Rejoice!

My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Thy lips; therefore God has blessed Thee forever.

Gird Thy sword on Thy thigh, O Mighty One, in Thy splendor and Thy majesty! And in Thy majesty ride on victoriously, for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let Thy right hand teach Thee awesome things. Thine arrows are sharp; the peoples fall under Thee; Thine arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies.

Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of joy above Thy fellows. All Thy garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made Thee glad. Kings' daughters are among Thy noble ladies; at Thy right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

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. And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will entreat your favor.

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 Thee. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; they will enter into the King's palace.

In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will cause Thy name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give Thee thanks forever and ever (Psalm 45).

For the past several weeks, you and your fellow slaves have been pushed to the breaking point. You’re all tired and hungry—although this is nothing unusual. After all, the man who owns you assumes that you are so used to the life of a slave that you are used to such hardships. As a matter of fact, it is likely that your owner doesn’t think of you as human at all—after all, he treats his pets better than he treats you.

But over these past few weeks, he has been driving you especially hard. It’s because of the king—the king is getting married. There is to be a huge celebration, culminating with a banquet to end all banquets. The king’s hall will be filled with notables from near and far, so the preparations are painstaking—everything must be absolutely perfect. You and your fellow slaves have felt the burning sting of the whip many times before; you dread the thought of the punishment to come if you fail to please in even the smallest way as this most important day draws near.

Finally, the wedding day has come. For just this one special occasion, you have been given clothing better than the stained rags you usually wear--clothing that is nothing fancy, but respectable enough to not offend the eyes of the wedding guests. Your owner makes sure you look presentable, then strictly warns you to obey every request made of you. The guests begin to arrive; you hurry about, humbly obedient, as you are commanded: "Take my coat." "Fetch me a drink." "Throw this away." The guests snap orders at you, not even bothering to look you in the eyes; you are little more to them than a piece of furniture. On occasion, one tosses you a coin and laughs as you scramble after it.

The guests pose elegantly in their finery, while complaining that they could find nothing suitable to wear. Standing in their shadow, you listen to the words of the rich and powerful—the chatter of those who pay others to do their worrying for them. You cast no shadow on them—you are their shadow. They stand in the light, not you. When they move, you move in response.

What would it be like to stand out, dressed in fashionable clothes? What would it be like, to have others wait on you? What would it be like, to live for a few hours without fear—fear of being beaten, starved, or assigned to labor that is even more harsh or degrading?

But a shadow cannot dream of life in the light—and so you stand there, unseen and serving the dreams of others. Then the room grows quiet, and all eyes are drawn to the door. The king enters, and everyone is hushed. He is about to be married. From the back of the room, you cannot see much, but his entrance has overshadowed everyone else. From somewhere across the hall, an orchestra begins playing, and singers fill the room with angelic music like you’ve never heard. Your heart aches at the beauty.

Then the king’s herald steps to the center of the room. At his gesture, the singers leave off and the orchestra starts to play soft accompaniment to his words. The herald speaks—but his words are not the usual empty flattery one expects from a royal spokesman. The words he sings have a sincerity that stand in sharp contrast to the hollow boasts of the tipsy guests. He sings of the king’s grace—of the mercy that he shows to every one of his subjects, even the nation’s slaves.

The king has conquered every enemy, yet he is humble and just. These are the qualities the herald praises—not the king’s wealth or power, although he has these a-plenty, but rather his humility! This king loves righteousness and hates wickedness! How different he is from other kings, who embrace what is wicked if it will further their plans, and are not troubled by injustice if it will secure their power. But this king fights for truth.

You listen intently as the herald boldly proclaims that this king has been blessed by God, and set apart from all other men to serve the cause of heaven. The speaker goes so far as to call his kingdom an eternal kingdom, and he even addresses the king as "God." You begin to wonder what it would be like to be allowed to kneel before such a king and hear what he might say to you.

