The Fiery Presence

UV 900/10,000 The Fiery Presence As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. Psalm 68 v 2 One can be the wick that lights up but not the wicked who try to put it out. Though all have sinned and are therefore sinners, it is the unrepentant who are described as wicked. The faithful are described as sheep of the Lord while the wicked are described as the fat of the sheep that is used to make wax. Though they attempt to put out the burning wick of the faithful, they will themselves unwittingly provide the wax to supply fuel to the wick to continue to burn. Though they project themselves to be hardened and strong as steel, they will melt like wax when they face the presence of God and His righteous judgement. When the wicked act against the faithful, the justice of God is provoked. He will blow them away like chaff before the wind, like the wind blows away the smoke that emits from the chimney. Scripture says that though the wicked attack the righteous in one direction, they will flee in seven directions. The image is that of the wind that blows the dust off in all directions. The image is like that of the sun. No spacecraft can venture to go close to the sun as its intense heat will melt even the hardest of substances. Yet the sun sustains all life on the planet Earth with warmth, light and energy. Moses warned the people not to allow any man or animal to touch the Lord’s mountain as he himself went up to hear of the Lord. The Pharaoh and the people of Egypt who set themselves against God’s will and the freedom of the people of Israel faced the brunt of His wrath. The Lord is a consuming fire. There is only one way to survive His justice and that is to approach His throne with reverence and to receive mercy. I have experienced His awesome power and deliverance several times in the course of my career as a senior police officer. When many foes and rivals conspired behind my back and even without my knowledge, the Lord just melted their weapons and blew them away. His breath is sufficient to melt the mountains of hostility, opposition and resistance that are in our paths. He just blew on the Red Sea and it stood like walls on both sides to let the Israelites cross over safely. The same waters came crashing like a flood that drowned the chariots and soldiers of Pharaoh as they attempted to pursue them and take them back into bondage. The recent cyclone called Phailin that failed to wreak much havoc and destruction against all predictions and expectations was blown away by the Lord. Prateep V Philip