Christ's Ascension Into Heaven in the Psalms (Heidelberg Cat., Lord’s Day 18; Ps. 24; 47; 68:15-20)

Christ’s Ascension Into Heaven in the Psalms (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 18; Psalms 24; 47; 68:15-20) by Rev. Angus Stewart I. Psalm 24 II. Psalm 47 III. Psalm 68 Herman Hoeksema on Lord’s Day 18: “‘Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear’ (Acts 2:33). In that Spirit He is ever present with us. And that presence is full of grace. Through the Spirit He is gracious to us, causes us to taste His grace, and makes us partakers of all the blessings of grace He merited for us ... This, then, is the nature of the presence of our ascended Lord. And this presence is constant. He never leaves us. We may not be, and are not always conscious of this blessed nearness of the God of our salvation, but His presence never fails. We may wander far away sometimes, as sheep that go astray, so that we are quite oblivious of His presence; but He never forgets us, neither forsakes us. Nor does He ever fail to bring us back from our evil wanderings to the blessedness of His fellowship. But in the measure that we live by faith, hear His Word, walk in His way, we also experience that Christ, the ascended Lord, as respects His Godhead, majesty, grace and Spirit, is ever present with us. The consciousness of that presence is the joy of faith” (The Triple Knowledge, vol. 2, pp. 67-68).