Revelation 4 and 5 describe worship given to God from the host of heaven. This glimpse of heavenly worship can be a model for our relationship with God today.
Let’s learn more about heavenly worship to enliven our current relationship with the Lord.
Worship with Your Body
If you are physically able, you may want to engage your body like the 24 elders.
When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5.8).
The elders fell face down before the Lamb of God. This position is one of humility, surrender, and vulnerability. When our posture imitates the elders, it will deepen our experience of worship.
The elders held “golden bowls full of incense.” The Psalm writer knew the role incense played in worship.
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141.2)
For many years, Rudy Ross has been lighting a scented candle while reading the Bible and praying. He is aware that in the Temple there was an altar of incense which symbolized the ascension of prayers to the presence of God. Rudy uses the candle to strengthen his connection with God.
One of the most inspiring images in this passage is that our prayers are brought before God in golden bowls. Our prayers are not empty wishes for something to happen. They are received and acted upon in heaven.
Sing to the Lord
Many people use worship music to connect with God. When we do this, we are in the company of the Psalm writers and the host of heaven.
O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory. (Psalm 98.1)
God has done marvelous things and has brought victory to his children. He is worthy to receive our praise.
The Lamb of God is worthy and we can join the host of heaven to sing his praise.
They sing a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to break its seals,
for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5.9)
Jesus who is the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll for three reasons.
(1) He was slain.
(2) He purchased people for God.
(3) He made them to be a kingdom and priests.
As we sing our song of praise and worship to the One who saved us from ourselves and granted us abundant life, let’s meditate on his gift of redemption.
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10.45).
We were slaves to every dimension of sin. Jesus served us and died in our place on the cross to set us free from the power of sin.
Our response to his great gift is to worship and serve our Savior. For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6.20).
You may remember singing this hymn in church. It expresses our response to our Savior and Redeemer.
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am.
I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.
This is a good place to end our discussion of heavenly worship for today. Tomorrow’s blog article will continue with the remainder of John’s vision in Revelation 5.
My encouragement to you is that you experiment with giving God praise and worship that is similar to that in heaven.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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