January 30

All glorious is the princess in her chamber; her gown is embroidered with gold. In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you. — Ps 45:13-14 BSB

This passage gives a beautiful picture of the bridal garments of the Church, the queen. Her garments are embroidered with gold, symbolizing her robe of righteousness, woven stitch by stitch with the golden thread of Christ’s deity and humanity. The humanity is woven together with the gold of divinity, so closely united that the two are inseparable. Just as gold thread is used to make fine embroidery—where the value is in the gold, yet the thread is still necessary—so too in Christ’s work of redemption, His deity and humanity were united. Deity cannot suffer, bleed, or die, but humanity can, and when humanity is united with deity, the work becomes infinitely valuable.

As Christ fulfilled the work given to Him by the Father, His deity united with His suffering humanity stamped each moment of His obedience, suffering, and death with the infinite value of Godhead. This union of deity and humanity made His work of redemption so glorious and effective. As the poet says, “Almighty God sighed human breath.”

It is indeed a mystery, but as Scripture says, “Great is the mystery of godliness—God manifest in the flesh.”

“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.”