1 Sam 16:7, But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 
We continue our consideration of this passage, finding ourselves in the midst of learning that the vision of man and the vision of God are so vastly and distinctly separated by the very heart of the observer. Man sees those elements with which the mind is consumed. Beauty is set into place through the whims and the fancies of the influences and the societal pressures of the day. Everything is influenced by what the world thinks is beauty and charm and worthy of praise and honor.
However, God is never influenced by anything of this realm. His vision is pure and perfect and set in the reality that He is the Creator. Everything flows in full accordance with what He has put into place. Rather than being influenced by others, His vision is direct and piercing into the very heart of each person. He sees, with absolute clarity, into the very essence of each individual. He sees the spiritual beauty as He is the One Who instills that into the essence of humanity. There is in place that longing in the depths of mankind to know God. The Lord sees those to whom the satisfaction of that desire is foremost. He knows those whose hearts are set upon knowing Jehovah in the fullness of what is possible for mankind to know about The Creator. 
That is where true beauty is set into the being of humanity. It is nothing that this world puts forth as the latest style and mannerisms and trendy and fleeting things labeled as lovely to behold. 
Rather, God is the only eternal reality of Loveliness and it is in Him that any true beauty exists. For those, who know The Lord and abide in the living relationship that can only be found in Him, there is that surrounding and eternal aura of beauty incarnate, The Lord Jesus Christ. 
The Prophet Isaiah foretells this in Isa 53:2+3, Isa 53:2+3, For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 
He did not measure up to the standards of what man calls loveliness and attractiveness. But to those unto whom He has revealed the splendor and the glory and the magnificence of His eternal essence as both Savior and Lord, He is Beauty Personified. His radiance and magnificence and glory and splendor radiate the perfection of God, Incarnate!
The reality of seeing the eternal beauty of a person whose heart and life is so invested in this relationship with God through the majesty of the love of God is the course of our learning what is the most perfect and honoring and glorious vision. We need to learn to see as God sees. This will not yet be with the perfection of God’s eyesight, but as through a mirror dimly. We need to learn to look for the true beauty in a person, the heart that is ever after a greater knowledge of The Lord God Almighty.
Accordingly, we return to the account of how God revealed to the Prophet Samuel, the one whom God had chosen as the next king of Israel. Last time we saw that Eliab, David’s older brother was stately and deported himself well as kingly material in the eyes of Samuel. However the Lord said not this one. There was another son of Jesse whose heart was after a greater knowledge of Who Jehovah was and how to honor and to trust and to bless Him. This is the youngest son, David, who is introduced in verse 12 of this 16th Chapter of 1 Samuel.  
1 Sam 16:12, So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." The Lord saw in this young shepherd boy a heart that was after God. We know that David was not faultless in all his ways. He was beset by all those things which plague and hinder a perfect walk with Jehovah. He had his issues and we know that he succumbed to those weaknesses in the course of his walk with The Lord.
 However, there was that within him that truly grieved and mourned in the aftermath of his sinful actions. David sensed that he had lost that fellowship with God and that became more important to him than the fulfillment of his earthly desires and lusts. He would turn from his wicked ways and repent and seek after any measure of being pleasing to the Lord once again. His earnest desire was to build a house of worship for the Lord. Although it would be his son, Solomon, who would ultimately build the temple, it was David who made every provision that he could for that place of the honor and the majesty and the glory of God to have a home on this earth.
The greatest beauty of David was that he knew that only God was the True Sovereign. He recognized that it was God Who gave the increase and Who deserved all praise and adoration. That is why he would write so many psalms to the Lord filled with the yearning of his heart. They are songs of praise and adoration, repentance and hunger, longing for the continued presence and fellowship with the Lord. They are cries of humanity to know Yahweh in the increasing fullness and measure as Savior, as Lord, and as the eternal Friend in Whom all trust and confidence and assurance and hope and faith can be securely placed.
As detailed in 2 Sam 7:18-22, this heart of David was wholly centered into the reality that Jehovah is worthy of all praise and adoration. There was the continual acknowledgement that only in the Lord is there any rest and security and honor and beauty.
2 Sam 7:18-22, Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me this far? "And yet this was insignificant in Thine eyes, O Lord God, for Thou hast spoken also of the house of Thy servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord God. And again what more can David say to Thee? For Thou knowest Thy servant, O Lord God! "For the sake of Thy word, and according to Thine own heart, Thou hast done all this greatness to let Thy servant know. For this reason Thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like Thee, and there is no God besides Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 
This was such an important reality that was expressed by David, that it is recorded again in scripture. Please turn to 1 Chron 17:16-19. This is something that we each need to take to heart and seek to have instilled within our beings. We are never to take anything for granted as the Lord blesses and as the Lord manifests His perfect pleasure in the testimony and the adoration that we present unto Him. 
