Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
In its setting the verse belongs to a series of symbolic messages given to encourage God's people when they were uncertain about rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple. Those visions assured them of God's compassion and love, His return to Jerusalem with mercy, and His purpose to restore and comfort His people. The verse calls all flesh to reverent silence before the Lord because He has risen from His holy dwelling to act.
His rising means He comes to dwell in the midst of Zion, to join many nations to Himself as His people, to take Judah as His portion in the holy land, and to choose Jerusalem again. This shows that nothing is so dear to God as His church. With jealous care He guards those who seek Him, He has not forsaken His people, and He will not let Satan and evil angels rob them of their rights by pointing to their mistakes and holding up their past unworthiness to discourage them and make their case appear hopeless.
The call to silence applies to this time when His people lift the standard and proclaim present truth, use the Lord's money to establish memorials for Him in new places, and carry on aggressive warfare in missionary fields such as Australia and America. His rising means He goes before His people and moves them to supply means, workers, and needed institutions such as sanitariums, so that discouragement does not come and the warning can be given where fields are opening and extending. The verse also applies to those awaiting God's everlasting kingdom, where His rising signals that He is acting to fulfill His purposes for His people.
In its setting the verse belongs to a series of symbolic messages given to encourage God's people when they were uncertain about rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple. Those visions assured them of God's compassion and love, His return to Jerusalem with mercy, and His purpose to restore and comfort His people. The verse calls all flesh to reverent silence before the Lord because He has risen from His holy dwelling to act.
His rising means He comes to dwell in the midst of Zion, to join many nations to Himself as His people, to take Judah as His portion in the holy land, and to choose Jerusalem again. This shows that nothing is so dear to God as His church. With jealous care He guards those who seek Him, He has not forsaken His people, and He will not let Satan and evil angels rob them of their rights by pointing to their mistakes and holding up their past unworthiness to discourage them and make their case appear hopeless.
The call to silence applies to this time when His people lift the standard and proclaim present truth, use the Lord's money to establish memorials for Him in new places, and carry on aggressive warfare in missionary fields such as Australia and America. His rising means He goes before His people and moves them to supply means, workers, and needed institutions such as sanitariums, so that discouragement does not come and the warning can be given where fields are opening and extending. The verse also applies to those awaiting God's everlasting kingdom, where His rising signals that He is acting to fulfill His purposes for His people.