“Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house; Then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The rich among the people will seek your favor. The King’s daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her companions who follow her, Will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; They will enter into the King’s palace. In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.” Psalm 45:10-17 NASB
How many times have you been disappointed in something you were so excited about, only to find it not turn out as dreamed? In this life, we will be utterly disappointed without God. The unquenchable thirst deep in our souls is not for just the mere physical but for the eternal. This is what we have to look forward to in the new heaven and the new earth.
God gives us a sweet foretaste of heaven’s bliss is in the portrait that marriage represents the church’s future union with Christ as our bridegroom. We can admire its glory whether we are married or not. We can honor the marriages of our friends and look for Christ to be exalted in them. We should rejoice with them rather than envy them. Marriage is not the end—it is simply a means of grace that is meant to point to our eternal redemption. As a young single who has been blessed with a beautiful Christ-centered marriage in the past, I can say that marriage is wonderful and worthy to be desired. Yet, it falls short. According to WISER National Resource Center by age 65 nearly half of all woman become widows. The fact that marriage ends is one way it pales in comparison with our union with Christ which is forever.
In this Psalm God teaches us, through the parable of a wedding, to draw our affections for His return. First, the psalmist shows us the surpassing majesty of our King. Then, we see the only fitting response of our anticipation to be wed to Him is to forsake all others, radiate His splendor, and cause His name to be remembered.
We should longingly await the return of our beloved King and think upon the day when we partake in the marriage supper of the lamb. As we wait and get excited for the day to draw near, what can we do make ourselves ready? A bride does much to prepare herself for the big wedding day. In this text, the royal bride needs to attend to one important matter of first importance. The psalmist makes it clear by repeatedly trying to get our attention with the words, “listen,” “give attention,” and “incline your ear.” He reveals what will make the stately groom desire our beauty… forsaking our earthly ties. He asks the bride to leave her people and her own father to cleave to her husband-to-be. The Davidic King was marrying a foreign princess. Regardless of where she was from, she needed to leave her country and follow God’s people just like Ruth, and Rahab. It connotes the idea of repentance from a past life of alienation from God, to be given entirely to Him—leaving everything behind. It is the essence of saving faith. “Our beauty does not consist in own virtues or even the gifts we have received from God, by which we exercise our virtues and do everything that pertains to the life of the law. It consists in this: if we apprehend Christ and believe in him, we are truly lovely, and Christ looks at that beauty alone and nothing besides.” Martin Luther
Forsaking all others and clinging to Jesus, we can focus intently on our betrothed. As we meditate on the fact that He sacrificed His body on a cross and forsook his deity and divine privileges to win us as a bride onto Himself, we will be smitten. With His love in our hearts, we radiate His splendor in the sparkle of our eyes. We will have enthusiasm for a life surrender to His will. We will gleam smiles of joy and thankfulness for His finished work on the cross. With our lips, we will praise His name and tell of what He has done for us.
In the end, preoccupation in preparation for heaven causes His name is remembered on earth. The same woman that left her father, will have sons in their place and they will bear the King’s name. As mothers, we have the privilege of passing on the invaluable treasure of Christ to our children that they may declare His glory and praise to another generation. As woman entrusted with the gospel, we can be winsome and make disciples of other ladies that will likewise entice more followers of Christ to bring about His kingdom.
Majestic King, we are left in utter awe at the thought of being your blood-bought bride. Lord, we don’t deserve Your affections for we often soak in the mud of our folly. Please have mercy on us, cleanse us by your word, and grant to us the wisdom to surrender all our earthly loves for a greater radiance of basking in Your glories to come. O, come quickly Lord Jesus!
This Thorny Rose 