Royal Birth, Royal Wedding

Read Psalm 45  

Psalm 45 is a wedding psalm and "high church" folks (Anglicans, Catholics, etc.) often read it at Christmastime.  It’s set at a royal wedding – the wedding of the King.  

As we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas, Christ becomes the groom, and we his people -- his church -- are his bride.  He commits himself to us. He creates love.  And as a good husband will, he evokes an inner beauty that the synergism of love creates in his bride.   

If Advent anticipates an arrival, Christmas anticipates a wedding, and Psalm 45 gives us a view of an honourable manhood and a womanhood that is to be cherished.  Psalm 45 is a Christmas psalm that points to Christ, and Jesus personifies the righteous bridegroom/warrior who rides victoriously, revealing his royal presence in his words and his actions.  Truly a model for men especially, and for all of us.  

First, the man:  

The kingly groom of psalm 45 is “most excellent.”  Not concerned about what he’s like on the outside, the psalmist is really looking at what he's like inside, his character.  Granted, he talks about his lips and his hands but they only point to the man’s words and deeds. 

You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.

Psalm 45:2

His words are grace-filled words.  His words give life; they don’t tear down.  He creates order and beauty with his words; he doesn’t add to the chaos. He’s filled with the love of God, and that's what comes out.  That's quite a role model for us to emulate: a call to nobility, to honour, to character.  

At the same time, he’s a man of action.  The imagery evokes warfare, and yet his is not an abuse of power, to pillage and exploit.  Instead, his is a noble battle, pointing to character.  His battle is courage to fight the hill worth dying on, and as a man, an image bearer of God, to “ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness.  Let your right hand display awesome deeds.” (Psalm 45:4)

And now, the woman:  

Psalm 45 is remarkable in its emphasis on the bride’s beauty, but again, as with the man, hers is an inner beauty.  Most translations miss this point. 

• The king is mesmerized by her beauty – he is “enthralled” (verse 11) 
• And notice: not a single part of her body is mentioned; just what clothes her. 
• Instead, her beauty is said to be inner. 
• She is royal; a princess, the daughter of a king.  What if we carried ourselves with such a dignity?  

The King's daughter is all glorious within; her gown is interwoven with gold.

Psalm 45:13

Most translations insert the words “in her chamber,” or “in her palace.”  Nope. It’s not there.  It’s not in the Hebrew.  A woman’s true beauty is found inside. 

Psalm 45 is a Christmas psalm pointing to Christ, because Jesus, through his life and ministry, personifies the righteous warrior who rides victoriously, expressing the presence of the Kingdom -- a new Order -- in word and deed.  

His grace filled words…

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  

… are matched by his character actions: 

and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 

Luke 4:18-19

Christ was born to preach (there are those words) good news of grace to the poor in spirit, and to bring freedom to the oppressed (the awesome deeds).  He did it especially in his death on the cross.  Jesus was born in order to die.     

The Bible describes Christ's relationship to his people as a romance.  It's a love so strong that many waters cannot quench it. 

It is the love you are created to know. It's a relentless love that is stronger than your worst failings.  Believe me on this one. A love most people only dream of even comes to us from God, through Christ. 

At the end of the psalm, the bride and groom leave the crowd and go off alone together.  They put behind them their individual pasts and begin a new life together. 

Christmas is a high holy day, but Easter is greater still.  We celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas: the Christ whose birth we celebrate is the groom, and we who are the people of God are his bride.  He meets us, and defends and protects us.  He makes us his bride; he creates love, and evokes an inner beauty that we cannot create ourselves – and he takes us and he leads us to new life. 

That’s quite a baby in that manger.