Within my heart a praise o’erflowing

THE LORD ESTABLISHING HIS

KINGDOM BY GRACE AND LOVE

Both the Old and New Testament reveal that the Lord establishes His authority, throne, and kingdom in man not by force and power. Instead, through the spreading of the gospel the Lord proclaims and manifests God’s love to man and, at the same time, carries out salvation in all those who believe in and receive Him. When a person receives the Lord, his wounded heart is comforted, and he receives an outpouring of God’s love. Thus, he becomes one who enjoys the Lord’s grace and love and is subdued by the Lord’s grace and love, thereby being brought under the heavenly ruling. Both the book of Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew clearly show that the gospel brings in the kingdom. If we study carefully, we will see how deep and rich God’s grace and love are. It is by grace and love that the Lord establishes His kingdom.

THE LORD BEING FULL OF GRACE,
LOVE, MEEKNESS, AND
ENDURANCE TOWARD MAN

Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. ” How gentle is this word! Any hardness of heart among those who heard this would have been softened by such a word that is full of meekness, grace, love, and endurance. Many such sweet and tender words are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

In 18:21 Peter asked, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? ” Seven is the number of completion. The first mention of the number seven in the Bible is when God rested on the seventh day ( Gen. 2:2-3 ). Therefore, seven signifies completion. Peter thought that forgiving his brother up to seven times would be enough, but the Lord replied, “I do not say to you, Up to seven times, but, Up to seventy times seven” ( Matt. 18:22 ). This indicates unlimited forgiveness and being constantly willing to forgive. As long as a person is willing to repent, nothing is unforgivable. Since the Lord used this word of grace in teaching Peter, He must be forgiving to mourning, repenting sinners, and His forgiveness must be an eternal forgiveness. This shows that the Lord is full of grace, love, meekness, and endurance.

The Lord’s grace and the Lord’s love are not only gentle but also long lasting and ever new. In general, things that are gentle often do not last, but the Lord’s grace and love can be both gentle and lasting. In Matthew 21 Christ is presented, in particular, as a meek King. Verses 1 through 11 describe the way that Christ entered Jerusalem. Verse 5 says that Christ came “meek and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, a foal of a beast of burden. ” The donkey with the colt gives an impression of meekness. As the heavenly King, Christ did not come in an arrogant and magnificent way but in meekness and humility. He did not ride proudly into Jerusalem on a horse but on a donkey. He had no intention to come as a great king to strive or to compete with others. On the contrary, He came as a meek King, neither striving nor competing with others. How meek Christ is!

The Kingdom and the Church
Chapter 2: The Gospel of Grace
Bringing in the Reign of the Kingdon
CWWL, 1957, vol. 3 (LSM)

O light of life, my Lord now leads me,
Step by step this song I raise;
O perfect peace, Christ now abides in me;
Welling up in songs of praise.
Praise You Lord!

His melody springs up within our souls. We cannot contain our joy, and praise overflows from our hearts. May it always be this way!

Another beautiful hymn, lifting our eyes from the things around us to the things unseen and the hope we have in God. God is worthy of our praise.