The Royal Wedding

A PRINCE AND A PRINCESS

All over the world, people are expectantly awaiting the royal marriage of Prince William and his fiance', Kate Middleton. Thirty years ago Prince William's, mother, Diana married Prince Charles in a spectacular royal wedding that captured the attention of the whole world. Sadly, the beauty and pomp of that wedding was a prelude to a marriage filled with pain, divorce, and tragedy.

DAVID'S VISION OF A ROYAL WEDDING

In Psalm 45, King David is given a magnificent vision of the ultimate "royal wedding" of Jesus and His Bride. He can hardly contain himself as he attempts to describe what God allowed him to see. It is a ceremony that far exceeds the glory of anything on earth. I recently read where the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be broadcast to the whole world using 3D technology. Good try - but nothing can compare to the higher dimension of pomp and glory that David was allowed to see. It was a union brimming with romance, crowned with majesty, and the fulfillment of the greatest desire of God's heart. Unlike Princess Diana's marriage which quickly tarnished, the marriage of the Bride will endure forever. And the glory of the marriage itself, will far eclipse that of the ceremony.

A PREFACE TO THE SONG OF SONGS

Psalm 45 is actually a beautiful preface and serves as an introduction to the Song of Songs. Although it provides us a Messianic vision of the marriage of the Lamb, it was also a vision of the wedding of Solomon to the Shulamite maiden. David even dedicated the psalm to his future daughter-in-law. The superscription to the psalm reads "To the Shoshannim" which is the Hebrew word for "lily." In the second chapter of the Song of Songs, the Shulamite refers to herself by this very name when she says:

I am a rose of Sharon, A lily (Shoshannim) of the valleys. (SoS 2:1)


DAVID'S VISION OF THE BRIDEGROOM

You are the most excellent of men...Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.In your majesty ride forth victoriously...let the nations fall beneath your feet...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; (excerpts from Psalm 45)

By reading David's vision in Psalm 45, we are given a description of the Bridegroom as he steps forth to take the hand of his Bride. He is called the "most excellent of men." His battle sword is girded to his thigh and He is dressed in His full military regalia. It was the custom in ancient Jewish weddings that the Bridegroom and all the men in his wedding party carry their swords in the wedding procession. This looks forward to the time when every enemy will be vanquished and the nations are laid low beneath Messiah's feet. The wedding garments of King Jesus will be drenched in myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Myrrh and aloes were brought by Nicodemus (John 19:39)to be used as embalming spices upon the body of Jesus. Cassia is one of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil used in the Temple. Symbolically, these oils together represent the priestly and eternal work of the Cross. In the age to come, our Bridegroom will wear the fragrance of His everlasting love - the scent of the Cross - and it is called the "oil of joy."

"for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

The "joy" that is His reward for going to the Cross - is His Bride!

DAVID'S VISION OF THE BRIDE

David's vision reveals that the Bridegroom could have chosen His bride from a host of the daughters Jerusalem.

"Daughters of kings are among your honored women"(Psalm 45:9)


But He chose only one - the Shulamite - to marry:

"...upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir" (same verse).


The gold of Ophir was the most refined and valuable gold available in those days. Gold speaks of the nature of God. The Bride of Jesus has "put on the Lord Jesus Christ." She is adorned with His very nature. Her garment is interwoven with threads of gold indicating a weaving process. Our lives are not cut from a single bolt of material. Life is not about the "big things" that happen to us. Our lives are woven by daily experiences - each one affording us the opportunity to be transformed into the image of Christ.

In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her.(Psalm 45:14)

This beautiful Queen arrives in a procession of countless maidens. The horizon is filled with her entourage with the Bride herself leading the procession. At last, the Shulamite takes her place at the King's right hand. (45:9) The whole kingdom rejoices as the royal couple enters the king's palace joined arm in arm. (45:14-15)

ARE YOU PREPARING?

This wedding is the climactic moment of all Creation. It is the singular event in which the purposes of God reach their fulfillment. Every believer who has heard the call (45:10) to prepare themselves (Rev. 19:7) for this event will be there. All those who long for His appearing with great joy and expectancy will be there. These are the wise maidens of Jesus' parable (Matthew 25) who prepare themselves for the wedding event. The foolish maidens are those who assume they are the Bride but fail to fill their lamps (hearts) with sufficient oil. While most believers are content merely to escape hell, the Bride remains discontent until she united with the Lover of her soul.

DOVE MIGRATION IN ISRAEL

In the parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens, both groups of maidens possessed oil. Only the wise had extra - or (literally) double oil. Since the Bride is often referred to by Solomon as his "dove," I researched the doves of Israel and discovered an amazing fact. When it comes time for their flight of migration (Rapture) they do certain thing to prepare themselves for the journey. One of the things they do is to literally double their food intake. This stores extra fat (OIL) beneath their wings which they can convert into energy when taking flight. Beloved, nature itself teaches us what it means to have "extra oil." While much of the Church remains disinterested in the idea of the imminent return of Jesus, those who comprise the Bridal company are being drawn into the secret place of prayer - to feast on the love of their Bridegroom and store up the oil that intimate relationship affords. When the day of our "migration" from this world to the next arrives - we will have "made ourselves ready."