Psalm 96

Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
(Psalms 96:9)

There are many things in this life that I find beautiful. My wife is beautiful. My daughter is beautiful. My mom and my sister are beautiful. I think it’s beautiful when fresh snow blankets everything, transforming our world into a different place. I think sunsets and sunrises are beautiful. Thunderstorms are beautiful. Riding in a convertible at the beach is beautiful. The ocean is beautiful. If I’m honest, I would have to say that LIFE is beautiful. I love life, and I’m kinda sappy, so I tend to see almost everything that still has the mark of our Creator on it as beautiful.

One thing that I will confess that I never used to think of as beautiful was holiness. I used to think of holiness as something frightening, alarming, something deadly to human touch. A few years ago, the Lord used this verse and a couple of others like it to change how I viewed holiness. It went from something that was FEAR inspiring; to something that was AWE inspiring. You see, God’s holiness is everything that makes him different from the stuff of this earth. He is altogether separate, and though we see glimpses of His character in His creation, His essence is totally different than anything we see here. My friends, the Lord is beautiful, and it is in part His holiness that makes Him beautiful. Where this world brings trouble, the Lord brings peace. Where there is hurt, the Lord offers solace and comfort. Where things here are broken and deficient, the Lord is perfect and complete.

When the psalmist said “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”, some commentators say he was referring to the temple. That is really interesting to me. The temple was a manifestation of the beauty and holiness of the Lord; a place where people could go to meet with the Lord, and to worship Him. Today, WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit… God does not reside in a building, but in us, the hearts and lives of His people. We are called to live holy lives. To “Be Holy as He is Holy”. So, when we read these words, “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” it doesn’t just mean “worship the Lord because his holiness is beautiful”… it literally can mean, “Worship the Lord by stepping into the beauty that is His holiness, allow him to separate you from the world, to draw you unto Himself, worship Him there in that beautiful place where you are set apart for Him alone”.

Today my friends, allow the Lord to make your life beautiful with HIS HOLINESS. Set yourself apart today, and worship the Lord. It’s a beautiful thing!