The Bride of Christ and Her Wedding Dress

He who has ears to hear let him hear what the spirit of the Lord is saying:

I want to share this soul searching song with you by Derek Webb.  The bible says that we are supposed to be able to look into the Word of God and see our natural face.   For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed – James 1:23

It’s a song about the bride of Christ.  It’s about how the church (the bride) has prostituted herself for her own selfish desires.  It addresses today’s popular mindset of drawing nearer to Christ in hopes of enjoying the things in the world.   We must stop promising to love and obey God and then prefer possessions, positions and pleasures over the Prince of Peace.  Like this song states “One hand in a pot of gold and the other in Your side.  There are many who profess to love Jesus but are so easily satisfied and influenced with less than Christ.

Ian, a truly annointed praise and worship leader at Oasis (where I worship) intoduced us to this song yesterday. But before he sang, he led us to  Hosea beginning with chapter 2: 

 (Charges against an Unfaithful Wife)

 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—for she is no longer my wife,

and I am no longer her husband.  Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts.  Otherwise, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst, as in a dry and barren wilderness.  And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in prostitution. Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way.  She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil and drinks.’ “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way. When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, ‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’ She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has— the grain, the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold. But she gave all my gifts to Baal. “But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine I generously provided each harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave her to cover her nakedness. I will strip her naked in public, while all her lovers look on. No one will be able to rescue her from my hands. I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days— all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees, things she claims her lovers gave her. I will let them grow into tangled thickets, where only wild animals will eat the fruit. I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord.

But because he loves his people so much the Lord follows by saying

 The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel “But then I will win her back once again.

Then he sang the this powerful song “Wedding Dress” by Derek Webb (lyrics below)

 Lyrics:
If you could love me as a wife
and for my wedding gift, your life
Should that be all I’d ever need
or is there more I’m looking for

and should I read between the lines
and look for blessings in disguise
To make me handsome, rich, and wise
Is that really what you want

I am a whore I do confess
But I put you on just like a wedding dress
and I run down the aisle
and I run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
but I put you on just like a ring of gold
and I run down the aisle to you

So could you love this bastard child
Though I don’t trust you to provide
With one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side

I am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers so less wild
That I would take a little cash
Over your very flesh and blood

Because money cannot buy
a husband’s jealous eye
When you have knowingly deceived his wife

By Derek Webb

I invite you to come fellowship with me at:  Oasis in Aurora, IL.