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Revelation 5:8-10

 

8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

 

            When the Lamb took the scroll, the creatures in heaven fell down and worshipped him. Take note, by the way, that Jesus is worshipped in heaven. Only God is worthy of worship. This, as much as anywhere else, proves that Jesus is truly God and certainly not lower.

 

            The elders have harps and bowls. The harps tell us that they praise and worship Jesus in song. The bowls represent the prayers of God’s children.

 

            Song’s and prayers are ways to worship God. WE sing of God, his glory and might. We sing of who he is and what he has done. WE sing old and new songs, because God is worthy of both.

 

            WE also pray to worship Jesus. Prayer is one way that you can clearly and honestly portray that you are lower and God is higher, that you are weaker and God is stronger. When you pray, you show that you are dependent on God, that you trust him, that you cannot accomplish anything without him. Do you offer God this worship regularly?

 

            The people in heaven praise Jesus because he is the one who is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. Jesus is the one who is worthy and able to accomplish all that God has planned from before the dawn of time. Jesus was able to accomplish God’s plan through his identity as the Son of God and through his death and resurrection. Jesus is worthy of all our praise. He is worthy of all our lives.

Revelation 5:5

 

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

 

            One of the elders in heaven said to John that he did not have to weep. No, there was hope. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, this one had conquered. Who is this person? It is God’s promised one. It is the one that we saw promised in Genesis 49 and Isaiah 11. It is the Messiah.

 

            In the Old Testament, the people were looking for a strong lion, a conquering king, to come and fulfill God’s promises. They were looking for a military marvel to conquer the world, put down the rebellious nations, and set up the throne of David’s kingdom forever. Here, as John observes the unfolding of God’s eternal plan, the elder tells John that this plan will be accomplished. God’s plan will not fail. The Messiah, the Christ, the promised one, he has conquered. He is the Lion of Judah and the descendant of David. He has done what no angel and no man could have ever done.

 

Revelation 5:6-7

 

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

 

        John looks, his eyes searching for this powerful, conquering lion. He sees a lamb; not just any lamb, a lamb that had been slain. This was not just a slain lamb, it was a slain lamb who was standing again. What a mystery.

 

        Our God does what nobody could have ever dreamed. Instead of sending a conquering king to put down the nations, God sent his very own Son, God in flesh, to rescue the nations. Instead of conquering by his might, God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, laid down his life like a sacrificial lamb. Nobody saw this coming, even though God promised it through his prophets.

 

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

But he was wounded for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed.

 

            Yes, God would accomplish his will, but not by first conquering with power. Jesus went to the cross and took upon himself the guilt for all of the sins of all of the people who would ever become children of God. Now, instead of a physical nation of Israel conquering the world through military power as the Old Testament Jews expected, God was building a spiritual nation of his very own children from every nation on the face of the earth. Jesus did far more than anybody had ever imagined possible, but he did so through his death and resurrection.

 

            Jesus died to pay for the sins of all who would believe in him. Jesus rose to life again, proving that he had totally conquered death and the grave. He, even in his resurrection body, still bears the marks of the cross—John could see the Lamb had been slain. Yet he stands victorious. Jesus is alive. His work is done. He has conquered the sin of humanity by his sacrifice. All praise be to this glorious Savior.

Psalm 97:10

 

O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the lives of his saints;

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

 

            It’s funny how, in one verse, we can find things that we love and things that we often ignore. WE love the last two lines of the above verse. We love God providing for and taking care of us. But we are not overly fond of the command to hate evil. That’s so radical. That’s so, well, intolerant.

 

            God commands his followers to actually hate evil. That does not mean that we play with evil. That does not mean that we enjoy just a little evil every now and again. That does not mean that we look at evil and say that we wouldn’t’ do it that way, but to each his own. No, we are actually supposed to have a hard-core heart reaction to evil. We are to hate it.

 

            How does this happen? Does God want us to become angry-faced and cranky all the time? Does he want us to become hunters of all that is imperfect so that we can walk around with a permanent scowl? I know people who seem to have that scowl permanently etched on their faces, who are always looking at seemingly everything, shaking their heads, and saying, “Isn’t that terrible.” (In fact, some of those folks like to read my blog regularly to see if they can catch me saying something that they can use against me—bless their hearts.)

