The King in His Glory (5)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 45.15
With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
They shall enter the King’s palace.

Sing Psalm 45.10-12
(Manoah: When All Your Mercies, O My God)
Let none keep us from hearing You; desire our beauty, Lord!
We bow, submitting humbly to Your ever-faithful Word.

Read Psalm 45.13-15

Preparation
1. How do these verses teach us to think about those who dwell with the King?

2. What attitude characterizes them?

Meditation
The dwelling place of the King is characterized by gladness and rejoicing (v. 15). Joy is the consequence of being conveyed into the Kingdom of God’s Son (Rom. 14.17, 18; Col. 1.13). And why not? His is a Kingdom of righteousness, leading to unshakeable peace. Our King is all-beautiful and all-powerful and all-loving. No wonder joy is the defining motif of His palace.

The queen is here referred to as “royal daughter” (v. 13). She enters the glory of the Lord in clothing “woven with gold” – thus, not purely or exclusively of gold. This perhaps reflects the state of our salvation at any time. We are clothed with gold, but not as purely or completely as we will be when we finally and fully enter the glory of the Lord’s eternal dwelling place.

Before the royal daughter can be presented to the King, her “clothing” (v. 13) is draped over with “robes of many colors” (v. 14). This recalls the rainbow of Genesis 9 and is thus symbolic of coming into God’s covenant, where He covers us with His promises and love. The many-colored robes also speak of the King’s special love for His queen, as Jacob demonstrated toward Joseph (Gen. 37.3). God’s covenant love covers all the imperfections of His chosen ones and binds us to Him forever.

The “virgins, her companions who follow her”, are the queen’s attendants. They symbolize all who, as part of the queen’s entourage, are welcomed into the palace of the King – all believers who serve the King by working to build His Church (Matt. 16.18; Eph. 4.11-16).

While the sons of Korah were reporting on actual events of their day, they also provided rich symbols and types to guide us in thinking about our relationship to Jesus and His dwelling place, the Church.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace…” (Ps. 45.13). She is safe and secure with the King.

Who doesn’t like to feel safe and secure at home?
Think of a cold winter day and you are all snuggled up with a warm blanket.
Perhaps a pot of savory soup is simmering on the stovetop, and bread is baking in the oven.
Your family is there with you, and there is no bickering or confusion.
Love infused into all aspects of everyone’s being.
Okay, use your imagination.
Alas, there is somewhere that we envision calm and quiet. Peace. Safety. And security.

God wants us to feel that way with Him. As the bride of Christ, we have full access to His home and realm. We are seated together with Him in the heavenly places. (Eph. 2.6)
We love our husband, the King, and we understand what pleases Him because we know His mind (1 Cor. 2.16).
We should have as little desire for the world (things contrary to Him) as a dead person does. Our real life is in heaven with Him and God (Col. 3.3 TLB).
We will want to stay as close to Him as possible, staying within the boundaries of His Kingdom where His love can reach and bless us (Jude 1.24 TLB).

It is indeed glorious in His household.
This house that He has prepared for us.
He even said, “Where I am, there you will be too.”
And if that wasn’t the truth, He wouldn’t have said it. (Jn. 14.2, 3)

Glorious!

Reflection
1. As believers, we are in Christ. He is our dwelling place. How should this affect our daily lives?

2. As believers, we have Christ in us, in everything we do, all the time. How should this affect our daily lives?

3. As believers, Jesus Christ is preparing an eternal dwelling place for us with Him in glory. How should this affect our daily lives?

Such as strictly cleave to Christ, loving him in singleness of heart, are companions of the bride, who partake of the very same grace, enjoy the same privileges, and share in one common salvation. These, every one, shall be brought to the King; not one lost or left behind. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 45.10-17
 
Closing Prayer: Psalm 45.9-15
Pray for your church, and for all the Lord’s churches, that they might be revived and made beautiful in righteousness and rejoicing.

Sing Psalm 45.9-15
(Manoah: When All Your Mercies, O My God)
In gold the queen at Your right hand, with princesses around,
resplendent with You takes her stand while glories great abound.

Let none keep us from hearing You; desire our beauty, Lord!
We bow, submitting humbly to Your ever-faithful Word.

The Church in robes of woven gold assembles to the King.
With joy complete and gladness bold His praise she e’er shall sing.

T. M. and Susie Moore

You can listen to our summary of last week’s study by clicking here.

Praying the Psalms
In this series, we are examining twelve psalms, learning their content, drawing on their wisdom, and praying and singing them to the Lord. For a fuller explanation of how to pray the psalms, order a copy of our book, God’s Prayer Program. It’s free by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.