Psalm 45 Superscription: For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. b A wedding song. The phrase Set to “The Lilies” may refer to beauty of the composition, or the tune, or even to a six-stringed instrument known as the Shoshannim. This royal psalm was written on the occasion of a royal wedding, though the identity of the king is unknown. A “song of love” in the superscription could also be translated “A Wedding Song”. The psalm contains an introduction in which the author expresses his desire to write a fitting poem (verse 1); a song addressed to the king, emphasis his royal majesty (verses 2-9); a song to the bride, exhorts her to become the king’s wife (verses 10-15); and a conclusion expresses the wish that the king be blessed with a permanent dynasty (verses 16-17).
1 My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house.
11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord.
12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift, d people of wealth will seek your favor.
13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.
14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her— those brought to be with her.
15 Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
SECTIONS:
I Poetic Preface
II The King-Groom (song of celebration)
III The Princes -Bride
IV Future children from the Union
V Poetic Postscript
THEME: The joyful future wedding of the church to Christ (Messianic) when He comes to reign
QUESTIONS:
- How is the King described?
- What does the King do?
- How long does the throne of this King last?
- What does the King love and what does the King hate?
- What is the bride asked to do?
- What will the nations do and for how long?
We gather from this superscription a few things. The primary fact is that this is a love song. It’s written on the occasion of the wedding of a Davidic king. It’s a Maschil (a well-written psalm) for this momentous occasion.
Note: superscriptions found at the beginning of numerous psalms identify the writer, furnish background material, provide musical instructions or indicate the use or purpose of the psalm.
A maskil is a literary or musical term. Most likely, it relates to the purpose of specific psalms or how they were performed or recited. Somebible translations have rendered the word in English, referring to it as “a contemplation” (NKJV), “a well-written song” (NET Bible), “a contemplative psalm” (NHEB), or “an instruction” (YLT). Many scholars believe that a maskil is meant to be meditative and to impart wisdom.
This was written for a human Davidic king for his wedding procession. This song was written for this exciting and joyful event. At the same time, this psalm is Messianic. It relates to Jesus and his bride the Church throughout. In verse 2, from a Davidic King side, we see a king being praised for his handsome appearance and gracious speech and evident blessing from God. But from the Messianic perspective, we see a Savior who is both inside and out the most beautiful man to ever live. A man whose speech – and whole life – was full of grace and truth.
In verses 3-5 this King is encouraged to engage in military exploits. This encouragement would fit into the life of a human king. He’s brave and goes into battle to protect his people. He’s their deliverer. And this usually comes as a result of fighting and war. But from a Messianic standpoint, we need to ask – what will Jesus need to do before he comes and reunites with his Bride, the Church on earth? He needs to come on his white horse and destroy the enemies of his people Israel and set up his Millennial Reign wherein his people will reign with him. There we’ll see truth and meekness and righteous fully carried out in every way.
In verses 6 and 7 It’s difficult to see this on a merely-human level. In these verses the King is recognized as a deity. I wondered what Jewish people who don’t receive Jesus as their Messiah do with this verse. I looked at one of their commentaries and noticed they had changed the word “God” in verse 6 to be “Judge.” To a Jew who doesn’t recognize that Jesus is both man and God – Davidic King and Yahweh God – there’s not a lot he can do with this passage. To avoid the claims of Christ, he needs to try to translate himself out of this uncomfortable reality – that in Jesus Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells bodily.
This King has noble women attending him in his court. But the crowning jewel is his queen. She’s bejeweled with gold from a place known for its gold – Ophir. If we relate this to Jesus, he comes for his queen, his bride, the Church. In this life we’re poor in many ways, yet, spiritually rich. When we’re with him – perhaps not wearing gold, but walking on streets of gold, we’ll appreciate the riches given to us by our King forever.
Verses 10-12 are a direct appeal to the princess – soon to be the queen-on behalf of the King. The princess is encouraged to leave and cleave (Genesis 2:24). The order is for the man to leave his parents and cleave to his wife. Here it’s the opposite. The bride-to-be is encouraged to leave all else behind and join herself in marriage to this desirable king. If she has difficulty leaving her present life, she needs to remember that he’s the ruler of this domain and her king. She would do well to submit to him. If she does, even foreigners from the wealthiest of places, like Tyre, will be there to congratulate her on making the right decision. Let’s apply this to our relationship to Christ. He won’t have competition for our affections. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. We must leave what we’ve known and belong to our great King alone.
