So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord.
Parallel Translations
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So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord.
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So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
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(45-12) So shall the king desire thy beauty; for he is thy lord; and do homage unto him.
Cross-references (25)
Passages linked to Psalms 45:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 95:6 Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker,
- Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Armies is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of the whole earth.
- Song of Solomon 4:1-5 Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is as a flock of goats, that descend from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a newly shorn flock, which have come up from the washing, where every one of them has twins. None is bereaved among them. Your lips are like scarlet thread. Your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil. Your neck is like David’s tower built for an armory, on which a thousand shields hang, all the shields of the mighty men. Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe, which feed among the lilies.
- Zephaniah 3:17 Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.
- Philippians 2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Song of Solomon 1:8 If you don’t know, most beautiful among women, follow the tracks of the sheep. Graze your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents.
- Luke 24:52 They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
- Psalms 45:6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
- Philippians 3:8 Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
- Psalms 2:12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
- Song of Solomon 2:2 As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
- Song of Solomon 4:7 You are all beautiful, my love. There is no spot in you.
- Song of Solomon 4:9-10 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck. How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, the fragrance of your perfumes than all kinds of spices!
- Song of Solomon 6:4 You are beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
- Song of Solomon 7:1-10 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, prince’s daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a skillful workman. Your body is like a round goblet, no mixed wine is wanting. Your waist is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, that are twins of a roe. Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus. Your head on you is like Carmel. The hair of your head like purple. The king is held captive in its tresses. How beautiful and how pleasant you are, love, for delights! This, your stature, is like a palm tree, your breasts like its fruit. I said, “I will climb up into the palm tree. I will take hold of its fruit.” Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the smell of your breath like apples. Your mouth is like the best wine, that goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding through the lips of those who are asleep. I am my beloved’s. His desire is toward me.
- Isaiah 62:4-5 You will not be called Forsaken any more, nor will your land be called Desolate any more; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
- Jeremiah 23:5-6 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
- John 4:21-22 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.
- John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
- Acts 10:36 The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all—
- Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
- Song of Solomon 1:12-16 While the king sat at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh, that lies between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves. Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant; and our couch is verdant.
- Ephesians 5:26-27 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without defect.
- Song of Solomon 2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, let me see your face. let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
- Revelation 5:8-14 Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on the earth.” I saw, and I heard something like a voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. The number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!” I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!” The four living creatures said, “Amen!” Then the elders fell down and worshiped.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy…
Psa 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he [is] thy Lord; and worship thou him.
Ver. 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty] If thou deny thyself and forego all others to please him alone he shall set his whole heart upon thee, and be ravished with thy love, as Pro 5:19. How could that Persian lady’s husband do less than love her, who, having been at Cyrus’s wedding, and asked how she liked the bridegroom? Like him? said she, I know not how I like him; for I looked upon no man there but mine own husband. Aspasia Milesia was very dear to Cyrus, because she was καλη και σοφη, fair, and wise (Aelian).
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For he is thy Lord] And, therefore, not to be slighted by thee for his great love, as many of the Persian monarchs were (Ahasuerus, for instance), but reverenced and obeyed, as Augustus was by his wife Livia.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain So doing thou shalt be amiable and acceptable to…
So doing thou shalt be amiable and acceptable to thy Husband; which will abundantly recompense thee for the loss of thy father’s house.
He is thy Lord; as he is thy Husband, and also as he is thy King and God, as he was called, Psa 45:6. And this is added as a reason, not of the last words, why the King would desire her beauty, but of the advice given to her, Psa 45:10.
