Ultimate worship

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 5:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

‘Blessing and honor and glory and power

Be to Him who sits on the throne

And to the Lamb forever and ever.’” Revelation 5:13-14

Who praises here? “Every creature.” [Creature (kitsma) means created thing, formation, product, the thing founded. It denotes the component parts of creation.] Here it includes every part of creation from heavenly angels to the snailfish that inhabit the oceans’ deepest depths. All of them praise God and Jesus.

The fact of sin’s impact on creation is no secret. “Cursed is the ground for your sake,” God said on the day He told Adam and Eve the consequences of their disobedience (Genesis 3:17). God used the curse of nature to discipline the Hebrews, and motivate them toward obedience (Deuteronomy 28:40-45). When the people sinned the land suffered as well as the humans who lived on it (Deuteronomy 28:15-24).

The reverse was true as well. God’s near presence caused nature to respond. When the Ark of God was temporarily stored on the property of Obed Edom for three months “the Lord blessed the house of Obed Edom and all that he had” 1 Chronicles 13:14.

But in the main, creation suffers in sin’s grip. Paul describes its response in Romans: “…creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” He speaks of a day it will be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” In the meantime, it “groans and labors with birth pangs..."  (Romans 8:18-22).

Here in John’s vision we see that liberation. What do the liberated creatures do? Offer uninhibited, vocal praise to God and Jesus. And that is something we can do even though we still live in a world under Satan’s influence. Let’s choose to do it often, and in every situation.

PRAYER: Dear God, You deserve blessing, honor, glory and power. Jesus, thank You for taking my place as the Lamb of God. Thank You that someday even nature will join in the chorus of ultimate worship. Amen.

MORE:  Handel's Messiah Alert

Handel used words from Revelation 5:9 and 12-14 in Chorus 53: "Worthy is the Lamb" performed here by Canada's own Tafelmusik.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.