Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 45:10

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 45:10. Hearken. O daughter, and consider — This is the beginning of the address by the companions of the bride to their mistress; after having, in the preceding verses, addressed the bridegroom; or, rather, given a description of his person, qualities, and magnificence. Suppose the daughter of Pharaoh to be intended, the words import: Thou art now become the spouse of the most magnificent monarch in the universe. To thee he must be all in all. Forget therefore thy own people - the Egyptians, and take the Israelites in their place. Forget also thy father's house; thou art now united to a new family. So shall the king - Solomon, greatly desire thy beauty - thou wilt be, in all respects, pleasing to him. And it is right thou shouldst act so; for he is now become thy lord - thy supreme governor. And worship thou him - submit thyself reverently and affectionately to all his commands.

Taken in reference to Christ and the Gospel, this is an address to the Gentiles to forsake their idolatrous customs and connexions, to embrace Christ and his Gospel in the spirit of reverence and obedience, with the promise that, if beautified with the graces of his Spirit, Christ will delight in them, and take them for his peculiar people; which has been done.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 45:0 A royal wedding song

This song was written to be sung at the wedding of some Israelite king. The anticipation of such an occasion causes the writer’s heart to overflow with joy (1).
First the writer addresses his comments to the king. Handsome in appearance, gracious in speech and strong in purpose, this one has been supremely blessed by God to fight for truth and justice (2-5). Since he is God’s representative, the king will have an enduring kingdom. Since he fights for all that is right, God has given him honour and glory above all others (6-7). The writer sees this honour and glory reflected in the splendour of the wedding ceremony - the king’s magnificent robes, the music being played in the ivory-decorated palace, the attendant princesses from many countries, and the presence of the queen mother (8-9).
The writer then addresses his comments to the queen. She is reminded to transfer her loyalty from her former family to the king, and is assured that he will return her love. People of subject nations will bring her gifts (10-12). The psalmist describes the majestic beauty of her bridal robes and the joyous scene as her bridesmaids and musical attendants lead her to the king (13-15). The king is then addressed again. He is given the assurance that he will have a line of royal descendants more glorious than that of his ancestors, so that his name will be honoured for ever (16-17).

As in most ceremonial songs, the words of this psalm are extravagant when applied to the Israelite king. But the same words, when applied to the King of kings, are scarcely enough to begin to describe his glory and power (cf. Hebrews 1:8-9; Revelation 19:6-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BRIDE

“Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.”

At this point, through Psalms 45:15, the inspired psalmist instructs the Bride; and, as we shall see, these are the very instructions that the Messiah himself gave the Bride upon the occasion of his First Advent.

“Forget thine own people… thy father’s house” Is not this exactly what Jesus said?

“If any man cometh unto me and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple… So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” - Luke 14:26; Luke 14:33.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Hearken, O daughter, and consider - This is probably to be understood as the language of the psalmist, in vision, as uttering counsel and advice which would be appropriate to the new condition of the bride. Some have understood it as the language of the father of the bride, uttering appropriate counsel to his daughter on entering upon her new relationship; exhorting her to affection and obedience in that relationship; charging her to feel that she is his, that she is to go with him, that she is to identify herself with his interests, and to “forget,” - that is, not improperly to long for her own people and her father’s house. All this would be good advice for a father to give to his daughter in such circumstances; but the most natural interpretation is to regard the language here as that of the psalmist, or as inspired wisdom, in regard to the proper feeling in entering on such a relation. If this be the meaning, the word “daughter” may be used as a term of affection or kindness, as the word “son” often is, to denote one who is a disciple or learner. The “thought” suggested here is, that counsel or advice in regard to the manner in which she should demean herself to secure the continual confidence of her husband, may be very properly given to a newly-married bride. The counsel here suggested, considered with reference only to that relation, would be eminently wise.