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Worship thou him; by which he implies that her Husband was no mere man, but God also, and therefore might be adored without any violation of that known and immutable precept of worshipping God only.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty,.... Which…
So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty,.... Which lies in the comeliness or righteousness of Christ put upon her; in the holiness of Christ reckoned to her; in being washed from all sin in the blood of Christ; in the graces of the Spirit being implanted in her, in which the beauty of holiness lies; in the salvation she is interested in, and beautified with; in enjoying the order and ordinance of Christ's house, and in having the presence of God and Christ with her: and this beauty is not natural, nor acquired by her, but what is given her; it is not an outward, but an inward beauty; nor is it fictitious, but real; it is perfect through the comeliness of her Lord upon her; and it is durable as the olive tree: and this is greatly desired by Christ, who delights in her, and to behold her countenance; seeks after her company, and will have her where he is, that she may behold his glory, and he may behold her beauty;
for he is thy Lord; not only by creation, but by redemption, and in right of marriage, as well as on account of other relations he stands in to her, as Father, Head, King, and Master; and it is her privilege that he is her Lord, as well as her duty to own the relation; since, though he is a sovereign Lord, he is no tyrannical one, but governs with gentleness, and he has all power to protect her, and all fulness to supply her wants; and on account of his being her Husband, Lord, and Head, he has a right of worship from her, as follows;
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and worship thou him; both internally, by the exercise of faith, hope, and love upon him; and externally, by praying to him, praising of him, and attending on all his ordinances, and doing everything in a religious way, in his name, according to his word, and by his authority; and such worship should be in spirit and in truth, in sincerity, and without hypocrisy, in righteousness and true holiness, and with reverence and godly fear.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain So - So thou shalt be acceptable to thy…
So - So thou shalt be acceptable to thy husband; which will abundantly recompence thee, for the loss of thy father's house. Thy Lord - As he is thy husband, and also as he is thy king, and God.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 45:11. So shall the king greatly desire thy…
Psa 45:11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty — So shalt thou be amiable in the eyes of thy husband, and truly acceptable and dear to him, who, having purchased and betrothed thee to himself, justly requires thy whole heart, thy undivided love; and his affection, and the complacency which he will take in thee, will abundantly recompense thee for the loss of thy father’s house. For he is thy Lord — As he is thy husband, and also as he is thy King and God, he is thy Lord, and justly claims thy unlimited service and adoration: therefore worship thou him — Not only submit to his government, but give him divine honours: worship him as God and Lord. Honour the Son, in obedience to the divine command, even as thou honourest the Father: nay, in honouring the Son thou wilt honour the Father: for if thou confess that Christ is Lord and pay thy homage to him accordingly, it will be to the glory of God the Father, Php 2:11.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty -…
So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty - That is, in consequence of your love to him, and your entire devotion of yourself to him. The word “desire” here is equivalent to having pleasure in; as meaning that his affliction would thus be fixed on her. In this way - by forgetting her own home, and devoting herself to him - she would secure his affection. In the married life, mere “beauty” will not secure permanently the love of a husband. The heart, as given to him, and as faithful to him, will alone secure his love. In like manner, it is nothing but sincere affection - true love on the part of the professed friends of the Saviour - the forgetting and forsaking of all else - that will secure his love, or make the church to him an object of desire.
For he is thy Lord - That is, as a husband he sustains this relation to thee; or, this appellation may be given to him. In what sense this is true in respect to a husband, see the notes at 1Pe 3:6; notes at 1Co 11:3. In respect to the Saviour, the dominion implied in the word “Lord” is absolute and entire.
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And worship thou him - That is, as applicable to a bride, Show him respect, honor, reverence. See the notes at Eph 5:33. The word means properly to bow down; then, to show respect, as to a superior; and then, to show proper respect to God, to wit, by worshipping or adoring him. See the notes at Mat 2:11; see Mat 8:2; Mat 14:33; Mat 15:25; Mat 18:26; Mat 28:9; Rev 19:10; Rev 22:9; compare the notes at Heb 1:6.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. For he is thy Lord— “Lord,” here, is…
11. For he is thy Lord— “Lord,” here, is אדונ, Adon, (often written אדני, Adonah,) which is here to be understood of Christ in its prophetic application, the bride being the Church, of which, figuratively, he is the Head and Lord. Eph_5:23-25. In Psa_97:5, (see note on Psa_97:7.) he is called “Lord of the whole earth;” and in Psa_110:1; Psa_110:5, he is specially distinguished from Jehovah, as here, by the title Adonah; and in Psa_2:2; Psa_2:6-7, by “Messiah,” “king,” “Son of God.” Historically this verse, as to conjugal relation, must be viewed in the light of oriental custom and civilization. See Gen_18:12; 1Pe_3:6.
