God is Glorious!

October 27, 2010

With the holidays approaching, each day the anticipation rises. Remember the anticipation you had as a child for the mystery of Christmas morning and what lay under the Christmas tree? Inside, I always felt little butterflies jittering around my tummy. My smile covered my face. I couldn’t force my eyes shut to sleep the night before. Everything built up to reveal the one mystery. What would Christmas morning hold?

Right now, I am in anticipation. Each day that passes the anticipation grows. But, it isn’t for the holidays. It is the anticipation of finally being home. Not my earthly home. My heavenly home. Because when I reach my heavenly home, I will behold the glory of the Lord.

Never before has a word proved more mysterious, yet the same word has been uttered in between the pages of my Bible. God’s glory is one of those great mysteries that we as humans like to try to describe, but we will never know what God’s true glory is until we are standing face to face with Him in heaven.

The Psalms are full of praise proclaiming God’s glory. And Psalm 24 is no different.

Psalm 24
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Selah

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory. Selah (NIV)

David tries his best to try to describe God is all His glory, yet all he comes up with are questions. “Who is this King of glory?” It is as though, the words are taken right from his mouth and all he can say is that he is astonished in His presence.

God’s glory is a mystery. But, the Bible does capture a few glimpses of the whole picture to tempt our palates for what is to come in heaven when we are reunited with the King of Glory. So, instead of me trying to stumble out words in a humble attempt to describe God’s glory, I will let God’s Word speak for itself.

Exodus 15:11 “"Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

Exodus 24:17 “To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.”

Exodus 33:18 “Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."”

Exodus 33:22 “When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.”

Psalm 29:3 “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.”

Psalm 96:6 “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.”

Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

Isaiah 6:3 “And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."”

Isaiah 40:5 “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."”

Ezekiel 10:4 “Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.”

Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

Revelation 5:12 “In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"”

Revelation 21:11 “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

Revelation 21:23 “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.”

God is Glorious!