unto the King eternal..

"All glory and honor forever to You, O God
All glory and honor forever to You, my King eternal
To You, my King eternal
To you, my King eternal
Unto the King Eternal
Unto the Lord Immortal
Unto the God invisible
You alone are wise"

tonight i joined in with brothers and sisters singing this to our Lord. as i sat thoughts of those who have gone before me entered my mind. as i sang "my King eternal," i thought about those who have walked and worshiped before me. the great cloud of witnesses that surround me..

this picture of brothers and sisters in the 1870-1880s (Little House on the Prairie time) worshiping Jesus came to my mind. i thought about how different their style of worship may have been, but that their hearts were the same as mine. i saw a girl with a bonnet on her head reading her Bible on a bench. and i realized that girl probably faced the same longing for me of Jesus that i do..

then i began to think back on WWI and WWII. i pictured soldiers singing songs of praise, quoting pslam 23.

then i thought of brothers and sisters all around the world who were joining in with me at the exact same moment singing praises to the King..

i felt a different freedom in worship than i have ever felt before..i felt corporate worship on a whole new level as i connected not only with those in the same room as me, but those from centuries past. those who i have an eternal relationship with..

then i was reminded of a conversation i once had about the fact that because God is outside of time..and that opened us to think: in this present moment as i sing and cry out to Jesus, i am also being seen by Jesus as He is hanging on the cross in excruciating pain. could it be that our worshiping encouraged the heart of Jesus while He hung there? doesn't this perspective change the way you worship in song?!