The Church's Bridegroom

Chuck Baggett

The Church • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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When you go to a wedding, there are certain songs that you often hear. Bride often enters to Wagner’s “Wedding March.”

Here is a wedding song. While it may have become “traditional music” for Old Testament royal weddings, the scene here is one of a psalmist being commissioned to write an official song for the wedding day of the King of kings.

Betrothal period...

When the actual wedding day came attendants of the bride would gather at her father’s house. There she would adorn herself in her finest clothing. Attendants of the groom (usually both male and female) would gather at his home. He too would be dressed impressively.

The wedding procession did not take place in a church building, but in the streets of the city. The groom and his companions would go to the bride’s house. From there, she and her entourage would be escorted back to the home of the groom. At the groom’s house a joyful wedding feast was held. It was not unusual for these celebrations to last seven to fourteen days when the groom was of noble birth.

Perhaps you can imagine the bride and her party looking to catch a glimpse of the bridegroom’s approach.

This morning, we want to look, to try to catch a glimpse of the Bridegroom’s approach.

John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress…

Christian makes the pilgrim from the city of destruction to the Celestial City. As he and Hopeful get close to the Celestial City, Bunyan said…

“And now were these two men, as 't were, in heaven, before they came at it.”

Richard Sibbes loved to speak about heaven and the glories of the world to come. He spoke a great deal about what Bunyan described as the “Celestial City.”

It was said of him, “Heaven was in him, before he was in heaven.”

Richard Baxter…Frail and weak. He tells how he kept going in his life and ministry of constant work… Well known for “Reformed Pastor”, but his great work was entitled, “The Saints’ Everlasting Rest.” A work focused on heaven and the glories that await true believers in heaven. Baxter says that from his 30th year, he practiced a habit which he formed when he thought he was on his deathbed… an hour a day meditate on the life to come, anticipating the glories awaiting him. That anticipation gave him great perseverance in spite of his ill health.

This morning, we are going to meditate for a little while on Christ and the gospel, and focus our minds on this 45th Psalm.

Described as a love song…

There is language in the Psalm that can only have one possible meaning…only refer to one possible Person.. the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a Messianic Psalm. (v. 2, 6, 7)… those cannot apply to any earthly monarch.

Hebrews 1:8-9…

The apostle is applying Ps. 45, and he is saying that it is about Him. It is always a good thing for the Lord’s people to be thinking about Him; to be talking about Him; to be studying about Him.

That’s what this psalm is urging us to do.

The Psalm divides into two main divisions.

1st verse of introduction.

vv. 2-9, description of the royal bridegroom (Christ)

vv. 10-17, the royal bride (the church)

We are going to look almost exclusively at the first section…

The Introduction v. 1

“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” (Psalm 45:1, NASB95).

Here he expresses his feelings as he anticipates writing about the person of Christ. “My heart overflows with a good theme…” It is to burst up or bubble over. It is the kind of word you might use of digging an artesian well, and the water bursts up to the surface, bubbling over.

That is how the psalmist expresses his feelings as he is about to write this 45th psalm.

May God allow us to feel that way after we have studied it!

““for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:45, NASB95).

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34, NKJV).

Here, the psalmist is saying that he is writing/speaking out of the abundance of his heart, and his heart is filled with “a good theme.” And there is no theme or matter as good or as profitable as the one he is going to write about: the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This theme that he is going to speak about, he tells us in vs. 1, it is something that he has discovered in his own experience.

“I address my verses to the King;” (NASB and ESV) (works)

I recite my composition concerning the King.” (Psalm 45:1, NKJV).

That is, he is not sharing second hand information. He is not telling us what he has heard from someone else. He is telling us what he has discovered to be true.

What he has discovered is concerning the King. No ordinary one, but here is the one described in the book of Revelation as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and the one who, if you are a believer, is your Lord, Your Savior, Your Redeemer, Your King.

“My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

He is anxious and eager to tell of everything that is in his heart.

Good news…cannot wait to tell…

He launches into his subject, giving us everything that is on his heart.

NOW, did you notice something between verse 1 and 2?

There is a change in the tense of the writing. “My tongue…” “You are fairer.”

