Psalm 45
The Bridegroom - part 1
Intro
√ The Bridegroom?
“To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.”
This is a royal psalm, written for the wedding of a king - though we do not know for sure which king!
It is also a Messianic psalm, that is, it typological in nature of the coming Messiah and His Royal wedding!
In fact, this psalm is quoted in Hebrews as a proof text to show that Jesus is God and as such deserves our worship!
Ap. Type of Christ and His Bride
The Church is the Bride of Christ - that means that you are His beloved, and He is yours! Regarding Jesus and your thoughts toward Him…
Do you love Jesus?
Do you long to be with Him?
Do you dream of His return to earth?
As we review this psalm may we find application for our own lives in that a fresh passion would be stirred in our hearts for Jesus!
His beauty
His battles
His bounties
His bride
That He would be the object of our love - above all others - our first love!
The psalmist brings out a number of reasons that Jesus should be our first love…
His Beauty
His Battles
His Bounties
His Bride
His beauty (vs. 1-2)
Ps. 45:1 My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Ps. 45:2 You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.
√ His beauty
The psalmist describes the king as beautiful, or handsome and a man of gracious speech.
We don't know which king the psalmist has in mind, yet we do
know that some of the men who ruled in
Ex. Saul
1Sa 9:2 And he had a choice
and handsome son whose name was Saul.
There was not a more handsome person
than he among the children of
What a contrast however to our Lord!
Ex. Jesus
Interesting in that we find not a single reference to the physical appearance of Jesus when He ministered here on earth!
We’re not told…
The color of his hair or skin
His height
His weight – fat or thin
…in fact, the only thing the Bible tells us about Jesus' physical appearance is not very flattering!
Isa. 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Almost like "looks" don't matter to God?! J
Of course that's true! For God does not look at the appearance of a person, rather, at their heart.
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
The point is, what God thinks of as "beautiful", or "handsome" is not what we humans spend so much time and money on. Rather, God is interested in the eternal beauty of a person's heart.
√ The beauty of Jesus
While Jesus may not have been chosen as a model for GQ or as
a
…He was and is none the less very attractive to those who know Him!
It is the beauty of His character, His words, and His wonderful work on the Cross that is attractive to our soul.
That draws us to worship Him - to lean toward and kiss!
To give up our own hopes and dreams to pursue whatever He has for us that we might please Him.
To long for His presence and His touch.
In short, it is Who He is - not what He looks like - that makes Jesus the most attractive Person in all the universe.
Ap. Beauty care for your soul
Knowing what it is that Jesus thinks is beautiful may I ask you…
…how's the beauty care of your soul?
Rev. 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
Let's make sure that we invest as much time & resources in the beauty care of our soul as we do in the appearance of our bodies!
Ex. Bicycling vs. devotional time
His battles (vs. 3-5)
Ps. 45:3 Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, With Your glory and Your majesty.
Ps. 45:4 And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.
Ps. 45:5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; The peoples fall under You.
√ His battles
The next quality of the king which the psalmist finds praiseworthy is his concern for the defense of righteousness. I think the NLT brings this out better in English…
Ps. 45:4 In your majesty, ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice. Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds!
Sounds a bit like Superman!
Seriously, what the psalmist is communicating is that this king is more than just a "stuffed shirt" - looking handsome and royal but of no value when it comes to a fight.
Rather, this king is not afraid to get his hands dirty - even bloody - to fight for what is right.
His battles are with the wicked who would pervert justice, or promote a lie, or who in their arrogance take advantage of the weak, the defenseless, and the disadvantaged.
So we find the psalmist rejoicing that the king is a strong warrior who is not afraid to fight for what is right.
√ The battles of Jesus
Its somewhat tragic that when people think of Jesus they rarely think of Him as a mighty warrior.
Most think of Him as somewhat weak, or milquetoast. Someone who let others push Him around.
Think again!
In His first Advent Jesus took on all the powers of hell by Himself! It was Jesus who…
Went toe-to-toe with Satan in the wilderness
Wrestled with all the demonic host to free those possessed of evil sprits.
Went to the Cross that He might conquer Satan and free Mankind from the curse.
And it was Jesus who conquered Death itself and set free those held captive in the Grave!
√ Today the Lord fights for truth, humility and righteousness through His people - the Church!
Ex. War for the souls of people
The Holy Spirit has raised up an army through which the Lord works to defeat the lies of Satan and to set free those who are held captive by sin. How do we fight?
We do battle with the enemy…
When we bend our knee before the King's throne asking in prayer for the souls of the lost.
When we proclaim the Gospel message to those held captive in sin.
When we stand firm in our convictions and resist the temptations that Satan brings our way.
…and we will experience victory if we will trust Him to go to battle for us when we are faithful to do what He has asked of us.
Jesus promised us that…
"the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." - Matt. 16:18
…the question is, are we in the Lord's battle?
Ap. Harvest Crusade
The gates of hell stand between us and lost souls…
Bud Walton Arena not available
Spiritual apathy among believers
Sin within the Church
…yet, none of these "gates" can stand up to an assault by the Church if we will use the Lord's weapons!
Will you commit to pray?
√ His second Advent.
Don't forget that the Bible also tells us that one day in the future Jesus will return to this earth to fight a final battle and conquer the kingdoms of man.
Rev. 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
…and through vs. 21.
Remember, like the king described by the psalmist, Jesus is a mighty warrior. He is not afraid to get His hands dirty - even bloody that He might fight for righteousness!
Close
√ He is worth the waiting!