Title: Forget your Father’s house
Scripture Reading: Psalm 45:10-17
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
This psalm consists of two main portions – an address to the bridegroom in eight verses (psalm 45:2-9), and an address to the bride in 6 verses (Psalm 45:10-15). This morning we are going to concentrate on the bride.
- Forget your father’s house
Psalm 45:10 says, ‘“Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.
If you study these 3 verses carefully it implies a marriage with a foreign lady. These fits
- David
- Solomon
- Ahab
- Jesus
The verbs used has four imperatives that this daughter had to adhered to:
- Listen
- Give attention
- Incline your ear
- Forget your people
Here I am reminded of Abraham who heard the call out of the Ur of Chaldees. Abraham was told to forget his people.
This was an invitation to this particular royal daughter. YHWH looked at her as a royal princess to leave her people and her father’s house to be joined to the anointed King in marriage
We understands this connects with a familiar metaphor: the people of God as a wife of God, and the Church of Jesus as His bride
So here the Psalmist is bidding her to ‘hearken’, ‘consider’, and ‘incline her ears,’ that is, reflect deeply on the new relation in which she is about to placed, the new sphere which she is entering, the new duties which she will have to discharge.
Salvation is not just a ticket, a fire insurance policy to heaven but it is a changed life and a relationship with Christ.
- Forgetfulness leads to Fruitfulness
Why do God ask this daughter of the King to forget her own people and her father’s house? Because forgetfulness leads to fruitfulness.
Genesis 41:51-52 ‘Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house. And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Manasseh represents forgetfulness and Ephraim represents fruitfulness.
In his book “The Great Divorce,” C.S. Lewis described hell as a place where no one forgets anything. It was his idea that in hell each person would remember every offense, every slight, every cruel exchange of words, every wrong ever done to them; and everyone would be utterly unforgiving. But in heaven all these things are put away, because all things have become new.
What fruitfulness is being held back in your life because you will not forget something that should be forgotten?
Firstly, the King will greatly desire your beauty.
Psalm 45:2 says, ‘you are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.’ Therefore we can be sure that the bride’s beauty included character.
Secondly, she is clothed with beauty
Some Titles for Psalms 45:
Upon lilies
Song of love
Jesus sees His bride, and how she is in objective truth: all glorious
Verse 13 says, ‘The king’s daughter is all glorious within’.
The word ‘within’ according to scholars is referring to ‘pearls: it means a cut and polished precious stone: gem. It also means a precious possession.
The virgins, her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. This royal daughter is accompanied by bridesmaids and together they come before the King for the wedding service. They too shall enter the king’s palace. The souls that you brought to Christ will share in the inheritance with you and are greatly beloved of God.
Thirdly they will enjoy the riches of the Gentiles.
Psalm 45:12 says, ‘the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will seek your favor.’ Being joined to the anointed King in marriage means many benefits for this royal daughter. She receives gifts from the nations, and is set in such a high place that even the rich seek her favor.
Heathen nations shall be attracted to Christ and his church.
Let’s understand the wealth of Tyre. In Isaiah 23:3 Tyre is known as the Mart of Nations. It says, ‘And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.’
The phrase ‘entreat thy favor’ literally means to ‘stroke thy face’. The root idea is one of polishing or making bright
The daughter of Tyre shall be there, also implying, they were converted to Christ. Some of these daughters of Christ will become YHWH’s children too. Even if these Tyrian daughters are not converted, they will become her attendants
What is God trying to show here in this verse 12. It actually implies the exalted position of the church and thus its members and the contribution of material wealth (riches of the Gentiles) to sustain the institutions of the church.
Luke 8:1-3 which says, ‘After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna, and many others.
Who funded Jesus’ Ministry?
Mary Magdalene
Joanna
Susanna
Many others
Nicodemus
Joseph of Arimathea
- The distinctions of life
Psalm 45:16-17 says, ‘Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.’
Instead of always pinning for your father, shall be thy children. The sacrifice which the bride had made for the sake of the King shall be more than recompensed by her having children, who should gather round her, and who should become “princes in the earth”.
The King’s bride will experience distinctions of life. Where did this distinction of life come from?
- Their source is divine.
- Their character is princely.
- Their influence is world-wife.
