This is a popular contemporary song by Jack Hayford. Most of
us can remember hearing and singing it in earlier years. It was written in 1977 on a trip to Great
Britain.
Hayford and his wife, Anna, traveled through the land of
Great Britain from the south country and Wales to the northern parts of
Scotland. It was the year of Queen Elizabeth’s 25th anniversary of her
coronation. Symbols of royalty were abundantly present.
Hayford left this account of the writing of the hymn: “In
1977 while traveling in Great Britain I developed interest in the actions and
symbols of the royal family, relating them to Christ and His kingdom . . . I
was completely caught up in the emotion of the occasion.
“As I walked among the people, I sensed a feeling of
grandeur and nobility. And yet, as I looked about, I sensed that even though
individuals are greatly used in the course of man's existence on this earth,
there is a greater power, the one who is the Author of our destiny.
“I sensed the deep appreciation in the hearts of the people
for their leaders who stood with them in dark hours. As I observed those things
there came to my mind a feeling that Christ wants His church to have such a
sense of loyalty and fellowship, because He must be our guide in good times and
bad.
“One word seemed to continually charge to the forefront:
MAJESTY! Yet, the things I saw seemed but a paltry reminder of the royal legacy
we enjoy as we worship the majesty of our Risen Lord.”
“Majesty” describes the Kingly and Gloriously regal nature
of our Savior. It is a statement of the fact that our worship, when begotten in
spirit and in truth, can align us with His throne in such a way that His
Kingdom authority flows to us—to overflow us, to free us and channel through
us. We are rescued from death, restored to the inheritance of sons and
daughters, qualified for victory in battle, against the adversary, and destined
for the Throne forever in His presence.
We need to cultivate a sense of the Majestic Presence of
God. He is a close Friend, but He is also the Majestic, Holy Awesome God of the universe and we need constant reminding not to take His Royal Presence lightly. In this short song we are called to recognize His Majesty and then ascribe the Glory due His name.”
Jack William Hayford was born in Los Angeles in 1934, the
eldest child of Jack Hayford Sr. and Dolores Farnsworth Hayford. His parents
were not Christians and didn’t turn to prayer when infant Jack developed a
condition in the tendons of his neck that could have been fatal.
A Farnsworth cousin, however, walked into a Foursquare
church in Long Beach, California, knowing the Pentecostal denomination founded
by Aimee Semple McPherson believed in miracles and that one of the four “squares”
of the gospel that the church taught was healing. The cousin gave the church a
note with Hayford’s name and diagnosis and asked the people there to pray. They
said they would.
“The next day, my parents began to notice that things had
changed,” Hayford said, sharing his testimony 80 years later. “Within the next
few days, the doctor said, ‘This baby is well. There is nothing wrong with him.’
“Not only did the doctor declare me well, he refused to take
the money from my parents for the few payments he was going to charge, because,
he said, ‘I had nothing to do with the healing of this baby. This has to have been something God did.’
“Hayford’s parents praised God for the healing. A year
later, they went to the same church and went forward to accept Jesus as the
congregation sang, ‘Whoever Will May Come.’”
Hayford grew up in the Foursquare Pentecostal tradition,
attending L.I.F.E. Bible College (now Life Pacific College), graduating in 1956
and completing his studies at Azusa Pacific University in 1970.
In 1969 Hayford became pastor of the First Foursquare Church
of Van Nuys, California, which was then a struggling, aging congregation with
only 20 members. He was also dean of students at L.I.F.E. and agreed to lead
the congregation on a temporary basis for six months.
But after receiving a call to a much larger congregation, he
decided to stay with the smaller church in Van Nuys. By 1980 it had been
renamed “The Church on the Way” and membership was over 3,500.
Hayford retired as pastor in 1999. He was a prolific writer
with at least 55 books. He’s received numerous awards as a pastor and author,
and has received honorary doctorates from Oral Roberts University, California
Graduate School of Theology and Life Pacific College. Hayford died at the age
of 88 in 2023.
Blueletterbible.com, David Guzik: This psalm was written in all likelihood after some deliverance Jehovah wrought for His people, but through the open window the singer, consciously or unconsciously, saw the far distance light of another day in which the Kingdom of God will be set up in His might, and the song of an established order shall be the anthem of His praise . . . God is adorned with the garments fitting His sovereignty; He is clothed with majesty and strength . . . Majesty has to do with dignity, authority of sovereign power, stateliness, and grandeur. God’s strength and majesty are not only displayed by His person, but also by what He does. In his strength, majesty, and genius, God has constructed a world that is firmly established and cannot be moved – unless He moves it.
Studylight.org, Contending for the Faith: The “radiance” of His glory in the Greek refers to the “shining or beaming forth of the glory, the display of it to the world.” Jesus, being the radiance of God’s glory, means He is a manifestation of the glory of God. He reflects the majesty of God; He perfectly reflects God’s “glory” meaning God’s “magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace.” He reflects majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity . . . Jesus makes the invisible God visible.
Studylight.org, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible: The “we” here refers to Peter, James and John, the three apostles with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration . . . Peter’s mention of the transfiguration in this context shows that he regarded it as “an event foreshadowing the power and majesty of the second advent and which could be regarded as a pledge of the glory to be revealed at the second coming.”
Studylight.org, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible: As John says, “We beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten of His Father”; and He saith, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth”; so that the divine glory should shine through the majesty of His teaching, the power of His Grace, upholding His own, and the splendor of the miracles wrought by Him and in His Name.
Studylight.org, Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Bible: The great devotion of this remnant [Israel] . . . they shall lift up their voice; they shall sing for joy in their deliverance . . . Those that rejoice in the Lord can rejoice in tribulation, and by faith may be in triumph when all about are in tears. They shall sing to the glory and praise of God, shall sing not only for the mercy but for the majesty of the Lord . . . The majesty of the Lord, which is a matter of terror to wicked people, furnishes the saints with songs of praise . . . it is much for the honor of God if those who fear Him rejoice in Him, and praise Him, even in the most melancholy times.
Sing it with a full heart, filled with happiness and joy!
