In our study of the Bible and particularly in our study of the book of Psalms we need to realize that the spirit of the Bible is to exalt Christ. This needs to become real to us – throughout the Bible and particularly in the Psalms, what we see as being “the spirit of the Bible” is Christ being exalted.
When we read the Psalms with the proper view, from the divine perspective, something in us will respond with the earnest desire to exalt Christ as the absolute Supreme One in every way. Also, we will deeply repent of exalting anything, anyone, or any matter of the self – that is other than Christ.
Christ must have the first place in all things!
Christ must have the first place in all things(Col. 1:18-19). He must have the first place in our whole being, in what we are, and then in what we do. First He needs to have the first place in our being – since out of our being comes out what we do, say, manifest, etc.
God in His economy wants to train us and perfect us that we may give Christ the first place in everything in our being. He wants to be so real to us, so practically the Preeminent One – in all our being, including our mind, our love, our intentions, our decisions, our relationships, our finances, etc, and then in all that we do!
Psalm 2 in particular shows us that God desires Christ to have the first place in all things – He has installed His king in Zion! The nations with all their rulers are in an open and violent rebellion towards God and His anointed One, but God declares that He has installed His King on Mount Zion (Psa. 2:6)!
This is the reality of God’s economy, which is to make Christ the First in all things and to head up all things in Christ. “I will give the nations as Your inheritance / And the limits of the earth as Your possession” (Psa. 2:8) – Christ the King inherits all the earth as His kingdom. He is the King in the largest kingdom in human history – Christ will possess all the continents!
Christ must have the first place in us!
But today we see that the whole earth is in rebellion against God. Even among Christians, most teachings and works are NOT with Christ as the Supreme Preeminent One but under a name or a ministry…. how much we in the church life need to learn to give the Lord the preeminence in all things!
The Apostle Paul struggled and fought for this: that Christ might have the first place in all things. He even considered anything else – the good things of his upbringing, the religion of his forefathers, all his accomplishments – as being dung and refuse when compared to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ(Phil. 3:8).
It is the same with us – nothing else and no one else matters: we want Christ to have the first place, Christ to be the Preeminent One, and He be the king in us! Nothing else can be compared to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and no one else is qualified to be on the throne in our being.
[sharing inspired from the life-study of the Psalms (by brother Witness Lee) as quoted in the Morning Revival on the Crystallization Study of the Psalms – become a fan on Facebook for more updates, or read more portions on the Crystallization of Psalms]
Lord, I give You the first place in all things by faith! O, Lord, may nothing take Your place in all my heart! Infuse me with Yourself abundantly – until we meet, dear Lord, I’ll love You with my best love! Be the preeminent One in us, Lord… we want to check everything with You as our Head, our King. Nothing apart from You, and nothing that’s not out from You! We exalt You, Lord, and we enthrone You in our being. Gain Your rightful place in us – in Your intention to gain Your rightful place as King over all the earth!
IN ALL THINGS! Oh how we desperately need to see the meaning of these few little words! IN ALL THINGS! Nothing and no one is exempt from inclusion in these few little words! May we truly give the Lord the ground the first place, IN ALL THINGS!!!