A Love Song

September 02, 2021

Do you see yourself as the beloved?

A Love Song

“Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” – Psalm 45:7

Certainly, this psalm is a love song. It could be to a king, about a king, or celebrating a king, but more credence is given to it being about the main king: King Jesus.

“The birth of Christ is the arrival of the great warrior and the great king. Also of the Lover, the Bridegroom, whose beauty surpasses that of man. But not only the Bridegroom as the lover, the desired; the Bridegroom also who makes fruitful, the Father of children still to be begotten and born.” These are the words of C.S. Lewis about this psalm.

Looked at in this manner, one can understand how Lewis attributed it to the coming of the Christ child. He would have been the one blessed forever by God. Jesus, whose life projected the grace of God, is the mighty king. Hebrew 1:8-9 quotes these lines about the Son of God:

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the 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 gladness beyond your companions.”

The author of Hebrews recognized in Jesus the fulfillment of God’s promises in Psalm 45.

The Israelites who read this Psalm would also have been thinking of a coming king, the one they expected to come and deliver them. This king would make everything right; he would meet all their needs.

John, in his Gospel, also recognized that Psalm 45 testified to Jesus: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The psalm is also about the response of the beloved. We, the people of God are the beloved. The Old Testament scriptures understood Israel to be the bride of God. In the New Testament, the church takes that position. What does this mean for the church? We, the members of the church are invited into this love poem. The king’s passion is for us! Our response is to bow down and worship him.

The psalm invites us into relationship in a deep and meaningful way. The king has come, and we are welcomed into his presence. We are invited to spend time with him. Our prayer time and quiet time bring us into God’s presence. We realize ourselves more and more as the beloved, the ones for whom Jesus came and gave his life.

Reflection:
What part of this Psalm most intrigues you? Can you experience yourself in his presence? Do you see yourself as the beloved? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Related Resource:

Let's face it, the Christian life is hard. Relationships take work. Christians forget. Sometimes it is tempting to go back to the days when God was not the center of our lives - to backslide. We are all faced with tremendous pressures to drift away from intimacy with Jesus and the community of the Church. However, the Lord invites us to pay attention, to move forward, to draw near, and to live lives of worship. Draw Near: Hebrews on Christian Worship is a small group Bible study on the Book of Hebrews intended to lead participants into a deeper intimacy with the Living God in the context of New Testament worship. Draw nearer to God in authentic worship today!