This morning as I’ve been meditating on Psalms 96-98, I’m
struck by the connection between the recognition of God’s awesome beauty and
majesty, and the realization that His judgments and the justice that He brings
are absolutely right! It’s made clear in several places in the Scriptures,
where the writer is overwhelmed by the beauty of God, and suddenly comes to the
conclusion that the God who would create such beauty and order in the universe
can be trusted to judge rightly and bring true justice and righteousness to all
the created order.
Take, for example, Psalm 19. David is rejoicing in his
observation of the beauty of the created heavens – they declare the glory of God,
the wonder and majesty of His ways, and how the message of God’s power and
eminence are shouted through the ages by creation itself! David is seemingly
awestruck by the sunrise, and suddenly realizes the testimony of the Bridegroom
God’s passion is revealed every morning to anyone who will consider it!
Then, with no transition, he goes into a declaration of the
perfection of God’s laws, how His Word is perfect and brings everything else
into restoration and order. It’s as though he sees that just as God has made
the created order perfect in beauty, so His Word would bring beauty and order
to all of life. Any God who would be so perfect in His ordering of the creation
can be trusted to bring order to human existence through His Word.
The same thing happens in a human example in 1 Kings 10. The
Queen of Sheba comes to visit King Solomon because she has heard of his fame
and wisdom. There is no doubt that she has a measure of glory in her own right,
but when she sees Solomon’s situation, she is dumbfounded. She marvels at the
beauty of Solomon’s courts, the majesty of his servants’ attire, and comes to
the conclusion that he is qualified to “execute justice and righteousness.”
Here’s the point – the beauty of God expressed in His
created order, and revealed to us in the place of worship and adoration,
convinces our hearts that He is qualified to establish the order of things,
that His order is absolutely right and good, and that His process of justice –
bringing all things into conformity to His order – is absolutely right and
good. The result? All creation rejoices when the judgments of God are released
in the earth.
The application for us is this: before we try to argue for
the laws of God to be established in the lives of those around us, let us first
be captivated and filled with wonder at His beauty and grace. Then, those
around us will see the reflection of that glory in us, see the wisdom of God’s
order in our lives, and be stirred in their hearts to embrace His ways for
themselves. God created us to be captured by beauty. When we are, we come to
see that His laws make perfect sense.
Gary Wiens