Preparation
of the Bride
Mary
M. Bodie
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PREPARATION OF THE BRIDE
Mary M. Bodie
"The
chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of His preparation" -
Nahum 2:3. This scripture, no doubt refers to the time of the Lord's return and
the preparation on the earth that precedes the great event. The fulfillment of
it, which is before our eyes, is a sure sign that the Day of the Lord is at
hand. But there is a particular preparation, at the same time, to which we call
attention with no uncertain sound; namely, the preparation of the Bride to meet
the Bridegroom. The former is called "His preparation." But her
preparation is just as necessary; for His manifestation awaits her presence
with Him. The Man to whom has been given dominion upon the earth is not
complete without His Bride – Genesis 1:27,28.We are assured that there is
nothing today with which the Lord is more concerned than the preparation of the
Lamb's Wife. It is written of her, "His Wife hath made herself ready"
- Revelation 19:7.
God's
people are awaking to the fact of the imminence of Christ's coming; but the
readiness necessary to meet Him, with many, is a minor consideration. The
former is good to see. It is indispensable to the latter. For the hope of
Christ's appearing, held in living faith, purifies us "even as He is
pure" - I John 3:3. This constitutes the preparation of the Bride. She
must be as separated as He from the world, in its every phase. This includes
not only the world's allurements as to its pleasures and money; but also its
wisdom, its thoughts, its fame, its zeal, and its energy. The latter are more
than the former; for they may be garbed religiously, and thus not be so easily
detected. Nevertheless, they are not hidden from the Lord. The Bride cannot
afford to be defiled by any of these things. The time is too short. She must be
making ready her wedding garments, the materials of which, we are assured, will
be altogether from Heaven - nothing of "the elements of the world" in
that wedding trousseau. It will be wholly divine.
THE
OUT-CALLING
On
every hand is manifested great zeal and energy in the Lord's cause and in the
salvation of sinners. But the one great purpose of the age, the Father sending
the Holy Spirit in quest of a Bride for His Son, is almost forgotten. She must
be a help meet for Him, not an inferior. She must grow up "unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" - Eph.
4:13. This constitutes her readiness. The Lamb's Wife is not going to be a babe nor a child. God is not concerned, nor does He want
us concerned, with building up something big upon the earth. This is always
man's wisdom, for he walks by sight. He must see the result of his work in
something big, to which he can point with pride and take to himself the glory.
But the Lord is not working that way. If we desire His best, we must look
through His eyes and view things as He views them. The Bride has "doves'
eyes," Holy Spirit eyes. God is through with the church, viewed as
Christendom. He is already outside the door calling individuals to come out,
and He will sup with them - Rev. 3:20. He has given her space to repent; but
she has not availed herself of the opportunity.
Scripture
nowhere tells us that there will be a revival of the Church as a whole. In
fact, the opposite is stated. The love of many waxes cold, iniquity abounds,
some depart from the faith, and the last days are perilous. Read II Timothy,
for a description of the religious condition at the end of this age. The
witness for Christ upon the earth has failed. She has a form of godliness, but
denies the power of the Holy Spirit - and so is nothing but "sounding
brass, or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal." Notice now, in this connection,
that God does not repeat Himself. He is not building up another gigantic
apostolic Church in these days. No, indeed! She would prove the same miserable
failure again, if she were given the opportunity. God is not doing this. He
does a new thing. The end of this age is upon us. The Lord has something new
for the next. The Church as a whole is divided. In the
beginning,
all believers "were together, and had all things common." Their
separation to God and fellowship with one another were complete. But this will
never be repeated until Jesus comes. Then, the "all things common"
will be fulfilled in a far greater measure to Israel, of which the former was
only a miniature picture.
As
was said, there is absolutely no hope of a restoration of the professing
church. Even the desire for large beautifully organized apostolic assemblies
will prove a snare and disappointment to us, if we set our heart upon them.
Again we repeat, God is not working in this manner. He
has proved man in this way many times. There will never be another Luther,
Wesley, or Knox to inaugurate movements for their followers to build up into
ecclesiastical abominations upon the earth. Many of these different sects were
of God in their beginnings (though not as sects); but take notice of their end
- "the mother of harlots," destroyed with all her progeny -Rev. 17:5.
