The Royal Wedding (Psalm 45)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:08.630 A reading from God's word this morning is from Psalm Forty Five, a rather 2 00:00:08.669 --> 00:00:13.589 unique psalm in the PSALTER. Psalm forty five. Listen, for this is 3 00:00:13.669 --> 00:00:21.940 the word of the Lord. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme. I 4 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:27.140 address my verses to the king. My tongue is like the pen of a 5 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:32.020 ready scribe. You were the most handsome of the sons of men. Grace 6 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:38.369 is poured upon your lips. Therefore, God has blessed you forever. Gird 7 00:00:38.490 --> 00:00:42.729 your sword on your thigh, O Mighty one, in your splendor and majesty, 8 00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:49.409 in Your Majesty, ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness 9 00:00:49.770 --> 00:00:56.200 and righteousness. Let your right hand teach you awesome deeds. Your Arrows are 10 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.640 sharp in the hearts of the king's enemies. The People's fall under you. 11 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:07.069 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your 12 00:01:07.150 --> 00:01:12.909 kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. 13 00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:19.620 Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness. 14 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:23.739 Beyond your companions, your robes are all fragrant with Murr and aloes and 15 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:30.180 Cassia from ivory palaces, stringed instruments make you lad daughters of kings are among 16 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:34.769 your ladies of honor. At your right hand stands the Queen in Gold of 17 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:41.409 O. Fear here, O daughter, and consider and incline your ear. 18 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:46.650 Forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty, 19 00:01:47.010 --> 00:01:49.920 since he is your Lord. Bow To him. The people of tire 20 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:56.599 will seek your favor with gifts. The richest of the people, all glorious 21 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.239 is the Princess, in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold, in 22 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:05.269 many colored robes, she is led to the king, with her virgin companions 23 00:02:05.310 --> 00:02:09.189 following behind her. With joy and gladness. They are led along as they 24 00:02:09.229 --> 00:02:15.740 enter the Palace of the king. In place of your father's shall be your 25 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:20.939 sons. You will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause 26 00:02:20.979 --> 00:02:25.340 your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore, nations will praise you 27 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:31.610 forever and ever. Thus far the reading of God's word, you may be 28 00:02:31.689 --> 00:02:43.729 seated now. As we may know, the Book of Psalms covers a a 29 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:51.879 wide variety of of themes and an expressions, everything from psalms of deep lament 30 00:02:53.479 --> 00:03:00.830 to psalms of praise, everything from Psalms Express wresting frustration or even anger at 31 00:03:00.870 --> 00:03:07.270 God for what seems like God's own lack of action, to psalms of Thanksgiving 32 00:03:07.509 --> 00:03:14.219 for God's miraculous and saving work. And yet, even with all this variety, 33 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:21.860 this forty five psalm is somewhat unique among the psalms. In fact, 34 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:27.409 scholars seem divided over what to do with this song. Most simply place it 35 00:03:27.449 --> 00:03:32.050 in the category of of Royal Psalms. Royal Psalms are the ones where the 36 00:03:32.090 --> 00:03:37.689 king is the focus of the attention, though the Lord is still addressed the 37 00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:40.330 the main theme of the Psalm will be the king, not just any king 38 00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:46.639 right, but the King of Israel. Like Psalm Seventy two says give the 39 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:51.039 King Your Justice, Oh God, and your righteousness to the Royal Sun, 40 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:57.669 and in others see parallels between this psalm and and love poetry. Did you 41 00:03:57.750 --> 00:04:00.389 hear that in the in the words of this psalm? So, rather than 42 00:04:00.430 --> 00:04:05.030 being exclusively royal, they view it as primarily maybe, a love song. 43 00:04:08.629 --> 00:04:12.500 These differences of opinion highlight the uniqueness of what's going on here in Psalm forty 44 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:18.060 five. Where other psalms reference the king, no other Psalm mentions the king's 45 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:24.689 bride, where others reference the king's glory and splendor. No other mentions what 46 00:04:24.889 --> 00:04:30.490 looks like a royal wedding. And our author begins in rather unique way as 47 00:04:30.529 --> 00:04:34.170 well. The palmist begins by stating his reason for writing. My heart, 48 00:04:34.170 --> 00:04:39.560 he says, overthrows with a pleasing theme. I address my verses to the 49 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:45.759 king. My tongue is the pen of already scribe. Now this seems to 50 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:50.000 lack some of the urgency you find in other places throughout this altar. Compare 