Psalms 45:1-17

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, (or, upon the lilies), for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. We may look upon the 45 th Psalm as being a sort of compendium of the Song of Solomon. It is written, too, upon the same subject, and that is not the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter; only the strangest and most whimsical fancy could ever have found Pharaoh's daughter either in this Psalm or in the Book of the Canticles. It is a description of Christ and his Church; a song of love between that pair for ever affianced, and soon to sit down together at the marriage supper in glory.

Psalms 45:1. My heart is inditing a good matter:

Or, as the margin has it, «My heart boileth or bubbleth up with good matter.» It is said of Origen, one of the ancient fathers of the Church, that whenever he preached, he preached with great earnestness and fervor; but that, when he spoke of Christ, he seemed to be all on fire. So, whenever our hearts speak of the good matter which concerns Christ, our souls should be all on fire, we should be boiling over with love to him.

Psalms 45:1. I speak of the things which I have made touching the king:

A man can never speak so well of the things which he has learned, or heard, as of the things which he has made, that is, the things which he has experienced. Indeed, this is your life-work and mine, beloved, to tell to others the things which we have made our own touching the king.

Psalms 45:1. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

A ready writer writes what he has thought of beforehand, what he has well meditated upon, and digested; so the psalmist declares that this rapturous song is as certainly true as the verba scripta of a thoughtful accomplished penman.

Psalms 45:2. Thou art fairer than the children of men:

The Hebrew word here is doubled, as much as to say, «Thou art doubly fair; thou art fair, fair; twice fairer than the children of men.» Both in outward appearance although his visage was so sadly marred while he was here, and in personal character, our Lord Jesus Christ is «fairer than the children of men.»

Psalms 45:2. Grace is poured into thy lips:

Grace has, in the most copious manner, been poured upon Christ, and now there pours from his lips a very cataract of grace; floods of love, and tenderness, and holy eloquence stream from his lips.

Psalms 45:2. Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.

Put thy sword where it will be ready for use; come forth, and let us see thee appear in thy strength, O most Mighty! For this is one of the names of Christ: «I have laid help upon One that is mighty; I have exalted One chosen out of the people.»

Psalms 45:4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

You may see, on some of the ancient slabs, representations of Oriental monarchs riding in their chariots, perhaps engaged in hunting, or pursuing their enemies, with their bow and arrow in their hands, and their sword upon their thigh. So is our Saviour thus graphically described. His Word is his sword, and the testimony of his ministers he makes to be like sharp arrows sticking in the hearts of his enemies. May it be so this day, and everyday may Christ thus ride prosperously!

Psalms 45:6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter.

This could not have been said of Solomon; for he was never called God. It refers to none other than Christ the King, whose throne is for ever and ever.

Psalms 45:7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women:

Thy maids of honour, for all those who truly wait on Christ become at once the King's daughters. It is more noble to serve God than to sit as king upon a throne. The day shall come when all the honour of earthly kings' daughters will have passed away, but the glory of those who are in Christ's court as honourable women shall abide for ever.

Psalms 45:9. Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

In the best and purest gold. Every member of the Church of Christ may well say, with Dr. Watts,

«Strangely, my soul, art thou array'd

By the great Sacred Three»

Psalms 45:10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.

Though the Church has been brought up in the world, she is to be separated from it. The more distinction there can be between Christians and worldlings, the better will it be for both. Christ greatly admires the beauty of his Church when she is separated from the world, and it is nothing but an adulterous alliance when the church becomes united to the State. We never can expect any great and permanent blessing to any church which thus degrades and dishonours itself. If a church cannot stand without the support of the civil power, let it fall; but happy is that Church which relies alone upon the King himself, and is content with the dowry which he gives her.

Psalms 45:12. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour.

The day is coming when the Church of Christ shall be honoured by all men. The merchant princes, who now esteem her as a thing of naught, shall come with their tribute to her, and those who once despised her shall entreat her favor.

Psalms 45:13. The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.

Happy was John the Baptist to be «the friend of the Bridegroom» to Christ, and happy are the hearts of those who are the bridesmaids to his Church: «the virgins her companions that follow her» you, whose pure hearts are set upon the Lord alone, and who follow whithersoever he doth lead, you, too, «shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework» with his Church.

Psalms 45:15. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

There is such a thing as an apostolical succession, though not the fiction which usually goes by that name. The Lord is constantly raising up fresh disciples, fresh preachers, and fresh teachers, whom he makes to be princes in his earthly courts, and who shall be princes in his heavenly courts for ever and ever.

Psalms 45:17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

«Jesus shall reign where'er the sun

Does his successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore

Till moons shall wax and wane no more.»