THE WAY HE DESCRIBES YOUR BEAUTY
“Thou art all fair, my love.” – Song of Solomon 4:7
The Lord’s admiration for His Church is astonishing, and the way He describes her beauty is strikingly rich. She is not merely “fair,” but “all fair.” He looks at her as she is in Him—washed in His sin-atoning blood and clothed in His perfect righteousness—and He sees her as completely beautiful and full of glory. And no wonder, for it is really His own perfection that He delights in, since the holiness, beauty, and splendour of His Church are nothing other than His own glorious garments resting upon His beloved bride.
She is not only forgiven or well-formed—she is genuinely lovely. She possesses real merit, for the deformity of her sin has been taken away; and more than that, she has received a righteousness that truly makes her beautiful. Believers are given this positive righteousness when they are made “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).
Nor is the Church simply lovely—she is supremely lovely. Her Lord calls her, “Thou fairest among women.” She has a true worth and excellence that cannot be matched by all the nobility, royalty, or brilliance of the world. If Jesus were offered the queens and empresses of the earth—or even the angels of heaven—in exchange for His elect bride, He would refuse them all, for He esteems her above every other. Like the moon outshining the stars, so she surpasses all others in His sight.
And He is not ashamed of this opinion. He speaks it openly, placing a “behold” before it—a call to all to stop and notice: “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair” (Song of Sol. 4:1). Even now He declares this to the world, and one day He will affirm it publicly before the entire universe. “Come, ye blessed of my Father” (Matthew 25:34) will be His solemn confirmation of the loveliness of His chosen people.