Now remember, this is a love song, one speaking to another… so here he is speaking about the king in the presence of the king, and there are 3 things we are going to focus on this morning.

First, in extolling the majesty of this king,

1. The beauty of His person (2)

2. The greatness of His power (3-7)

3. The splendor of His kingdom (6-9)

So, in speaking to the King about the King, the psalmist extols

I. The beauty of His person v. 2

“You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.” (Psalm 45:2, NASB95).

Here is the description of this heavenly, royal Bridegroom: “You are fairer than the sons of men;”

The essence of true love: the attractiveness and the beauty of the character of the person that we delight in. It is the person’s character, not just their outward form. And the character of Christ outshines the character of every other person who has ever lived.

A. Everything about Him

The psalmist said that He is “fairer than the sons of men.”

That is, than all of them! He is fair and beautiful and attractive in Himself. But in order that we may be able to grasp that beauty more fully, he describes Him in this comparative way…

According to the Bible, Joseph (Jacob’s son) was a handsome man…

Moses was fair to look upon…

David is described as being beautiful…

Solomon “ “

BUT, here is One who is greater than Joseph, greater than Moses, greater than David, greater than Solomon…

He is greater, more fair that all the sons of men! Here is the loveliness of Christ.

“This soul of ours hath love, and cannot but love some fair one. And oh what a fair One, what an only One, what an excellent, lovely ravishing One is Jesus! Put the beauty of ten thousand thousand worlds of paradises, like the garden of Eden in one, put all trees, all flowers, all smells, all colours, all tastes, all joys, all sweetness, all loveliness, in one: oh, what a fair and excellent thing would that be! And yet it would be less to that fair and dearest Well-beloved Christ, than one drop of rain to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and fountains of ten thousand earths. Oh, but Christ is heaven's wonder and earth's wonder!”

Rutherford

Christ stands out among men. He is the perfect man. He is holy, sinless, undefiled.

His fairness does not simply refer to His outward form. It could include that. But it is speaking about the balance of His perfections/His attributes/His personality.

Christ is a man among men. His beauty is seen in terms of His character. Every feature of His character is in perfect balance and harmony with every other feature.

If you think of the love of Christ, the tenderness, the compassion of Christ, then you think about the wisdom of Christ, the zeal of Christ, the power of Christ, and the justice, meekness, grace of Christ. Each of the attributes perfect in themselves, and yet they are perfectly in balance with all the rest, so that not one detracts from another. They are perfectly harmonized in this one person, this one man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is fairer than all the sons of men!

B. His words

One aspect of that beauty is highlighted in verse 2: Grace is poured upon Your lips.

Do you remember that Luke tells us in ch. 4 that Jesus, after His temptation, went back to His hometown of Nazareth. He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and He was asked to take part in the service.

He read from Isaiah 61:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,” (Isaiah 61:1–2, NASB95).

After reading this, He rolled the scroll up, returned it, and sat down. All eyes were fixed on Him.

“And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”” (Luke 4:21–22, NASB95).

Even His enemies:

“The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”” (John 7:46, NASB95).

Think of all the gracious words that proceeded out of the mouth of Christ:

““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” (Matthew 5:3–11, NASB95).

Think of the gracious words He spoke in John’s gospel:

“I am the door…”

“I am the bread of life”

“I am the good shepherd”

“I am the true vine”

“I am the way, the truth and the life…”

“Let not your hearts be troubled…”

How easy to take them for granted!

EVERY word that Christ spoke, full of grace.

C. Forever Blessed

Then,

Therefore God has blessed You forever.”

That can have two meanings:

1) because God has blessed you forever, You are fairer than the sons of men

2) because you are fairer that the sons of men, God has blessed you forever…

AND, they are both true!

Here is the One who has been blessed of God from all eternity. That is what He read from Isaiah 61:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted;” (Isaiah 61:1–2, NASB95).

The blessing of God was upon Him, from eternity. That anointing was the thing that made Him beautiful.

BUT, He is also being blessed by God to all eternity.

“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,” (Philippians 2:9, NASB95).

WHO? the Lord Jesus Christ!

The One who has been blessed from all eternity is being blessed to all eternity.

He was under the blessing of God during His time on earth.

