Psalms 78

Psalms 78:2

Introduction

In Psalms 42-43, the faithful remnant is outside the land and is in great distress there. Their greatest distress is that they cannot go to God in His sanctuary. Psalms 44 further describes that distress. Psalms 42 and Psalms 43 are an individual lamentation. Psalms 44 is a lamentation of the people. Although the people trust in the LORD, they are still in great distress because of what the nations are doing to them.

A division of the psalm: 1. First they remind God of the past, of what they themselves have heard about the occupation of the land (Psalms 44:1b-3). 2. They confess God as their God and express their trust in Him (Psalms 44:4-8). 3. Then they speak of their current situation: they are terribly persecuted (Psalms 44:9-16). 4. Then they confess their faithfulness (Psalms 44:17-22). 5. They conclude the psalm with a cry to God to rise up and be their help (Psalms 44:23-26).

The content of the psalm can also be divided with a few key words: 1. Trust: because of God’s actions in the past (Psalms 44:1b-8). 2. Dejection: because of the defeat by enemies. The slaughter in the land by the king of the North, although the remnant itself escapes the slaughter because they have taken refuge abroad (Psalms 44:9-16). 3. Confusion: how faith trust and hardship can go together (Psalms 44:17-22). 4. Request: whether God will grant salvation after all (Psalms 44:23-26).

Remembrance of the Past

For “for the choir director”(Psalms 44:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “a Maskil” see at Psalms 32:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Here they are speaking to God (Psalms 44:1b) and not to the LORD, the God of the covenant. This is true of most of the second book of Psalms (see the Introduction to Psalms 42). They are removed from the sanctuary and therefore feel removed from the covenant. They think of the work and wonders of God in overcoming mighty enemies and the promised land that has been given to them. This is what their fathers told them about (cf. Judges 6:13). God has repeatedly commanded that His great deeds must be told by the fathers to their children (Exodus 10:2; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 4:9; cf. Exodus 12:26-27).

For us as members of God’s New Testament people, the church, His great act is the redemption of our sins. He accomplished this by sending His Son, Who accomplished redemption through His work on the cross. The Son suffered, died and rose again and is now glorified with God in heaven. We may tell about this to our children.

When we read “in their days” and “the days of old” we can think of the deliverance from Egypt, but here especially of the taking possession of the land. God did a great “work … in their days” by helping them drive out the nations of the land and giving it to them. They lived there and enjoyed the blessing. Now this work seems to become undone, for they have been driven out of the land.

God “drove out the nations” with His hand (Psalms 44:2; Deuteronomy 7:1). In their place He “planted” His people (cf. Exodus 15:17; Psalms 80:8; Amos 9:15). Nothing is said here about the unbelief of the people. The faithful only want to speak about what God has done and thereby remind Him of His earlier dealings with His people. He “drove out” the nations who were then in the land because the measure of their iniquity was complete (Genesis 15:16). His own people He has showered with blessing and “planted them” (cf. Psalms 80:8-11).

They are aware that it was not in their own strength and by their own means that they drove the enemies out of the land (Psalms 44:3). It is all due solely to God’s power (Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Deuteronomy 9:3-6). They speak of “Your right hand and Your arm”. It is a double display of power, for both speak of God’s power. On top of that, the light of God’s presence was present with them and guided them. It means that He “favored them”. This is evident from the fact that He chose them to be His own people.

Psalms 78:3

Introduction

In Psalms 42-43, the faithful remnant is outside the land and is in great distress there. Their greatest distress is that they cannot go to God in His sanctuary. Psalms 44 further describes that distress. Psalms 42 and Psalms 43 are an individual lamentation. Psalms 44 is a lamentation of the people. Although the people trust in the LORD, they are still in great distress because of what the nations are doing to them.

A division of the psalm: 1. First they remind God of the past, of what they themselves have heard about the occupation of the land (Psalms 44:1b-3). 2. They confess God as their God and express their trust in Him (Psalms 44:4-8). 3. Then they speak of their current situation: they are terribly persecuted (Psalms 44:9-16). 4. Then they confess their faithfulness (Psalms 44:17-22). 5. They conclude the psalm with a cry to God to rise up and be their help (Psalms 44:23-26).

The content of the psalm can also be divided with a few key words: 1. Trust: because of God’s actions in the past (Psalms 44:1b-8). 2. Dejection: because of the defeat by enemies. The slaughter in the land by the king of the North, although the remnant itself escapes the slaughter because they have taken refuge abroad (Psalms 44:9-16). 3. Confusion: how faith trust and hardship can go together (Psalms 44:17-22). 4. Request: whether God will grant salvation after all (Psalms 44:23-26).

Remembrance of the Past

For “for the choir director”(Psalms 44:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “a Maskil” see at Psalms 32:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Here they are speaking to God (Psalms 44:1b) and not to the LORD, the God of the covenant. This is true of most of the second book of Psalms (see the Introduction to Psalms 42). They are removed from the sanctuary and therefore feel removed from the covenant. They think of the work and wonders of God in overcoming mighty enemies and the promised land that has been given to them. This is what their fathers told them about (cf. Judges 6:13). God has repeatedly commanded that His great deeds must be told by the fathers to their children (Exodus 10:2; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 4:9; cf. Exodus 12:26-27).

For us as members of God’s New Testament people, the church, His great act is the redemption of our sins. He accomplished this by sending His Son, Who accomplished redemption through His work on the cross. The Son suffered, died and rose again and is now glorified with God in heaven. We may tell about this to our children.

When we read “in their days” and “the days of old” we can think of the deliverance from Egypt, but here especially of the taking possession of the land. God did a great “work … in their days” by helping them drive out the nations of the land and giving it to them. They lived there and enjoyed the blessing. Now this work seems to become undone, for they have been driven out of the land.

God “drove out the nations” with His hand (Psalms 44:2; Deuteronomy 7:1). In their place He “planted” His people (cf. Exodus 15:17; Psalms 80:8; Amos 9:15). Nothing is said here about the unbelief of the people. The faithful only want to speak about what God has done and thereby remind Him of His earlier dealings with His people. He “drove out” the nations who were then in the land because the measure of their iniquity was complete (Genesis 15:16). His own people He has showered with blessing and “planted them” (cf. Psalms 80:8-11).

They are aware that it was not in their own strength and by their own means that they drove the enemies out of the land (Psalms 44:3). It is all due solely to God’s power (Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Deuteronomy 9:3-6). They speak of “Your right hand and Your arm”. It is a double display of power, for both speak of God’s power. On top of that, the light of God’s presence was present with them and guided them. It means that He “favored them”. This is evident from the fact that He chose them to be His own people.

Psalms 78:4

Introduction

In Psalms 42-43, the faithful remnant is outside the land and is in great distress there. Their greatest distress is that they cannot go to God in His sanctuary. Psalms 44 further describes that distress. Psalms 42 and Psalms 43 are an individual lamentation. Psalms 44 is a lamentation of the people. Although the people trust in the LORD, they are still in great distress because of what the nations are doing to them.

A division of the psalm: 1. First they remind God of the past, of what they themselves have heard about the occupation of the land (Psalms 44:1b-3). 2. They confess God as their God and express their trust in Him (Psalms 44:4-8). 3. Then they speak of their current situation: they are terribly persecuted (Psalms 44:9-16). 4. Then they confess their faithfulness (Psalms 44:17-22). 5. They conclude the psalm with a cry to God to rise up and be their help (Psalms 44:23-26).

The content of the psalm can also be divided with a few key words: 1. Trust: because of God’s actions in the past (Psalms 44:1b-8). 2. Dejection: because of the defeat by enemies. The slaughter in the land by the king of the North, although the remnant itself escapes the slaughter because they have taken refuge abroad (Psalms 44:9-16). 3. Confusion: how faith trust and hardship can go together (Psalms 44:17-22). 4. Request: whether God will grant salvation after all (Psalms 44:23-26).

Remembrance of the Past

For “for the choir director”(Psalms 44:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “a Maskil” see at Psalms 32:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Here they are speaking to God (Psalms 44:1b) and not to the LORD, the God of the covenant. This is true of most of the second book of Psalms (see the Introduction to Psalms 42). They are removed from the sanctuary and therefore feel removed from the covenant. They think of the work and wonders of God in overcoming mighty enemies and the promised land that has been given to them. This is what their fathers told them about (cf. Judges 6:13). God has repeatedly commanded that His great deeds must be told by the fathers to their children (Exodus 10:2; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 4:9; cf. Exodus 12:26-27).

