The King in His Beauty (Psalm 45:2)

Isaiah during his ministry gave many promises to God’s people. One of them was that they would see the King in his beauty (Isa. 33:17). Isaiah’s prophecy begins with a reference to four kings, but he does not say very much about them in his book except to mention times of difficulty some of them had. Instead, throughout his very long book he continually describes the various features of a coming King with a supernatural birth who would suffer severely but then reign sovereignly and endlessly. Of course we know that the Messiah is Jesus and in his book Isaiah describes the sufferings of the Messiah and the glory that would follow, sufferings on behalf of others and glory for the benefit of others. But the comfort for the people was that they would see him.

This theme is not limited to Isaiah. It is also found in the Book of Psalms. We can think of the way Psalm 22 describes his suffering and his glory, or the way Psalm 72 highlights his global reign and all the benefits that would be found in abundance as he rules. And Psalm 45 is another psalm that focuses on the majesty of this coming King. It is a psalm that says many wonderful things about him, and we can see from the author’s self-description that he was excited by the thought of the King and his heart was overflowing with delight. Indeed, at the close of the psalm, he states that his aim is to ensure that the name of the King would be remembered in all generations. And here we are experiencing the benefits of his thoughts about the King, the thoughts that he was compelled to write under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The handsome Saviour

In verse 2, the author declares three truths about the Messiah: he is ‘the most handsome of the sons of men’, he constantly speaks in a gracious manner, and he is enjoying the endless blessing of God. Regarding each of those three details, I will ask three questions. The questions for the first detail, about his handsomeness, are these: Why is he handsome? In what ways is he handsome? Who else is handsome, yet inferior to him? Before we think about them, we can note that in the Hebrew the word ‘handsome’ occurs twice. The word is doubled to stress the distinctiveness of his beauty.

Why is he handsome? In order to explain this question, we need to consider what aspects of Jesus are mentioned in the psalm. We can see that psalm does not describe his death. In fact, we can see that the concern of the psalm is about his current exaltation and his future enjoyments.

Yet the reason he is handsome is connected to what happened to him previously. How did he become the king? That is a question that we should ask. When and why did he come to the throne? The reason that he came to the throne in heaven was because he engaged in an activity that was very costly and demanding.  He had been to the cross where he had engaged in conflict with the powers of darkness. They were demanding that his people suffer the penalty for their sins at the very moment that he was paying it. That conflict was difficult. We know what it is like to hear someone shouting at us when we are engaged in an important activity. The shouting distracts us, but the shouting he heard did not distract him from his task. If anything, it made him more determined to complete it.

It was not only the assaults of the demonic powers that he had to deal with. They were powerful, but they were not almighty. But he did face the power of the Almighty at another level at the cross. There, he endured the wrath of God against the sins of his people. That was a difficult experience as he suffered there instead of them. But he did, and paid the penalty. It led to his death, but it also led to his resurrection. His resurrection revealed his great victory over death, but it was not the end of his progression. It was followed by his ascension to heaven and his exaltation in heaven. As he entered heaven, he was glorified. Another way of describing that is to say that he became beautiful, handsome to a degree that had never been seen before. With whom can we compare the glory of Jesus? No-one, but we can contrast him with all other visible expressions of glory.

In what ways is he handsome? He is beautiful in his status, in his position, and in his intentions. What is his status? He is declared to be the Son of God with power, he is announced to be the Son of Man who has ascended and received the kingdom from God. Since then, he has had universal power, and there is nowhere where he is not the sovereign. As far as his intentions are concerned, we can see them in this psalm. He intends to defeat those who oppose him, and he intends to have a marriage festival at which his bride will enter his presence for ever.

His bride is not a single individual. Rather, she is his people, numbering a figure that cannot be calculated by humans, a people drawn from all the periods of time who will come to believe in him as they repent of their sins and trust in what he did for sinners when he was on the cross. It is not difficult for us to see why his status, and his position and his intentions reveal his beauty.

Who else is handsome? Prophets like Isaiah were, but not as handsome as Jesus. Priests like Aaron were, but not as handsome as Jesus. Kings like David were, but not as handsome as Jesus. Apostles like Paul were, but not as handsome as Jesus. Devoted saints like Mary were, but not as handsome as Jesus. Take all the saints of the Bible and all the saints of history, and together they are not as handsome as Jesus. Add in all the angels of glory and together they are not as handsome as Jesus. He is truly glorious.

