Psalm 29:2
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (KJV)
I was introduced to the
Scriptures as a very young child. The
version of Scripture heard in our church was King James. Memorization of God’s Word was taught as an
important duty, key to having it (the Word of God) hidden in our hearts.[1] I always assumed
that the phrase in the beauty of holiness was a command that I come to God as holy, forgiven, and
not steeped in my sinful ways. That was
difficult for someone like me, full of youthful questions and doubts. I despaired of ever being “good enough” to
come before God as holy.
Enter the world of other translations. The version I
have taken the time to fall in love with is the New Living Translation© This morning’s
verse hit me with a different look at an old friend, the beauty of holiness.
Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (NLT)
Instead of a command to
come before God for worship in my brand of holiness, the command shifts to
worship God because of His holiness! It’s a command towards reverence,
not a command to get clean and live right, so you are then permitted to worship.
This is the dress code thing I’ve bumped up against since the 60’s. It follows this line of reasoning: You come to God’s house dressed in your
finest to honor God. Now, that’s not bad
reasoning. If I were invited to the
White House, I believe I’d wear a suit and tie.
It’s a sign of respect towards the one who sits at the Resolute Desk in
the Oval Office. But I don’t wear a suit
and tie every day; especially to sleep in my own bed. Yet, I am commanded to worship when I get up
in the morning, when I leave my house, when I return, and all day, in
everything I do.[2] So, worship
isn’t confined to the church house, nor is there any amount of scrubbing-up my
life to get to a point of “holy” sufficient to satisfy any worthiness level before God.
Now, that does two
things:
a. It makes me aware that
I can only truly worship God when I come before Him humbled and honest, as
Charlotte Elliott wrote,
Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed
for me, and that
thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
b. It compels me to
remember that I am always in that condition, and keeps me connected with God’s
grace, which is only sufficient for sinners.
I cannot be holy without His imputed holiness to my life.
Warren Wiersbe, in his
Bible Study series comments that:
True holiness is a beautiful thing to behold, and
certainly the greatest demonstration was in the life of Jesus Christ when He
ministered on earth. Sin is ugly, no matter what we may call it, but true
holiness is beautiful and brings glory to God.[3]
So, it isn’t “holiness”
that I can muster up, or fake; holiness is trusting in the God of Calvary, Who
brought glory to the Father with His life, and stands with opened arms to
welcome us into that beautiful holiness. Our lives
surrendered to that purpose of bringing glory to Yahweh is a beautiful thing.
Let’s Pray Together:
Father, we understand that when we worship You, who are altogether worthy AND beautiful, it is an act that brings us beauty to share with others. Allow us grace to receive Your beauty of holiness.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today. Have a blessed day!
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