THE PERFECT MARRIAGE PSALM 45:6-11

Perfect marriages are made in heaven. So the hundreds of couples that are married in our congregation do not have perfect marriages. That’s true. No one of us who is married has a perfect marriage relationship. Why not? Because each of us who comes into a marriage is sinful and imperfect. Imperfect people cannot have perfect marriages. There are also hundreds of people in this congregation who are not married. Even though they do not have a spouse, yet those people have perfect marriages. And all the people who are married to another person also have a perfect marriage, but it is not to their spouse. Make sense? Absolutely not! Yet the Word of God before us today speaks about THE PERFECT MARRIAGE. The sons of Korah who wrote Psalm 45 sing about the perfect marriage. This is a marriage that you and I have all entered into. This marriage has I) A Groom That Is Out Of This World and II) A Bride That Is Beautiful And Stunning.

A GROOM THAT IS OUT OF THIS WORLD

The heading of Psalm 45 indicates that this is a wedding song. In this Psalm God reveals to us the perfect groom. Most women when they marry often believe that they have found the man of their dreams. But what happens? That man does not meet their expectations. After a while a woman soon learns that the man of her dreams has faults. He is not as considerate and caring as she had hoped and believed. His looks start to fail as he gets older. He gets rounder. His hair grays or falls out. He is not a perfect husband.

But the psalmists speak of a perfect groom and husband. This is a groom that will never walk out on his bride. This is a groom that loves what is right and hates wickedness and sin. This is a groom that fills his wife’s life with beauty, pleasure and joy.

Listen to what writers say, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad.” (Vv. 6-8) This groom is a king and his throne is going to last forever. It is never going to end. His marriage to his bride is an eternal marriage. No death. No divorce. No separation. What a marriage! What a groom! Who is the groom? The groom is the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that the psalmists call him God when they write, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever.” (v. 6) Then later they say, “. . . therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” (v. 7b) What does this mean, “God your God has set you above your companions”? The companions are the other kings of Israel. Men like David, Solomon, Rehoboam and the others who were from the family of king David. This king is greater and his God has anointed him with the oil of joy. In this passage we have the three persons of the Holy Trinity mentioned. We have God the groom and king, the Lord Jesus Christ, anointed by God the Father with the oil of joy, the Holy Spirit. As the New Testament tells us, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.” (Acts 10:38) In fact, this portion of our reading is quoted in the letter to the Hebrews as specifically referring to Jesus Christ, our perfect groom. (Hebrews 1:8-9)

As our perfect groom Jesus loves righteousness and hates wickedness. This is not a husband who is going to lead us down the rosy path to sorrow and ruin. He is not going to fill our lives with lies and tell us what he thinks we want to hear. He is going to speak the truth to us in love. He hates wickedness and so he will reveal sin and point out to us the consequences that we will face when we go our own way and disregard his words to us. And when we wander and stray from him, he will not divorce us. He comes looking for us and gently calls us back, forgives us and continue his relationship with us.

This groom also fills his wife’s life with pleasure, beauty and joy. The psalmists paint a beautiful picture. It’s a picture that touches your sight, your smell and your hearing. The palace is decked out in ivory. Beautiful shimmering white, pure and clean. The groom is bathed and his robes have the sweet smells of myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. And you hear from the palace the beautiful strains of stringed music. Sights so glorious and beautiful. Smells that are pleasant and appealing. Sounds that make you glad and full of joy. What a perfect marriage. But who is the bride?

THE BRIDE IS BEAUTIFUL AND STUNNING

At any wedding everyone wants to see the bride. They want to see her in her beautiful white gown and all her beauty and splendor. Listen to what the psalmists tell us, “Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir. The king is enthralled by your beauty.” (Vv. 9 & 11a) This bride is royalty and she is decked out in gold. In the days of Solomon his workers brought gold from Ophir which is either in Africa or Arabia. This bride is beautiful. Her great and stunning beauty captures the king, the groom. But who is she? She is the Christian church. She is you and I. We are the bride of Christ. This is the picture that Paul spoke about in our Scripture lesson for today. He compares the relationship that a husband has with his wife to the relationship that Jesus has with us, his bride, the Christian church. As Paul says, “This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:32)

How can we be beautiful and clothed in gold? God has made us that way. He has clothed you and me in the holiness of Jesus Christ. When you and I look at ourselves, we see the warts, the blemishes, and the scars. We know the evil and filthy thoughts that run through our minds; the hateful and spiteful words that cross our lips. And we wonder how can God see us differently? He does. For he has clothed you and me in perfection. He has put on us the royal and perfect robes that the groom Jesus has purchased and won for us. As the Bible says, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:22)

As the perfect bride of Jesus Christ, the psalmists have instructions for us. Listen to their words, “Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear; leave your people and your father’s house. . . . honor the king for he is your lord.” (Vv. 10 & 11b) We are advised to listen to our perfect husband. Why? Because the words he speaks to us are wisdom, truth and life. He tells us the truth. He never lies to us. He comforts and encourages us. He strengthens and empowers us. He guides us in holiness and perfection. They also instruct us to leave our people and our father’s house. We need to leave the sinful world behind us. Just as when a man and woman get married and they cut the apron strings from their parents and establish a new relationship as husband and wife so as the bride of Christ, we leave our sinful ways, and our others gods and put our new husband first and foremost in our lives. We also honor him, that is, we submit to his authority and guidance. Just as in an earthly marriage God instructs both husbands and wives to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ, so in our relationship to Jesus we submit our will to his, because he is our perfect groom.

None of our earthly marriages are as perfect as the relationship that we have with Jesus Christ. Even those of us who are not married to an earthly husband or wife have the joy of being the bride of Jesus Christ. Every one of us has a perfect marriage with our Lord and Savior Jesus. Live as people who have such a perfect relationship and tell others about it. For we have a groom that is out of this world. He is perfect, loving, forgiving, understanding, patient and kind. He has made us a perfect bride. He has clothed us in gold and perfection. He has made us his Holy Christian church. What a beautiful and stunning bride he has made us.

Amen.