God is going to judge her false pretenses, and fellowship with a guilty world,
and give to her according to her deeds. She is the false bride of Christ. Her
claims will have to be annulled before the true Bride can be shown.
OUR
HIGH CALLING
Let
us then get the mind of God for us as individuals at this time, and not try to
imitate those of the past. Let us look alone to our Guide and Teacher who is
still with us. God has purposes and plans for us today which, I am sure, are
neither sectarian nor selfish. He is a God of variety. He is not at a loss in
the midst of the confusion and failure. What He wants, and all He needs, is the
"poor and ... contrite spirit" - small enough to be taught and
willing to be led. The teaching may not be according to man's wisdom nor his reasoning, and the path in which we are called to
walk may be a little thorny and not very popular. But we truly believe that it
will be teaching befitting the preparation of the Lamb' s
Wife to take her place in the ages to come as the companion, the equal and
helpmeet, for the Lord. For the marriage of the Lamb shall come, as it is
written; and there must be a bride who "hath made herself ready."
The
question may arise - How is the above possible, since salvation is entirely by
grace? Well, we believe this is the answer. God Himself has made provision for
the readiness, but we must avail ourselves of His provision. Salvation has been
provided for the world, but all men are not saved. They will not take the grace
that the Lord is freely offering them. So it is, in like manner, with
believers. All have the calling of this select highly graced
company
- the Bride. The provision to meet the need of all is complete; but it is not
appreciated nor wanted. The separation it effects is too entire.
The persecution it entails is too severe. The Prize of the high calling is not
run after; hence, will not be won. The race is too long, the boxing too
strenuous, for the weaklings of our day. They prefer, like Lot of old, to sit
in the gate of Sodom to judge the wickedness of the world; but they are not
separated from it. True judgment would necessitate an immediate separation from
such fellowship. But this can only be done when we acknowledge God's judgments
upon this world by taking our place in death with Christ and His consequent
resurrection. Then it will be no more I that live, "but Christ." This
is the provision God has made through Calvary for the reproduction of the
Christ life in the Bride. For, notice, she is called "the Lamb' s Wife" - Revelation 21:9.
THE QUEEN, THE WOMAN OF
DESTINY
In
Psalm forty-five, we are given a view of the above much graced company who is
to reign jointly with her Consort the King. King's daughters are among the
honorable women of the court; but she, the Queen, stands at His right hand. She
"is but one; she is the only one of her mother (grace), she is the choice
one of her that bare her" - Song of Solomon 6:9.
There are daughters and virgins without number; but she is the only One
(speaking of the unity of the glorious company) who is chosen to share the
throne. She stands beside the King "in gold of Ophir,"
divinely chosen and enrobed in regal splendor as befitting her rank and sphere.
She is even as He. Then follows a list of the absolute
requirements of those who will grace that dazzling throne.
"Hearken,
O daughter." Listen to MyWord, He says. I will
tell thee how to measure up to the call of God if thou hast yearning in this
direction. "Incline thine ear."
A
hearing ear is the first necessity of this queenly company. She must have an
ear tuned in harmony with heaven - an ear that can hear the faintest whisper of
the Infinite Spirit. But hearing is not sufficient. The second condition
follows. She must "consider"; that is, she must eat the Word which
she hears, think upon it, let it lodge in her heart, meditate upon it,
ruminate, chew the cud, as it were, and get all the sweetness, strength, and
power out of it. Keep it in mind. Then the next admonition will be in order.
"Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house." She must put
off her old Adamic head, and all the associations and
relationships connected with the old creation. "Oh, this is hard,"
some say. No, it simply means that this choice One puts her Lord and Master
first. His people are her people; His house, her house. The Spirit is
substituted for the flesh, while the eternal things replace the temporal. She
has said, "Goodbye," to all earthly ties, ambitions, pleasures, fame,
and riches. Forgetting becomes habitual to this company. Like Paul, this choice
woman forgets "those things which are behind." She presses forward.
She lets go all that she is and has in the natural. She identifies herself with
the rejection of Christ; and esteems the reproach that He has borne, and His
fellowship, "greater riches than the treasures in Egypt."
