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2. The Appeal for More Worship of God (Revelation 19:5-7)
The Joy of the Lord is your Strength! (v 7a): The choirs in heaven encourage each other reciprocally: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory!” (Revelation 19:7a) Oh, if only the Christians wouldn’t make such a sourpuss, pessimistic face, as if they had to eat spiders! We have many reasons to rejoice: our God lives, loves, governs, comes, acts, saves, sanctifies and blesses. He speaks right into the midst of our problems: “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10). The angel announced at the birth of Jesus: “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people!” (Luke 2:10). Jesus explained to His disciples that He wanted His joy to remain in them, and that their joy might be full (John 15:11). “No one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22), he promised them before He departed. In His high-priestly prayer, Jesus requested of His Father in heaven that His own joy be fulfilled in us (John 17:13).
These comforting words prove true also in the end times, in times of suffering. Trial and sadness, persecution and death cannot quell the voice of the comforting Spirit in us. The songwriters testify from their own experience of the secret and power in the joy of Christ in the hymns “Jesus, my Joy” (Johann Franck, Lutheran Hymnbook of Germany page 396) and “In You is Joy in All Suffering” (Cyriakus Schneegass, Lutheran Hymnboook of Germany page 398). The pleasure of His Father lies upon everyone who believes in the atoning sacrifice of Christ (Luke 2:14). He suffered, so that His joy might be completed in us (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).
The goal of the joy that Jesus promised is not just the delight of our own soul, but the Lord Himself. God should see with great joy how the goals of His plan of salvation are being realized. We should again and again ask ourselves, therefore: Do we delight the lord with our words, our actions and our intentions? Our heart often recognizes all too clearly how we act against the will and Spirit of our Father in heaven and against the love of His Son. When that happens we should ask God instantly for the grace and power to stop our wicked intentions, harmful words and unchristian acts. We must honestly repent and ask the Lord to show us His ways and will, and then ask His strength to help us to do it. Then, we will not quench the Spirit of God, but remain in His joy!
Give Glory to the Lord! (v 7a): The singers in heaven challenged each other reciprocally (Revelation 19:7a): Let all of us give back our honor and strength to God! He took all of our guilt upon Himself, now we want to place everything at His disposal: all our hopes, all the fruit of the Spirit, all our money, all our talents and our children, everything what we are and have. This should not just remain a pious wish, but actually happen! All glory belongs to God. Nothing flows back to Him save what He would have already given us. We want to hold tight to nothing and give Him everything. True love is not out for itself. There is a continuous “giving and taking” between God and His children, like the poet, Krummacher, prayerfully ascertained: “Nothing have I to bring; You, lord, are everything!” (Lutheran Hymnbook of Germany, page 407) Prayerfully consider: How can you give honor to the glory of God? What could you give to Him, do for Him, or suffer for Him? To be sure, the Lord is glorious without us, but He permits us to multiply His glory with the offering of our lips and of our lives. Glorifying God begins with us in a very practical way. Heavenly air is already blowing on earth when all members of a community so think and act.
We read twelve times in the book of Revelation that all glory belongs to God and His Lamb (Revelation 1:6; 4:9; 11:5, 12-13; 7:12; 11:13; 14:7; 16:9; 19:1, 7; 21:26). In the German Bible Martin Luther translated the Greek word “doxa”, which actually means “glory, splendor, majesty”, with “honor”. Supposedly, he was convinced that the Lord, in Himself, is totally glorious, and we, as those born out of dust, cannot increase His glory, but can only honor Him. Nevertheless, God's Word encourages us again and again to give Him all our giftings, as well as all our sin, so that He can create glory out of our imperfection and hopelessness…glory for Him, and glory for us, as pardoned sinners. Let us, therefore, give “our” supposed honor to God and His Lamb, and imploringly ask that His Holy Spirit might teach us praise and thanksgiving, that we might glorify and worship Him. Then we will sing with the singers in the heavenly choir: Arise, arise my heart, recognize with / joy what happened today, how, / following much suffering / there came such a great light! Paul Gerhardt, Lutheran Hymnbook of Germany p.112)
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, we thank and magnify You because You are our Father in truth and in Spirit through Your Christ Jesus and You Know us and love us. You have saved us, and You sanctify and bless us. We worship and glorify You and Your Son. All that we have has come from You and now we bring it to You in praise and gratitude. Amen.
QUESTIONS:
- Why do we deserve to be glad and rejoice at all time, even in our hardships?
- Why is it appropriate for us to give glory to God in praise and worship?