A Song of Love
Psalms 45
August 18, 2019
Tonight the title of the song is easy
For it is given right there in the heading.
“For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.”
A casual reading of this Psalm might even lead you to embrace the beauty of a noble King and his upcoming marriage.
• You see a handsome King in the first 2 verses.
• You get a beautiful daughter in verses 10-15.
• In verse 14 you get the marriage ceremony where we read, “She will be led
to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her companions who
follow her, will be brought to You.”
And you say, “Oh, it’s that beautiful wedding ceremony and the bride and all her attendants are walking down the aisle with their beautiful gowns with bouquets of flowers”
And if you read commentaries on it you find some who speak of it
Being perhaps a picture of David’s wedding or even Solomon’s wedding.
Certainly many have taken the prophetic view
And seen it as the wedding of Jesus and His church.
I like what Spurgeon had to say about the Psalm.
“Some here see Solomon and Pharaoh’s daughter only – they are short-sighted; others see both Solomon and Christ – they are cross-eyed; well-focused spiritual eyes see here Jesus only.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 315)
I think Spurgeon hit the nail on the head.
(but I hadn’t even fully seen it before studying this week)
This Psalm is about “Jesus Only”
Even in my Bible I had marked this “The Wedding Psalm”
Because such clear wedding pictures are seen.
Clearly you have a bride being led to her husband.
BUT
• While this Psalm does contain a wedding, it is not a Psalm about the wedding.
• And though this Psalm contains a couple, it really isn’t about both of them.
• And when the heading says this is a “Love Song” it is not a song about love.
It is a song sung by the sons of Korah
Which is nothing short than a love song to the Savior.
The Psalm is not about the love between Christ and the Church.
THE PSALM IS ALL ABOUT CHRIST.
THE CHURCH IS THE SINGER.
In the book the Song of Solomon we have a moment when the bride is asked about her groom.
Song of Solomon 5:9-16 “What kind of beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? What kind of beloved is your beloved, That thus you adjure us?” “My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, Outstanding among ten thousand. “His head is like gold, pure gold; His locks are like clusters of dates And black as a raven. “His eyes are like doves Beside streams of water, Bathed in milk, And reposed in their setting. “His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, Banks of sweet-scented herbs; His lips are lilies Dripping with liquid myrrh. “His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl; His abdomen is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires. “His legs are pillars of alabaster Set on pedestals of pure gold; His appearance is like Lebanon Choice as the cedars. “His mouth is full of sweetness. And he is wholly desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
(You may have heard Carrie talk about me like that. Lol!)
The bride responds to the question about her beloved
By describing His perfect beauty.
She glories in the perfection of the one her soul loves.
That is the type of song we have here.
• It is a Song of Love to be certain.
• It is a song we sing of our Savior and to our Savior to speak of how much we love Him.
It is a song which has 6 verses,
With each focusing on a particular attribute of our great King.
And tonight we just work our way through them.
It is as if someone approached us and said,
“What kind of beloved is your beloved?”
And we break out in song of highest praise.
There 6 verses
#1 HIS BEAUTY
Psalms 45:1-2
You have to love the way this song begins.
• It is not a song of burden.
• It is not one who has been forced to sing.
• It is not one who is reluctantly a part of the choir.
Indeed that person might as well not sing at all.
There is no burden here.
“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
There is no burden, only love.
There is no labor, only delight.
There is no hesitation, only eagerness.
The song writer could not wait to write this song,
And is even more eager to sing it.
It is a picture of a church who cannot wait
To tell you the glories of the One her soul loves.
AND WE BEGIN WITH HIS BEAUTY.
(2) “You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.”
We see here His unequaled beauty and His unequaled speech.
Now I’m aware of what we read in Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53:2 “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”
But that verses speaks of those who only looked with lustful eyes
For One they could use to their own devices.
They did not look at Him through eyes of faith.
They did not look at Him and see His true beauty.
But His bride has no problem seeing how beautiful He is.
