2 Chronicles 5:13, 14 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD… Profoundly subdued and solemnized indeed must those worshippers have been on this great occasion. When, in the presence of the sovereign and of all the elders of Israel, the priests brought the ark of the covenant into its place, into the holy of holies; when they reverently withdrew from that innermost sanctuary, which was only to be entered once in the year by the high priest only; and when, amid the sound of many trumpets and the loud voice of sacred song, the sanctuary was suddenly filled with that luminous cloud which symbolized and assured the presence of Jehovah; - the supreme moment had arrived in the history of the sacred building: "for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God." If we ask the question - When may it be truly said of our Christian sanctuaries that "the glory of God has filled" them? we should say it is when - I. GOD'S PRESENCE IS REALIZED BY THOSE WHO WORSHIP WITHIN THE HOUSE. When they who meet one another there are profoundly conscious that they have come to meet God; that the Lord of all power and truth and grace is present in the midst of them - as truly, though not as manifestly, present as he was in the temple when "the house was filled with a cloud." It is a deep and strong sense of God's nearness to us that makes that to be "holy ground" on which we stand. II. GOD'S SPIRITUALITY IS RECOGNIZED AND HONOURED. God is glorified when he is truly and acceptably worshipped by his human children. And he is thus worshipped when he is approached and honoured as a Divine Spirit (John 4:23, 24; Philippians 3:3); when worship is essentially and predominantly spiritual; when the service is not merely or mainly that of the lip or the hand, but of the mind, of the heart, of the will; of the intelligent, fervent, determining spirit; when prayer and praise and "inquiry" (Psalm 27:4) are the devout actions of the soul. III. GOD'S NATURE AND CHARACTER ARE PRESENTED IN THEIR FULNESS. When he is not represented in a way that is needlessly and culpably partial and misleading, but when he is made known with the fulness with which he has revealed himself to us; when the message that is declared concerning him is that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all," and also that "God is love," love being the chief, the commanding, the crowning feature of his character; when he is presented as the Author of law, and also "the God of all grace," and "the God of our salvation;" when he is made known as the Divine One, who punishes all iniquity (both in the body and in the spirit), and who also pardons sin and restores the offender to his favour and his friendship; when not only the grandeur of his holiness, but also the glory of his goodness (Exodus 33:19) are upheld before the eyes of men; when he is preached as the universal Sovereign, holding all hearts and lives in his control, and also as the Divine Father, deeply interested in all his children, and seeking their return to his likeness and to his home; - then the "glorious God" is seen by those who have "eyes to see" the highest and the best. IV. GOD'S GRACIOUS POWER IS MANIFESTED. When, in the Person and by the power of his Divine Spirit, he takes possession of the mind and heart of those who are gathered in his presence; when he thus inspires the teacher who speaks in his Name, quickens and animates the hearts of his people, renews the will and regenerates the spirit of those who entered his house unreconciled to his rule. This, his gracious action, is that manifestation of his glory which we should most eagerly desire and should most sedulously seek; it is to be found by purity and prayer (see Matthew 5:8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Luke 11:13). - C. Parallel Verses KJV: It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; |
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