Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 3 (1)
Pray Psalm 45.1, 2.
My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
You are fairer than the sons of men;
Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
Sing Psalm 45.1, 2.
(Manoah: When All Your Mercies, O My God)
O my heart, let now a pleasing theme overflow to praise the LORD.
My song I pledge to You, my King, and dedicate my words.
You of all men are the fairest, LORD, and Your lips are flush with grace;
thus God has blessed You evermore before His holy face.
Read Psalm 45.1-17; meditate on verses 3-9.
Preparation
1. How can you see that the LORD’s King is a mighty warrior?
2. What do we learn about His throne?
Meditation
Psalm 45 is a study in contrasts but focuses on life in the Kingdom under the Lord’s scepter of uprightness (v. 6). The writer of Hebrews alerts us to the fact that this psalm also points right at Jesus (Heb. 1.8, 9).
On the one hand we glimpse the state of the Kingdom “beyond the veil,” where Christ rules in perfect peace, beauty, righteousness, and glory. His Bride is being prepared alongside Him amid splendor, pleasing fragrances, and delightful music. Gladness prevails under the gracious rule of King Jesus.
On the other hand, the King must go forth to battle each day (vv. 3-5), advancing His rule on earth as it is in heaven by wielding His sword (Rev. 6.1, 2) and launching arrows against His foes—the Word of truth and the Gospel of the Kingdom, deployed in the Spirit by the Church.
He calls His Bride out of the world and commands her to hear His Word and leave everything behind to prepare for being united with Him (vv. 10-16). She will know blessing and prosperity from and among the nations as she does so, rejoicing in the joy of the eternal Kingdom and Presence of her Lord.
Meanwhile, He establishes rulers upon earth to continue the progress of His Kingdom for the generations to come (v. 16). The message to us who remain is thus clear: Hear the Word of the Lord and let nothing hinder you from seeking to bring His rule more fully to bear in your life and on earth, as it is in heaven. We must work to leave a legacy of faithful followers of Jesus who will continue our work of making the Name of Jesus known and remembered in all generations (v. 17).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
One of the myriad joys of belonging to God is that every day is a worship day inside His Kingdom—on earth and in heaven. And within our portion of it, our Personal Mission Field, we are tasked with making known the Good News, the Goodest News of all time, to those who reside there. It begins with our families and works its way out into broader places (Acts 1.8).
The Beautiful King, of this Kingdom, is none other than Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior. It is to Him that our heart “overflows with a good theme…”
“You are fairer than the sons of men;
Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever” (Ps. 45.1, 2).
Night had fallen, and we were visiting around my dad’s hospital bed. Before the time of our departure arrived, he said with a smile: “Let’s sing!” And with that announcement, he began singing with his lovely deep voice:
Fairest Lord Jesus! Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son!
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!
Beautiful Savior! Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!
We joined our voices together in worship to our beautiful Savior.
We hugged and kissed Poppa good night. A few hours later, God took him home.
Our last hour together had been spent in praise and adoration for the Ruler of all nature.
“We must work to leave a legacy of faithful followers of Jesus
who will continue our work of making the Name of Jesus known
and remembered in all generations.”
When we at last Your palace gain, and others take our place,
Then let our children with You reign, a legacy of grace.
(Psalm 45.16, 17 The Ailbe Psalter)
Our work, worship, and words—our as you are going witness and legacy of grace—
takes place every moment of every day. And our beautiful Savior accompanies us throughout it all.
“For where two or three are gathered together in My Name,
I AM there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18.20).
Reflection
1. Are you keeping up with the work of your Personal Mission Field? What opportunities will you have today to talk about our beautiful Savior?
2. Are you conscious of leaving a legacy of Jesus followers? Do you pray that the Lord will empower you to do this? How will you encourage the people in that legacy today?
3. When you pray, how do you “see” our beautiful Savior? Where is He? What is He like? How does He look upon you?
All other people, you see, exercise royal power by making war so as to gain cities or wealth, or because of enmities or vainglory. God, by contrast, acts not for any of these things but for the sake of truth, to plant it on earth; and for the sake of gentleness, to make those who are more savage than wild beasts become gentle; and for the sake of righteousness, to make those who are in thrall to lawlessness become righteous, first from grace, and second from good deeds. John Chrysostom (344-407), Commentary on the Psalms 45.6
Pray Psalm 45.10-15.
Pray that the Lord will form you more completely into the beauty of Jesus, and that He will enable you to bring many others with you into His Kingdom and glory. Pray that He will make you mindful of your legacy for Him, and that He will enable you to add to that legacy today.
Sing Psalm 45.10-15.
(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.
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
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, 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.