"Victory," you say. Sure, this is victory. But it is the privilege of
the Queen to enjoy such a state of perfection. This is simply glorying in the
grace of God and its enabling, which has made such overcoming possible. The
work of the Cross will not have been in vain for such a company. Observe
further, that such victory is absolutely necessary; for the King's Spouse must
reach the standard that has been enjoined [and that standard is a character of
obedience to God’s Law, by His grace, which law is a transcript of His
character]. Only with such can He mate. They alone are able to enter into
fellowship and enjoy His love. In fact, these only will He
desire for His own. Listen, "So shall the King greatly desire thy
beauty." Because she has met
all the conditions, fulfilled all the requirements of His loving tender
admonitions, is the reason that He will desire her. It will be this very inward
perfection which has been worked in her, which will cause His love to burn
toward her and make Him yearn to possess her for Himself. He is this choice
Woman's Lord. She owns His Lordship alone
- worships, obeys, and yields to Him. He is everything to her - "the Chiefest among ten thousand." He reciprocates this
love to the uttermost. "She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of
needlework." These fine linen
garments are in the process of being made today. They are the result of heeding
the above counsel of the Spirit, and are costing her something in the way of
pricks and stings.
The
needle's constant moving in and out, though necessary, is not pleasant; and it
occasions her some tears and groans.
But, when we realize that
only thus are those embroidered garments to be fashioned, we yield to the
pricking. The Queen is to be brought
into the King's presence in these beautiful dainty wearables,
as though the wrought golden robe were for the gaze of the multitude; while the
fine raiment of needlework is for the King alone. He alone will know their
worth, and appreciate their value; therefore, He alone will see their beauty.
She
must be a partaker of His nature - the Lamb nature. The Bride will most certainly consist of those who
have let God have His way with them to the uttermost; not so much in doing
great things but rather, we believe, by standing still and letting Him work. He
then works in us, rather than for us, a complete renunciation of all that we
are and have. All of our own
natural goodness, as well as the badness, we will let go. The former is far
more difficult than the latter. We do cling to our own self-righteousness. It
is the last thing we let go of. But God will have none of it, and neither will
the Lamb's Wife. She will take Christ
only and always for her preparation; and stand in His spotless righteousness,
without fault, in the unsullied light of the throne of God. She sounds out on
every hand with clarion voice, "Who shall lay any thing
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth."
Her boast is grace alone. With deep exultant joy she confesses that she owes
everything to Christ. He is all she needs.
Others may boast in their achievements, their self-righteousness, their wisdom,
their sufficiency. She is dumb and
maligned, rejected, misunderstood and persecuted. She goes the way of her Lord
and Life Christ Jesus.
The
Bride fills up "that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ" -
Col. 1:24. She does it with rejoicing, happy to be a partaker of His
sufferings; for "when His glory shall be revealed," she will "be
glad also with exceeding joy," for she will share jointly with Him. No
doleful dismal lamenter is the Bride of Christ. His joy is in her, and her joy
is full. She appreciates His love, and awaits His
appearing. She expects to win Christ.
She
sings, and singing upward wings - Her anthem Calvary's story. Her eyes like
doves', her feet like deer. The race she runs with vision clear; For Christ is
all her Glory.
We
read in two places, of the Lamb's Wife - Rev. 19:7, 21:2,9-11,
she is described as a great and glorious city "coming down from God out of
Heaven." But who constitutes the Bride? It is very evident that not all
the saints have this royal place. For in Revelation nineteen, we read of
"servants," of them "that fear
Him," and of them "which are called unto the marriage supper of the
Lamb." Furthermore, in Revelation twenty-one, the Bride or
Holy City is distinguished from the twelve foundations or twelve apostles of
the lamb.
Eve
was built of a rib taken from the side of Adam. She became his wife. She is a
type of the Bride of Christ, who being taken out of His Body, the Church,
divinely chosen and divinely built.
But what particular saints constitute His Bride? Our answer is recorded in Romans 7:1-6. We quote verse four:
"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from
the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."
The
importance of this truth cannot be overestimated, now that we expect soon to
see the Lord. May the Spirit enable the reader to see it.
