Shabbat Shalom family,

We are now at Day 14 of the counting of 50 days from the waving of the sheaf of barley to Shavuot! As we continue to count and recognise the cost of walking in Messiah, our Great Redeemer and King, we most certainly take careful consideration of how we are living as a faithful remnant bride before our soon coming Bridegroom! With the great and sure expectation that we have of the soon return of our Beloved King, we are continually reminded to be steadfast in holding on to His joy that strengthens us; and as we are continually enabled by His Word that dwells within us, we do our utmost to offer up our lives as a continual living sacrifice that is well pleasing before Him, as we do so in complete set-apartness and surrender to His Word, aměn!

Having said that, we also recognise that as we certainly face many trials, and are engaged daily in the battles of life that rage as a roaring sea around us, we need to understand the need for us to be a pure Bride who is continually offering up praise to our Husband and King; and in a sense let our ‘life song’ be one that echoes the reality of our steadfast commitment to, and declaration of our faith in our Great King, יהושע Messiah!

Often we can get so caught up in the daily trials and increasingly pressing circumstances that we sometimes find ourselves lacking in the ability to have the song of our set-apart dedication and commitment to our King resounding, and instead is  being silenced in our hearts and minds; and tonight I want us to be reminded that the song of our love for our King must be continually fanned into flame, enabling us to endure and hold steadfast in our set-apart walk, as we ready ourselves and render our garments clean before Him, that when He comes He may find us filled with the oil of gladness and joy!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 29:6 “An evil man is ensnared by transgression, but the righteous sings and rejoices.”

While the dysfunctional and lawless are ensnared by their continual rebellion to walking in the Torah of Elohim, the remnant Bride of Messiah, who walk in Him and remain in Him, sing and rejoice, and tonight in a message called, “A BELOVED SONG TO OUR GREAT KING!” may we be reminded to be a rejoicing and singing faithful remnant as we sojourn with the great joy of the promised hope of His imminent return, when He shall gather us to Himself and we dwell with Him forever!

Please turn with me to Tehillim/Psalm 45 (read)

This Psalm celebrates the wedding of a King to his bride, and this Psalm most certainly reflects the great song of the beloved ones, the Bride of Messiah, and their Great King!

The introduction for this Psalm can be translated as follows,

“To the chief musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Qoraḥ, a maschil and song of the beloved ones”

The Hebrew word – שֹׁשַׁנִּים – ‘Shoshannim’ – is the plural of the root word   שׁוֹשָׁן shoshan – Strong’s H7799 which means, ‘lily or lily-like flower’, and is used as part of a title for Tehillim/Psalm 69 as well. A derivative of this word is also used as a title of two other Psalms – Tehillim/Psalm 60 and 80, as – שׁוֹשַׁנִּים עֵדוּת Shoshannim Eduth – Strong’s H7802 which translated means, ‘lilies of testimony, testimony of lilies’. Why ‘lilies’? What we see in Scripture, especially in ‘Shir HaShirim’ – Song of Songs , we see this term for lilies being used. In Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 7 it is used to describe the shape of the capitals on top of the columns in the Temple, as well as the rim of the Sea of cast metal (bronze laver). In Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs it is used 8 times in referring to the Bride and/or Bridegroom, and in Hoshěa/Hosea 14:5 we see the clear promise of Yisra’ĕl that will blossom like a lily, which pictures a restored beauty and abundance, after true repentance and the work of redemption.

We are able to clearly see and recognise how this Tehillim/Psalm 45 is a song of/for the beloved/beloved ones and their King!

The Hebrew term – מַשְׂכִּיל maskil – Strong’s H4905 means, ‘a song or poem of contemplation’, which can be rendered as a poem or song of devotion of the beloved  – and the term beloved ones is – יְדִידֹת – ‘y’didot’ – which is the plural of the word יָדִיד yadid – Strong’s H3039 which means, ‘beloved, lovely, well-beloved’ and the basic meaning of this noun is ‘one greatly loved’ by Elohim or by man!
The reason I am sharing this with you is so that you will be able to grasp the power of this great Tehillim/Psalm, which renders a great poem or love song dedicated to a great king, who weds his faithful bride!