51 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:55.709 this to psalm thirty five, which begins contend o Lord, with those who 52 00:04:55.750 --> 00:05:00.709 contend with me, fight against those who fight against me. You hear the 53 00:05:00.790 --> 00:05:05.310 urgency of that. The salmost there begins with an urgent request, or others 54 00:05:05.389 --> 00:05:13.019 break forth instantly into amazing trays. Their urgency is not because of any present 55 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:16.620 danger, but because God is that Praiseworthy, and so leaves burst forth with 56 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:19.660 the first few verses. This is true of one of the shortest psalms, 57 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:25.889 one hundred and seventeen. Praise the Lord all nations. It begins extol him 58 00:05:25.889 --> 00:05:30.730 all people's and only then explains why right for great is his steadfast love. 59 00:05:30.810 --> 00:05:35.480 Toward us. But this song seems to be taking its time. Rather than 60 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:45.120 an immediate start, he begins with this personal pause. And where many psalms 61 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:50.230 make these appeals to groups, beginning with an invitation, perhaps, like Psalm 62 00:05:50.269 --> 00:05:55.350 Ninety Five, oh come, let us sing to the Lord, let us 63 00:05:55.389 --> 00:06:00.670 make a joyful known is to the rock of our salvation, oursalm is almost 64 00:06:00.110 --> 00:06:05.579 a private a private song, isn't it? It begins with not a let 65 00:06:05.620 --> 00:06:11.420 us, but he says with, he begins with a my my heart overflows 66 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:18.810 with a pleasing theme. And so who is our PSALMIST writing too? He's 67 00:06:18.850 --> 00:06:25.129 not writing to a congregation, but he's writing to the king. I address 68 00:06:25.250 --> 00:06:30.370 my verses, he says, to the king. And with this opening, 69 00:06:30.410 --> 00:06:34.399 we don't really hear an invitation to participate, do we? And yet, 70 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:40.560 and it is personal and as individual as this psalm is, he's still at 71 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:45.560 least writing it down, he says. My tongue is a ready scribe. 72 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:51.550 He doesn't simply recite these verses, he writes them down. So, although 73 00:06:51.550 --> 00:06:57.430 they are for the king, he is here writing for an audience larger than 74 00:06:57.509 --> 00:07:04.379 one. So is hearers of this psalm. Well, we're not called exactly 75 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:10.339 to participate. In the same way. He does invite us into this scene, 76 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.699 doesn't he? It says, if we're ore shirt into the back door 77 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:18.930 perhaps and get to witness what's about to happen. Now we know this is 78 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:23.129 a wedding psalm because we've just read the whole thing. But notice that up 79 00:07:23.170 --> 00:07:26.370 to this point of the opening here, he hasn't really told us what's to 80 00:07:26.569 --> 00:07:32.160 expect. The wedding imagery doesn't occur till about halfway through this psalm. All 81 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:36.279 we know is that his heart is overflowing with good things, and we're only 82 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:41.879 really beginning to see why that is. We're brought through the back door, 83 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.949 as it were, sitting quietly in the back row. What's the first thing 84 00:07:46.110 --> 00:07:50.149 our eyes are to focus upon? Was this is a song for the king. 85 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:57.629 The first thing we're shown is the King Front and center. The king 86 00:07:57.829 --> 00:08:03.579 is described by this beautiful appearance, most handsome of the sons of men. 87 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:09.500 The king is also praised for his beautiful speech. Grace is poured upon your 88 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:13.610 lips. As we focus on the king, we get a brief head to 89 00:08:13.769 --> 00:08:18.610 toe description. His face is handsome, his lips are eloquent. On his 90 00:08:18.850 --> 00:08:26.850 thigh there's a sword here is a mighty one right, not just a man 91 00:08:26.009 --> 00:08:31.519 of speech but also a man of action. He's to put on his sword, 92 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:37.960 he's to put on his glory and majesty. Think of a glorious robe. 93 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:43.669 That's how the King's Royal Glory is described. For instance, when Solomon 94 00:08:43.789 --> 00:08:48.629 was anointed as king, we read in First Chronicles Twenty Nine, the Lord 95 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:52.389 made Solomon Very Great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such 96 00:08:52.429 --> 00:08:58.179 royal magic, T or glory as had not been on any king before him 97 00:08:58.580 --> 00:09:03.980 in Israel. Now that's not necessarily a literal robe going over the king, 98 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:09.889 but it's this royal glory that is bestowed. This glory is placed upon the 99 00:09:09.929 --> 00:09:16.009 king like like a robe. So even from the back row we can see 100 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:20.409 this kid is a king who is ready for action, and our Psalm describes 101 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:26.120 what he's about to do. In Your Majesty, ride out victoriously for the 102 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:33.120 cause of truth and meekness and righteousness. The king here is getting ready for 103 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:39.830 a battle, for a war campaign. Let your right hand teach you awesome 104 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:48.070 deeds or, more literally, fearful deeds. In fact, the Hebrew word 105 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:50.909 for teaching is the same word for shooting. With a bow and Arrow. 