“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” – Psalm 46:4
And that City is the Bride of Christ (Ps.45:13-15; Rev. 21:2, 22:1-2).
It’s interesting that this follows pretty closely on the heals of the Bride/wedding day language of Psalm 45. The ending of Ps.45 focuses on the Bride of the King (who is called God, v.6) being brought to Him in glory and beauty and joy……and now, just a few verses later, we read of the glad city of God, His holy habitation in which a joy-giving river flows.
I probably wouldn’t connect the image of the Bride and the City on my own, but John seems to give us warrant to do so in Revelation 21:2,
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
It would seem that John foresees the people of God as both a holy eschatological city in which God Himself will dwell and a beautifully adorned bride brought to her husband, God the Son….I think the parallels with Psalm 45 and 46 are enough for us to see a connection here. The beautiful Bride brought to the God-King of Ps.45 is the Holy and happy city in which God dwells in Ps.46…..that is to say, both are images of God’s people…
If that is the case, then the “river whose streams make glad the city of God” is, I believe, the Holy Spirit of God Himself. Both John 7:38-39 and Revelation 22:1 point us in this direction. And if this River is the Spirit, it makes sense that the next phrase refers to God’s dwelling in the city…..He dwells there by His Spirit, the Happifying River.
More to say, much more to say, but once again time is running out. I will say these last few things quickly. How is the River of God’s Spirit set loose in the heart of His Holy City? How is the spring of the Holy Spirit planted in the heart of the Bride? Only by the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, the God-King. When Christ is crucified, the Rock of God Himself is struck by the staff of holy wrath, He is cleft by the blow and upon His vindicating resurrection, the living water of the Holy Spirit is released into the hearts of His people…..the Holy Spirit who will beautify and gladden His Bride, His City, wherein He will dwell for eternity.