1 Chron 17:16-19, Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that Thou hast brought me this far? "And this was a small thing in Thine eyes, O God; but Thou hast spoken of Thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Lord God. What more can David still say to Thee concerning the honor bestowed on Thy servant? For Thou knowest Thy servant. O Lord, for Thy servant's sake, and according to Thine own heart, Thou hast wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 
And the praise and the adoration of David unto the Lord continued to be expressed throughout scripture. It is again detailed in 1 Chron 29:10-19, with all the majesty and the splendor and the loveliness of God and all that He does on open display. 
When we read these passages, we are given that glimpse into why God so chose this man to be the King of Israel. We also sense why the Lord made the promise that there would be an eternal King from the lineage of this man. 
As well, in all humbleness of heart, we have the essence of the true beauty that matters to the Lord being expressed by one of His created beings. The heart that blesses and honors God is set before the eyes of man in these scriptural declarations of the beauty of the heart of humanity to touch the heart of God.
1 Chron 29:10-19, So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from Thee, and from Thy hand we have given Thee. For we are sojourners before Thee, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build Thee a house for Thy holy name, it is from Thy hand, and all is Thine. Since I know, O my God, that Thou triest the heart and delightest in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Thy people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to Thee. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Thy people, and direct their heart to Thee; "and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision."
There is a proper perspective of what is truly lovely and worthy of praise within the realm of humanity. It is not the popularity of a person which holds forth honor and distinction. It is not the wealth, the physique or any physical attributes which earn the place of contemplation and inspiration. All those things are quickly fading away in the swiftly coursing rivers of time. The only true reason and essence for worship and adoration and magnification is centered in the heart that seeks after the fullness of God and all His glory and His honor and His adoration. It is only in Him that any true and eternal beauty is found!
The Psalmist so eloquently details, in Ps 7:9+10, only the Lord can maintain and deliver a person who is upright in heart. That person is one whose mind and heart is set on doing only those things which are pleasing and honoring to the Lord. Anything else is recognized as evil and ugly which will receive all the righteous judgment of Jehovah.
Ps 7:9+10, O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds. My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart. 
The reality that every one of us must face is the fact that God sees us as we are! There is no hiding from His gaze of scrutiny! He also works in our lives to try our hearts and our minds. He deals with us in order to show us what He sees, both those areas in us that need further work as well as the manner in which we see others. 
Rather than judgment and critical demeaning of others, there needs to be that same heart and mind toward others which is under the influence, not of this age, but of the Lord God Almighty. His vision of what makes one lovely and righteous and beautiful in His eyes needs to be more and more the manner in which we behold His presence in the lives of others.
Again listen to the Psalmist in Ps 51:1-13. There is the proper vision of oneself in the eyes of God, and that should have its place in the manner in which we deal with others, the full recognition that only the value of God in the heart of others is of any value in our estimation of their beauty and grace and demeanor.
Ps 51:1-13, Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. Hide Thy face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, And sinners will be converted to Thee. 
There is to be that corresponding heart for the sake of others as the Lord reveals our utter dependence upon Him. As He searches our hearts and reveals our need for Him, so should we view others as desperately in necessity of the Love of God. We will not go forth to judge and shackle others to meet our definition of righteousness and beauty before The Lord through man-made rules and regulations and harsh verdicts concerning behavior and comportment. Nor will we critic them as either lovely or ugly based on the defiled manner of our human consideration of what is beautiful and exalted in the eyes of this realm. 
No, we will see them in those eyes which have been so taught and enlightened by the love of God working in us. We will cry out on their behalf for God’s mercy and grace and love to overwhelm them as He does in our lives and hearts and minds.
In accordance with learning to see as God sees, we will continual beseech the Lord to work in us, to test us and to try us as to those things which delight Him. The Psalmist, once again takes the lead in this prayer as recorded in Ps 139:1-6. We will learn to live our lives before others in such a manner as they will want to know the reason that we so earnestly seek to please God and not man. They will see the difference that Jesus Christ as Lord makes in the course of a walk on earth that is less and less influenced by the paltry delights of this age, and more and more centered on the truer and more vibrant witness of the Beauty of the Lord.
Ps 139:1-6, O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. 
Lord willing, we will continue to reflect on the difference that should be more evident in our determination of true beauty in Jesus Christ as we rejoice in the work of God’s revelation of His eternal magnificence. His splendor fills the Heavens with the magnitude of His Loveliness and it fills our hearts with the glory of His Omnipresence. So be it!
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Jer 23:5. "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. Amen.