Occupied With His Beauties
October 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine
Occupied With His Beauties
Christian Bernstein (1672–1699) wrote:
“O fix our earnest gaze So wholly, Lord, on Thee, That, with Thy beauty occupied, We elsewhere none may see.”
In this world, however, there is much to distract our attention from the Lord Jesus. Such things cause disappointment and discouragement. But, when looking upon the Lord, and doing so continually, our faith and hope are strengthened (1 Th. 5:8, 1 Pet. 1:21), and we delight in “the love of God [that] has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5 NKJV).
We are thankful for the Lord’s patient working with us, even as He uses situations and people to stir our hearts for Himself, to look unto Him. In Job, for example, we read of how the LORD allowed Satan’s activities to bring about His – the Lord’s – purposes in the lives of Job, his wife, extended family and friends, all for the LORD’s glory. In the end, there was great blessing. We see this in others, too, providing lessons for us from Scripture (Rom. 15:4), that we may be occupied with Him all the more.
Every person is important to the Lord. Even before we were born, He had a plan for us. Read what He said to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). Don’t ever let the Devil or those who share in his deceptions cause you to think that you or anyone is unimportant to the Lord. Not only has He formed us and given us life physically (consider Ps. 139:13-17), but He also laid down His life for us on Calvary’s cross (1 Jn. 3:16). There His blood was shed, poured out for us (Jn. 19:34). He has redeemed us – we who have put our trust in Him (Rev. 5:9). Look to Him and live!
The beauties of the Lord are magnificent. We can truly repeat the words others have written:
“Thy name we love, Lord Jesus; And lowly bow before Thee; And while we live, to Thee we give, All blessing, worship, glory; We sing aloud Thy praises, Our hearts and voices blending, ’Tis Thou alone we worthy own; Thy beauty’s all transcending.” —W. Yerbury (died 1863)
“His beauty shineth far above our feeble power of praise;
And we shall live and learn His love through everlasting days. The knowing this, that us He loves, hath made our cup run o’er.” —Hannah Burlingham (1842–1901)
By Paul Alberts