And incline thine ear - Attend to what is now said. The address is repeated - “Hearken;” “consider;” “incline thine ear;” as if the matter were of great importance. On the phrase “incline thine ear,” see the notes at Psalms 31:2; compare Psalms 78:1.

Forget also thine own people - This is said on the supposition that the bride was a foreign princess. As such, it is to be supposed that she had been trained under other customs, under other forms of religion, and with reference to other interests than those which would now pertain to her. The counsel is, that she must now forget all these, and identify herself with her husband, and with his interests. The word “forget” cannot denote absolute forgetfulness, or that she was to cast off all affection for those who had trained her up; but the meaning is, that she was not to pine after them; that she was not to be dissatisfied with her new home and her new relations; that she was not to carry the institutions of her native country with her; that she was not to make use of her new position to promote the ends of her native country if they were adverse to, or hostile to, the interests of her husband and his country.

As applied to a bride now, the advice would mean that she is not to pine for her old home; that she is not to make complaining and unfavorable comparison between that and her new home; that she is not to divert her husband from his plans, and the proper pursuits of his life, by endeavoring to induce him to forsake his friends, and to abandon his position, in order that she may be restored to the society of her earlier friends; that she is not to introduce habits, customs, amusements, modes of living into her husband’s arrangements, derived from her former habits and modes of life, which would interfere with what is the proper economy of his house, and which would inconsistent with his principles, and with his means of living. When she marries, she should make up her mind, while she cherishes a proper regard for her old friends, and a proper memory of her past life, to identify her interests with his; to go where he goes; to live as he lives; and to die, if such be the will of God, where he dies, and to be buried by his side.

As applied to the Church - the bride of the Lamb - the idea here is that which we find so often enforced in the New Testament, that they who become the followers of the Saviour must be willing to forsake all for him, and to identify themselves with him and his cause. See the notes at Matthew 10:37; notes at Luke 14:26. We are to forsake the world, and devote ourselves to him; we are to break away from all worldly attachments, and to consecrate all to him; we are to bid adieu to worldly companions as our chosen friends, and make the friends of Christ our friends: we are not to pine after the world, to seek to return to it, to pant for its pleasures; we are not to take advantage of our position in the church to promote the objects which we had pursued before we entered it; we are not to introduce the customs, the habits, the plans which we before pursued, “into” the church. We are in all things to become identified with him to whom we have become “espoused” 2 Corinthians 11:2; we are to live with him; to go with him; to die with him; to be his forever.

And thy father’s house - The home of thy childhood; the house where thy father dwells. The strongest earthly ties are to be made subservient to a higher and stronger tie, if we would become true followers of the Saviour. See Luke 9:59-62.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

10.Hearken, O daughter! and consider I have no doubt, that what is here said is spoken of the Egyptian woman, whom the prophet has described as standing at the right hand of the king. It was not, indeed, lawful for Solomon to marry a strange woman; but this of itself is to be accounted among the gifts of God, that a king so powerful as the king of Egypt was, ⁽¹⁶⁹⁾ sought his alliance. At the same time, as by the appointment of the Law, it was required that the Jews, previous to entering into the marriage relation, should endeavor to instruct their wives in the pure worship of God, and emancipate them from superstition; in the present instance, in which the wife spoken of was descended from a heathen nation, and who, by her present marriage, was included in the body of the Church, the prophet, in order to withdraw her from her evil training, exhorts her to forget her own country and her father’s house, and to assume a new character and other manners. If she did not do this, there was reason to fear, not only that she would continue to observe in private the superstitions and false modes of worshipping God to which she had been habituated, but that also, by her public example, she would draw away many into a similar evil course; and, indeed, this actually came to pass soon after. Such is the reason of the exhortation which the prophet here gives her, in which, in order to render his discourse of more weight, he addresses her by the appellation of daughter, a term which it would have been unsuitable for any private man to have used. The more clearly to show how much it behoved the new bride to become altogether a new woman, he employs several terms thereby to secure her attention, Hearken, consider, and incline thy ear It is certainly a case in which much vehemence and urgent persuasion are needed, when it is intended to lead us to a complete renunciation of those things in which we take delight, either by nature or by custom. He then shows that there is no reason why the daughter of Pharaoh should feel any regret in forsaking her father, her kinsfolk, and the land of Egypt, because she would receive a glorious recompense, which ought to allay the grief she might experience in being separated from them. To reconcile her to the thought of leaving her own country, he encourages her by the consideration that she is married to so illustrious a king.

