Praise Reflection (8 July) – Holiness Adorns The Lord’s House
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Psalm 93
The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is mighty.
Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.
God is holy (qadōš). God is the source of holiness and as such God is the primary agent of sanctification – of making someone or something holy. God’s very presence has holiness ‘adorn’ his house.
Reflect and Respond
In the Old Testament there was a deep understanding of the awesome and unapproachable holiness of God. There were rituals of sacrifice reinforcing the importance of repentance and cleansing from sin. God’s holiness could not be taken for granted. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year, after much preparation and cleansing. He had a rope tied around his ankle in case he died in the holy presence so that he could be dragged out.
Through his sacrifice, Jesus has made our access into his presence, into the Most Holy place, possible through his own blood.
Hebrews 10:19-23
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
You are invited to tell the Lord what it means to you to have access through his Son to the Most Holy Place.
How often would you like to use this access?
The most extraordinary thing is that our holy God also dwells, since Jesus’ sacrifice and victory on the Cross, in the hearts of people who call Him Lord and Saviour.
1 Corinthians 3:16
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
We have the incredible privilege of hosting the holy presence. But there is more! Together we become a corporate holy temple in the Lord. Once we belong to Jesus, not only does holiness adorn our own hearts as we host the presence of a holy God but as the people of God, as his holy building, as his bride, we find holiness adorns this corporate house built by the Lord himself.
1 Peter 2:4-5
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
People can talk about building their ‘forever house’ when coming to retirement. The Son of God builds his forever house in us. This is the Lord whose residence is in the Most Holy Place, in the Holies of Holies. Pause and ponder on what this means for a) how we honour Jesus’s holy presence within, b) how holiness needs to adorn this temple within, and also c) how we honour each other, knowing what each is hosting.
Ephesians 2:19-22
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Song
Here I Will Dwell – Victory Worship
Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aESSIr-YlWU
Prayer
“How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
(Psalm 84:1-2)
But I, by your great love, can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.
(Psalm 5:7)
Holy God, Holy Trinity, we bow before you in adoration and praise. Thank you for declaring us righteous when we confess our sins, enabling us to have your holy presence dwell within us. We praise you for the privilege of entering the Most Holy Place through the blood of Jesus. We choose as a response to follow Paul’s suggestion and offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—as our true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1) We thank you that you are building us together into a holy temple. We acknowledge that unless the Lord builds the house our labour would be in vain (Psalm 127:1). We praise and thank you that your house is adorned with your holiness and is a place where we can gaze upon your beauty and inquire of you (Psalm 27:4). In Jesus name. Amen.
You are encouraged to use this Reflection daily over the week, lingering in it and letting the words of Scripture touch more and more deeply.
Image credit: CSG Ltd, https://www.cheapsurfgear.com/