Christian Reflection and Prayer

(from the Daily Bread)

Scripture:

Revelation 5:8-14
(New King James Version)

Worthy Is the Lamb

8 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 prayers of the
saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:


“ You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your
blood Out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation,
10 And have made us[a] kings[b] and
priests to our God;
And we[c] shall reign on the earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of
many angels around the throne, the living
creatures, and the elders; and the number
of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with
a loud voice:


“ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And every creature which is in heaven and on
the earth and under the earth and such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:


“ Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”[d]

14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!”
And the twenty-four[e] elders fell down and
worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.[f]

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! —Revelation 5:12


Reflection:

When I first became a Christian and started
attending church at age 19, I immediately fell
in love with singing the great hymns of the faith.
My heart overflowed with joy and thanksgiving as
we sang of God’s love for us in Christ. Soon one
of my favorite hymns (from the late 1600s) became
“Fairest Lord Jesus!” I love the simplicity of the
melody and the awesomeness of the One exalted
in these words:

Fair is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host: Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer than all the angels heaven can boast.
Beautiful Savior!
Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration
now and forevermore be Thine!

God’s Son, whom we sing about in this song, came
to this earth, lived a perfect life, and gave Himself for
us on the cross (Luke 23:33). He arose from the grave
(Luke 24:6) and is now seated at God’s right hand (Heb. 1:3).
One day we’ll join in worship with thousands upon thousands
and say: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
(Rev. 5:13). Maybe we’ll sing “Fairest Lord Jesus!” too.

Until then, let’s allow Jesus to be “the fairest” above all in
our personal lives by seeking wisdom from His Word and
following in His ways.  — Anne Cetas

We can never praise Jesus too much.