Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“. . . so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty.”
Psalm 45:11
According to the author of Hebrews (1:8-9), the prophet was speaking to the Son in Psalm 45 when he said, “Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of righteousness. You have loved righteousness; you have hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
The Son being the subject of that Psalm, the prophet David is shown to have revealed a precious secret to us in verses 10-11, for he told us what we can do to win favor with the Son of God, our king. And inasmuch as Solomon said, “In the king’s favor is life”, to find favor with the eternal King of kings must mean to find life eternal!
David told us that if we would have the king’s favor, if we would have Christ Jesus desire us and choose us to be “the bride of Christ” at his return, then we need only make a choice. That choice we must make is simply to choose his Father and his family over our own: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear. Forget your own people, and your father’s house. So shall the king greatly desire your beauty, for he is your Lord; and worship him.”
When Jesus asked the question, “Who is my mother, my brothers, and my sisters?”, people did not know what to say. They all knew Mary, his mother, and they knew his earthly brothers and sisters. Or did they? I don’t think so, for his brothers did not believe in him (Jn. 7:1-5), and Jesus explained that his real mother and brothers and sisters were those who heard and obeyed the will of God, his heavenly Father. So, if we want favor with Christ Jesus, if we want him to choose us for his bride, then we will feel in our hearts the same thing Jesus felt about who our real family is.
If God’s children follow Jesus’s example in nothing but in making this one choice, they will be hated and persecuted by all men. But if they do as Christ did, and choose the Father and the Father’s family over their own, they will win great favor with the king, and he will greatly desire the beauty of holiness that will adorn their lives.