“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us…” (Psalm 90:17a)

The writing of Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses. Moses was making a request to the Lord for the children of Israel who had been afflicted by God for their rebellion.  There are two beauties that men have a choice of:  The Beauty of the World and The Beauty of the Lord.

1) The Beauty of the World. This is speaking of a physical beauty. This beauty is gauged by the standard of this world which lieth in wickedness.  All is seen through carnal (fleshly) eyes; that is what is pleasing to our sinful flesh. We are born dead in trespasses and sins because of Adam’s sin against God in the Garden of Eden (Ephesians 2:1-3) (Romans 5:12). Therefore we are born in a spiritual blindness to truth; all we see is error. The problem with this beauty is that: (a) it is a lie, fabricated by the father of all lies, the devil (John 8:44); (b) it is a fake; (c) it is vain, empty, worthless, of no value; (d) in the end it turns to ugliness, to destruction. This beauty of the world is only a make believe beauty, such as many who use cosmetics to cover up blemishes. When the make up is washed away, the real you appears.  So when this beauty is examined, it is a lie.

2)  The Beauty of the Lord.  This is an inward spiritual beauty. This beauty is Christ living in the heart of the regenerated, born again believer (Galatians 2:20); even called the Seed of God, the new creation. This beauty is the root that produces the Glory of God on the branches of your life. David said in (Psalm 27:4c), “to behold the beauty of the LORD.” We find in (1 Chronicles 16:29), “…worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” Therefore the beauty of the Lord is found in His Attributes:  His Holiness, His Perfection, His Purity, His Grace, His Mercy, His Love, His Peace, His Righteousness, His Power, etc. God is Holy, God is Love, God is Light and God is Perfect. Moses was making request that the Attributes of God be “upon us.” That is “remind us God of Who You are;” that is “God, let your beauty be manifest in our spiritual fruit daily.” Let the “ornaments of Righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10) be our robe, our testimony. Let us be clothed with the “garments of Salvation.” Let us walk daily in the Light of Thy Countenance. Let us bear the fruit of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-23) (“Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”). Let us be “strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.” This was the desire of the 120 men and women waiting on the Promise of the Father in (Luke 24:49) (Acts 1:8, 12-13-14). They were waiting for the Promise of Power (the Holy Spirit) to come upon them to be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8). This event occurred in (Acts 2:1-4), the Church was manifested with power (the beauty of the Lord) and was never the same.

This beauty of the Lord is revealed by the Holy Spirit of God in the House of God, the Pillar and Ground of Truth, as He teaches the Truth of God to the believer, see (1 Timothy 3:15), “…the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”  David said in (Psalm 27:4),

“One thing have I desired of the LORD (Jehovah), that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”

The more knowledge of God that we have, the more fruit of the Spirit we bear.  The more fruit of the Spirit we bear, the more we manifest in our daily walk that we have the Beauty of the Lord upon us. We know that we are in His Holiness, His Love, His Grace, His Mercy, His Righteousness, His Peace and His Power. And so do others know that we are “robed in Righteousness” and clothed with the “garments of Salvation.”