Psalms 50:2

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Zion the abode of God

I. That God dwells in the church.

1. In the congregation of the righteous.

2. In the hearts of His people.

II. That the church is “the perfection of beauty” only when God dwells in it. Otherwise the Church is as the world without the sun; an army in battle without its general; a ship in distress without the pilot.

III. That the church is God’s most beautiful dwelling-place.

1. Here His love is most of all shown, and--

2. His praises most celebrated. (W. Nicholson.)

The beauty and lustre of the Church

I. Justify and illustrate this designation of Zion.

1. Its nature, not alone natural, but yet more spiritual. And so in regard to any Church to-day. Its beauty is not in that which worldly men admire--riches, rank, etc., but in the deep spirituality of its members.

2. Its source--Divine grace.

3. Its medium--Christ.

4. How wrought--by the Holy Spirit.

5. Its contrast to the deformity all around.

II. In what sense God hath shined out of Zion.

1. There His nature and character are revealed.

2. Thence the blessings of salvation flow down to men.

3. In her midst Christ will judge the world.

III. Conclusion.

1. Value spiritual beauty beyond all else.

2. Such beauty is the glory of every Church.

3. Be concerned that God may shine out of the midst of the Church with which we are connected.

4. You unsaved ones, if God shines in the midst of the Church, what is to become of you who will not come to Him? (Joseph Davis.)

The perfection and beauty of Zion

I. The internal perfection and beauty of Zion.

1. It is because of the indwelling of the Divine presence that we have a Church.

2. Only as God dwells in us individually is it possible for Him to dwell in His Church as a body.

3. The Church of Christ is the aggregate of holy living; the aggregate of simple faith; the aggregate of personal consecration; the aggregate of personal devotion to God and to our fellow-men.

II. The external beauty and perfection of Zion, the Church of the redeemed, depends upon the shining forth or manifestation of this indwelling presence of God. Christ’s Church is not a dark lantern, but a chandelier with its lights trimmed and burning--a lighthouse. And what a responsibility this wonderful bequest to believers, this marvellous endowment of the Church, carries with it! (F. M. Ellis, D. D.)