Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,

.... Who was and is and is to come (Revelation 4:8b)! This doxology (hymn of praise) is spoken by the four living creatures each of which had “six wings, and were full of eyes around and within” (verse 8a). Whenever the living creatures gave glory and honour and thanks to God Him who sits on the throne,  the twenty-four elders fell down before Him,  and they casts their crowns before the throne,  saying “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created” (verses 9-11). The book of Revelation is full of mysticism and symbolism, and is a challenge to anyone who tries to give purely rational interpretations of Scripture.  It's difficult in this scientific age which tries to reduce everything to logic and reason. In particular we have largely lost our sense of wonder,  and have thrown out mystery. But true worship and praise has little to do with logic, and is so much more than simply singing hymns and choruses.

I'm reminded of a dramatic encounter an alcoholic friend of mine had years ago. He had staggered into my kitchen loaded drunk,  and the Spirit of the Lord fell on Him. In obvious awe he fell down on his knees praising and worshipping God. It was completely out of character, if you know what I mean! After a while he would get  back to his feet and I would ask him “Is He worthy?”  And again and again he would fall to his knees in worship. The reality of his encounter struck home to me when seeing this a short time later,  his unchurched and unsaved father made a profession of faith. On top of this, he had come in out of control drunk, but left within the hour stone cold sober.

True worship is a matter of the heart, it has to do with spirit and truth (John 4:24),  and in invokes encounter. The Scripture tells us that the Lord is Holy, and He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3 KJV), that is it has to do with His tangible presence.  It is fellowship with the the Holy Father and his Son, and requires us to walk in the light, and for the Blood of Jesus Christ to keep cleansing us from all sin (1 John 1:3-9).  We catch glimpses of this in some of the ancient hymn writers. I am thinking in particular of the phrase “lost in wonder, love and praise.”

Father, most of us,  most of the time, are desperately in need of revival, of encounter with You.  Wesley's hymn is on my heart this morning Lord “Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down .... visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart .... Finish, then, thy new creation pure and spotless let us be .... changed from glory into glory, til in heaven we take our place, ’til we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.”  Do not leave us alone Lord,  rend the heavens and come down. Restore and revive Your people and me.  Thank You Lord it's not all up to us, for You Yourself are seeking those who will worship You in spirit and in truth (John 4:23, 24). So then if we seek You with all of our heart,  how can we fail (Jeremiah 29:13)?  For this and many other things Lord we give You thanks  praise in Jesus Name Amen.