Wedding Psalms: Devotional 3
- Corbin York
- Apr 5
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 9
Written by Aaron York, Dr. Kate Hartman, Corbin York
Part 1: Will You Be Mine?
Story
Song
Have you ever watched a viral proposal video? A groom-to-be, ring hidden, kneels before his unsuspecting bride in a breathtaking setting. Witnesses hold their breath as love, fear, risk, and hope intertwine. If she says yes, joy erupts; if not, sorrow ripples through the crowd.
In ancient Israel, the story unfolded like this: Years ahead, the groom's and the bride's parents matched their children through a pre-engagement agreement called a Tenaim.
But a Tenaim wasn’t enough. The children had to mature and accept the match. When the time was right, the groom's father sent word to the bride's family: The time had come for the proposal.
Accompanied by family representatives, the son journeyed to the bride's home. An elaborate meal was shared. The Tenaim was read, and the son declared his love. The groom-to-be lifted a cup, took a drink, and offered it to His intended. With her sip, the bride-to-be declared, "Yes, I will be yours." Her commitment confirmed the engagement.
These scenes mirror the grandest love story in history: Jesus—God the Son—the Heavenly Groom, pursuing us, His Beloved. Sin stole intimacy. So, God promised His Son, Jesus Christ, would come. He would conquer sin and restore that lost intimacy. At the right time, the angel Gabriel brought word that this Son of God was coming.
Jesus journeyed from Heaven to Earth. He humbled himself into our frame, wrapped Himself in flesh, walked among us, and experienced our joys and sorrows. He felt the full weight of humanity—tempted, yet sinless; joyful, yet acquainted with grief. His goal was to win our hearts; He anticipated the ultimate proposal.
At a Passover meal, Jesus lifted a cup and said, "Drink this, all of you..." [1] It was more than an invitation—it was a proposal. The price of this engagement? The cross. The covenant? Sealed in His blood. The ring? The Holy Spirit. The promise? "I go to prepare a place for you." Heaven holds its breath, waiting and watching for our response.
Will we return His love or hesitate in doubt? Will we embrace or reject His proposal? He gave everything for us. Jesus's love is more than a fleeting emotion; it is an eternal commitment sealed in sacrifice. Now, our Lord Jesus asks for only one thing in return—everything.
How will you respond? Will you give Him your heart? Your love? Your complete commitment? The Heavenly Groom awaits. "Will you be mine?"
Take a Moment
Have you said "yes" to Jesus? Have you accepted His proposal? Accepting is as simple as praying, "Lord Jesus, thank you for your love. Thank you for the cross where you paid for my sins. I believe God raised you from the dead. I accept your proposal. I commit myself completely to You. Help me know your love more each day. Help me to love you more in response. Thank you for being my Heavenly Groom. Amen."
How does understanding that God gives you the ability to choose His love empower you to say "yes" to Him?
How does knowing that Jesus understands grief and temptation empower you to commit entirely to the Lord?
Consider your commitment to the Lord. How have you held back? How can you make your commitment deeper?
How can increasing your commitment open your heart to experiencing deeper intimacy with Jesus, your Heavenly Groom?
Scriptures for Meditation
2 Corinthians 11:2 – "You need to know that God's passion is burning inside me for you, because, like a loving father, I have pledged your hand in marriage to Christ, your true bridegroom." (The Passion Translation, TPT)
Luke 1:35 – "The angel replied, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God.'" (New Living Translation, NLT)
Luke 22:20 – "After supper was over, He lifted the cup again and said, 'This cup is My blood of the new covenant I make with you, and it will be poured out soon for all of you.'" (The Passion Translation, TPT)
John 1:14 – "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (New International Version, NIV)
Romans 10:9-10 – "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (New Living Translation, NLT)
Philippians 2:5-8 – "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." (New Living Translation, NLT)
1 John 4:9-10 – "The light of God's love shined within us when He sent His matchless Son into the world so that we might live through Him. This is love: He loved us long before we loved Him. It was His love, not ours. He proved it by sending His Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins." (The Passion Translation, TPT)
Part 2: I Am Yours
Story
Song
Prodigal means "lavish." In Luke 15, Jesus tells a story about a son who rebels against Jewish cultural traditions by asking for his inheritance before his father's death. This request conveys the son's disregard for his father's life, disrespect for his role, and disdain for his love. The prodigal rejects his relationship with the father for rebellion; he prefers partying–momentary pleasure–over his father's presence.
