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In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. The city of Tyre will come with a gift, people of wealth will seek your favor. All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her — those brought to be with her. Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.
Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.
I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
Psalm 45
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As you read through the psalms, there are only a few that aren’t attributed to David. The 45th Psalm is one of them.
Instead of regarding David, the psalm is described as this:
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song.
At its core, the psalm is a wedding song, a song of celebration for a king and his new bride. Let’s look at the passage:
My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. The city of Tyre will come with a gift, people of wealth will seek your favor. All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her — those brought to be with her. Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.
Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.
I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
The first part of the psalm is a celebration of the king. What do we know about him? Consider the following:
1. He is the most excellent of men.
2. His lips are anointed with grace.
3. He is blessed by God forever.
4. His throne, the throne established by God, will last forever.
5. God has set him above his companions and anointed him.
The king had everything going for him with God ever by his side and so the people exhorted him to:
1. Clothe himself with splendor and majesty.
2. Ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility, and justice.
3. Achieve awesome deeds, pierce the hearts of the enemy with arrows, and defeat the nations placing them under his feet.
Truly, the king was revered and respected by his subjects. So was the bride as the psalm goes on to sing her praises. She is viewed as:
1. Beautiful.
2. Glorious within her chamber.
She enters into the palace with joy and gladness, adorned in a gown interwoven with gold. And the children she bears with the king will carry on the throne in the family name. Truly, the bride was blessed but she was no greater than the bridegroom. Nonetheless, the wedding was a time of great celebration as a new life began for king and his new queen.
Yes, we can visualize this wedding and see its splendor. But it will pale in comparison to a wedding yet to come, a wedding day that will be the greatest ever. Like this psalm, there will be a king as the bridegroom marrying his bride but the king in the greatest marriage ever will be no ordinary king. He will be the King of kings, Jesus the Christ.
And all those who place their faith and trust in Him will be His bride. Consider these words from the Gospel of John:
You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:28-30
The person speaking in this passage is none other than John the Baptist who is assuring the people that he is not the bridegroom. You’ll recall that people were coming to John as he was in the Jordan River, confessing their sins and receiving baptism (Matthew 3). But John wanted to make it clear then and he makes it clear here that he is not greater than Jesus, the predicted coming Messiah. In Matthew, John asserted that Jesus would come and baptize, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. From the passage above, John testifies that he is not the Messiah who is the bridegroom. Instead, he is the friend of the bridegroom, or the best man, who is sent ahead to prepare things for the wedding to come, the greatest wedding of all when Jesus the bridegroom takes all of His believers as His bride.
Imagine this for a moment. Those who have accepted Christ Jesus as their Savior have entered into an engagement with Jesus for a future wedding when there will never be bad times, only good. There will never be sickness, only health. There will be no poverty as we are lavished by the riches of the Kingdom. And unlike conventional weddings, where spouses are together until death they do part, this wedding will have no worry of life ending for we will live with our bridegroom Jesus forever and ever.
Are you going to be a part of this wedding? Have you accepted your invitation from Jesus and accepted His engagement offer?
If not, it’s not too late but don’t delay. Christ may return at any time and you don’t want to miss the greatest wedding ever. I hope to see you there.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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