The song of the heavenly nuptials Psalm 45

 

In accordance with unbroken tradition of the Church from the beginning, we interpret this as a spiritual epithalamium or nuptial-song, in honour of the wondrous espousals whereby Christ the Son of God takes into most real, intimate, blissful and everlasting union and fellowship with Himself the Church of ransomed, regenerate, believing souls.

I. THE BRIDEGROOM (vers. 1-9).

1. In His present qualities.(1) Comeliness of countenance (Song of Solomon 5:10-16).(2) Gracefulness of speech. He was, indeed, in highest sense, "master of sentences" — possessor of noble and powerful gift of eloquence, which He employed in commending the true, the holy, the blissful, impressing on their attention and reception what was for health and joy to them now and for ever.

2. In His warlike preparations and achievements. Peace and goodwill, benign, never-ending fellowship for all who choose to be loyal subjects of the King of kings, and faithful followers of "truth and meekness and righteousness," but war to the death, wounds unto death in which there is no dying, unto all who persist in wicked hostility and revolt.

3. In His kingly administration. He is God, and He became man; and it is properly in respect of His manhood — His Mediatorship especially on the side of His manhood, that we are to think of the sovereignty here spoken of as exercised. From the beginning and all through there were glimmerings, recognized and confessed, of the hidden majesty.(1) The duration of His sovereignty. "For ever and ever;" what contrast ,to earthly kings and human dynasties!(2) Its character. "A right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness," etc.(3) The personal reward which was to crown and consummate His administration. "Anointed Thee with the oil of gladness," etc.

4. In His nuptial splendour (vers. 8, 9). Ivory palaces, resounding with strains of grandest music, and filled with fragrance of choicest perfumes; a queenly bride in gold embroideries, with retinue of princely virgins; and, centre of all, the Bridegroom — Immanuel, showing perfection of beauty, renown of heroism, splendour of royalty, yea, of Divine majesty, associated with all gaiety and gladness of nuptial festivity. And where and when becomes it realized? Up yonder on the other side of the resurrection.

II. THE BRIDE (vers. 10-15).

1. The present summons (vers. 10-12). And what have we here in the pure spiritual reality — stripped of allegorical drapery, but the substance of all genuine evangelical teaching? What is to be the central scope and aim of all pastoral labour and pulpit ministration and sanctuary ordinance and more private Christian effort but to win souls, one by one, and in collective multitude as well, from other and alien relationship unto Christ, ever more truly and nearly unto Christ?

2. The call itself. The manner of the utterance breathes the spirit of urgent solicitation, with undertone, as our ear catches it, of authoritative command; blending of majesty and grace such as is reflected in the entire range of Gospel overture and offer. And what, then, means the summons in its plain and direct application to us? It means "conversion" — the turning round of the soul, in respect of bent and aim, from course original and natural into channel that is new — transference of affection and aspiration from the sphere of the carnal into that of the holy, the heavenly, the divine.

3. The reasons which go to support the summons. He by whom or for whom it is given has —(1) The authority to command compliance. "He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him."(2) The bounty — the resources and the readiness — to reward compliance. There is reward of affection direct from Himself; and there are droppings of bounty, tokens of regard, through creature instrumentalities.(3) The excellence to deserve compliance.

4. What is spoken of the Bride (vers. 13-15).

III. MESSIAH'S OFFSPRING AND RENOWN (vers. 16, 17).

1. Declaration concerning offspring to Messiah — fruit of the espousals (ver. 16). In ordinary earthly households you look to find a family likeness. So it is in the spiritual household. Resemblance, first of all, to remoter ancestry — to the "fathers," the fleshly ancestry of Immanuel, the prime and chief of these: on just such principle has an apostle hung before us a grand gallery of these in the eleventh of Hebrews. But likeness especially to the immediate common parent; and so that fine old picture-gallery takes us an to this for last halting-place and life-pattern — "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." The more that there can be seen in you, not an affected imitation, but a genuine embodiment of all that Christ was; the more that His humility, and gentleness, and purity, and integrity, and devoutness, and whatever else went to constitute His perfection of excellence, become radiant in your character, grow to be a very fragrance cleaving to you and diffusing itself from you around, the more claim have you to rank among the "children" whom He is to "set for princes in the earth."

2. Prediction to Himself of eternal renown (ver. 17).(1) Purpose of spreading and perpetuating the renown. Can you be too prompt, too eager, too constant, in the showing forth of His praise?(2) Assured prospect of responding praise.

(D. McLean.)