Boldly Yet Humbly
by Martyrius
(excerpted and edited by DSB)
When we consciously enter God’s presence, be it in prayer,
worship, Bible study, scripture meditation, or even viewing the wonders
of creation, we ought to collect our thoughts, guard our mind from
wandering, keep our motives honorable, and combine a heartfelt sense of
awe and trembling with the spiritual fervor of joy and whole-hearted
love (Psalm 2:11; 100). This is the beginning of what it means to come
boldly yet humbly into the presence of our great and glorious God.
Boldly Yet Humbly - by Martyrius (excerpted and edited by DSB)
When we consciously enter God’s presence, be it in prayer,
worship, Bible study, scripture meditation, or even viewing the wonders
of creation, we ought to collect our thoughts, guard our mind from
wandering, keep our motives honorable, and combine a heartfelt sense of
awe and trembling with the spiritual fervor of joy and whole-hearted
love (Psalm 2:11; 100). This is the beginning of what it means to come
boldly yet humbly into the presence of our great and glorious God.
Like those who dwell in heaven, let us boldly speak with God,
stretching out towards Him the gaze of the eyes of our heart
– looking upon His majesty in awe. Let us realize, even just
a little and insofar as we are capable, the extent of the greatness of
the God to whom we have been held worthy to speak. We should consider
how wretched we are, and in whose presence we are actually standing,
Right at the beginning of our conversation with God, as we stand before
Him, we should use those humble words of the blessed patriarch Abraham:
“See, I have begun to speak in the Lord’s presence,
I who am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:37).
Let us ponder this: how we, who are mortal beings continually
bespattered with the mud of sins, have been held worthy to stand before
the King of kings and Lord of lords who dwells in the resplendent light
that none can approach (1 Timothy 6:15-16), to whose honor thousands
upon thousands and myriads of myriads of angels and archangels minister
as they stand before Him in fear and trembling (Daniel 7:10). Let us
ponder how He, before whom even the heavens are not pure (Job 15:15),
even though He strikes wonder in His angels, yet He condescends to
speak with weak and wretched human beings who have rendered themselves
unclean by sins (Isaiah 6:5). And we are confident this is true because
He said through the prophet to the sinful people of Israel who were
befouled by ugly deeds: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Come, let us speak
with one another, says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:16, 18).
How immense is the grace of the Divine compassion and condescension
that knows no limit! God comes down to the level of sinful men and
women; the good Lord speaks with His rebellious servants; the Holy One
calls those who are impure to forgiveness. Humanity created out of mud
addresses its Fashioner with familiarity; dust converses with its
Maker. Let us, therefore, show awe when we sinners stand in the
presence of this Majesty and speak. Even though we are so impure in our
deeds, He draws us close to the sight of Himself in the spirit; let us
therefore repeat with trembling words of the blessed prophet Isaiah:
“Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean
lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty”
(Isaiah 6:5).
He can be seen by us in the spirit, even now, if we come boldly yet
humbly into His presence. In the boundlessness of His being, He is
everywhere, for the scripture says He is not far away from each one of
us, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27-28); and
while He is in us and everywhere around us, He exists in the majestic
glory of His divinity and in His utter exaltedness.
His creation is full of the splendor of His glory: the seraphs of fire
stand there to honor Him (Isaiah 6:2), the ranks of the many-eyed
cherubim escort His majestic being (Ezekiel 10:12), the bands of
spiritual powers dash around ministering to Him, the throngs of angels
fly hither and thither with their wings, and all the orders of
spiritual beings serve His being in awe, crying “Holy, Holy,
Holy, Lord Almighty” in trembling love, as they cover their
faces with their wings at the splendor of His great and fearful
radiance.
Let us therefore tremble at the magnitude of the sight of the Ineffable
One, and at the sound which ceaselessly utters the praise of the Hidden
Being. And let us be filled with awe and trembling, falling on our
faces in fear before Him. Let us recognize our earth-born nature, let
us be aware of the base character of the dust we are made from, let us
join the prophet in saying, with feeling and with a penitent heart,
“Woe is me,” and let us lay bare the foulness of
our sins quite openly, accusing ourselves forcefully – just
like the tax collector (Luke 18:10-14). Let us state before God that we
are not worthy to stand in His presence. And if we should imagine that
we have been put in a state of righteousness, then let us remember it
is not our righteousness, but His, who died and rose again on our
behalf. He gained the victory, not us. And yet, because of His victory
on our behalf, we can boldly come into God’s presence, speak
with Him, worship Him, study His Holy Scriptures, ponder His Holy Word,
fellowship with Him, and draw ever nearer and nearer to Him.
