Basic HTML Version
The Lord Is in This Place, July 1
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is
in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How
dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven.
Genesis 28:16, 17
.
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 (
Psalm 111:9
). 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 old and young to ponder those words of Scripture 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
.
God is high and holy; and to the humble, believing soul, His house
on earth, the place where His people meet for worship, is as the gate of
heaven. The song of praise, the words spoken by Christ’s ministers, are
God’s appointed agencies to prepare a people for the church above, for
that loftier worship into which there can enter nothing that is impure....
God sees every irreverent thought or action, and it is registered in the
books of heaven.... Nothing is hid from His all-searching eye. If you
have formed in any degree the habit of inattention and indifference in
the house of God, exercise the powers you have to correct it.... Practice
reverence until it becomes a part of yourself.
[189]
196