O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth.
 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” – Psalm 96:9-10

Wednesday Rebekah and I spent a few hours in and around Raleigh. We had business in various locations, including at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church, where we were so happy to be able to visit with our friends on the church staff and also privileged to say hello to the new pastor, Liz Troyer.

Rebekah and Liz had a meeting about an upcoming memorial service they will be leading together, so I wandered into the sanctuary for a few minutes to sit and to meditate.

Wow! What an amazing space, loaded with all the “good vibes” of those exciting years from 2013 through 2021. It was as if I could literally sense the reverberations of praise, hear the echoes of prayer, receive the power of the preaching, wrap my arms around the buzz of fellowship, and engage with the electricity of the Spirit at work.

A “beautiful” church:

I have always liked the design of the WFPC sanctuary. The architecture is simple and utilitarian without the lavish finishings of a church built absent budgetary constraints, featuring a worship space as wide as it is deep with tall windows allowing cascades of ample light. Lovely, yes, but far from being the most beautiful I have ever seen.

And that is why I was surprised when my cousin Peter, visiting in Wake Forest from England a few years back, said “This is the most beautiful church I have ever been to.” Peter had been visiting during a business trip and he attended worship with us one summer Sunday morning.

Peter made his “beautiful church” statement during lunch after worship. I looked a little incredulous, but after we talked some more I understood his meaning. The church had been full, with somewhere around 300 people loving one another and worshipping together.

What made the Wake Forest sanctuary appear so beautiful to Peter was not so much the physical space as it was the throng of people there to worship God and to be together.

And he was right. The Church was beautiful. The Church is beautiful.

I thought about all of this yesterday afternoon when I walked, meditatively, through the Wake Forest sanctuary. I could feel the joy, I could hear the praise, I could sense the spiritual energy generated by so many faithful witnesses to the love, the grace, the mercy, the goodness, the light and the promise of Jesus.

Rebekah and I drove home to Tarboro full with – as the hymnwriter puts it – the Beauty of Holiness.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
bow down before him, his glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience, and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore him: the Lord is his name.

Low at his feet lay thy burden of carefulness:
high on his heart he will bear it for thee,
comfort thy sorrows, and answer thy prayerfulness,
guiding thy steps as may best for thee be.

Fear not to enter his courts in the slenderness
of the poor wealth thou wouldst reckon as thine:
truth in its beauty, and love in its tenderness,
these are the offerings to lay on his shrine. – John Monsell (1863)