4. But the especial reason why he desired it, was because he knew
3. There is more and more to be had still in the house of God. We never come to be full. The soul it is wondrous capable, being a spiritual essence. It is capable of more grace and comfort than we can have in this world. Therefore we pray, 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' A Christian desires to dwell in the house of the Lord here, till he come to dwell in heaven, till he be translated from the temple here, to the temple in heaven. In Ephes. 4:11, seq., God hath ordained a ministry to the edification of the church, not only to constitute the church, as some think and say, that preaching must constitute a church, and after praying must edify it. Oh! let both go together. 'God gave gifts to men,' to preach, to edify the church more and more. So long as there is use of building more and more, so long there is need of the ministry. Therefore he desired to 'dwell in the house of the Lord.'
4. But the especial reason why he desired it, was because he knew God was also present in his own house, and there is no good thing can be wanting where God is present. It is the presence of God that makes all things sweet and comfortable. What makes heaven to be heaven, but because God is there? If the soul of a Christian were among angels, angelical comforts would not be desired, if God were not there. If there were all the delights in the world, it would not care for them, except God were present. Heaven were not heaven without the presence of God. The presence of God in a dungeon, in a lion's den, makes it a paradise, a place of pleasure; the presence of God makes all conditions comfortable. If there be not the presence of God, the greatest comfort in the world is nothing. What makes the church esteemed of by holy men? God is present there; and wheresoever God is present, in the communion of saints, especially in his ordinances, we should esteem them by this, that God is present. What makes hell to be hell? There is no presence of God there; no testimony of his presence in hell; nothing but 'utter darkness.' What makes the life of man comfortable? There is some presence of God in everything. There is a presence of God in meat, in drink, in friends, that a man may say, Oh, here is a good God, here is some presence of God. There is not the vilest reprobate in the world,
but he hath some testimony of God's presence. He tastes of God in somewhat or other; though he see not God in it (but like a beast is drowned in the use of the creature), yet God shews himself to him in some comfort. But when God shall remove all his presence from a man, that is hell itself. What is hell but where there is no presence of God? When there is no communion with the chief good, that the fountain of good is removed, a man is in darkness, and horror, that is hell, as we see in Dives, Luke 16:4, seq. It is the presence of God that makes things comfortable. That is heaven, to enjoy nearer and nearer communion with God.
Therefore let us labour to enjoy the presence of God in his ordinances, that we may have a heaven upon earth, that we may desire still more and more to delight in them, till we come to heaven, where all desires shall be accomplished, and there shall be no more desire. David knowing that God was present in his church, he saith,
'Oh that I might dwell in the house of God all the days of my life.'
See the constant disposition of God's children hence. It is a torment to carnal men to watch one hour with Christ. 'Could you not watch with me one hour?' Mat. 26:40, saith he to his disciples. It is a torment to give God the hearing; to sanctify the Lord's day. Alas! it cannot stand with their carnal dispositions. But God's people long, and have a longing desire. 'One thing have I desired, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord.' Men that have not depth of grace, they are like comets. They blaze for a time; but when they are not fed with vapours from below, there is a dispartition not long after. But fixed stars are always in the firmament; they never vary. So a true
Christian is as a fixed star, he is fixed in the firmament, in his desire.
'One thing have I desired, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life;' and God seconds his desire, and saith amen to it; as I shall have occasion to press after, in the use in the latter part of the verse. 'That I may dwell in the house of the Lord.'
'To behold the beauty of the Lord.'
This was another ground of the eager, constant, unsatisfied desire, 'To dwell in the house of the Lord,' that he might 'see the beauty of the Lord,' or the delight, the sweetness of God. Beauty is too particular a word to express the fulness of the Holy Ghost, the pleasantness or the delight of God. Take the word in a general sense, in your apprehensions. It may be the object of all senses, inward and outward. Delight is most transcendent for pleasantness; for indeed
God in his ordinances, is not only beauty to the eye of the soul, but is ointment to the smell, and sweetness to the taste, and all in all to all the powers of the soul. God in Christ, therefore, he is delightful and sweet. 'That I may see the beauty of the Lord.'
In this clause here are discovered these two things, the object and the act.
There are these two points. That God is beautiful. And this is seen in his ordinances, and in his church, especially, 'to see the beauty' of God's house. And it is the happiness of a Christian, and he esteems it so by the Spirit of God, to see, and to be partaker of this beauty of God. Sight is put for the more full enjoying, one sense put for another, as indeed sight is taken for all the senses, inward and outward. It is no benefit to us, though there be beauty, if we have not eyes to see it, all is lost; therefore he desired to dwell in the house of the Lord, that he might 'see the beauty of the Lord.'
Now, concerning the beauty of God, I will not speak of it at large, or singly of the excellencies of God. The text aims especially at the beauty of God, as discovered in his ordinances, in his church. A man may speak gloriously, and largely of the beauty of God, of his excellency. That his wisdom is wondrous excellent, and beautiful, that is seen in the ordering of things, and his power is wonderful beautiful, and his mercy, &c. All this is true; but what is all to us, though God be never so beautiful in himself, if he be not beautiful to us in Christ, and in his church? Therefore we will come to that that the holy prophet here aims at, 'The beauty of the Lord;' that is, God is especially beautiful in his church, in his ordinances, and that was the
ground of his desire. Omne pulchrum est amabile, every beautiful thing is an attractive of love. It is no wonder he desired to dwell in the house of the Lord, because there was the beauty of the Lord, and the most excellent beauty of all.
