time. All right? And this, what we read about, is the wedding of the Lord Jesus Christ to the church, the bride. And look what he says in verse 1. He said, My heart is indicting a good matter. This is, I think, one of the only times this word is used in Scripture. And what it means is it's boiling over. Something is pressing on me. Something is so alive in my heart that it's coming out. Now, I don't know how much you have meditated or thought about this moment that's going to happen. But when you look at the calendar that the Lord has laid out, this is one of the pinnacles, the mountain peaks of prophecy. This is one of the most important events that is going to take place in the future. And it involves our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. But look what he goes on to say. My heart, it's boiling over, it's indicting a good matter. This is good. And meditating on this is good and makes your heart rejoice. He said, I speak of the things which I have made touching the king. He said, I've been in fellowship with God. I've touched the Lord. And this is what came from my time with the Lord. Look what he says. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. So you know who wrote this psalm? And actually who wrote the whole Bible? God did. God wrote the Bible, but holy men of God spake as they were moved. by the Holy Ghost, and you see how that happens. I touched the Lord, I've been with him, and what I have here, what I have made, comes from God. And it's a good thing. So what happened is when he got together with the Lord, God pressed this subject on his heart. And he said, man, this is good. This is glorious, and it is a wedding song. It's a royal wedding song, about the Lord and what's going to happen to the church in heaven at the end of the tribulation when Jesus Christ, right before He comes back to judge and take over the earth and rule with the church for a thousand years. You know why this is so important? Why is this moment so important to God? It's because this is the moment that Jesus Christ receives what he died for. In perfection, in completion. It's the moment that he receives what he died for. It's the moment that displays the glory that he earned. And it publicly vindicates the Lord Jesus Christ before all heaven and earth. And it's right before he descends with the bride and takes possession of what belongs to him. And if you're saved, you're gonna be part of that. And it's where we're going to enter into a partnership with the Lord that is public, and it's our commissioning. when we rule with Christ and reign with him for 1,000 years. So this is our wedding plan. Now, let me help you men out with something here, okay? Because when a man hears that he's going to marry Jesus, he's like, you know, this, This doesn't sound that good. Like, how is this the most, this is weird. Well, in the Bible, when it's talking about marriage, remember, in heaven, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God which are in heaven. So what is this about? You know, in the ancient culture, a lot of times, marriage or the symbol of marriage was about joining two families together. Joining two dynasties together, joining two kingdoms together. And God originally made Adam the king of the world, didn't he? And he was the king of heaven. And how was he going to rule the world? Through his partnership with Adam. And guess what? The Lord is going to seal that partnership in heaven forever, and then the kingdom of heaven is going to come down to earth, and the dynasties are going to be put together, and we're going to jointly rule this world with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so don't think about it in femininity or the terms that we would think about a marriage on earth. It's about taking on his name. It's about a joint mission. It's about a joint inheritance. Okay? And so maybe that will help you as we go through this. You know, the Bible says in Revelation 19 it caused the bride his army. So we think of it in terms of the army. This is the Lord joining his army, and he comes down, and the armies of heaven, which are his bride, follow him. And they bring the reign of heaven down to earth. And how do we know this is talking about Jesus Christ? Look at verses five and six. Psalm 45, five and six, it says, Or six and seven, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a scepter of righteousness. Thou hast loved righteousness and hadest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Now if you'll keep your hand here and you'll look at Hebrews chapter one, Hebrews chapter one, I want you to know that the apostle Paul in the book of Hebrews connects this to the Son, to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're gonna see that here because I want you to know that I'm not making this up. The Bible connects this to the Son. So in verse eight, Hebrews chapter one in verse eight, but unto the Son he saith, thy throne, you see it? Oh God, it is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Look at verse nine. