Praise Around the Throne
Rev 7:9-17
Read 9-12
A Multitude from the Tribulation
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
One of the best quotes I ever heard about praise came from Leon Trombley. “It is easier to hold a tempest in a teacup than a heartful of silent praise.” That is so true. And in this scene from the book of the Revelation, we witness the heavenly choir bursting out in praise to our Lord an Savior, silent no more.
We hear the phrase “Praise and Worship” so often that we tend to think of it as one activity. But praise is that activity that leads up to worship. It is the act of letting us show God how much we love HIm, how much we recognize just who He is. Worship, on the other hand, is when we bow before His throne in awe. Praise is often accompanied by instruments, worship often takes place during a heavy silence. Praise is normally sung, while worship can be unspoken.
Have you ever attended church where the services were in a foreign language? It is amazing, isn’t it, that although you may not understand the words, the meaning of the words is easily discernible.
I think of the setting in these verses, and wonder if the praise expressed here will be similar to Pentecost, when each person spoke in his own language, or if there will be something like a heavenly language which every tongue will speak and every ear will understand.
While we will not clearly understand these events as described in Revelation 7 until the veil is removed from our eyes and our understanding, we can know clearly and succinctly that praise and worship are natural events in heaven, and therefore they should be natural events here.
Praise Him, all you children of the earth, for He is good and His mercy endures forever. Amen
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