479_The King and His bride

Psalm 45 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!

4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
5 Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12 The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
the richest of the people.

13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
with her virgin companions following behind her.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.

16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

A few years ago, a man in jeans and a T-shirt walked onto a subway platform in Washington, D.C., carrying his violin. He opened his case and let the music soar for forty-five minutes. Over a thousand people passed by. Most hurried along. A few paused for a moment. A handful dropped in some change.

What the passersby didn’t realize was that the man playing was Joshua Bell, one of the world’s most celebrated violinists, performing some of the most intricate pieces ever written—on a violin worth over three million dollars. Just days earlier, he had sold out a concert hall where tickets averaged over $100 each.

The problem wasn’t with the music. Rather, the people didn’t recognize the glory standing in front of them.

Psalm 45 is like a heavenly concert that demands our attention. It’s a royal wedding song that opens our eyes to the splendor of the King who is greater than any earthly ruler—Jesus Christ. Many walk past Him, failing to recognize Him. But for those who stop, listen, and look, His glory leaves them in awe.

Psalm 45 is a royal wedding psalm, a song unlike most others written by the sons of Korah. The psalmist opens, “My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.” (Psalm 45:1). These words pour out from a heart captivated by its theme.

He begins with the King’s beauty: “You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.” (v. 2). Isaiah wrote of the Messiah, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). But this only underlines the difference in the way God looks at things, compared to man. At his first advent, Christ was not outwardly impressive to his people. Yet God called him his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased.

Christ came in weakness, to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows. He came to suffer and die for our sins so that he might be raised again. But this psalm sees Him as the risen and glorified King, the Lord whom John saw on the island of Patmos.

The King is arrayed in armour: “In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!” (v. 4). But he is not ruled by the ambition of a tyrant or the bloodlust of a conqueror. His victories are spiritual, eternal, and just. He fights to vindicate the meek who trust in his justice, the righteous who obey his voice, all who live by the truth of God.

The psalm continues: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness.” (v. 6). These are no ordinary words. Hebrews 1:8 tells us that they speak of Jesus Christ: “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever’…” Yes, Jesus Christ is shown to be God himself, eternal and righteous.

And his rule is founded on righteousness itself, not on force or fear. Righteousness is the foundation of joy. Therefore, this king is glad, beyond all His companions. Isaiah 53:11 reminds us that “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.” His gladness comes from the joy of righteousness. In fulfilling God’s will, he has redeemed His bride and made many righteous.

Now enters the queen—the bride. She stands radiant and adorned. But the psalm is not content to speak of her outward beauty. “The king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.” (v. 11). This is the beauty of humility, of devotion to the will of God. Proverbs 11:22 warns, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” True beauty flows from the inside out.

The bride is encouraged to forget her people and her father’s house—to detach herself from her old life and cleave wholly to her king. This is a call to undivided loyalty. We who belong to Christ leave behind our old affections rooted in ourselves, our former ways belonging to this world, so that the beauty of holiness may dwell in us, and his love may reign supreme in our hearts.

“Because he is your Lord, worship him.” (v. 11).. The King is not just her husband; He is her Lord. This marriage is a union between the Lord of all and His redeemed bride, the Church. She can do nothing more fitting than worship him. Yet he is not content to lord over her. The next verses, 13-15, describe the glory of the bride, her wedding robe all glorious and beautiful. She is given the privilege of wearing the shining linen of her righteousness, as Revelation 19:8 describes. With joy and gladness, she enters the royal chamber.

The psalm ends: “In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.”

This marriage will bear eternal fruit. The King and His bride will bless the nations, and their name will be remembered forever. This is a royal wedding unlike any other. This is the marriage of Christ and His Church.

Ephesians 5:32 describes the depth of this mystery, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” The sacredness of earthly marriage lies in its being a signpost. It points to the love between Christ and His Church — a love that purifies, sanctifies, and glorifies on the one hand, and that joyfully rests in trustful obedience on the other.

2 Corinthians 11:2 reminds us of our present state, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” We are Christ’s betrothed, for he has chosen us. As we wait for him to come, for the marriage feast to begin, let us be faithful, occupying ourselves with his business in thoughts, in words, and in actions. Though we are tempted to drift, to be distracted, to give our hearts to lesser loves, let us remain devoted to our supreme king.

Hebrews 12 gives us courage: “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus… who for the joy set before him endured the cross… Consider him… so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

There is a joy set before us too — a royal wedding in heaven, a King awaiting His bride. He has made us beautiful with His robe of righteousness, a righteousness lived out when we obey his Spirit who dwells in our hearts. Let us live worthy of that calling.

Let us daily walk in His righteousness, longing for the day when we will see Him face to face. Until then, may our hearts overflow like the psalmist’s — full of love, full of hope, full of longing — for the King and His people.