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A King Indeed, christology, Edward Taylor, glory, Isaiah 40, King of Kings, poem, Poetry, Praise, Puritan Poetry, Revelation 19
A king, a king, a king indeed, a king
Writh up in glory! Glory’s glorious throne
Is glorified by him, presented him.
And all the crowns of glory are his own.
A king, wise, just, gracious, magnificent.
Kings unto him are whistles; indigent.
“Writh up in glory”: twisted up, thus composed in glory.
Scansion: The accent on the second line “writh” draws attention to the command.
The fifth line piles up accents in such a manner as to slow the progress of the line and thus give emphasis to each aspect of God’s character -‘ , ‘, ‘, ‘-, ‘—
The reference given for this poem is Revelation 19:6, “On his robe and on his thigh is written King of kings and Lord of lords.” The scene is the Second Coming of Christ to defeat his enemies, avenge his people, and establish his visible rule:
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
The greatness of God compared to all created things is a common theme of Scripture. Isaiah 40 reads, for example:
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
The glory of God is the sum of his character, his “name”. When Moses asks for a revelation of God’s glory, God responds by stating His name:
5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. Exodus 33:5-8.
Wisdom and justice are attributed also to God’s rule:
to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. Romans 16:27
But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. Hebrews 1:8
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