Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s lesson from Revelation 4:1-8 describes St. John’s vision of the throne of God. This mystical vision falls within the tradition of prophetic accounts of God’s glory, like Isaiah’s glimpse of God in the temple or Ezekiel’s experience of God in wind and cloud by the River Chebar.

John sees the throne of God surrounded by four living and winged creatures covered with eyes who ceaselessly cry

Holy, holy, holy
Lord God Almighty
who was and is and is to come!

These episodes are part of the Church's understanding of worship as an entrance into God’s presence in the heavenly places and the reason for such liturgical texts as the Sanctus:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory…

the Trisagion:

Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal, have mercy upon us.

and the Te Deum:

We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord; all the earth doth worship thee, the Father Everlasting. To thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein. To thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry…

Today, I’ve been listening to a related English text by John Donne (1571-1631) that bears a distinctly eschatological tone paired with superbly mystical music by the English organist and choir master, William H. Harris (1883-1973), Bring us, O Lord.

What a potent yet serene vision of heaven this music offers! Notice especially the finely crafted (very Russian-inspired) conclusion to the word “Amen.” The final cadence (movement to the last harmony) is particularly breath-taking. This beautiful setting and prayer together give one an impression of God's presence as a kind of enfolding in his love.

Bring us, O Lord, William H. Harris, Trinity College Choir

Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening
into the house and gate of heaven,
to enter into that gate and dwell in that house,
where there shall be
no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light;
no noise nor silence, but one equal music;
no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession;
no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity:
in the habitations of thy majesty and glory,
world without end.
Amen.

A prayer by John Donne

Yours in Christ,

—Justin