The great multitude rejoices at the prospect of this marriage. Every wedding is a cause of great celebration and rejoicing, but this wedding will be as great as the individuals involved in the union. It is the Son of God who comes to be married. Where can a bride worthy for him be found? Is she some exalted creature who has only ever known the perfection of holiness and never once transgressed even the least commandment of God? Is she one whose honour could never have been questioned because of her consistent faithfulness? No, amazingly she has come from the lowest depths of sin. She has known degradation and filth. She once had the heart of a beast and was destined for eternal punishment. This is the bride that the Father has chosen for his Son. She had to be rescued from the lowest depths of shame and depravity. She had to be bought with a price that is the measure of the love the Son of God had for her. He could not give something that he possessed for her redemption, no matter how costly. He had to give himself to buy her back from condemnation and death. He had to nurture her through all her backslidings and falls until she was washed, pure and blameless in his sight and prepared for her wedding day. It is their own wedding day that they celebrate. No one picture is full enough to do justice to the total reality. In one verse she is portrayed as a great multitude, in another she is the bride of Christ, prepared for the great day.