The spiritual beauty of the Church of Christ.
There is such a study as the aesthetics of the soul. Beauty is not wholly material; it has a spiritual side appreciable by the spiritual sense. There is beauty of character as well as of form "beauty of holiness" in which the holy delight. In the human countenance may now and again be seen, shining through symmetrical features, the loveliness of high emotion and aspiration. And in the spiritual society of the redeemed, even where churches are lowly, services inartistic, the ministry far from brilliant, the discerning mind may nevertheless often recognize glimpses of moral majesty, or comeliness, or attractiveness, speaking of a Divine favour and a Divine inspiration.
I. THE REALITY AND NATURE OF SPIRITUAL BEAUTY. It is not merely imaginary, like that
"Light that never was on sea or land,
The consecration and the poet's dream."
Though not physical, it exists, and partakes of the character of moral excellence. It is not discernible by the thoughtless, the insusceptible; it may be passed unnoticed by the haughty and the worldly. Yet it is observed by the enlightened and morally sensitive; such contemplate it with a satisfaction deeper than that of the artist who gazes entranced upon a noble statue or a fascinating picture.
II. THE SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL BEAUTY. The Church does not claim to be in possession of such a quality in its own right, to take credit for it as for something due to its own innate power and goodness. On the contrary, it acknowledges that all moral excellence is due to Divine presence and operation. The beauty which adorns the Lord's spiritual house is the Lord's own workmanship, the expression of the Lord's own wisdom and love. It is derived, and it is reflected—the mirrored image of the purity and benignity which are essentially and forever his own. It is sustained and developed and perfected by the same grace by which it was originally imparted. The language of the Church's prayer is accordingly, "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us," and the language of the Church's grateful praise, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give glory."
III. THE IMPRESSIVENESS AND ATTRACTIVENESS OF SPIRITUAL BEAUTY. There are, indeed, unspiritual natures for whom it has no interest and no charm. But it is dear to Christ, who delights in it as the reflection of his own excellence. The King desires and greatly delights in the beauty of his spiritual spouse, the Church; to him she is beautiful and comely, fair as the moon, and clear as the sun. And all who share the mind of Christ take pleasure in that which delights him. The purity and unity, the Christ-like compassion and self-sacrifice of God's people, have exercised an attractive power over natures spiritual, awakened, and sensitive. By his living Church the Lord has drawn multitudes unto himself. And thus the beauty of the Church, reflecting the beauty of Christ, is the means of winning souls to the fellowship of immortal love.—T.