Glorified, he reigns and functions as a King, the King predicted in the Bible, and the King who is now at God’s right hand in heaven. What do you think about him? Is he the most beautiful sight in the universe? Can you follow the hymnwriter who exclaimed that majestic sweetness sits enthroned about the Saviour’s brow, and how no mortal can with him compare among the sons of men, and how he is fairer than all who fill the heavenly train?

We have read or heard the words of Samuel Rutherford regarding how fair Jesus is. ‘O fair sun, and fair moon, and fair stars, and fair flowers, and fair roses, and fair lilies; but O ten thousand thousand times fairer Lord Jesus! Alas! I have wronged him in making the comparison this way. O black sun and moon! but O fair Lord Jesus! O black flowers, and black lilies, and roses! but O fair, fair, ever fair, Lord Jesus! O black heaven! but O fair Christ! O black angels! but O surpassingly fair Lord Jesus!’ 

His gracious words

In the psalm, the author is not referring to what Jesus said in the past, although he said many wonderful things previously. Even if we go back to the creation at the beginning, John tells us that as the Word Jesus spoke the universe into existence. And then when he came to earth, he spoke many wonderful statements that we find in the Gospels. But here, it seems that he is described as saying wonderful things as he goes forward.

What wonderful words can they be? I would suggest that they describe the spread of the gospel. It is the case that the risen and reigning Christ is taking the gospel to the world, bringing its wonderful message to sinners of all kinds. In the gospel he offers pardon to sinners who have rebelled against him. That has happened numerous times almost every day since he ascended. What amazing words he spoke on the Day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit brought sinners into new life!

There are also the wonderful things that he says to his people through his Word as he reveals its contents to their minds and heart. He can do this at any time: when they are reading it, hearing a sermon, discussing it, meditating on it. By the Holy Spirit, he can reveal wonderful truths to them about his grace and how it will be suitable for all possible situations.

Where do the words come from? They are said to be poured into his lips. That is an illustration of something that the heavenly Father is doing. It is a sign that he has authorised Jesus as the Mediator to bring good news to all the nations of the world. We should not be surprised at this. After all, we are told in John 3:16 that this is why the Father sent Jesus to be the Saviour. When Jesus returned to heaven he was welcomed by his Father and invited to sit on his throne and from there to bless the nations.

How powerful are his words? They are the words of the One who has all power as the sovereign King. Because that is the case, his words are effective even in the hearts of those who oppose him. Sinners of all kinds bow down to him. There is an illustration of that in the psalm when the bride is exhorted to listen to him. Similarly, he speaks into the hearts of his people and promises them amazing blessings. Consider what he said to the seven churches of Asia. To some he gave great comfort, but to each he gave great promises, even to the spiritually bankrupt church of Laodicea when he promised anyone in it that they could have profound fellowship with him.

How plentiful are his words? Spurgeon observed that the idea behind ‘poured’ is that of exhaustion, as if every other possible store of grace is poured into Jesus, which means that God’s grace is found nowhere else. We know that is true. There is no other way for us to be reconciled to God, to receive his favour. It is good that grace is located in Jesus. Imagine if God wanted to put all his grace in one of us. Could that person cope with the continuous demand on giving it? But Jesus is an amazing channel of grace. I suspect that is why Paul mentions this detail when he begins his letters. A sinner will never come to Jesus and discover that he has no grace to give. Even if he comes thousands of times a day, there will always be grace suitable for him because Jesus is constantly full of grace and truth.

His endless blessing

Who has blessed him? The answer to that question is the Father, who has given him a great reward because of what he did when he was here on earth, when he paid the penalty of sin when he was on the cross. His reward is exaltation, endless exaltation. Where is Jesus today? He is on the throne. Is there any possibility that he will be removed? None whatsoever.

With what has he been blest? Several answers can be given to this question. We have thought about his exaltation, when he was given the glory that he possessed with the Father before the world was, which he prayed for in John 17. He has been given great joy, even the fullness of joy above his companions. This is the description given of him by Peter when he quoted from Psalm 16 on the Day of Pentecost. He was given assurance that the day would come when all his enemies would be his footstool (Heb. 10:13).

With whom does he share it? The answer to this question is given in the psalm itself. He will share it with his bride, his people. He says in John 17 that he has given glory to his people; on the day of judgement, he will invite them to enter the joy of their Lord; they will be given a great inheritance, great because it truly belongs to him. It will be an incredible experience to hear him say, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ (Matt. 25:34).