Introduction
Worshiping
the Lord the beauty of holiness has been a divine injunction, repeatedly
mentioned in God’s Word. King David, while offering thanksgiving unto God for
helping him to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem, called Israel to worship the
Lord, Give unto the LORD the glory due
unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the
beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29). He again called Israel to do the
same in Psalms 29:2, Give unto the LORD
the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The psalmist says the same in Psalm 96:9, O
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
How
do we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness?
Consecrated to God
Christians’ life is a consecrated life, that means,
a life that is set apart. We are a holy people, and that holiness need to be
reflected even in our worship. In the Old Testament many things were
consecrated to God. People’s house that was vowed to
the Lord (Leviticus 27:14), an animal, or the produce of his field that was set
apart as his tithe (Leviticus 27:28,30). Anything specifically separated to the
Lord's use was "holy unto the Lord." That which is
"sanctified" is "set apart" to the Lord. To Israel, the
Lord specifically said, And ye shall be
unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel (Exodus 19:6). Again, in Leviticus
11:44, the Lord said, For I am the LORD
your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I
am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth. Leviticus 20:7, Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your
God.
This means, every Israelite’s life need
to be a consecrated life, following the Lord as He has commanded in His holy
Word, serving Him, and glorifying His name. Their worship should have reflected
their holy consecration unto the Lord. Hence, their temple worship was designed
in such an orderly manner as revealed by God through Moses, recorded in Exodus
and Leviticus. God specifically detailed all of His expectations in their
temple worship. They had to follow every detail so that they could worship the
Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Similarly, in the New Testament,
Christians are consecrated unto God. We are a “set apart” people that we are to
worship God in the beauty of holiness. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians
6:9-11, Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but
ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Their whole life on earth is a
consecrated life. Paul says in Romans 12:1, I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. Since our lives are a consecrated life, our worship should also be
in holiness.
In Godly Fear
Worshiping the Lord in the beauty of holiness and
the fear of the Lord go hand in hand. We fear God and that means we revere Him.
Our reverence of Him need to be reflected in the manner by which we worship Him.
God cannot be worshiped as the way we feel or think, but in a manner that is
acceptable to Him. The author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:28, Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which
cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear: Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:1, Having therefore these promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Conclusion
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