Ps.95:1,2 – O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
The first time I can say for certain that I felt the immediate presence of the Lord was at a service held in an apartment on Carrollton Ave in the summer of 1973. A gathering of local Christians and a missions team from California were singing together in the Spirit at this meeting. I can remember the shift in the atmosphere as the tangible presence of the Lord filled the room. This experience put a hunger in my heart to press on to know the Lord, I believe the hunger that was birthed in me that night continues to today over 50 years later. In today’s verse David is exhorting us to come before His presence by offering thanksgiving to the Lord. Worship is connected to the presence, living a lifestyle of worship with thanksgiving can help you live more consistently in the presence of the Lord. Here is Spurgeon on this passage.
“Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. Here is probably a reference to the peculiar presence of God in the Holy of Holies above the mercy seat, and also to the glory which shone forth out of the cloud which rested above the tabernacle. Everywhere God is present, but there is a peculiar presence of grace and glory into which men should never come without the profoundest reverence. We may make bold to come before the immediate presence of the Lord—for the voice of the Holy Ghost in this psalm invites us, and when we do draw near to him we should remember his great goodness to us and cheerfully confess it.”
The immediate presence of the Lord is available today to anyone who thirsts for it. That presence I felt for the first time over 50 years ago has become stronger and more consistent in my life over the years. That place of communion with the Lord is the very heart of our Christian life. David is often remembered for his extravagant worship and of course his psalms. This was the secret of David’s strength and his wisdom. You and I can walk in the steps of David beginning by coming into His presence with thanksgiving. This is the very heart of our Christian life.
As I was reading this I was reminded of the time I first felt the presence of God. as I walked thru the doors of Victory. I did not understand it, and coming from where I came from I could not comprehend it. Wherever I have traveled in this world, wherever the Lord has placed me, I wake up thankful for that day that I walked through the doors to Victory where I experienced the power of, and learned to live in the peculiar presence of God . I thank God for Frank and Paris Bailey’s faithfulness to seek after God’s presence and humility to obey the Holy Spirit.
Eternally Grateful,
Chris