Let us now return to Christ. And, in the first place, let us remember that what is spiritual is here described to us figuratively; even as the prophets, on account of the dulness of men, were under the necessity of borrowing similitudes from earthly things. When we bear in mind this style of speaking, which is quite common in the Scriptures, we will not think it strange that the sacred writer here makes mention of ivory palaces, gold, precious stones, and spices; for by these he means to intimate that the kingdom of Christ will be replenished with a rich abundance, and furnished with all good things. The glory and excellence of the spiritual gifts, with which God enriches his Church, are indeed held in no estimation among men; but in the sight of God they are of more value than all the riches of the world. At the same time, it is not necessary that we should apply curiously to Christ every particular here enumerated; ⁽¹⁷⁰⁾ as for instance, what is here said of the many wives which Solomon had. If it should be imagined from this that there may be several churches, the unity of Christ’s body will be rent in pieces. I admit, that as every individual believer is called “the temple of God,” (1 Corinthians 3:17, and 6:19,) so also might each be named “the spouse of Christ;” but properly speaking, there is only one spouse of Christ, which consists of the whole body of the faithful. She is said to sit by the side of the king, not that she exercises any dominion peculiar to herself, but because Christ rules in her; and it is in this sense that she is called “the mother of us all,” (Galatians 4:26.)

This passage contains a remarkable prophecy in reference to the future calling of the Gentiles, by which the Son of God formed an alliance with strangers and those who were his enemies. There was between God and the uncircumcised nations a deadly quarrel, a wall of separation which divided them from the seed of Abraham, the chosen people, (Ephesians 2:14;) for the covenant which God had made with Abraham shut out the Gentiles from the kingdom of heaven till the coming of Christ. Christ, therefore, of his free grace, desires to enter into a holy alliance of marriage with the whole world, in the same way as if a Jew in ancient times had taken to himself a wife from a foreign and heathen land. But in order to conduct into Christ’s presence his bride chaste and undefiled, the prophet exhorts the Church gathered from the Gentiles to forget her former manner of living, and to devote herself wholly to her husband. As this change, by which the children of Adam begin to be the children of God, and are transformed into new men, is a thing so difficult, the prophet enforces the necessity of it the more earnestly. In enforcing his exhortation in this way by different terms, hearken, consider, incline thy ear, he intimates, that the faithful do not deny themselves, and lay aside their former habits, without intense and painful effort; for such an exhortation would be superfluous, were men naturally and voluntarily disposed to it. And, indeed, experience shows how dull and slow we are to follow God. By the word consider, or understand, our stupidity is tacitly rebuked, and not without good reason; for whence arise that self-love which is so blind, that false opinion which we have of our own wisdom and strength, the deception arising from the fascinations of the world, and, in fine, the arrogance and pride which are natural to us, but because we do not consider how precious a treasure God is presenting to us in his only begotten Son? Did not this ingratitude prevent us, we would without regret, after the example of Paul, (Philippians 3:8,) reckon as nothing, or as “dung,” those things which we admire most, that Christ might replenish us with his riches. By the word daughter, the prophet gently and sweetly soothes the new Church; and he also sets before her the promise of a bountiful reward, ⁽¹⁷¹⁾ to induce her, for the sake of Christ, willingly to despise and forsake whatever she made account of heretofore. It is certainly no small consolation to know that the Son of God will delight in us, when we shall have put off our earthly nature. In the meantime, let us learn, that to deny ourselves is the beginning of that sacred union which ought to exist between us and Christ. By her father’s house and her people is doubtless meant all the corruptions which we carry with us from our mother’s womb, or derive from evil custom; nay, under this mode of expression there is comprehended whatever men have belonging to themselves; for there is no part of our nature sound or free from corruption.

