It is not in God’s nature not to be known. His impeccable goodness, incorruptible holiness, immeasurable power, and infinite wisdom are entirely uncontainable. He radiates light. He exists to be seen, to be known.

Psalm 76 reflects on the way God made himself known to his people. He is “renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great”. His glory resided and settled among them. “His tent was in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion”, subduing the calamity of war and bringing peace and good order.

With God in our midst, our souls find sustenance beyond compare. His majesty supplies abundantly. So, what do we know when God makes himself known? We know there is no place safer and nothing better than being near him.

And in Jesus, the name above all names, we see that abundance of life most clearly. John’s gospel insists on us knowing this. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). Jesus is the bread of life (John 6), the light of the world (John 8), the gateway to glory and the good shepherd (John 10), the resurrection and the life (John 12), the way, the truth and the life (John 14) and the good vine (John 15).

The radiance of his glory is more majestic than anything we could ever hope for in this world. Praised God that he has not left us guessing but has shone the light of his presence on us.