What
a beautiful picture that is given in Revelation 5:11-14 of the worship in
Heaven surrounding the throne of God with “myriads
of myriads” of angels raising their voices together in songs of praise!
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 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, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever (Revelation 5:11-14 KJV).
Oh,
those sweet songs of praise that garner emotional responses because of their
scripture-based teaching (Col. 3:16-17; Eph. 5:18-19), that give us the avenue
to give our thanks unto God for his “unspeakable
gift” (2 Cor. 9:15), and that bring us so very close to that picture drawn
in our minds as we read the verses above and imagine the day when we join in
the throng.
We sing because:
- we are merry (James 5:13)
- we are thankful (Hebrews 13:15)
- we are teaching (Colossians 3:16)
- we are praising God (Ephesians 5:19)
- we are admonishing one another (Col. 3:16)
- we acknowledge the authority of God (Romans 15:9)
- we seek to express comfort, hope, trust, and encouragement (Psalm 23)
As per New Testament instruction, we follow the commands
(John 14:15; Colossians 3:17) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Matthew
26:28a) to sing. In so doing, we are blessed with encouragement and teaching
from one another and from Sacred Scripture that helps in developing our faith
and trust in the Creator. May we each take seriously our worship unto God and
sing as if we are bowed down and prostrate before “Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever”
(Revelation 5:13).
~Wayne Rodgers
