and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
- Isaiah 61:3
I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Isaiah 61:10
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
- Eph. 5:25-33
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
“This is what the Lord says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.
- Jeremiah 2:2
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
- Isaiah 41:18
The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!”
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
- Revelation 19:4-8
My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
In your majesty ride forth victoriously
in the cause of truth, humility and justice;
let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet.
Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
Daughters of kings are among your honored women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:
Forget your people and your father’s house.
Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord.
The city of Tyre will come with a gift,
people of wealth will seek your favor.
All glorious is the princess within her chamber;
her gown is interwoven with gold.
In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions follow her—
those brought to be with her.
Led in with joy and gladness,
they enter the palace of the king.
- Psalm 45:1-15
The Boilerplate
My wife took a Bible Study in 2011. (There was a note in the study guide that identified September 2 and that the study was being held on Friday mornings, or I might not have ever figured out what year.) My wife had become a Christian in 2000. She greatly respected the pastor’s wife who was also a pastor. The pastor’s wife spent time as the interim associate pastor, and this Bible study might have been during that time.
My wife passed away in March 2023, and I found this study guide as I was cleaning up. It is a Beth Moore study guide. Most of the questions are close-ended, mostly fill-in-the-blank. But my wife was eager to learn. She wrote her thoughts in the margins, sometimes encouraged to do so by Beth Moore. I will use her comments as I did once before, calling this a “with a little help” series in that my wife contributes. There is more to follow in that she wrote Scriptures and prayers in a notebook. Probably what she found in her personal Bible study, giving her encouragement through the long illness that took her life.
So, instead of writing about a topic at random, I am going to write on my wife’s comments in the Study Guide. It may follow the study guide topics, but it may not.
Discussion on this topic
How do you describe Christ as your Savior?
“Indescribably beautiful. Splendor to the nth.’ ”
- My wife’s response
I am the engineer, but maybe I rubbed off. To those who do not know about “the nth.” Splendor to the nth is splendor to infinity, literally splendor times splendor times splendor … forever.
I didn’t know in 48 years of marriage that she used that term.
But now, a bride becomes a wife. What is distinctive about a bride that you do not have in a wife?
“Pure, virginal, fresh, fulfilled dreams and desires, desirable, beautiful, glowing.”
- My wife’s response
My wife turned to her father before she walked from the usher’s room in the entrance to the church and down the aisle. She said, “Dad, it’s a much shorter walk if we turn right and leave the church and then I could forget this night ever happened. I don’t know if I want to turn left and walk down the aisle.” Her father said, “Absolutely not. I raised a daughter who could stand by the oath she made when she said ‘yes’.” And she said that after she had used her meager savings to pay for the wedding arrangements, nearly every penny, but her father had not helped at all financially. Yes, my wife was a flight risk, and she thought that I lusted more than I loved at the beginning, but we lived until death do us part, 48 years plus a few more days. We learned that loving one another is hard work, but then you never feel complete unless you are with the other. Maybe that is how Jesus is the groom, and the church is His bride. We are never complete without Him.
What is a young bride willing to do?
“To love and cherish, and eventually have kids.”
- My wife’s response
For those societies that do not use the term, in America, a “kid” means a “child,” not a baby goat.
What did your bridegroom have for you?
“New life. Excitement. New beginnings.”
- My wife’s response
After reading Psalm 45, describe your Groom regarding your love for Him?
“Steadfast. Eternal. Abundant.”
- My wife’s response
After reading Psalm 45, describe your Groom regarding your respect for Him?
“Cooking his meals, preparing a new home, honoring him when out with friends and family.”
- My wife’s response
After reading Psalm 45, describe your Groom regarding your awe of Him?
“Knowledgeable, capable to show compassion when needed – the right words to say.”
- My wife’s response
After reading Psalm 45, describe your Groom regarding your joy in Him?
“Anticipating his homecoming to the house, being able to talk and become one in ideas and thoughts.”
- My wife’s response
In all those descriptors, some sound like me and some sound like Jesus. She followed Psalm 45 a little, but mostly, she spoke from the heart. At times, I felt as if I was reading her diary as she wrote those responses. Marriages require a lot of work, but I think Christ Jesus marrying the church will be a labor of Love.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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