D. R. Macy
John the Baptist looked on the Lord Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!"ˡ By faith he viewed this One as God's sacrifice for sin, the One to whom all the sacrifices of the Old Testament looked forward. By faith he saw Him taking sin out of this world by His own suffering and death. The next day, still enraptured by His person, he exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God!"²
When we come to the book of Revelation, this work is an accomplished fact. We, pictured in the twenty-four elders, are around the throne worshiping and praising this blessed One. We sing His worthiness because of His work in creation: "Thou art worthy, G Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."³ We also sing His worthiness because of His work of redemption: "Thou art worthy... for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."4
The whole host of angels celebrates His worthiness as well. They exclaim with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."5 They do not sing—that is for us who have been redeemed by His precious blood; nor do they give the reason for the Lamb's worthiness—that also is the portion of the redeemed, who have spiritual intelligence. But all heaven unites to ascribe all honor to the Lamb of God.
We joy to see Thee, Lord, arise
Triumphant through the opening skies;
And hear all heaven united own
Thee worthy to ascend the throne. 6
Let's meditate in more detail on this sevenfold expression of the worthiness of the Lamb in Revelation 5:12 and contrast it with His mighty sacrifice on the cross.
Power
“This is your hour, and the power of darkness."7 Satan is the prince of this worlds8 and he is the god of this world.9 He is, for a time, in control both politically and religiously in this world. But never were the forces of evil, all the power of darkness, more arrayed in unison than when Satan energized and motivated man to crucify the Son of God. It even appeared to be a success from man's viewpoint, for all that was in his wicked heart he was able to carry out.
What about God's thoughts? What response has He put in our hearts towards the One whose sacrifice in that hour has cleansed our souls forever from every stain of sin? We now proclaim, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power." He said to His disciples just prior to His ascension, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth."10 The Father has "given Him authority to execute judgment also."11 "He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet."12
On earth the song begins;
In heaven more sweet and loud—
"To Him that cleansed our sins
By His atoning blood;
To Him," we sing in joyful strain,
“Be honor, power, and praise, Amen.” 13
Riches
“Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor."14 Who could measure the riches of that glory that He enjoyed in that unclouded bliss of perfect communion with God His Father? For all of that past eternity, there was absolutely nothing to spoil the enjoyment of the fellowship that the Father and the Son shared together. Yet their thoughts included rebellious man and the plan to rescue him from eternal punishment. At the will of the Father, the Son would leave that scene of glory and bliss, and He would stoop to become a man, yet without sin, in order that He might give Himself as the sacrifice for sin. What poverty! What depths to which He lowered Himself!
Now that that plan has been carried out to God's eternal glory and satisfaction, now that we have been eternally blessed through the obedience of the Son, we delight to join together and say, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive... riches." He is seated on the throne in heaven, waiting till the fruit of the travail of His soul, those who have been enriched through His poverty,15 all surround Him there to sing His everlasting praise.
Rich in glory, Thou didst stoop,
Thence is all Thy people's hope;
Thou wast poor, that we might be
Rich in glory, Lord, with Thee. 16
Wisdom “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness."17 After three years of Jesus' ministering to the needs of many, the consensus from man's natural heart was, "We will not have this man to reign over us."18 He put all his energy into plans to kill this One, and chose the most ignominious means of getting rid of Him who claimed to be sent from heaven, the Son of God. Man, backed by Satan, apparently succeeded. They taunted Him with, "If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him."19 They thought nothing more of Him than of any other man, and so when He died on that cross, they considered that they had accomplished their objective with His death, and that they had utterly gotten rid of Him.
The word from heaven, in which our hearts will unite, is, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive... wisdom." That which only appears as foolishness to the natural heart is, in the wisdom of God, the sole basis for our blessing. God covered the world in darkness during three hours that day, and our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the work; He paid the price; He bore the punishment for our sins, so that God can now be "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."20 We receive fullness of blessing through Him, "Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."21 Surely, "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."22 With the Apostle Paul we respond, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."23
The cross! the cross, oh, that's our gain,
Because on that the Lamb was slain:
'Twas there the Lord was crucified,
'Twas there for us the Savior died. 24
Strength
“He was crucified through weakness."25 Apparently Jesus was weak and all the world strong, for He offered no resistance when they came to take Him or when they crucified Him. Weakness characterized the outward spectacle of the cross and the Man who hung on it. But, as the type of the "ram caught in a thicket by his horns,"26 we know that it was the very strength of His love for you and me, as well as for the ones who were crucifying Him, that held Him to the cross.
Now, as we anticipate that chorus of praise to the Lamb of God, we rejoice that the song also includes, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive... strength." The Victor over Satan, the One who conquered death, the One who purged our sins through the sacrifice of Himself—He shall be exalted and shown before all the world to be the One in the position of strength. As He said to the Apostle Paul, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."27 What a Savior!
Worthy of homage and of praise;
Worthy by all to be adored:
Exhaustless theme of heavenly lays!
