Revelation 14.2
[2] And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
Revelation 15.2
[2] And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God [3] and sang…
In chapter 15 the victorious saints are playing harps and singing at the same time. When I was a teenager I learned to play the oboe. In some ways it is an easy instrument because you only have to play one note at a time. But you can’t sing at the same time as you play it! I also learned to play the piano. I am competent enough playing, but I have to concentrate on what my fingers are doing, and I find it very difficult to sing at the same time. I have great admiration for those like our Wormley guitarists who manage to sing and play simultaneously. But when I watch different instruments being played, I reckon the most difficult of all is the harp. But that is the one we shall all be able to praise God with in heaven! And, according to verse 3, we shall sing and play at the same time.
In chapter 14, John hears the sound of harpists playing their harps; if we translate John’s original Greek literally, what he hears is the sound of “harpists harping on their harps”. Let that grab your imagination!
Father, I might not be able to play the harp, but I can worship you with my hands today, I can worship you with my mind, and I can worship you with my tongue. May my hands, mind and tongue be one in lifting up your name in all I do.
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