Living in the Presence of God

“You shall have no other gods before Me.”

The words before Me might best be understood as meaning “in My presence,” that is, in the presence of your God, your Lord. The Latin phrase coram Deo illustrates this thought as well: “before the heart of God.” What is in God’s presence, before the very heart of God? Everything!

Not only are we to have no other gods in the presence of the One God, but we are to live out our lives in His presence, fully acknowledging His presence and sovereignty. Any area of life, down to our thoughts and imaginations, kept “secret” from Him (which of course is no secret to Him) is an attempt on our part to give that part of our life to another, a rival, god.

Our little children know the catechism question well: “Can you see God? No, I cannot see God, but He always sees me.” And every child--and adult--ought to know Proverbs 15:3: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place,/Keeping watch on the evil and the good.” We know intellectually and theologically that our God is a God who sees. This is a great comfort to us when we suffer unnoticed by others or when we are in danger or trouble. But it is also our greatest fear if we are doing what we know He disapproves. Living coram Deo, “before God,” is living in such a way that we not only theologically but experientially acknowledge God—our God—is there and that His presence makes all the difference.

Psalm 139 puts all of this beautifully and was written to be the sincere prayer of our hearts:

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me.’
Even the night shall be light about me.
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You. . . .
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Amen.”