Marriage is a gospel issue (Ps 45)

I wonder if we talk enough about marriage in church. It is such political and emotional territory that anyone who says anything much gets fried pretty quickly. It is quickly relegated to the "peripheral issues" box as a divisive non-gospel topic. Strangely enough, Psalm 45 takes us into both gospel and marriage territory.

Psalm 45 is a love song (the little note at the beginning of the chapter tells us that). That is a confusing start in itself. When we think of love song, we expect it to be sung by the lover to the beloved. But this singer is a third party. He is the wedding singer, who adores the royal groom as much as we expect the bride to. He sings to the groom (vv.1-9, 16-17) and he sings to the bride (vv. 10-15). So, this is no song of private romance. It is a public song for the wedding of the king.

Not just any king, but a king who is the epitome of military manhood (vv.2-5). He is supremely blessed by God and he is splendid. He is objectively wonderful, not just in the eyes of his beloved.

Then we find out more. This royal groom is not just any man, he is God (v.6). While we might be confused, at least the adoration of the singer starts to make sense when we find out that the king is no mere man. Psalm 45 only makes sense when it's about Jesus, the man who is God and king (Heb 1:8-9). It is worth savouring this psalm's portrait of King Jesus as the ultimate man, the supreme king and God.

You can also spend worthwhile time looking at the New Testament picture of the marriage between King Jesus and his church (Matt 9:14-17, 25:1-13, Rev 19, 21). I am not sure I have thought much about the relationship between Jesus and his Church in the joyful, opulent terms of Psalm 45. This king is exceedingly glad about his "all glorious" bride. When I look at the church, I mostly see the filthy harlot. I don't expect King Jesus to be that glad at all.

Jesus has died and risen to make his church beautiful, pure and fitting for his majestic self (Eph 5:22-33). We will see that reality when Jesus comes again. It will be spectacular, made even more impressive by the fact that his bride was once a batch of filthy, wandering enemies. Her glorious transformation will make his glory even greater, since he is the one who has achieved it.

God created marriage to show people the gospel - Jesus and his bride, the church. What honour and dignity this gives to marriage (if we had forgotten since Genesis 1-2). God thinks marriage is very, very good.

If Christian marriage gets to be a living metaphor for the gospel, then I really need to spend more time thinking about Jesus' enthusiastic, exuberant, sacrificial love for his bride. As I do, I can't settle for a dull, economical view of marriage.

There is a responsibility to do marriage well, for the sake of Jesus' own glory. If marriage is designed to show the richness of his gospel, then I really must honour marriage, work at it and delight in it - Jesus' glory is tied to it. Marriage is not about me and Steve cocooned away in our own little love world. Our marriage exists to point people to Jesus, the King who poured himself out for his people, to make them his stunning bride.

Seeing the value that the whole sweep of Scripture puts on marriage as a picture of God's achievement in the gospel means that how we "do" marriage is not at all peripheral, but a gospel issue. We can't claim to be gospel people and then not care about living the metaphor well.