Do You Think He’s Wonderful? (Psalm 45:1-8)
GIST: When we see Jesus for who He is—glorious, powerful, purposeful, eternally good—we’ll be in the right place to love Him as our king who we so desperately need.
Another reason I love stepping back and doing our Summers in Psalms is it often seems like every-other-week is a special service that jumps us “off script” a bit. So, after yet another week away from the psalms, we’re going to walk into the first part of Psalm 45 this morning.
A few weeks ago, Melissa asked me if all the psalms in this section were going to be about depression ☺️. A lot are, but the next grouping takes us another direction. In fact, this psalm points to why we should have all joy.
The title of Psalm 45 tells us it was written by the sons of Korah as a love song. The psalmist then starts by telling us his heart is overflowing with a pleasing theme, and the subject of this psalm is exactly that. It’s written as a celebration of the marriage between the king and his bride. There is a lot of speculation about which king this was written for originally, but when you look at the psalm it is clear, like we’ve seen so often, the descriptions here go much deeper than any earthly king could adequately live up to. Add to this that this psalm is quoted in Hebrews 1:8-9 as referring to Jesus, and we can see what we have here is a picture of the marriage of Christ and the Church. This love song is about the relationship we’re meant to have with Jesus. The first half focuses on who Jesus is and why He’s deserving of our love, and the second half then talks about what our response to Him should be.
Today, I just want to walk through that first half and look at the beauty of this incredible Jesus who loves us so wonderfully. Actually, this week, I was listening to a book by Jackie Hill Perry about her journey of faith, and something she said really resonated with me, and I think it speaks to the message in this psalm, as well. Talking about the kind of Bible teaching she had grown up hearing she asks: “Why hadn’t they ever mentioned the place happiness had within righteousness, or how the taking up of the cross would be a practice of obtaining delight? … In their defense, they were not to blame for my unbelief. I just wonder if they would’ve told me about the beauty of God just as much, if not more, than they told me about the horridness of hell, if I would’ve burned my idols at a faster pace.” We need to take Hell seriously. We cannot wink at sin. We have to know the truth and stand firmly on it. However, if being a Christian becomes more about fighting a battle than loving our Savior, we’re missing the point. Heaven won’t be about avoiding Hell; it will be about enjoying Jesus. And guys, this is super convicting to me. If we aren’t excited about being in the presence of Jesus because that’s where we find joy and meaning, then we’re not really looking forward to Heaven.
So, let’s take a moment and let this psalm speak to us about our awesome Jesus. We’ll look at the first eight verses this morning, then I’ll give you the gist statement.
“1 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! 4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you. 6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;”
Ok, so here’s our gist for this morning: When we see Jesus for who He is—glorious, powerful, purposeful, eternally good—we’ll be in the right place to love Him as our king who we so desperately need. I know putting our there throws off my sentence a bit. It would have flowed better if I said “the king we desperately need”. And while still true and grammatically more satisfying, I wanted to make sure and emphasize the relational focus of this psalm. We need to see Jesus not just as this marvelous king in general, but as the king who loves us and wants a personal relationship with each one of us. He isn’t the distant and disconnected hero of a story meant for someone else. He’s the hero of your story. He’s the one who loves you so much He took on Hell in your place. We need to see that.
Now, let’s walk through these verses a bit ☺️.
I. Glorious (2)
“2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.”
He Is The Most Handsome. Let me start by saying that maybe part of the reason we don’t focus on passages like this too much is that the marriage imagery can be hard for male pastors to talk about. Jesus is also portrayed as the glorious husband, and we’re the bride, so it can come across sounding strange or uncomfortable… or almost sacrilegious. That being said, let’s get this clarified from the beginning. This is not meant to be some kind of romantic attraction we have for Jesus. This is a love song because we’re meant to enjoy an intimate relationship with Jesus, and the only relationship remotely close to that level here on earth is that of a truly loving husband and wife.
