Revelation 19:5-6

THE HOUSE OF PRAISE

‘And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.’

Revelation 19:5

How easy it is to say the words. How easily are they tossed from the lips of many who are called by the name of Jesus Christ. How easy it is to sing ‘Alleluia!’ how difficult really to praise God; how difficult to realise what we owe to God.

Yet God has given us manifold helps.

I. From the beginning holy men and holy women have set apart places for God.—They have separated them from all common uses. And you will try—will you not—to remember that the church is God’s house? I dare say you have seen a little child that could not speak go and gather a simple flower, and then put it into its mother’s hands and bury its face in her lap and kiss her. Well, that little flower is what the Church is to us. We feel sometimes we cannot praise God; we have not the power to worship Him. We are looking forward to the day when with the holy ones we shall praise Him for ever and ever. But now we cannot; so we bring this place to God; we put it into His hands and say, ‘This is the best that we can give. Alleluia! Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. We offer and present it unto Thee, O God most holy, O God most mighty. Alleluia!’ And everything we do for our good and gracious God always brings a blessing.

II. A church helps us by raising us up above this life.—You know this world is very beautiful, but it has its dark side. There are times of depression for all of us, and therefore it is well that there should be in every parish a beautiful building that stands up as it were between God and man, that every one may be able to come here quietly, and if no service is going on may look at this building and see that this is the sign between God and him. ‘Alleluia!’ it says, ‘the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.’

III. Another help of a church is this.—How very easy it is to get wrapped up in the things of this world. The church lifts the mind and heart heavenwards, and in grateful worship we join our voices with those of the angelic throng and say, ‘Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.’

Bishop G. H. Wilkinson.