THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD.
By Mrs. M. J. Bahler
"And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." Ps. 90: 17. LET the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. What is the beauty of the Lord?—It is the beauty of holiness,—the beauty of perfection,—the beauty of goodness. In Zech. 9: 17, we read, "For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!" The psalmist says: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 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 inquire in his temple." Ps. 27: 4. In God's temple was a good place to inquire of his attributes, to learn to comprehend more fully his great love and goodness. In the house of the Lord, David had seen wonderful revealings of the beauty of the Lord. As the length, and breadth, and depth, and hight of God's perfect law, which is only a representation of his character, were considered in the seclusion of God's house, away from the distracting cares of life, the beauty of the Lord was revealed as nowhere else. And so wonderful, so inspiring, were these revealings, that David desired to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. Have not you and I often felt this same longing? Listening to a vivid portrayal from the word of God of the amazing love revealed therein for us, and of God's goodness to the children of men—which lead to acceptance—have we not realized, deep and intense longings, that that beauty of the Lord might be made manifest in our lives, in a way we have never experienced elsewhere, and, realizing this, have we not been loath to leave "the house of the Lord"? Yes, the beauty of the Lord attracts us; we are drawn and bound to him by it. And as this beauty is the beauty of a perfect character, the beauty of tender compassion, of faithful love, of fullness, of goodness, we may well pray with David, "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." If this beauty is upon us, then we can pray, "Establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it;" for if this beauty rests upon us, the work of our hands will not be a selfish work. But if we indulge a spirit of harshness, censuring others, finding fault, or murmuring at our lot, then the beauty of the Lord will not cover us. If we are envious or jealous, God's beauty cannot be upon us. If we abound in loving words and actions, if we are pitiful, tender, courteous—in these his beauty is manifested. Oh, let us pray earnestly every day, "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us"—the beauty of a loving, pure, unselfish life—and, "establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."
MRS. M. J. BAHLER.