Worship—Bow down to him, the eastern method of reverence to superiors, and the appropriate form of divine worship, (Psa_95:6,) and in its highest spiritual sense applied to Christ, Eph_3:14; Php_2:10; Heb_1:6
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty]…
11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty] Omit greatly.
worship thou him] Better, do him homage: not necessarily in the literal sense of prostrating herself before him (1Sa_25:41; 1Ki_1:16; 1Ki_1:31), but by shewing him befitting respect and submission. This exhortation, and the title lord for husband (cp. Gen_18:12) reflect the subordinate position of women in ancient times and Oriental countries. Yet see also 1Pe_3:5-6. The rendering of P.B.V., for he is thy Lord God, follows the Vulg. But God is not in the LXX, and was no doubt a gloss in accordance with the Messianic interpretation.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Worship thou him.—Literally, Bow down or prostrate thyself.
(11) Worship thou him.—Literally, Bow down or prostrate thyself.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty. Devotion…
So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty. Devotion to her Lord will win her his tender regard, and make her other charms and graces please and delight him. For he is thy Lord; i.e. thy Lord and Master, entitled to thy utmost love and obedience, nay, to thy "worship therefore, Worship thou him. Worship, in a certain sense, is due from every wife to every husband; but the Church"s worship of Christ is worship in the absolutely highest sense. (Rev_5:6-14)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy…
Ver. 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. Wholehearted love is the duty and bliss of the marriage state in every case, but especially so in this lofty mystic marriage. The church must forsake all others and cleave to Jesus only, or she will not please him nor enjoy the full manifestation of his love. What less can he ask, what less may she dare propose than to be wholly his? Jesus sees a beauty in his church, a beauty which he delights in most when it is not marred by worldliness. He has always been most near and precious to his saints when they have cheerfully taken up his cross and followed him without the camp. His Spirit is grieved when they mingle themselves among the people and learn their ways. No great and lasting revival of religion can be granted us till the professed lovers of Jesus prove their affection by coming out from an ungodly world, being separated, and touching not the unclean thing. For he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. He has royal rights still; his condescending grace does not lessen but rather enforce his authority. Our Saviour is also our Ruler. The husband is the head of the wife; the love he bears her does not lessen but strengthen her obligation to obey. The church must reverence Jesus, and bow before him in prostrate adoration; his tender union with her gives her liberty, but not license; it frees her from all other burdens, but places his easy yoke upon her neck. Who would wish it to be otherwise? The service of God is heaven in heaven, and perfectly carried out it is heaven upon earth. Jesus, thou art he whom thy church praises in her unceasing songs, and adores in her perpetual service. Teach us to be wholly thine. Bear with us, and work by thy Spirit in us till thy will is done by us on earth as it is in heaven.
Ver. 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. This is a most sweet promise. For the Holy Spirit knoweth that this monster, Monk, sticks fast in our heartthat we want to be pure and without spot before God. Thus, under Popery, all my temptation was this. I used to say, `that I would willingly go to the sacrament if I were but worthy.' Thus we seek, naturally, a purity in ourselves; and we examine our whole life and want to find a purity in ourselves, that we might have no need of grace, but might be pronounced righteous upon the grounds of our own merit...Thou wilt certainly never become righteous by thyself and thine own works...The Holy Spirit saith, therefore, I will give thee wholesome counsel; and if thou wilt hear me, thou shalt become a virgin all fair. For, if thou wouldst be beautiful in the sight of God, so that all thy works should please him, and he should say, "Thy prayer pleaseth me; all that thou sayest, doest, and thinkest, pleaseth me!" proceed thou thus: "hear, see, and incline thine ear; "and thou shalt thus become all fair. When thou hast heard, hast seen, hast forgotten all thine own righteousness, all the law, all traditions, and all that monkery, and hast believed, then art thou fair; not in thine own beauty, but in the beauty of the King who has adorned thee with his Word; because he has brought unto thee thereby his righteousness, his holiness, truth, and fortitude, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit uses the most exalted language. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: that is, thou wilt by this faith prevail upon him to do whatever thou desirest: so that, as one urged by the power of love, he will spontaneously follow thee, abide with thee, and take up his abode with thee. For wherever God has given his Word, there he does not leave his work which he has begun in thee; but he brings upon thee first the temptations of the world, the devil, and the flesh; that by them he may work upon thee. These are his embraces whereby he embraces his spouse through impatience of love...The sum of the whole therefore, is this: That our beauty does not consist in our own virtues, now even in the gifts which we have received from God, by which we put forth virtues, and do all those things which pertain unto the life of the law; but in thisour apprehending Christ and believing in him. Then it is that we are truly beautiful: and it is this beauty alone that Christ looks upon, and upon no other. Martin Luther.
