Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(Collect for The Ascension of Our Lord)
Forty days after our Lord’s resurrection, He ascends into heaven in front of a multitude of disciples, to sit at the right hand of the Father to reign in heaven for all eternity. The Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on May 21st this year.
Oh Jesus, how glorious is Your name in all the earth! For our redemption You not only descended into the lowest places of the earth, but also ascended with divine majesty over the heaven of heavens. As You did not come into this world poor and miserable for Your sake, so You also did not leave it in glory and honor for Your sake; as You did not struggle for Yourself, so You were also not victorious for Yourself but for us whose sins You bore and whose righteousness You became.
That is why You still make known Your great deeds to men; that is why You have again today given us the great grace of being able to gather and hear of Your victory.
Oh Lord Jesus, all of us are already victorious with You because You are our head and the Lord of our salvation. Drive away our unbelief which supposes that Your ascension does not concern us. Give us that faith, which says not only when You hung on the cross but also now that You sit on your throne-You are mine! Hear us, King of heaven and King of sinners for Your own sake. Amen.
On the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord we gather before God to commemorate a great, precious, and glorious fact. We celebrate the coronation of our King of grace, Jesus Christ.
It would be reasonable that on this Feast Day everyone who knows that he is baptized into this great Lord and Savior should joyfully enter and leave the house of the Lord. Yes, it should be reasonable, because we find the believers of the Old Covenant happily praising God when they merely foresaw this day in the spirit. David cries out, “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits upon the throne of his holiness.” (Psalm 47:1, 5-8).
You see, thus believing Israel rejoiced when it thought of the future ascension of the Messiah. The Church of the Old Testament really believed that His ascension was something which did not concern only Christ but all redeemed, because it was the keystone, the brilliant crown, of the entire work of redemption.
And so it is, if we consider the ascension of Christ only as the happy conclusion of His being freed from all suffering, all disgrace, all imperfection, all persecution and, as it were, receiving the reward for His faithfulness unto death, we would consider it without its real profit. We must in faith gaze after the Ascended as our Redeemer. We must see ourselves triumphing in Him and make His whole work the foundation of a joyful faith. Then, and only then, do we enjoy the blessed fruit which it should bring us.
To God be the Glory,
Pastor Ray
(Collect for The Ascension of Our Lord)
Forty days after our Lord’s resurrection, He ascends into heaven in front of a multitude of disciples, to sit at the right hand of the Father to reign in heaven for all eternity. The Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on May 21st this year.
Oh Jesus, how glorious is Your name in all the earth! For our redemption You not only descended into the lowest places of the earth, but also ascended with divine majesty over the heaven of heavens. As You did not come into this world poor and miserable for Your sake, so You also did not leave it in glory and honor for Your sake; as You did not struggle for Yourself, so You were also not victorious for Yourself but for us whose sins You bore and whose righteousness You became.
That is why You still make known Your great deeds to men; that is why You have again today given us the great grace of being able to gather and hear of Your victory.
Oh Lord Jesus, all of us are already victorious with You because You are our head and the Lord of our salvation. Drive away our unbelief which supposes that Your ascension does not concern us. Give us that faith, which says not only when You hung on the cross but also now that You sit on your throne-You are mine! Hear us, King of heaven and King of sinners for Your own sake. Amen.
On the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord we gather before God to commemorate a great, precious, and glorious fact. We celebrate the coronation of our King of grace, Jesus Christ.
It would be reasonable that on this Feast Day everyone who knows that he is baptized into this great Lord and Savior should joyfully enter and leave the house of the Lord. Yes, it should be reasonable, because we find the believers of the Old Covenant happily praising God when they merely foresaw this day in the spirit. David cries out, “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits upon the throne of his holiness.” (Psalm 47:1, 5-8).
You see, thus believing Israel rejoiced when it thought of the future ascension of the Messiah. The Church of the Old Testament really believed that His ascension was something which did not concern only Christ but all redeemed, because it was the keystone, the brilliant crown, of the entire work of redemption.
And so it is, if we consider the ascension of Christ only as the happy conclusion of His being freed from all suffering, all disgrace, all imperfection, all persecution and, as it were, receiving the reward for His faithfulness unto death, we would consider it without its real profit. We must in faith gaze after the Ascended as our Redeemer. We must see ourselves triumphing in Him and make His whole work the foundation of a joyful faith. Then, and only then, do we enjoy the blessed fruit which it should bring us.
To God be the Glory,
Pastor Ray