Excerpt: When God steps back from the church, the powers of negation and chaos, in the form of human adversaries, do their worst. Israel, the church of God, is hopeless without an attentive Lord. All she can cry for is, “Lord, return. Lord, return. Return.” Well, the question is, “Will God act.” Here’s the third question. The question is: When? We go to chapter 64. “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,” they cry. It is very abrupt, very strong. They are crying out to God, “Tear the heavens in two! Tear this spacial distance between us and the heaven of heavens where you are. Tear this canopy which prevents us from seeing your glory! In as much as you will display your glory! Please, tear that apart that we might see you and that you might descend and come down amongst us!” That is what the church needs! That is what we need. What they are crying for is the direct and decisive act of God on behalf of his people. They are asking for a theophany, for an appearance of God himself. Look at the imagery of quaking mountains and flaming fire and steaming liquid, “That the mountains might quake at your presence, as when fire kindles brushwood, and fire causes water to boil.” Those are elements we find all through the Bible that accompany the appearance of God to Israel at Sinai, and so on. What are they wanting God to do? “Make your name known!” they say. “Make your name known!”
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Dr. Liam Goligher was Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church from May of 2011 until December of 2023. He previously pastored churches in Ireland, Canada, England, and his native Scotland.
Dr. Goligher has been closely involved in Bible teaching and evangelistic ministry...
