On Earth as in Heaven
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 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, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 7:9–12
Last month my newsletter article dealt with rest in God’s presence. This month let us explore the subject of reverence in his presence. St. John is a worshipping church! The Lord regularly serves us as his people with three services held each week. We are blessed to frequently share in the table of the Lord so that with repentant faith we may receive what he offers in his grace. So it is that we enter his presence with reverence!
Revelation depicts for us the worship of the great multitude beyond number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Together they cry out in praise of God’s salvation, while the heavenly beings around the throne fall on their faces before God. Here we see the heavenly vision of so many caught up in the presence of their God. Here they gather, giving to him all the honor for his goodness and grace, indeed for who he is, their only Lord and Savior! So, we too might worship on earth as it is in heaven!
The Saint John website describes our worship this way; “The sound of the bell toll calls us to meditate before the Lord as we prepare for the holy moment to come. We rise to sing our Lord’s praises and then mark ourselves with the sign of his cross at the speaking of his name. After this we fall to our knees to confess and then to hear the pardon for sin that our Lord alone can give! As Christians, we express ourselves with words and with actions in worship to indicate, direct and perhaps even assist in expressing reverent devotion.”
In one of the historic writings of the Lutheran Reformation, it is said that reverent worship is an attitude of the heart and all in response to God and his saving grace. So, in a recent sermon I shared that although we call the gathering of our worship a “service” the service really is his. That is, we gather for God but are truly gathered by God! We come to receive of our God's word in our worship, as we hear his holy law and the promises of his grace. In this way our God serves us as his holy people. So, this is a holy moment as we gather to joyfully honor God’s name, to pray, praise and give thanks for his grace, here on earth as it is in heaven!
Pastor