The Presence of the LORD

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, ⁸ Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters."

Psalm 114:7-8

The earth created by God has been witness to countless miracles and displays of divine power.  God caused the earth to open its mouth and swallow Korah, Dathan and Abiram and all who joined with them against Moses.  When God descended on Sinai the earth shook and a thick cloud covered the mount.  The miracle referenced here was when God, on at least two occasions, caused water to flow from the rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20).  God provided water from the rock for His people to be refreshed, sustained and He would be sanctified in the eyes of the people.

This miraculous flow of water was a foreshadowing of how God, by a new covenant entered into by faith in Jesus, would cause the Living Water of the Holy Spirit to flow through those who are born again by the Gospel.  Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  The people who drank from the water God caused to flow eventually fell in the wilderness, but those who are spiritually regenerated by faith in Jesus will live forever in glory with Him.

It is a fitting thing for the earth to tremble in the presence of the LORD because the power of God to save is equaled by His ability to destroy forever.  This earth, unlike believers in the LORD Jesus Christ, will not be redeemed:  it will be replaced with new heavens and a new earth where only righteousness dwells.  This world, all the systems, wisdom and Satan the temporary ruler of it are under the coming judgment of God which is inescapable.  Jesus Christ provides the only hope of forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation from sin.  Those who know God tremble before His power, and those who do not yet know God someday will.  Because the almighty God humbled Himself to appear to the world as Jesus Christ, Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7-11:  "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The earth trembles in the presence of the LORD because it will be no more.  People tremble out of fear, yes, but also from anger, from shock or when nervous or excited.  The earth trembles and quakes, yet by the grace of God believers are established on solid ground and can stand fast by faith in Jesus.  Praise the LORD for the spiritual rebirth He has granted us by His grace and the Living Water of the Holy Spirit which springs up into eternal life.  We tremble because we are weak, and we tremble because God is strong.  How good it is to be held secure by Him!