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WEDDING DAY (Psalm 45)

Friday the 13th has not been an unlucky day for me. It was on one of those days that my bride walked down an aisle and said, “I do.”

I am thinking now of that very special day when we became husband and wife. If you are married, you almost certainly have a memory of such a day like that. It is glorious and wonderful.

But there is a wedding day to come that will outshine them all. It is the day when the King and his wife come together in eternal union. I am referring to the Lord Jesus Christ and His church, who are cited in the Bible as the bride and the bridegroom.

Psalm 45 is a wedding psalm, called “a song of loves.” And not just any kind of love; this is divine love, divine marriage, a divine union. It is beautiful, and reminiscent of the Song of Solomon that shows the union and communion of the king and the king’s wife.

Verse 1: “My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

We talk about receiving wedding announcements and invitations, and they are thrilling and exciting. Here the psalmist has a wedding announcement that he is ready to share so those who read about it can rejoice with him.

That is what the rest of the psalm is about. It is divided into two parts, the first of which is about the king.

Verse 2: “Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the fairest of ten thousand. There is none more beautiful or perfect. He came to us full of grace and truth. Every word He speaks is gracious.

Verses 3-4: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.”

Here is the character of the bridegroom. He is mighty, full of glory and truth, meek, righteous. There is no bridegroom like Him.

Verse 5: “Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.” This is His power. He is greater than all of His enemies.

Verse 6: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.” Can you see Him sitting upon His throne with a scepter in His hand? That is His eternal place. He is seated there now and will be there forever. God has exalted Him to that place.

Verse 7: “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Here is His beautiful nature. He hates wickedness and loves righteousness.

The followers of the King should be the same way. If you are a follower of Jesus, you should hate wickedness. The only way to do that is to love righteousness. If you love the Lord, you will love what He loves and hate what He hates.

I love how the psalmist connected the moral uprightness in the first part of verse 7 with the joy found later in that verse. Some people think holiness and happiness are mutually exclusive and you cannot have both, but I would submit that the happiest people are the holiest. Real joy is always connected to being right with God.

The happiest person to ever live was Jesus. The “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3) has greater joy than anyone. This is repeated in Hebrews 1 about Him. If you are going to be joyful, you will need to follow in His steps and be holy.

Verse 8: “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.” There is that gladness again, and He is coming out of Heaven with the fragrance of God on Him. How wonderful.

Verse 9: “Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” Now we have moved from the King to His bride, a picture of the church.

Verse 10: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house.” The bride is supposed to leave her father and mother, and cleave to her husband. Those who would be part of Christ’s bride must come to Him for forgiveness of sin and accept Him alone as the way of salvation.

Verse 11: “So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.” The only beauty we have is what God gives us. He is the One who clothes us in wedding garments and prepares us to enter His presence. According to Ephesians 5, He is purifying His bride now. All worship, glory and honor go to Him.

Everyone knows that in most weddings today, no one thinks very much about the groom. He comes out of a side door in a rented tuxedo and steps to the altar almost in anonymity, because all eyes are on the bride. That is true in our current culture, but one day when Jesus comes, all eyes will be on the groom. He alone is perfect and worthy of worship.

Verse 12: “And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.” Everyone will rejoice that day in His presence.

Verses 13-17: “The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.”

This is a picture of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb followed by the eternal union of Christ and His people. We are going to be brought into His palace. That is where I am headed. As the song goes:

This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue

Our bodies and our houses make up our temporary home. As believers, Heaven is our eternal home. We will be with the Lord forever, praising Him as the final verse of this psalm states.

Make sure you know the King. If you have never been saved, call on Him right now. He will then make you part of His bride.

If you are a believer, begin to rejoice and praise Him. Get your eyes on His beauty and wonder. It will begin to prepare you for the day when you are with Him forever, Then, begin to tell others about Him.

Psalm 45 is a reminder to us of the great Bridegroom we have, and the great future we have with Him. Let’s get ready today to see Jesus face to face.