All that being said, calling Jesus the most handsome of men isn’t saying He’s a “hottie”. That’s where the sacrilegious part comes in ☺️, and it misses the point. The Bible tells us there wasn’t anything noticeable about His outward appearance when He walked the earth. He didn’t take the form of a supermodel, but He was deeply appealing because that’s who He is. We should be drawn to Him. He isn’t cold and distant. He’s someone we long to be around. I think that is my favorite thing about how The Chosen depicts Jesus. He’s intensely compelling for people. On a level no one could really portray with human actors, He is! And→
His Mouth Is Full Of Words of Grace. Mine aren’t. I use my mouth a lot, but I know it doesn’t always speak life. Jesus, however, came as the Word of God, and He came proclaiming grace to all who would believe. We are sinners deserving Hell, but, because of this amazing grace, we can be rescued if we give Him control of our lives. Because of this→
He Is Forever Blessed. He is the eternally glorious God. He’s awesome, and He’s→
II. Powerful (3-4a)
Verses 3-4 continue: “3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! 4 In your majesty ride out victoriously…” Do you see the power imagery here? He’s glorious and full of grace, but He’s also wearing a→
Sword. Now, we know from the New Testament when we talk about the armor of God, the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God— which Jesus embodied—and it’s that which the world needs to pierce its heart.
He’s The Mighty One. He’s effective in His power, and→
He’s Full Of Splendor and Majesty. These two words are very similar. They carry the connotations of wonderful in a way that is beyond us. He is at the edge of our ability to describe. Though He is good, and we’ll talk about that more in a second, merely “good” is inadequate to describe the level of this majestic splendor.
He Rides Victoriously. He’s actually told or asked to do this in the psalm, but it is exactly what He does! He’s sovereign. What He sets out to accomplish is done. His plans are accomplished, and His purposes are fulfilled. Unlike us, there are no circumstances or personal weaknesses that slow Him down. He’s glorious, and powerful, and→
III. Purposeful (4b-5)
Look at where verse 4 picks up. It describes how He rides out in victory. “4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.”
There are a few words I want to point out here. First→
His Mission Is The Truth. He rides out for the cause of truth. His the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to Heaven except through Him. He doesn’t come telling people to just believe what they want. That wouldn’t be loving at all. He comes bearing reality and telling people the truth they need to hear even if hearing that is uncomfortable because that’s what love does!
Still yet→
He Also Comes With The Purpose Of Meekness. This could also be translated as humility, and it’s almost like this is part of His mission as well as His method. He came carrying the truth, but He doesn’t come in rudeness or with hateful words. He speaks the truth in love. As His followers, we should too! Because→
He’s Carrying The Message Of Righteousness. He comes carrying the truth in meekness because He is Himself fully righteous. We can’t experience holiness apart from Him.
These verses then wrap up with two cool points, I’ll just state rather than explain for the sake of time.
His Strength (right hand) Teaches Awesome Deeds. It’s in His nature to be awesome because that is who He is fundamentally.
His Arrows Pierce Even the Hearts Of His Enemies—which we all are by nature.
This list isn’t exhaustive, but at the very least we see these traits. He’s glorious, powerful, purposeful, and→
IV. Eternally Good (6-8)
Look at how this section ends. And this is actually the portion quoted in Hebrews 1. “6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;”
There’s actually a lot we could break down here, but I’ll try to be concise. If there was any doubt that this love song can’t be about just an earthly king, these verses hammer it home.
His Throne is Forever. Everything else in this world will come and go, but Jesus is forever on His throne. His sovereignty and control do not pass away.
He Reigns With Uprightness. His throne is defined by loving righteousness—which brings life—and hating the wicked—which destroys.
He is God & God Anointed. This is one of the passages that you’d want to skip over if you didn’t believe in the trinity because it just seems weird. Verses 6 and 7 call the king God and call Him anointed by God. Jesus, fully God and fully man, came, anointed by God the Father, to take on human flesh and live the life we could and take on the Hell we deserved.
His Reign Results In Gladness For Himself and His People. The passage ends with pictures of pleasing fragrances, gorgeous places, and beautiful sounds. Life with Jesus is not just about being law-abiding citizens. It’s about being loved by this incredible God!
TAKEAWAYS
God is glorious, powerful, purposeful, and eternally good.
We’re meant to enjoy a relationship with Him that is more glorious, powerful, purposeful, and eternally good than all other alternatives.
Are you missing out on the King you need in pursuit of something or someone... less? Am I?
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