Revelation 4:11

Revelation 4:11. Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to take the glory, and the honour, and the power, for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and they were created. In the response thus proceeding from the Church, we mark a higher tone than in the song of the four living creatures to which the response is given (Revelation 4:9). The word ‘our' is introduced, marking the more intimate relationship in which these redeemed ones stand to God. The word ‘power' is substituted for ‘thanks,' not that they fail in gratitude, but that, in the very excess of gratitude, they completely forget themselves. The article is introduced before each substantive, not to carry us back to the ‘glory,' etc., of Revelation 4:9, but to show that what is present to their minds is ‘the' glory, ‘the' honour, and ‘the' power, which are the absolute possession of the Almighty. Hence also it seems better to translate the verb by ‘take' than by ‘receive' (comp. chaps. Revelation 5:7; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 11:17). Lastly, the verb to take is in the aorist not the present tense, an indication that those who use it are contemplating in thought the completion of God's great plan, and His victory over all His enemies, as an accomplished fact. The particulars embraced under the word ‘because' refer primarily to creation; and so far, therefore, the majority of commentators are right in saying that the Almighty is here celebrated as creation's God. Yet it is not enough to say this. The Church cannot view God first as Creator simply, and then as Redeemer. Her view of Him is one, and in the works of His hands, as well as in the provisions of His grace, she beholds her redeeming God. Redemption is the final issue of all the works of God. But, feeling thus, we may pause at the thought of creation, and may praise Him who called it into being for this end. Thus looked at also, there is no tautology in the last two clauses of the verse. ‘Thou didst create all things,' that is the simple fact. ‘Because of Thy will,' etc., is more than the fact; it is the ground upon which their creation rested, that they might be the expression of the will of Him who creates that He may have a creation in His Eternal Son. The combination of ‘were' and ‘were created' is undoubtedly very difficult to understand. The first verb does not mean ‘came into being;' nor can it mean that, having had no existence before, they existed after God created them; for, in that case, the order of the two clauses ought to have been reversed. Besides which, it is not the manner of St. John to apply the verb ‘to be' to temporary and passing objects. No explanation seems possible but that which leads us to think of an eternal type existing in the Divine mind before anything was called into existence, and in conformity with which it was created when the moment of creation came. The idea thus expressed is very similar to that of Hebrews 8:5, ‘See that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the Mount.'