God's Beauty is Intricate and Delicate

This is the third of a series of posts from a paper titled God's Beauty. Rev. Blake Purcell wrote this in 2006 while serving as Rector of the Biblical Theological Seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia. Follow along as Reverend Purcell explores God's beauty in the Book of Kells, in the Church, in the Word, and in doctrine.
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God’s beauty is often intricate and delicate. Psalm 68:7-13 leads into multiple levels of detail, of zooming with the camera of the psalmist’s vision in an ever finer detail.

Vss. 7-11 the whole land → vs. 12 the women of the land → vs. 13 sheepfolds → vs. 13 a dove → vs. 13 wings of silver→ vs. 13 pinions with shimmering gold.

Part of St. Matthew’s gospel, Book of Kells

In seven verses the psalmist takes us from a broad angle view large enough to fit 2 million people, down to a literary camera shot of the individual dove feather. God’s majesty in his vast procession is matched with the counter point of intricate detail. God’s masterpieces are beautiful in scope and in detail. 

I have studied icons up close and if they are large then they are not to be studied up close. The Kells must be studied up close and at a distance to take it in, as this blow up of the blow up of the corner of the page above reveals.