revelation 1:13-14).

Do kings appoint ambassadors to represent their interests abroad? So the apostles announced, "We are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Are kings possessed of authority and might to execute their wills? So Christ declared, "All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18).

Even now, Christ is "prince of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5).

Even now, He has "the key of David" and uses it, by opening doors which none can shut, and shutting doors which none can open (Revelation 3:7). God has already exalted Him with His right hand "to be a Prince and a Savior" (Acts 5:31). God has already "given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man" (John 5:27).

Ever since His ascension, He has been "upholding all things by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). Today, He is "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God" (1 Timothy 1:17). But "he is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15).

And what is the practical application which must be made to us individually of what has been before us? This is Christ our "King!" Or is the language of our hearts, "We will not have this man to reign over us!" (Luke 19:14) Ah, my readers, this is no mere academic inquiry, or one for "dispensationalists" to fight over. It is a question of vital consequence, and our real answer to it evidences whether we are really saved or no. If Christ is not my "King" in a practical way, then (no matter what my profession), I am a rebel against Him. Can I truly say His will is my law, His Word is my rule of life, His scepter is the authority I own? Can I truthfully say, "'Other lords beside you have had dominion over me' (Isaiah 26:13), but, henceforth, I own no other King but You, no rule but Yours!" Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him, in your heart and life, "Lord of all."