“Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob…”

Psalm 114:7,8

You, O Adonai, are the One to be feared—your power, your purity, your presence are overwhelming, overarching, overcoming all opposition. When you manifested yourself in leading the Israelites,  as the girl in the picture leads her cow, “The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs” (Ps. 114:3,4).

Your power and presence caused the earth to writhe, the seas to flee, the rivers to cease flowing. You, O Elohim, the powerful and faithful One  “…turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.”

You are Mighty and Magnificent, looking down from on High. To view the earth from your lofty position you must stoop down; yet you do that willingly, lovingly, sacrificially.

You call yourself the God of Jacob, identifying yourself with that rascal, that rebellious and unrepentant, self-serving sinner and his descendants. You watched over them; you opened the way, prepared help, protected, guided and loved the Israelites, even though you knew they would rebel, disobey and bring disgrace to your Name.

What a great heart you have; what a mighty love flows from your being, bringing the possibility and power of change to all in this fallen world. Praise be to you for the many who embrace your love, are transformed and become your children.

Praise you for your working with all, even with those who will reject your grace (John 1:9;16:8-11), who choose to remain in darkness and spend eternity without you. Praise you for your pity on them, your death for them (1 John 2:2), your love for them (John 3:16).  You are “the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:10b).

You are the God of all mercy, triumphing over justice, offering an umbrella of forgiveness to all who come. And you will judge sin and evil because you are just, for without justice there can be no holiness, no peace, no freedom from sin.

Praise be to you, O Perfect God, Lord and Savior, Sovereign and King, the Wise and Loving One—for to you belongs all worship and praise, honor and glory, exaltation and obedience.

Prayer: “I bow before you today, Lord Jesus. Use me, glorify yourself through me in a way that will make you stand out and me fade from sight. May I be the paint on the wall; may you be the house itself, the one who gets the honor today. Amen.”