Weddings are generally always momentous occasions in which two single people give themselves up to make a union that no other person should separate. This is because it is sealed and blessed by God. After all, our weddings are one of the four most sacred activities we will undertake, along with our births, the births of our children, and our death.

This leads us to reflect on a beautiful and poetic psalm, rich in vocabulary, about the king, the Bridegroom. This is a very special psalm; he is suggesting moving on to the Wedding of Christ with the Church in the final analysis. So important is this psalm that AW Tozer believed that if we needed to remove the Bible to two chapters that speak of the coming of Christ, these would be Psalm 45 and Isaiah 53 (the suffering servant Messiah).[1]

Key strategic points in the psalm

The psalmist: spectator, participant, worshiper

The psalmist speaks in the first person as a spectator and participant of the Wedding initially in verse 1, and later as a faithful transmitter of the message of life and the “memory” of the King in the last verse seventeen. This provides us with an inclusio, which closes the psalm. The psalmist conveys the mode of worship throughout the intervening verses.

He or she is thoughtful and expectant, in the lead up to the wedding. The kind of state the church should be in as she watches with patient alert for her boyfriend to show up.

The King – splendid and majestic; True, humble and righteous – the essence of uncreated wisdom.

Verses 2-4 speak in glowing terms of the King’s family line, genome, character, and attributes. These charismatic words speak of the grace and charm of the King. He has a gift with words, speaking of his inherent wisdom.

He is the “most excellent” and “most beautiful” of what anyone or anything was, is or is yet to come. He is the Man of the moment; for the “hour” no less. The Septuagint (also known as LXX) has compounded the allusions here with the Greek kallei hours; the mere suggestion that it is “timely”, “timely”, in its “prime” and in full bloom, as well as being “well regarded”, “better” than, and ultimately “productive”, that is, fruitful and mature.[2]

Putting the entire previous paragraph together in the description of the King, it could be said that he is’ the most considerate and beautiful person of this present hour, more than the ‘children of all mankind’ speaking in the eternal present tense – that’s why God has blessed you forever.

Tea reign of this majesty is based on his perpetual role in calling all creation to truth, humility, and justice.[3] The king is tea right way.

The characteristic of the wedding itself – the culmination of all things

It is a day for which everyone is prepared and, like all weddings, it comes suddenly, as inevitably happens with all things in time. Everything that is ready can be used, what is not ready is put aside. Everything good, pure and just wins entry to the courts where the ceremony will take place. There is not a stain in sight; everything has been done right.

The Church – the radiant bride

Verses 10-11 not only speak of the bride’s dedication to the King, but also exhort the church to leave worldliness for complete love and faithfulness to and from her betrothed, the eternal King and Savior. Like Israel, all your attentions must be on the Lord who is your God. There is no room for any feelings of infidelity.

The central and directing verse of the entire psalm is verse 11. The Amplified says: “Thus will the King desire your beauty; for He is your Lord, be submissive and reverential and honor him.” The LXX says: “Because the king has desired your beauty, because he is your Lord”, speaking of a very personal and monogamous deity. He cannot accept anything less than full observance, because he is a jealous God.

After all, it is marriage. Our Supreme Lord is completely faithful; we must be as devoted as his vassal. We love each other, although from different points of view. And this is sacrosanct heavenly care and worship all rolled into one, as the blessed union becomes a one-flesh spiritual ideal. In the perfect sense, nothing could interrupt it, nothing.

FINAL NOTES:

[1] AW Tozer, The worship-driven life, the reason we were created – Ed. James L. Snyder (London: Monarch Books, 2008).

[2] See Wesley J. Perschbacher (Ed.), The New Analytical Greek Lexicon (Peabody, Mass .: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990), p. 218, 445. [3] Perhaps there are allusions here to John 14: 6 and Philippians 2: 5-11.