Attitude Of The Heart

At church today the appointed readings from the Bible included a favorite passage of mine from the book of Revelation:

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice,
‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!’
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,
‘To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
for ever and ever!’
And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ And the elders fell down and worshiped. Rev. 6:11-14

Why would such a fantastic vision of John's arouse such admiration? To me, it's perfect imagery to describe the proper attitude of the heart when we gather together to worship God. It's not the case that every Sunday I present to God this perfect and pure attitude of the heart, but every time I read the passage, it reminds me of how it should be. From time to time, by the grace of God, it happens, and it's a gift and a wonder to me.


From Psalm 33:1-3,

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song;
play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

....

Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

God is God. We are his creatures. Acknowledgment is due. God doesn't need the acknowledgment; we do. As the Psalm says, "Praise befits the upright."

UPDATE: We capped the service off with a favorite hymn of praise:

Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, His the throne.
Alleluia! His the triumph, His the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by His blood.

All in all, a lovely morning.