“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
(verses 3-4)
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This song, sung by “those who have been victorious over the beast”(verse 2), is said to be the song of Moses, and of the Lamb. Those singing are standing, in their triumph, beside a sea of glass mixed with fire, reminding us that this singing takes place before the throne of God (Revelation 4:6), but also reminiscent of the closed waters of the Red Sea beside which Moses sang his own song of triumph. That song celebrated the Lord’s deliverance of his people from the clutches of Pharaoh. This song in Revelation 15 celebrates an end-of-days deliverance by the Lamb.
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.” When the oppressor looked too strong, when the obstacles to deliverance looked too great, the Lord God showed himself, again, mightier than all. His deeds are great, beyond comprehension. They are marvelous, thrilling the souls of the redeemed.
“Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.” Our Lord does not act capriciously or dole out arbitrary vengeance. Rather, all his actions are rooted in holy justice and crystal-clear truth. When his wrath is poured out, as we are about to witness from the seven bowls administered by seven angels, none of it is unfair or spiteful or excessive. As in the case of Pharaoh, the Lord is patient, slow to anger, faithful, yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. Just and true are his ways.
In light of all this, every people and tribe and language and nation will see clearly the righteousness of the Lord, and all will fear and worship. All the confusion of the ages will be rolled back. All those moments when justice was delayed, evil seeming to go unanswered, will now be rectified. Accounts will be settled and God’s righteous judgements will be exacted. The seven angels, pouring out the seven last plagues, will bring God’s just wrath to completion (verse 1). In it all, the Lord’s absolute righteousness will be decisively revealed. When eyes are thus opened, the only response will be to bring glory to the King of the ages, and bow down in worship.
By the sea, the song rings out: “Great and marvelous … just and true” is our God!
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Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. I praise and honour you. I submit to your wisdom and judgements. I bend my knee and call you “Lord.”
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Give praise:
Reflect on the personal sightings you have had of the Lord’s great deeds. Reflect on those you know from scripture. Take time to thank him. Praise his name.
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Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash
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