Psalm 27:4 - The Beauty of Worship

Psalm 27:4 - One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. 

Message: The Beauty of Worship

Time: Psalms, a collection of lyrical poems, with multiple authors. David wrote 73 Psalms, though for 50 or so the author is unknown. Psalms means songs of praise. The writings span 1,000 years. They encourage us to praise God, illuminate the greatness of God, affirm His faithfulness in times of trouble, and remind us of the absolute centrality of His word. 

What the Lord is Saying: 

Wow, that is a great verse. That could be a life verse for me, to dwell with the Lord, in His house, to behold His beauty and meditate in His temple, on His words. And this is my plea to God, make me this my priority in life. Psalm 27. What a great Psalm. Verse 11 says "Teach me Thy Way, O Lord." 

As I continue to study and look at worship, according to Tabletalk this lesson is based upon sermons given by RC Sproul about "Recovering the Beauty of the Arts." Today's passage mentions "To behold the beauty of the Lord." But how do we see the beauty of the Lord when the Bible tells us that God is invisible (Hebrews 11:27 - 'Him who is unseen;' John 1:18 - 'No one has seen God at any time;' Colossians 1:15 - 'Jesus is the image of the invisible God;' I Timothy 6:16 - 'No man has seen or can see;' Note: I could not find verses from the Old Testament about God being invisible, but there are verses that say we can't see God like Exodus 33:20 - "No one can see God and live.")? 

The Old Testament speaks much about God's temple or his tabernacle. It seems to give the idea that our churches can be places that we build and craft with ornaments and decorations in order to see beauty and see the beauty of the Lord. Exodus 28 speaks of the priests attire. Exodus 31 talks of the tabernacle and its furnishings. One of my favorite verses in Romans 1 says in verse 20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes...have been clearly seen through what has been made." The creation that we can see allows us to see God that we cannot see. 

I love to go walking in creation. The streets of my neighborhood are nice because I can see plants and trees planted and look up at the sky but when I go hiking everything that I see is his creation. And in this there is such beauty. And in the process I am often moved to worship. Right now, I look out my window and see the clouds rolling by with the sun coming over the mountain and it creates a beautiful picture of creation giving me wonderful colors in the sky. I see this and in way I am seeing the beauty of the Lord. 

Not all churches I think are beautiful. Some are ordinary or in a shopping mall. And simply being there together with others helps us experience God's presence. But many of our churches are beautiful places with high ceilings and stained glass radiating the light from outside and furniture that is distinct. In all of these places there is the beauty of the Lord. In all that is pleasing to our eye, there is beauty of the Lord. And therefore, there is beauty of worship. 

Summary: The beauty of the Lord is seeing what God has made in His creation but also in His temple and specified in people's attire. All of these colors help us to worship God. 

Promise: Pursue beauty and excellence in worship. Use our talents and spiritual gifts to create beauty. 

Prayer: Thank you for beauty God, for the beauty of creation which includes what you have planted and have provided with mountains, streams, rivers, water, trees, plants, flowers and what we can put in place in our churches through paintings and paint and furniture and then also in each other. I thank you for the wonder of my wife and her smile and her features. In all of these things I praise you God and I worship You.