God Is Beautiful
For many years (a phrase which seems to introduce almost everything I say or write these days), I have thought about and preached on the subject of the beauty of God. I have never heard anyone teach on the subject, but I did through the decades come across two written sermons on the topic, “The Beauty of the Lord” by J. D. Jones and “Are There Shortcuts to the Beauty of Holiness?” (the short answer is “No!”) by A. W. Tozer. More recently, I read a review of a scholarly article about the American preacher Jonathan Edwards (of “sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame) that mentioned in passing that the beauty of God was one of the great themes in his preaching. I was thus encouraged that I have not headed off on an unprofitable tangent. In simple terms, beauty is that which attracts, causes a favorable interest, and creates an affinity. Such real, eternal beauty is found in our God. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In Psalm 110:4, David, the valedictorian of verse, celebrates the beautiful priesthood of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ: “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, ‘Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’” Genesis 14:18-20 provides a brief historical sketch of this man. He was a contemporary of Abraham (who was still named Abram at the time) and was both the king and priest of Salem (Jerusalem). No other person combined these two positions. In so doing, Melchizedek prefigured the greater kingship and priesthood of Jesus. Both Hebrews 7:17 and 21 specifically apply Psalm 110:4 to Jesus. Of course, Jesus is even more than an eternal king and everlasting priest, for He also fulfilled the role of prophet. Moreover, Jesus did what no mere man could do: He offered Himself as a sacrifice on the Cross, becoming both the offering and the priest that presented the offering. Hebrews 7:27 says, “This He did once, when He offered up Himself.” Jesus is beautiful because He sacrificed Himself for our neverending benefit. He did not ask anyone else to do what only He could do. There is nothing more attractive than self-sacrifice; there is nothing greater than Jesus’ self-substitution on our behalf.