Sometimes you might think that we’re the only ones who are benefiting from our relationship. But Jesus said that as the Father loved him, he loves us. Jesus has prepared a place for us so that we can be with him forever. He laid down his life for us and desires we be with him forever and to see his glory. Sometimes we struggle to be wholly his and are tempted to go back to our old way of life. But Christ is our Lord and our master. He has all power on earth and heaven. Everything, including us, belongs to him. Can you imagine on that day we reign with Christ in the Millennium and all nations are serving our King? Surely, we will have these foreign nations there with us, bringing their gifts.
The psalmist praised the King to the princess, and now he does the reverse of that in verses 13-15.
As for the Bride of Christ, this points to our adornment on the day we’re united to Christ our King. Our garments will be bright and clean without spot or wrinkle. All creation will be observers of this future event.
In verses 16 and 17, the psalmist looks forward to the fruit of his upcoming marriage – children to take his place and rule in his stead. The psalmist promises to make this man’s name be remembered in all generations. But isn’t it interesting that we don’t know the exact identity of this King? Is it David? Solomon? Rehoboam? We don’t know. And yet, we know the name of Jesus – still to this day. The world knows his name. And the Church praises him to this day. The truth is that we will reign with him and be made princes in the earth when our King comes to reign and have his wedding procession and supper with us. What a day that will be.
https://bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Psalms/Psalm%2045.html
Verse 7 With the Lord there are absolutes. Young people fail, because there are no absolutes. With the Lord, there is no middle ground. You are either on the side of right, or you are on the side of wrong. We are all seeking after righteousness. Not only does God love righteousness, but He hates evil. Jesus took on the form of flesh and was crucified. This act, not only established His righteousness, but purchased ours as well which should fill us with gladness. Christians are clothed in His righteousness and has put us in right standing with God through the shedding of His blood. All believers are the bride of Christ.
Verse 8: Ancient Semitic wedding customs celebrated the groom more than the bride. The guests eagerly awaited glimpse of his clothing and attendants. The grand march played for his arrival, not the bride’s. “Myrrh, and aloes, and cassia” were burial spices, similar to what the women took to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning, in order to wrap Jesus’ body to preserve it. These same spices were present at the wedding.
Verse 10-11: The bride, who wasn’t an Israelite, was supposed to leave (“forget”), her family to be joined with her husband, who was a king over God’s people. In the same way, believers must forsake their attachment to earthly things to be joined with Christ (Luke 14:26-33). Of the 10 virgins, only five were ready when the bridegroom came. We are to be ready and not be attached to this world. He is coming for a church that is without spot or wrinkle. He will not share our affections. We must be loyal to Him. Worldly things have crept into the church. We must get rid of them immediately. Everything in the church should be done by His example. Verse 12 The church should give off such a beauty and holiness that everyone will desire to come and join in. The Light of the church should be a beacon to the lost of the world.
Verse 13: “Her clothing is of wrought gold”-This is different from internal grace, which is sometimes spoken of as a clothing (1 Peter 5:5). And this is not the robe of immortality and glory. Rather it is the robe of Christ’s righteousness, which he’s given us through faith. It is”wrought gold” because it’s valuable, splendid and glorious.
Verse 14: He alludes to the custom of conducting the bride to the bridegroom’s house. A virgin train follows the bride as she is led to the palace of the bridegroom. A royal bride had attendants. These symbolize the Gentile converts that should attach themselves to the Church, and follow her into Christ’s presence. This beautiful church is full of good works “needlework?’
Verse 15: “They shall enter into the King’s palace”: As the daughters of a king we shall enter God’s kingdom, heaven, to dwell in it with our Lord and Husband, for evermore. This is the glorious homecoming of all those redeemed from this earth. There will be joy unspeakable at this glorious going home day.
My reflection:
Sometimes I long for Jesus to return when I see a world gone mad. A world who calls good called evil and evil good. My sister would like to Jesus return too but she worries for her grandchildren. But when we talk I share with her that it’s best we pray for God’s return than to have children grow up not believing in God-to be godless. Schools seem to be brainwashing children to be faithless . And in this world God’s ways and morality are quickly disappearing. There is violence and uprisings and every country seems to be turning away from God. When Jesus returns the psalmist says he will ride victoriously coming in all his splendor with his truth, humility and righteousness in a world that is quickly losing these virtues. He will be coming for his bride, the church.
And his bride is to forget her people and her father’s house, to leave it all behind because what lies ahead is worth it!! She will soon enter the palace of the King. And she is also told to honor her King as Lord. I am trying to do that in my life now. To see that what I do in brings honor to God, even if I’m not always successful. What a beautiful picture the psalmist paints for a Christian’s future with a King who has prepared a joyous home for his Bride.
SONG: Soon and Very Soon, When we all Get to Heaven, Majesty Worship His Majesty, How Great is Our God,