This is Chris Hughes with the Christian Perspective Podcast with Chris Hughes, where we encourage our listeners to engage the culture with Jesus Christ. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds, so enjoy it, share it.
But most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. Here's James. Oh, I'm so looking forward to today's encouraging prayer. Today we're going to talk about gazing on the beauty of the Lord. James, that's right, out of Psalm 27 4, isn't it?
Yes, it is, Robbie. And isn't it a fascinating thing to say? I mean, David actually sees the Lord in the temple.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? So Psalm 27 4 says, 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. Wow, what a beautiful passage. It really is.
So let's unpack it a bit. First, many scholars believe that this psalm was written when David was on the run from Saul, and that really makes sense because David said something like this to Saul when Saul was trying to kill him. In 1 Samuel 26 20, he says, Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord?
And he's telling Saul this. And what you see in that is this longing to be in the presence of God who dwells uniquely there in the tabernacle in Israel. This is interesting that David would write this, because of course the temple hasn't been built yet. And you know, you don't think that David also would be able to go into the holy of holies of the tabernacle because he wasn't a high priest. But you know, you can imagine from the way Moses spoke to God in Israel's history, that God somehow must have made himself visible. But there's more happening here. And I think what David's talking about is something that you can't see with your physical eyes. Yeah, so what David was likely talking about, I'm sure, was meditating on the beauty of the Lord, certainly gazing on him with all his heart.
Yeah, that's right. And yet the question is, why use language like that? And I think the answer is, because this is more than just a metaphor, there's really something to it. And what that is, we don't want to miss.
Let me start with a question. What do you do when you gaze at someone? Well, it's like you're doing nothing else. I mean, you're not talking, you're not moving around.
Your eyes are set on the one you're looking at. Right. So what David is doing here is sitting still and looking on the Lord in his heart. And I think this is so important for us to keep in mind.
First, because we can do it anywhere. And second, because he is with us. And we are temples of the Holy Spirit, as this word tells us. You know, it just makes me think of the Song of Songs, which is one of my favorite books, because it's such a beautiful allegory for what it means to love God and to be loved by him. And you see a lot of gazing in that book. I mean, it's all about a love relationship. And gazing really has a lot to do with that.
It really does, doesn't it? So let's talk about how to do this, because it can seem maybe a little esoteric or even mystical to some. And I don't think God wants it to be that way at all. We just need to take the Psalm and its face value and just go there.
Oh, yeah, let's go there. Because, you know, we do use that language a lot, like the old hymn, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Yeah, that's right. So first, like we were saying earlier, gazing upon the beauty of the Lord has to do with shutting everything else down and sitting still. And if you think about that, we don't do it that much, except maybe in one place. Yeah, you're right. We spend a lot of time as a culture looking at screens, whether it's a TV or a computer, or man, a lot of people's phones. That's where we do most of our gazing.
Yeah, you're exactly right. So I think it's good to point that out, because we know we are able to do it right. I mean, even though that's with our physical eyes, our imaginations are also involved, and we're gazing. And we may be thinking about storylines. And, you know, if we're on the web, or on our phones, we're thinking about where we're going to go next, but we're gazing.
So we can actually use that to our advantage. So first, take a moment, sit quietly with the Lord somewhere, and just think about His love. It helps to have your Bible open on your lap, and maybe let a phrase from His word just kind of take you there when you're spending time with Him, and then you, you know, realize that He's spoken to you in His word. And just sit there and love Him. Just love Him from the heart. Then just close your eyes and be with Him.
Don't worry about words. Remember that when you're gazing, you aren't doing anything else. So this can be praying without words as well. You might, you know, you might imagine something if you like, something beautiful from Jesus' life, like His opening the eyes of a blind person, or, you know, you might just imagine His face, or nothing at all. You might just sit quietly and just rest in His presence. It's not so much a matter of seeing, interestingly, gazing this way, as a being, just being with Him. Wow, do you think that might sound a little like Obi-Wan Kenobi? Yeah, but the Force is with you.
Better than the Force, Jesus is with you. And if you think about it, how often do we take the time to just do nothing other than enjoy His presence? So think about the Westminster Confession, you know, which says, what's the chief end of humanity? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Yeah, so often when we pray, it's about requests.
And you're right, we need to set aside our agendas. Yes, this is about loving Him, letting our hearts go to Him in love. And that's one reason David talks about the beauty of the Lord, because He is beautiful.
And if we do this, if we seek Him this way, He will be found by us. And we will see more of Him and more of His beauty and love Him for it. Now think about it, there's no one more beautiful than God, because He's the source of all beauty, right? And everything that we see in beauty is only really a pale reflection of what He really is.
That's exactly right. And that's one of the things that is going to be so good about being in heaven. I think we're going to be able to gaze and gaze and gaze and never come to an end of looking at God's wonder. So heaven isn't going to be boring at all. You know, it's going to be absolutely enthralling. You're not going to want to look away. Yeah, I remember we've talked about that before, like how it is that we can stand and look at something like the Grand Canyon for so long, like the wind that it's just the hole in the ground. Yeah, that's right. And how do you think about Paul's words, you know, seeing only a poor reflection, you know, when one day we'll see face to face?
So why not start looking now? I think that is something that pleases God and blesses us when we do it. No, I so agree, James. Would you wrap up things with a prayer?
I would like to really get going on that. Yeah, let's go. Father, help us to see. Open the eyes of our hearts and our minds, Lord, to see your beauty and to love you for it and to just be with me and live in your presence, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray. This is the Truth Network.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-04-15 21:44:50 / 2023-04-15 21:48:35 / 4