HOW well do we know God? As I approached writing this message for 2024 and meditating on this text, I found this verse particularly relevant to the situation which I find in the visible church today. There seems to be, on the one hand, a tendency for some to be quick to judge and look down on others in ways similar to that which was expressed by the Pharisees in the time of the Gospels; and, on the other hand, in other parts of the visible church I find a view of God which appears to diminish God to the limits of human imagination and preference. In contrast in this scripture verse, God is speaking and so revealing the truth about himself. Firstly, concerning his person. Secondly, his presence. Thirdly, his action. Let us as we enter this new year, empty our minds of all prejudice, and all preconceived understanding, and seek the Holy Spirit to reveal God to us through these words where God says.

THE PERSON OF GOD.

God speaks of himself as 'the high and lofty one'. God speaks of himself as so high above us, and so much above us, as is possible to imagine. God is the one who has created mankind. Man exists because God brought him into being. We are told in the account of creation that God created man far above the rest of creation. It is expressed in Genesis 1: 27 'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.' This does not mean that God created human beings to be equal to himself in power, but that he created man with divine qualities above the animal creation, so that man can think objectively, and have knowledge of God as creator, sustainer and ruler of all, to be worshipped and obeyed. All that God created and all life and human life, including angels and even Satan and his demonic host of fallen angels, are under his power and authority. He is sovereign over all.

God as the high and loft one is revealed throughout the Bible, but perhaps the most clear expression of is majesty and greatness above all in the universe is expressed in Revelation chapter 4. This chapter records a vision which was given to John the apostle, where Christ bids him 'come up here and I will show you what must take place' Immediately he was in the Spirit, and he sees all things from this heavenly perspective. He sees a throne in heaven with someone sitting upon it and the vision continues with a revelation of this one on the throne. It is a vision of God in the centre of all things and of the universe, and as the vision goes on we see that the whole universe is subject to the throne.

As the vision is opened up we are told that the appearance of the one on the throne is of jasper and carnelian which symbolises the pure holiness of God who cannot tolerate sin, and the rainbow encircling the throne signifying that for the children of God who put their trust in Christ as their sin-bearer the judgement of God has passed. The vision goes on with the throne encircled by all the rest of creation, first the redeemed church, twelve apostles representing the church of the New Testament and the Old Testament church represented by the twelve patriarchs, twenty four elders. So the vision goes on with all the rest of creation, the cherubim and the angels, and all life as under the dominion of the throne. The twenty four elders give honour to the throne, the cherubim cry 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was, and is, and is to come' and and the angels also, and all cry 'You are worthy, our Lord God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being'. Read this chapter and see the 'High and lofty one'. The throne is is over all and above all and worship, obedience, and honour is owed to God on the throne as creator and ruler of all. Another passage in Isaiah also expresses that God is the high and lofty one, and this in Isaiah 6.

Then God tells us that he inhabits eternity. This does not suggest that God had a beginning, and from there is eternal, but that God has existed and been there eternally. Time is part of the creation which God brought into being. The truth is expressed more perfectly in the words of the Authorised Version of the Bible where the words are 'who inhabits eternity'.

This speaks of God as the self existing one, who is, and who was, and is to comes, who has always existed as the omnipotent majesty, through whom all things consist and exist, and who is the author and creator of all that exists. It speaks of God holding all things by his sovereign and almighty hand. Isaiah 40 from verse 12 is another passage which opens up the almighty sovereignty of God who is over all.

The third expression in our text which tells the truth about his person is that 'whose name is holy'. That God is the Holy One, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, is shot through the whole revelation of the Bible. As the Holy One, he created Adam and Eve holy, but when they disobeyed him, his wrath punished them with death, and all their progeny with them. Since then this sentence of death has reigned (Romans 5: 12-14); and so humanity is dead in soul and spirit, and sinful and sinners from the day they are born. It is only in amazing love that this Holy Majesty took upon himself in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the just punishment for sin, by Jesus taking on himself the whole just punishment for the sin of the world, when he died on the cross, so providing eternal redemption for all put their trust in him as their sin-bearer and Saviour.

It is one of the dreadful successes of Satan that he has infiltrated into the church the lie that God loves us whatever we do, and that we sinners are good at heart, and always under the love of God. God as holy who must punish sin is denied.

THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

Our text goes on to declare where God dwells. The world thinks, and much of the visible church thinks, that God's love encompasses all humanity, and such loving means that God is present to all to bless and to provide. This declaration in this text we are considering together, tells us that he dwells only in two places. This is expressed in the words 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit'.

That God lives in a high and holy place surely indicates that God lives in the eternity of heaven, where nothing that defiles can enter; where all is pure; where Satan is always and totally barred and has not access whatsoever.

God originally created our world to be like the pure air of heaven, but Satan, who had been cast out of heaven, and cast down on earth, spoiled all that when he tempted Adam and Eve to believe him and obey him, and think that God was lying to them. But having been cast out of the heavenly glory when he rebelled against God, he has been and always will be barred from heaven.

God lives in the high and holy place of his heavenly glory, where all is pure, where nothing that defiles may enter to defile this most holy place.

But amazing as it is incredible, the Holy majesty also lives with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.

How incredible is this glorious truth, that the holy God who lives in a high and holy place, also lives with the contrite and lowly in spirit. This means he lives with fallen sinners who are contrite and lowly.

It is not that he lives, because he is love, with everyone on earth, but only with those who are contrite and lowly. It is amazing that he lives with anyone of us sinners on earth. It would have been more likely that this holy God would have judged all his creation after Adam and Eve as rebellious sinners and have done with us, but from that very time he promised a Saviour who would crush the serpent’s head.

What is being contrite and lowly? The revelation of God makes this plain if we are able and willing to hear the voice of God.

To be contrite and lowly is first of all to understand our sinfulness in the sight of God. To see our disobedient and sinful life in the sight of God. It is to sorrow and repent of this falling short of the holiness of God. It is to be poor in spirit before God, and acknowledge how we have offended God in thought, and word, and deed. It is to be mourning over the knowledge of our filthiness in the sight of God in deep repentance and sorrow. It is to be so meek that we appreciate that we deserve nothing from God. And so in all this lowliness and contrition cry for mercy. This is the poor in spirit and the mourning and the meek of the Beatitudes where the promise that such is the kingdom of God, and those who are comforted, and those who inherit the earth, and in such lowliness and contrition of hearts, hunger and thirst after righteous and so are filled. Then the next Beatitude expresses the blessing that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled.

THE ACTION OF GOD.

How glorious and wonderful is this action. The words of truth are these 'to revive the spirit of the lowly, and revive the heart of the contrite'.

To these there is great blessing from the most holy sovereign God. He revives such people. In what way is this known and experienced? These are the ones who are forgiven all their sins. These are the ones God gives the peace of acceptance. These are the ones whom God accounts righteous and just in his sight for Christ's sake. These are the ones whose sins are remembered no more.

These are the ones God responds to in everlasting love. These are the ones who are welcomed into God's everlasting family and become his children by new birth and resurrection of soul. These are the one in whom the Holy Spirit enters and dwells within.

This is not as the world thinks. The world of those who are self-righteous who think that they have merited God's acceptance and love are not heard by God in his holy majesty. Those who feel no sense of sin and sorrow for sin and believe because God is love, and they have no need of any repentance for sin, and think that there is no condemnation that they deserve remain untouched by the reviving of God.

The contrite and the lowly feel that they must be cast out by God, and can only pray God to be merciful to them as sinners, these God revives with the joy of his forgiving love and are those for whom Christ died, and suffered the whole and complete and just wrath of God in their place, for God gave his only begotten Son to perish in hell on the cross, so that as they put their trust in Jesus alone, they receive the gift of eternal life.

This is so hard to believe by the penitent, and denied by the self-righteous, but this is true and taught throughout the New Testament.

Jesus spoke of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector praying in the temple. The Pharisees' prayer was praise of himself and his good works. The Tax-collector in sorrow for sin cried to God to be merciful to him. Jesus said the Tax-collector went home justified by God rather than the righteous Pharisee. The Pharisee told God he was not a sinner and also how good he was. His prayer was not heard or respected by God. The Tax-collector came to God confessing his sin and sinfulness, pleading for mercy. God heard him and for Christ's sake forgave all his sins.

In the epistles this sovereign grace of God is expressed so plainly. In John's first epistle we read 'the is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins'.

Christ came into the world to save sinners. If we are unwilling to take the sinners place, we have no part in the saving love of God in Christ Jesus.

All we who know how far we have fallen short of the glory of God and throw ourselves on the mercy of God, and put our trust in Jesus alone, without claiming any personal merit, these are the ones the Holy One revives. Thanks be to God for his excellent gift, our Saviour Jesus Christ. This is our comfort in this new year and forever after.