DIVINE INTEREST IN MARRIAGE
[p. 10] DIVINE INTEREST IN MARRIAGE
Before saying a brief word on this scripture I would recall to our minds the deep interest of divine Persons in the subject of marriage. It was God who thought of a helpmate for Adam, and Scripture makes manifest that each Person of the Trinity has a personal interest in the conception of marriage. The Father is concerned that His Son should have a wife, as we see typically in Abraham. Christ is occupied with the thought of having a wife; he is looking forward to the consummation of His marriage in conditions of glory. And the Spirit, too, is deeply interested in this matter, for He has taken His place alongside the bride to say “Come” to the Bridegroom.
And not only are divine Persons concerned about this matter, but all the saints are learning how the marriage relation is interwoven with their whole spiritual life. That “ye ... be to another, who has been raised up from among the dead” (Romans 7:4), is a thought which depends for its meaning on the marriage relation. To be “joined to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 6:17) is an individual application of the same thought. For each local assembly to be espoused “unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2) is in view of marriage. And in Ephesians 5 the assembly is viewed as the wife of Christ; she has been brought to union. So that exercise as to the marriage relation touches us all; we are all called to have part in it.
It is a thought of divine love that there should be a natural relationship which serves to illustrate the relationship which will subsist between a divine Person who has become Man, and is now glorified, and the assembly as elevated by divine grace so as to be suitable for union with Him. We are privileged to view the present occasion in the light of this wondrous thought of divine love. The marriage relation is marked, on one side of it, by subjection, but without any thought of inferiority or disparity. The assembly being subjected to the Christ conveys no thought [p. 11] of a servile relation; it is subjection to the claim of an infinite love. And that is the model of wifely subjection.
Those who take up this new relationship today have the spiritual privilege of taking it up in the light of all the great thoughts of God with reference to it. The Lord would shed the lustre of all that is in His own mind upon the relationship. It is for those who take it up to realise the great favour of God which calls them to grace the relationship in a way that will honour Him, and lead to continuous rejoicing in Him. It is with that thought in mind that I have read the verse from Isaiah 61:10. There is the sense of all that is good coming in from the hand of God; He is joyfully recognised as the Source and Giver of all that is fitting in relation to Himself. So that taking it up brings a joy comparable to the joy of the bridegroom and the bride. It is the privilege of our beloved brother and sister to take up this new relationship as God-given, and something intended to increase their joy in the One who has given it.
I think we see in this Scripture in a striking way how a bridegroom and a bride may take up their new relationship. We are told that “a bridegroom decketh himself with the priestly turban”. This suggests that his intention is to take up things in spiritual intelligence and dignity. It suggests that he has in mind the service of God. He stands prepared for priestly service in praise and in prayer. He is thinking of having a morning and evening altar in his new home. One could hardly think of anyone decking himself with the priestly turban in the assembly who does not wear it at home. On the side of mercy we have sung that ‘Our times are in Thy hand’ (210:1), and in the assurance of this we desire that what is spiritual may predominate in the home and lives of those who are the subjects of our prayers today.
Then it is said that “a bride adorneth herself with her jewels”. Worldly adornments on such an occasion as this give the saints no pleasure; they lead to sorrow. But there are jewels of imperishable value as being God-given, and our dear sister has worn some of them amongst us locally, and we trust they will shine more and more for the comfort of saints in another locality.
We are thankful for the grace that has been upon our dear brother and sister in the past, and we look that this may increase, and that there may be distinctly more for Christ as the result [p. 12] of their marriage. May they so walk in this new relationship that God may be honoured, and that no cloud may come upon their spiritual joy!
A word given at a Marriage Meeting, Teignmouth 1941