Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A LOVE SONG THAT SHOULD DRIVE US TO OUR KNEES!




Psalm 45:1

My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 


This psalm is a love song written in honor of the king for his marriage. The author will honor the king, as he describes his kingdom and wishes for him a prosperous reign with his new bride.

Reading this psalm could leave us somewhat perplexed about its application for us today, but there are two aspects that impressed me as edifying reminders to us.

This king is anointed by God, and therefore his God-given role is to rule well with righteousness; and in this marriage, he has been given the new bride, who will support him in his endeavors.

Psalm 45:4
In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! 

Psalm 45:6-7
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 

We have no idea who this king was; very possibly he was of the Davidic line, related to the eternal King, Jesus Christ, the King who will rule forever with perfect justice and glory.

We are certainly blessed to have the Lord as our King! He does rule with justice, His kingdom is forever, and even though it seems often that our world is gone very far from the standards set by God, He is still in control. No one comes to power, if not permitted by God for His eternal purposes.

We do have a responsibility to pray for our authorities. Our prayers should be that we may live in an environment conducive to the progress of the Gospel.

1 Timothy 2:1-6
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 

At all times, our prayers for our leaders should have eternal purposes. We should be praying earnestly that, as they rule, we would have freedom to share with other people the message that the only mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ. Too often, when we remember to pray for our authorities, we are driven by our frustration and our desire to make our lives easier, and possibly to see more righteousness around us. Rather, our prayers should be driven by our desire to see more people come to know Christ, that they would be driven to trust Him alone for their eternal destiny.

God is in control, and our focus should be to reach the people around us with the Gospel. To that end, we should be in constant prayer. This kind of focus would certainly lift us out from our tendency to complain and encourage us to be faithful servants in sharing the truth of salvation.

Secondly, this psalm reminds us of the precious role a woman has, when she marries her husband.

Psalm 45:10-11
Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him. 

Psalm 45:16
In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
you will make them princes in all the earth. 

There are obviously many aspects of marriage taught in the Scriptures that should not be neglected, but here we find the bride leaving her house and uniting with the King to form a family.

I am afraid that in so many marriages today, the joy and pleasure of having children and creating a loving home has been replaced by many other distractions.

Paul, in his inspired instructions, reminds the older women to teach the younger women to be mindful of the eternal purposes in their marriages.

Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 

The home is certainly a place where the Word of God must be manifested and honored. It should be a place where the husband is honoring God by sacrificially loving his wife. The wife should be devoted, for the sake of the Gospel, to loving her family and making her home a place where the Gospel is lived out and proclaimed.

Many marriages begin with a focus on meeting one’s own needs and dreams, more than desiring for it to be an image of the love that Christ has for the church and the church’s desire to submit to Christ.

There is so much that could be said about our authorities and our marriages, but may this psalm drive us to prayer for our leaders and our marriages. May we be willing to submit to the Word of God and have our lives shaped by the eternal purposes of God.


WE NEED TO PRAY!

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