It’s understandable that
more worship should follow with such a vision of the Messiah of history. So
here, described for us are the four living creatures and the 24 elders falling
down before the Lamb in reverential worship. At this point, all of us, all believers
existing, have become part of the cast. How so? As the 24 elders fell down in
worship to the Lord, they each held a harp and golden bowls full of incense.
Here we are told in verse 8 that the bowls of incense are the prayers of the
saints – you and I, and all believers. Our prayers matter and they truly reach
the throne room of God and are presented to the Almighty through Christ the
Lamb, who once was slain. Our humble and simple prayers here on earth become
sweet savory incense in heaven. We can even stretch our mind a little regarding
the harp that each of the elders held. Could they be the equivalent to the song
of the saints that rise from earth to heaven? They are sweet music to the Lord
even if they are out of tune and pitched wrongly, so long as they are sung from
the heart.
In these verses we see three
songs. The first new song they sang recorded in verses 9-10, offers praises to
the Lamb. For He is worthy, first and foremost to take the scroll and brakes
its seal. He is worthy of praise for what He had done. He was slain to rescue
us and redeem us with His precious blood. Everyone in lost humanity who has
responded to Him is brought back from hopelessness. The blood bought and blood
paid believers, now become a Kingdom and priests to God, will rule and reign
upon earth. The Lamb had enlisted us and we are no longer spectators but
participants in the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Lamb is indeed worthy to
take the plan of God forward. He alone can thwart the powers of evil and to
establish God’s new plan. Everything He had done, he did so through His own
blood. He was our ultimate Passover. In short: this first song praised the Lamb
for saving believers by His death, so
that the believers can now take God’s redemptive plans and purposes to
reach the wider world.
Verses 11-12 record for us the
second song. Here thousands and thousands of angels round the throne, the four
living creatures and the 24 elders turned to sing their praises. They first
song praised Him for what He had done. This second song praises Him for what He
deserves to receive - power and
riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. To Him belongs
all the praise and honor, and everything that enables creation to truly live an
enriching life, everything creation is capable of. We mustn’t just consider the comfort of having
Jesus as a friend but fail to see Him as one deserving all the majesty and all
the glory.
The
third song, verses 13-14, tells us that all creations, every creature in all of
God’s creations, join in the grand worship. They all sang rapturously, “To Him
who sits
on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory
and dominion forever and ever.” And the four living creatures responded with
their “Amen” while the 24 elders fell down and worshiped. At the heart of all that
we have seen in Revelation 4-5, is the fact that Jesus, the Lion-Lamb Messiah,
is worthy of worship. He shares the worship that uniquely belongs to the
Creator God.
What
must we do? Why don’t we also join our chorus with the whole host of saints and
creative order to adore, worship and ascribe blessing and honor and glory and
dominion to Christ who is worthy of it all? We have been redeemed with the
precious blood of the slain Lamb who had made us Kingdom and priests to serve
the Father. So why don’t we actively serve as God’s redemptive agents to fulfill
His redemptive purpose?
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