There is a prayer that rings out, a chorus made up of all the saints, all the angels and all the elders singing the same song, “Come, let us behold and adore Him!”
1 Chronicles 29:10-20 and Revelation 5:4-14 give us a glimpse into this song, first on earth and then in heaven. In hopes that we might begin to hear the song more clearly, I’ve intermixed the verses below, alternating between the two accounts.
You may it find most helpful to read the verses out loud, giving special emphasis to the repeating phrase and the subject of today’s letter - Behold and adore Him.
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“Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it.
But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. His is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.’”
Behold and adore Him
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“Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly: ‘O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever!
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on the earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.”
Behold and adore Him
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“Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth.
He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne.”
Behold and adore Him
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“Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.”
Behold and adore Him
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“And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”
Behold and adore Him
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“O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!
We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.”
Behold and adore Him
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“And they sang a new song with these words: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.’”
Behold and adore Him
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“O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!
I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
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“Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders.
And they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’”
Behold and adore Him
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O LORD, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes.
Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.’”
Behold and adore Him
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“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.’”
Behold and adore Him
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“Then David said to the whole assembly, ‘Give praise to the LORD your God!’ And the entire assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the LORD and the king.”
Behold and adore Him
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“And the four living beings said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped the Lamb.”
Come, let us behold and adore Him
Let us join with the saints, the angels and the elders and fall face down and worship the only one worthy.
And let this become our practice, to continually fall down before Him in this way. Let it be said of us - as much as was possible, every moment of every day, they beheld and adored Him.
May we have no greater desire, pleasure or pursuit than to behold and adore Him.
In love,
Derek