The Bridegroom and the Bride

1 Because I love Zion,
I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem,
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
2 The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
3 The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
5 Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem,
just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

Marriage is a metaphor often used in the Bible to describe God’s love for his people. Certainly “treasures in heaven” has rich meaning, and the Lord often uses that phrase to express the infinite value of salvation and eternal life. But in Isaiah 62 and other passages, we also find word pictures describing the Lord as a bridegroom rejoicing over his people as his bride. It is a deeply personal metaphor.

Isaiah prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem, the people’s exile to another land, and, later, their restoration. The promise of salvation is pictured this way: “No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah [‘My Delight is in her’], and your land Beulah [‘Married’].” And “as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

Revelation 21:2-3 describes the “new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” And a loud voice says, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people. . . . They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

We eagerly await that day. The new Jerusalem will shine “with the glory of God, and its brilliance [will be] like that of a very precious jewel” (Revelation 21:11). And “the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” (22:17).

Our hearts overflow with joy at the promise of our eternal inheritance, that you, Lord, will live with us forever. We give you thanks. In Jesus, Amen.