106 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:54.580 We see that our king is equipped with arrows as well. We're told these 107 00:09:54.580 --> 00:10:01.340 arrows are sharp in the hearts of the king's enemies and that the people's fall 108 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:07.570 under you. So then, we are about to watch awesome deeds. The 109 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:11.690 king is about to ride out victoriously. He's weighed down with the weapons of 110 00:10:11.850 --> 00:10:18.769 war. We can almost hear the the royal fanfare, the war drums sounding, 111 00:10:18.889 --> 00:10:24.840 the march. Plus, our king go is to battle with the Lord's 112 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:28.960 Blessing. In verse two, he says God has blessed you forever. In 113 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:35.039 verse seven he says God, your God, has anointed you. These verses 114 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:37.350 are what we'd expect to hear. He's talking to the king right, he's 115 00:10:37.389 --> 00:10:43.429 describing the way in which the Lord has blessed the king. But it's in 116 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:48.269 between these verses of blessing that we find something a bit out of place. 117 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:56.019 Just like this psalm doesn't quite fit in a simple category with the other psalms, 118 00:10:56.580 --> 00:10:58.820 there's a verse here that doesn't quite fit in the rest of this psalm. 119 00:11:01.259 --> 00:11:03.889 In verse six, the Psalmist, to who began talking to the king 120 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:11.850 and goes on to talk to the king, suddenly says your throne o God 121 00:11:13.210 --> 00:11:20.159 is forever and ever. So, without warning, has our psalmist simply switched 122 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.720 to he's addressing? Is he now talking to God? He's been talking to 123 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:30.519 the king about his royal attire, the King's royal weaponry. Does he set 124 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:35.669 that aside to talk about God's Royal Throne, or is he addressing the king 125 00:11:37.509 --> 00:11:43.429 with the title of God? Translators actually struggle with what to do here. 126 00:11:45.429 --> 00:11:50.100 It's almost humorous to see how how translators try to soften the tension and resolve 127 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:54.899 the tension that this verse creates. They'll say your throne is a godly throne 128 00:11:54.899 --> 00:12:01.850 or your throne is like God's, but that's not what it says. Whoever 129 00:12:01.970 --> 00:12:09.409 this king is, our psalmist calls him God. So what do we do 130 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:15.799 with this tension? Well, clearly it's it's intentional. This almost wants us 131 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:18.279 to do a double take. Care we're supposed to ask the question. Who 132 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:24.559 is he addressing? Is he calling the King God? Why would he do 133 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:30.350 that? He wants us to ask these questions even though he'd won't answer them 134 00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:35.549 right away. He creates this tension on purpose, and this is not the 135 00:12:35.629 --> 00:12:39.950 only double take we find in these verses. For right away we find another 136 00:12:39.990 --> 00:12:46.659 bit of tension. Because what's he been describing up until now? What's been 137 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:52.179 the theme? A King Robe With glory and honor and majesty. He's got 138 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:56.059 his sword on his side, his bow in his hand, his arrows are 139 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:58.929 sharp, ready for war. It's as if we've been sitting in the back 140 00:12:58.929 --> 00:13:03.929 row of an army of soldiers about to watch as our king takes the battlefield. 141 00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:11.929 We're told to expect to see something awesome, even fearful, we're just 142 00:13:11.090 --> 00:13:16.919 told, and we're just about to cover our children's eyes and ears. And 143 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:24.600 then everything changes. The imagery of or the imagery of weapons of victory and 144 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:31.629 violence. It fades away and is replaced almost immediately by oils and aloes. 145 00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:37.870 Fragrance smells God. Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness. 146 00:13:37.470 --> 00:13:43.299 Beyond your companions, your robes are all fragrant with Murr and aloes and Cassia. 