For us as members of God’s New Testament people, the church, His great act is the redemption of our sins. He accomplished this by sending His Son, Who accomplished redemption through His work on the cross. The Son suffered, died and rose again and is now glorified with God in heaven. We may tell about this to our children.

When we read “in their days” and “the days of old” we can think of the deliverance from Egypt, but here especially of the taking possession of the land. God did a great “work … in their days” by helping them drive out the nations of the land and giving it to them. They lived there and enjoyed the blessing. Now this work seems to become undone, for they have been driven out of the land.

God “drove out the nations” with His hand (Psalms 44:2; Deuteronomy 7:1). In their place He “planted” His people (cf. Exodus 15:17; Psalms 80:8; Amos 9:15). Nothing is said here about the unbelief of the people. The faithful only want to speak about what God has done and thereby remind Him of His earlier dealings with His people. He “drove out” the nations who were then in the land because the measure of their iniquity was complete (Genesis 15:16). His own people He has showered with blessing and “planted them” (cf. Psalms 80:8-11).

They are aware that it was not in their own strength and by their own means that they drove the enemies out of the land (Psalms 44:3). It is all due solely to God’s power (Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Deuteronomy 9:3-6). They speak of “Your right hand and Your arm”. It is a double display of power, for both speak of God’s power. On top of that, the light of God’s presence was present with them and guided them. It means that He “favored them”. This is evident from the fact that He chose them to be His own people.

Psalms 78:5

Boasting in God

Although the psalm is a collective lamentation, we find several times that the psalmist nevertheless speaks in the singular (Psalms 44:4; 6; 15). They acknowledge no other King but God (Psalms 44:4; cf. Psalms 5:2). By contemplating the deeds of God in the past, the faith of the remnant has been strengthened. As a result, they now dare to declare individually that not the antichrist, but the LORD God is their King: “You [with emphasis] are my King, O God.”

From Him, the God, the Angel Who redeemed Jacob from all evil (Genesis 48:16), they expect the complete deliverance of Jacob from Jacob’s distress. Therefore, they ask Him to “command victories for Jacob”. He will certainly do that in His time. Then, to their amazement, they will see that God, their King, is none other than the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

Earlier they spoke of God using His right hand and His arm to deliver them. Now they speak of themselves that they in God’s power push back their adversaries (Psalms 44:5; cf. Deuteronomy 33:17). It is both true. Those who rise up against them to do them harm, they shall trample down in His Name (cf. Romans 16:20; Malachi 4:3). God will give His people the strength to defeat their adversaries (cf. Zechariah 12:5-6). They do not rely on their bow to take out the enemy at a distance, nor do they rely on their sword to deliver themselves from the enemy nearby (Psalms 44:6). They realize that there is no strength in them.

There is no reliance on their own strength, but on God (Psalms 44:7). In faith they count on Him to deliver them from their adversaries. He causes their haters to be put to shame by making all their cunning plans fail completely. Christ will totally break the works of the devil and deliver His people.

When the gaze is thus fixed on God, the result is that the believing remnant boasts in Him “all day long” (Psalms 44:8). This boasting will culminate in the giving thanks to His Name “forever”. The praise of His Name will continue endlessly.

Psalms 78:6

Boasting in God

Although the psalm is a collective lamentation, we find several times that the psalmist nevertheless speaks in the singular (Psalms 44:4; 6; 15). They acknowledge no other King but God (Psalms 44:4; cf. Psalms 5:2). By contemplating the deeds of God in the past, the faith of the remnant has been strengthened. As a result, they now dare to declare individually that not the antichrist, but the LORD God is their King: “You [with emphasis] are my King, O God.”

From Him, the God, the Angel Who redeemed Jacob from all evil (Genesis 48:16), they expect the complete deliverance of Jacob from Jacob’s distress. Therefore, they ask Him to “command victories for Jacob”. He will certainly do that in His time. Then, to their amazement, they will see that God, their King, is none other than the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

Earlier they spoke of God using His right hand and His arm to deliver them. Now they speak of themselves that they in God’s power push back their adversaries (Psalms 44:5; cf. Deuteronomy 33:17). It is both true. Those who rise up against them to do them harm, they shall trample down in His Name (cf. Romans 16:20; Malachi 4:3). God will give His people the strength to defeat their adversaries (cf. Zechariah 12:5-6). They do not rely on their bow to take out the enemy at a distance, nor do they rely on their sword to deliver themselves from the enemy nearby (Psalms 44:6). They realize that there is no strength in them.

There is no reliance on their own strength, but on God (Psalms 44:7). In faith they count on Him to deliver them from their adversaries. He causes their haters to be put to shame by making all their cunning plans fail completely. Christ will totally break the works of the devil and deliver His people.

When the gaze is thus fixed on God, the result is that the believing remnant boasts in Him “all day long” (Psalms 44:8). This boasting will culminate in the giving thanks to His Name “forever”. The praise of His Name will continue endlessly.

Psalms 78:7

Boasting in God

Although the psalm is a collective lamentation, we find several times that the psalmist nevertheless speaks in the singular (Psalms 44:4; 6; 15). They acknowledge no other King but God (Psalms 44:4; cf. Psalms 5:2). By contemplating the deeds of God in the past, the faith of the remnant has been strengthened. As a result, they now dare to declare individually that not the antichrist, but the LORD God is their King: “You [with emphasis] are my King, O God.”

From Him, the God, the Angel Who redeemed Jacob from all evil (Genesis 48:16), they expect the complete deliverance of Jacob from Jacob’s distress. Therefore, they ask Him to “command victories for Jacob”. He will certainly do that in His time. Then, to their amazement, they will see that God, their King, is none other than the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

Earlier they spoke of God using His right hand and His arm to deliver them. Now they speak of themselves that they in God’s power push back their adversaries (Psalms 44:5; cf. Deuteronomy 33:17). It is both true. Those who rise up against them to do them harm, they shall trample down in His Name (cf. Romans 16:20; Malachi 4:3). God will give His people the strength to defeat their adversaries (cf. Zechariah 12:5-6). They do not rely on their bow to take out the enemy at a distance, nor do they rely on their sword to deliver themselves from the enemy nearby (Psalms 44:6). They realize that there is no strength in them.

There is no reliance on their own strength, but on God (Psalms 44:7). In faith they count on Him to deliver them from their adversaries. He causes their haters to be put to shame by making all their cunning plans fail completely. Christ will totally break the works of the devil and deliver His people.

When the gaze is thus fixed on God, the result is that the believing remnant boasts in Him “all day long” (Psalms 44:8). This boasting will culminate in the giving thanks to His Name “forever”. The praise of His Name will continue endlessly.

Psalms 78:8

Boasting in God

Although the psalm is a collective lamentation, we find several times that the psalmist nevertheless speaks in the singular (Psalms 44:4; 6; 15). They acknowledge no other King but God (Psalms 44:4; cf. Psalms 5:2). By contemplating the deeds of God in the past, the faith of the remnant has been strengthened. As a result, they now dare to declare individually that not the antichrist, but the LORD God is their King: “You [with emphasis] are my King, O God.”

From Him, the God, the Angel Who redeemed Jacob from all evil (Genesis 48:16), they expect the complete deliverance of Jacob from Jacob’s distress. Therefore, they ask Him to “command victories for Jacob”. He will certainly do that in His time. Then, to their amazement, they will see that God, their King, is none other than the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

Earlier they spoke of God using His right hand and His arm to deliver them. Now they speak of themselves that they in God’s power push back their adversaries (Psalms 44:5; cf. Deuteronomy 33:17). It is both true. Those who rise up against them to do them harm, they shall trample down in His Name (cf. Romans 16:20; Malachi 4:3). God will give His people the strength to defeat their adversaries (cf. Zechariah 12:5-6). They do not rely on their bow to take out the enemy at a distance, nor do they rely on their sword to deliver themselves from the enemy nearby (Psalms 44:6). They realize that there is no strength in them.

There is no reliance on their own strength, but on God (Psalms 44:7). In faith they count on Him to deliver them from their adversaries. He causes their haters to be put to shame by making all their cunning plans fail completely. Christ will totally break the works of the devil and deliver His people.

When the gaze is thus fixed on God, the result is that the believing remnant boasts in Him “all day long” (Psalms 44:8). This boasting will culminate in the giving thanks to His Name “forever”. The praise of His Name will continue endlessly.