As one goes through this ‘love song’, then the reality of the great love of our coming King rings in our hearts and ought to cause us to take careful account of whether our lives are a continual love song of praise to our beloved or not.

In verse 1 we see the writers clear dedication being given to the King, and so too we are able to identify with these words, being equipped to declare these as our own, as we each declare our true dedication to our Beloved King, יהושע Messiah!

Straight up we see here the declaration of the Truth that is on the heart of the singer of this love song – of which you and I can also be singers of, as we make our bold declaration of faith in our King! “My heart is overflowing with a goodly word…!” This in itself is a powerful statement being made, as we know what ought to be upon our hearts… The Words of Elohim!

Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 11:18 “And you shall lay up these Words of Mine in your heart and in your being, and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Tehillim/Psalm 119:11 “I have treasured up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

An overflowing heart with a goodly word – is the heart that every believer and follower of Messiah ought to have. The Hebrew word used here for ‘goodly’ is טוֹב  toḇ – Strong’s H2896 and carries the meaning, ‘pleasant, good, agreeable, beautiful, to be pleasing, done well’. So טוֹב  toḇ in the true sense of the word, expresses the idea that something is ‘good’ when it is fulfilling the action for which a person or thing is specifically fitted or used, or for which something exists. In other words it refers to something that functions within its intended purpose! In the true understanding of this word   טוֹב  toḇ we can see that it may best be translated in most cases as ‘functional’, for when יהוה said in Berěshith/Genesis 1:31 that when He saw all that He said it was very good. What He saw was His creation functioning properly and working the way it should and this why it was ‘good’. When we walk in the Torah/instructions of יהוה, and guard His Word in our heart – to do it – then we become ‘functional’ in our expression of worshipping the Father in Spirit and in Truth, by allowing the ‘goodly word’ to overflow from our hearts and walk according to it.

The opposite to טוֹב  toḇ (good) is evil which is Hebrew is רַע ra – Strong’s H7451 meaning, ‘bad, evil, wicked, harmful’, and can also be better understood as ‘dysfunctional’ as when one walks contrary to the functional commands of the Creator and King, and walks in rebellion through lawlessness, then they are dysfunctional and will bring forth dysfunctional treasure from their heart:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 12:35 “The good man brings forth what is good from the good treasures of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked from the wicked treasure.”

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 16:23 “The heart of the wise gives discretion to his mouth, and he increases learning to his lips.”

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 8:6-9 “Listen, for I speak noble words, and the opening of my lips is about straightness; 7 “For my mouth speaks truth; and wrongness is an abomination to my lips. 8 “All the words of my mouth are in righteousness, none of them twisted or crooked, 9 “All of them plain to him who understands, and straight to those who find knowledge.”

How are the words that flow forth from your lips? Do your words line up with what ought to be upon your heart or do you render a vain lip service that reveals a heart that is far from יהוה? Our words ought to be noble words – words of royalty, as we speak the overflowing Word of our King, speaking straightness and truth – and are clearly seen in the pure actions that follow! Many render a lip service that may often sound true, yet their actions prove that their hearts are not filled with His Word that ought to overflow from within!

Tehillim,/Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing before You, O יהוה, my rock and my redeemer.”

The writer here expresses that true power of allowing the Living Word to be active in our lives, as we are quick to do that which is ‘good’ and pleasing in our Master’s sight, where as it is not so with the wicked:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 6:18 “A heart devising wicked schemes, feet quick to run to evil”

May our tongues be the pen of a speedy writer in being quick to do what is required according to the Torah, and not be found devising wicked and twisted schemes in our hearts that frantically seek alternative ways in trying to justify why they think that they do not have to do what is required by Torah! The true love song of the beloved one’s to their king, is about swift obedience and the joy of running in the commands with great perseverance, as opposed to seeking a twisted and wicked alternative and becoming dysfunctional!

This first verse declares that true dedication of a beloved one of the Almighty – can you truly make this declaration without hindrance? Or are has there been some wicked scheming’s that have been born about through traditions of man that have your heart in a mess?

Verse 2 expresses the acknowledgment by the beloved one, of the true  and pure favour that has been extended by the Living Word of our King – “Your Word has poured out favour!!!” The expression here could also render the meaning of declaring how the Word of our Beloved King is more beautiful that any words of man, for the favour we have received from our King, no man could ever bring!!!