147 00:13:45.179 --> 00:13:48.580 The sound of war drums is almost replaced with this reference to stringed instruments 148 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:56.529 from ivory palaces. The king is not standing between soldiers and battlefield, he's 149 00:13:56.529 --> 00:14:05.009 standing between ladies of honor and a queen dressed in gold but we're preparations for 150 00:14:05.049 --> 00:14:13.039 a war are now preparations for a wedding. Sorry, guys, this isn't 151 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:16.799 an action film. It's turning into a romance. Sitting in the back row, 152 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:24.830 we get to see another unexpected turn of events. With this unexpected transition, 153 00:14:24.909 --> 00:14:30.190 we're introduced to, then, an unexpected bride. This isn't your typical 154 00:14:30.350 --> 00:14:35.269 bride. Listen to what she's told to do, hero daughter, and consider 155 00:14:35.830 --> 00:14:43.980 and incline your ear. Forget your people and your father's house and the king 156 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:52.139 will desire your beauty. She's told to forget, forget her people, forget 157 00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:56.330 her father's house. This is not your typical marriage vow, is it? 158 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:03.570 I mean couples are told to leave father and mother as they create their own 159 00:15:03.850 --> 00:15:09.879 household, but to forget her father's house? That's a bit extreme. Well, 160 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:15.840 it would be extreme if the king of Israel was about to marry an 161 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:20.470 Israelite. If she were in Israelite, remembering her people would be a would 162 00:15:20.470 --> 00:15:24.789 not be a stumbling block to marriage. If she were in Israelite, her 163 00:15:24.950 --> 00:15:31.870 people would also be the king's people. So why would she be called to 164 00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:37.899 forget? I think it's pretty clear. It's because she's not in Israelite. 165 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:46.700 She's a foreigner. I mean remembering and forgetting represent strong covenantal language. The 166 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:52.169 people are told to remember the law of God, to not forget his statutes. 167 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:58.210 Yet this bride is called to forget her people, and it's because she's 168 00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:03.440 marrying the king of a new people. Of viewing this from the back row 169 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:08.559 makes us a little uneasy, doesn't it? Is the King of Israel really 170 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:15.799 going to marry a foreigner? Doesn't Deuteronomy seven explicitly prohibit any Israelite from marrying 171 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:21.190 a foreigner? They are God's law says, you shall not Inter marry with 172 00:16:21.269 --> 00:16:23.509 them, speaking of the other nations, giving your daughters to their sons or 173 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:29.269 taking their daughters for your sons. And the law even gives a reason why 174 00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:33.779 this should not happen, for they would turn away your sons from following me 175 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:40.379 to serve other gods. And isn't this exactly what happens to King Solomon? 176 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:44.899 We're told that he loved many foreign women, and when Solomon was old, 177 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:48.809 his wives turned away his heart to after other gods, and his heart was 178 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:55.649 not wholly true to the Lord, his God. God's law forbids it. 179 00:16:55.850 --> 00:17:02.279 So why would a King Mary a foreign bride. Well, to use Solomon 180 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:06.720 as an example, we're told that he made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, 181 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:11.720 King of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter brought her to the city of David. 182 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:17.950 This was common in that day. Kings would take foreign wives for political 183 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:22.990 purposes, to make alliances with the surrounding nations. And yet, if that 184 00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:27.869 were the case here, the question still remains. Why is this foreign bride 185 00:17:27.950 --> 00:17:34.259 told to forget, forget her people, Forget your father's house? If this 186 00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:41.380 marriage is merely serving a political, perhaps sinful, purpose, should be something 187 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:45.730 of an ambassador. But if it's a political marriage, the reason she's there 188 00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:48.089 in the first places for the sake of her people and making those kinds of 189 00:17:49.089 --> 00:17:56.130 treaties and alliances. So we have all these pieces that they don't seem to 190 00:17:56.170 --> 00:18:00.559 fit. Why describe the king as a warrior only then to describe a wedding? 191 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:06.200 Why is the king marrying a foreign bride who won't serve then as an 192 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:11.839 ambassador to her homeland? What's the connection between all these threads? Will notice 193 00:18:14.109 --> 00:18:18.630 the connection that's found in the description of her people. Why is she told 194 00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:26.779 to forget her people? Look at first five, the arrows of this warrior 195 00:18:26.900 --> 00:18:33.700 king are sharp in the hearts of the king's enemies, and it says the 196 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:41.529 People's fall under you. Another way of translating that is the nation's fall under 197 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:48.250 you. So why is this foreign bride called to forget her people? It's 198 00:18:48.289 --> 00:18:56.839 because they're dead. They've fallen under the feet of this warrior king. Some 199 