Psalms 78:9

Boasting in God

Although the psalm is a collective lamentation, we find several times that the psalmist nevertheless speaks in the singular (Psalms 44:4; 6; 15). They acknowledge no other King but God (Psalms 44:4; cf. Psalms 5:2). By contemplating the deeds of God in the past, the faith of the remnant has been strengthened. As a result, they now dare to declare individually that not the antichrist, but the LORD God is their King: “You [with emphasis] are my King, O God.”

From Him, the God, the Angel Who redeemed Jacob from all evil (Genesis 48:16), they expect the complete deliverance of Jacob from Jacob’s distress. Therefore, they ask Him to “command victories for Jacob”. He will certainly do that in His time. Then, to their amazement, they will see that God, their King, is none other than the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

Earlier they spoke of God using His right hand and His arm to deliver them. Now they speak of themselves that they in God’s power push back their adversaries (Psalms 44:5; cf. Deuteronomy 33:17). It is both true. Those who rise up against them to do them harm, they shall trample down in His Name (cf. Romans 16:20; Malachi 4:3). God will give His people the strength to defeat their adversaries (cf. Zechariah 12:5-6). They do not rely on their bow to take out the enemy at a distance, nor do they rely on their sword to deliver themselves from the enemy nearby (Psalms 44:6). They realize that there is no strength in them.

There is no reliance on their own strength, but on God (Psalms 44:7). In faith they count on Him to deliver them from their adversaries. He causes their haters to be put to shame by making all their cunning plans fail completely. Christ will totally break the works of the devil and deliver His people.

When the gaze is thus fixed on God, the result is that the believing remnant boasts in Him “all day long” (Psalms 44:8). This boasting will culminate in the giving thanks to His Name “forever”. The praise of His Name will continue endlessly.

Psalms 78:10

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:11

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:12

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:13

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:14

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:15

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:16

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:17

Complaint of the Rejected People

In Psalms 44:9, the tone of the psalm changes. This change is introduced with the word “yet”. “Yet” implies: despite the daily thanksgiving in Psalms 44:7 in response that God was kind to them. Embedded in this is the question, how the God of the fathers can now reject their children (cf. Psalms 89:38).

The faithful – who identify with the rest of the people, as, for example, Daniel does (Daniel 9:5) – look at the circumstances in which they now find themselves. They then note that the God Whom they praise and glorify has “rejected [us] and brought us to dishonor”. That He has rejected them, they describe in Psalms 44:10-12; that He has put them to shame, they describe in Psalms 44:13-16.

The enemy has come, but God did not go with the armies of Israel. As a result, they have turned back from the adversary (Psalms 44:10). God has given the enemy the upper hand over them, and now they are being plundered by those who hate them to benefit from it.

They complain to God that He gives them to their enemies “as sheep to be eaten” (Psalms 44:11; cf. Zechariah 11:4; 7). This “eaten” is done by the enemies of God’s people. The remnant has fled from the enemy, but nowhere are they safe. They experience what they as a nation did to their Messiah at the time. Their Messiah was sold by the people for little money (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:9). Now they themselves are sold for little money (Psalms 44:12; cf. Deuteronomy 32:30; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 52:3). They despised Him and now they themselves are despised.

They are reaping the fruits of their rejection of their Messiah. What they are experiencing, the Lord Jesus, their Messiah, also experienced during His days on earth. They are reaping what they have sown. God makes them a reproach to their “neighbors” (Psalms 44:13), which are primarily their neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon and Moab.

“The nations” – where we can think of the nations among whom they are scattered, a wider circle therefore than the “neighbors” in the previous line – make them a byword (Psalms 44:14; Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). They are a laughingstock among peoples. The remnant sees in the actions of the nations and the peoples the actions of God. Time and again they speak of “You”, “You”, “You”…. He works this mocking behavior. They don’t sue God about this, but acknowledge that they deserve it.

In Psalms 44:15, the king is speaking – he is the “me” in this verse. Literally he says “the shame of my face has covered me”. This goes further than “my humiliation has overwhelmed me”. In fact, it says: Shame has totally surrounded and covered me. This happens all day long. This is a great contrast to “all day long” boasting in God (Psalms 44:8). The cause of this is “the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms 44:16). In this we recognize the antichrist, who has a big mouth and speaks blasphemies (Revelation 13:5-6; 11).

Psalms 78:18

Confession of Faithfulness

The remnant utters that even though “all this” has happened to them, they still have not forgotten God and have not dealt falsely with His covenant (Psalms 44:17). The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to think about Him. On the contrary, they focus all the more on Him because they know that He alone can give salvation. That is trusting in faith.

Their heart has not turned back to adhere to other gods (Psalms 44:18), but have remained faithful to God. Nor have their steps deviated from the way God wants them to go. Their walk and behavior are in accordance with His will. The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to serve God. They are keeping His commandments.

God has disciplined them so severely through the trials that they feel in the midst of their enemies as if they were “in a place of jackals” or a desolate place (Psalms 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22). There they are crushed by Him. What a contrast with their “homeland”, the land flowing with milk and honey. While they would expect God to shelter them in the foreign land, they find that God “covered” them “with the shadow of death”.

If it were indeed the case that they had forgotten the Name of their God and had extended their hands to a strange god to ask its help (Psalms 44:20), God would certainly find out and discover it (Psalms 44:21). “For He knows the secrets of the heart” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10). To forget the Name of God means that they do not call upon Him, but they do nothing else than call upon His Name continually. Still less have they forgotten His Name by calling on a strange god, for they address Him exclusively.

They are constantly attacked by their enemies. The fact that they speak in the we-form indicates that they are united with each other as the people of God in this situation. They tell God that for His sake they “are killed all day long” (Psalms 44:22; cf. Psalms 44:8; 15). Surely this proves that they have not forgotten Him. Their enemies see them as “sheep to be slaughtered” precisely because of their faithfulness to God. But if the people are not unfaithful to the covenant, then it seems that God is unfaithful to His covenant. How can that be? The psalmist is now confused. This leads to the prayer in Psalms 44:23-26.

Paul quotes this verse to show the believers in Rome – and us as well – the close connection that exists between the believers and Christ (Romans 8:35-36; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23). Believers undergo trial and tribulation because of their connection with the Lord Jesus. They suffer what He suffered. In the world they suffer tribulation. “But” says the Lord to them, “take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Psalms 78:19

Confession of Faithfulness

The remnant utters that even though “all this” has happened to them, they still have not forgotten God and have not dealt falsely with His covenant (Psalms 44:17). The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to think about Him. On the contrary, they focus all the more on Him because they know that He alone can give salvation. That is trusting in faith.

Their heart has not turned back to adhere to other gods (Psalms 44:18), but have remained faithful to God. Nor have their steps deviated from the way God wants them to go. Their walk and behavior are in accordance with His will. The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to serve God. They are keeping His commandments.

God has disciplined them so severely through the trials that they feel in the midst of their enemies as if they were “in a place of jackals” or a desolate place (Psalms 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22). There they are crushed by Him. What a contrast with their “homeland”, the land flowing with milk and honey. While they would expect God to shelter them in the foreign land, they find that God “covered” them “with the shadow of death”.

If it were indeed the case that they had forgotten the Name of their God and had extended their hands to a strange god to ask its help (Psalms 44:20), God would certainly find out and discover it (Psalms 44:21). “For He knows the secrets of the heart” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10). To forget the Name of God means that they do not call upon Him, but they do nothing else than call upon His Name continually. Still less have they forgotten His Name by calling on a strange god, for they address Him exclusively.

They are constantly attacked by their enemies. The fact that they speak in the we-form indicates that they are united with each other as the people of God in this situation. They tell God that for His sake they “are killed all day long” (Psalms 44:22; cf. Psalms 44:8; 15). Surely this proves that they have not forgotten Him. Their enemies see them as “sheep to be slaughtered” precisely because of their faithfulness to God. But if the people are not unfaithful to the covenant, then it seems that God is unfaithful to His covenant. How can that be? The psalmist is now confused. This leads to the prayer in Psalms 44:23-26.

Paul quotes this verse to show the believers in Rome – and us as well – the close connection that exists between the believers and Christ (Romans 8:35-36; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23). Believers undergo trial and tribulation because of their connection with the Lord Jesus. They suffer what He suffered. In the world they suffer tribulation. “But” says the Lord to them, “take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Psalms 78:20

Confession of Faithfulness

The remnant utters that even though “all this” has happened to them, they still have not forgotten God and have not dealt falsely with His covenant (Psalms 44:17). The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to think about Him. On the contrary, they focus all the more on Him because they know that He alone can give salvation. That is trusting in faith.