 

            No, God is not telling us to go look for evil so that we can hate it. But God is telling us that, when we see or experience evil, we are to hate it. The way to do this is not to practice on evil. Instead, the way to do this is to more deeply love our God. You see, when we love God, we will learn to react against that which opposes and dishonors him. Just as my wife reacts with deep emotion when somebody is cruel or harsh toward me, the Christian who loves his God will have natural and strong emotion against that which dishonors the Lord. We hate evil by loving God more and more. As we love God more and more, we will naturally stand against what is ungodly.

Revelation 4:11

 

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.”

 

            As the elders bow before the throne of God, they break into song just as the living creatures did before them. They declare that God is worthy to receive all good things. God is worthy of glory and honor and power. Why is God worthy of these things? He made all things. He decided, before time began, what he would make. He created all things by his will, by his power, and for his glory. He made all. He owns all. All things that exist owe to God their full allegiance.

 

            Stop and take a moment to remember that you own nothing. Not even your own soul is your own. You were created by God. Your body belongs to God. Your money, your possessions, your emotions, your talents, your time, they all belong to God. He is worthy of all you are and all you have. Give him the praise he deserves.

 

            Christians, once we gain an understanding of the God who is on the throne, we bow to that God and worship him. He is over all creatures. He is holy. He is Almighty. He is eternal. He is over all authorities. He is the Creator who is worthy of worship. Sing his praise. Offer him all that you have and all that you are.

 

            If you do not know this God, you need to. He is glorious. He is majestic. He is holy. He is beautiful. Worshipping him will give you a joy that is beyond anything you can imagine. He made you. He has the right to do anything he wants with you. He offers you mercy and forgiveness for your sins. He only requires that you trust in Jesus, turning away from your sins, and he will make you into his child.

Revelation 4:8b

 

and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

 

        The creatures around God’s throne are not static. No, they are in motion. They are active. Finally, John tells us what they are up to.

 

        Those four creatures in the center, around God’s throne, they have a job to do. Day and night, on and on, forever and ever, these four creatures never stop declaring the glory and majesty of God. Clearly, this is what they were created to do.

 

        When these creatures talk about God, they declare him to be “holy, holy, holy.” God’s holiness tells us that he is perfect, flawless, pure. It also tells us that he is set apart from us, different than us. We are imperfect. We are sinful. We are flawed. God is none of these things. He is as much greater than us as the sky is higher than the earth. This is the God we worship. And when they say that God is holy three times, they are exalting his holiness to the highest possible degree. It is as if they are writing down, “God is holy,” and then underlining it, highlighting it, and following it up with exclamation points.

 

        These creatures call God the Lord God Almighty. His power is limitless. They call him the one who was, who is, and who is to come. God is eternal. He has no beginning. He has no ending. He always is. We worship this eternal God.

Revelation 4:5a

 

From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder,

 

            When God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses on mount Sinai, the people of Israel were totally terrified. The mountain smoked and shook. Thunder, lightning, and rumblings reminded the onlookers that the God of the Bible is not a God to trifle with. He is dangerous. He is deadly. His holiness will destroy the sinful.

 

            Here, as john looks at the throne, he lets us know that god has not changed. Whether in the Old Testament or the New, God is still holy. His holiness is still deadly and terrifying. He is still not a God to trifle with. He is still a God we approach with the utmost of reverence.

 

            There is, of course, room in our worship for joyful celebration. Such is present all through Scripture. But, and this is important, the closer we get to the actual glory of God, the more we tremble. There must be reverence and not casualness in our worship. We dare not be flippant about coming before our God. He is far too powerful and far too holy for that.

Revelation 4:3

 

And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.

 

            When John tells us about the one who sits on the throne, about the Lord himself, he uses very vague imagery. John does nothing to help us try to get a physical picture of God. Nobody can describe the infinite beauty of our Lord. It would dishonor God for John to try. So John does the best he can with likenesses.

 

            John calls to mind three precious stones to depict God and his throne, jasper, Carnelian, and emerald. Countless commentaries have come up with countless explanations of what these stones symbolize. Sadly, they are often quite different. These stones all come in a variety of colors. They are all used in the breast piece of the high priest from the old Testament. They are all found in the walls of the new Jerusalem in chapter 21. The rainbow, we learn from Genesis, is the symbol of God’s promise of mercy for his children even when he judges.

 

            What are we supposed to see as we think of what John says here in verse 3? God is beautiful and valuable. That is all we can say for sure. His worth is infinite. His loveliness is magnificent. The colors, the hues, the glory, they are simply too much for human words.

