Anointed with joy

Day 14 - The heart of the king

Note: I would like to welcome my good friend Eric Brooks as our special guest writer for today’s devotional. Eric is the Co-lead Pastor at Strathcona Baptist Church and I am excited to welcome him to the Embracing Hope series.

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(Photo by Benjamin Rascoe on Unsplash)

In many traditions, the third Sunday of Advent is observed by lighting a pink candle—the other three are purple, the colour of repentance—as a reminder of the joy of the season. Psalm 45 points us to the source of our joy.

Psalm 45

1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2 You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.

6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom.

7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.

Psalm 45 is a wedding song, written, perhaps, in celebration of one of Solomon’s (many) weddings. And it is a Messianic Psalm, pointing towards another Royal Wedding celebration.

In this Psalm, the Bridegroom King is described as “the most excellent of men” and the Psalmist goes on to extol the ways in which this King is glorious and majestic and just and good. In verse 7, the Psalmist declares that the King is set above all of his companions—that is, he has no royal peers, he is greater than all of them—having been anointed by God with the oil of joy. He has received this anointing from God because he loves righteousness (or justice) and hates wickedness (or evil). This King’s heart is utterly and completely devoted to things being the way God intends them, and is utterly and completely set against things not being the way God intends them.

In his Gospel, Luke tells us that when Jesus’ 72 disciples returned to him after having been sent out to preach the Gospel, they were excited because “…even the demons submit to us in your name. Jesus replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority… to overcome all the power of the enemy.’” (Luke 10:17-19) In other words, Jesus’ disciples experienced righteousness overcoming wickedness! And the response? Jesus was “full of joy through the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 10:21) The Spirit of God anointed Jesus, poured out on him, the oil of joy, as righteousness overcame wickedness in people’s lives. Jesus’ joy is in things being put right, being made the way God intends them to be.

Does His anointing spill over on you? Is your heart engulfed with joy when you see righteousness—justice, mercy, compassion, wrongs things made right—triumph over wickedness—violence, abuse, hatred, injustice, despair?

As Jesus’ followers we share in his joy: in the here and now every time his righteousness is on display, and also on the day of our Great Bridegroom’s wedding feast, when he shall reign in righteousness with his glorious Bride! (Revelation 19:6b-8)

Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.

Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)”