The Lord's admiration of his Church is absolutely wonderful, and his description of her beauty is glowing—no, blazing! She is not merely fair. She is "all fair." Completely beautiful. No exceptions.

How can this be? He views her in himself, washed in his sin-atoning blood and clothed in his meritorious righteousness, and he considers her to be full of beauty. No wonder! What he admires is his own perfect excellency; for the holiness, glory, and perfection of his Church are his own glorious garments wrapped around his beloved bride.

She is not simply pure, or well-proportioned. She is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed—but more than that, through her Lord she has obtained a meritorious righteousness by which actual beauty is conferred upon her. Believers have a positive righteousness given to them when they become "accepted in the Beloved." Not just "not guilty." Beautiful!

Nor is the Church barely lovely—she is superlatively so. Her Lord calls her the "fairest among women." She has a real worth and excellence that cannot be rivaled by all the nobility and royalty of the world. If Jesus could exchange his elect bride for all the queens and empresses of earth, or even for the angels in heaven, he would not. He would not! He puts her first and foremost—"fairest among women." Like the moon she far outshines the stars.

And is this an opinion he's ashamed of? Never! He invites all men to hear it. He sets a "behold" before it—a special note of exclamation, arresting attention. "Behold, you are fair, my love; behold, you are fair!" He publishes this opinion abroad even now, and one day from the throne of his glory he will avow the truth of it before the assembled universe. "Come, you blessed of my Father" will be his solemn affirmation of the loveliness of his elect.

You. He's talking about you.