Their heart has not turned back to adhere to other gods (Psalms 44:18), but have remained faithful to God. Nor have their steps deviated from the way God wants them to go. Their walk and behavior are in accordance with His will. The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to serve God. They are keeping His commandments.

God has disciplined them so severely through the trials that they feel in the midst of their enemies as if they were “in a place of jackals” or a desolate place (Psalms 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22). There they are crushed by Him. What a contrast with their “homeland”, the land flowing with milk and honey. While they would expect God to shelter them in the foreign land, they find that God “covered” them “with the shadow of death”.

If it were indeed the case that they had forgotten the Name of their God and had extended their hands to a strange god to ask its help (Psalms 44:20), God would certainly find out and discover it (Psalms 44:21). “For He knows the secrets of the heart” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10). To forget the Name of God means that they do not call upon Him, but they do nothing else than call upon His Name continually. Still less have they forgotten His Name by calling on a strange god, for they address Him exclusively.

They are constantly attacked by their enemies. The fact that they speak in the we-form indicates that they are united with each other as the people of God in this situation. They tell God that for His sake they “are killed all day long” (Psalms 44:22; cf. Psalms 44:8; 15). Surely this proves that they have not forgotten Him. Their enemies see them as “sheep to be slaughtered” precisely because of their faithfulness to God. But if the people are not unfaithful to the covenant, then it seems that God is unfaithful to His covenant. How can that be? The psalmist is now confused. This leads to the prayer in Psalms 44:23-26.

Paul quotes this verse to show the believers in Rome – and us as well – the close connection that exists between the believers and Christ (Romans 8:35-36; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23). Believers undergo trial and tribulation because of their connection with the Lord Jesus. They suffer what He suffered. In the world they suffer tribulation. “But” says the Lord to them, “take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Psalms 78:21

Confession of Faithfulness

The remnant utters that even though “all this” has happened to them, they still have not forgotten God and have not dealt falsely with His covenant (Psalms 44:17). The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to think about Him. On the contrary, they focus all the more on Him because they know that He alone can give salvation. That is trusting in faith.

Their heart has not turned back to adhere to other gods (Psalms 44:18), but have remained faithful to God. Nor have their steps deviated from the way God wants them to go. Their walk and behavior are in accordance with His will. The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to serve God. They are keeping His commandments.

God has disciplined them so severely through the trials that they feel in the midst of their enemies as if they were “in a place of jackals” or a desolate place (Psalms 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22). There they are crushed by Him. What a contrast with their “homeland”, the land flowing with milk and honey. While they would expect God to shelter them in the foreign land, they find that God “covered” them “with the shadow of death”.

If it were indeed the case that they had forgotten the Name of their God and had extended their hands to a strange god to ask its help (Psalms 44:20), God would certainly find out and discover it (Psalms 44:21). “For He knows the secrets of the heart” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10). To forget the Name of God means that they do not call upon Him, but they do nothing else than call upon His Name continually. Still less have they forgotten His Name by calling on a strange god, for they address Him exclusively.

They are constantly attacked by their enemies. The fact that they speak in the we-form indicates that they are united with each other as the people of God in this situation. They tell God that for His sake they “are killed all day long” (Psalms 44:22; cf. Psalms 44:8; 15). Surely this proves that they have not forgotten Him. Their enemies see them as “sheep to be slaughtered” precisely because of their faithfulness to God. But if the people are not unfaithful to the covenant, then it seems that God is unfaithful to His covenant. How can that be? The psalmist is now confused. This leads to the prayer in Psalms 44:23-26.

Paul quotes this verse to show the believers in Rome – and us as well – the close connection that exists between the believers and Christ (Romans 8:35-36; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23). Believers undergo trial and tribulation because of their connection with the Lord Jesus. They suffer what He suffered. In the world they suffer tribulation. “But” says the Lord to them, “take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Psalms 78:22

Confession of Faithfulness

The remnant utters that even though “all this” has happened to them, they still have not forgotten God and have not dealt falsely with His covenant (Psalms 44:17). The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to think about Him. On the contrary, they focus all the more on Him because they know that He alone can give salvation. That is trusting in faith.

Their heart has not turned back to adhere to other gods (Psalms 44:18), but have remained faithful to God. Nor have their steps deviated from the way God wants them to go. Their walk and behavior are in accordance with His will. The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to serve God. They are keeping His commandments.

God has disciplined them so severely through the trials that they feel in the midst of their enemies as if they were “in a place of jackals” or a desolate place (Psalms 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22). There they are crushed by Him. What a contrast with their “homeland”, the land flowing with milk and honey. While they would expect God to shelter them in the foreign land, they find that God “covered” them “with the shadow of death”.

If it were indeed the case that they had forgotten the Name of their God and had extended their hands to a strange god to ask its help (Psalms 44:20), God would certainly find out and discover it (Psalms 44:21). “For He knows the secrets of the heart” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10). To forget the Name of God means that they do not call upon Him, but they do nothing else than call upon His Name continually. Still less have they forgotten His Name by calling on a strange god, for they address Him exclusively.

They are constantly attacked by their enemies. The fact that they speak in the we-form indicates that they are united with each other as the people of God in this situation. They tell God that for His sake they “are killed all day long” (Psalms 44:22; cf. Psalms 44:8; 15). Surely this proves that they have not forgotten Him. Their enemies see them as “sheep to be slaughtered” precisely because of their faithfulness to God. But if the people are not unfaithful to the covenant, then it seems that God is unfaithful to His covenant. How can that be? The psalmist is now confused. This leads to the prayer in Psalms 44:23-26.

Paul quotes this verse to show the believers in Rome – and us as well – the close connection that exists between the believers and Christ (Romans 8:35-36; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23). Believers undergo trial and tribulation because of their connection with the Lord Jesus. They suffer what He suffered. In the world they suffer tribulation. “But” says the Lord to them, “take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Psalms 78:23

Confession of Faithfulness

The remnant utters that even though “all this” has happened to them, they still have not forgotten God and have not dealt falsely with His covenant (Psalms 44:17). The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to think about Him. On the contrary, they focus all the more on Him because they know that He alone can give salvation. That is trusting in faith.

Their heart has not turned back to adhere to other gods (Psalms 44:18), but have remained faithful to God. Nor have their steps deviated from the way God wants them to go. Their walk and behavior are in accordance with His will. The severe trials do not result in them ceasing to serve God. They are keeping His commandments.

God has disciplined them so severely through the trials that they feel in the midst of their enemies as if they were “in a place of jackals” or a desolate place (Psalms 44:19; cf. Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22). There they are crushed by Him. What a contrast with their “homeland”, the land flowing with milk and honey. While they would expect God to shelter them in the foreign land, they find that God “covered” them “with the shadow of death”.

If it were indeed the case that they had forgotten the Name of their God and had extended their hands to a strange god to ask its help (Psalms 44:20), God would certainly find out and discover it (Psalms 44:21). “For He knows the secrets of the heart” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10). To forget the Name of God means that they do not call upon Him, but they do nothing else than call upon His Name continually. Still less have they forgotten His Name by calling on a strange god, for they address Him exclusively.

They are constantly attacked by their enemies. The fact that they speak in the we-form indicates that they are united with each other as the people of God in this situation. They tell God that for His sake they “are killed all day long” (Psalms 44:22; cf. Psalms 44:8; 15). Surely this proves that they have not forgotten Him. Their enemies see them as “sheep to be slaughtered” precisely because of their faithfulness to God. But if the people are not unfaithful to the covenant, then it seems that God is unfaithful to His covenant. How can that be? The psalmist is now confused. This leads to the prayer in Psalms 44:23-26.

Paul quotes this verse to show the believers in Rome – and us as well – the close connection that exists between the believers and Christ (Romans 8:35-36; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23). Believers undergo trial and tribulation because of their connection with the Lord Jesus. They suffer what He suffered. In the world they suffer tribulation. “But” says the Lord to them, “take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b).

Psalms 78:24

Cry for Help

They do not believe that God sleeps (cf. Psalms 121:4; 1 Kings 18:27b). They express themselves in this way because sleep is a human representation of the absence of any activity. They perceive that God is keeping Himself dormant because He does not act and intervene on their behalf (Psalms 44:23). They cry out here to the “Lord”, Adonai, the sovereign Ruler. The remnant is afraid that He will “reject” them “forever”, that is, for all eternity.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus have a similar experience to the sons of Korah. When a storm overtakes them in the ship with the Lord, Who is both Man and God, they wake Him up, for He is asleep. They awaken Him asking if He does not care that they perish (Mark 4:35-41).

God hides Himself from the believing remnant (Psalms 44:24). Because their affliction and tribulation last so long, it seems as if He forgets them. It seems as if the antichrist and the ungodly mass can have their way and kill them at their will (cf. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:7). But God cannot forget them. They are “inscribed … on the palms” of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and are written “in a book of remembrance” before Him (Malachi 3:16). They are in the melting pot of purification, where He heats the fire just as hot as it takes to make them a pure silver (Malachi 3:2-3).

They feel like the dead, which they indicate by saying that their souls have sunk down into the dust (Psalms 44:25; cf. Psalms 22:15). Their body cleaves to the earth, they say. By this they compare themselves to reptiles who cannot lift themselves up. It indicates the great humiliation and tribulation they suffer.

God is the help of His people (Hosea 13:9). Therefore, they call upon Him to rise up and to be their help (Psalms 44:26). He is their help in trouble (Psalms 46:1) and in this they find themselves. He is the Only One Who can help. There is no one else. They appeal to His “lovingkindness” to deliver them and not to any righteousness or faithfulness on their part or their suffering for Him. How God answers their prayer is the subject of the next four psalms (Psalms 45-48).

Psalms 78:25

Cry for Help

They do not believe that God sleeps (cf. Psalms 121:4; 1 Kings 18:27b). They express themselves in this way because sleep is a human representation of the absence of any activity. They perceive that God is keeping Himself dormant because He does not act and intervene on their behalf (Psalms 44:23). They cry out here to the “Lord”, Adonai, the sovereign Ruler. The remnant is afraid that He will “reject” them “forever”, that is, for all eternity.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus have a similar experience to the sons of Korah. When a storm overtakes them in the ship with the Lord, Who is both Man and God, they wake Him up, for He is asleep. They awaken Him asking if He does not care that they perish (Mark 4:35-41).

God hides Himself from the believing remnant (Psalms 44:24). Because their affliction and tribulation last so long, it seems as if He forgets them. It seems as if the antichrist and the ungodly mass can have their way and kill them at their will (cf. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:7). But God cannot forget them. They are “inscribed … on the palms” of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and are written “in a book of remembrance” before Him (Malachi 3:16). They are in the melting pot of purification, where He heats the fire just as hot as it takes to make them a pure silver (Malachi 3:2-3).

They feel like the dead, which they indicate by saying that their souls have sunk down into the dust (Psalms 44:25; cf. Psalms 22:15). Their body cleaves to the earth, they say. By this they compare themselves to reptiles who cannot lift themselves up. It indicates the great humiliation and tribulation they suffer.

God is the help of His people (Hosea 13:9). Therefore, they call upon Him to rise up and to be their help (Psalms 44:26). He is their help in trouble (Psalms 46:1) and in this they find themselves. He is the Only One Who can help. There is no one else. They appeal to His “lovingkindness” to deliver them and not to any righteousness or faithfulness on their part or their suffering for Him. How God answers their prayer is the subject of the next four psalms (Psalms 45-48).

Psalms 78:26

Cry for Help

They do not believe that God sleeps (cf. Psalms 121:4; 1 Kings 18:27b). They express themselves in this way because sleep is a human representation of the absence of any activity. They perceive that God is keeping Himself dormant because He does not act and intervene on their behalf (Psalms 44:23). They cry out here to the “Lord”, Adonai, the sovereign Ruler. The remnant is afraid that He will “reject” them “forever”, that is, for all eternity.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus have a similar experience to the sons of Korah. When a storm overtakes them in the ship with the Lord, Who is both Man and God, they wake Him up, for He is asleep. They awaken Him asking if He does not care that they perish (Mark 4:35-41).

God hides Himself from the believing remnant (Psalms 44:24). Because their affliction and tribulation last so long, it seems as if He forgets them. It seems as if the antichrist and the ungodly mass can have their way and kill them at their will (cf. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:7). But God cannot forget them. They are “inscribed … on the palms” of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and are written “in a book of remembrance” before Him (Malachi 3:16). They are in the melting pot of purification, where He heats the fire just as hot as it takes to make them a pure silver (Malachi 3:2-3).

They feel like the dead, which they indicate by saying that their souls have sunk down into the dust (Psalms 44:25; cf. Psalms 22:15). Their body cleaves to the earth, they say. By this they compare themselves to reptiles who cannot lift themselves up. It indicates the great humiliation and tribulation they suffer.

God is the help of His people (Hosea 13:9). Therefore, they call upon Him to rise up and to be their help (Psalms 44:26). He is their help in trouble (Psalms 46:1) and in this they find themselves. He is the Only One Who can help. There is no one else. They appeal to His “lovingkindness” to deliver them and not to any righteousness or faithfulness on their part or their suffering for Him. How God answers their prayer is the subject of the next four psalms (Psalms 45-48).

Psalms 78:27

Cry for Help

They do not believe that God sleeps (cf. Psalms 121:4; 1 Kings 18:27b). They express themselves in this way because sleep is a human representation of the absence of any activity. They perceive that God is keeping Himself dormant because He does not act and intervene on their behalf (Psalms 44:23). They cry out here to the “Lord”, Adonai, the sovereign Ruler. The remnant is afraid that He will “reject” them “forever”, that is, for all eternity.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus have a similar experience to the sons of Korah. When a storm overtakes them in the ship with the Lord, Who is both Man and God, they wake Him up, for He is asleep. They awaken Him asking if He does not care that they perish (Mark 4:35-41).

God hides Himself from the believing remnant (Psalms 44:24). Because their affliction and tribulation last so long, it seems as if He forgets them. It seems as if the antichrist and the ungodly mass can have their way and kill them at their will (cf. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:7). But God cannot forget them. They are “inscribed … on the palms” of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and are written “in a book of remembrance” before Him (Malachi 3:16). They are in the melting pot of purification, where He heats the fire just as hot as it takes to make them a pure silver (Malachi 3:2-3).

They feel like the dead, which they indicate by saying that their souls have sunk down into the dust (Psalms 44:25; cf. Psalms 22:15). Their body cleaves to the earth, they say. By this they compare themselves to reptiles who cannot lift themselves up. It indicates the great humiliation and tribulation they suffer.

God is the help of His people (Hosea 13:9). Therefore, they call upon Him to rise up and to be their help (Psalms 44:26). He is their help in trouble (Psalms 46:1) and in this they find themselves. He is the Only One Who can help. There is no one else. They appeal to His “lovingkindness” to deliver them and not to any righteousness or faithfulness on their part or their suffering for Him. How God answers their prayer is the subject of the next four psalms (Psalms 45-48).

Psalms 78:29

Introduction

Psalms 45 and the next three psalms (Psalms 46-48) are God’s response to Psalms 42-44, which describe the suffering of the remnant. The great need in suffering is experiencing the absence of God. In the coming psalms, God responds to this distress. In Psalms 45, the answer is that He does not take away the suffering, but that He brings the Beloved to them in their circumstances.

God’s response is particularly connected to the cry of the remnant in the last verses of the previous psalm (Psalms 44:23-26). It is an exceptional answer: not only does God answer prayer, He comes Himself in His own Person! As a result, the tone changes. Affliction changes to joy and victory. God gives the believing remnant a special view of the Messiah. He is their King and will come to deliver them. That sight of Him and His tender love for the bride (cf. Hosea 2:19-20), and that He will come, give perseverance in enduring suffering.

In Psalms 44, God is their king (Psalms 44:4). In Psalms 45, Christ is the King, the true Son of David. This is evident from the quotation of this psalm in Hebrews 1, where the glory of Christ is described (Hebrews 1:8-9). Ancient Jewish writings, such as the Targum – an explanatory translation of the Old Testament – also recognize that Psalms 45 is about the King Messiah. The Targum translates Psalms 45:2 as follows: ”Your beauty, O King-Messiah, is greater than the sons of men.” The psalm is not directed at God, but at the King. The phrase “king” occurs five times in this psalm.

This is an encouragement to every suffering believer. God does not always take away suffering, but in the midst of suffering He does come to His suffering child in a special way. He participates in it and helps bear it. Christ, Who is God, walked the path of suffering Himself, encouraged by the joy that lay before Him. Now believers may walk the same path, facing Him, Him Who loves us.

To us comes the exhortation “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3).

We can divide the psalm as follows: Psalms 45:1a Heading Psalms 45:1b Introduction Psalms 45:2-5 The bride speaks to the King Psalms 45:6-9 The glory of the King Psalms 45:10-12 The King speaks to the bride/queen Psalms 45:13-15 The glory of the bride Psalms 45:16-17 Conclusion

The psalm begins in Psalms 45:2 and ends in Psalms 45:17 with “therefore” and “forever”. The glory of the King is the very reason (“therefore”) for the permanent character (“forever”) of the blessings in His kingdom.

Fairer Than the Sons of Men

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 45:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

The phrase “according to the Shoshannim“ or “upon lilies” points to the loveliness of the type of music. It refers to the tone, melody and music type of this psalm. “The Shoshannim” or “lilies” refers to the faithful remnant in their connection with Christ. The faithful are to Him as the lilies in the midst of the thorns (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). Thorns are a picture of sin (Genesis 3:18). It is human nature as it became through the Fall. The King sees the faithful as these tender field flowers in an environment that is full of sin, threat and violence for them and against which they cannot protect themselves. But He can. He does so by connecting them to Himself in love.

After Psalms 42-44, this psalm is the next “maskil” or “teaching”, or “instruction”. The subject is the Messiah, the King, Who He is to God and to His own. This instruction will be for the encouragement of the remnant in the time of the great tribulation in a special way. For “a maskil” see further at Psalms 32:1 and Psalms 42:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

It is “a Song of Love”, literally “a song of the beloved” (plural). This is already indicated in the division of the psalm. It is a unique song in the book of Psalms. This song is about the love between the King, the Messiah, and His bride, which is the earthly Jerusalem.

When we are in need, the Spirit of God always wants to direct our hearts to the love of God. Then He wants to remind us that for those who love God “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28), even though sometimes we do not understand why certain things must happen to us.

When the Beloved, the King in His beauty, is presented, the poet’s heart is moved (Psalms 45:1b). It is the working of the Holy Spirit, the Author of Scripture, Who fills the poet’s heart with wonder and amazement when he beholds the beauty of the great King, the Beloved of God. His heart is full of Him and overflows or bubbles over with good words. The word “overflows” is used for something that boils over because it is cooking, or for a fountain that bubbles up water and pushes it out. In this way, the poet’s “good theme” comes out.

His inner strong feelings are not expressed in ecstatic expressions, but are put into words in a controlled way in “a good theme”. A good word is a word about Christ, the King, Who is anointed over Zion (Psalms 2:6).

Christ is King of His earthly people. His relationship with His heavenly people, the church, is not that of a King. Nowhere in Scripture is He called the King of the church. To those who belong to the church, He is Lord. We confess Him as Lord. We did so at our conversion (Romans 10:8-9), and we have confessed this since we came to faith (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The poet brings forth the good theme in the form of addressing “my verses to the King”. The word “verses” is literally “works” or “occupation”. It refers to being busy with the King, thinking about Him and expressing oneself about Him (cf. Isaiah 5:1). Saying verses is done with much emotion, but always controlled and never frantic.

He expresses things with his tongue reminiscent of “the pen of a ready writer”. With a pen, things are recorded for future generations (cf. Job 19:24). His readiness is evident in his adeptness in the use of language, explanation and communication. It means that he does not have to search for words. The words come naturally from an overflowing heart, inspired by the Holy Spirit, as he comes to admiration by beholding the beloved King.

He speaks words that are inspired in him. His tongue is used as the pen of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always speaks of Christ (John 16:13-14). He does so not in an uncontrollable flow of words, but in full awareness of what He is saying. Part of “the fruit of the Spirit” is “self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23; cf. 1 Corinthians 14:32).

First, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, speaks in the poet about the days of Christ in the flesh on earth. God presents His Beloved to the suffering remnant. He is Man, but at the same time far more beautiful than all other men (Psalms 45:2). He is the Man par excellence. “My beloved is dazzling and reddish, outstanding among ten thousand” (Song of Solomon 5:10). This is seen only by the eye of faith (John 1:14). He is God’s answer to the need in which the believer may be. By looking at Him, the inner distress is removed.

David is said to be of handsome appearance (1 Samuel 16:12; 1 Samuel 17:42). Of Solomon it is said that he is outstanding among ten thousand and that he is wholly desirable (Song of Solomon 5:10; 16). But of this King it is said that He is fairer than the children of men because “grace is poured” upon “His lips” (cf. John 1:16). His beauty is not outward, but is seen in a special way in His words (Luke 4:22a; cf. Proverbs 22:11; Ecclesiastes 10:12a).

He is the Son of Man. He became Man, He came to earth, born of a virgin and walked on earth doing good. He was rejected and crucified, killed, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. This Son of Man will come in answer to the prayers of the believing remnant.

“Poured out” means that His words of grace flowed like water from His mouth to His hearers. It refers to the way of speaking, a way that is consistent with the beauty of His Person and which makes Him exceedingly attractive. Of Him is given the testimony that “never a man has spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46).

“Therefore”, that is, because He is like that and has spoken like that, God has “blessed” Him “forever”. The latter is also an indication that this psalm transcends a mere king such as David or Solomon, and points to Christ, Who said of the Scriptures: “It is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).

This “blessed forever” began after Christ completed the work on the cross. Then God raised Him up and glorified Him and gave Him the Name that is above all names. He blessed Him forever with every imaginable blessing, including that of His dominion over the world. This will be evident at His second coming in judgment.

The redemption of His people and the judgment of His enemies take place then, not through an angel or a human redeemer, but through the LORD Himself appearing as King. This is what the poet speaks of in the following verses where he speaks of the King and Bridegroom.

Psalms 78:30

Introduction

Psalms 45 and the next three psalms (Psalms 46-48) are God’s response to Psalms 42-44, which describe the suffering of the remnant. The great need in suffering is experiencing the absence of God. In the coming psalms, God responds to this distress. In Psalms 45, the answer is that He does not take away the suffering, but that He brings the Beloved to them in their circumstances.

God’s response is particularly connected to the cry of the remnant in the last verses of the previous psalm (Psalms 44:23-26). It is an exceptional answer: not only does God answer prayer, He comes Himself in His own Person! As a result, the tone changes. Affliction changes to joy and victory. God gives the believing remnant a special view of the Messiah. He is their King and will come to deliver them. That sight of Him and His tender love for the bride (cf. Hosea 2:19-20), and that He will come, give perseverance in enduring suffering.

In Psalms 44, God is their king (Psalms 44:4). In Psalms 45, Christ is the King, the true Son of David. This is evident from the quotation of this psalm in Hebrews 1, where the glory of Christ is described (Hebrews 1:8-9). Ancient Jewish writings, such as the Targum – an explanatory translation of the Old Testament – also recognize that Psalms 45 is about the King Messiah. The Targum translates Psalms 45:2 as follows: ”Your beauty, O King-Messiah, is greater than the sons of men.” The psalm is not directed at God, but at the King. The phrase “king” occurs five times in this psalm.

This is an encouragement to every suffering believer. God does not always take away suffering, but in the midst of suffering He does come to His suffering child in a special way. He participates in it and helps bear it. Christ, Who is God, walked the path of suffering Himself, encouraged by the joy that lay before Him. Now believers may walk the same path, facing Him, Him Who loves us.

To us comes the exhortation “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3).

We can divide the psalm as follows: Psalms 45:1a Heading Psalms 45:1b Introduction Psalms 45:2-5 The bride speaks to the King Psalms 45:6-9 The glory of the King Psalms 45:10-12 The King speaks to the bride/queen Psalms 45:13-15 The glory of the bride Psalms 45:16-17 Conclusion

The psalm begins in Psalms 45:2 and ends in Psalms 45:17 with “therefore” and “forever”. The glory of the King is the very reason (“therefore”) for the permanent character (“forever”) of the blessings in His kingdom.

Fairer Than the Sons of Men

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 45:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

The phrase “according to the Shoshannim“ or “upon lilies” points to the loveliness of the type of music. It refers to the tone, melody and music type of this psalm. “The Shoshannim” or “lilies” refers to the faithful remnant in their connection with Christ. The faithful are to Him as the lilies in the midst of the thorns (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). Thorns are a picture of sin (Genesis 3:18). It is human nature as it became through the Fall. The King sees the faithful as these tender field flowers in an environment that is full of sin, threat and violence for them and against which they cannot protect themselves. But He can. He does so by connecting them to Himself in love.

