Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. (Psalm 104:1-2)(NKJV)For thousands of years people have longed to see God's glory. Sometimes God gives us a glimpse of His greatness like He did for Moses. In Exodus 33:18 Moses asks--"Please, let me see Your glory" (HCSB). God then placed Moses in the crevice of a rock and covered him with His hand until His glory passed by, allowing Moses to see only His back, because as God told him--"You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live." (Ex. 33:20)(HCSB)
Sometimes God gives us visions of His glory like the one recorded in Isaiah chapter 6, where God calls and commissions Isaiah. --In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth. (Isa. 6:1-3)(HCSB)
Sometimes the Lord uses other things and experiences in our lives to reveal His glory and His greatness. I love the song "How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash and recorded by Chris Tomlin. The opening lines of the song focus our attention on the glory and awesomeness of our Lord. Look at these lyrics:
The splendor of a King
Clothed in majesty,
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.
He wraps Himself in light
and darkness tries to hide,
It trembles at His voice, trembles at His voice.
Clothed in majesty,
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.
He wraps Himself in light
and darkness tries to hide,
It trembles at His voice, trembles at His voice.
Can you imagine? The darkness is driven away from the brightness of God's glory. All the forces of evil tremble at His voice. And we should tremble as well. We should have a proper respect and awe for our Lord, Who is the Alpha and Omega, the Almighty God.
In Matthew 17:1-6, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain where they soon witness a miraculous sight. It has become known as the transfiguration. They were given a glimpse of Jesus' glory that would transform their understanding of who Christ was. They saw Jesus' appearance change into a blazing white light, as if they were looking into the sun. They then saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus. Then a bright cloud surrounded them and a powerful voice proclaimed: "This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him. Listen to Him." (Matt. 17:5)(NKJV) The disciples were terrified and fell on their faces at the sound of the voice. The voice was of God Himself! But their actions were right on the mark. Their gesture of worship was appropriate. Their reverence can teach us some things.
We need to consider how we respond to revelations of God's glory. We need to--just like Peter, James and John--maintain a humble attitude of worship before God. To realize that we are nothing compared to His glory and greatness. Let's thank God for giving us little glimpses of His glory and power. Let's be careful to worship Him in wonder and reverence asking forgiveness for the times we fail to recognize His true glory. His appearance is so glorious that He can wrap Himself in light. We should strive to surround, clothe ourselves with His glory. Let's do our best to live our lives in such a manner that His glory will be evident to the world around us.
Singing His Praises,
Joey C.