Revelation 21:2, 22:1, ”And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband….
…Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb…”
Psalm 46:4, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God… “
In Psalm 45:13-15, we read about a princess / bride being led to her king / groom who is God (Ps.45:6). Then in Psalm 46:4, we read aboIt the city of God in which God dwells and a river that flows through and gladdens this city. At first there might seem to be no connection between the royal bride in Ps.45 and the river-gladdened city in Ps.46, but I think that John—at least—saw a connection.
In Revelation 21:2, we read about the “holy city” which is to be the dwelling place of God. But this is not just a city, it is also pictured as a “bride adorned for her husband.” What’s more, the bridal city (the people of God) has been adorned for her “marriage” to the divine groom by the blood of the groom Himself (Rev. 7:14 + 19:8), made pure and blameless by and for the one to whom she is now presented (Ephesians 5:25-27).
The connection to Psalm 45 and 46 comes in Revelation 22:1. There we read that the throne of God and of the Lamb stands at the heart of this this bridal city, and from it pours rivers of living water—the Holy Spirit, who gladdens the people of God with God’s own joy in Himself and whom Christ promised would flow from the hearts of all who enthrone Him as Lord (John 7:37-39).
To any and all who receive the crucified and risen Jesus as Lord and God and Life: we have been washed in the blood of Christ and robed in His own purity and will be presented to Him as a bride to her husband; we have been and are being made into a holy city in which God Himself dwells and reigns and flows forth as a river of infinite gladness…..this is the grace-secured destiny for all who trust in this God!