We know that we have never seen any who compare to Him.
• Where else have we seen such kindness?
• Where else have we seen such mercy?
• Where else have we seen such perfection?
• …such love?
• …such gentleness?
• …such patience?
• …such holiness?
When we truly see Him,
We find that we can’t take our eyes off of Him.
We are like the woman at the well:
John 4:28-30 “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.”
We are like the thief on the cross:
Luke 23:41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
We are like Peter in the boat:
Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Once we see His beauty and perfection it is all we can see.
John wrote of Him:
John 1:16 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”
Once you see Him then you realize that there are none so perfect as Him.
AND THEN YOU HEAR HIM SPEAK!
“Grace is poured upon Your lips” the Psalmist says.
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
John 7:46 “The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
John 6:67-68 “So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”
He just speaks differently.
• He doesn’t speak like a prophet, they say, “Thus says the Lord”, but He says, “I say to you.”
• He doesn’t speak like a Pharisee, they tell men to carry their burdens. He says bring your burdens to me.
• He doesn’t speak like a chief priest, they read in the Law that I must be stoned. He says I am forgiven to go and sin no more.
No one ever spoke like He spoke.
There was none so fair and none so gracious as Jesus.
We never saw anyone else like Him.
“Therefore God has blessed You forever”
• You are the most blessed.
• You are the best of the best.
• You are the highest ranked.
And we the church sing it over and over:
“You are beautiful beyond description; too marvelous for words; too wonderful for comprehension; like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depths of Your love? You are beautiful beyond description; majesty enthroned above!
You are beautiful beyond description; Yet God crushed You for my sin. In agony and deep affliction; Cut off that I might enter in. Who can grasp such tender compassion? Who can fathom this mercy so free? You are beautiful beyond description; Lamb of God who died for me. And I stand, I stand in awe of You I stand, I stand in awe of You. Holy God, to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of You!”
That’s the love song of the church. We sing of His Beauty.
#2 HIS CAUSE
Psalms 45:3-5
Now no doubt we have great temptation here
To see His Glorious Return and The Second Coming.
When we read:
“Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O mighty One, In Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;”
• We have mental images of that white horse and King Jesus splitting the sky in His glorious appearing.
• We have a visual of the sword coming from His mouth with which He will strike down the nations.
Certainly we see that image.
But don’t get so caught up in the imagery of the second coming
That You fail to see the first in this as well.
For even in His first coming, He was very much the conquering King.
He was the King who came to conquer sin
And to rule within the hearts of men.
Even in His first coming He came in battle.
He battled sin, and error, and legalistic falsehood.
He rode “For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;”
He came and revealed to us those things
Because WE HAD NO CONCEPT OF WHAT THEY REALLY WERE.
True truth and meekness and righteousness
Had been BLURRED BY THE FALSE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL.
The entire system had been corrupted into some sort of legalistic flea market meant to enslave men and condemn them to hell.
Jesus came as a warrior to rescue His bride from such tyranny.
• He was the mighty shepherd who came to deliver His sheep from the hands of the wolves who were slaughtering them.
• He came to pasture His flock and annihilate the false shepherd.
And those who resisted Him only found defeat.
(5) “Your arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under You; Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies.”
That passage reminds us of the warning of the Lord.
Matthew 21:42-44 “Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
He reminded the religious leaders that
He would either rule their hearts or crush their souls,
But either way He would be victorious.
And as those who have been rescued from the deceptive rule of the false leaders we sing a song of love for our King!
We are like the woman caught in adultery,
• Nearly stoned, and yet freed by Jesus walking away singing a love song for our deliverance!
We are like Mary Magdalene,
• Set free from 7 demons, singing in love for the One who fought my battle and won our war.
We are like Peter,
• Even after our failure, confess, “Lord You know all things, You know that I love You!”
He did come, He did battle, and He did win.
He battled sin, He conquered death, He set the captives free.
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
There we were as Paul said,
• Captive to our sinful flesh and crying out at the top of our lungs, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”
And it was Jesus who came
In the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin
And He condemned sin in the flesh!
