Daily Blog – Day 293, Ezekiel 45-46, Psalm 90, Revelation
14
And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters,
and like the voice of great thunder, and the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing on their harps. And they are singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased for God
from the earth. Rev. 14:2-3
Have you ever wondered what the voice of
God sounds like? Sometimes it is a thought that will be asked of us by a child. Reading these words causes me to ask
myself,“Have I ever heard the voice of God?” It helps me to remember that I have, and I hear it often, especially if I consciously choose to listen.
There are three points about God’s voice that the Book of Revelation makes that I feel are important for us to recollect. The author helps us first to realize it is a voice of power.
Walking the beach when the water is extremely rough illustrates well the
massive sound of the water churning and breaking as it hits the rocks or the
land. It is a powerful and indescribable sound. I am reminded
of the sound of the waterfalls at Niagara Falls, especially when one was able to
walk the path behind them. The magnitude of the sound of power was overwhelming and loud, a continuous roar of grandeur and splendor.
The text also says that the voice is like great thunder.
One biblical scholar refers to this as the “unmistakableness” of the
voice of God. No one can fail to hear it; it is pervasive and able to reach everyone and everywhere.
I happen to love the sound of thunder during our frequent rain and
lightning storms here in south Florida. There is a depth of distance and vastness to the sound as it reverberates through all things, shooting and expanding off into the corridors of the
heavens.
Lastly, the writer says God’s voice is like the sound of many harpists playing. The image is a reminder of the melody of God’s voice, a gentle sweetness and graciousness that envelops the soul, cradles the spirit, and calms the anxious heart. In this modern world which bombards us endlessly day and night with a multitude of sounds, this is the sound for which our souls long, to have the sound of a divine peace, calm, and presence.
The Lamb’s company sings a song that only they can learn.
Such truth this reveals through all of life! To learn certain things we must be certain types of people.
Those who are able to sing the Lamb’s song are able to because they have
passed through certain experiences. They have suffered; there are certain things that only those who suffer can teach. Sorrow can indeed produce resentment, but soon it yields to producing faith and peace and a new song.
The singers of the new song also lived in loyalty. Over the years they drew
close to the Master, and he to them. For the unfaithful or to those who follow only when it suits them, there is never learning or intimate growth. The company of the Lamb experience spiritual growth.
Indeed, a teacher can teach deeper things to a mature student than someone who has just begun to learn. Jesus Christ can reveal more treasure of wisdom and grace to those who
day by day grow in him. May we seek his voice daily, and be led by its call to be a faithful and blessed
people.
Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast
love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Ps.
90:14)
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon
us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon
us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. (Ps.
90:17)
__________________________________
The Very Rev. Dr. William L. Stomski,
Chaplain and Sacred Studies Educator,
Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School, Boynton
Beach
14
And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters,
and like the voice of great thunder, and the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing on their harps. And they are singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased for God
from the earth. Rev. 14:2-3
Have you ever wondered what the voice of
God sounds like? Sometimes it is a thought that will be asked of us by a child. Reading these words causes me to ask
myself,“Have I ever heard the voice of God?” It helps me to remember that I have, and I hear it often, especially if I consciously choose to listen.
There are three points about God’s voice that the Book of Revelation makes that I feel are important for us to recollect. The author helps us first to realize it is a voice of power.
Walking the beach when the water is extremely rough illustrates well the
massive sound of the water churning and breaking as it hits the rocks or the
land. It is a powerful and indescribable sound. I am reminded
of the sound of the waterfalls at Niagara Falls, especially when one was able to
walk the path behind them. The magnitude of the sound of power was overwhelming and loud, a continuous roar of grandeur and splendor.
The text also says that the voice is like great thunder.
One biblical scholar refers to this as the “unmistakableness” of the
voice of God. No one can fail to hear it; it is pervasive and able to reach everyone and everywhere.
I happen to love the sound of thunder during our frequent rain and
lightning storms here in south Florida. There is a depth of distance and vastness to the sound as it reverberates through all things, shooting and expanding off into the corridors of the
heavens.
Lastly, the writer says God’s voice is like the sound of many harpists playing. The image is a reminder of the melody of God’s voice, a gentle sweetness and graciousness that envelops the soul, cradles the spirit, and calms the anxious heart. In this modern world which bombards us endlessly day and night with a multitude of sounds, this is the sound for which our souls long, to have the sound of a divine peace, calm, and presence.
The Lamb’s company sings a song that only they can learn.
Such truth this reveals through all of life! To learn certain things we must be certain types of people.
Those who are able to sing the Lamb’s song are able to because they have
passed through certain experiences. They have suffered; there are certain things that only those who suffer can teach. Sorrow can indeed produce resentment, but soon it yields to producing faith and peace and a new song.
The singers of the new song also lived in loyalty. Over the years they drew
close to the Master, and he to them. For the unfaithful or to those who follow only when it suits them, there is never learning or intimate growth. The company of the Lamb experience spiritual growth.
Indeed, a teacher can teach deeper things to a mature student than someone who has just begun to learn. Jesus Christ can reveal more treasure of wisdom and grace to those who
day by day grow in him. May we seek his voice daily, and be led by its call to be a faithful and blessed
people.
Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast
love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Ps.
90:14)
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon
us, and establish thou the work of our hands upon
us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. (Ps.
90:17)
__________________________________
The Very Rev. Dr. William L. Stomski,
Chaplain and Sacred Studies Educator,
Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School, Boynton
Beach
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