A Magnificent Bride
TRANSLATION
(10) 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. Because he is your lord, bow to him. (12) The daughter of Tyre (will come with) a gift. The wealthy among the people shall entreat your favor. (13) The princess (is) all glorious within (the palace). Her garments (are) interwoven with gold. (14) In embroidered robes she is led to the king. Behind her follow her virgin attendants. (15) With gladness and joy they are borne along as they enter the palace of the king. (16) In the place of your fathers will be your sons. You will make them princes in all the earth. (17) I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore, all people will praise you forever and ever.
OBSERVATIONS
After extolling the king in the first half of the psalm, the psalmist turned his attention to the bride whom the king was about to wed. He did so in the three tenses – past, present, and future. First, in the spirit of Genesis 2:24, he appealed to the bride to leave her past, represented by her family, and to cleave to her new husband (vss. 10-12). He then provided a lovely description of the present moment, namely, the wedding procession as the bride in all her glory dramatically enters the presence of her groom (vss. 13-15). Finally, the psalmist envisioned her future as the queen, surrounded by her children and remembered by all generations to come (vss. 16 & 17).
OUTLINE
I. Past: the psalmist appealed to the bride to leave and cleave. (10-12)
II. Present: the psalmist extolled the beauty of the queen in her procession. (13-15)
III. Future: the psalmist envisioned the queen’s family and her fame. (16 & 17)
IDEA STATEMENT
The bride in her splendor, having left her home behind, joyously weds her groom and is promised a glorious future.
APPLICATION
Few brides can relax on their wedding day, and this lovely bride, depicted in the second half of the psalm, was no exception. Will the groom be pleased? Will my beauty thrill him? Will our marriage succeed? What does the future hold? Such are the questions that flood a bride’s heart as she is about to be married. The psalmist’s words provided great encouragement. “The king will desire your beauty” (vs. 11). “The bride (is) all glorious” (vs. 13). “In the place of your fathers will be your sons” (vs. 16). “All people will praise you forever and ever” (vs. 17). If this bride foreshadows the church on her wedding day when she will be presented to Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9), then this passage serves as a thrilling prophecy of what those who belong to the Lord can eagerly anticipate.
Several years ago, Dottie Rambo penned We Shall Behold Him, a song that captures the very moment when the church first stands in the presence of her returning King:
The sky shall unfold, preparing his entrance.
The stars shall applaud him with thunders of praise.
The sweet light in his eyes shall enhance those awaiting,
And we shall behold him, face to face.
We shall behold him; yes, we shall behold him, face to face in all of his glory.
We shall behold him; yes, we shall behold him, face to face, our Savior and Lord.