It is necessary, also, to notice the reason which is added, namely, that if the Church refuses to devote herself wholly to Christ, she casts off his due and lawful authority. By the word worship we must understand not only the outward ceremony, but also, according to the figure synecdoche, a holy desire to yield reverence and obedience. Would to God that this admonition, as it ought, had been thoroughly weighed! for the Church of Christ had then been more obedient to his authority, and we should not in these days have had so great a contest to maintain in reference to her authority against the Papists, who imagine that the Church is not sufficiently exalted and honored, unless with unbridled license she may insolently triumph over her own husband. They, no doubt, in words ascribe supreme authority to Christ, saying, that every knee should bow before him; but when they maintain that the Church has an unlimited power of making laws, what else is this but to give her loose reins, and to exempt her from the authority of Christ, that she may break forth into any excess according to her desire? I stay not to notice how wickedly they arrogate to themselves the title and designation of the Church. But it is intolerable sacrilege to rob Christ and then adorn the Church with his spoils. It is no small dignity which the Church enjoys, in being seated at the right hand of the King, and it is no small honor to be called “the Mother” of all the godly, for to her it belongs to nourish and keep them under her discipline. But at the same time it is easy to gather from innumerable passages of Scripture, that Christ does not so elevate his own Church that he may diminish or impair in the least his own authority.

(169) “Comme estoit la Roy d’Egypte.” — Fr.

(170) This is certainly a most important rule in interpreting the allegorical compositions of Scripture. It is not to be imagined that there are distinct analogies between every part of an allegorical representation, and the spiritual subjects which it is designed to illustrate. The interpreter who allows his ingenuity to press too closely all the points of the allegory to the spiritual subjects couched under it, seeking points of comparison in the complementary parts, which are introduced merely for the purpose of giving more animation and beauty to the discourse, is in danger by his fanciful analogies of degrading the composition, and falling into absurdities.

(171) “En luy proposant bonne recompense.” — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 45:1-17

The forty-fifth psalm is one of those beautiful psalms that refers to Christ, a Messianic psalm. The glorious king. But in this same psalm is seen the church, the bride of Jesus Christ. And so we have in Psalms 45:1-17 the beautiful mystery of Christ and the church. The King and His bride.

My heart is indicting a good matter: I speak of things which I have made touching the King: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer ( Psalms 45:1 ).

Describing the king,

Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee awesome things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre ( Psalms 45:2-6 ).

Now in the book of Hebrews it acknowledges that this was written concerning Jesus Christ. And as the author of the book of Hebrews is seeking to show the superiority of Jesus Christ over the angels, he quotes this particular psalm, showing that God called Him God. For this psalm is inspired by God, and God in inspiring the psalm saying of Jesus Christ, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever." So in the New Testament there are those that would challenge the deity of Jesus Christ, saying that it isn't really a biblical doctrine. In spite of the fact that in the first chapter of John we read, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the same was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."

In spite of the fact that Thomas, when Jesus said to him after the resurrection, "Thomas, you want to put your finger in My hand? Go ahead. You want to thrust your hand into My side? Go ahead. See if it isn't Me." And Thomas cried, "My Lord, and my God" ( John 20:28 ). In spite of the fact that Paul the Apostle called Him God, declaring that we look forward to the great appearing of our glorious God and Savior Jesus Christ. It is pointed out in the book of Hebrews that even God Himself called Him God. For the Lord said to Him, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre." So, John, Paul, Thomas, all were willing to acknowledge Him as God, and even the Father willing to acknowledge Him as God is good enough for me. I don't need the Jehovah Witnesses to come along and say that He is not God. There is ample biblical proof.

