“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:9-10 NKJV
There’s a new song being sung in heaven. It’s the song of the redeemed. It’s a song that speaks of the One who paid the ultimate price for our redemption. You can only redeem what was formerly yours, you may buy what’s not your own, but you can’t redeem it. According to Jesus’ prayer to the Father, we were His from the beginning.
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.”
John 17:6, 9-10 NKJV
That which originally belonged to God was given away by Adam’s sin. So what Jesus did on the cross was pay the debt for sin which was death, but in the process redeemed or took us back from the clutches of sin, washed us in His blood and presented us cleared of the debt of sin before His Father. God got back what was originally His through redemption but until we are given new bodies He sees us perfect through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Hence the new song. For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood. This song isn’t about everyone, but out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, of those who accepted His invitation for salvation He has made us kings and priests to our God.
Let me share something Charles Spurgeon wrote. It blessed me and I pray it will bless you too:
Yet the serpent’s seduction of Adam and Eve did not catch God by surprise. He had in place a plan by which He would redeem mankind—and all of creation—from sin, corruption, and death. Just as He promises to make men and women new, He promises to renew the Earth itself. How? By the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God. There is no other way.
If, due to the Fall, God would have given up on his original purpose for mankind to fill the Earth and rule it (Genesis 1:28), He surely wouldn’t have repeated the same command to Noah after the Flood: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1, NIV). Still, until sin and the Curse are permanently removed, people are incapable of exercising proper stewardship of the Earth. Redemption buys back God’s original design.
“God never wearies of the precious blood,” Spurgeon says, “nor will His people who know where their salvation lies.” The gospel is far greater than most of us imagine. It isn’t just good news for us—it’s good news for animals, plants, stars, and planets. It’s good news for the sky above and the Earth below. Albert Wolters says, “The redemption in Jesus Christ means the restoration of an original good creation.”
God’s redemptive plan climaxes not at the return of Christ nor in the millennial Kingdom but on the New Earth. Only then will all wrongs be made right. Only then will there be no more death, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:1-4). And only then will we all begin to see the breadth and depth of the universe-piercing power of the blood of God.
There’s a new song in heaven because Jesus has redeemed us to God. The twenty-four elders carrying the golden bowls filled with the incense of our prayers are the ones singing the song. Acknowledging the finished work of the perfect Lamb that was slain for us. He alone was found worthy to open the scroll and it’s seals. Jesus alone, having taken the scroll from the Father’s right hand, has authority in heaven and earth because He was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessings!
One day soon we will all join the elders in heaven in this new song. For we are the beneficiaries of His suffering. The redeemed by His blood. Our praise here is limited but not for long.
“And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.”Revelation 5:13-14 NKJV
He died once, so we could be born twice. Once to a life stained by sin, and now to a new life washed in and redeemed by His blood. The heavenly worship is perpetually ringing out as they praise the Worthy Lamb of God for redeeming us and bringing things back in order. We too can lend our voices by declaring: I am the redeemed of the Lord! They’re saying what He’s done, but we are the recipients. So let’s raise our voices and sing of His mercy and grace. Let’s sing that He’s worthy. Sing of all He’s done for us. They’re singing our song. Let’s join them by living their song for all the world to see. We are His redeemed.
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”Revelation 5:11-12 NKJV
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
January 7, 2022