Chapter 85—A Sacred Experience
Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of him.
Psalm 33:8
.
Holy angels have been displeased and disgusted with the irreverent
manner in which many have used the name of God, the great Jehovah.
Angels mention that sacred name with the greatest awe, ever veiling their
faces when they speak the name of God; and the name of Christ is so sacred
to them that they speak it with the greatest reverence.
True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness
and a realization of His presence. With this sense of the Unseen, every heart
should be deeply impressed. The hour and place of prayer are sacred, because
God is there. And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the
feeling that inspires it will be deepened. “Holy and reverend is his name,”
the psalmist declares. Angels, when they speak that name, veil their faces.
With what reverence, then, should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon
our lips!
Well would it be for young and old to study and ponder and often repeat
those words of Holy Writ that show how the place marked by God’s special
presence should be regarded. “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet,” He
commanded Moses at the burning bush; “for the place whereon thou standest
is holy ground” (
Exodus 3:5
). Jacob, after beholding the vision of the angels,
exclaimed, “The Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.... This is none other
but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (
Genesis 28:16, 17
).
“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him”
(
Habakkuk 2:20
).
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