In verses 3-5 we see the acceptance call and plea for our Righteous King to gird Himself and come – for He is the Great Conqueror, who has defeated sin and death and is coming in power and might to deliver and gather His Beloved Bride, and destroy Her enemies! These words echo the imagery of our coming King, as seen in:

Ḥazon/Revelation 19:15 “And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations. And He shall shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Ěl Shaddai.”

In Him we are safe and need not be afraid of the trials that we endure, for our inheritance in Him is secure:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall prove wrong. This is the inheritance of the servants of יהוה, and their righteousness from Me,” declares יהוה.”

Verse 6 continues to build on this great love song, in declaring the already established reign of the Beloved King, a reign that is already established in the Heavens and is coming soon to be firmly established on earth, for which we are His faithful ambassadors! His reign is forever and shall never cease!

Tehillim/Psalm 103:19 “יהוה has established His throne in the heavens, and His reign shall rule over all.”

So far this love song has expressed dedication the beautiful and gracious, conquering King who reigns on high; and in verses 7-8 we see that acknowledgement of His being anointed and truly set-apart in righteousness.

Verse 7 is quoted in Iḇ’rim/Hebrews:

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 1:8-9 “But to the Son He says, “Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever, a sceptre of straightness is the sceptre of Your reign. 9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Because of this, Elohim, Your Elohim, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

The Greek word used here for ‘lawlessness’ is ἀνομία  anomia – Strong’s G458 meaning, ‘lawlessness or lawless deeds, unrighteousness’ and comes from the word ἄνομος anomos – Strong’s G459 meaning, ‘lawless or without law, transgressors’. While many translations try to hide this fact by translating this word as ‘iniquity’ or ‘sin’, and do their best attempting to  twist the Word in order to cause it to not sound like lawlessness or without the Torah/Law of Elohim, we take note that the Greek word for sin is ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 which means, ‘sin, failure, miss the mark, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘wandering from the law of Elohim, violate the law of Elohim’.

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

This verse spells it out very plainly for those who seem to miss the fact that to not walk in the Torah is sin!

Our Great Beloved King hates ‘lawlessness’!!!

The Hebrew word used for ‘wickedness’ is רֶשַׁע resha – Strong’s H7562 and means, ‘wicked, evil, a state or condition of evil, with a focus on the violation of moral or civil law by evil deeds’.

We who are ‘in’ Messiah must too hate ‘wickedness/lawlessness’ and love righteousness – which is to guard to do all He commands us to (Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25)!!!

Messiah was anointed with myrrh and aloes at his death:

Yoḥanan/John 19:39-40 “And Naḵdimon, who at first came to יהושע by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of יהושע, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as was the habit of the Yehuḏim for burial.”

The Hebrew word translated as ‘cassia’ is קְצִיעָה qetsiah – Strong’s H7102 which is a powdered bark like cinnamon, and comes from the root verb קָצַע qatsa – Strong’s H7106 which means, ‘to scrape, scrape off, strip off’, and so here we can see that our Beloved King was ‘stripped’ and ‘anointed’ for us and conquered death in order that we may be secure in His anointing as High Priest and King over us as a set-apart royal priesthood, able to serve Him and be the fragrance of Him wherever we walk:

Qorintiyim Bet/2 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But thanks be to Elohim who always leads us on, to overcome in Messiah, and manifests through us the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 Because we are to Elohim the fragrance of Messiah among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death to death, and to the other the fragrance of life to life. And who is competent for these?”

 

Verse 9 pictures for us a bride that stands ‘ready’, dressed in her finest – ‘in gold from Ophir’. The word אוֹפִיר Ophir – Strong’s H211 was the name of a land/city which was in southern Arabia in Shelomoh’s trade route where gold evidently was traded for goods. This word also speaks of the characteristics of fine gold, and the meaning of the name is ‘reducing to ashes’. What this pictures here for us in a bride that is standing ready and dressed in her finest, is a picture of a dedicated and set-apart bride that has forsaken all and laid all aside for her King – the truest preparation of the True Bride is seen in the ability in laying every weight aside and throwing off every sin that entangles, in order to be able to stand in the finest clothes of righteousness which her Husband has given her!!!

