Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 45 (January 29, 2026)

January 29, 2026:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 45

Blessings and Peace be yours today and always.

I am not certain if you have noticed the uptick in Tucson traffic, however, no matter where you drive you are going to encounter heavy traffic. I implore you to drive carefully when you are out because there are a few additional crazy people out there. In the last two days on the early morning drive, I have had 6 cars drive by me in excess of 80 miles an hour in a 45-speed zone. Please be diligent about the vehicles that are around you and approaching you whenever you are driving. Thanks, and be careful.

Our members Joyce and Larry had to care for their aged pit bull Alabama this past week by letting her go due to her extensive health issues. Please keep them in your prayers for comfort and peace as they grieve their beloved pet's death. I visited Alabama at their home, and she was a wonderful blessing in their lives.

Today we are studying the 45th Psalm. As you begin it seems to be a bit confusing. It is apparently a Psalm written on the occasion of someone's wedding. So, what is important is to take a few minutes and think back to your wedding day. Our date was Dec 11th. Quite a cold time in western Michigan, but there was no snow on the ground yet, and it had rained quite heavily the day before. For me, the wedding was a wonderful opportunity to speak from my heart, the sincere words of my commitment, promise, and love for Melody. I sang at the beginning of the service what was then a new wedding song by Paul Stucky, "The Wedding Song. It began with the words, "He (God) is now to be among you at the calling of your life."  For me, after six years of going steady through High School, and through my last year of college study, it had reached its fulfillment on this evening at the church that I grew up in. I greeted nearly every one of the nearly 500 guests in the Narthex as they entered. I sang the Lord's Prayer while we kneeled at the Altar, our marriage complete, we headed off to our church reception to cut the wedding cake and to share the first moments of our married life with our family and friends. I will always remember the joy I knew that evening many years ago, and through the ups and downs of 8 children, changing careers and moving from our 10 acre historic farm to Chicago, then on for a long year in Des Moines with our then two children, and then one more semester of study back in Chicago, synod oral exams, call interviews, and our first call in Ann Arbor.  The evening of our wedding I felt like the groom in our Psalm, that I could sit on the throne of God and wield His Power, while my love for my bride filled my heart.

Of course, not every wedding day is so happy, there can be family divisions, too much money spent on tuxedos, wedding gowns, attendant's gifts, and that reception when we still had nearly 100 miles to drive to get to our apartment where we would live.

What we find in our Psalm for today that is most important for us is the very positive character of the groom. (note that we often talk about Christ as the groom)  In fact, it was to be to such a presence of God's justice and mercy and love, that the bride would know that she was in the hands of a husband who would care for her with great love, patience, and strength in the face of any trouble the couple might face.  I know. In the 21st century we, of course, might find this way of thinking archaic. Today we see both partners needing to bring into their marriage the kind of compassion and love that our Psalm indicates is primarily the responsibility of the groom. The specific character of the Psalm groom includes faithfulness, truthfulness, uprightness, lowliness (being humble and not haughty), and more. And the groom must be willing to fight against unfaithfulness, all the while placing his bride as the highest priority, only lower than his commitment to God. When any of these characteristics are missing in a partner, then marriages often fail. It seems to me that marriage must be patient and kind too. No wonder Scripture from Paul says Faith, Hope, and Love abide (they are all so important), but the greatest of these is Love. Christ is the model for what we mean when we talk about Love. Our world today thinks of only one thing when it addresses the issues of love, and that is not at all what this Psalm is about. Intimacy can only happen when partners in a relationship carry the characteristics which today's Psalm lifts up.

Thanks for being with me this morning.

In Christ's Love, Pastor Kim