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.880 more questions arise. Right. We see, therefore, that not only is 200 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.400 she a foreign bride, she also appears to be a prisoner of war, 201 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:11.470 and we shift even more uncomfortably from our back row seats. He's marrying a 202 00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:21.029 woman after killing her family and her nation. Imagine hearing that traditional line in 203 00:19:21.109 --> 00:19:25.140 a wedding. If any one hand it has any reason why these two should 204 00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:29.099 not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace. SHOULD WE SPEAK 205 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:33.700 UP? Shouldn't we object to what's about to happen? And yet, as 206 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:41.329 we read on, we don't hear any objections. This bride whose family has 207 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:47.250 been slaughtered, she won't share in their fate, and there's no coercion taking 208 00:19:47.289 --> 00:19:49.849 place. She's not led to the king with shackles on hands and feet, 209 00:19:49.890 --> 00:19:56.079 but with robes interwoven with gold. The people of tire will seek her favor 210 00:19:56.200 --> 00:20:00.680 with gifts the richest of the people in many colored robes. She is led 211 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:06.079 to the king. As gruesome as the events are which led to this engagement, 212 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:11.230 this is not a day of of mourning, it's a day of rejoicing. 213 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:14.589 For this Psalmist, with joy, with gladness, they are led along 214 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:19.750 as they entered the palace of the king. She's not being married for political 215 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:25.420 gain. Her nation is destroyed. There's nothing left to gain from that. 216 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:30.980 She's called to forget her people in her father's house because she's brought, being 217 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:37.529 brought to a new people. She's being given a new house, and it's 218 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:41.609 actually kind of a beautiful thing to witness the same warrior king who can pour 219 00:20:41.690 --> 00:20:48.609 out violence to defend truth and righteousness can here bestow such love and such blessings 220 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:57.279 on a foreign bride. And after this magnificence royal ceremony, our author concludes 221 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:03.509 as he began. He finishes with a personal address to the king and from 222 00:21:03.509 --> 00:21:07.789 the back row our seats we can we can see that the bridal party has 223 00:21:07.829 --> 00:21:11.670 exited and once again the psalmist places the King Front and center and he says, 224 00:21:11.710 --> 00:21:15.910 in place of your father's shall be your sons, you will make them 225 00:21:15.950 --> 00:21:19.420 princes and all the earth. Clearly, this royal marriage will produce royal offspring. 226 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:26.819 But, as has been the pattern throughout our psalm ends with another unexpected 227 00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:33.130 twist. Undoubtedly the royal marriage will pro produce royal heirs, but the PSALMIST 228 00:21:33.210 --> 00:21:41.930 says they will be princes where in all the earth. How is that possible? 229 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:45.450 I thought we were talking about the King of Israel here. He doesn't 230 00:21:45.450 --> 00:21:51.720 have that kind of authority. The king may have some say in which son 231 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:56.160 replaces his own reign, but to say that he'll place those princes throughout the 232 00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:00.670 earth, truly, the psalmist must be just exaggerating here, right. He 233 00:22:00.710 --> 00:22:04.470 can't be serious. And if that wasn't enough, look at verse seventeen. 234 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:10.470 He concludes the Psalm by saying I will cause your name to be remembered in 235 00:22:10.549 --> 00:22:22.140 all generations. Therefore, nations will praise you forever and ever. We were 236 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:26.740 asking who does this psalmist think this king is? Now we're kind of asking 237 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:30.730 who does this psalmist think that he is? He claims he will cause the 238 00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:40.769 king's name to be remembered in all generations. That's an amazing claim. But 239 00:22:40.930 --> 00:22:45.799 what's the one thing he's forgotten. If that's his goal, what does he 240 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:51.920 fail to do? He wants the king's name remembered for all generations. Why 241 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:56.440 didn't he write it down? He didn't tell us who this king is. 242 00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:03.470 Not once does he actually name which Israelite King he's been talking to. And 243 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:08.509 yet this double take here is to draw us back to that earlier double take, 244 00:23:08.589 --> 00:23:14.859 doesn't it? We see that he has named this king. The only 245 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:19.099 name he addresses to this king is found in verse six, where he says 246 00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:27.849 your throne, Oh God, is forever and ever. Do you see what 247 00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:34.650 a majestic psalm this is? We haven't just heard a poem addressed to a 248 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:41.079 King of Israel, we've heard a psalm addressed to the king of Israel. 