Worship In Numbers

“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.” – Revelation 19:6

What is the biggest group you’ve ever participated in vocal worship with? For me it would probably be singing with two thousand people at an Urbana conference twenty years ago. Yet even that pales next to what John experiences here. Can you imagine so many people worshipping that the sound is like the roaring of water or pealing of thunder? 

 

There is something about corporate, vocal worship that cannot be replaced. John does not hear in heaven the sound of thousands of people joining a zoom call, or putting together their thoughts on a google doc. He hears their voices together, bodies together, celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb. It hit me while reading these verses how much I miss that. There is a power, an awakening, an assurance, even an active element of sanctification, that happens when we join in physical deed and voice with others in worship of God. There is a preoccupation with Jesus and his glory that happens when we lose ourselves in a group. There is a particular kind of testimony that is proclaimed when we congregate and proclaim words in unity. There is a speaking that happens not just to God, but to each other. There is a doubling of joy when we share our own joy in God with others. Martin Luther once wrote, “In my own house, there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.”

 

I feel sad that we can’t do that right now. The loss of physical corporate worship must be grieved, and I will certainly not take it for granted when it happens again.

 

At the same time, livestreamed worship is still corporate worship. We’re still singing words of praise at the same time, still united in worship and prayer before God. In fact, learning that we are part of a larger body even when we can’t see or feel the members of that body is an important spiritual skill. Hebrews 12:1 says that we are “surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses”—do you realize that all the believers who have gone before us are watching us, right now? They are joined with us in a very real way, in worship and perhaps even in prayer, whether or not we can see them. And even when we were meeting as a physical congregation in our church sanctuary, the spiritual reality is that we were also joined with all the other believers in all the other churches in our city and around our world in worship of God. One day, we will be able to see these invisible truths in their physical reality. One day, we will be able to meet again in person in our church sanctuary. One day, we will meet all the saints, and all the believers around the world, in the very throne room of God, and hear our voices mingle with theirs in a great roar of joyful worship.