J. C. Philpot - Daily Portions

Devotional For

January 30

      "The king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework."--Psalm 45:13, 14
      
      This is a beautiful description of the bridal garments of the Church as the queen. The gold was to be wrought into her clothing, the raiment to be of needlework, intimating that her robe of justifying righteousness was wrought, as it were, as in needlework, stitch by stitch; yet that every thread was embroidered with gold. Here we have the thread of the humanity in union with the gold of Deity, and yet each in such close union that the thread is but one. In gold thread the beauty, the value is in the gold; yet how close the union. Gold by itself could not be made into embroidery. So Deity cannot suffer, bleed, or die; but humanity can in union with it. Thus, as our blessed Lord went through the whole work which the Father gave him to do, his Deity, being in union with his obeying, suffering humanity, stamped each successive movement, as he went through it, with all the value and validity of Godhead. It is this union of Deity with humanity which made the work of redeeming love so unspeakably glorious, and so meritoriously efficacious. As Hart says:
      
      "Almighty God sighed human breath."
      
      It is indeed a mystery; but "great is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh." O glorious mystery!
      
      "The highest heavens are short of this; 'Tis deeper than the vast abyss; 'Tis more than thought can e'er conceive, Or hope expect, or faith believe."