“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us” (Psalm 90:17).
What is beauty? There is a beauty of form and figure that catches the breath by its sheer symmetry. Then there is the beautiful supple strength of the athlete. But we are thinking “outward.” What about the “inward,” the beauty of a bright mind, for instance?
The queen in Proverbs 31 warned her son, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (v.30).
The most radiant beauty of all is spiritual beauty, that inner tranquility that comes from a meek and submissive spirit resting at the Savior’s feet. Moses prayed that the beauty of the Lord would be upon His people. When David had placed the ark of God inside the tent that he had pitched for it, he offered burnt offerings and told the people to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (1 Chron. 16:29).
Romans 10:15 tells us that the feet that take the gospel to the lost are beautiful. But how perfectly beautiful is our Savior Jesus! Beautiful in love, holiness, forgiveness, and grace!
If we will only pray the prayer of Moses as we worship Him, the Lord will think us beautiful too. We will hear our Savior whisper, “You are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair!” (Song 4:1).
