Thinking in 3’s - Revelation 19:7-8 - Rejoice, Be Glad, Give Glory

Rev. 19:7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Revelation 19 is near the end of the Bible. It speaks of the near-completion of the plan of God; the fulfillment of the promises of God. It is the triumph of a mission that seemed impossible: the redemption of fallen humanity, and the vindication of the wisdom and goodness of God. And for this, we respond with rejoicing, gladness, and the giving of glory to the One to Whom it is deserved.

We live as humans in this world, and we are surrounded by a thousand graces every single day. And, fittingly, we rejoice and are glad and give glory for these “little things.” They include our responses to people around us; thanks for a meal; listening to the birds sing and blossoms bloom. But as we respond to these things, we remember that it is a tempered rejoicing and a conditioned gladness. Our hearts are also heavy for concern for people; the realization that there are people whose tables are more bare than filled; a sadness for those who miss the birds and the buds because of prison walls or hospital beds. This is a sin-cursed world and we can’t really get away from it.

Also, we have to confess that at times, we rejoice and are glad for the wrong things. When we succumb to the fleshly temptation to compare ourselves with others, we find that we rejoice at our gain at others’ expense. And we fail by giving glory to someone or something else other than God. Yes, we should give credit where credit is due. But ultimately, all glory goes to God, because no one/nothing would accomplish a single good thing apart from the grace and goodness of God.

We must learn to anticipate the day when our rejoicing, gladness, and giving glory to God will be unmitigated by the pull of the flesh and the influence of the world. There is coming a day when sin and death will be no more, and when every tear will be wiped away. In that day, in that context, we will have opportunity to take part in a rejoicing, gladness, and giving of glory to God that will be of a heavenly order. Let’s not forget that God finishes what He starts; He brings every project to completion; and that He always keeps His promises.