This is the beginning, the middle, and the end of what it means to come
boldly yet humbly into the presence of our great and glorious God.
The Syriac Fathers On Prayer And The Spiritual Life, Translated by
Sebastian Brock, Cistercian Publications, Inc., 1987, pages 202-206.
Like those who dwell in heaven, let us boldly speak with God,
stretching out towards Him the gaze of the eyes of our heart
– looking upon His majesty in awe. Let us realize, even just
a little and insofar as we are capable, the extent of the greatness of
the God to whom we have been held worthy to speak. We should consider
how wretched we are, and in whose presence we are actually standing,
Right at the beginning of our conversation with God, as we stand before
Him, we should use those humble words of the blessed patriarch Abraham:
“See, I have begun to speak in the Lord’s presence,
I who am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:37).
Let us ponder this: how we, who are mortal beings continually
bespattered with the mud of sins, have been held worthy to stand before
the King of kings and Lord of lords who dwells in the resplendent light
that none can approach (1 Timothy 6:15-16), to whose honor thousands
upon thousands and myriads of myriads of angels and archangels minister
as they stand before Him in fear and trembling (Daniel 7:10). Let us
ponder how He, before whom even the heavens are not pure (Job 15:15),
even though He strikes wonder in His angels, yet He condescends to
speak with weak and wretched human beings who have rendered themselves
unclean by sins (Isaiah 6:5). And we are confident this is true because
He said through the prophet to the sinful people of Israel who were
befouled by ugly deeds: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Come, let us speak
with one another, says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:16, 18).
How immense is the grace of the Divine compassion and condescension
that knows no limit! God comes down to the level of sinful men and
women; the good Lord speaks with His rebellious servants; the Holy One
calls those who are impure to forgiveness. Humanity created out of mud
addresses its Fashioner with familiarity; dust converses with its
Maker. Let us, therefore, show awe when we sinners stand in the
presence of this Majesty and speak. Even though we are so impure in our
deeds, He draws us close to the sight of Himself in the spirit; let us
therefore repeat with trembling words of the blessed prophet Isaiah:
“Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean
lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty”
(Isaiah 6:5).
He can be seen by us in the spirit, even now, if we come boldly yet
humbly into His presence. In the boundlessness of His being, He is
everywhere, for the scripture says He is not far away from each one of
us, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27-28); and
while He is in us and everywhere around us, He exists in the majestic
glory of His divinity and in His utter exaltedness.
His creation is full of the splendor of His glory: the seraphs of fire
stand there to honor Him (Isaiah 6:2), the ranks of the many-eyed
cherubim escort His majestic being (Ezekiel 10:12), the bands of
spiritual powers dash around ministering to Him, the throngs of angels
fly hither and thither with their wings, and all the orders of
spiritual beings serve His being in awe, crying “Holy, Holy,
Holy, Lord Almighty” in trembling love, as they cover their
faces with their wings at the splendor of His great and fearful
radiance.
Let us therefore tremble at the magnitude of the sight of the Ineffable
One, and at the sound which ceaselessly utters the praise of the Hidden
Being. And let us be filled with awe and trembling, falling on our
faces in fear before Him. Let us recognize our earth-born nature, let
us be aware of the base character of the dust we are made from, let us
join the prophet in saying, with feeling and with a penitent heart,
“Woe is me,” and let us lay bare the foulness of
our sins quite openly, accusing ourselves forcefully – just
like the tax collector (Luke 18:10-14). Let us state before God that we
are not worthy to stand in His presence. And if we should imagine that
we have been put in a state of righteousness, then let us remember it
is not our righteousness, but His, who died and rose again on our
behalf. He gained the victory, not us. And yet, because of His victory
on our behalf, we can boldly come into God’s presence, speak
with Him, worship Him, study His Holy Scriptures, ponder His Holy Word,
fellowship with Him, and draw ever nearer and nearer to Him.
This is the beginning, the middle, and the end of what it means to come
boldly yet humbly into the presence of our great and glorious God.
The Syriac Fathers On
Prayer And The Spiritual Life, Translated by Sebastian
Brock, Cistercian Publications, Inc., 1987, pages 202-206.