Remember at His baptism,

“and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”” (Matthew 3:17, NASB95).

And His transfiguration,

“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”” (Matthew 17:5, NASB95).

Here is the Father looking upon Him, delighting in Him, blessing Him for the beauty of His person. The Father sees every aspect of His humanity in all of its beauty and glory, its perfect obedience, His absolute sinlessness, and the Father looks upon Him and blesses Him: “This is My beloved Son

Not everyone sees Him like that.

There are millions who do not see anything attractive about Christ Jesus, and they wonder what the Christian sees in Him.

William Wilberforce…friend of William Pitt, who was the Prime Minister. Wilberforce wanted very much to win Pitt to Christ, and invited him to come to church with him. Wilberforce listened, and as he listened, he prayed that God would speak to William Pitt. Wilberforce said that his own heart was moved as he listened to the gospel. At the end of the service, they went outside, and William Pitt turned to him and said, “Wilberforce, I could not understand a word that man was speaking about.”

The world cannot see the beauty of Christ. They make caricatures of Him. They use His name as a blasphemy. They make horrible movies maligning His character; they write books that misrepresent Him, because they do not see any beauty about Him.

Isaiah said,

“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:1–3, NASB95).

Who wants to be friendly with a man of sorrows? That is how the unregenerate heart feels about Him. BUT, that is not how God feels about Him. Therefore God has blessed You forever.”

It is not how the psalmist feels about Him. He says, to me, “You are fairer than the sons of men.” (Psalm 45:2, NASB95).

And, that is not how the believer feels about Him. “to you who believe, He is precious,”” (1 Peter 2:7, NKJV).

To us, He is the altogether lovely One. He is the fairest of ten thousand to our soul, because he has loved us, and He has given Himself for us.

If you do not know Christ, then you do not know how believers feel about Christ, about the death of Christ, and about what Christ has done for us.

And when we know what Christ has done for us, the filth and the degradation that He has saved us from, that He has washed us and cleansed us, and made us His own…that is why we love Him!

He is to us the altogether lovely one, and we rejoice in Him.

II. The greatness of His power (3-5)

Here is a description of the strength of this warrior King. So, the combination of His beauty and the perfection of warrior strength.

The psalmist is giving us a picture of the royal bridegroom riding forth into battle:

“Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, In Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; Let Your right hand teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under You; Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies. (Psalm 45:3–5, NASB95).

Why is this bridegroom riding into battle?

To redeem His own bride!

A. His Strength

That is another aspect of the person of Christ that we must adore Him for.

There are many who profess to know Christ. We have to ask, what kind of Christ do you believe in?

It is possible to have a defective, or distorted view of Christ.

When a person or church gives a one-sided emphasis to any attribute of Christ, you end up with a distorted picture.

He is gentle; He is meek; He is mild. Praise God that He is. Where would any of us be if He were not?

But He is more than that!. He is the mighty God! He is the one in the Revelation,

“His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” (Revelation 1:15–16, NASB95).

He is the God of might; of majesty; of glory.

He is glorious in Himself; He is glorious in all of His attributes; He is glorious in all His works; He is glorious in all of His ways.

That is the Lord Jesus Christ.

B. His weapons

Notice in vs 4, For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness

These are the things for which He fights, and by which He fights.

1. Sword

His weapons are mentioned in vs. 3:

“Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, In Your splendor and Your majesty!” (Psalm 45:3, NASB95).

This sword is none other than the Word of God. “And take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17, NASB95).

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, NASB95).

In the Revelation, Jesus describes Himself to the church at Pergamum as being ”The One who has the sharp two-edged sword” (Revelation 2:12, NASB95),

and He warns some of the people in that church that if they had better “repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.” (Revelation 2:16, NASB95).

2. Arrows

In verse 4, He is also armed with arrows. They are the work of the Holy Spirit who applies the Word of God to the hearts of people. It is His work to take the Word of God, and like an arrow, pierce your heart.

This glorious King fights!

And He engages in this warfare whereby He defeats His enemies and wins His own chosen bride to Himself.

C. The Effectiveness of His warfare

Notice the end of vs. 4:

“Let Your right hand teach You awesome things.” (Psalm 45:4, NASB95). The idea is that the effects of His going to war will be terrible things.

