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 to 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, for
kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet
life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is
pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there
is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, 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 drawn 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, as a wife to 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, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
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 encourage
us to pray 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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