Romans 6:6 teaches that
"our old man, or former husband, was crucified with Christ; hence, we are
not under law. [This means that we are
not under the condemnation of the law
if we die to the old man of sin, but it by no means signifies that we don’t
have to measure up to the standard of all righteousness by His grace, His
empowerment of His Holy Spirit. This is evinced by the next sentence saying
that we are adulteresses UNDER THE LAW if we do not count the old man dead. rwb]. But, if we do not
count the old man dead while we are joined to Christ, we are adulteresses; for
no woman has a right to have two husbands. That is why so many do not have
victory over sin. They are joined to Christ, but do not count the old husband
dead. There is always trouble where there is more than one husband in the same
house. Now Christ alone has a right to the headship. He purchased it with His
own blood. He cannot accept one as His Wife who has another husband. He would
thus commit fornication, and cause her to commit adultery. Of course, that
cannot be.
How
illogical then, to expect Christ to be our Bridegroom, if we do not count our
old man or husband to be dead. Do you see it, friend? If we reckon with God
that our old man died with Christ, then we have him no longer as a husband; nor
do we longer recognize the old natural life. We are now free to be joined to
Christ. We now recognize only His
life in us. We are wholly dependent upon Him - our new and rightful
and only head. We love Him with an absorbing and adoring love. We trust Him
constantly and confidingly. He becomes our constant thought and theme, our life
and light, our help and hope, our joy and rejoicing, our wisdom and way. This
is not simply cold doctrine. It is a living burning experience. "He that
is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" - I Cor. 6:17. Such are fruitful
ones, who hold Jesus only as their Head.
HER HIDDEN FITNESS
The
foregoing is the right and reasonable attitude and relation of a bride to her
groom. This is the lawful aspect of it. But the true marriage relation is much
deeper than law. There is a profound unfathomable inward separation from all
else and all others, into union with Him inexplicably deep and tender.
Doubtless, this was the pursuit of the Apostle Paul, in Phil. 3:7-14.Who will
take time and patience to consider it with Him?
In
the first chapter of this epistle, Christ is set forth as our life; and the apostle
expressed his "desire to depart, and to be with Christ." In the
second chapter, He is set before us as our Pattern; and Paul exhorts to
"let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." But, in
the third chapter, Christ is "the Prize of the high calling of God." To be with Christ is glorious, to be like Him is
great; but to "win Christ," as a young woman wins a man, is
everything. This is what Paul was
running after. He already knew Him as his Savior, his Life, his strength, and
his Wisdom. Now he yearns to know Him as his heavenly Bridegroom. He remarks: "What things were gain to me" – his
pedigree and his legal righteousness - "those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things." If we do not suffer in losing, what we give up does
not amount to very much. There is a real death in such a giving up; not death
to self, but to what we surrender.
But,
more than that, he says,” I.. .count them but dung" - a repulsive mass of corruption -
"that I may win Christ, and be found in Him." Then, what most
Christians cling to and boast of to their dying day, Paul especially repudiated
as the largest part of that dung heap; namely, his own righteousness, which was
of the law. We can never win Christ except we wholly renounce
all our own natural goodness, sweetness, and pious walk. We cannot glory in
what we ever did or did not, or in what we are now doing or not doing. We can
only glory in the fact that we died with Christ on Calvary, and that He is our
present and eternal life and righteousness.
Now
as we maintain this attitude of separation from all things and everybody, and
as we choose to repudiate our own righteousness, we are becoming conformed to
the death of Christ. God, by His
providences, makes us to experience with sorrow, grief, and pain, this death to
all. We are made to see with shame how self-righteous we have been, and what a mortification is required to rid us of it all. But God is perfecting us. Christ is being formed in
us. We are growing up into Him, our living Head. "Forgetting those things
which are behind" - pedigree, friends, prospects, plans, prosperity,
usefulness, blessings, attainments, achievements, gifts, [unchristlike
mistakes for which Satan and His agents will accuse us day and night before the
throne], -- all absolutely ALL; and stretching forward "unto those things
which are before" - to "know Him, and the power of His resurrection
out from the dead (that is, dead saints) "for the Prize" - Christ
Himself as our glorious heavenly Bridegroom.
