The Presence of God in His Church
C. Bradley, M. A. Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth you shall make to me, and shall sacrifice thereon your burnt offerings, and your peace offerings, your sheep… "I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee," said a faithful God on Sinai. And did the words, as they died on His lips, pass away from His remembrance? No; His Church in the wilderness beheld and owned His presence. He shone forth between the cherubim; He met His people in His tabernacle, and "made them joyful in His house of prayer." And when a temple was built at Jerusalem for His rest, He dwelt visibly in it. "The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord"; and this was His promise concerning it, "I have chosen this place to Myself for an house of sacrifice. Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place. Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually." And when He left the heaven of His glory, and came down "a Man of sorrows" to the earth, was Sinai forgotten amidst His labours and griefs? A thousand years had not erased from His memory one word of the promise He had uttered there. He remembers it; He takes it up as His own; He confirms and extends it. "In all places," was His language on the mountain; "Wheresoever any are gathered together," is His language now. "I will come unto thee," said He to the hosts of Israel; He says to us, "Where only two or three are met together, I am." "I will come," was His promise in the wilderness; but this is His declaration in His Church, "I am come; there am I in the midst"; His presence is no longer a mercy to be hoped for, it is a blessing to be enjoyed. But all this, it may be said, was addressed to His disciples; and was intended only for the early ages of His Church. He foresaw the objection. Hear Him again; "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." What then is this house of prayer? It is a place where we are to meet our God. We see Him not, perhaps we think not of His presence; but if only two or three of us are seeking our happiness in Him, He is here, and here to bless us. His own faithful lips have told us so. May His Spirit grant that our own experience may often tell us the same! (C. Bradley, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. WEB: You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you.