Revelation 4:11, commentary and pictures

The Lord is worthy to receive glory and honor and power and worship because He created all things, and every other being owes its existence to Him.
Human beings were made for His glory and pleasure with an object and purpose, which was His original design for them to live wisely now and secure future life.
Affliction, suffering, death, and the present weak and degenerate condition of mankind are not His pleasure or design but came by sin, and when His original design is fulfilled there will be no sickness or death.
Because He alone is worthy, people are not to glory in their own wisdom, might, or riches, but to praise and thank Him and glorify and exalt His name with all the heart in knowing Him as the Lord who delights in loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
This worship will reach its fullness in the purified new earth when the redeemed cast the crowns He placed on their heads at the Redeemer's feet and, touching golden harps, render praise and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne.

Worthy Creator of All

The Lord is worthy to receive glory and honor and power and worship because He created all things, and every other being owes its existence to Him. Creation is given as the reason for honoring Him and for the homage rendered by heavenly beings. His creative power sets His claim to reverence above the claims of false gods, and the Sabbath serves as the sign and memorial of His creative work.

Human beings were made and created for God's glory and pleasure and with an object and purpose, and this was God's original design. The Bible reveals that purpose and the means of attaining it, showing how people may live wisely now and secure future life. The present weak, sickly, degenerate condition of mankind is not in harmony with that design. Affliction, suffering, and death are not God's pleasure, for He takes no pleasure in them, but they are the result of sin. When God's original design is fulfilled and carried out there will be no sickness or death.

Because the Lord alone is worthy, men must not glory in their own wisdom, might, or riches. Instead they must praise the name of God, magnify Him with thanksgiving, glorify His name forevermore with all the heart, and exalt His name together. True glorying is in understanding and knowing Him as the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things He delights. The song of praise to His worth is a heavenly focus that strengthens believers in their struggle against sin. Contemplating His worth and the glories of heaven weakens pride and love of the world.

The truth that He made all things is to shine in clear rays to convince minds. It is to be recognized through a deep and pure conviction, not one clouded by human logic. God would bring people from conviction by logic to a deeper, higher, purer, and more glorious conviction unperverted by human logic. Human logic has often nearly quenched this light.

Worship in Heaven and Earth

The vision opens the glories of heaven before enraptured sight, the throne of God and anthems of joy resounding through the heavenly courts. It reveals God's plan for future ages, and its description stirs longing to stand with the redeemed in the presence of God. It was given about half a century after Jesus ascended to present His church before God and to prepare mansions for His faithful ones, showing that Jesus still loved His people when He came to His aged servant to reveal the future.

The inner courts of the celestial temple hold the heavenly choir round about the throne, with song and thanksgiving as its themes. That glory of the opened temple belongs to every church that will love God and keep His commandments, and it is discerned only by spiritual eyesight through study, meditation, and prayer. When Zion arises and shines her light will be most penetrating, precious songs of praise and thanksgiving will be heard in the assembly of the saints, and murmurings, complainings, and lamentations over little disappointments and difficulties will be lost sight of. Faith then cuts through the hellish shadow of Satan to see the Advocate offering up the incense of His own merits in behalf of His people, and seeing this fills the heart with a sense of the immensity and diversity of the love of God, quickens insensible hearts, and brings light into the soul to discern wonderful things out of the Word.

The heavenly courts above are all purity and perfection, where every being has perfect reverence for God and His holiness. Joining that worship requires correct ideas of true worship and true reverence now, keeping the sacred and eternal separate from common things and cultivating appreciation for a pure and holy heaven. Without this preparation professed believers are an offense to God and a disgrace to religion and can never be ready to worship with the heavenly worshipers. Worshipers above are gathered around the throne of God in prayer and praise in light and glory. When believers on earth assemble as active workers in meetings for prayer and praise they come near to those heavenly worshipers, keep their lamps trimmed and burning, and reflect God's light and glory brightly, while those who absent themselves from religious services lay off spiritual life, fail to come near to that heavenly worship, and reflect that light and glory only feebly.

The verse will be fulfilled in the purified new earth and promised home when the beauties of Eden are restored. There the overcomers will be received as God's children to inherit the kingdom prepared for them and to receive the kingdom forever, and the restored universe will be beautiful and holy. The redeemed will cast at the feet of their Redeemer the crowns He has placed on their heads and, touching their golden harps, will render praise and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne and fill all heaven with rich music in songs of praise to the Lamb.

At entrance into the city of God, after the dead are raised and the living are changed from mortality to immortality and caught up to meet the Lord, Christ will place crowns of glory, life, immortality, and gold on their heads, give a place with Him on His throne, and throw back the gates so that all nations that kept the truth may enter in with His blessing upon them. As they pass through the gates the faithful workers from earthly homes found worthy will take every glittering crown from their heads and cast it at Jesus' feet again and again, and praise and glory will come from their lips to honor and glorify Him as the worthy Redeemer. Jesus in the golden city, lighting it with His countenance, will lead His blood-bought children through the pearly gates to present His church without spot to His Father, and He will see the travail of His soul and be satisfied, while angels bow, cast their crowns, and unite with golden harps to fill heaven with music and songs to the Lamb.

The saved will wear crowns in the city and recognize those who won them to Christ and to the truth. Those who faithfully worked to save others will see the people reached through their efforts among the redeemed and share their joy in praising the Redeemer through eternity. So this casting of crowns at Jesus' feet with praise through eternity is the reward and worship of soul-winners and the souls they saved, followed by touching golden harps and filling heaven with music and songs to the Lamb in final victory with heaven to win and hell to shun.

Every one of the redeemed who receives a crown will cast it at the feet of Jesus the Redeemer, touch the golden harp, and fill heaven with music and songs giving glory to the Lamb as worthy, worthy, worthy, the Lamb that was dead but lives again as triumphant Conqueror. This comes when they see the King in His beauty, receive everlasting life that all the riches of the world cannot buy, and go no more out forever. They are fitted for the higher courts above and made ready to stand by Jesus Christ through reform, self-denial and self-sacrifice, by making everything of the talents God has given them, and by laboring as humble and contrite and simple as Christ was.