Using Examples and Illustrations to Showcase Scripture's Beauty
Scripture itself declares its own beauty through the language it uses to describe divine revelation. The psalmist writes, "Thy testimonies are wonderful," expressing admiration for the word's "admirable discoveries of God, and Christ, and another world" [9]. This wonder emerges not from abstract theological assertion but from the concrete texture of biblical language—its imagery, its narratives, its poetic compression. The Bible calls itself "the word of truth" [1], "the scripture of truth" [1], and "holy scriptures" [1], yet these formal designations only begin to capture what the text accomplishes through its literary artistry.
The Parable as Illustration
Christ's own teaching method demonstrates how illustration reveals truth. A parable is "a placing beside, a comparison, a similitude, an illustration of one subject by another" [2]. This definition points to the pedagogical power of concrete example: abstract spiritual realities become graspable when set alongside familiar images. The New Testament applies the term broadly, encompassing "the shortest proverbs" as well as "dark prophetic utterances" and "enigmatic maxims" [2]. What unites these forms is their refusal to state doctrine baldly. Instead, they invite the hearer into imaginative participation, requiring active interpretation rather than passive reception.
Natural Imagery and Divine Attributes
Scripture's beauty appears vividly in its use of natural imagery to convey theological truth. The text catalogs flowers—"the lily," "the lily of the valley," "the rose," "the rose of Sharon" [3]—not merely for botanical interest but as vehicles of spiritual meaning. These flowers are "beautiful" and "sweet" yet "evanescent" [3], appearing in spring only to fade. This transience becomes a figure for human mortality: "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass" [3]. The comparison works because the reader has seen flowers wither; the illustration anchors theological anthropology in sensory experience.
Similarly, agricultural imagery conveys eschatological hope. Zechariah writes, "How great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins" [4]. The prophet does not explain divine goodness through systematic categories but through the concrete abundance of harvest—grain and wine as tangible signs of blessing. The beauty of God's character becomes inseparable from the beauty of the created order he sustains.
The Majesty of Divine Glory
Scripture's descriptions of God's glory employ visual and sensory language that resists reduction to propositional statement. Glory is "exhibited in Christ" and "in His name," manifested through "His majesty," "His power," "His works," and "His holiness" [5]. These attributes are not merely listed but "described as great," "eternal," "rich," and "highly exalted" [5]. Daniel's vision presents this glory through the image of "a great image" whose "brightness was excellent" and whose "aspect was awesome" [6]. The piling up of adjectives—mighty, excellent, awesome—attempts to convey what exceeds ordinary description.
The psalmist's response to this glory is itself instructive: "My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer" [8]. The metaphor of the tongue as pen suggests that human speech, when responding to divine beauty, becomes an instrument of craft. The beauty of Scripture lies partly in this self-awareness—the text knows it is using language artfully, and it invites readers to notice that artfulness.
Meditation and Understanding
The connection between illustration and comprehension appears in the psalmist's prayer: "Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works" [7]. Understanding precedes meditation, but meditation deepens understanding through sustained attention to particular examples. The "wondrous works" are not generic divine acts but specific historical events and natural phenomena that the text recounts in detail. One commentator notes that "the word of God gives us admirable discoveries" and that "the harmony of the parts" is "wonderful," adding that "it is a sign that we are not acquainted with God's testimonies, or do not understand them, if we do not admire them" [9]. Admiration, then, is not optional aesthetic response but evidence of genuine comprehension.
Scripture's beauty emerges through its refusal to separate form from content. The text does not merely state that God is glorious; it presents glory through images that arrest attention and demand contemplation. The illustrations are not decorative additions to doctrine but the means by which doctrine becomes humanly apprehensible.
Sources
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Scriptures, The — Given by inspiration of God -- 2Ti 3:16. Given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- Ac 1:16; Heb 3:7; 2Pe 1:21. Christ sanctioned, by appealing to them -- Mt 4:4; Mr 12:10; Joh 7:42. Christ taught out of -- Lu 24:27. Are called the Word. -- Jas 1:21-23; 1Pe 2:2. Word of God. -- Lu 11:28; Heb 4:12. Word of Christ. -- Col 3:16. Word of truth. -- Jas 1:18. Holy Scriptures. -- Ro 1:2; 2Ti 3:15. Scripture of truth. -- Da 10:21. Book. -- Ps 40:7; Re 22:19. Book of the Lord. -- Isa 34:16. Book of the law. -- Ne 8:3; Ga 3:10. Law of the Lord. -- Ps 1:2; Isa”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Parable — (The word parable is in Greek parable (parabole) which signifies placing beside or together, a comparison, a parable is therefore literally a placing beside, a comparison, a similitude, an illustration of one subject by another.--McClintock and Strong. As used in the New Testament it had a very wide application, being applied sometimes to the shortest proverbs, (1 Samuel 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chronicles 7:20) sometimes to dark prophetic utterances, (Numbers 23:7,18; 24:3; Ezekiel 20:49) sometimes to enigmatic maxims, (Psalms 78:2; Proverbs 1:6) or metaphors expand”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Flowers — Wild in fields -- Ps 103:15. Cultivated in gardens -- Song 6:2,3. Described as Beautiful. -- Mt 6:29. Sweet. -- Song 5:13. Evanescent. -- Ps 103:16; Isa 40:8. Appear in spring. -- Song 2:12. Mentioned in scripture The lily. -- Ho 14:5; Mt 6:28. The lily of the valley. -- Song 2:1. The rose. -- Isa 35:1. The rose of Sharon. -- Song 2:1. Of the grass. -- 1Pe 1:24. Garlands of, used in worship of idols -- Ac 14:13. Representations of, on the Golden candlestick. -- Ex 25:31,33; 2Ch 4:21. Sea of brass. -- 1Ki 7:26; 2Ch 4:5. Wood work of the temple. -- 1Ki 6:18,2”
- Zechariah “For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. -- Zechariah 9:17”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Glory of God, The — Exhibited in Christ -- Joh 1:14; 2Co 4:6; Heb 1:3. Exhibited in His name. -- De 28:58; Ne 9:5. His majesty. -- Job 37:22; Ps 93:1; 104:1; 145:5,12; Isa 2:10. His power. -- Ex 15:1,6; Ro 6:4. His works. -- Ps 19:1; 111:3. His holiness. -- Ex 15:11. Described as Great. -- Ps 138:5. Eternal. -- Ps 104:31. Rich. -- Eph 3:16. Highly exalted. -- Ps 8:1; 113:4. Exhibited to Moses. -- Ex 34:5-7; 33:18-23. Stephen. -- Ac 7:55. His Church. -- De 5:24; Ps 102:16. Enlightens the Church -- Isa 60:1,2; Re 21:11,23. Saints desire to behold -- Ps 63:2; 90:16. God”
- Daniel “You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its aspect was awesome. -- Daniel 2:31”
- Psalms “Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works. -- Psalms 119:27”
- Psalms “My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer. -- Psalms 45:1”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:129: See here how David was affected towards the word of God. 1. He admired it, as most excellent in itself: Thy testimonies are wonderful. The word of God gives us admirable discoveries of God, and Christ, and another world; admirable proofs of divine love and grace. The majesty of the style, the purity of the matter, the harmony of the parts, are all wonderful. Its effects upon the consciences of men, both for conviction and comfort, are wonderful; and it is a sign that we are not acquainted with God's testimonies, or do not understand them, if we do not admire th”