Children of the Heavenly King

Words: John Cennick, Sa­cred Hymns for the Child­ren of God, 1742.

Children of the heavenly King,
As ye journey, sweetly sing;
Sing your Savior’s worthy praise,
Glorious in His works and ways.

In our journey on earth, so often we focus on affliction, turmoil and trouble, instead of focusing more on praising our "heavenly King." In our journey we are not called upon to murmur and complain, but rather, to be happy and joyful, even in our afflictions. While we know it is hard, the happy soul is a blessed soul. Certainly, our Lord is glorious in all His works, and in all His ways. There is far more to praise than to utter complaint. "Behold, we count them happy which endure." "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye." "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye."

We are traveling home to God,
In the way the fathers trod;
They are happy now, and we
Soon their happiness shall see.

Our "journey" is a trip to glory, a short while and we will arrive at home. It makes it so much easier to make the journey when we know it is no long, and our desired haven is our home in heaven. We are traveling, the writer says, in the "way our fathers trod." What a blessing to see their footsteps, to notice the landmarks and memorials along the way, gracing us with further evidence of the truth of our Lord's word. We know they are now happy, and not only we will soon see their happiness, we shall join with them in the "new song."

O, ye banished seed, be glad!
Christ our Advocate is made;
Us to save, our flesh assumes—
Brother to our souls becomes.

Sometimes the journey seems long, at times we feel banished to a world of dearth and death, yet our loving Saviour is our plea, He has saved, and He is our elder brother! We are the children of God, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."

Shout, ye little flock, and blest,
You on Jesus’ throne shall rest:
There your seat is now prepared—
There your kingdom and reward.

All too often we'd rather cry than shout, but should we should, while we may be as a small remnant, or a little flock, we are blest. What an amazing thought to know that our precious Redeemer has gone on to prepare a place for us, and because He has, He will come gather us so we may be where He is.

Lift your eyes, ye sons of light,
Zion’s city is in sight:
There our endless home shall be,
There our Lord we soon shall see.

King David once wrote, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." Have you ever been blessed to look up by faith, and as it were look straight into "Zion's city?" It's a beautiful sight, but more beautiful yet is the Lamb of God, our Lord who resides there in our "endless home."

Fear not, brethren; joyful stand
On the borders of your land;
Jesus Christ, your Father’s Son,
Bids you undismayed go on.

While we may view that wondrous sight, our Lord says, "Not yet, my child, not yet." Our "time is not yet come." We are called upon to stand joyfully and fight in the army of our God. Our discharge will soon come, but until then, we're to stand firm for the Lord, serving the Captain of our salvation.

Lord, obedient we would go,
Gladly leaving all below;
Only Thou our Leader be;
And we will still follow Thee.

Are you now ready to leave all below? When the Lord bids will you complain, or will you joyfully lay aside this tabernacle of clay? Will you trust Him as your leader. You shall. His grace will be sufficient in that dying hour, He will be our leader and beckon us to follow in the way He and our fathers have trod. We will be home, forever home, with our God.