So inasmuch as this is quoted concerning Christ in the New Testament, we know we are on good ground as seeing the King as Christ.

Thou lovest righteousness, you hate wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. Kings' daughters were among thy honorable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir ( Psalms 45:7-9 ).

The queen, of course, the church.

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him ( Psalms 45:10-11 ).

How beautiful. Speaking now of this intimate, beautiful relationship between Christ and His church. "Hearken, O daughter, consider, incline thine ear. Forget the world, thy father's house. For the King greatly desires thee, thy beauty. For He is thy Lord, worship Him."

And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor. The King's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: and they shall enter into the King's palace. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever ( Psalms 45:12-17 ).

Much, much that is there to just go ahead and come back to this one and read it and meditate upon it. And just to see the beautiful picture of the bride of Christ. The glorious day when we are brought to Him. Unfolded for us in the book of Revelation, chapter 19. Invited. Now the other groups that will be there, outside of the church, the virgins, bringing their companions that follow, there's a lot there. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 45

This royal psalm glorified a king as he prepared for his wedding. The writer related the counsel that the bride had received as she anticipated the wedding. He then predicted that people would honor the king forever because of the descendants born to him. The psalmist also appears to have spoken prophetically of Christ (cf. Ephesians 5:32-33; Hebrews 1:8-9). [Note: Kidner, p. 170.]

"Psalms 45 is another example of a royal psalm which reflects the historical situation of ancient Israel, but which ultimately applies to Christ in that He is the one through whom the primary aspects of its idealistic portrayal of the Davidic ruler are fully realized." [Note: Chisholm, "A Theology . . .," p. 270.]

"Shoshannim" in the title means "lilies." This may have been a hymn tune. The meaning of "Maskil" is still unclear. "A song of love" (lit., NASB) probably means "a wedding song" (NIV).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The psalmist gave some good advice to the bride. She would be wise to make her husband her primary object of affection (cf. Genesis 2:24). This would make her even more attractive to him. She should also honor him because he was now her authority (cf. Genesis 2:18; Genesis 2:22).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Advice for the bride 45:10-15

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear,.... These words are either spoken by the prophet, the author of the psalm; or by the King, the bridegroom himself; or, as others think, by Jehovah the Father, whose daughter the church is; unless it should be rather thought to be an address of the honourable women, the kings' daughters, the virgins and companions of the bride, delivered by them to her under the character of the daughter of Zion, the King's daughter, as she is called, Psalms 45:13, "to hearken, incline [her] ear" and listen to her Lord and King, to his Gospel, and the doctrines of it, which are his voice and words, and to all his precepts and commands; and to "consider", see, and behold the goodness of God unto her, the greatness, excellencies, and glories of her husband; to look to him by faith, as he is held forth in the word and ordinances, and to him only and that constantly, which is well pleasing to him;

forget also thine own people and thy father's house; Christ is to be preferred before natural relations; converted persons are not to have fellowship with carnal men, though ever so, nearly related; former superstitions, Whether Jewish or Heathenish, are to be buried in forgetfulness; sinful self, and righteous self, are to be denied for Christ's sake; and the world, and all things in it, are to be treated with neglect and contempt by such who cleave to him. The Targum interprets this of the congregation of Israel hearing the law, beholding the wonderful works of God, and forgetting the idolatrous practices of their ancestors.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house;   11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.   12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.   13 The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.   14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.   15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace.   16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.   17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

      This latter part of the psalm is addressed to the royal bride, standing on the right hand of the royal bridegroom. God, who said to the Son, Thy throne is for ever and ever, says this to the church, which, upon the account of her espousals to the Son, he here calls his daughter.

      I. He tells her of the duties expected from her, which ought to be considered by all those that come into relation to the Lord Jesus: "Hearken, therefore, and consider this, and incline thy ear, that is, submit to those conditions of thy espousals, and bring thy will to comply with them." This is the method of profiting by the word of God. He that has ears, let him hear, let him hearken diligently; he that hearkens, let him consider and weigh it duly; he that considers, let him incline and yield to the force of what is laid before him. And what is it that is here required?