249 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.960 We're not just sitting in the back of any king's power, alas, this 250 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:51.599 is the very palace of God that he's been describing. Verse six addresses the 251 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:57.230 King as God, but verse seven addresses the King as God's anointed God. 252 00:23:57.309 --> 00:24:03.950 Your God has anointed you. But it's because both are addressing the king that 253 00:24:04.109 --> 00:24:10.539 the PSALMIST can describe the king with such perfection. It's because both verses address 254 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:18.460 the King that the book of Hebrews quotes Verse Seven and verse six when proving 255 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:25.250 that Jesus is superior to angels. The tension that we find in this psalm 256 00:24:25.289 --> 00:24:29.130 and throughout this psalm is answered only in in the God man, Jesus Christ. 257 00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:33.410 This is why the king is able to make princes throughout the earth, 258 00:24:36.569 --> 00:24:44.119 this is why his name will be remembered in all generations. Verse Seventeen recalls 259 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:48.400 this promise given to another King of Israel. Verse Seventeen, the Languige your 260 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:53.630 draws our ears to the promise the Lord gave to David. Verse Seventeen again 261 00:24:53.710 --> 00:24:59.349 says I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations. But in 262 00:24:59.430 --> 00:25:03.710 Second Samuel Seven, the Lord promised David I will make for you a great 263 00:25:03.710 --> 00:25:11.259 name. Your throne shall be established forever. This is a psalm addressed to 264 00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:18.460 a king like David, but clearly one greater than David. And so remember 265 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:23.289 the the king's robe like glory, his Robe Like Majesty. From verse three. 266 00:25:25.650 --> 00:25:30.049 That picture of the King's Royal Magistry is later imaged in the robes of 267 00:25:30.170 --> 00:25:34.609 his own bride. All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes 268 00:25:34.650 --> 00:25:40.599 interwoven with gold. And it's the book of revelation that then picks up on 269 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:45.960 this kind of imagery, for revelation nineteen seven says, let us rejoice and 270 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:49.150 exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the lamb has come 271 00:25:49.309 --> 00:25:53.309 and his bride has made herself ready and has granted her to clothe herself with 272 00:25:53.630 --> 00:26:00.670 fine linen, bright and pure. So though we're drawn into this psalm merely 273 00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:06.180 as hearers of this royal wedding, like those given the back seat at a 274 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:12.700 wedding, when we carry this image forward into its fulfillment in Christ, notice 275 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:18.569 that we're not left in the back row watching somebody else take their marriage vows. 276 00:26:18.250 --> 00:26:22.089 If Christ is the kingly bridegroom, then it's the church that is his 277 00:26:22.250 --> 00:26:29.130 captive bride. We're not just guests at this wedding, but the guests the 278 00:26:29.170 --> 00:26:34.640 very bride herself. And the refrain comes to us as well, saying forget 279 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:41.680 your people, Forget your father's house, for who were we? We were 280 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:47.630 once those numbered among the scattered nations. Who was our father? Our true 281 00:26:47.670 --> 00:26:51.509 father was Adam, who was our people? Are People were fallen humanity, 282 00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:56.710 slaves to sin and death. But because our king is a warrior king. 283 00:26:56.869 --> 00:27:03.740 His enemies have been vanquished because of Christ's life, because of his death and 284 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:08.819 because of his resurrection. Those powers of sin and death lay broken and defeated 285 00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:14.940 at his feet. So forget Adam, your father according to the flesh. 286 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:19.809 Forget the sin that that used to define your identity, because you've been given 287 00:27:19.849 --> 00:27:25.730 a new one. Forget the stench of death that clings to our sufferings in 288 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:30.920 this life. Yet we must admit it's hard. It's hard to forget these 289 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:37.599 things. We get daily reminders, even moment by moment reminders. We're called 290 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:41.240 to forget these things of sin and of death, not because we don't see 291 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:45.950 them, not because we don't experience them in our own bodies. But you 292 00:27:47.029 --> 00:27:51.869 can forget them because they have no power over you. They have no claim 293 00:27:52.349 --> 00:27:56.390 on your life, as Paul says in Colossians three, for you have died 294 00:27:57.470 --> 00:28:04.220 and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Therefore, forget what used 295 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:11.500 to define you and remember who you are in him. Amen.