Beauty of the Lord

How do you measure the beauty of something, or of someone?

What makes you say, “Hey, that’s really beautiful”, or “Aw, so pretty!”?

Chances are, you find beauty first of all from external appearances. First impressions are lasting, and this is mostly because our brain chooses to interpret and remember striking external features, and we will subconsciously (or consciously) categorise them as either aesthetically pleasing or otherwise.

By and large, there is nothing very wrong about measuring beauty using that approach. And yet, if you look at the Bible, you’ll find that the Scripture does describe God Almighty as being ‘beautiful’, and many hymns and songs attest to the wonder of His beauty.

One thing I ask of the LORD,

      This is what I seek:

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 seek Him in His temple.

Psalm 27:4

In the verse above, King David writes about his longing to see the Lord in His beauty. The odd thing is, if we apply our method of judging a person’s beauty by their physical appearance, then how could King David, along with other men and women of God, declare that the Lord is beautiful? It is highly unlikely that these people have seen God face to face. It is also very much improbable that they were merely throwing in adjectives to describe God.

The beauty of the Lord that is widely described by most people is in reference to His nature. Our Yahweh is the best Father we could ever have. There is not a single living soul who can compare to Him.

His heart overflows with compassion and grace. His mercy is never-ending, even for sinners such as us. He is just and righteous. He upholds His people with His unfailing love, and leads us through all things, big and small. Being a just God, He punishes the wicked in His time, and yet we know that in His compassion, He is slow to anger.

He will never turn anyone away; all we have to do is seek Him wholeheartedly, and we will find the fullness of His grace, renewed each morning like the dew of dawn. He forgives us of our sin, washing us whiter than the snow with His Word. He holds true to His promises.

And the greatest evidence of His beauty can be found in the source of our salvation: His love for us, so strong and everlasting, that He gave His only Son to die for us, that we may be reconciled to Him. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and His resurrection three days after His crucifixion, we are now called heirs with Jesus.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

‘Beautiful’ doesn’t even begin to describe a God who would do all that – and so much more – for His people. No words known to mortal men is sufficient to describe the splendour that rightfully belongs to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

I will declare the beauty of the Lord, for nothing compares to the beauty of the Lord.

Beauty of the Lord – Desperation Band