Now the herald turns his words to the intended bride. It quickly becomes clear that the king has transformed her. By royal command, she has been given an entirely new status. He has completely rewritten her life’s story by adding a fairy-tale ending. She will now be a member of the royal family—the bride of this great king. Because of this, the king’s speaker invites her to leave behind her people and her father’s home and instead find joy in being the beautiful one, whom the king longs for. Forget your old way of life and instead worship the king—he is your lord.

You can’t help but be envious. To have such a person as your Master! To sit at the side of this king, a king chosen and blessed by God, whose words are just and merciful and humble! You would gladly give up whatever small pleasures your present life contains for such an opportunity.

You strain your eyes scanning the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of the fortunate bride, the desire of the king’s eyes who has been granted entrance into the world of royalty. What must she be feeling? You can’t see her from where you stand, but the people up front are getting restless. Someone is walking through them, and they are hastening to step aside, not daring to brush even momentarily against the moving figure. Suddenly, the well-dressed nobles part before you, and there, facing you, is the king’s herald. Your heart sinks—what unknown mistake have you made? What awful punishment awaits you?

But the herald is not scowling. Behind him, through the parted crowd, you can see the king on his throne, and he seems to be looking at you. Then the king smiles—and you are dazzled at the sight. The herald clears his throat, and your gaze snaps back to the king’s representative. Eyes locked on yours, he says words too incredible to be true: "It is you. You are the one the king has chosen. My words have been sung for him—and for you. You can forget your old life, your old ties and associations. The king loves you. He is your lord."

The herald gently takes your arm and leads you towards the throne. All the nobility who thought you less than nothing now shrink back in your shadow cast by the light of the king. The riches they boasted about will now be given to you. The joys and pleasures that they took for granted are now yours. You rule over them—imagine that.

This is the story told by Psalm 45. I am the King’s herald. We have gathered here in the King’s hall in anticipation of our Lord’s upcoming nuptials. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King, the King to whom we sing: "You are the King of Glory, O Christ! You are the everlasting Son of God! Your throne, O God, is eternal. You are the mighty warrior who advances the cause of truth and justice to deliver Your people from their enemies. By your arrows the enemy falls at Your feet, O Lord our Righteousness."

I am the king’s herald, and today I come before you to say: it is you. You are the one that the King has chosen as His bride. The meeting of the King with His queen is happening right here, right now. I bring you word from the King Himself, the King seated on the everlasting throne. As a called and ordained servant of the Lord, I announce to you the grace of God. In His name and in his stead, I am announcing to you that you are the one He loves so much that He dedicated both life and death to you, and He rose again from the grave so that you would never be parted from Him. He gives you His kingdom. He went into battle on your behalf and won the victory over sin, death and the devil—for you. I am pleased to tell you that the King has rewritten your life’s story; He has given it a new ending. A new, perfect life following the grave awaits you, a life with Him in His eternal kingdom. The King is God, and he has saved you for Himself, because He loves you so very dearly.

Believe my words and take joy in your royal status. 2nd Corinthians chapter five reminds us, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Even now, you are a new creation, given rebirth by our Lord through Baptism; and although the change is hard to see now, it will evident to all when the King dresses you in royal finery to stand before Him on the Day of Consummation. So listen and take heed: forget your old way of life; leave behind the ways of earthly society. The King is your Lord—worship Him! How can the meager pleasures of your earthly slavery under sin possibly compare to the joys the King would replace them with? Christ has freed you—do not live like a slave to sin any longer. Your Lord is the King of grace—live in His light, the light of truth, humility, and righteousness.

Some scholars call Psalm 45 the most secular psalm of the entire Bible. They understand it to be a love song written to honor the marriage of the Davidic king. And it might indeed be that. But to us, this Psalm is not secular but sacred, because in the marriage of the Davidic king to his bride, we can see what God has in store for us. The Psalm gives us new insight into what our relationship with Christ is like, and what it means. And because of this, the Psalm writer, God’s herald, speaks to we who are the Bride of Christ, giving us both joy for today and never tarnishing hope for the future.