The Most Glorious One

When we pray to God it can sometimes be hard to imagine who we are praying to. God is a spirit that we cannot see, and yet He is always with us. So we are sort of left to our imagination when we pray.

There's an old hymn, "All Glory, Laud and Honor" that includes these words:

The people of the Hebrews

with palms before you went;

our praise and prayer and anthems

before you we present.

These words are often sung on Palm Sunday to celebrate when Jesus went into the city of Jerusalem five days before he would die on the cross. The people waved palms and welcomed him like a King. They shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David!"

Another procession with even greater pomp and circumstance took place when King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem about a thousand years before Jesus rode into the city on a donkey. King Solomon was celebrating the fact that God would have a permanent house of worship in the center of His people. Up until that time the people of Israel had only worshiped in a tent called the Tabernacle.

King Solomon's temple was very grand- gold everywhere and the very best workmanship was put into building it. The priests who served in the Temple made thousands of offerings at this special dedication. And King Solomon prayed a special prayer of worship and gratitude to the Lord:

Lord, the God of Israel,

there is no God like you in heaven above

or on earth below—

you who keep your covenant of love

with your servants who continue

wholeheartedly in your way.

1 King 8:23

When the Ark of the Covenant was brought in as Solomon prayed that prayer the scene is described this way:

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. (v. 10-11)

The Temple Dedication

The people who were there that day witnessed an amazing sight! They didn't have to imagine what God's glory must have looked like! They saw it!

God is a covenant keeping God whose love is so wonderful. When we offer our prayers to Him we can just imagine love! That's what God looks like!

With love, Mrs. Bess