The Beauty of God's Holiness
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. (Ps. 96:9)
What is beauty? Beauty is the amiableness of a thing – it is that quality or attribute of a thing or person that makes it pleasing to us. Beauty often consists in having proper proportions and balance and harmony. In a person it often also consists in a sweetness of demeanor as well as aspect and appearance, in a character that is kind and beneficent.
As Psalm 96 reminds us, God is beautiful in his holiness. It is that which compels worship: “fear before him,” and, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts” (8). It is consistent with his strength (6). God’s glory is a manifestation of it.
The holiness of God ought to be pleasing to consider, and whatever it is about it that is repelling to my heart, is either from a misperception of it, or from a sinful and rebellious heart that so twists my mind that it makes me see beautiful things as ugly and ugly things as beautiful. God’s holiness is the complete consistency of his character, the matchless harmony that exists in the fellowship of the Trinity. And it is inexpressibly sweet and amiable to those who are born again (cf. 1 Jn. 5:1).
God reveals himself to us as that which is beautiful, and it is his beauty that is to attract the worship of our hearts. He has not revealed himself to be repulsive but to attract us. As Jesus put it, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (Jn. 12:32).
Lord God, I pray that you would deliver me from this sickly heart that faints so easily after the cheap pleasures and fake beauty of this world and passes by the substantial and weighty and glorious beauty that you possess. I pray that you would cause me to love you and to be drawn to your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified and died so that I might live. Help me to remember that you are altogether lovely. Help me to see you as I ought. Draw my heart to you and cause me to repent of all my sins. Help me to love what you love and to hate what you hate. I pray this in Jesus’s name, Amen.