The beauty of the Lord is especially the amiable things of God, which is his mercy and love, that makes all other things beautiful that is in the church.
What makes his power sweet to his children? and his justice, in confounding their enemies, and giving rewards? and his wisdom sweet, in reconciling justice and mercy together wisely in Christ? All that makes this so lovely, is his grace and love, that set his wisdom on work, to devise a way to reconcile justice and mercy by Christ
Emmanuel, God and man. So that that is most beautiful in God is grace; as you have it, Exod. 34:6. When Moses desired to see the glory of God, how doth God describe himself to Moses? 'Jehovah,
Jehovah strong, gracious, merciful, longsuffering, full of kindness.'
So that if we would see the glory of God, it appears most in grace, and mercy, and lovingkindness, and such sweet attributes. This makes all things in God amiable; for now we can think of his justice, and not fear. It is fully satisfied in Christ. We can think of his power with comfort. It serves for our good to subdue all our enemies. There is no atttibute, though it be terrible in itself, but it is sweet and amiable, because God looks graciously on us in his beloved.
Now this grace and love and mercy of God shines to us in the face of Christ as beloved, as I have shewed out of that text, 2 Cor. 3:18, We all behold the glory of God as in a glass (c), that is, we behold the love of God in Jesus Christ, in the mirror of the gospel. We must take
God, not as considered abstractively* and simply, but God in Christ; for other notions of God are terrible. God will not otherwise be seen by the eye of the soul, nor otherwise known, than in Christ. Now God in the Messiah is very delightful in his house. This beauteous grace of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. 4:6. For God is so gracious and merciful, as that his justice must be fully satisfied, that
is, only in Christ; that being satisfied, God in Christ looks on us with a gracious look. So that God is beautiful now in regard of his mercy and grace, as it is revealed in Jesus Christ, as he looks upon us in the face of his beloved Son. There are two objects of religious worship.
God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and Christ Mediator. The beauty of both is wondrous in the church, wondrous towards the church of God, and it is most apparent in the ordinances of God in the church. Christ is 'altogether lovely,' Cant. 5:16. Christ in whom
God is a Father, and reconciled to us; and now we can sweetly think of, 'He is altogether lovely, the chief of ten thousand.' The church sets him out there particularly, his head, his arms, his breasts, his eyes.
'His lips drop myrrh,' Cant. 5:13. She singles out every excellency of Christ, and dwells upon it in her meditation, and sums up all together, 'Christ is lovely.' What makes beauty but a mixture of diverse colours? as we say, white and red mix together sweetly. Now to see justice and mercy in Christ so sweetly mixed, what an excellent beauty it makes! To see the justice of God fully satisfied, that his mercy might run amain to us now. Here is a sea indeed if we should enter into it, to see the love of God, which is the most beautiful and amiable grace of all; the love of God in Christ, and the love of Christ towards us.
Christ was never more lovely to his church than when he was most deformed for his church; 'there was no form nor beauty in him,' Isa.
53:2, when he hung upon the cross. Oh! there was a beauty to a guilty soul, to see his surety enduring the wrath of God, overcoming all his enemies, and nailing the law to his cross. And that should endear
Christ to us above all things. He should be the dearer to us, the more vile and base he was made for us, and he should be most lovely in our eyes, when he was least lovely in his own, and when he was deformed, when our sins were upon him. We should consider those times especially. The world is most offended at that, that a Christian most joys in. 'God forbid that I should joy in anything but in the cross of Christ,' Gal. 6:14, saith St Paul; so we should joy in and love that especially in Christ.
Now this love of God in Christ, and this love of Christ, is expressed to us in the Scriptures at large; it is published by the ministry, sealed by the sacrament. It is too large an argument for me to wade into. I need but only give you a touch and taste of it.
Now, that that makes the house of God so beautiful, then, is the love of God, and the love of Christ shewed and manifested, and the presence of God, of Christ, and of the Holy Ghost in the church. Take it for the persons; God the Father, as he hath revealed himself a Father in Christ, he is among the people of God in the church, and there is God the Son, and the Holy Ghost, dispensing graces and comfort there. It is the presence of the king that makes the court, and it is the presence of God in the church that makes it so glorious and so excellent as it is. 'Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God,' Ps. 87:3.
The church likewise is beautiful in regard of the angels, that are alway attending in our assemblies, and see how we carry ourselves.
Here is not only the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost distributing grace and mercy, but likewise the blessed angels, as pure instruments are in our assemblies. Therefore in the curtains, in the hangings of the ark, there were pictures of cherubins, to shew that the angels attend about the church, especially the church gathered together; for God more respects the church gathered together than any several member. We are all temples severally, but especially the church is the temple when it is met together. Now by the cherubins in the curtains of the tabernacle, was set forth the angels' attendance upon the church. They are servants to do good to the church; and they are fellow-students with us. They study the mysteries of salvation, the beauty of God, the wonderful transcendent love, and grace, and mercy of God to his church, as it is in 1 Pet. 1:10, 11. 'The angels pry into the mysteries of salvation;' they are students with us of those blessed mysteries. Something is revealed to them, some grace and mercy to the church, that they knew not before experimentally.