Psalms 45

Psalms 45:1

Psalm 45: The King of Kings45:1 It was easy for the psalmist to write this Psalm. In fact, his heart was bursting to put in writing the poem he had composed concerning the King. The words flowed freely from his pen; he felt himself being literally borne along. His tongue was like the pen of a ready scribe, and we are not stretching matters if we identify the ready scribe as the Holy Spirit Himself. 45:2 First we are introduced to the King Himself. His beauty is surpassing. He is the chiefest among ten thousand, the altogether lovely One. Grace is poured upon His lips; His speech is most sweet. Because of His personal excellence, God has blessed Him forever. Fairest of all the earth-born race, Perfect in comeliness Thou art; Replenished are Thy lips with grace, And full of love Thy tender heart. God ever-blest, we bow the knee, And own all fullness dwells in Thee. Author unknown45:3-5 Then almost immediately we are carried forward to Christ’s Second Advent, to the time when He returns to earth in power and great glory. This time He comes as a conquering Warrior, not as the humble Carpenter of Nazareth. With sword upon His thigh, the Mighty One descends in glory and majesty. In dazzling splendor He rides forth in triumph in the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness. His nail-scarred right hand is adept in wielding the sword in frightening power against His foes. His arrows find their mark in the heart of the King’s enemies; the peoples fall in waves before Him. 45:6, 7a Now the smoke of battle has passed and the King is seated on the throne of His glory in Jerusalem. The voice of God is heard from heaven addressing Him as God and certifying His reign as an eternal one. We know it is the voice of God, because Heb_1:8-9 tells us so: But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Notice that God addresses His Son as God, one of the clearest proofs of the deity of Christ in the entire Bible. It is true that some translators of Psa_45:6 render this phrase “Your divine throne endures for ever and ever” instead of “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” But when they quote this verse in the Hebrews passage, it becomes “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” So it is not only true that Christ’s throne is divine, but also that He Himself is God. Christ’s kingdom will last forever. After His reign of one thousand years on earth, His earthly kingdom will merge into “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pe_1:11). Christ’s royal scepter is a scepter of equity. A scepter is a staff which symbolizes royal authority. Here the meaning is that the Messiah will rule with absolute justice. And the reign will also be absolutely holy, for the King loves righteousness and hates wickedness. 45:7b, 8 Because of His righteousness and integrity, God has anointed the Lord Jesus with the oil of gladness more than all other rulers. The oil of joy or gladness refers to the holy anointing oil with which priests were inducted into their office (Exo_30:22-25). Since our Lord is to be a Priest-King, this is the oil to be used. Myrrh and cassia were the two principal ingredients in this oil, and aloes was one of the “chief spices” mentioned in Son_4:14. All of these speak of the surpassing fragrance of the Person and work of our Lord. The myrrh and aloes may have special reference to His sufferings and death, since they were used in preparing His body for burial (Joh_19:39). Out of the ivory palaces they make Him glad. It is the royal symphony, sounding forth the world’s jubilation that man’s day of sobbing and sighing has ended and that the golden age has dawned at last! 45:9 The King is not alone in the day of His power. The daughters of earth’s monarchs are among His royal attendants. At His right side is the queen, decked with jewelry of gold from Ophir. And who is the queen? Here we must resist the temptation to identify her with the church, since the church is not the subject of OT revelation (Eph_3:5-9; Col_1:26). We believe that the queen is the redeemed remnant of the nation of Israel (Eze_16:10-14) and that the attendants may represent Gentile nations won to Christ through Israel’s testimony. 45:10, 11 The queen is counseled by an unidentified voice, perhaps that of the Holy Spirit, to forget her own people and her father’s house. The meaning, of course, is that she should sever the ties which bind her to her pre-conversion life and be totally committed to the King as her Lord. This advice anticipates the words of our Savior in Luk_14:26 : If anyone come to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Our love for Christ must be so great that all other loves are hatred by comparison. The beauty of wholeheartedness is pleasing to Him. Since He is Lord, He deserves all that we are and have. 45:12 The wealthy daughter of Tyre will come to the queen with a gift. Yes, the richest people in the world will travel to Jerusalem with the choicest presents. 45:13 Then the royal daughter is seen in her palace, dressed in regal splendor preparatory to her presentation to the King. Once the wearied drudge of sin, she is now seen in her chamber dressed in garments embroidered with gold. 45:14, 15 And now she is brought to the King, arrayed in multi-colored robes and accompanied by a retinue of virgin companions. There is great rejoicing as they move along, eventually entering the palace of the King Himself. Who can tell of that joy, the joy of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and of the holy angels, not to mention their own joy as they enter into the joy of their Lord! Comely in all comeliness, beautiful in all beauty, graceful in all grace, charming in every charm, attractive in every attractiveness, conformed to the image of God’s Son (source unknown). 45:16, 17 In the last two verses God the Father is speaking to Christ the King. He promises Him sons who will be worthy successors of the patriarchs, who will “divide a world between them for their domain” (Knox). As for the King Himself, His name will be praised in all generations. There never will come a time when the people will cease to adore Him.