I must take off my earthly garments
and put on my sacred dress. Alexander Smiley, The Secret
Place, 1907. Once the priests enter the holy
place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court until
they leave behind the garments in which they minister, for these
are holy. They are to put on other clothes
before they approach the public area. Ezekiel chapter 42 verse
14 The priests, which Ezekiel mentions,
take great discipline and preparation to please God. In compliance
with His command, they clothe themselves in holy robes of the
fairest linen. They make ready for drawing near
His holy presence. Just so, I must be willing to
take time and effort in my worship. Every day I must pass into my
sacred shrine to be with God. With a set purpose, I must take
off my earthly garments and put on my sacred dress. I have to
hush myself into quietness. I have to beseech the Holy Spirit
for His empowerment. I have to steadfastly study the
majesty, the purity, and the grace of the God to whom I come. Much mental concentration is
required of me. A sincere and honest heart is
also required. I am called to earnest contemplation
and prayer. When the service of the priests
is over in the inner sanctuary, they divest themselves of the
robes of whiteness in which they stood before the Lord. They do
not show themselves to the people in a garb so venerable. God keeps
something to himself, something which should be known only to
his servants and to him. Just so, I cannot disclose everything
in my secret place with others. There are heights and depths
in the truth I am being taught, in the mercy I have received,
which I do not yet comprehend, and over which I shall have to
ponder all my life long. And I ought not to disclose everything.
To unveil my most sublime spiritual experiences will injure me. It
would lessen humility and foster pride. It would rub the delicate
bloom from off my character. It would make my secret place
a beaten path. My sanctuary clothing is not
for the public outer court. yet mine is a God who is never
distant and inaccessible the priests of old left the shrine
and went out into the world but the Lord abides in the holy place
still we need only to return and to clothe ourselves anew
in our holy vestments and we will find him the same as before
a God who rejoices to hear our cry who delights in our sincere
yet poor and disappointing services, who will lift up his countenance
on us and give us peace. When I call upon Him, withdrawing
myself from all others and from all else, He is near as my strong
refuge and my ever-present help in times of trouble. The doors
of His holy place are never barred, and within the doors His gracious
welcome awaits me. May he be the temple that is
the dearest spot on earth to me. May I be priest to serve
him day and night. He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91 verse 1. you