Lectionary Year A
July 7, 2002

Psalm 45:10-17
Contemporary Address

Step VI - Contemporary Address

A. Goals

(JFC) A sermon this text stimulates might inspire people to relate to God more and more responsibly.

B. Describing the Audience

(JFC) Any congregation needing to examine its personal and/or corporate relationships with God might benefit from this sermon.

C. Address

(JFC) Sermon, entitled, for this working draft, "God's Wedding and Ours!"

Introduction
We've had a lot of weddings here this summer . . . Well, today, we get another Wedding Invitation. Its return address is, "God, Heaven, Eternity". Psalm 46:10-17 tells about this wedding . . . Of course, it uses its wedding as a jumping off place for describing how believers relate most responsibly to their/our God. . . We are the Bride and God is the Groom. We dress in our finest finery and God, well, God might be invisible, but is present, nonetheless. After all, God proposed. God asked us to unite in this wedlock; the Bible usually calls it a Covenant, but this Psalm refers to it as if it were a wedding.

I. The King = God = Groom/Husband

A. Psalm 46's King desires his bride. God has desires. God desires us, desires that we become as faithful as the most faithful Bride ever was. In Luke 15, Jesus tells 3 parables, re: God's going to find lost articles. God loves us, looks for us to return relating to Him, provides for us, sustains us and has forgiven our sinfulness. God wants us to marry Him!

B. God, in this Psalm, as in others, e.g., 100, 150, etc., gets worshipped by the people. We, here and now, worship God. We can do that at home, in private, on retreats, etc. We worship, praise, pay homage (^duAhy>) to God, our collective Husband.

II. The Bride as Christ Exemplifies the Relationship

A. In the New Testament, Jesus alludes to Himself as the Husband of the Bride, God's people. See Matthew 9:15 and Mark 2:19f and John 3:29f, etc.

B. When we accept God's proposal to be related like husbands and wives do at their best, we can consider ourselves married to our God. Jesus' constant faithfulness to God's will gives us the best example and encouragement of how to be the best Bride we can be.

III. The Bride's Entourage and the Others, too, Including Us

A. In the Biblical times, as in ours, brides and grooms had/have parties attending them. Have you ever been a Bride's Maid or Maiden, a Best Man or an usher, etc.? "It takes a village" to get some/most brides and grooms married well. We rely on our attendants always and forever.

B. Brides' and grooms' attendants are servants of their friends. God calls us to be friends, Jesus even said, "You are my friend when you do what I command" John 15:14. Psalm 45 contends that such relationships bring gladness and rejoicing (lygIw" txom'f.Bi)!

Conclusion
God proposes marriage with us! God calls us to be related with, like being married to, our Creator, Redeemer and Friend, par excellence. What a privilege, what joys come from these relationships, what rejoicing we, too, do as God's people.



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