To
paraphrase, let us press on then with Paul that, "If by any means we may apprehend or seize hold of that
for which we have been apprehended of God in Christ." Let us set our faces
like flint by persistent faith in God; and by whole-hearted yieldedness
to Him, and by real heart devotion to Him, seek to reach that goal and win the
PRIZE. Then we will indeed be apart of that holy city, new Jerusalem, "descending
out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a
stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal" -
Revelation 21:10,11. "And, behold, I come quickly; and My
reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be" -
Revelation 22:12.
*******
Here is an
interesting commentary on the King and "queen" or royal bride of Psam 45:
A Love Song
Psalm 45
An EasyEnglish Translation
with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 45
Words in boxes are from the Bible.
Words marked with a *star are described in the word list at the end.
The translated Bible text has yet to go through Advanced Checking.
Jesus said,
"At midnight somebody shouted, Look, the bridegroom is coming. Go out and
meet him". (Matthew 25:6) (This is part of a story that Jesus told about a marriage. The
bridegroom is the man getting married.)
(This is) for the music leader.
(It is) for the *sons of Korah.
(It is) a *maskil and a love song.
(Sing it) to (music that they call) "*lilies".
(Words
that the *psalmist says:)
v1 These good words make my *heart very happy.
I will say these verses to the king.
My *tongue is *like the pen of someone that writes
easily.
(Words
that the *psalmist says to the king:)
v2 You are the most beautiful man (that there
is).
You speak words of *grace.
God has made you special *for ever.
v3 Wear your *sword by your side.
(You are) the *Mighty One.
(You are) great and (you are) the king!
v4 (Because you
are) the king,
ride out and beat (all your enemies).
Then (people that are) honest
and *meek and *righteous will always win.
Your right hand will show you
that you can do things that (make people)
afraid.
v5 Your sharp *arrows will cut into the *heart of
the king’s enemies.
*Nations will fall down under your (feet).
v6 Your *throne, God, will go on *for ever and ever.
The *sceptre of your *kingdom will be a *righteous
*sceptre.
v7 You have loved things that are *righteous
and you have *hated things that are
*wicked.
So God, your God, has put you above the people that are
with you.
He did this by putting some *oil on you, which made
you happy.
v8 All your clothes (smell) of *myrrh, aloes and
cassia.
The (beautiful) *ivory in big houses
(and the music that you hear from them) makes you
happy.
v9 Among your great women are the daughters of
kings.
Your *queen stands at your right hand.
(She is wearing) gold from *Ophir.
(Words
that the *psalmist says to the *queen:)
v10 Daughter, listen (to me).
Hear (what I am saying) and think about it.
Forget your people and your father’s house.
v11 You are beautiful and so the king loves
you.
He is your *lord, so *worship him, (v12)
daughter from Tyre.
v12 Rich people will make you happy with
gifts.
v13 The daughter of the king is beautiful
inside.
They made what she wore out of cotton made from gold.
v14 They led her to the king in her
beautiful clothes.
The girls that were her friends followed her.
v15 They came in with *joy and were very
happy
as they entered the king’s *palace.
(Words
that the king says to the *queen; or the *psalmist says to the king:)
v16 You will have sons instead of fathers.
You will make them *princes over all the land.
v17 I will make sure that people always
remember your name.
So, people will *praise you *for
ever and ever.
The famous English author, C. S. Lewis,
wrote that some of the psalms meant two things. He also wrote that Psalm 45 was
a good example of this. What did C. S. Lewis mean? He thought that Psalm 45
meant one thing before Jesus came to the earth and something else after he
came!
1) Before Jesus came to the earth, it
meant this. The king in verses 2-9 was the king of Judah or Israel. He was the
*messiah. The words "did this by pouring *oil over" in verse 7 are
"*messiahed" in Hebrew! They poured *oil
(from the fruit of a tree we call the olive) over him when he became king. All
the kings of Judah and Israel were God’s *messiahs.
The *queen in verses 10-15 was the woman
that the king married. Some Bible students think that the *sons of Korah sang Psalm 45 when King Solomon married his *queen.
Others think that they sang it every time a king married. The "*sons of Korah" were the people that sang in the *Temple. The
*Temple was the house of God. King Solomon built the *Temple in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah.
