The Indescribable Made Describable

After these things I looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: "Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things." Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it! And the one seated on it was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald encircled the throne. (Revelation 4:1-3)¹

And John attempted to put in words the vision he had seen - and the one seated was something like jasper . . . And He was something like carnelian . . . and He was something like a rainbow . . .

How do we describe You?
How do we portray?
The one who defies description
The words escape me

"Holy" just begins to touch it
"Wonder" fails to convey and
"Glory" barely reaches the beauty you display

How do we describe You?
How do we portray
Your being so defies
The very words we try to say

There are no words
There is no voice That can touch
That can begin to communicate
How awesome You truly are
No wonder You withhold
this vision from so many
The inability to describe You
would drive us to insanity
No wonder You say
No man can see God and live

How do we describe You?
How do we portray
Your being so defies
the very words we try to say

And so You sent us Jesus
So we could look on Him
The One who was pierced
And be able to describe
Be able to know the depth of Your love
The depth of compassion
That the Holy One of Israel has for His creation
This ONE part of Your character
This ONE part of Your being.
This ONE part of who You are
You have given us

How do we describe You?
How do we portray
Your being so defies
the very words we try to say
Though Your glory cannot be described
Though Your beauty escapes us
Though Your being
is beyond all understanding
Your LOVE we can touch
Your LOVE we can see
Your LOVE we can know

The Indescribable One lowered Himself
And became describable
And still we do not comprehend
And still we sell You short
in our understanding
So open our eyes
And show us Jesus
The Lion who is the Lamb
The God who became man.

And so we come to the table of the Lord
The elements Jesus used to describe himself
He said this is my body
which is broken for you
this is the lamb - this is the lion
this is my body, your bread, your life
this is my blood which was shed for you
this too is the lion, this too is the lamb
this too is your life
and I said Lord,
How do I partake of your body
how do I partake of your blood
how do I - - - how do I come
and He said, just do it
the indescribable one became describable
and we taste and we see and we know
so come and taste the bread
that represents the body
come drink of the cup that represents the blood
and know that there is a way to describe our God
because He hung on the cross
because he came to the earth
because he loved us enough to give us this
to remember -
to taste and to be able
to describe him
the indescribable made describable

Elizabeth Darby Bass
October 14, 2007

1. Scripture reference quoted by permission from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org All rights reserved. "The NET Bible® is freely available at www.bible.org/ .