The Beauty of Holiness

A Psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

the Lord, over many waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,

and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth

and strips the forests bare,

and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

11 May the Lord give strength to his people!

May the Lord bless his people with peace!

I know some of you are thinking, finally someone is going to talk about the elusive unicorn found in scripture.

Unfortunately, this morning we are not focusing on the Unicorn, but on the LORD / Yahweh / Jehovah / God Almighty and his only Begotten Son Jesus Christ! You see the Unicorn, the trees, the oceans, the rain the thunder, all owe their existence to Yahweh.

This morning we are going to focus on the Worship which you are commanded to bring to the LORD. For he is YOUR Covenant King. For his is YOUR righteousness, He is YOUR Prophet and HE is YOUR Redeemer.

We want to see the context of Worship in which is the focus of this want you to take note of the following passages and to spend time in the coming week focusing upon them, and looking for the context of Worship in your everyday lives.

First, and its context, it is also recorded in . There you will read the song of David following the bringing in of the Ark of the Covenant into the Jereselem. Ask yourself, “Do I rejoice in the Beauty of Holiness to come into the presence of Christ my Bridegroom, do I love coming to Church to Worship?

“Do you long to see God’s churches full, to sing with the Saints gathered in CHRIST’s name sing the songs of Redeeming Grace?

How do you approach the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness when everything is going wrong?

The assurance of knowing our Covenant Redeemer, and his Worship is appropriate in all circumstances.

Here and its context is instructive. For there Jehoshaphat the son of Asa, did what was good in the eyes of the Lord. Ask yourself, “Do YOU Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness in the midst of trials, even overwhelming trials?” Jehoshaphat, facing the combined forces of Moab and Ammon and others besides, described as a great multitude, pauses before the battle to call the people of God to sing to the LORD.

Stop and think about what Jehoshaphat did? He turned to the LORD and he instructed the people to face before the LORD. The people gathered an asked the LORD for help, all the cities came together. And the Covenant God of Israel demonstrated the REDEPMTION of his people by sending his message of deliverance. That message said, you do not fight, I WILL DELIVER YOU. They went before a hoard of enemies, singing and praising the LORD in the BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. They sang PRAISE the LORD For his MERCY ENDURES FOREVER.

The Power of YHWH - David as writer of the Psalms often point us to the creation to see its beauty, we can see this in , and 19 to name just two. introduces the images of the earth, thunder, and water which together form the tempest and storms which we can see in these verses. This image is the focus of many of the commentators.

What is the BEAUTY OF HOLINESS? In , and , and , it represents the WORSHIP of the majesty and greatness GOD who has chosen to reveal to You through out the circumstances of your LIFE that:

YOU BELONG TO HIM, AND HE BELONGS TO YOU!!!!

What does the PSALM COMMAND LITERALLY?

1 Give unto YHWH, O Sons of God,

Give unto YHWH glory and strength.

2 Give unto YHWH the glory of His name;

Worship YHWH in the beauty of holiness.

GIVE, GIVE GIVE! WORSHIP! with all that it within you, as begins, BLESS THE LORD OH MY SOUL AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME REJOICE. PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!

He commands the MIGHTY in the KJV or “O heavenly beings” in the ESV, so some of you might be thinking, I AM NOT MIGHTY, or I AM NOT A HEAVENLY BEING but literally the Hebrew reads “O SONS OF GOD!” The Aramaic TARGUM refers this verse to the Angles of God; this is why the ESV and other translations see heavenly beings. But the language here is commanding those who are the SONS OF GOD. BELOVED THAT IS YOU

WE SHOULD ASK HOW DID DAVID INTEND THIS TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

The Context of and 30 strongly suggest this Psalm is directed toward the Children of men. David maybe calling upon the Angles poetically, but the broader context of the Psalms reflects a call to the Children of God to worship and obedience. also speaks of those who are God’s vv1 and 6. V6 is quoted by Christ in when he is about to be stoned but claiming to be One with God, ().

YOU ARE THE SONS (CHILDREN) OF GOD!

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Finally our last reflection is upon And the Beauty of Holiness?

3 Your people will offer themselves freely

on the day of your power,

in holy garments;

from the womb of the morning,

the dew of your youth will be yours.

(; ; ; , ; )

These words speak of the covenant relationship which rightfully belongs to Christ alone as its head, He is object of the Prophecy the fulfillment of the Oath of Promise central to the context of these words v4. As covenantal in nature, these promises depict intimacy, in the bodily willing submission in the day of power, demonstrating what is found in the hearts and minds of those who come. The beauties of holiness are reflected throughout Scripture as the offering of Glory and supplication to the LORD. In Christ the beauty of holiness is seen in the clothing of redemption, for says,

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,

He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud,

And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth;

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth

Before all the nations. (See also ; )

When you consider the high cost of your forgiveness (the shed blood of Christ) and come to the Christ you are come dressed in the wedding clothes provided to, you come covered in the blood of the Lamb, this is what it means to be a member of the house hold of faith. what does it mean to offer yourselves in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning? Each of you must answer this question in your hearts, practice it as a true reflection of an earnest desire to come boldly in the presence of Christ your King.

He rules over all the enemies of the Church in this world. You are to seek Christ in all you do and live for him as a reflection of the Glory which is rightfully his. When you pray, it is to his Glory, when you preform any deed even remotely good, as reading the Scriptures, visiting the sick or those in prison, care for the homeless, fatherless, widows. So long as you are clothed in the beauty of holiness, then it is by the power of Christ in you, your hope of Glory these good works are made manifest.

Your blessings proceed not from preforming these things but in being conformed to the image of Christ, as teach us:

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WITH ALL OF THIS?

DAILY REMEMBER AND WORSHIP!

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect

DAILY GIVE YOURSELF TO HIM!

20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

YOU BELONG TO HIM, AND HE BELONGS TO YOU!!!!

25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’

and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ”

26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”

ASK YOUR SELF THESE QUESTIONS DAILY SEEKING TO WORSHIP

“Do I rejoice in the Beauty of Holiness to come into the presence of Christ my Bridegroom, do I love coming to Church to Worship, or to my knees to Pray?

“Do you see God as your health and salvation, or sing of the grace and mercy in CHRIST’s daily blessings?

“Do YOU Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness in the midst of trials, even overwhelming trials- do you cry out in adoration with all that is in you – when you suffer affliction?”