Readings:Psalms 45 (text); Hebrews 1:8-9; Ephesians 5:25-27
August 23, 2015 • Download this sermon (PDF)
Congregation of Christ: July 29, 1981 was a memorable day for 750 million people around the world. On this day, the “wedding of the century” took place: the wedding of Prince Charles, heir to the throne of England, and Lady Diana Spencer. It was a pompous and ostentatious event. The bride wore an ivory taffeta and antique lace gown decorated with 10,000 tiny mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls. Both her train and veil were 25 feet long. Prince Charles was in his full regalia and uniform of a naval commander. Lady Diana walked to the altar to the music “Prince of Denmark’s March” instead of the familiar wedding march music, Wagner’s “Bridal March” or Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March.” Her recessional was to Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.”
But this “fairy tale wedding” ended sadly and tragically. The royal couple divorced in 1996, and a year later, she died in a car crash in Paris. There is no such thing as a “fairy tale wedding” where the story ends in “and they lived happily ever after.” Even the “happy ever-aftering” in Camelot ended in tragedy.
Our text today is a perfect wedding song for a real, perfect wedding, in contrast to this royal “wedding of the century.” As the title says, Psalm 45 is a “love song” for the wedding of a king and his bride who will “live happily ever after” because it is also a description of a future wedding between our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church. In contrast to many marriages today that end in divorce, our King’s marriage to his Bride will be perfect and will last for eternity.
Psalm 45 was originally composed by the psalmist to celebrate the wedding of a king in David’s line, but we do not know which king. The psalmist says, “I address my verses to the king.” To be sure, the marriages of David and the kings after him were not perfect, since most of these kings were wicked. And many of them also ended tragically, including the marriage of David’s own son, King Solomon who took for himself 700 pagan wives.
In this psalm, both the king and his bride were described with overflowing praise, wonder and adoration. And in the end, all the nations of the earth will also praise this King. So our theme today, then, is “The Perfect Song for the Perfect Royal Wedding” in three headings: first, A Song for the Fairest, Majestic and Just King;second, A Song for the Beautiful Princess Bride; and third, A Song of All Nations Praising the King.
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