The King’s Daughter

[Posted by permission. Chippenham Old Baptist Chapel.]

Prayer Meeting Address given at Old Baptist Chapel, Chippenham by Mr. G. D. Buss on Thursday Evening, 11th November, 2020

“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.”—Psalm 45:10-11

There can be no doubt, in the discerning mind, of whom the psalmist is speaking, particularly in the opening verses. It is one of those precious Psalms of prophecy concerning our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The first eight verses have to do with His glory as King, as the Son of God, and the One ordained of God to be the Head of the Church that He is now. The second part of the Psalm, beginning at where we are this evening and the verse before, has to do with the King’s bride; the Church.

The Church is spoken of in more than one way in the Word of God – sometimes as His sheep, sometimes as His mystical body. But here she is spoken of particularly as His spouse. And it is the King speaking to her. He is saying: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” This is the word of the King of kings to His Church. He calls His Church a daughter. Why does He call her a daughter? In one sense, of course, in Hebrew language the word ‘daughter’ was very often a term of affection. Who can measure the affection the Lord Jesus Christ has for His Church? It is written in those lines of blood that were shed on Calvary’s cross. And that precious blood that was shed then, is as vibrant and as full of life and light tonight, as it was when it was first made a blessing to the dying thief who fled to it for mercy. Friends, He could not have demonstrated His love to His Church more than He did. We sometimes sing:

“So fair a face bedewed with tears; 

What beauty e’en in grief appears!

He wept, He bled, He died for you; 

What more, ye saints, could Jesus do?”

Secondly, the word ‘daughter’ has to do with one who is in the family who has a father. What a mercy to be in the family of God! There is no greater privilege, friends. We are thankful for our own families. Perhaps we can trace our ancestry back, and some have very honourable ancestors in the flesh. But, when all is said and done, we descend from the first Adam. We fell in him, and there is our ancestry. What a mercy if God has translated us from the family of wrath that the children of Adam are by nature, into the family of God! And what will accomplish that great deed? It is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the work of the dear Son of God; by sending the Spirit in that way in which this precious part of the verse is speaking; in girding on His sword, going forth conquering and to conquer, sending His arrows in the hearts of those who are enemies by nature and bringing them into sweet submission to His throne and to Himself.

So, we have here in prophecy the King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to His Church spoken of here as a daughter. And he has five things to say to her. She is to hearken, she is to consider, she is to incline, she is to forget and she is to worship. And all this is under the drawings of love, because it says: “So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty.” ‘Oh,’ you say, ‘there is some mistake here, because I am not like one of His handmaidens! My wretched heart displays its fallen character. I look about at God’s dear people and I do not seem like them. I seem inferior to them.’ Well, blessed be God, there is something here to encourage you. We read in verse 13: “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.” That precious covering is to cover those (all of God’s people feel like it) who feel not like one of His handmaidens. They feel inferior to God’s people. They feel “less than the least.” They feel the chief of sinners. But, every one of God’s people are clothed with the same garment. She is “all glorious within.” That is the work of grace in her heart. But, “her clothing is of wrought gold.” Apparently the kings would interweave gold into the cotton with which they were making their garments. So there were two strands to it – one representing the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ; the other His divinity, wonderfully woven together in one garment – the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, verily God, verily man. And, in this garment; in this raiment she is brought to the King. So, poor sinner. In yourself you are weak and worthless as a worm. You feel it. But clothed in this rich garment you are made fit for the presence of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

You will notice that if indeed the work of grace is in our hearts, then these things in our text will be a feature of the work of grace. First of all there is that personal word: “Hearken, O daughter.” God calls His people personally, one by one. God calls His people particularly. And here He is saying to this one: “Hearken.” ‘Listen. Give heed.’ Oh, how we need to do that! How sad it was when God’s servant Isaiah was speaking to Ahaz, and Ahaz did not listen! But the Lord gave good advice through him. It was this: “Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted.” Friends, God gives His people a hearing ear. Here is another analogy: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This precious voice penetrates all their unbelief, worldliness, carnality and self-righteousness. All that held that sinner fast before God spoke, this voice penetrates like the arrows we read of in verse 5 that are “sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; whereby the people fall under Thee.” “Hearken, O daughter.” The Lord has something to say to you.

It is an amazing thing when the sinner begins to realise who it is that is speaking. How astonished Saul of Tarsus was when the Lord Jesus Christ said: “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” It was with incredulity that he said: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” ‘I have been a persecutor and a hater of Thy name. Yet now Thou art speaking to me with authority, and yes, there is even love in it.’ “What wilt Thou have me to do?” And that is how the King’s daughters feel when the Lord begins to speak. It is no longer what they will do. “What wilt Thou have me to do?” “Hearken, O daughter.” ‘I have something to say to you.’

Secondly, she is to consider. That is not to rush away from the voice, not to turn away from it, not ignore it and not stifle it, but to consider it. There are one or two verses in Scripture about this. “Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” “Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” But here the daughter is called to consider two things. Firstly, she is to consider herself. As Haggai says: “Consider your ways.” And when we consider our ways, how far short we come! What a debt accrues to our name! How far off we are from what we ought to be as those under the law! What a solemn consideration it is when we are made to consider our true state before God! On the other hand, she is to consider – despite her felt unworthiness; despite the wretchedness of which she feels so much – that nonetheless there is a welcome here. The voice who is speaking is drawing her and constraining her. It is saying: “Come.” “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” “Hearken, O daughter, and consider.” Yes, consider what you are, but:

“Pore not on thyself too long, 

Lest it sink thee lower;

Look to Jesus, kind as strong – 

Mercy joined with power.”

“Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear.” That means to lean towards what is being said. Sadly, by nature, we do not incline our ear. When the Word crosses our poor flesh, the flesh resists it. But, grace inclines towards it. “Incline thine ear.” This is the voice of thy Beloved. This is the One who wishes you well. This is the One who will say: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” This is the One who is drawing you that you may run after Him. “Incline thine ear.” ‘Hear what I have to say, because what I have to say is for your eternal good and for your soul’s benefit.’

“Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” There is a forgetting. That means a turning from; a turning away. Three cases come to mind immediately. First of all we have Ruth. She forgot her father’s house, didn’t she? Orpah didn’t. Orpah went back to her gods and to her people. Natural affection was too strong. But with Ruth, her soul was like the one in our text. She had hearkened, she had considered and she had inclined. The test came. On which side should she stand? With God’s people and the God of Israel, or should she go back to her gods? Although it was costly to her flesh – she loved her parents, no doubt, and her friends back in Moab – but, when all was said and done, she had to forget them and turn from them. She did not turn from them in a Pharisaical way, but her soul was too precious to bargain with. If it meant going to Israel and not back to Moab, to Israel she must go to abide under the shadow of the God of Israel. She was one who hearkened. She considered, she inclined and she forgot.

I think of Rebekah, also. I don’t think we ponder enough on the great step that Rebekah took. Eliezer suddenly appeared at her home. He is ushered in, and tells his tale of what his mission is. Isaac needs a bride, and the Lord has pointed out that Rebecca should be the one. What was she to do? There was Laban, wanting to hold her back. Although he said ten days, he soon would have said ten weeks, then ten months, or even ten years, knowing Laban’s inferior ways. But the question was put to Rebecca: “Wilt thou go with this man?” She had not seen Isaac; she had only heard of him. The jewels on her wrists were from Isaac; Eliezer had brought them to her. Rebekah had to make that decision. “Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.” “I will go.” There was great grace given to her at that time. The Lord moved her, undoubtedly. We never read that she saw her relatives in the flesh again. The rest of her days were spent in this path that God had called her to walk. She had to forget; to put all those natural feelings behind her, and go forth unto Christ in the gospel sense, “bearing His reproach.”

Then I thought also of Paul the apostle. When he wrote to the Churches in Galatia, he used a strange expression: “God, who separated me from my mother’s womb.” What did he mean? Well, first of all he meant that he owed his existence to the God of providence; the God who gave him birth. He felt in his now awakened soul that he owed Him more than just as a creature to his Creator. He was now a child of God. But, he was separated from his mother’s womb in another way. That is, he was brought up in the womb of the Jewish dispensation: the Old Testament. That was the womb he was nurtured in. And now he had to leave that. He had to be separated from it. It was a painful separation, in one sense. It cost him much, but he had no doubts. “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” He was one who forgot his own people and his father’s house, but not in an ungracious way. He loved the Jewish nation; we read of it. But, when it came to his soul’s salvation, he determined to know nothing among men, “save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Oh, what a mercy when this grace is given! What great love it is when it overcomes every obstacle, every hindrance and all that stands in the way! All is swept away by this love that the Bridegroom has to His Bride, as we have it here. “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.” ‘But,’ you say, ‘I have no beauty! I am not comely. I am one of the uncomely ones.’ That is what we read in the first chapter of the Song of Solomon. “I am black,” says the Church. ‘No,’ says her Bridegroom, ‘thou art comely.’ And where is the comeliness of the Church? As I have said before, it is all in Christ. And so great is His love for her, he has given her a garment worthy of that union that there is between Him and her. That garment is His own righteousness. This is the garment with which the Church is clothed in heaven. They sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb clothed in this garment. “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” That means that it is a garment that is given to her. It went from the Giver to the one who received it. He gives His own righteousness, and that is the garment with which the Church is clothed in glory, and clothed with here, by faith.

“So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord.” No longer do those things occupy your heart and mind in an unlawful way as they did in your former days. Whatever it may be that took the place of God in your heart, now has to be turned from. “For He is thy Lord.” You have a better Master than this world could ever give. The Church has a better Bridegroom here than any other. God Himself has provided this Bridegroom. “He is thy Lord.” He is the One to whom you owe your allegiance. He has done so much for you.

“So fair a face bedewed with tears; 

What beauty e’en in grief appears!

He wept, He bled, He died for you; 

What more, ye saints, could Jesus do?”

What more can He do than what He has done?

“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.” It is a wonderful thing to be a worshipper of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Syrophenician woman worshipped the Lord when she said: “Lord, help me.” That is true worship. The worship that God is worthy of is the fruit of the Spirit in the heart of His people. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” This heavenly King has sought out this Bride to worship Him, to adore Him and to praise Him to all eternity. “Hearken, O daughter.” Hear the voice of the King; the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Hear Him

“What more can He say than to you 

He has said, You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”

speaking to, yes, the unworthy one that you feel to be. “Hearken, O daughter, and consider.” Stand still a moment. Do not turn away from what He is saying. “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.” Friend, if He is thy Lord, what more can you wish? What better Lord could you have? What more loving Lord? What more providing Lord? What more caring Lord? There is none to be compared with Him. The Church says so in the Song of Solomon. He is “the chiefest among ten thousand.” “He is altogether lovely.” May that be in our hearts. May we all, by God’s grace, be found among these ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ who hearkened; who had an ear to hear, by grace. They consider. They are made to consider. They are made to stand still and ponder matters before the Lord. They incline to what He has to say. They forget that which would hinder; that which would hold them back. And they find there is One who greatly desires their beauty. Boaz desired Ruth’s beauty. He spread his skirt over her. Isaac desired the beauty of Rebekah in a natural way – a wonderful type of a precious Christ. May we be numbered among that people who will one day sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb, as the fruit of the very words we have before us this evening. May God add His blessing.

Amen.