Iyoḇ/Job 22:23-27 “If you return to the Almighty, you are built up. If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents, 24 and lay your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the wadis, 25 then the Almighty shall be your gold and your silver, strength to you. 26 Then you shall certainly delight in the Almighty, and lift up your face to Eloah, 27 make your prayer to Him. And He shall hear you, and you shall pay your vows.”

 

Verse 10 is the clear call for the remnant bride to HEAR the call to come out and be separate – for her King!

The Hebrew word for ‘listen’ is שָׁמַע  shama – Strong’s H8085 which does not just simply carry the meaning “to hear”, but rather to ‘listen with attention, comprehend and discern, give heed to what is being spoken’.

This is a call to the dedicated beloved ones to hear the call to ‘listen attentively’ to the Truth and leave the former things behind – forsake the traditions and inherited lies and come out!!!

Luqas/Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and his own life too, he is unable to be My taught one.”

Marqos/Mark 10:29-30 “יהושע said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for the sake of Me and the Good News, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come, everlasting life.”

 

He who has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says!!! If we are truly ‘listening’ to the Word, then we will recognise the need to come out of that which we were raised up in, in order to walk in the unadulterated Word of our Beloved King, who is coming for a ready and set-apart bride!!!

The question we must ask ourselves is whether or not we are in fact being prepared in our total set-apartness, or are we procrastinating?

In verse 11 – the response to the call is seen in our desire for our King to delight in us; and if we do not forsake the rags of tradition and lawlessness then how can we be lovely in His eyes??? Our righteousness is as filthy rags before Him, yet he who bore our sin and our filthiness, has clothed us from on high with His righteousness – giving us His clear Torah to walk in and be separated by. What we must ask ourselves every day in whether or not we are making ourselves ready – having stripped off the old rags of inherited lies and put on His Renewed garments of righteousness!

Ḥazon/Revelation 19:7-8 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself.” 8 And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones.”

This is a recognition of who our Master and King is – for our response is submission to Him and His Word, as we bow before our Master and King! The Hebrew word translated as ‘bow’ is שָׁחָה ‘shachah’ – H7812 and it means, ‘to bow down, to prostrate oneself before another, to humbly beseech, to do or show reverence, and to do or show obeisance’.  Obeisance means ‘a movement of the body made in token of respect or submission as well as to acknowledge the superiority of another’.

This word is also translated as ‘worship’ on many occasions and reflects the true nature of our life of worship, which is in total submission to our Master and King, as we humbly bow our lives before Him in reverence and respect, acknowledging His authority in very way, as we walk in total obedience to His Torah/Word.

All the earth will bow before our Master and King:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 66:23 “And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” declares יהוה.”

Verse 17 sums up what was started in verse 1 – We proclaim the Truth with our lips, out of the overflowing of our hearts that have been filled with His Good Word, and our dedication in living a totally set-apart life unto our Beloved King; we as His Beloved Ones are steadfast in proclaiming His Name that is to be remembered to all generations, as we let our life song declare the praises of the One who causes us to be!!!

Tehillim/Psalm 72:17-19 “Let His Name be forever, His Name continue before the sun; And let them bless themselves in Him; Let all nations call Him blessed. 18 Blessed be יהוה Elohim, Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, He alone is doing wonders! 19 And blessed be His esteemed Name forever! And let all the earth Be filled with His esteem. Aměn and Aměn.”

As we carefully consider the pure power and joy of this great love song to our Great King, may we be daily challenged to carefully take account of our lives, ensuring that our ‘love song’ to our Great King is being lived out with great joy, as we live to lift Him up in our lives, dedication our all unto Him as we forsake all that He calls us out from and live to please Him in very way, proclaiming His Name continually in all we do, as we are daily preparing ourselves to be the ready bride that He will find standing firm in Him when He comes!

And may we be a people who cause them to remember the great things that our Great King has done, aměn!

A BELOVED SONG TO OUR GREAT KING! Is your life singing the true song of the beloved? Are the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart pleasing in His sight? May His Good Word richly dwell in you, causing you to be a part of the remnant ready, and proclaiming bride who stands in Him with great reverence and joy, decalring great praise unto our Beloved and Great King!

Shalom!