"The king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing
is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in clothing of
needlework."--Psalm 45:13-14 This is a beautiful description of the bridal garments of
the Church as the queen. The gold was to be wrought into her clothing, the
clothing to be of needlework, intimating that her robe of justifying
righteousness was wrought, as it were, as in needlework, stitch by stitch;
yet that every thread was embroidered with gold. Here we have the thread of
the humanity, in union with the gold of Deity--and yet each in such close
union that the thread is but one. In gold thread the beauty, the value is in
the gold; yet how close the union. Gold by itself could not be made into
embroidery. So Deity cannot suffer, bleed, or die; but humanity can in union
with it. Thus, as our blessed Lord went through the whole work which the
Father gave him to do, his Deity, being in union with his obeying, suffering
humanity, stamped each successive movement, as he went through it, with all
the value and validity of Godhead. It is this union of Deity with humanity
which made the work of redeeming love so unspeakably glorious, and so
meritoriously efficacious. As Deer says, "Almighty God sighed human breath." It is indeed a mystery; but "great is the mystery of
godliness, God manifest in the flesh." O glorious mystery!
"The highest heavens are short of this;
'Tis deeper than the vast abyss;
'Tis more than thought can e'er conceive,
Or hope expect, or faith believe." January 30 |