WE LOVE HIM FOR HIS RIGHTEOUS CAUSE.
And certainly we look to HIS RETURN when He will totally and finally stomp out sin and unrighteousness forever.
It was a cause He began in Bethlehem
And He will complete in the valley known as Har-Magedon.
And we love our King for that!
Isaiah 11:1-5 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”
This is our righteous King.
We love Him!
And we the church sing!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heav’n and nature sing,
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy,
No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found,
He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love,
We sing of His Beauty, We sing of His Cause
#3 HIS REIGN
Psalms 45:6-9
Here we find that when He reigns, He reigns forever.
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.”
We have here the eternal God choosing to anoint His chosen King.
And it is our Beloved.
Why is God anointing Him?
Because He alone has “loved righteousness and hated wickedness”
Every other King who ever sat on the throne disqualified himself from being a king forever.
• Saul and his disobedience.
• Solomon and his idolatry.
• Even David shed much blood was unfit to build the temple.
• And on down the line every single king, even the good ones, failed to earn a righteous standing before God.
But not this King!
Our King pleased God.
He earned the righteous testimony before God.
God could look upon Him and say, that He, like no other
“loved righteousness and hated wickedness”.
And because of this, His throne is forever and ever.
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Psalms 2:6-9 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
This is our King and we love Him for it.
And we see that His glory and His reign are beyond compare.
(8-9) “All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.”
• He has the best garments! – “fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia”
• He has the highest praises! – “stringed instruments”, “out of ivory palaces”
• He has the most beautiful attendants! – “Kings daughters” and “the queen” dressed “in gold from Ophir”
His reign and His throne are the most glorious.
The Queen of Sheba lost her breath when she beheld the glory of Solomon and behold Solomon couldn’t even compare with Jesus.
Luke 11:31 “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”
And we sing of this!
All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.
Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race now ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all.
Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball, to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
Oh, that with yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all.
His Beauty, His Cause, His Reign
#4 HIS VALUE
Psalms 45:10-12
At first glance it appears that the focus leaves the Groom
And moves now to the Bride,
But it is a mistake to interpret it that way.
The focus is still very much on the Groom.
It is still very much on the King.
Certainly the song now turns and addresses the would be bride,
But only to remind her that whatever the cost,
Whatever the journey,
Whatever the hardship to win the heart of this King…
SHE SHOULD DO IT!
HE IS WORTH IT!
“Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house; Then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.”
It almost sounds like a nagging mother
Who sees one opportunity for her daughter to marry this noble King and she drives her daughter out the door to go and win Him at all cost.
• Leave us behind!
• Travel any distance!
• Pay any cost!
• Do whatever it takes to win the heart of this King!
When you find Him “bow down to Him”
Call Him “Lord”
Give yourself wholly to Him and to no other.
He is so worth it all!
And in the New Testament we read:
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
And we read:
Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Of course you now know that the treasure is Jesus,
And even if obtaining that treasure costs you everything, He is so worth it!
Even a corrupt man who would hunt for treasure in a field he didn’t own; even a corrupt man who would hide that treasure from the rightful owner; even a corrupt man who cares only for wealth would be willing to leave everything behind for this treasure.
So daughter, forsake it all; leave it all; don’t look back;
And go latch on to that King in humble submission.
Do whatever it takes to be beautiful to Him!
Because He is worth it.
The benefits of being His bride
Will far outdo anything you could know on your own.
In fact, the promise is that “The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will seek your favor.”
That speaks to the new high status of the daughter who marries this king.
• She will be sought.
• She will be rewarded.
• She will share in His glory.
• She will share in His fame.
• She will share in His inheritance.
O daughter, see the value of our great King
And do whatever it takes to win His heart.
Go and deny yourself, and leave your family, and confess Him as Lord,
And throw yourself at His feet!
• Go Ruth, lay at the feet of Boaz and pray that he spreads his garments over you!
