God Will Rise Again In Glory: Scripture and Reflection

Scripture Connections

Interpretive note: This song draws first on Ezekiel’s message to Israel: God’s gracious deliverance and covenant relationship, Israel’s rebellion and idolatry, righteous judgment and exile, and God’s promised restoration for the sake of his holy name. The song does not treat the church as Ezekiel’s original audience or assume that every national, land-related, and temple-related promise is directly transferred to the church. Rather, within the wider witness of Scripture, it invites Christ’s church to hear Ezekiel’s enduring warning and hope: God’s people must not dishonor his holy name through sin, and God remains faithful to judge, cleanse, restore, and make his holiness known.

Ezekiel: Primary Foundations

Ezekiel 20:5–9 — God’s grace in making himself known to Israel and bringing the people out of Egypt

Ezekiel 20:10–26 — Israel’s recurrent rebellion, ingratitude, and idolatry

Ezekiel 20:30–44 — Judgment, purification, restoration, worship, and God’s concern for his holy name

Ezekiel 36:16–23 — Israel’s sin and exile; God’s resolve to vindicate his holy name before the nations

Ezekiel 36:24–28 — Gathering, cleansing from idols, a new heart, the gift of the Spirit, and renewed covenant fellowship

Ezekiel 36:31–32 — Repentance and restoration grounded in God’s action for the sake of his name

Ezekiel 37:1–14 — God’s power to bring life and hope to a people who see themselves as cut off

Ezekiel 37:24–28 — One shepherd, covenant peace, God’s dwelling among his people, and the nations knowing the Lord

Ezekiel 38:23; 39:7, 21–25 — God publicly displaying his holiness and making himself known among the nations

Church Application in the Wider Canon

1 Corinthians 10:1–13 — Israel’s history as warning and instruction for the church

Matthew 5:14–16 — Christ’s people called to shine before the world so that the Father is glorified

1 Peter 2:9–12 — Holy conduct and proclamation of God’s excellencies before the nations

Philippians 2:9–11 — Every knee bowing and every tongue confessing Jesus Christ as Lord

Revelation 4:8–11; 21:1–4 — God’s holiness, worship, glory, and final dwelling with his redeemed people

From the Journey

I wrote the chorus of this song while I was exercising and reflecting on the book of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel is a book of severe judgment, but it is also a book of hope. It proclaims that God remains holy, faithful, and sovereign even when his people rebel, suffer judgment, and live in exile. Again and again, God promises to act for the sake of his holy name—to judge evil, cleanse his people, restore them, and make his holiness known before the nations.

God’s glory is never reduced or threatened by human sin. Yet our rebellion can obscure the faithful witness we were created and called to give. God made his creation to declare his glory, and he calls his people to live as light in the world so that others may glorify him. But sin, idolatry, injustice, and neglect of God’s world distort that witness. The problem is not that God becomes less glorious; the problem is that we fail to reflect and honor the glory that is already his.

I know that my own sin can misrepresent God to the people around me. Still, as I sang the chorus on my walk/run, I felt hope and joy looking toward the day when God’s holiness and glory will be openly and perfectly displayed. In the song’s poetic language, God will “rise again in glory”—not because he ever lost his rightful glory, but because he will decisively reveal his holiness, judge evil, redeem his people, and bring his kingdom to its final fullness.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. God graciously delivered Israel from Egypt, yet Israel repeatedly responded with rebellion and ingratitude. Jesus teaches that evil thoughts and defiling actions come from within, out of the human heart (Mark 7:20–23; Matthew 15:18–20). In what ways might the attitudes, desires, words, or actions of my heart keep me from faithfully reflecting God’s holiness and goodness to others? (Ezekiel 20:5–26; Ezekiel 36:20–23; Psalm 139:23–24; Matthew 5:14–16;
1 John 1:8–9)

2. Judah’s unfaithfulness brought righteous judgment and exile, yet Ezekiel also proclaims God’s promised cleansing and restoration for the sake of his holy name (Ezekiel 20:33–44; 36:22–28). When the Holy Spirit, Scripture, or a fellow believer exposes unfaithfulness in my life, do I respond with denial, self-justification, despair, confession, repentance, and renewed trust in God’s grace? What concrete step of obedience is God calling me to take? (Psalm 51:1–12; Ezekiel 36:25–27; John 15:1–11; Galatians 5:16–25; 1 John 1:8–9; Philippians 1:6)

3. Ezekiel shows God acting in righteous judgment and merciful restoration so that his holiness is made known before the nations. The New Testament calls believers to do everything for God’s glory and to live honorably among others, so that God may be glorified (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 2:9–12). How can my ordinary choices—my speech, work, relationships, use of resources, service, and response to suffering—more faithfully reflect God’s character and point others toward Christ? (Matthew 5:14–16; Colossians 3:17, 23–24; Titus 2:11–14; 1 Peter 4:10–11; Philippians 2:14–16)