The importance of patience and self-control leading up to the day of marriage are important Biblical virtues. Yet, the Bible also encourages us to make the days of wedding preparation a time of joy! While being patient and discreet, a young couple can eagerly look forward to their marriage with joyful anticipation.

Let’s consider a few Scriptures that highlight the blissful joy and exuberant delight of preparation for a wedding.

The wedding day is eagerly greeted!

“Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race” (Psalm 19:5). In the context of this verse, the psalmist is comparing the sunrise (mentioned in the preceding verse) to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber to go forth to claim his bride.

Every happily married man can remember with fond delight the morning of the wedding, the dawn of the day that he would be united to his bride. It is a day of joy, a day of fulfilled dreams, and a day of praise for God’s goodness. A great gift is about to be bestowed!

The wedding day features beauty and adornment.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

In Bible times, both the groom and the bride were bedecked with jewels and ornaments. The groom, if he were a man of station, often wore a glittering sword and other emblems of rank and power. The bride wore an ornate headdress sparkling with jewels and bright coins. Similarly, God adorns us as His bride, and He rejoices over us! Likewise, He calls us to rejoice over Him.

The wedding day is the fulfillment of the desires of the faithful.

“For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee” (Isaiah 62:5). There is a special delight, a heightened sense of joy, when the groom and bride have kept themselves physically pure and set apart for each other. Tragically, this is becoming increasingly rare in our promiscuous society.

A Christian wedding is a great opportunity to testify to the goodness of our God in creating marriage and as a humble, but powerful witness to wholesome Biblical values. A radiant bride, clad in dazzling white, and a stalwart groom, upright in his convictions, who have reserved themselves physically for the day of their wedding are together a dynamic testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every future groom or bride reading these lines should take special care to ensure now the joy and delight of their anticipated wedding day! Do not dim the joy of that future day for a selfish or sinful pleasure in the fleeting moments of the present. A shining testimony and a firm foundation for future trust can be yours if you will keep yourself morally pure for that happy day!