After Psalms 42-44, this psalm is the next “maskil” or “teaching”, or “instruction”. The subject is the Messiah, the King, Who He is to God and to His own. This instruction will be for the encouragement of the remnant in the time of the great tribulation in a special way. For “a maskil” see further at Psalms 32:1 and Psalms 42:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

It is “a Song of Love”, literally “a song of the beloved” (plural). This is already indicated in the division of the psalm. It is a unique song in the book of Psalms. This song is about the love between the King, the Messiah, and His bride, which is the earthly Jerusalem.

When we are in need, the Spirit of God always wants to direct our hearts to the love of God. Then He wants to remind us that for those who love God “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28), even though sometimes we do not understand why certain things must happen to us.

When the Beloved, the King in His beauty, is presented, the poet’s heart is moved (Psalms 45:1b). It is the working of the Holy Spirit, the Author of Scripture, Who fills the poet’s heart with wonder and amazement when he beholds the beauty of the great King, the Beloved of God. His heart is full of Him and overflows or bubbles over with good words. The word “overflows” is used for something that boils over because it is cooking, or for a fountain that bubbles up water and pushes it out. In this way, the poet’s “good theme” comes out.

His inner strong feelings are not expressed in ecstatic expressions, but are put into words in a controlled way in “a good theme”. A good word is a word about Christ, the King, Who is anointed over Zion (Psalms 2:6).

Christ is King of His earthly people. His relationship with His heavenly people, the church, is not that of a King. Nowhere in Scripture is He called the King of the church. To those who belong to the church, He is Lord. We confess Him as Lord. We did so at our conversion (Romans 10:8-9), and we have confessed this since we came to faith (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The poet brings forth the good theme in the form of addressing “my verses to the King”. The word “verses” is literally “works” or “occupation”. It refers to being busy with the King, thinking about Him and expressing oneself about Him (cf. Isaiah 5:1). Saying verses is done with much emotion, but always controlled and never frantic.

He expresses things with his tongue reminiscent of “the pen of a ready writer”. With a pen, things are recorded for future generations (cf. Job 19:24). His readiness is evident in his adeptness in the use of language, explanation and communication. It means that he does not have to search for words. The words come naturally from an overflowing heart, inspired by the Holy Spirit, as he comes to admiration by beholding the beloved King.

He speaks words that are inspired in him. His tongue is used as the pen of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always speaks of Christ (John 16:13-14). He does so not in an uncontrollable flow of words, but in full awareness of what He is saying. Part of “the fruit of the Spirit” is “self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23; cf. 1 Corinthians 14:32).

First, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, speaks in the poet about the days of Christ in the flesh on earth. God presents His Beloved to the suffering remnant. He is Man, but at the same time far more beautiful than all other men (Psalms 45:2). He is the Man par excellence. “My beloved is dazzling and reddish, outstanding among ten thousand” (Song of Solomon 5:10). This is seen only by the eye of faith (John 1:14). He is God’s answer to the need in which the believer may be. By looking at Him, the inner distress is removed.

David is said to be of handsome appearance (1 Samuel 16:12; 1 Samuel 17:42). Of Solomon it is said that he is outstanding among ten thousand and that he is wholly desirable (Song of Solomon 5:10; 16). But of this King it is said that He is fairer than the children of men because “grace is poured” upon “His lips” (cf. John 1:16). His beauty is not outward, but is seen in a special way in His words (Luke 4:22a; cf. Proverbs 22:11; Ecclesiastes 10:12a).

He is the Son of Man. He became Man, He came to earth, born of a virgin and walked on earth doing good. He was rejected and crucified, killed, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. This Son of Man will come in answer to the prayers of the believing remnant.

“Poured out” means that His words of grace flowed like water from His mouth to His hearers. It refers to the way of speaking, a way that is consistent with the beauty of His Person and which makes Him exceedingly attractive. Of Him is given the testimony that “never a man has spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46).

“Therefore”, that is, because He is like that and has spoken like that, God has “blessed” Him “forever”. The latter is also an indication that this psalm transcends a mere king such as David or Solomon, and points to Christ, Who said of the Scriptures: “It is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39).

This “blessed forever” began after Christ completed the work on the cross. Then God raised Him up and glorified Him and gave Him the Name that is above all names. He blessed Him forever with every imaginable blessing, including that of His dominion over the world. This will be evident at His second coming in judgment.

The redemption of His people and the judgment of His enemies take place then, not through an angel or a human redeemer, but through the LORD Himself appearing as King. This is what the poet speaks of in the following verses where he speaks of the King and Bridegroom.

Psalms 78:31

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:32

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:33

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:34

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:35

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:36

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:37

King and Bridegroom

King David in his victories is a type of the Christ Who will triumph over all His enemies. The beauty of the Lord Jesus in Psalms 45:2 is evident not only in His words, but also in His deeds, which are mentioned from Psalms 45:3 onward. From Psalms 45:3 on, it is about the second coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.

It begins with an urging from the believing remnant for the Lord Jesus to gird His sword at the thigh and ride on for the cause of God’s truth and meekness and righteousness. The purpose here, as with the grace of Psa 45:2, is the enforcement of the honor of God and the display of the beauty of the King. He will enforce this and shape God’s kingdom in the realm of peace.

Christ is the “Mighty One”, the Man with power and ability to overcome anything and anyone. Against Him no one can stand (Isaiah 42:13). The sword of His splendor and majesty at the thigh is His Word, with which He strikes down and subjects to Himself all that opposes God. The picture is that of a king going to war with his sword girded. The sword means that the King now comes not only as Savior, but also as Judge. That the sword bears the marks of His splendor and majesty refers to the King’s past victories.

It is said to Him to ride on victoriously (Psalms 45:4). It is a wish and at the same time a prophetic description. He is always prosperous and surrounded by glory, both in His humiliation and in His exaltation. It is now about the King Who goes to war and will be prosperous in His warfare. When He appears in glory, He rides “for the cause of truth and meekness [and] righteousness“. His word, what He says, is His strength. Meekness recalls His first coming (Zechariah 9:9). He has not lost the features of that when He acts in majesty.

By His word He created the worlds (Hebrews 11:3). By His word He will reclaim His right to the world fallen into sin (cf. Revelation 19:11; 15a) and judge sin (John 12:48). He will, when He returns, reign in truth, meekness, and righteousness. “Truth” means that He is absolutely trustworthy in word and deed and that any falsehood or mendacity is absolutely absent. “Meekness” or ‘humble of spirit’ is necessary to be with God (Isaiah 57:15). “Righteousness” means that everything He says and does is in complete accord with God’s holy requirements and His covenant.

Our task already now in the kingdom of God – which is now a kingdom in secret, the world does not see – is to serve Christ in meekness (Romans 14:17-18).

We see the power of judgment in the right hand. The right hand is the hand of power and of honor. He will control His right hand to do awesome deeds. What He does in judgment will evoke astonishment and wonder. These are feats of strength and bravery never before displayed in any war. It describes the great victories of the Messiah by which He subdues the whole world to Himself.

He goes to war and will completely destroy all His enemies. Then He establishes His reign which is grounded on truth. He rules in perfect righteousness and does so not as a ruthless ruler, but in meekness.

The sharp arrows He shoots are His words that strike the hearts of His enemies and by which the hostile nations will fall under Him (Psalms 45:5; cf. John 12:48b). The Word of God is sharp and therefore deeply penetrating and deadly to what is inconsistent with it (Hebrews 4:12). No people will stand before Him.

All His enemies, whereby we may mention the king of the North, which is the Assyrian, the beast out of the sea and the beast out of the earth, which are the dictators of respectively restored Europe and the apostate mass of Israel, and the prince of the extreme north, are all enemies who will fall down under Him. It is the victory of the truth of the Word.

God says to His King that His throne “is forever and ever” (Psalms 45:6). He addresses Him as “O God”. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse and the next as evidence that the Man Christ is the Son of God and therefore is God and thus is exalted far above the angels (Hebrews 1:8-9). God speaks of His throne. It is an eternal throne because righteousness is its foundation.

As Man, He sits on the throne. Right now He is not sitting on His own throne, but on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21). In the future, He will sit on His own throne (Matthew 25:31). On whatever throne He sits, His throne stands unshaken, and He Who sits on it cannot be removed from the throne by any power in the world. It is His throne on earth upon which He has sat after what is described above in Psalms 45:4-5. He has taken rightful possession of the throne.