• Go Syrophonecian woman and beg at the feet of Jesus for the healing of your daughter!
• Go friends, tear a hole in that roof that you may get to Jesus!
• Go Zaccheus, climb the tree and make sure to find Jesus!
• Go blind man, and don’t stop crying out until you catch His attention!
There is no value like His value!
Paul said:
Philippians 3:7-11 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
And all those who left their lives behind, found in Him One who was more satisfying than all this world had to offer.
That is our song as well!
“Hallelujah! All I have is Christ! Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!”
Or we sing:
“Take the world, but give me Jesus; All its joys are but a name. But His love abides forever Through eternal years the same.
Take the world, but give me Jesus; Sweetest comfort of my soul. With my Savior watching o’er me, I can sing though billows roll
Take the world, but give me Jesus; In His cross my trust shall be. Till with clearer, brighter vision, Face to face my Lord I see
Oh, the height and depth of mercy. Oh, the length and breadth of love. Oh, the fullness of redemption. Pledge of endless life above. Take this world, my God’s enough!”
Or we sing:
“I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold I’d rather be his than have riches untold. I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land, Yes I’d rather be led by his nail pierced hands, Than to be the king of a best domain and beheld in sins dread sway. I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today”
His Beauty, His Cause, His Reign, His Value.
#5 HIS PRIZE
Psalms 45:13-15
His prize here is none other than a beautiful bride.
Here she is described for us in her beauty,
NOT so that you will praise her,
But so that you might see what He deserves.
He deserves the best bride!
He deserves the most beautiful, the most pure, the most glorious!
(13-15) “The King’s daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her companions who follow her, Will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; They will enter into the King’s palace.”
• Here she is described as “glorious within”
• She is clothed in “gold”
• She is led forth in “embroidered work”
• She is followed by a magnificent court and being joyfully brought to the King.
And of course we read of our Savior:
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
This beautifully adorned and spotless bride
Is nothing less than the absolute reward of His suffering.
He was sent here of the Father, to obtain a righteous life,
And to pay an atoning sacrifice.
And the reward for His suffering was a righteous bride who would dwell with Him and worship Him and serve Him for all eternity.
AND HE SO DESERVES IT!
Revelation 21:1-2 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Notice the phrase, “adorned FOR her husband”
And no King could deserve it more.
No Savior was ever so worthy.
• He alone made her righteous.
• He alone washed her clean.
• He alone paid her debts.
• He alone prepared this place for her.
And He alone will enjoy her love for all eternity.
It is a love song.
We love Him now, we’ll love Him then.
1 Peter 1:8 “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”
His bride is His prize, and He deserves her.
And we sing:
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation
by water and the Word: from heav’n he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
His Beauty, His Cause, His Reign, His Value, His Prize
#6 HIS LEGACY
Psalms 45:16-17
It’s not offspring in the sense in which we think of them today.
Rather it simply speaks of the reality of His unending legacy and reign.
His glory will never fade.
His name will never diminish.
His fame will never be forgotten.
“I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.”
In other words we’ll never stop singing this song of love!
Revelation 5:11-14 “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.”
We will continue for eternity singing of our great love for our great King!
IT IS A LOVE SONG.
• It IS NOT a song about love.
• It IS a song of love to our King.
• There is none like Him!
• There is none more deserving!
• There is none more beautiful or wise!
• There is none other who set us free!
• There is none other who reigns in such righteousness!
• There is no other treasure like Him!
And we, confess with the writer:
“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
We gratefully sing of His wonderful love!
“My Jesus I love Thee, I know Thou art mine For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou. If ever I loved Thee my Jesus ’tis now
I love Thee because Thou has first loved me And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree. I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow. If ever I loved Thee my Jesus ’tis now
I’ll love Thee in life and I will love Thee in death And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath, And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow, If ever I loved Thee my Jesus ’tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright. And singing thy praises, before Thee I’ll bow, If ever I loved Thee my Jesus ’tis now.