Think of some of the terrible things that have already taken place in the past in this warfare that Christ is engaged in:

Remember that the history of the Bible is the history of redemption, so that when you read of that cataclysmic flood in the book of Genesis, you are reading of some of the awesome things that God has done in the history of redemption.

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Plagues of Egypt

Destruction of Sennacherib

Fall of Jerusalem….Emperors/Empires

Surely, you, of all people, should be able to say that God is at work, and He has sounded forth the trumpet, and will never sound retreat. He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.

Our God is a God who is marching on, a great warrior King, rescuing His chosen bride.

Not all men see Him like this.

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1–2, NASB95).

BUT, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1, NASB95).

We can look at God’s handiwork, but the fool says, “No, God.”

But He is the great warrior King. He is working out His purposes in history. Even in the garden of Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood, He is still the great warrior King.

And when you see Him standing before Pilate, He is the King of kings.

When you see Him taken outside of Jerusalem and nailed to the cross, suspended between heaven and earth, remember!, He is the Prince of Glory dying, and He is just as much the warrior King as ever He was. He is the Great Warrior King.

And on that cross, and by that cross, He is defeating all His enemies.

He is defeating

Death

Hell

The Devil

Sin

He is doing it by employing His weapons of “truth and meekness and righteousness.” (Psalm 45:4, NASB95).

By that cross, untold millions have fallen down, conquered by Him, giving their lives to Him. It is there that the Kingdom of this great God is established in the hearts of men.

Do you see Him like that?

One thief do not see Him like that, even as the other did.

He is the King over all kings. AND everyone who has ever lived will bow before Him and recognize Him for who He is, and they will see Him in His glorious appearing. All of His enemies will fall beneath Him, and He will tread the winepress of the fierceness of His wrath.

“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” (Psalm 2:12, NKJV).

“And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”” (Matthew 21:44, NKJV).

Do you see Him? This great warrior King? He is the same One who is the gentle Jesus, meek and mild.

The beauty of His person, the greatness of His power,

III. The splendor of His kingdom (6-9)

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.” (Psalm 45:6–9, NASB95).

What is that Kingdom?

Remember when John the Baptist came on the scene? What was his message? ““Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”” (Matthew 3:2, NASB95).

When Jesus entered into His public ministry, what was the first thing that He preached? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”” (Matthew 4:17, NASB95).

When he spoke to Nicodemus, “ “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”” (John 3:3, NASB95).

To the Pharisees, “the kingdom of God is in your midst.”” (Luke 17:21, NASB95).

Paul writes to believers in Colossae and says that they have been “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” (Colossians 1:13, NASB95).

To be born again is to be born again into God’s kingdom. It means that you have the kingdom of God set up within you. So that the church of Christ constitutes the kingdom of God. It is Christ’s kingdom because Christ is God. He rules over all His people, corporately, individually, and collectively, so that we can say, “He is our King.”

As Americans, we live as citizens in a constitutional republic, or a representative democracy.

But as Christians, we live as subjects in a monarchy.

A. An Eternal Kingdom

In vs. 6, the psalmist declares that this is an eternal kingdom., “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8, NASB95).

““And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14, NASB95).

“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”” (Revelation 11:15, NASB95).

What is all of this saying? All the kings and kingdoms of this world are temporary. They are passing away. But the Kingdom of God is eternal. It is forever.

Where is the Babylonian Empire today? Where is the Persian Empire? Where is the Assyrian Empire? Greek? Roman? French? British?

Everything in this world changes. But He is always the same, yesterday, today, and forever!

He rules throughout all the worlds and throughout all time.

The day will come when America will end. But the Kingdom of God will endure.

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;” (Psalm 45:6, NASB95).

How does that affect how you live today? How you will approach tomorrow? The election and its aftermath?

What if your man does not win? God still reigns!

God’s kingdom is not only eternal, but it is also

B. A Righteous Kingdom

A scepter is a symbol of rule; it is a symbol of authority. So, what is the psalmist saying? He is saying the rule of Christ, the authority of Christ is one of justice, righteousness. King Jesus is no tyrant. His rule is not arbitrary. He rules according to His own character.

