THE QUEEN
[p. 338] THE QUEEN
On a previous occasion we considered the King as presented in this psalm. We might this time see something of what is said of the queen, and how she is prominent in the latter part of the psalm. This psalm speaks of the queen’s relationship to the King. In verse 9 it says, “Upon thy right hand doth stand the queen”. The King is the Lord Jesus and, seen from a prophetic viewpoint, the queen refers to the Jewish people, but for us it corresponds to the assembly. In verse 10 we find how the saints come to this position where they compose the queen. “Hearken, daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; and forget thine own people and thy father’s house: and the king will desire thy beauty; for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him”. This thought is presented in Ephesians, where the saints are brought to this.
The serious thing for us is that the One who was presented as king to the Jewish people was rejected. In all the gospels it says that His accusation was written over His cross, and this accusation was “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews”. The world was one with those who crucified Him. This is a very serious matter. The believer begins with the cross. When we are baptized, we are baptized to His death. When we break bread, we announce His death. The assembly began to be formed at the death of Christ. It is formed through suffering and at the end the assembly is presented as the Lamb’s wife; she is wife to the suffering Lamb. To reign with Christ we must suffer with Him. The Corinthians saw past this; they wished to reign too early. They reigned as kings without Christ, the One who had loved them so much. The apostles were the offscouring of the world, and ordained to this by God. We see thus it is a path of suffering we have to follow. Paul said he filled up “that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly”, Colossians 1: 24.
[p. 339] In verse 9 of our psalm it says, “Myrrh and aloes, cassia, are all thy garments”. The Spirit we have received from Christ is a Spirit that is prepared to suffer, so that the assembly comes out at the end as the Lamb’s wife; she is suitable for the suffering Lamb. So, dear brethren, we begin with the cross of Christ, where we see this accusation against Him written over His cross. He was crucified because of the testimony He bore. This accusation was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The whole world made itself accomplices in this act. It says of Joseph of Arimathaea that he was a good and righteous man, who “had not assented to their counsel and deed”, Luke 23: 51. Their counsel speaks of their intriguing and their deed of what they did, and they proceeded thus until they murdered Him. The world cannot rid itself of its guilt, unless it separates itself from this act.
The disciples made themselves one with the testimony. We break with this world and commit ourselves to the Lord by baptism and the Lord’s supper. We can see how clear the position of the disciples was in Jerusalem; they were baptized to the name of the Lord and broke bread in remembrance of Him whom the world had rejected. The world stood out as the murderer of the Lord, and these disciples had the cross to remind them of this, and what had been written upon it. The position of the world is the same even today, although hidden under a covering. In Revelation 11 we find the dead bodies of the two witnesses lying in the streets of Jerusalem. We ought not to be deceived by what we see in Sodom and Egypt, “where also our Lord was crucified”. We can stand in a right relationship today if we hold fast the truth expressed in baptism and the Lord’s supper. It is as if we say by these things, as others said once before to David, “Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse”. If we belong to any of the different systems in this world, then we have not taken our place alongside a crucified Christ, because, as He Himself said, “He that is not with me is against me”, Luke 11: 23. The believers in Corinth were not in agreement with the meaning of baptism and the breaking of [p. 340] bread. The Lord is only recognized in an outward, formal way in professing christendom. The will of man rules there. Paul says, “But far be it from me to boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world”, Galatians 6:14.
The thought of the queen in this psalm is a general idea, which embraces all, the whole company, but this appeal to the daughter is to the individual, so that we might arrive at this position which the queen here occupies. “Hearken, daughter”. I wonder if we all know what it is to hear and understand. The gifts which come down from a glorified Christ are given that we might hear. The apostle says that he was a herald and apostle and teacher. The Lord had appointed him to that: “a herald and apostle, ... a teacher of the nations in faith and truth”, 1 Timothy 2: 7. This was in respect of making known the testimony. Peter announced at Pentecost: “God has made him, this Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ”. A herald preaches Christ; an apostle represents Christ’s authority; and a teacher instructs souls.
I wonder if we are accustomed to hear. We are exhorted to hear and see and to watch. Mary in Luke 10 sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His word, and later we find her in John 12 as a worshipper, when she took the ointment of pure nard of great price. As we hearken and see and incline our ear, it means that the Lord has our ear. He has a place with us, and we begin now to reflect something of Himself.
“And the king will desire thy beauty”. We see how the queen is formed to be for the King’s pleasure. The Lord has great pleasure in us as we hearken and see and incline our ear; that is to say, when we forget our father’s house, so as to have more joy in the saints and our spiritual associations than in the natural. If our natural relationships have the first place, then the beauty in which the king delights will not be found with us. The Lord Jesus is the Lord of glory, and yet He gave up everything. Abraham was called out of his country and his father’s house. Every [p. 341] believing soul can, in the light of that, prove how much spiritual progress he has really made. The natural man’s strongest feature is nationalism, but if we retain that, we are not in agreement with God’s call. National feelings constitute the greatest hindrance of the people of God. The house of God is neither national nor international. It is completely separate from this world, governed by totally different principles from those we find in the world. The principle that belongs to the house of God comes out in this verse: “Forget thine own people and thy father’s house”. We must learn to apply these things in order to be in the position which the queen has in this psalm. The queen is a figure of the assembly as presented in Revelation 21. This psalm refers in the first place to Jerusalem here on earth, but we are speaking now of Jerusalem which is above.
The assembly ought now to reflect the light of Christ, as the moon reflects the light of the sun, when the sun is hidden from the world. Israel is waiting for a new moon. David was rejected in 1 Samuel 20 and his place was empty, as we read. This is a picture of the present time. It was the time of the new moon, that is to say, Israel’s opportunity. The time had come for Israel to arise, as it says in Isaiah 60: “Arise, shine! for thy fight is come”. But Jerusalem neglected this opportunity to arise and shine; she preferred to remain in her darkness. Therefore it says that she corresponds to Hagar, and is in bondage with her children. Outwardly professing christendom is in this position; she has taken up a Jewish position, but the word to us is, “Arise, shine! for thy light is come”. Our light is the truth which comes out in Ephesians, and we should “arise up from among the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee”, Ephesians 5: 14. Although the assembly is in ruins, we can go back to the principles which were given at the beginning. The day is coming when the assembly will shine with the glory of God. Then the latter glory of the house will be greater than the former. First love was manifest at Pentecost. “Gold of Ophir”, mentioned in verse 9, with which the queen is adorned, is found in Ephesians. Stringed instruments “out of ivory palaces” are also spoken of. These ivory palaces speak of the beauty which marks the throngs of Zion. The Lord is deriving pleasure from such today. We find in 1 Corinthians how these stringed instruments are tuned, and in chapter 12 we have the subject of the Spirit.