The prodigal's lavish spending attracted acquaintances who partied with him until the money ran out. Penniless and desperate, he tended swine, an unclean animal in Jewish culture. He consumed the swine's slop to keep from starving. Finally, the boy came to his senses and returned home, prepared to live as a "servant in his father's house," [2] knowing he had forfeited his rights of sonship.
But when the father saw his once-lost son on the horizon, he ran to embrace him, adorning the young man with rings and robes. The father restored the prodigal son's identity, washing him in lavish-prodigal love!
Such is the story of everyone returning home to our Heavenly Father's house. When we awaken from the stupor of drunkenness and perversion, we realize how foolishly we behaved. We experience how empty and counterfeit the pleasures of this world are. We prepare to come before God as servants, mere slaves in His house. But our merciful Father God declares, "No longer do I call you servants… but sons!"
Father God removes our filthy, polluted garments and exchanges them for gowns of salvation and robes of righteousness. Jesus replaces our filthy rags [3] with white linen, adorning us like a radiant bride dressed for her wedding ceremony. Jesus clothes us in His righteousness and declares, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way."
A magnificent exchange occurs when the Father's lavish love cleanses prodigals. Perverted hearts inflamed by the misplaced passion of lust become purified in the refiner's fire of God's perfect love. Father God loves us absolutely and calls us to reciprocate His affection; Jesus loves us passionately and beckons us to respond to him like a bride for her groom.
Removing our misery experienced under sin's bondage, signified by bronze rings worn by lifelong indentured slaves, Jesus lavishes us with golden rings of covenantal affection. Bondservants of Jesus the Son experience true freedom, while the "freemen" of this world find themselves in true bondage. The symbols of our slavery are exchanged for rings that set us apart in covenant with our Bridegroom and our God.
Respond to the invitation of Jesus in faith, believing and trusting that He is ready to meet you with a ring and a robe. He stands waiting, looking for you, ready to embrace you–cleansing you of all unrighteousness and transforming the areas of your greatest pain into the promise of salvation for those around you.
Wherever your heart has turned to another, remember that you have not failed an angry master, you have stumbled before a loving Father who is eager to redeem and restore you.
Take a Moment
Where do you need to let God's lavish love cover over the guilt of your lavish lifestyle?
Where has the enemy's plan most marked you in pain and misery that God is now inviting you into true "comfort" to turn this into a future ministry?
What desires need to be purified in the Father's refining fire?
How can you prioritize your relationship with God the Father? With Jesus, your Heavenly Groom?
Do you need to forgive yourself for the prodigal living that once marked your life that the enemy tries to use to bring a false identity of shame designed to make you settle for being a servant to God, who wants you to be a spiritual son?
How can you begin to 'boast' about your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) to display God's great mercy?
What places were signs of bondage that now God takes those 'rings' and places them on your hand to declare: "You, My Bride, are the prize of My passion!"
Scriptures for Contemplation
Romans 12:1 – "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." (New International Version, NIV)
John 15:15 – "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (New International Version, NIV)
Isaiah 61:10 – "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness..." (King James Version, KJV)
Revelation 19:8 – "It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." (English Standard Version, ESV)
Isaiah 64:6 – "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment..." (English Standard Version, ESV)
1 John 4:19 – "We love because he first loved us." (English Standard Version, ESV)
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (English Standard Version, ESV)
Genesis 50:20 – "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (English Standard Version, ESV)
Romans 8:28 – "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (New International Version, NIV)
Footnotes
[1] Matthew 26:27-29, ESV "27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”
[2] Luke 15:19, ESV "19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."
[3] Isaiah 64:6, ESV "6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
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