The Beauty of the Lord

We're in the Psalms this morning, Psalm 27 to be exact. And, as is so often the case with the Psalms, David reveals something of his soul. He declares one of his great desires. Let me read it to you.

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

David's heart is captured by the beauty of his God. All he wants to do is to sit and watch. David knows that if he could just watch his God in action, as He expresses his beauty in all that He does - David knows that he will be blown away. Awesome things happen when someone is able to do that: to gaze upon the beauty of God.

So, what I'd like to do this morning is to help you to be captured by God's beauty just as much as David was. You have some sense of His beauty already. It's not possible to be a disciple of Jesus and not have some sense of that beauty. So, all I'm going to do is point out a few things that can help you see a bit more of His beauty. Seeing and savoring God's beauty is something that we will pursue for an eternity. But it is something that starts now for every disciple.

Let's start with this. Think about beauty. What is it? We live in a time and a place that stresses a certain idea about beauty. For this culture, beauty is all about how you look. Beauty is physical. That's what 'the beautiful people' are all about. Physical beauty. But is that what beauty is really all about? Consider this from Peter.

Do not let your adorning be external — the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

According to Peter, beauty isn't about what can be seen: hair, jewelry, clothing. It's about what can't be seen - at least not directly. It's about what he calls 'the hidden person of the heart'. Beauty is about the person, starting from within, and not about the body. It's about someone's character expressed in the different contexts of life. And that helps to explain David's phrase, 'the beauty of the Lord '. He, obviously, isn't talking about a body. God doesn't have a body. But he is talking about who God is. God is a person who speaks, listens, acts. And He does those things as expressions of who He is, His character, His personality. Isn't that what you see as you read the Scriptures and watch God interact with His people as well as all the rest of humanity? He speaks, listens and acts. As you watch Him do those things you get a sense of what kind of person He is. And all of that helps you to understand Him as He speaks, listens and acts into your own life. David gets this. David knows that enjoying God's beauty, seeing it and appreciating it - that is so good. So, his desire only makes sense. David wants to spend time with his God, getting to know Him, person to person, relishing His beauty.

That's the big picture. What I'd like to do now is spend a little time looking at a couple of particulars. I want to explore God's personality with you - His beauty. I have three traits in mind.

The first comes from the book of Numbers.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

This is familiar to many of you. It's the benediction that Aaron pronounced over the people of Israel. And at its heart is this idea of the countenance of God, His face. It's about His face shining upon the people. And what's that? What is this shining face? It's a smile. So, here's the point of the benediction: May God smile on you. Sadly, there are people who never smile. They are always grumpy about something. To talk with them is to hear a litany of one complaint after another. It's all about them and how bad their life is. Being around them can be such a trial. But when someone gives you a smile, an honest smile, they are doing you good. May God smile on His people to do them good. That's the blessing.

If you follow this image through the Scriptures you'll find the saints responding to His smile, praising Him for His smile, and after some dark days, asking that He would once again smile on them. It helps to know that God likes to smile on His people. He likes to do them good. And that tells you something about His personality. I'm not up on my Greek mythology, but I don't have the sense that Zeus smiled much. When I think of Zeus I think 'angry lightning bolts'. I don't get a picture of a person who liked to smile. But your God smiles on you, and He does that because He is eager to do you good. And He can do that, without compromise, because of Jesus. Without Jesus, there is nothing for Him to smile about. Without Jesus we are just a bunch of rebels fighting against God's rightful authority in His universe. But Jesus has changed the situation. Jesus has changed us. We are no longer rebels. We have been changed into God's children. And when God looks at His children, they make Him smile. So, when you think of God, think about His smile. He is a smiling Father eager to do good to His children. He is eager to do good to you. That's part of His beauty.

Now, the second trait that I'd like to mention. I need to translate it for you - church words, you know. This trait is all about this question: Can I trust God? Trust is a most interesting notion. When you trust someone you are giving that person a bit of power over your life. If the issue in question is a little thing, then trusting that person doesn't transfer much power. But sometimes it's not a little thing. My mother told me about something that happened when I was quite small. My working-class parents were saving up, little bit by little bit, so they could buy a house. They really wanted to move out of Brooklyn. A really good friend of theirs came to them with a request. He asked if he could borrow some money, actually a lot of money. What he asked for was probably all that they had put aside for a new house up to that point. You see, there was this house that this friend and his wife wanted to buy. He assured my parents that he would pay it back. My parents discussed it. They would be giving their friend some power over their lives. What if something happened and he could not repay the loan? That would mean staying in Brooklyn longer, maybe much longer. Nonetheless, they decided to trust their friend. That's what trust is about: giving power over your life to someone else.

Now, if someone comes up to me and asks to borrow ten dollars, there is no big trust issue. If he doesn't pay me back, it's no big deal. However, when a husband or wife opens up and shares with the other something delicate, something hidden away for a long time, now we're talking 'big trust issue'. Will that spouse handle that secret gently and with understanding, or will his or her careless attitude leave a wound? Is he or she someone to be trusted with a large measure of power over life? 

All of this gets us to the really big trust issue. What is obedience to God? It's giving Him power over your life. He says, 'Do it My way. It will be so much better. Give Me your life and I will return it to you with interest.' But what if He's wrong? What if things don't work out so well? Can I trust Him with a huge measure of power over my life? Christian discipleship is learning how to trust God with the precious things of your life. It's a process; one small step and then the next. A theological word for this is 'sanctification'. But really, it's about learning to trust. And what Christian disciples learn is that He really is someone they can trust - even with the most precious things of life. And that is part of His beauty.

One more trait. Here, I wanted to be careful to use the right word. I think I've found one that works. God is affectionate. He has deep feelings of love for His children and He expresses those feelings. God feels deeply when it comes to each of you, and He isn't afraid to say so. Some Scripture. First, this from Deuteronomy.

The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 

Did you catch that 'treasured possession'? He's talking about you, His Church. He treasures you. Affection.

Then this, from Zephaniah.

​The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Do you see the picture? This is some guy who is just excited about his beloved. You can see it in his body. He can't stand still. He's jumping all around, singing at the top of his lungs about this woman whom he loves. That's your God when He thinks about you, His beloved. Affection.

One more. This one is from Isaiah.

Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

'Precious', 'honored', 'I love you'. What is this but God expressing, clearly and passionately, His affection for you.

Some people seem to be blah all time. Not up, not down, just blah. They seem to be without emotion, stoical, even when good things happen. But the fact of the matter is that we all emotional. It's built into who we are. It's just that, for a variety of reasons, some have a harder time expressing those emotions. Your God has no such difficulties expressing His emotions, His affections, for you. You can see it in the Scriptures, and you can see it in your own interactions with Him. Affection.

Three traits: a smiling face, worthy of trust, affectionate.

Now, I think that you have a better idea why David was longing to gaze upon the beauty of His God. It's because He really is beautiful. He has a personality that just draws people in as they get to know Him. And that explains something of the Gospel. God wanted all these rebellious people rescued from the ugliness of their sin. He wanted them to be drawn in to see His beauty and to flourish as a result. And so, the Father sent the Son to make that possible. And once the Son had completed His part of the plan He sent the Spirit to make it all real in people's lives. So, because of what the Father, the Son and the Spirit have done (and are still doing) you get to enjoy the beauty of God. And that makes life work so well.

This is something that has already started for every Christian. It gets better and better as each disciple gets to know more of the personality of his God. And it never stops. Eternity will be the growing enjoyment of the beauty of God. Then, with David and all the rest of the saints, we will gaze and be amazed.