trusted online casino malaysia
Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.
ReVision

The Beauty and Goodness of God: Psalm 27

See His beauty, live His goodness.

The Scope and Focus of Revival (3)

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the L
ORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the L
ORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the L
ORD! Psalm 27.13, 14

Any good news?
Waves of cynicism and doomsaying seem to wash over the decks of our planet with increasing regularity.

Wars and rumors of wars are a normal feature of life. Violence of all kinds is an everyday occurrence. Think of the meanness of politics or the banality, insipidity, and frivolity of pop culture. Environmental warnings can sound like hysteria, as each new report of melting ice caps warns of coastal inundation worldwide. Add to these superstorms, which seem to be increasing in number and intensity, and a pandemic, and you have a formula for mass cynicism, uncertainty, and fear.

In the darkness of a cynical age, the Lord is our light and salvation (Ps. 27.1). His beauty far surpasses any we have ever known; His paths can lead to righteousness and hope; and His goodness can make all things new. The world is arrayed against the Lord and His salvation; but we know that the salvation of the Lord is our cynical world’s only hope. So when the Lord commands us to seek His face, that we might see the glory therein, and be transformed by it, we need to make this our primary business each day (Ps. 27.8; 2 Cor. 4.6; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).

The world is desperate for good news, and we have the best Good News anyone could ever hear, Good News so powerful, that it can bring the salvation of God, the beauty of the Lord, the righteousness of His Kingdom, and the goodness of God to the world, making all things new. This is the message of Psalm 27, and this is why Psalm 27 is such a powerful psalm to use in seeking the Lord for revival.

God’s beauty, path, and goodness
Psalm 27 holds out the prospect of seeing the beauty of the Lord, rediscovering His righteous paths, and realizing His goodness in the land of the living. Written in a time of trouble (vv. 2, 3, 5), this psalm brims with hope. We can feel David’s excitement building as he contemplates the Lord and prepares to come into His Presence to meditate there. Psalm 27 offers an antidote to despair in a cynical age, and an exhortation to diligence in waiting on the Lord (vv. 13, 14).

The beauty of the Lord is the supreme manifestation of and template for all beauty. That beauty is seen most clearly in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ, as John saw it on Patmos, rich in glory and transforming power and grace (Rev. 1). God calls His people to seek His beauty, that they may be transformed by it and live it in beautiful works before the dark and cynical world. But we must make meditating on the beauty of the Lord a high priority in our lives, listening as the Spirit brings together from throughout the Word of God, images and impressions of Jesus, exalted in glory. We must practice gazing on these images with the eye of the heart, to engage the power that is available there (Eph. 1.15-21). The more we set our minds on Christ, and on the beauty of the unseen realm, the more that beauty will be evident in our daily lives, showing the hope we have in Jesus to an increasingly hope-starved world (Col. 3.1-3; Heb. 11.1; 1 Pet. 3.15).

The paths of the Lord are righteousness, mercy, and truth (Ps. 22.3; Ps. 25.10). They are marked out for us by the guard rails of God’s holy and righteous and good Law, and the example of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 2.1-6). As we seek the Lord and His face (Ps. 27.7-9), He will teach us His way, and empower us to walk in it by His indwelling Spirit. We don’t have to guess about the will of God; He has shown us what He wants, and how we should love Him and our neighbors (Matt. 22.34-30).

We walk the paths of the Lord, having come from His Presence and beauty into our daily journey, in the confident hope that the goodness of the Lord will come to light throughout our Personal Mission Field (Matt. 5.13-16). The goodness of the Lord is that which comports with His beauty, justice, truth, and lovingkindness. The goodness of the Lord is throughout the earth (Ps. 33.5), but it has been trampled underfoot and taken for granted by people who have no regard for the Lord or His Word (Rom. 1.18-32). The more we see of the beauty of the Lord, and the more diligent and circumspect we are (Eph. 5.15-17) to walk His path, the more we may expect that His goodness will come to light in us – good works of beauty, truth, and love, shining in and through us like lights for vessels floundering amid the storms of unbelief.

We can know true beauty. We know the path of righteousness, mercy, and peace. We are the key to God’s goodness coming to light for the blessing of the world. And Psalm 27 leads us to seek and expect all these. Let us not despair amid a cynical generation; instead, let us seek the Lord and His beauty, ways, and goodness in prayer.

Praying Psalm 27 for revival

As you pray this psalm, let the troubles of our world come to mind, and hold them up to the Lord for His mercy (vv. 1-5, 7). Intercede for our cynical generation. Call on God to multiply His goodness, even to His enemies, and to prepare the hearts of many to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Meditate on the beauty of the Lord. Think of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, throughout the book of Revelation, and in such psalms as 2, 45, 47, and 110. Let the images conveyed there fill the purview of your imagination, as you set your mind on the things that are above. Linger before the beauty of the Lord, letting the light of His glory shine in your soul, so that you confess and repent of any sins, and embrace more of what you see in Jesus. Pray that the beauty of Jesus may come through in the world with increasing clarity and brilliance.

Seek His path for you for this day. What work will you do? Whom will you see? What challenges or temptations do you expect? Meditate on the commandments of the Lord (Ps. 1) so that you may be able to discern that path of Jesus and to prepare for the works you must do in advancing His Kingdom and righteousness (1 Jn. 2.1-6; Matt. 5.17-19).

Pray specifically that the Lord will show His goodness through you, and through all His people. Pray for a great upwelling of His Spirit to empower us with His fruit and gifts, that we might fulfill our calling as witnesses and disciple-makers (Acts 1.8; Matt. 28.18-20).

Keep at it day by day, waiting on the Lord, and not giving up hope, as you think ahead to the day when revival, renewal, and awakening break out over all the earth, and the knowledge of the glory of Jesus Christ fills the world.

For reflection
1. Why is this an especially good time to be sharing the Good News of Jesus?

2. Explain the connection between the beauty of the Lord, and His paths and goodness.

3. How can believers encourage one another in seeking the Lord for revival? 

Next steps – Transformation: Spend the next few days praying Psalm 27 at various times during the day. Review the psalms we have previously studied in this series, and continue praying them on a rotating basis.

T. M. Moore

We are pleased to offer Worship Guides for use in your family or small group. Each guide includes a complete service of worship, and they are free to download and share by clicking here.

For a fuller discussion of why we need revival, and how to seek it, order a copy of our book, Restore Us! by clicking here. If you would like a 28-day, morning and evening challenge to seek the Lord for revival, write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I’ll send you a free PDF of our reader, Give Him No Rest.

We hope you find ReVision to be a helpful resource in your walk with and work for the Lord. If so, please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. We ask the Lord to move and enable many more of our readers to provide for the needs of our ministry. Please seek Him in prayer concerning your part in supporting our work. You can contribute online via PayPal, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

Subscribe to Ailbe Newsletters

Sign up to receive our email newsletters and read columns about revival, renewal, and awakening built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification.