Recently, the worship leader at our church introduced a new song to the praise choir: "Open Up the Heavens" by Meredith Andrews. (See the music video here). I was first impressed with the song's driving, impassioned tone (and also, of course, that the soprano part wasn't "screechy," my usual concern!). But I also found it a little unsettling. The imagery of the verses recalls the Old Testament period of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness--in the first verse, "Your glory like a fire, awakening desire, will burn our hearts with truth;" in the second verse, "Descending like a cloud, you're standing with us now. Lord, unveil our eyes." As the Israelites moved about in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt, they were lead by the presence of the Lord, who appeared as a "pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night" (Exodus 13:22).
Following each verse of the song, a pre-chorus builds the tension before the chorus bursts out with an exuberant demand: "Open up the heavens, we want to see you. Open up the flood gates, a mighty river flowing from your heart filling every part of our praise." The bridge becomes quieter, more reflective: "Show us your glory. Shower us your power."
Given the imagery of the verses, I was reminded of the Israelites' less than enthusiastic response to seeing a glimpse of God's glory. At Mount Sinai, God descended as fire on the mountaintop and the people had a visible manifestation of his glory. Their response? Terror: "Now when all the people saw the thunder and flashes of lightening and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood afar off and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die'" (Exodus 20: 18-19).
This is, of course, perfectly right: what other response can an unrighteous people (and by the way, that's all of us) have before the totally righteous God of all creation? Faced with this glory, we must become aware of our obvious incompatibility with perfection. Even Moses, who was specifically chosen by God to be his intermediary to the people, could not face God's glory without some element of danger. God grants Moses' request to see God's glory, but he must be shielded. God says, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by" (Exodus 33: 21-22).
If the Israelites were terrified of God's glory and Moses had to be shielded from a direct encounter with it, how then can we so boldly ask for our revelation? There are a few reasons. And they all have to do with Jesus. Just as Moses was hidden in a rock, we who know Christ are also hidden in The Rock, "as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious" (1 Peter 2:4), In him, our unrighteousness is covered by his righteousness, so we are no longer incompatible with the perfection and glory of God--this is the work of the cross and also reflects Christ's ongoing role as our advocate who "ever lives to make intercession for us" (Hebrews 7:25). The gospel enables us to have contact with glory.
We can also boldly ask to see God's glory because it is part of his plan for our transformation. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3, "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God....who has made us sufficient to be ministers of the new covenant" (vv. 4, 6), and it is because of this new covenant that "we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (v. 18). Seeing God's glory is the vehicle by which we are "transformed into the same image." The same image as God!
We can also boldly ask because seeing God's glory is the source of joy, both for ourselves and for God himself. As Gloria Furman writes, "'Behold your God!' is the most loving command we could receive from the Lord. He is beautiful beyond our human capacity to describe, yet he exuberantly instructs his people to declare his glory (68). An authentic vision of God's glory must naturally lead to the glorification of God. Note the relationship between the expression of his glory and God rejoicing in Psalm 104:31-32:
"May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!"
God demonstrates his glory and rejoices in the work. Note also, the response of the psalmist in the very next verse: "I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being."
So, how do we dare ask to see God's glory? Because we are in Christ, being transformed by the manifestation of his glory to the glorification of God and our mutual joy. As Paul writes, "Since we have such a hope, we are very bold" (2 Corinthians 3:12). May this soprano sing "Open Up the Heavens" and every other song of praise all the more boldly.
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