2) After Jesus came to the earth it
meant something else. This is a more important meaning for Christians. They
think that verses 2-9 describe Jesus, the King of kings. Verses 10-15 describe
the Church, all Christians.
A few Christians think that the psalm
only means one thing. They think that:
· the king in verses 2-9 is always God
· the *queen in verses 10-15 is always God’s people.
God’s people were the Jews in the Old
Testament, and are Christians in the New Testament and after. They think this
because all through the Bible marriage is a picture of God as husband and his
people as his wife.
This shows us that Psalm 45 is not a
simple psalm. We must never think that we understand it completely. God will
always have something new to say to us through it!
Verse 1: Students think that the person that
wrote the psalm said this. Although it is part of the psalm, it is not about
the king and *queen. ("Like" is another word for "as".) It
tells us that he says things (with his *tongue) as easily as other people write
things (with a pen). His *tongue is his pen! A verse is a part of a psalm.
There are 17 verses in this psalm (18 if you count the words above verse 1, as
the Hebrew Bible does).
Verses 2 – 9: For the Jews before Jesus came to the
earth, these words described their king. There is now no king of the Jews ...
only Jesus! For Christians, these words are all about Jesus. Here are some of
the things the psalm tells us about Jesus:
a)
he speaks words of *grace, verse 2. This means that he
tells us that he loves us and that he died for us. He did not have to do these
things, but he did them. That is what *grace means.
b)
he is the *Mighty One, verse 3. This is another name
for God. It tells us that he is more powerful than anybody else. It also tells
us that Jesus is God (look also at verses 6 and 7).
c)
he does things that make people afraid, verse 4. This
is because he is God and is more powerful than any man or woman. Even his
*disciples were a bit afraid when he made the storm become quiet!
d)
he will rule many *nations, verse 5. In the end, he will
rule all the *nations in the world. He will be King of kings! His sharp *arrows
will go into the *heart of his enemies. An *arrow in the *heart will kill you.
This means that he will beat his enemies.
e)
his *throne will go on *for ever
and ever, verse 6. This means that he will never stop being king. "*for ever and ever" means
"for always and always". There will be no end to his *kingdom.
Also, his *kingdom will be *righteous. No bad things will happen in it. The
*sceptre is the special stick (often made from gold) that a king holds as he
rules his people. "A *righteous *sceptre" means that the king is
good. So good things will happen and not bad things.
f)
he is God's *Messiah, verse 7. All the kings of Judah
and Israel were *messiahs, with a small "m"; but Jesus is the
*Messiah with a capital ‘M’! He was God’s special servant on earth.
g)
he is beautiful and there are beautiful things round
him, verse 8. Myrrh, aloes and cassia come from trees and plants. They used
them as medicine, and to make things smell pleasant. They used *ivory to make
beautiful things to put in their houses. Ivory came from the tusks of a large
animal called an elephant. Tusks are *like big white teeth and can be up to a
metre long. Elephants have one each side of their mouth. The end of the verse
"and the music that you hear" is not in the Hebrew Bible. Some Bible
students think that it may be what a strange word in Hebrew means, but others
do not agree.
h)
his *queen stands at his right hand, verse 9. Some
people say that this was the marriage of the king to the *queen, others do not
agree. Really, Psalm 45 is very difficult to translate and we are not sure
about many things in it. The Hebrew word is "*queen", or "the
wife of a king", so in this verse they were already married. *Ophir was a place probably on the east coast of the Red
Sea, in what is now Saudi Arabia.
Verses 10 –
15: For the Jews, these words described
their *queen. The Jews now have no king or *queen. For Christians this part is
about the bride of Christ. In several places in the Bible, the Church is
"the bride of Christ". A bride is a woman who is at her marriage.
John wrote, "the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his wife has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). He also wrote,
"I John saw new Jerusalem coming down from God in
*heaven. She was *like a bride made beautiful for her husband" (Revelation
21:2). New Jerusalem is another name for the Church. So, *like the Jews in the
Old Testament, the Church in the New Testament is *like the wife of God. Does
Psalm 45 tell us anything about the Church, the bride of Christ? Here are some
of the things that it tells us:
a)
the Church is to forget the things that happened in
the past, verse 10. Everything is now new.
b)
the King (Jesus) loves the Church, verse 11. He does
this because the Church in Christ is beautiful! Remember, it is not how we see
the Church but how God sees it that matters!
c)
the Church must *worship Christ, verse 11.