      1. She must renounce all others.

      (1.) Here is the law of her espousals: "Forget thy own people and thy father's house, according to the law of marriage. Retain not the affection thou hast had for them, nor covet to return to them again; banish all such remembrance (not only of thy people that were dear to thee, but of thy father's house that were dearer) as may incline thee to look back, as Lot's wife to Sodom." When Abraham, in obedience to God's call, had quitted his native soil, he was not so much as mindful of the country whence he came out. This shows, [1.] How necessary it was for those who were converted from Judaism or paganism to the faith of Christ wholly to cast out the old leaven, and not to bring into their Christian profession either the Jewish ceremonies or the heathen idolatries, for these would make such a mongrel religion in Christianity as the Samaritans had. [2.] How necessary it is for us all, when we give up our names to Jesus Christ, to hate father and mother, and all that is dear to us in this world, in comparison, that is, to love them less than Christ and his honour, and our interest in him, Luke 14:26.

      (2.) Here is good encouragement given to the royal bride thus entirely to break off from her former alliances: So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty, which intimates that the mixing of her old rites and customs, whether Jewish or Gentile, with her religion, would blemish her beauty and would hazard her interest in the affections of the royal bridegroom, but that, if she entirely conformed to his will, he would delight in her. The beauty of holiness, both on the church and on particular believers, is in the sight of Christ of great price and very amiable. Where that is he says, This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it. Among the golden candlesticks he walks with pleasure, Revelation 2:1.

      2. She must reverence him, must love, honour, and obey him: He is thy Lord, and worship thou him. The church is to be subject to Christ as the wife to the husband (Ephesians 5:24), to call him Lord, as Sarah called Abraham, and to obey him (1 Peter 3:6), and so not only to submit to his government, but to give him divine honours. We must worship him as God, and our Lord; for this is the will of God, that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father; nay, in so doing it is reckoned that they honour the Father. If we confess that Christ is Lord, and pay our homage to him accordingly, it is to the glory of God the Father,Philippians 2:11.

      II. He tells her of the honours designed for her.

      1. Great court should be made to her, and rich presents brought her (Psalms 45:12; Psalms 45:12): "The daughter of Tyre," a rich and splendid city, "the daughter of the King of Tyre shall be there with a gift; every royal family round about shall send a branch, as a representative of the whole, to seek thy favour and to make an interest in thee; even the rich among the people, whose wealth might be thought to exempt them from dependence at court, even they shall entreat thy favour, for his sake to whom thou art espoused, that by thee they may make him their friend." The Jews, the pretending Jews, who are rich to a proverb (as rich as a Jew), shall come and worship before the church's feet in the Philadelphian period, and shall know that Christ has loved her,Revelation 3:9. When the Gentiles, being converted to the faith of Christ, join themselves to the church, they then come with a gift,2 Corinthians 8:5; Romans 15:16. When with themselves they devote all they have to the honour of Christ, and the service of his kingdom, they then come with a gift.

      2. She shall be very splendid, and highly esteemed in the eyes of all, (1.) For her personal qualifications, the endowments of her mind, which every one shall admire (Psalms 45:13; Psalms 45:13): The king's daughter is all glorious within. Note, The glory of the church is spiritual glory, and that is indeed all glory; it is the glory of the soul, and that is the man; it is glory in God's sight, and it is an earnest of eternal glory. The glory of the saints falls not within the view of a carnal eye. As their life, so their glory, is hidden with Christ in God, neither can the natural man know it, for it is spiritually discerned; but those who do so discern it highly value it. Let us see here what is that true glory which we should be ambitious of, not that which makes a fair show in the flesh, but which is in the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible (1 Peter 3:4), whose praise is not of men, but of God,Romans 2:29. (2.) For her rich apparel. Though all her glory is within, that for which she is truly valuable, yet her clothing also is of wrought gold; the conversation of Christians, in which they appear in the world, must be enriched with good works, not gay and gaudy ones, like paint and flourish, but substantially good, like gold; and it must be accurate and exact, like wrought gold, which is worked with a great deal of care and caution.

