The Bible’s book of Psalms is filled with beautiful and evocative phrases. “My cup runneth over.” “Under the shadow of the Almighty.” “Teach us to number our days.”
One of my favorites is from Psalm 27:4 (NIV):
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
It’s a lovely passage attributed to David, the shepherd king of Israel who never realized his dream of building a Jerusalem temple for God; that honor went to his son, Solomon. In David’s lifetime, “the house of the Lord” was the tabernacle, a dwelling of cloth and skins. Yet David experienced God there and apparently gazed on the beauty of the Lord.
How can we “gaze on the beauty of the Lord” in our day and age? How to seek—and find—His face? Here are some ideas that have worked for me as a way of “gazing on the beauty of the Lord”:
- Watch a sunrise or sunset (perhaps while singing a morning hymn such as “When morning gilds the skies” or an evening hymn such as “Abide with me”).
- Stop in a church that has stained glass windows and spend time meditating on the depictions of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Close your eyes and recite Psalm 27:8 (“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek”). Ask God to show you His beauty throughout the day or as you go to sleep at night.
- Walk in a garden. Touch and smell the fragrant flowers and marvel at the Creator’s craftsmanship.
- Find a sunlit bench in a park or spread a blanket in a meadow and gaze up at the sky, letting the sun warm your face. Close your eyes and visualize your Father, God, in all His beauty.
- Place a reproduction of a favorite painting or etching of Jesus in your Bible and pull it out from time to time—not for a fleeting glance but to trace it with your finger, to contemplate and consider what it means to you.
- Enter church earlier than usual and sit where you can unobtrusively observe others. Notice smiles and tears, the compassion and love with which your fellow worshipers greet each other. Look for reflections of God’s beauty in His servants.
Try a few of these ideas this week. You might even make one or two into a habit, as you discover His exquisite beauty.