Thou, Thou art worthy, Jesus, Lord. 28
Honor
“Jesus... endured the cross, despising the shame."29 He endured "such contradiction of sinners against Himself."30 He submitted to the most shameful form of death known to man—crucifixion. Then, in those three dark hours on the cross, He bore our sins, the ultimate dishonor to God, in His own body on the tree. "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin."31 Only God, who laid our sins on our blessed Savior, knows the horror, the shame, the dishonor of that time of infinite suffering. "Thou hast known My reproach, and My shame, and My dishonor."32
When we realize that it was for us that He counted this shame as nothing in order that He might redeem us to be His, what is the response of our hearts? "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive... honor." This is the One whom the King delights to honor.33
“All men should honor the Son,"34 and so every knee shall bow and every tongue confess "that Jesus Christ is Lord."35 In a coming day the announcement will be, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready."36 We who form that bride have the unspeakable privilege now, even prior to that day, and in this world that heaped every shame and dishonor on this blessed One, to honor Him with the worship of our hearts and with the testimony of our lives.
Worthy, O Son of man, art Thou
Of every crown that decks Thy brow;
Worthy art Thou to be adored,
And owned as universal Lord;
O, hasten that long-promised day,
When all shall own Thy rightful sway! 37
Glory
“Christ Jesus... made Himself of no reputation."38 What an immense contrast between that unspeakable bliss that the Lord Jesus enjoyed in the glory of the Father's house in the past eternity and the lowest depths to which He went in taking a body for the suffering of death! He became a man that He might reveal the Father's heart to us. He was not here to make a name for Himself (as we speak), nor did He desire to draw the crowds after Himself as we might through a fleshly desire for prominence and prestige. The moral excellence of His person could not be hid, and those whose hearts God had touched were drawn to Him. But He was here as the "meek and lowly"39 One. "When we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him."40 He emptied Himself of all His outward glory; He then humbled Himself and was "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."41
To Him who stooped so low, our souls overflow with praise and worship, as we ascribe to Him the highest honors: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive... glory." He glorified the Father in that work which He finished on the cross;42 He was then raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father.43 God has "highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."44 "When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."45 "We see Jesus... crowned with glory and honor."46
Of the vast universe of bliss,
The center Thou, and Sun;
The eternal theme of praise is this,
To heaven's beloved One:
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou,
That every knee to Thee should bow. 47
Blessing
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."48 Man, whether Jew or Gentile, always seeks to win favor with God through his own efforts and energy, and this is the principle of law. So every one of us is doomed to the curse of the law, death and eternal punishment from God, because righteousness and justification are not on the principle of law.49 Our Lord Jesus Christ came and, on our behalf, bore all the curse that a broken law could place on man, in order to redeem us out from under that curse.
To Him who has set us free, we now exclaim with grateful thanks, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive...blessing." We have received "every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,"50 and as we thank Him for them we should also remember to bless Him for the glory and wonder of His Person and for the magnitude of His work that has made all our blessing possible. "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.... Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies."51 "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.... O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together."52
Jesus is worthy to receive
Honor and power divine:
And blessings more than we can give
Be, Lord, forever Thine. 53
The man who had been blind in John 9 didn't know much about the Lord Jesus, but he was so attracted to the One who had healed him that, as soon as he acknowledged his belief in Jesus as the Son of God, he worshiped Him. May our hearts, too, be more attracted to this blessed One and spontaneously overflow with worship and praise. Soon we shall join that throng of the redeemed and together, without hindrance or distraction, we shall honor and bless the Lamb of God, for He alone is worthy to be adored.
Lord Jesus! we worship and bow at Thy feet, And give Thee the glory, the honor that's meet; While through Thee, O Savior, our praises ascend And join in the chorus that never shall end.54
References: (1) John 1:29; (2) John 1:36; (3) Rev. 4:11; (4) Rev. 5:9 (5) Rev. 5:12; (6) Little Flock Hymnbook (L. F.) #216; (7) Luke 22:53; (8) John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; (9) 2 Cor. 4:4; (10) Matt. 28:18; (11) John 5:27; (12) 1 Cor. 15:25; (13) L. F. #80; (14) 2 Cor. 8:9; (15) 2 Cor. 8:9 JND; (16) L. F. #198; (17) 1 Cor. 1:18; (18) Luke 19:14 (19) Matt. 27:42; (20) Rom. 3:26; (21) 1 Cor. 1:30; (22) 1 Cor. 1:25; (23) Gal. 6:14; (24) L. F. #85 Appendix; (25) 2 Cor. 13:4; (26) Gen. 22:13; (27) 2 Cor. 12:9; (28) L. F. #195; (29) Heb. 12:2; (30) Heb. 12:3; (31) 2 Cor. 5:21; (32) Psa. 69:19; (33) Esther 6:6; (34) John 5:23; (35) Phi. 2:11; (36) Rev. 19:7; (37) L. F. #219; (38) Phi. 2:5, 7; (39) Matt. 11:29; (40) Isa. 53:2; (41) Phil. 2:8; (42) John 17:4; (43) Rom. 6:4; (44) Phil. 2:9-11; (45) Heb. 1:3; (46) Heb. 2:9; (47) L. F. #150; (48) Gal. 3:13; (49) Gal. 2:21; 3:11,21; (50) Eph. 1:3 JND; (51) Psa. 103:1,4; (52)Psa. 34:1, 3; (53) L. F. #102; (54) L. F. #20.
Unto Him be glory in
the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages,
world without end.
Amen.
Eph. 3:21