Splendor

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Scripture

 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary.

 ~Psalm 96:6, NIV

Quote

“God is not only the Holy One, but holiness itself.”

~Thomas Watson

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Splendor is one of those words that I have trouble wrapping my mind around. The Hebrew word translated “splendor” (beauty, majesty, in some translations) speaks of magnificent glory, breathtaking excellence, and royal majesty. It is something so beautiful and weighty that it leaves the beholder speechless. I have seen pictures of the Grand Canyon but never been there in person. Imagine standing on the rim of the canyon; it will be a totally different experience from seeing a picture or even hearing someone else describe the canyon to you. As you look at this marvel, you are speechless. You simply stare in breath taking wonder. You are awe struck by the beauty and immensity that your eyes behold. You feel absolutely overwhelmed.

I believe splendor has to do not only with God’s beauty but with His radiance. You can stare at the moon but you cannot stare at the sun, not unless it early morning or late evening. The radiance of the sun is too bright for the human eye to behold. God’s holiness possesses this kind of radiant splendor. Moses got a peek of this radiance at the burning bush. Isaiah saw this same radiance in the Temple. Obviously, David had also seen it because he speaks of it often in the Psalms.

Think of the difference between a candle and lightening. We can set and enjoy the beauty of a flickering candle on a dark night but not so with lightening. It is a flash of intense light that is blinding. Not only do we associate splendor with light; it is also associated with holiness. Here is a thought that I got from Jonathan Edwards. Power without purity leads to tyranny. This is not exactly what Edwards said but his words did create the spark. God is omnipotent and thankfully He is good, righteous and holy. Can you imagine an infinite being without all that power who was not holy? It is possibly the most terrifying thought that can cross your mind.

One more illustration: we are not familiar with it in our day and age but there was the splendor of a king, royal splendor. Kings were surround by such opulence, luxury and abundance that it was breath taking. This happened to the queen of Sheba when she visited Solomon’s court. She was overwhelmed; it took her breath away. No movie, to my knowledge, has ever been made that can reproduce the splendor of Solomon’s court. It would take billions to make such a movie. Can you imagine seeing the court of the KING of kings. It will be greater than Solomon’s.

Splendor produces reverence before it produces words. Splendor is beauty that possesses weight. Flowers are lovely, the Smokey Mountains are majestic, and our little infant great grand children are precious but God is all of these combined and infinitely more. Not only is He omnipotent: He is pure, righteous, immutable, beautiful and eternally majestic. Put these attributes together and they spell holiness. We struggle with associating holiness with beauty but the Puritans did not: to them, God is radiant with flawless beauty. Splendor is aura surrounding the breath taking beauty of God’s holiness. Oh that we might see what Moses, David and Isaiah witnessed: the splendor of the KING.

  • Happy Wednesday everyone: I’ve been waiting on this day. I get my injection in my knee at 3:00
  • We will be in James 4 tonight at the POINT: Judging others and showing no mercy.
  • Hawaiian Shirt Day August 9: loudest shirt {most color} wins a $25 Cracker Barrel gift card.
  • Don’t forget to pray for someone today other than yourself.
  • Outdoor Church Sunday September 6 @ 8:00
  • Hamburger and Hotdog supper Wednesday night September 16. Originally had this for the 9th but we decided to use the pavilion and so maybe the weather will be cooler by the 16th.
  • October 28 is our Bill Smith Jambalaya Supper and our November Wednesday night meal falls on Veterans Day and we are having a stew and Joe is going to have us a video of our veterans at the round table.

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