Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayer of the saints. And they sang a new song… Revelation 5: 8,9, NKJV.
Holy Father, we are truly thankful to You for Your goodness to us. What would we do without You? We need You at every step of the way to both direct our paths, and to keep us safe. Because of who You are; and because of all that You do, we praise You! You are so worthy of our praise!
Today we are going to take a peek into heaven’s throne-room where worship is taking place. Let us take the time to look at all the special features involved in the worship and praise that is being offered to the Lamb that was slain! As I have engaged in the study of God’s Word throughout the years, I have always been truly awestruck, and fascinated, by the quality of the worship that takes place in heaven. There seems to be complete agreement among the worshipers as to the kind of worship that is “worthy of a King.” I hope that our study today will aid us, the members of God’s church here on earth, in reaching the same consensus.
There are four elements of worship that are visible at a glance. They are posture, musical instruments, prayer, and a song. Let us take a few minutes to look at each one.
Posture: “The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.” I believe posture plays an important part in the worship of God. Let me hasten to make clear that I am not speaking of a physical posture as much as a mental posture. Remember when Naaman was healed of his leprosy, and became convicted that YHWH was the only true God? I have always been blessed by what he said to the prophet Elisha: “But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also-when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive Your servant for this” (2 Kings 5: 18). What I perceive Naaman as saying is: “Forgive me for the posture that I take in the presence of a pagan god. Even though I bow my knees, my heart is reserved solely for Your worship, O God!” I know that I have done a lot of paraphrasing, but his words are filled with meaning as to the importance of posture in worship. If the heart is bowed before God, then the posture is right. Illness, age, and other external factors may affect our posture during worship; but if the heart has assumed the right posture, worship is taking place. Praise God!
Musical instruments: I walk a thin line here, because of the mixed opinions that Christians have on what musical instruments are acceptable in the worship of the LORD. I truly want to respect the views of all. I will prayerfully prepare a devotional solely on this topic; or, preach a sermon on it, or both. But for now, let me say, that I believe that any instrument played with the necessary reverence, and in a spirit of true worship and praise, is acceptable to God! Psalm 150 is a good psalm to review on this matter.
Prayer: In our Scripture for today, prayer is represented as “golden bowls full of incense.” What is distinctive about incense is the scent. I have never found an incense that did not have a pleasant scent. Some can be overbearing for me (I cannot tolerate very strong scents); but they all smell very nice! Regardless of the mood we might be in when we go to God in prayer, angry, frustrated, sad, joyful; by the time the Holy Spirit is through translating it into the language of heaven (a language of love and mercy!), I truly believe, that as it reaches the mercy seat what the Father hears, sounds sweet to His ears, as the scent of “incense’ in “golden bowls!” Praise God!
Song: I take a somewhat different stand on song than I take on musical instruments. In our day, I have heard songs that were supposed to be sung to the King, that did not even make mention of Him! They sounded like regular love songs that could have been written for anyone. I believe that we must not forget, that even though He calls us “friend,” He is still God! I believe if a song has been written for Him it should be very clear that it is His song, and the choice of words should not be the same that we would choose to sing to just anyone. If there is familiarity, and some may want to put the “Song of Solomon in this category; then let the King be the one who becomes familiar with us. Let us always deal with Him as the King that He is !
Worshipping the King is such a wonderful and enriching experience. He is so worthy of our worship! When we offer Him our worship and our praise, let us do it in the fashion, and spirit of heaven; with beauty, sincerity, and with reverence!