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. So do you see here how this is talking about the Son? It's talking about Jesus Christ. He's the king here. that marries his bride, which is the church. And notice what it says in Psalm 45 in verse six. Thy throne, O God. Okay? So God the Father calls God the Son, God. So that is also, you see here, a reference to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. All right? So this is where history is heading. And if this is Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is inviting us to take a look and consider some things here that should make our heart boil over. That should make our heart rejoice. And so the first thing He wants us to consider here, and I have point number one here, is we should consider the bridegroom. So Jesus is the bridegroom. And if we are going to be joined, if we are going to marry the Lord Jesus Christ, we should consider who that is. And so look at verse 2. This is what God says about His Son. Thou art fairer than the children of men. God is pleased with His Son. And if you're in his son, guess what, he's pleased with you. Because remember, the way God sees me is only because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou art fairer than the children of men. When I read that, you know what I hear? This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. You know, I was in a, San Antonio has a section that's like the Middle East, and I went to a store there, and it said, Allah, great and merciful, he is neither begotten nor begetteth. Jesus is the only begotten son. And through him, you and I can become sons of God. And I'm thankful that God has a son. And you and me are made sons and daughters of the living God through Jesus Christ. So when God looks down at the bridegroom, he says, thou art fairer than the children of men. He's the best. He's the best. Head and shoulders above everybody. And he says, grace is poured into thy lips. Therefore, God hath blessed thee forever. Jesus is blessed forever. And if you're connected to him, he's blessed forever. God poured grace into his lips. And that grace came out in the words that he preached to us, that he gave us when he was here. And by the way, if we put more grace into people, Maybe more grace will come out. Therefore God hath blessed thee forever. You know, he's the greatest leader, the greatest commander, the greatest world, the groom the world has ever seen and ever will see. And if we're entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, we're entering into one with the greatest ever. You're not settling. You know how sometimes you go to a wedding and you're like, I hope it turns out okay. You know, she's really taking a chance there. I hope everything falls the way she wants to, but I'm not putting any money on it. Nobody will say that at this wedding. Will will look at our commander, our leader, our lord, the bridegroom, and we will say, I am joining with the greatest leader ever. We will say, you know what we'll say? You know, sometimes if you have a good marriage, you look at your wife and you're like, I won. I won, you know? Life is a game where you try to go get the best person and bring them home, and I won! And when we see the Lord Jesus Christ, you know what we say? We won. How in the world am I blessed to be a part of this? What a blessing. He's the fairer than the children of men. And it says, verse 3, gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty. He's the strongest. With thy glory and majesty, And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thy arrows are sharp in the heart of the king Zenobeam, whereby the people fall under thee." You know, this is like Revelation 19. He's clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And on His name is written the Word of God. And the armies of heaven, the church, the bride, follow Him upon white horses. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that He should smite the nations and rule them with a rod of iron. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. He said, I saw heaven open and a white horse. And him that sat upon him was called faithful and true. And it says, and righteousness does he judge and make war. And I'm telling you, the Lord's saying, son, get your sword ready. Saddle up. I want to see you go out with majesty. Your right hand. Your arrows, your right hand is the position of power, strength, and authority in the Bible. And never was there a groom that was so majestic. Never were there a commander, you know, you can have the president step off of Air Force One, have the Blue Angels fly over and fireworks, and it won't hold a candle to when our bridegroom comes down out of heaven with the clouds and every eye looks upon Him. And He comes down and the armies of heaven follow Him. And He comes to meet the armies of the world. Never was there a leader so majestic. Consider the bridegroom this morning. His strength. And he said, verse 6, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Everything he does is right. You know, you're not going to join into a partnership with the Lord and then he's gonna be voted out one day. He's never gonna be removed from the throne. He's never gonna pass it to another. It's forever and ever. And that's what this wedding to the Lord Jesus Christ is about. It's about the church joining with the Lord in something that is permanent, that never fades, that is never taken away. Then look what he says here. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hatest wickedness. Therefore, God thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. You know, our bridegroom, the Lord, he's a happy one. He's not moody. It says in the next verse, all thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory places whereby they have made thee glad. So the myrrh is the sweetness, the aloes is the abundance, the cassia is the purity. Ivory places, that's the expensive places of heaven. He steps out of heaven with fragrance and it says, they have made thee glad. He anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. Why? Because he loved righteousness and hated wickedness. You know, Jesus is a joyful person. That shouldn't surprise us, should it? Because isn't one of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit joy? So, if you want to be more happy, the Lord said, I gave him the oil of gladness because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity. If you want to increase the joy in your life, maybe we should be more like Jesus