“2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high. 3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits, and projected ten cubits from the front of the temple. 4 He made narrow windows high up in the temple walls. 5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6 The lowest floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits and the third floor seven. He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. 8 The entrance to the lowest floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.” 1 Kings 6:2-10 NLT
Our Father God,
The Temple was erected with quiet, silent order. The stones were prepared in the quarry made to exact measured sizes. The Temple was precise in its measurements to a design handed down by You. Lord to David. There would have been a respectful silence while it was being put together. I wonder if that made the builders speak in hushed tones and respectfully? Watching as we say there P’s and Q’s. No oaths?
I have been in Cathedral’s when there has been no one else present and the silence has been almost tangible, peaceful. It is pure and one can almost sense the years of prayer and scripture and worship. I have been in Pentecostal churches and paused to look round as I have enjoyed a cup of tea after the service. And could sense the joy and worship of the previous services echoing down the years. I have been in churches held in school halls and sensed as I walked in Your presence replacing the noisy weekly use by school children.
There is something precious about the place where prayer and praise is. Where a space is respected as welcoming a King. Not any King but You, the King of Kings. There needs to be no worldly noises or speech but worship that gives honour to the One, You who cannot be contained in a building but deign to meet us there. Glorious Temple, Church or adapted rooms. Keep us respectful of being in Your presence and yet warm, welcoming and forgiving to little ones and those who do not yet know You.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Wednesday 28th May 2025
The story of this worship is below under the lyrics.
We are standing on holy ground
And I know there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
We are standing in His presence on holy ground
When I walked through the door, I sensed His presence
And I knew this was a place where love abounds
For this is the temple, Jehovah God abides here
We are standing in His presence on holy ground
Chorus . . .
Lyrics: Geron Davis
Verse not included in video
In His presence there is joy beyond all measure,
and at His feet peace of mind can still be found.
And if you have a need, I know He has the answer;
reach out and claim it for we are standing on holy ground
In many ways, Geron Davis (1964 – ) was a typical teenager in the small town of Savannah, Tennessee. But he was a pastor’s kid who liked to write songs. When the time came for the dedication of their new church building, Geron’s dad asked him to write a song for the special occasion. Geron agreed to, but he realized he had 2 months to write it. Every week or two, his father asked him for a progress report… and each time Geron had to admit he hadn’t written it yet.
The night before the dedication, his father asked again, and Geron answered, “No sir, but I’m fixin’ to.”It was almost midnight. Geron went into the new sanctuary, dimmed the lights, and sat down at the new piano. He asked himself: What do we want to say when we come into this building tomorrow for our first worship service? The words came to him pretty quickly after that – in 15 minutes he had written the song his father had been waiting on… this song.
Early the next morning, he taught it to his younger brother and sister, and the 3 sang it together at the church service.19-year-old Geron had no idea what was going to happen to that song. The governor of Arkansas at that time, Bill Clinton, heard the song and liked it. After he became president, he had it sung at his mother’s funeral. That’s where Barbara Streisand heard it… and asked if she could sing it on her next CD.
David Geron is still amazed at what happened to his song: “It doesn’t matter how powerful, how big, how popular, how wealthy, how well-known you are. When we come into God’s presence, we’re all on level ground. And it’s holy ground.”