HE is righteous, therefore, His rule is righteous!

HE never makes a mistake. He never is guilty of a miscarriage of justice.

He does only that which is right and true.

As Abraham said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”” (Genesis 18:25, NKJV).

Hold on to that! No matter what happens, He hasn’t changed!

He is the great warrior King in this battle against wickedness and for righteousness.

You will never see righteousness more clearly than you see it in Him. He is righteous.

He so loves righteousness that He poured out His blood at Calvary to make us righteous. He hated wickedness so much that He went to Calvary to deal with our wickedness.

When you hear that His is a scepter of uprightness, do you rejoice?

C. A Glorious Kingdom

1. Glorious because Christ is the center of it.

2. Glorious because of those who surround Him.

1. Glorious because Christ is the center of it.

“Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.” (Psalm 45:7–9, NASB95).

Notice the word “therefore.” Because Christ has labored in righteousness, He has been anointed with the oil of joy.

He is the One upon whom the Father looks with the greatest pleasure. The Father’s delight is upon Him, so that God has poured the oil of gladness on our Great High Priest, and it runs down to the very hem of His garments. The Spirit of God has rested upon Him without measure, so that although He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, He is also the One who is crowned with glory and honor, and with gladness.

This gladness is a joy above all His fellows. He has received something that is above all other beings. He is superior to the angels. He is superior to priests, to Moses, to the prophets. He is the Lamb upon the throne, and everything in the universe receives its glory from Him.

He is the brightness of the Father’s glory. He bears the very stamp of God in His being. This glorious One is the center of heaven’s glory.

The King there in his beauty without a veil is seen; it were a well-spent journey, though sev'n deaths lay between: the Lamb with his fair army doth on Mount Zion stand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.

--Rutherford

Christ is the center of that glory.

“They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; They will enter into the King’s palace.” (Psalm 45:15, NASB95).

2. Glorious because of those who surround Him.

None of us will be as glad and joyous in our work as Christ was in His, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. He has redeemed to Himself a people in whom He delights.

Now, we cannot conceive the gladness in the heart of Christ that He has for His own. He looks upon His own Bride and He see them, remembering what they used to be, what you might have been if He had never redeemed you, but also knowing what you will be when He has transformed you into His own likeness.

You will then add to His glory!

“All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.” (Psalm 45:8, NASB95).

Hard verse, but the idea seems to be that the king’s garments have been infused with the fragrances of these ointments.

Applied to Christ, He comes from heaven, anointed by God, and the fragrance of heaven, or this anointing, are smelled by those around Him, and the aroma makes them glad.

OR, a reference to believers, whose lives have been made a sweet aroma…making His heart glad.

“Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.” (Psalm 45:9, NASB95).

Reference to believers, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, bought by their redeemer at great cost, standing in this glorious kingdom, in relation to Him. They are there in the place of highest honor.

This bride contributes to the glory of the Kingdom. (Trophies of grace!)

They are not concerned with their own beauty, their own dress (which has been given to them), but they are rejoicing in Him.

Do you have these wedding clothes? The righteousness of Christ? What a wonderful privilege! Yet, as much as you rejoice in that, do you not rejoice in Christ more?

Do you see Christ this way? Beautiful in His person? Great in His power? Possessing a kingdom of splendor, because of the splendor of the King?

If you do not, it is only because you have yet to see HIM.

““Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22, NKJV).

Christian, does the sight of Him lead you to feel that you are” in heaven, before” you have actually arrived?

Is heaven in you, though you are not yet in heaven? Are you studying and looking often to Christ?

Remember that the writer of Hebrews quotes this Psalm?

“But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”” (Hebrews 1:8–9, NKJV).

Later, the same NT writer gives us a command for when you are feeling weary in the Christian life, or when you feel that you want to give up, wondering if it is worth it, you are feeling tired in the Christian life, the apostolic injunction is to “consider Him.”

Lest you become weary and faint. Look to Christ. Look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy… in the light of that, he says, lift up your hands that hang down, strengthen your feeble knees, make a straight path for your feet, and keep on going… Looking unto Jesus.

It is always a good thing to be thinking about Christ. The more you think about Him, the more you will think of Him.

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