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Ver. 11. In this Psalm Christ is set forth in all his royalty and majesty; yet he is said greatly to desire or delight in the beauty of his queen, that is, the graces of the saints; and that not with an ordinary delight, but he "greatly desires; "his desire is increased as her beauty is. For that is there brought in as a motive unto her to be more holy and conformed unto him, "to incline her ear, and forsake her father's house." So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. Christ hath a beauty that pleaseth him as well as we have, though of another kind; and, therefore, ceaseth not till he hath got out every spot and wrinkle out of his spouse's face, as the apostle speaks Eph 5:27, "so as to present her glorious unto himself, "that it, delightful and pleasing in his eyes. Thomas Goodwin.
Ver. 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. Christ delighting in the Beauty of the Righteous. Martin Luther. (Select Works, by H. Cole. I. 281.)
Psalms 45:12*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty.
Psa_45:11
So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty.
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The beauty of the Church desired by Christ
I. The believers beauty.
1. It is all derived, and not natural. Our Lord Jesus first makes men beautiful through His comeliness put upon them, and then He commends and takes pleasure in the works of His own hands (Eze_16:14).
(1) The believer is covered with the rich and ornamenting robe of the righteousness of His glorious surety. He is clothed with the garments of salvation (Isa_61:10).
(2) The believer is also all glorious within, by the working of the Holy Spirit. His heart and affections ascend heavenward.
(3) The believer is fair and beautiful in respect of his outward conversation. The truly godly do not talk and walk at random: Honey and milk are under their tongue, and they endeavour through grace to set the Lord always before them, and to regulate every part of their conduct according to the rule of His Word.
2. What are some of the qualities of the believers beauty?
(1) It is a derived beauty.
(2) It is real (Son_4:1). The judgment of Christ concerning His children, and the worlds opinion of them, are very different.
(3) It is of a spiritual nature, His adorning is the hidden man of the heart (1Pe_3:4).
(4) It is of a growing and increasing nature (Pro_4:18; Rom_8:18). Every new discovery that the believer gets of the King in His beauty by the eye of faith, in the glass of his own word, adds to his spiritual beauty, and carries him forward to a further degree of likeness and conformity to Christ (2Co_3:18).
(5) The Lord Jesus will perfect the beauty of His Bride and Spouse in due time. The beauty of a believer is perfect as to parts in the day of regeneration (2Co_5:17); and he that hath once begun the good work of beautifying a soul with salvation will finish it (Php_1:6).
II. The delight which the Lord Jesus is pleased to take in the believers beauty.
1. He does so by looking upon it with pleasure and delight. He beholds the upright with a pleasant countenance (Psa_11:17). We see with what pleasure he beheld the integrity of Nathaniel (Joh_1:47). And as He looks upon the beauty of His people with delight, so He is never more taken with it than when they are entertaining the lowest thoughts of themselves.
2. He does so by commending it (Job_1:8; Son_2:14).
3. Christ evidences great delight in the beauty of His people by keeping company with them, and admitting them to the enjoyment of sweet fellowship and communion with Himself (Rev_3:20)
4. He evidences the pleasure and delight which He takes in the beauty of His people, by letting them into the knowledge of these things which are hid from the men of the world (Psa_25:14).
5. He evidences His delight and complacency in the beauty of His people by the many endearing characters and designations which He gives them; such as, His Sister, His Spouse, His Love, His Dove, His Undefiled, etc.
6. He does so by the honourable services He employeth His people in. He, as it were, ornaments Himself with them (Isa_62:3).
7. Christ evidences His desire of, and delight in, the beauty of His people by intimating His will to the Father, that they may be admitted to be where He is after they have served their generation according to His will in the present world (Joh_17:24).
III. USE.
1. For information.
(1) We may infer that man is by nature vile and loathsome in the sight of an holy God, and so liable to the Divine displeasure; he has lost the glorious and beautiful image of God that was instamped upon him in his first creation by his fall in the first Adam.
(2) Hence, see what it is that can render a man truly beautiful and comely in the sight of God; it is his being clothed with the righteousness of His Son, and His being made a partaker of the grace of His Spirit.