 

            When we worship our God, we should remember that we are in the presence of the most beautiful being in existence. There is no end to the wonder and worth of our God. To glimpse him is to glimpse the most breathtaking colors, the most stunning sight, the most aw-inspiring picture.

Revelation 4:1-2 

 

1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

 

                One might think that, after hearing and seeing the risen Lord Jesus and taking dictation from him, there would be nothing more spectacular that could occur. However, to think this is to underestimate the Lord we serve. Our God is infinite in his wonder and majesty. There will never be an end to the joys and glories that those who know him will experience. And John was by no means at the end of his glorious experience.

 

                After John finishes writing the seven letters to the seven churches, he hears a resounding voice. Back in chapter one, John heard the voice of Jesus which reminded him of a trumpet. That voice was loud, clear, and commanding. Now, here in chapter 4, the voice of Jesus rings out again.

 

                This time, Jesus calls John to “Come up here.” He promises that, when John follows him, he will learn what must soon take place. But the future is not at hand in this chapter.

 

                John looks to the sky, and he sees a door standing open in heaven. John tells us that he was “in the Spirit,” a phrase which seems to accompany the transitions between the major visions of this book. John was filled with God’s Holy Spirit and made ready to receive the revelation of God.

 

                Then John is caught up through that door and taken into heaven. Did he go physically or was he just having a vision? There is just no way for us to know. Whether in his body or out, John is transported out of the sphere of this world and into the very throne room of God.

 

                Now, take careful note of what John first describes. When John enters heaven, there is something that demands his attention, his focus. There is something that catches his eye and, for a moment, completely consumes his imagination. John sees the throne of God.

 

                Remember, of course, that this is a vision. We cannot begin to imagine what it really looked like. God does not need a chair. He is spirit. He does not get tired and need a seat for a rest. But, whatever it is that John’s Spirit-filled eyes take in, it is clearly the place where God reigns.

 

                Right here is the first key to worship. See the Lord God on his throne. God is enthroned. God is in charge, in command, the ruler of all. Worship centers on God. Worship centers on his authority and majesty. If we miss this fact, we miss worship.

Psalm 32:8-10

 

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

 

            Psalm 32 is a beautiful song of forgiveness. David, the psalmist, knows that he is guilty of great sin. He was miserable in his spirit until he finally turned to the Lord, confessed his sin, and sought forgiveness. God graciously forgave David.

 

            After David was forgiven, he turned his attention to others. Because David knew the grief and sorrow that accompanies being out of fellowship with God, he makes it a goal of his to help others find God’s grace. David calls to the lost not to be stubborn like mules, but to obey the commands of the lord and find his mercy.

 

            Christians, we are much like David. We are guilty of sin before a holy God. We deserve wrath, but God has granted us peace and mercy in Christ. We have joy in Christ and fellowship with the Most High.

 

            How then could we not also be like David in our desire for others to share this joy? We share the gospel with the nations so that many other voices can join in the chorus singing of the forgiveness granted by our Savior. They are lost without Jesus. They will have great joy if they will trust in Christ and be forgiven. God will be honored by the praises of the redeemed. So let’s make it our point to take the gospel to those who need it. 

Psalm 77:6, 11-13

 

6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;

let me meditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

 

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

12 I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy.

What god is great like our God?

 

            Psalm 77 begins with a sorrowful minor chord. The psalmist is in distress. We do not know why. All we know is that his heart is breaking. When he thinks about his situation, and when he thinks about the Lord, he hurts. The darkness of his present circumstances makes him doubt even the goodness of God.

 

            What will he do? The psalmist sets his mind to remember. In verse 6, he says that he will remember his song. The psalmist is about to take his memory outside the cloud of his darkness. He is about to turn his mind to a place when it was not clouded by grief but was instead filled with the joyful song of the redeemed.

 

            What does the psalmist think of to bring joy into his mind? He remembers the great deeds of the Lord. He looks back into his memory to again find the joy of the great things that he has seen God do. He remembers the power and mighty acts of the Lord from years gone by. He remembers the perfection and holiness of God. These will bring him hope in the middle of a dark time.

 

            What do you do when you suffer hardship/ What do you do when your mind is clouded with sorrow? How about taking a line from the psalmist? Look back into the past faithfulness of God. What have you seen God do that used to give you joy, that used to make you sing? What events from Scripture remind you most of God’s power, God’s faithfulness, God’s grace, or God’s mercy? Set you mind on the glories of God that are not sullied by the cloud of your despair. Remember your song. Remember your Lord. Find joy in the faithfulness and holiness of God.