The New Song of the Slain Lamb Text: Revelation 5:8-10
Introduction: The Unveiling of History
The book of Revelation is not a sealed book. It is an unveiling, an apocalypse. It is given to us not to confuse, but to comfort and to arm the saints. It pulls back the curtain of ordinary history and shows us the real levers of power, which are located in the throne room of heaven. What we see in our newspapers is the shadow; what John sees in this vision is the substance. And in the center of that throne room, at the very heart of reality, we find not a committee, not a blind force, but a throne. And on that throne, a Lamb looking as if it had been slain.
In the verses preceding our text, a great crisis unfolds in heaven. The Father holds a scroll, sealed with seven seals. This scroll is the title deed to history, the blueprint for God's redemptive purpose. A mighty angel cries out, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And a profound silence falls. No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth is found worthy. John weeps bitterly, because if the scroll remains sealed, history is meaningless, a tale told by an idiot, and God's promises are left hanging. But then one of the elders speaks. "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."
John turns, expecting to see a conquering lion, but instead he sees a Lamb, standing as though slain. The Lion conquered by becoming the Lamb. The victory was won not by raw power, but by sacrificial love. The cross was not a defeat that God had to salvage; it was the calculated, central victory of all time. And when this Lamb takes the scroll, the entire cosmos erupts in worship. Our text is the first stanza of this eternal anthem.
What we are about to read is the lyrical core of the Christian faith. It is the new song, the song of the redeemed. It is the reason history has meaning, the reason your prayers matter, and the reason our future is as bright as the promises of God. This is not just a picture of what they are doing in heaven then; it is a description of what we are to be doing on earth now. We are to learn this song, sing this song, and live this song.
The Text
And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth."
(Revelation 5:8-10 LSB)
The Instruments of Worship (v. 8)
We begin with the immediate reaction to the Lamb taking the scroll.
"And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Revelation 5:8)
The moment the Lamb asserts His authority over history, worship is the only logical, sane, and appropriate response. All of heaven prostrates itself. The four living creatures, who represent all of creation in its nobility, strength, wisdom, and swiftness, fall down. The twenty-four elders, representing the entire church of all ages, the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, also fall down. This is not a somber or funereal occasion; it is an explosion of adoration.
They come equipped for worship. Each has a harp. The harp is an instrument of praise, of joy, of celebration. This is not the quiet, introspective worship of the withdrawn mystic; this is loud, skillful, joyful, and musical. Heaven is a noisy place, filled with the music of redemption. We should take note of this. Our worship on earth is a rehearsal for this heavenly concert. It ought to be robust, joyful, and full of musical skill offered to the glory of God.
But they also hold golden bowls full of incense. And John, blessedly, does not leave us to guess at the symbolism. He tells us plainly: "which are the prayers of the saints." This is a staggering truth. Your prayers, offered in the name of Jesus from your kitchen, your car, your bedside, are gathered in golden bowls before the throne of God. They are not lost. They do not evaporate. They are a fragrant aroma to God. Notice the context. The prayers of the saints are presented at the very moment that Christ takes control of history. This means our prayers are not a passive, pious exercise. They are instruments that God uses to govern the world. The scroll of history is about to be unrolled in direct response to the prayers of the saints, gathered over centuries. When you pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," you are filling these bowls. And when the bowls are full, God acts. He tips the bowls, and history is made.
The New Song of Redemption (v. 9)
Now we come to the lyrics of this new song.
"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'" (Revelation 5:9)
It is a "new song." The old song was the song of creation (Job 38:7). But this song is new because it is about redemption, a greater work than creation. It is the song that only the redeemed can sing. The central theme is the worthiness of the Lamb. And His worthiness is grounded in a specific, historical event: "because You were slain." The glory of Christ is forever tied to the shame of the cross. His qualification to rule is His sacrificial death. He did not conquer by shedding the blood of others, but by shedding His own.
And what did this sacrifice accomplish? He "purchased for God with Your blood people." The word for purchased is the word for redeeming a slave from the marketplace. We were slaves to sin, to death, and to the devil. The price for our freedom was not silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ. This is the language of substitutionary atonement. He bought us. We belong to Him. We are not our own. This is the foundation of our security and the engine of our obedience.
But look at the scope of this redemption. He purchased people "from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." This is a definitive refutation of any small-minded, parochial view of the kingdom. God's plan was never limited to one ethnic group or geographical location. The Great Commission is not a suggestion; it is the outworking of the atonement. Christ purchased a global, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual people for Himself. The gospel is designed for export. It is meant to conquer every culture, baptize every language, and claim every nation for Christ. The end of history will not see a tiny, huddled remnant of believers, but a great multitude that no one can number, from every corner of the globe, all singing this same new song.
The Royal Priesthood (v. 10)
The song concludes by describing the status and destiny of those who have been purchased.
"And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth." (Revelation 5:10)
Christ's death did not just save us from something, hell. It saved us for something, a glorious purpose. He has made us "a kingdom and priests." This is a direct fulfillment of God's promise to Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19:6), now applied to the entire international body of Christ. We are a kingdom. We are citizens of a heavenly government, living under the rule of King Jesus. We are not a scattered collection of individuals; we are a corporate body, a holy nation.
And we are priests. Under the Old Covenant, the priesthood was limited to one tribe. Now, in Christ, every believer is a priest. We have direct access to the throne of grace. We need no other mediator than Christ. Our job is to offer up spiritual sacrifices, the sacrifice of praise, of good works, of our very lives, to God. We represent God to the world and the world to God in our prayers.
And what is the destiny of this royal priesthood? "And they will reign upon the earth." This is a crucial, and often neglected, truth. Our hope is not to be evacuated from a sinking ship. Our destiny is not to float on a cloud playing a harp. Our destiny is to reign. With Christ. Upon the earth. This is the language of victory. This is a postmillennial vision. The gospel is the power of God for salvation, and it will not fail. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. History is not spiraling downwards into chaos, but upwards toward the complete and total victory of Jesus Christ. The saints, empowered by the Spirit and armed with the gospel, will inherit the earth. The meek, Jesus said, will inherit the earth. And here we see that promise being sung as an accomplished fact in the courts of heaven.
Conclusion: Learning the Lyrics
This new song is the soundtrack of our faith. It tells us who we are and where we are going. It grounds our identity not in our feelings or our accomplishments, but in the finished work of the slain Lamb. It defines our mission as a global, conquering mission. And it guarantees our future as a victorious, reigning future.
So what do we do with this? First, we must ensure we can sing this song personally. Have you been purchased by the blood of the Lamb? Have you turned from your sin and trusted in His sacrifice alone for your salvation? You cannot sing the song of redemption if you have not been redeemed.
Second, we must sing this song corporately. Our worship should be filled with this robust, Christ-centered theology. We gather on the Lord's Day to rehearse for heaven, to remind ourselves of the meaning of history, and to declare the worthiness of the Lamb.
Finally, we must live this song. We live as royal priests when we offer our daily lives as an act of worship. We live as a conquering kingdom when we refuse to bow to the idols of our age, when we apply the Lordship of Christ to every area of life, and when we joyfully participate in the Great Commission, knowing that Christ has purchased men and women from every last tribe and tongue. The Lamb has been slain. He has taken the scroll. History is in His hands, and He is worthy.