(3) Hence, see how it is that any come actually to partake of the beauty of holiness, and that is in their being espoused to Christ.
(4) Is our Lord Jesus pleased to take complacency and delight in the beauty of His people? Then we may see how careful and diligent they should be to become still more desirable in His eye by growing in likeness and conformity to Him.
(5) Hence, see that believers in Christ need not be much moved on account of the disrespect and contempt which a carnal world is disposed to cast upon them.
(6) We may see matter of reproof to all such as are instrumental in marring the beauty of the Church, whether by persecution, error in doctrine, neglect of discipline, or by perverting the exercise of it, or by the introduction of human inventions into the worship of God.
2. For trial and examination. Are you possessed of that beauty that is amiable in the sight of Christ? If so, we think that you have seen your natural blackness and deformity; if ever you saw yourselves in the glass of the holy law set before you by the Spirit, this must have been the case with you. You have seen and felt an utter inability in yourselves to acquire that beauty that is pleasing to Christ. But again, if you are partakers of this beauty that is so desirable to Christ, then your remaining sin and deformity is your burden. In a word, if you are blessed with the begun participation of spiritual beauty, it is your real concern to have it increased and perfected. You are sensible there is much lacking in it (Php_3:13).
3. For exhortation.
(1) As to you who are the children and people of God, and whom He has begun to beautify with His salvation, we exhort you to bless the Lord for His goodness to you; for His works of wonder done, both for you and in you; though you were once lying among the pots, yet mercy has lifted you up. To be upon your guard against everything that tends to stain your beauty. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. Be not conformed to this world. (T. Bennet)
For He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him.--
Religious worship
I. Its nature.
1. Its internal principles. There must be reverence, and this in the highest degree, because of its object. Not terror, but sacred awe and delight. And there must be also deep humiliation, for we are sinful creatures. Anything like self-satisfaction and complacency must be offensive to God. See parable of Pharisee and Publican. And such humility has ever characterized Gods true worshippers. Another principle of worship for fallen man must be trust in atonement. No acceptable worship ever was presented but through sacrifice. The history of Cain and Abel illustrates this. And thus is it now. All access to God is by the sacrifice of Christ. Then there must be submission, See the attendant seraphim whom Isaiah saw in his vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up. They were engaged in reverential worship. Another principle is love. Not gratitude alone, but supreme affection delighting in God.
2. Its external manifestations. And here we have--
(1) Acts, such as prayer, thanksgiving, commemoration, sitting before the Lord to hear His word, which is a real act of worship, and not as some thoughtlessly say, to be distinguished from it.
(2) Places--the closet, the family, the church and the great assembly.
II. The ground and reason of worship. For He is thy Lord. This declares--
1. The Divine greatness, for the Lord of the Church is Lord of all.
2. His absolute dominion over us. That dominion extends to our being, and to all by which our being can be supported. All the blessings of life are by Him distributed, withheld, restricted, or multiplied, or withdrawn. Our felicity is from the light of His countenance; our pain from the pressure of His hand.
3. He is our Lord legislatively. He has given us a law to obey, a law holy, just and good. And He has sanctioned it by the penalty of eternal death. But as we have broken the law, all the more reason wherefore we should worship.
4. But to the Church especially it may be said, He is thy Lord. For the Church is a society of such as are actually reconciled to God by Jesus Christ; it is the separated company of pardoned believers. And to this company He stands in the special relation of a gracious Sovereign.
III. The importance of worship. We speak now only of public worship. For the proclamation of the great fundamental truths of religion. This, therefore, has ever been felt to be a duty. Good men have struggled, not for mere freedom of opinion, but of worship. Let us uphold the worship of God. Beware of a careless formal service. Seek in it to be increasingly spiritual. (R. Watson.)
The duty of all to pay divine worship and homage to Christ
I. The designation the father here gives to Christ. He is thy Lord.
1. This designation implies that there is a mutual relation between Christ and the Church: He is her Lord, and she His servant; He her King, she His subject; He her Head, she His member; He her Husband, she His spouse.
2. It implies His eminency in the Church. Whatever persons come into it He alone is Lord and Sovereign there.
3. It implies His sovereign power and authority in and over the Church. He is the sole Lawgiver to the Church (Isa_33:22). He is the great Speaker in the Church, to whom alone she owes the hearing of faith (Mat_17:5). Yea, so large and extensive is His dominion, that it reaches to heaven, earth and hell (Rev_1:18).