      3. Her nuptials shall be celebrated with a great deal of honour and joy (Psalms 45:14; Psalms 45:15): She shall be brought to the king, as the Lord God brought the woman to the man (Genesis 2:22), which was a type of this mystical marriage between Christ and his church. None are brought to Christ but whom the Father brings, and he has undertaken to do it; none besides are so brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; Psalms 45:14) as to enter into the king's palace,Psalms 45:15; Psalms 45:15.

      (1.) This intimates a two-fold bringing of the spouse to Christ. [1.] In the conversion of souls to Christ; then they are espoused to him, privately contracted, as chaste virgins, 2 Corinthians 11:2; Romans 7:4. [2.] In the completing of the mystical body, and the glorification of all the saints, at the end of time; then the bride, the Lamb's wife, shall be made completely ready, when all that belong to the election of grace shall be called in and called home, and all gathered together to Christ, 2 Thessalonians 2:1. Then is the marriage of the Lamb come (Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2), and the virgins go forth to meet the bridegroom,Matthew 25:1. Then they shall enter into the king's palaces, into the heavenly mansions, to be ever with the Lord.

      (2.) In both these espousals, observe, to the honour of the royal bride, [1.] Her wedding clothes--raiment of needle-work, the righteousness of Christ, the graces of the Spirit; both curiously wrought by divine wisdom. [2.] Her bride-maids--the virgins her companions, the wise virgins who have oil in their vessels as well as in their lamps, those who, being joined to the church, cleave to it and follow it, these shall go in to the marriage. [3.] The mirth with which the nuptials will be celebrated: With gladness and rejoicing shall she be brought. When the prodigal is brought home to his father it is meet that we should make merry and be glad (Luke 15:32); and when the marriage of the Lamb has come let us be glad and rejoice (Revelation 19:7); for the day of his espousals is the day of the gladness of his heart,Song of Solomon 3:11.

      4. The progeny of this marriage shall be illustrious (Psalms 45:16; Psalms 45:16): Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children. Instead of the Old-Testament church, the economy of which had waxed old, and ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13), as the fathers that are going off, there shall be a New-Testament church, a Gentile-church, that shall be grafted into the same olive and partake of its root and fatness (Romans 11:17); more and more eminent shall be the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife,Isaiah 54:1. This promise to Christ is of the same import with that Isaiah 53:10, He shall see his seed; and these shall be made princes in all the earth; there shall be some of all nations brought into subjection to Christ, and so made princes, made to our God kings and priests,Revelation 1:6. Or it may intimate that there should be a much greater number of Christian kings than ever there was of Jewish kings (those in Canaan only, these in all the earth), nursing fathers and nursing mothers to the church, which shall suck the breasts of kings. They are princes of Christ's making; for by him kings reign and princes decree justice.

      5. The praise of this marriage shall be perpetual in the praises of the royal bridegroom (Psalms 45:18; Psalms 45:18): I will make thy name to be remembered. His Father has given him a name above every name, and here promises to make it perpetual, by keeping up a succession of ministers and Christians in every age, that shall bear up his name, which shall thus endure for ever (Psalms 72:17), by being remembered in all the generations of time; for the entail of Christianity shall not be cut off. "Therefore, because they shall remember thee in all generations, they shall praise thee for ever and ever." Those that help to support the honour of Christ on earth shall in heaven see his glory, and share in it, and be for ever praising him. In the believing hope of our everlasting happiness in the other world let us always keep up the remembrance of Christ, as our only way thither, in our generation; and, in assurance of the perpetuating of the kingdom of the Redeemer in the world, let us transmit the remembrance of him to succeeding generations, that his name may endure for ever and be as the days of heaven.