Psalm 45:11-16 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 45:11-16 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
Verse 12the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
Verse 13with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
Verse 14in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
Verse 15With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
Verse 16In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
Devotion
To be desired by the King is really something! We’re not so wonderful in and of ourselves, but it is because we’re made over, transformed.
Recently, I’ve watched a few makeovers on television. They show where someone looks one way, and then professionals are sent in to do things with plastic surgery, makeup, hair and clothing, and ultimately transform the person totally. That kind of transformation is only skin deep. But the real transformation God works is from the inside out.
Here we are: called into a royal procession; dressed in the robes of righteousness; clothed with the promises of baptism. It’s a joyful occasion—a glad celebration! So ... “Lead on, O King eternal; we follow, not with fears, for gladness breaks like morning wherever your face appears. Your cross is lifted over us. We journey in its light. The crown awaits the conquest. Lead on, O God of might.”(LBW # 495)
Prayer
Everlasting God, in the manger you showed us a king in swaddling clothes. On Calvary, you showed us a king who reigns from the cross. Reign forever in our hearts and lives. Empower us to proclaim your message of love and forgiveness wherever we go. Amen.