4. It implies that it is the indispensable duty of the Church, and every particular member thereof, to yield cheerful and ready obedience to the will of Christ in whatever He is pleased to command.
5. It implies that our Lord Jesus has the burden and care of the Church lying wholly upon Him.
6. It implies that He is God equal with the Father and Holy Spirit. He is thy Lord, faith the Father to, the Church, and worship thou Him.
II. Is what respects Jesus Christ may be called lord of the church.
1. He is so by the designation and appointment, of God the Father, who saith concerning Him (Psa_2:6).
2. He is so in virtue of His own actual compliance with the Fathers designation of Him to that charge (Psa_40:6-7; Isa_50:5).
3. Jesus Christ is the Churchs Lord by purchase and conquest; He is her Lord-Redeemer, both by price and by power. He has purchased the Church at the costly price of His own precious blood (1Pe_1:18).
4. He is Lord in and over the Church, as He is her Husband and she His spouse.
5. He is Lord in and over the Church by her own consent.
6. He is Lord of the Church, inasmuch as it is from Him that she expects, and is to enjoy the reward, when her service in this world is accomplished (2Th_4:7-8).
III. The worship and homage which the church owes to Christ as her lord.
IV. Use.
1. For information.
(1) Hence, see that the Church is a highly dignified society.
(2) Is Jesus Christ Lord in and over the Church? Then we may see the sin and danger of usurping any of the prerogatives which belong to Him by adding to, or taking from, His institutions.
(3) Hence, see with what care and diligence the Church and every particular member thereof should, in their places and stations, strive together for the faith of the Gospel.
2. For trial and examination.
(1) What acquaintance have you got with Christ as your Lord and Redeemer?
(2) How are you pleased with the laws of Christ by which He rules His subjects?
(3) What think ye of Christ--of His person, of His love, His righteousness, offices and fulness; in all these He is truly precious to them who believe.
(4) Of what quality is your obedience to the royal law of Christ? Is it of an evangelical nature? Does it spring from faith in:Him, love to Him, and a tender regard to His authority displayed therein?
3. For exhortation.
(1) We exhort you who have been brought, by the power of grace to take Christ for your Lord, to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of your Lord.
(2) We exhort you who are strangers to Christ, and so in a state of rebellion against Him, to consider the woeful condition you are in. (T. Bennet.)
Worship
Praise and thanksgiving are the two necessary elements in all worship. We praise God for what He is--love, mercy, patience, justice, power, these are but some of the attributes of the Deity, and the more we realize their extent the more unfeignedly shall we praise Him. We offer up our thanksgivings for all that He has given and is giving us; material and spiritual blessings have been given to us so abundantly that we must be amazingly blind or monstrously ungrateful if our thanksgivings do not daily ascend to our loving Father. Worship is of immeasurable value to ourselves; it has a transforming power, in that it ever directs our thoughts away from ourselves outwards to our God. Besides this, the more our thoughts are uplifted in worship the more we shall grow like the God we worship. A Greek writer has told us of a temple at the entrance of which hung a magic mirror; every worshipper on entering the temple glanced into the mirror, and there saw himself in the very likeness of the God he worshipped. The legend but dimly veils a great truth; why do we love to see our children true hero-worshippers? Is it not because we believe they will become more and more like the hero they respect so intensely? We ourselves delight in the companionship of a noble, heroic character. Or it may be we look back with thankfulness to the time we spent in such an ones company; and why is the memory so sweet? We found a new strength through that friendship; in some degree we became like our friend. So, with humble, adoring love, we worship the God who condescends to be our friend, in the glorious expectation of gradually attaining to His likeness. So worship is to transform the various chequered experiences of our daily life, and even while it does so it shall transform our whole characters, till we come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. In our worship do we praise God because we daily prove what He is? Is our worship the outward expression of the faith and loyalty we show every day of our lives, or is it but the expression of virtues which should exist in us, but are never manifest? What does God see? Our worship should inspire us, should brighten the dark hours of our lives, nay, should even transform our lives by the renewing of our minds. Have we to confess that our worship is not a power in our lives, doesnt cheer us when in sorrow, perplexity or temptation, doesnt draw us closer to our God? What does God see? (A. Aitken.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.