Psalms 45:1-17
1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
4 And in thy majesty ridea prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.
6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house;
11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.b
13 The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.
14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace.
16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
The Answer: The King Messiah and His Glory
1. The King in His majesty and power (Psalms 45:1)
2. His throne and His glory (Psalms 45:6)
3. With the King, sharing His glory and kingdom (Psalms 45:9)
This beautiful Psalm, a perfect gem, gives the answer to the prayer of distress, “Arise for our help”, with which the preceding Psalm closed. It is also a Maschil Psalm and a traditional view claims Solomon as the author. And how the critics have laboured, without success, to explain away its Messianic meaning! The Jews have borne witness to this fact. The Chaldean Targum paraphrases verse 2 by saying, “Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is greater than that of the sons of men.” And the eminent Jewish expositor Aben-Ezra says, “This Psalm treats of David, or rather of his son the Messiah.” But the first chapter in the Hebrew Epistle establishes forever that the Lord Jesus Christ is here prophetically revealed. It has the inscription upon Shoshannim” (lilies). Here the theory that the inscriptions belong to preceding Psalms breaks down, for He is the Lily of the Valley, revealed now as the King, the Beloved One.
What sublime descriptions of the Person of our Lord! Here is His perfect Humanity, fairer than the children of men, with grace poured into His lips. His kingly glory, His manifestation in glory, executing the vengeance of God upon His enemies and delivering His waiting people. Here is His deity, for the King is God, “Thy Throne, O God, is forever”; His cross, He loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and the oil of gladness which is upon Him in resurrection glory, and His fellows share His glory. He receives the kingdom. With Him is the queen at His right hand in gold of Ophir, the Lamb's wife, to share His rule and reign with Him. The King's daughter is Israel, now all glorious within, born again, with garments of wrought gold, the symbol of glory. Her companions are nations now brought to the King. From henceforth the Name, which is above every other name, will be remembered and His people will praise Him forever and ever.