By Apostle Aje Pelser,
Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town, April 2020
This scripture has been with me all week, and I wondered why it kept coming up:
Psa 29:1 A Psalm of David. Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Beauty H1927 hădârâh BDB Definition:
1) adornment, glory
1a) holy adornment (of public worship)
1b) glory (of the king)
Part of Speech: noun feminine
Beauty H1927 Strongs hădârâh had-aw-raw’
Feminine of H1926; decoration: – beauty, honour.
H1926 hâdâr haw-dawr’
From H1921; magnificence, that is, ornament or splendor: – beauty, comeliness, excellency, glorious, glory, goodly, honour, majesty.
Holiness H6944 qôdesh ko’-desh
From H6942; a sacred place or thing; rarely abstractly sanctity: – consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (X most) holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.
Reasons to worship the Lord that unlock the beauty of Holiness.
1. It is our duty as mighty ones of God
2. God deserves all glory and honour
3. Worship the Lord with all your strength – put your might into serving God.
4. Public worship adorns the Bride for the King
5. Beauty of holiness is the glory of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ
6. Worshipping in the beauty of holiness decorates our heart and soul – not merely with outward adornment – but a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God.
a. A loud – ‘rasha’ – insubordinate heart shows lack of submission to God and His purposes. When we are loud and proud it reverses the effect of the beauty of holiness. Meekness and humility help to perfect holiness. Your strength under His control – like a horse drawing the king’s carriage – is meekness. Your sane estimation of self-according to your measure of faith is humility.
Further reasons to worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness
7. He lives in the Holy of Holies – the tabernacles and the temples were patterns of the spiritual realm. God is the core of holiness that draws us into His presence – His goodness that leads us to repentance:
Exo 33:19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Exo 33:20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
Exo 33:21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
Exo 33:22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
Exo 33:23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Rom_2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
8. The beauty of Holiness is the source of the fruit of the Spirit
a. Gal_5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
b. Eph_5:9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
c. 2Th_1:11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,
9. God desires that we become partakers of His holiness.
Heb_12:10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Heb_12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Holiness G41 hagiotēs hag-ee-ot’-ace
From G40; sanctity (that is, properly the state): – holiness.
G40 hagios hag’-ee-os
From ἅγος hagos (an awful thing) compare G53, [H2282]; sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated): – (most) holy (one, thing), saint. That which is set apart for God.
Further thoughts:
Another word that is synonymous with Holiness for me is virtue – but it has different connotations in the Word: Virtue
Mar 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
G1411 dunamis doo’-nam-is
From G1410; force (literally or figuratively); specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself): – ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
G703 aretē
Thayer Definition:
1) a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action
1a) virtue, moral goodness
2) any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity