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.)
David, the royal rhapsodist, urges us in Psalm 29:2 to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” – His holiness. However, the beauty of God’s absolute holiness should draw us not only to Him but also to holiness. In Psalm 90:17, Moses writes, “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” God’s beauty is so mighty and majestic that it can be communicated to us. It is not that we become the beautiful people – perish that thought! Rather, “the beauty of the Lord” can work in us – even in us! – to do His holy work and to attract others to Him. The sequence in Psalm 90:17 is striking: first is “the beauty of the Lord our God; second is the “work” that God establishes in and through us. Perhaps in the Church we have minimized the first part by holding too tightly to our own beauty (if we can call it that); thus, we fail in the second part because it becomes our work (however well-intentioned) and not our Lord’s work. It is comforting to know, though, that we can join in the prayer of Moses such that God’s beautiful work can be established in our lives.