Scripture: Psalm 45:15-17
Sermon notes
III A JOYFUL EVENT.
- With gladness and rejoicing, v15. Gladness (Heb is plural) > ‘a happy/merry face’ – a glowing countenance; rejoicing > ‘to jump for joy, dance’. This is a time of joy for all concerned. It is the climax of joy for the Bride as she realizes the longed-for hope of the ages. Cp Rev 5:9-14. The picture of the redeemed here is enlarged to include the whole bridal party—bride and her companions. Cp Matt 25:10.
- A new home, v15. The King’s palace is to be her home from here on. The term used here is often translated as temple. In this case both ideas can be applied. The seat of His rule, the seat of the worship of God and His Christ, will be her home. Cp 1 Thess 4:17. Nothing can separate the Bride from her Bridegroom. As the millennial kingdom gives way to the eternal state the Bride remains for ever more in the house of her Beloved.
- The happy climax to the power of grace, v14, 15. It is interesting just to see the language here—be brought (passive)…enter (active). There is an external force bringing/leading the Bride and her companions to the King. Cp Ps 73:24—…‘take me to glory’. While she must certainly be active, the Bride of Christ does not make it to glory in her own strength or by her own initiative. It is a work of grace. Cp SoS 1:4, 8:5, John 6:44, Rom 8:30.
IV A GLORIOUS PROMISE OF A SECURE FUTURE.
There is a sudden and necessary stepping back to the present in the final two verses of the Psalm from a contemplation of the glorious future of the people of God. The question of Luke 18:8 sets the scene for these final words. Will the Bride survive to see that day?
- The promise of God, v16. The Lord promises here a future for the cause of Christ. The cause of God does not merely have an illustrious past—it has a sure future. There is the promise of children. Ordinarily, children are the product of a marriage. The spiritual union of Christ and His people which is consummated on the day of His return, will be a fruitful one through the ages till that point. Children replace the fathers. The royal house will continue—note the language of the passage: King + Queen > princes. The future of the royal house is secure. There is a striking reference to this concept in Rev 12:1-5. Even in the very last days of the age, in the teeth of fierce Satanic opposition, children are being born to the Church (in Jerusalem in this instance).
- The work and its reward, v16. The Church of Christ, addressed here, is promised children to secure its future existence, but there is work expected in raising them to be princes. Make > ‘to place, set up’. The labour involved in seeing children born into the kingdom of God, nurturing them to stand upright in an evil day, is in view. The reward of that labour is that these children will rule the earth as part of Christ’s royal house.
- A final personal word, v17. The Psalmist began by speaking for himself, v1 my heart… and concludes, I will… The suffixes here are singular masculine—He is speaking of the King. His determination is that the succeeding generations—he believes the promise of v16—will be made to know the King’s name. This is of course part of ‘making princes’! He accomplishes this by writing as he does. This will be a lasting testimony to the King. On account of this witness the Saviour’s name will be magnified—to eternity! Here is an illustration of what our personal response to a consideration of the King and His loveliness is to be. We are to be stirred to take the steps necessary to a continuation of the knowledge of the King; and to stir up the spirit of praise in the hearts of all the people of God.