Be still: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty — the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.’ Amen.
Read: Revelation 4:1-11
Whenever the living beings give glory and honour and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
‘You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honour and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.’ (vv9-11)
Encounter: We return here to expressions and themes of the first chapter, where you may have noticed more subtle references to aspects of Jesus’ majesty and of the promises of the life to come. Chapters 4 and 5 reiterate and reinforce the themes of the whole book of Revelation, that God is great, and that there is more to come in the outworking of his glorious kingdom plans. And this God deserves praise because, as the passage reminds us, he created all things, and all things are made to worship him. Let this influence not only your praise today, but also the awe with which you approach God, and the care with which you view his creation.
Apply: When praying with my children, as well as giving thanks for aspects of our days, we also have a moment of ‘praise’, in which they fill the gaps in the sentence: ‘God you are…because…’ For example, ‘God you are amazing because you created everything’; ‘God you are humble because you came to us as a human’; ‘God you are holy because you are sitting on the throne forever’.
I like to equip them with both elements because, although it is valuable to practise gratitude, I want them to know that even in the darkest of times, God is worthy. As with many of the persecuted Christians in the letters we've read this week, some situations in life can feel very dark. Yet what we see here and will continue to see in the whole of Revelation, is that even when the world is being torn apart, when disaster is near and when life feels hopeless, we do have a hope: our God remains worthy of worship for who he is – and in his love he will never abandon us.
Devote: ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honour and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.’ (v11)