The Ultimate Royalty Wedding!
(Psalm 45)
1. We like to joke about marriage.
Married for many years, Paul had been ignored by his wife, Liz, for some days, so eventually he confronted her with what he perceived as the problem.
'Come on Liz, admit it,' he ranted, 'You only married me because my granddad left me $6 million, didn't you?'
'You really are silly, Paul,' retorted Liz loudly, 'I couldn't care less WHO left it to you.'
[soure: http://www.guy-sports.com/jokes/wedding_jokes.htm#Clean_Short_Stories_
for_wedding_day_speech]
2. Marriage begins with a wedding, and different cultures sometimes have different sorts of weddings.
3. Today's Psalm is a bout a royal wedding, the wedding of a King of Israel/Judah to his chosen bride. But it is not long until we realize that this Psalm goes beyond a mere wedding to the time and person of the ultimate King, the Messiah.
4. The Jews understood this. To evidence this, I have given you a copy of an ancient Jewish paraphrase and interpretation of Scripture called a "Targum." The Targum on Psalm 45 informs us that it is not merely Christians who see this Psalm as predicting the Messiah.
Here is the ancient Jewish understanding of Psalm 45. This is a paraphrase and interpretation called a "Targum." Additions to the Biblical text are in italics.
1. For praise; concerning those who sit in the Sanhedrin of Moses, which was spoken in prophecy by the sons of Korah; a good lesson, and a psalm, and a thanksgiving.
2. My heart desires fine speech; I will speak my work to the king; the utterance of my tongue is quick, like the pen of a fluent scribe.
3. Your beauty, O King Messiah, is greater than the sons of men; the spirit of prophecy has been placed on your lips; because of this the Lord has blessed you forever.
4. Gird your sword on your thigh, O champion; your glory and your brilliance is to kill kings as well as rulers.
5. And your brilliance is great; therefore you will succeed in mounting the horse of the kingdom, by reason of faithfulness and truth and humility and righteousness; and the Lord will teach you to do fearful things with your right hand.
6. Your arrows are drawn to kill Gentile hordes; beneath you they will fall; and the sons of your bow will be released into the heart of the enemies of the king.
7. The throne of your glory, O Lord, lasts forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is an upright scepter.
8. Because you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness – because of this the Lord your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your fellows.
9. Pure myrrh and aloe-wood and cassia – your garments are perfected, from the palaces paved with ivory below; from me they will make you glad.
10. The provinces of the kingdom come to welcome you and to honor you, while the book of Torah is stationed at your right side, and written in gold from Ophir.
11. Hear, O congregation of Israel, the Torah of his mouth, and see the wonders of his deeds, and incline your ear to the words of Torah, and you will forget the evil deeds of the wicked of your people, and the place of idols that you worshipped in the house of your father.
12. And then the king will desire your beauty; for he is your master and you will bow down to him.
13. And those who dwell in the fortress of Tyre will come with an offering, and the rich Gentiles will seek your face at your sanctuary.
14. All the best and choicest sacrifices from the provinces, the treasuries of the kings that are hidden within, will they bring for the priests whose clothing is chased with pure gold.
15. In their decorated garments they will offer their sacrifices before the king of the world, and the rest of their fellows who are scattered among the Gentiles will be brought in joy to you to Jerusalem.
16. They will be brought in joy and praise and they will enter the temple of the king of ages.
17. In the place of your fathers will be the righteous, your sons; you will appoint them as leaders in all the land.
18. At that time you will say, “We will invoke your name in every generation”; because of this the Gentiles who are converted will praise your name forever and ever and ever.
5. In many prophecies of Scripture, we see the phenomenon of double fulfillment.
Main Idea: If you know Jesus Christ, the joys that await you exceed your wildest dreams. Excitement and joy awaits us as we begin to recognize what we have in Jesus Christ. We are rich, we are significant, we are secure, and we are royalty.
I. The Psalm in Its Near Fulfillment: A Royal WEDDING (Psalm 45)
A. A Handsome KING (1-8)
B. A Beautiful BRIDE (9-11)
C. A Wonderful Wedding FEAST (12-15)
D. Heirs to Continue the Line (16-17)
II. The Psalm in Its Far Fulfillment: JESUS and the Church (Psalm 45, Hebrews 1:8-9, 2:13, Ephesians 5:25-27)
I remember when Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married. Marylu and I were newlyweds, and we got up early to view a bit of it on our 11 inch black and white TV. It was a beautiful wedding, but not a beautiful marriage.
When you marry, you can never really be sure what married life will be like…Some of the kings of Israel were decent, others not; some of the wives were decent, others not. But almost everyone goes into their wedding day excited and filled with anticipation.
The marriage between Christ and his church is a heavenly one: both literally and in quality. No disappointments, let downs, or differences.
A. Jesus Christ is declared GOD without Exaggeration (6a)
B. His QUALITIES (6b-7)
1. JUSTICE (6b)
2. RIGHTEOUSNESS (7a)
3. Above COMPANIONS (7b)
4. ANOINTED (7b)
All kings were anointed. The Hebrew word Messiah and the Greek word "Christ" mean the "anointed one." The First Testament predicts a particular king who
C. The midrash in HEBREWS (Hebrews 1:8-9, 2:13)
D. Paul's MIDRASH (Ephesians 5:25-27)
E. One Day King JESUS Will Activate His Throne
III. What This Means for Us
A. SIGNIFICANCE
We Who Know Christ Are included in this Royal Wedding
1. We are marrying into royalty
2. We are companions of Jesus Christ
3. We are royal offspring
B. DIGNITY
In the fall of 1997, I had my first closeup look at royalty. Zeeland, Michigan, the small Dutch town where I was born, was celebrating its 150th anniversary, and Princess Margriet and her husband honored the city with an official visit from the Netherlands.
Her Highness looked regal in her crisp red suit as she walked behind the wooden-shoed Klompen dancers and smiled and waved to the crowd. She moved with a quiet gracefulness and dignity. But without her entourage and a police escort, she could have passed for just another Zeelander blending into the crowd.
Believers in Jesus Christ are also royalty. We have been spiritually reborn into the family of the King of the universe. Peter called us a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9). John declared that through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we are “kings and priests to His God and Father” (Rev. 1:6). [Our Daily Bread]
• If you hold your head up high because of worldly status/success, that arrogance.
• If you hold your head up high because you belong to Jesus, that's faith.
C. SECURITY
"There are only two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein
D. JOY
The first verse of the Psalm is a good definition of what it means to worship the Lord with joy. It says, " My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king;…"
The Christian life is presented as a wedding feast, not a funeral dirge. And our hearts are to be stirred by a noble theme. We are to be enthused about Who Jesus is, the amazing salvation he provides, and the great themes and truths of God's Word.
Teens at a rock concert are stirred by the music. Audiences are wowed by well-done plays. Gourmet chefs impress their clientele. But we are to be wowed by the truths of the noble themes of God's Word, themes which makes us realize how impressive God is.
If you know Jesus Christ, the joys that await you exceed your wildest dreams. Excitement and joy awaits us as we begin to recognize what we have in Jesus Christ. We are rich, we are significant, we are secure, and we are royalty.