and love righteousness and hate inequity. Because most of our sorrow comes because we don't love righteousness and hate wickedness. We hate being uncomfortable. We hate not getting we want. We hate not having our desires met. We love it when we get those things, but do we love righteousness and doing the right thing and what God wants us to do and hate wickedness? That is what increases gladness. And he comes out of the ivory places. It's a perfume of heaven that clings to the garments of the king. Oh, I'll tell you, the bride could not be more blessed with a bridegroom. Once you see how glorious he is, the next question is, who's standing beside a man like that? And so he turns the spotlight to the right hand of the king. And so number two, I want you to consider the bride. And so look here in verse 9, 45 in verse 9. The king's daughters were among thy honorable women. And upon thy right hand did stand the queen in the gold of Ophir." So, that means the king is surrounded by the daughters of other kings. The highest ranking ladies of earth. Look at verse 12, it says, the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift. Verse 14, she shall be brought unto the king in arraignment of needlework. The virgins, her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto thee. So what are these other people that are there? Well, these are the attendants. They're the honored guests. They represent nations and peoples. And they're the heavenly court that gathers at the wedding. Who are they? They're God's people throughout time. They're the redeemed Old Testament saints, which is not the church. They are the tribulation saints that are saved after the church is taken out. They're the people that come to the Lord during the millennium. But the church is only from Pentecost to the rapture. And everybody else is the attendants, the guests, the honorable guests at this wedding. And you know, the Bible says that the church was a mystery that was hid from the other ages. And it was something that was set apart. And Jesus talked about that in Matthew 25, about the parable of the virgins, and five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. And John the Baptist says, I'm not the bride, but I'm a friend of the bridegroom. And so, that's those other people, the guests that are invited there, and you'll see this theme throughout the Bible, but the bride is the queen. And it magnifies the glory of the Lord that all of these other attendants are in there. And then it says, upon thy right hand did stand the queen. That's the position of honor, authority, favor. And this is the bride. This is the New Testament church. This is you and I. This is the future of the glorified believer at the marriage of the Lamb. It says she stands in the gold of Ophir. Ophir gold was the purest, finest, rarest gold known in the ancient world. And it represents purity, glory, Beauty and dignity. This is the king that clothed his bride in the glory that he gives her. Remember in the prayer of John 17 when the Lord said, the glory that you've given me, I've given them? And you know, when I read this, I cannot fathom When I look at the church today, how are we the one that stands there at the right hand and the goat of Ophir and the Old Testament saints? They're the guests. Because I read the Bible and I don't know many men, any man that could hold a candle to Daniel. What a humbling thing. that we're gonna be here as the bride of Christ, the honored guest, but the only way that this is possible is that He clothes us in His glory. Because you and I all know in our heart that we don't deserve this position. It's given, it's granted, it's bestowed by the King of glory. Look at verse 13, the king of daughter is all glorious and her clothing is of wrought gold. That means it's beaten, it's been through the fire, and the hammer. It's not cheap gold, this is sanctuary gold. The gold that was hammered out and put on the mercy seat. It's holiness unto the Lord. And he weaves it into the garment. of his bride. In verse 14, she shall be brought unto the king in arraignment of needlework. The virgins and companions' followers shall be brought unto thee. She's dressed in the arraignment of needlework. And needlework, if you look it up, it was the thing that stood on the doorway of the tabernacle. It was the first step into God's house. was the needlework. And it was the gate into the courtyard where there was a worshiper first approached God. And it was a veil inside the sanctuary that guarded the inner presence of God. And it was on the high priest's garments that only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies. And the needlework clothed the servant of God that could go in there once a year. And every gateway to God's presence, and every approach to His holiness was layered by this needlework, needlework, needlework. And what it was, was the fabric of access to God. It's the material that marked the threshold of the entry between that which is common and that which is holy. And the bride is clothed in this. My bride will have access to me forever. And I don't think we should miss that. The same fabric that guarded that which was holy and sacred and access into the presence of God now closed the church as she comes there to be joined with the king. Number three, we need to consider the future. Look at verse 15. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought to thee. They shall enter the king's palace. This is gonna be the best day ever. Ever. With gladness and rejoicing. This is the crowning moment of history. When the king gets what he deserves. And with gladness and joy. Verse 16, instead of thy father shall be thy children, whom thou make as princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore shall the people praise thee forever. This is the administration of the millennium when Christ doesn't look to the old dynasty, but he appoints rulers that are his children, that serve under him in all the earth, not just Jerusalem, but all over the earth, and they're princes, royal delegates by the king. Who are these princes? They're you and I. They're God's people throughout the ages, where we rule with Christ for a thousand years. And he says in verse 17, I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore shall the people praise thee forever and ever. That's the promise that is given to Jesus Christ, the everlasting remembrance of the Messiah. universal recognition of who He is and His rightful place. And the New Testament says that His name is above every name. And at His name, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, the glory of all. And it says, therefore, shall the people praise Thee forever and ever. And that is the end of the story. All nations, All redeemed people, all generations, praising Christ forever, eternally. But I left one verse out, and I want you to look at this now. And lastly, I want you to consider the King's heart. Look at verse 10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thy ear. So he talks about the bridegroom, and he talks about the bride, and he says, oh daughter, listen, consider, my heart is indicting a good matter. In verse one, my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. I want you to listen, I want you to consider, I want you to incline your ear, this comes from God. Forget also thine own people and thy father's house. I want you, church, to forget about everything else. And I want you to look forward to this moment. God wrote this psalm before Jesus got here. He wrote this psalm before he created the church. That's how much he was looking forward to it. This is what's on God's mind. This is what he's looking forward to. Everybody looks forward to their wedding day. This is what the Lord looks forward to. And he says, I want you to forget about everything else and consider the moment when in heaven, before we come to this earth, we're gonna be joined with Christ forever and commissioned. And I want you to forget everything else. Because nothing is more important. You know, what the Bible says, it says, looking down to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame. What joy was He talking about? I'm going to join with a church one day. And the Kingdom of Heaven is going to come down to this earth. And this might be painful now, but it must be so. Because that's the only way. And you think about the love of the Lord. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. But look at the next verse here, in verse 11. So shall the king greatly, and look at this word, desire thy beauty. That's talking about you. That's talking about the church. The King shall greatly desire thy beauty, for He is thy Lord. You know, when a lot of people think about God, they think about a boss. Okay? I want you to do this, this, and this. Got it? Yes. Thank you. But when he walks away, they feel a sense of relief and freedom and they want him to make sure the paycheck is there and they have what they need, but they don't want to spend too much time with the boss. Or they think of him as like a divine vendor or provider. And hey, can I, I need some money, I'm gonna go with my friends here. Can I get some money? And whether you say yes or no, they're gonna leave either way. If you say, you know, hey, I appreciate you so much, and you know, I just, I really respect you, and I just need 20 bucks, can I have it? Yeah, here you go. Oh man, you need help with the trash? Let me go. We'll see you, thank you. No, you can't have it. You don't even care about me. And there's no way that you can answer the question where they just wanna, now that you gave me this $20, can we just, can we get some coffee together? I want to spend time with you. They just want something so they can leave. And many people, they talk to God because they want something, But as soon as they get it, they're, okay, bye, I'm gonna go enjoy what you gave me. But I don't wanna share it with you. But the king, he desires thy beauty. He desires that. He wants the queen. He wants the church. You know, God is not needy. The Bible says in Acts chapter 17, He's not worshiped with men's hands as though He needeth anything. And God is not needy and God is not weak, but the Holy Spirit believed that the best way that he could help the church understand how he feels about them is to give them the picture of love in a man desiring his wife. Her presence, her fellowship. That's the picture that he gives. God put that in the Bible. And you know, that means that when he came down, he came down to die and absorb the cost for the people that he loved so they could be with him. And what did man do? They pierced his heart. And you know, there's many verses in the Bible that show you this theme of unrequited love. If you'll go to Jeremiah chapter two. Jeremiah chapter two. And if you've ever loved somebody and never had that love reciprocated, and you had so much to give and that love was not reciprocated and that person did not want to share in that joy of mutual communion, but they were mad, they were distant, and no matter what you did to try to overcome the gap and close the distance, your love remains unrequited and unreciprocated. They don't find joy in loving you and spending time with you. And there's a deep longing and a deep ache. And look at what God says here in Jeremiah chapter two. He says, hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and families of the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord, what iniquity have your fathers found in me that they are gone far from me? and have walked after vanity and become vain. Look what he says in verse 13. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters and hewn out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Look at what he says in verse 32. Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Who do you think you are that you would withhold yourself from the living God that created you because he wants to have fellowship with you and he wants to talk to you and he wants to spend time with you and he created you with these abilities to communicate and relate so he could relate to you and you don't even have the presence of mind to say good morning. You don't even have the appreciation or desire, you can't find the desire The joy in meeting His desire. Who do you think you are? Who do I think I am that we could turn down the living God? Can you believe that God wants, it's just, God wants me. He desires time with me. The Bible says in Zephaniah 3.17 that He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. Look at Isaiah 62 in verse 3. Verse 4. 62 in verse 4. He says this, no more be termed forsaken. Neither shall thy land be any more termed desolate, but it shall be called Hephzibah, the delight of the Lord is what that means, and thy land Bila, for the Lord delighteth in who? And thy land shall be married for as a Young man, marry the virgin, so thy son shall marry thee. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so thy God shall rejoice over thee. Now go to Ephesians 5 in verse 25. We're landing the plane here. Ephesians 5, 25. And the Bible says here, husbands, love your wife. How? Even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Why? That He might sanctify it. And cleanse it with the washing of the water by the Word. That they might have a great life. Is that what it says? No. Look at verse 27. Why did He do this? That He might present it to who? To Himself. A glorious church. Not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. God saved us. He died for us. He shed his blood for us and he wants to sanctify us and wants to transform us to be like him. Why? Because one day, he wants his bride, the people that he joins with to rule this earth, to be without spot or blemish or anything. He doesn't want to settle. You know, Solomon was talking about prophetically and symbolically about the relationship between the bride of Christ and the Lord. And he said this, I am the rose of Sharon. The Lord said, the lily of the valleys. And it says, as a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. God wants to have a lily among thorns. So don't be the spouse that enjoys a clean house and salvation, but just selfishly lives and withholds their affection and their time from the One that paid for it all. You know, the cross should help us not to focus on ourself, but reveal the price that God was willing to pay to get what he desired, to have his creation back. Proverbs talks about wisdom personified, and it says, I was brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, Jesus, rejoicing always before him. Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delight, We're with the sons of men. You know, every time you're in a situation and you say, God, I need some wisdom for this, and He gives you wisdom, and you ask wisely, He delights in that. His delights are with the sons of men. So, you know Revelation 3.20, and go back to Psalm 45. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Remember when you were a kid and maybe this happened, your grandparents gave you money for your birthday. And because they came from a different generation, they were consistent. They did it every year. Happy birthday, here's so much money. And maybe at first you cared a lot about the money. And you, oh thanks, and you go do something with it. But as time went on, didn't you care more about them than what they gave you? And want to spend more time with them than you just cared about the gift? I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him. So, are you holding out for something better? Or have you given yourself to him? Let's read that verse again, Psalm 45, 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. That should just floor you. That should just do something to your soul to know that the king greatly desires your company, your time. And what is the proper response? Look after the colon. For he is thy God. How do you reciprocate that? And worship thou him. Have you responded to his desire for you by worshiping him? God, you are so good. You are the best. Lord, what do you want? You have to find the joy and meeting the desires of God. It is more blessed to give than to receive. And stop looking for the desire, looking for God to meet your desires and serve him by attempting and having a goal to meet God's desire. He greatly desires you, worship thou him. We're gonna pray and I have the piano player come forward. But what have you been doing with God's desire to spend time with you, to fellowship with you? Have you been doing it? Have you been finding joy in talking to him reading His Word and praying to Him and singing to Him and worshiping Him? Have you found your joy in giving yourself to the one that desires you? Are you still holding out, waiting for something better? Let's pray. If God spoke to your heart, God desires to meet with you right now. He desires you. He died to pay for you. To make it all possible. Lord, we continue to come before you this morning And I want to thank you for loving us, dying for us, paying the price, taking our sins, paying for all of them and washing them away and casting them as far as the east is from the west. And God, it is staggering to the mind to consider that you desire us. Lord, I pray father that we would find joy and sharing every moment with