How often, my soul, have you prayed, “Lord, teach me how to pray?” This prayer of Moses might well be God’s answer to you. He acknowledges the sins of the people and accepts God’s anger as a just response. The sin of God’s people was inconsistency—“In the morning they are like grass which grows up: In the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers.”

Moses finishes his prayer by pleading with the Lord to have mercy and compassion on them and for His people to be reminded of the wonderful things God has done for them. When you read the words of the text you can feel the very burden of Moses heart, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be on us.”

The last few verses are a plea for those blessings promised by God in His covenant with His people to be exercised. Moses knew that God had removed His blessings and replaced them with His anger, but he never accused God of being unjust or dealing with His people unfairly. He, more than any one, knew that God was living up to the conditions of the covenant. It was very simple: keep the law of God and the promised blessings will continue for ever, but break the law and blessings will be replaced by curses.

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Even upon us who must not see thy glory in the land of Canaan; it shall suffice us if in our characters the holiness of God is reflected, and if over all our camp the lovely excellences of our God shall cast a sacred beauty. Sanctification should be the daily object of our petitions” (C.H. Spurgeon).

My soul, make this your goal and purpose see the “character of His holiness” reflected in your life. It is only then that the desire of Jesus would be fulfilled, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” That light is not ours by nature, but is that light that is placed within us when we are Born Again.

God is glorified and his work advances when his church is

beautiful. The beauty of the Lord is the beauty of holiness, — that beauty

which in the Lord Jesus himself shone with luster so resplendent, and which

ought to be repeated or reflected by every disciple. It is towards this

that all among us who love the Savior, and who long for the extension of

his Kingdom, should direct their endeavors. Nothing can be sadder than when preaching or personal effort is contradicted and neutralized by the low or unlovely lives of those who pass as Christians; and nothing can go further to insure success than when the pure, holy, and benevolent life of Jesus is witnessed in the life of him who claims to love and serve the Lamb of God.

Let the beauty of Jesus be witnessed by others both in our attitude, demeanor and works; “Establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands” (17). The way we behave is a direct reflection of the condition of our heart. If the beauty of Jesus shines in our heart, the beauty of Jesus will be seen in our behavior.

Jesus, my Master and my Friend,

Establish Your beauty in my heart.

Erase the darkness and the sin,

Make me holy and pure within,

That all may see Your glorious light

And seek Your help from their perilous plight.

“Let the beauty of the LORD our God be on us”.