"Worship" is a difficult word. It means love, be afraid of, be a
servant of, and fall down on the ground in front of ... all at the same time!
In verse 13 we read "the daughter
of the king is beautiful inside". This probably means that nobody saw what
she wore until the king saw it. When Jewish girls came to their marriage, they
covered their clothes. When they met their husband, they showed everyone their
dress. What will the Church wear when she marries Christ? If we believe in
Jesus, we will all have a "robe of *righteousness"! A robe is
a long dress that covers all the body and feet. Jesus gave us *righteousness
when we first believed in him. It means that He does not see us as bad but as
good. This is not because we are good, but because Jesus gives us the gift of
goodness (righteousness) when we believe that he died for us.
Verses 16 –
17: Bible students are not sure about these
two verses. The two important ideas are at the end of The Story of Psalm 44.
Either the king is speaking, or the *psalmist is speaking. But, whatever is right,
"people will *praise God for ever and
ever". "For ever and ever" is a
strange idea in the Hebrew language. It means "as far as we can see".
For us it means "for always and always".
In the New Testament, there is a book that
we call "The Letter to the Hebrews". We do not know who wrote it.
This is what it says in Hebrews 1:8-9:
v8 But about the Son (it says), "Your *throne, God, is *for ever and ever. His *sceptre is a *sceptre of
*righteousness.
v9 You have loved things that are *righteous and you have
*hated things that are *wicked. So God, your God, has put you above the people
that are with you. (He did this) by pouring *oil over you, which made you
happy".
This is a very important part of the
Bible. It is important because it tells us that early Christians thought
that Psalm 45 was about Jesus! So, it does not matter that it may
have been about the King of Judah. It is now about Jesus!
1. Read about the *sons
of Korah at the end of Psalm 43 in this set of
psalms.
2. Read Psalm 45: 2 - 9.
How many things can you find that remind you of Jesus?
arrow ~
stick with a sharp point at the end, shot by a bow.
disciple ~
someone that follows and obeys a teacher.
for
ever (and ever) ~ always, with
no end.
grace ~
being kind to someone when you do not have to be.
hate ~
the opposite of love.
heart ~
part of our body; the Jews thought that you used your *heart to think; so to
know it "in your heart" or "by heart" means that you
remember it.
heaven ~
the home of God.
ivory ~
hard white material of great value.
joy ~
feeling happy deep inside.
kingdom ~
a country that has a king.
like ~
another word for "as".
lilies ~
beautiful flowers.
lord ~
someone with authority (with a capital L a name for God, look after Psalm 25).
maskil ~ a psalm that teaches you something.
meek ~
letting people teach you.
Messiah ~ a name for Jesus; really it means ‘he
is made king’.
Mighty One ~ a name for God that means that he is
powerful.
myrrh, aloes,
cassia ~ all have special smells.
nation ~
a group of people (or a country) with a government.
oil ~
liquid from the fruit of the olive tree.
Ophir ~ a place where Solomon got gold.
palace ~
the home of a king; a beautiful building.
praise ~
(noun, or being something) words that say that someone or something is very
good.
praise ~
(verb, or doing something) say that someone or something is very good.
praise
God ~ say how great that God is.
prince ~
son of a king.
psalmist ~
the person that wrote a psalm.
queen ~
the wife of a king.
righteous ~
very very good; only God is very righteous (or has
righteousness); doing what is right.
righteousness ~
being very good.
sceptre ~
a special stick that a king holds, maybe made of gold.
sons
of Korah ~ the people that sang in the *Temple (look in Psalm 43).
sword ~
a long sharp knife that soldiers used.
temple ~
a special building where people *worship God.
throne ~
a special chair that a king or *queen sits on.
tongue ~
the bit in the mouth that speaks or tastes.
wicked ~
very very bad.
worship ~
say that someone is very wonderful.