The Messiah exercises His rule, of which the scepter is the symbol, in a righteous manner. It is “the scepter of uprightness”. No one can question the justice of His government. Any ground for doing so is lacking, for He rules according to the righteous law of God. All that Christ possesses, He possesses righteously. What the bride possesses and what the faithful possess, they possess by grace, which is based on His very own righteousness imputed to them.

God speaks to His Son and says to Him that He will sit on His own throne. His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness are the reasons why He is given such a special place (Psalms 45:7). “Wickedness” is rendered “lawlessness” in the quotation in Hebrews 1 (Hebrews 1:9). Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). It is not merely breaking the law of God, but denying any authority whatsoever, especially God’s. This is what the Lord Jesus hates, Who has always perfectly acknowledged and upheld the authority of God.

Christ is absolutely unique in His love of righteousness and His hatred of wickedness. He is the Only One on all earth of Whom that can be said by God. “Therefore”, for that reason, He has been given such a unique place by God. Is He not then worthy to be given that unique place in our hearts as well?

His anointing with the oil of joy is the expression of Who He is to the heart of God. It is not just a question of oil. With it He is already anointed as King. Here we have a special anointing, which takes place “with the oil of joy”, because it is the day of His wedding. He is anointed “above Your fellows”. His fellows are prophetically the faithful remnant. They first shared suffering with Him and now they share in His glorification and joy (cf. Romans 8:17). His anointing shows that He is the First among them (Hebrews 1:9). Every believer longs for justice to be done to Him, Who was done so much injustice in His life on earth.

Myrrh and aloes (Psalms 45:8) are components of the holy anointing oil that is special to God (Exodus 30:22-25; 31-33). The Bridegroom’s garments are fragrant with this (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). The Messiah is there first and foremost for God. He is described in His glories. We also find those spices on the Bride when she is described by the Bridegroom in Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:14).

In these garments He appears when He comes out of “the ivory palaces”. Solomon had a great ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18), but He Who is more than Solomon dwells in ivory palaces. Ivory speaks of the precious things that emerges because the death of another has taken place. Here He appears differently than in the war costume in the previous verses (Psalms 45:3-5). In addition to being surrounded by the precious fragrance of the oil of joy, He is filled with joy because of the anointing with oil of joy.

The “king’s daughters” surround the bride (Psalms 45:9). The king’s daughters are highly placed representatives of the nations that will come into the realm of peace. The daughter of Tyre (Psalms 45:12) is one of them. She represents the wealth of the nations. The nations come with gifts and share in the general joy of the wedding.

The queen has a separate place. She rules together with the Messiah. The word for queen here is the word used for a woman who becomes queen through her marriage to the king. The queen is the earthly bride of the Messiah, which is the faithful remnant, the Jerusalem that is on earth. The earth will be submitted to Christ and to His earthly bride. There are two exceptions to that submission: God (1 Corinthians 15:27) and the church, His heavenly bride (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The queen stands at the right hand of the King. The right hand, besides being a symbol of power, also symbolizes an exalted place, a place of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). The queen has yet to be brought to the king (Psalms 45:14; 15), but the psalmist already foresees this scene. She is clothed “in gold from Ophir”. The gold refers to the glory of God. The bride looks so glittering because God has put His own glory on her (Ezekiel 16:14).

Psalms 78:38

The Bride

Now the bride is addressed directly (Psalms 45:10). The first thing that is said to her is to listen. God has something to say to her. Any change begins with listening. What is said, she must “give attention”, in the sense of consider, and incline her ear to it, tune her ear to it. It is namely about something important: God tells her in what way she can show her beauty, so that the King’s desire will go out to her.

She will be attractive to Him in her beauty if she forgets her past. The faithful remnant is to forget the sins committed by the people in the past (Psalms 103:12). The judgment for it, borne by the Messiah, has caused a break with the past. Her full devotion to Him will be proof of that.

Everyone who repents knows this. He breaks with the past and starts a new life. With respect to the past, there is nothing the remnant can boast about or claim a right to. Through their unfaithfulness they have forfeited all right to the promise.

We see this presented in Ruth, the Moabitess. As a Moabitess, she has no right whatsoever to stay in the land, let alone inherit it (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). However, she leaves her people and makes herself dependent on grace. This brings her into connection with Boaz, a type of the Lord Jesus, giving her all that he possesses (Rth 1:7-17; Rth 4:9-10).

The connection with Christ breaks all the natural connections that were there and establishes entirely new ones (cf. Genesis 12:1; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 12:48-50; 2 Corinthians 5:17). “Your father’s house” refers to the strong earthly bond that is present in the family relationships. This too must be given up when it comes to the connection with the Messiah (cf. Luke 9:59-60). The King’s desire is determined by the attachment to Him at the expense of every natural connection.

When He notices this, He will desire her beauty (Psalms 45:11). The beauty of Jerusalem can begin to shine, “when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4). Instead, the Bridegroom has given her the adornments of a bride (Isaiah 61:3; cf. Genesis 24:53a).

For us, it means that we walk in such a way that the Lord finds His joy in it. That is what we do when we break the connection with natural relationships. It is also what Christ has done. The old connections have been removed by His work on the cross, through which He formed new ones. Any boasting in the flesh must be given up. Paul says: “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

The acknowledgment of this will be seen in submission to His authority or to His being Lord. The bride’s awe for her Bridegroom is evident in her bowing down to Him, which is to give Him the due respect. This attitude of awe should also characterize the wife toward her husband in our day (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:6).

The bride will receive from “the daughter of Tyre”, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre, “a gift” (Psalms 45:12). Tyre was the richest city in the Near East at that time. This city, as well as other rich nations, will bring their contributions to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 60:5-7; Revelation 21:24; 26). They will do so in order to thereby seek the “favor” of the bride. Israel or Jerusalem will then no longer be despised and trampled upon, but will be recognized as the city on which they depend for every blessing.

The bride is “the King’s daughter”, meaning she is of royal descent (Psalms 45:13). “All glorious within” means ‘inside’, that is in the interior of the house where she is. It means that she is not yet visible to everyone. In the house she is “all glorious”, for “her clothing is interwoven with gold”. Her wedding clothing is artfully embroidered of gold thread. There is nothing that recalls her past. Her appearance has the radiance of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21:10-11). She is ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Then the bride is “led to the King in embroidered work” (Psalms 45:14; cf. Ezekiel 16:10; 13) to be united with Him (cf. Genesis 2:22). In her entourage are the “virgins, her companions”. In them we can see a picture of the cities of Judah (Isaiah 40:9), which come to honor the King. What a contrast there is between the treatment of the King when He was crucified and this scene. Now honor is brought to Him. The whole world will rejoice over this connection. The book of Song of Songs will be fulfilled.

The whole wedding procession enters the King’s palace in joy (Psalms 45:15). Now the bride with her entourage comes to the King. All who are with her are received as it were as king’s daughters. This cannot but work the utmost joy with them. There is great joy in all. This is expressed in the bride’s companions. They too are full of joy for the grace that was given to all.

The church, too, will be made stand in the presence of Christ “with great joy” to the glory of God (Jude 1:24; Ephesians 3:20-21; Ephesians 5:27). Then the call will sound through heaven: ““Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride [lit wife] has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Psalms 78:39

The Bride

Now the bride is addressed directly (Psalms 45:10). The first thing that is said to her is to listen. God has something to say to her. Any change begins with listening. What is said, she must “give attention”, in the sense of consider, and incline her ear to it, tune her ear to it. It is namely about something important: God tells her in what way she can show her beauty, so that the King’s desire will go out to her.

She will be attractive to Him in her beauty if she forgets her past. The faithful remnant is to forget the sins committed by the people in the past (Psalms 103:12). The judgment for it, borne by the Messiah, has caused a break with the past. Her full devotion to Him will be proof of that.

Everyone who repents knows this. He breaks with the past and starts a new life. With respect to the past, there is nothing the remnant can boast about or claim a right to. Through their unfaithfulness they have forfeited all right to the promise.

We see this presented in Ruth, the Moabitess. As a Moabitess, she has no right whatsoever to stay in the land, let alone inherit it (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). However, she leaves her people and makes herself dependent on grace. This brings her into connection with Boaz, a type of the Lord Jesus, giving her all that he possesses (Rth 1:7-17; Rth 4:9-10).

The connection with Christ breaks all the natural connections that were there and establishes entirely new ones (cf. Genesis 12:1; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 12:48-50; 2 Corinthians 5:17). “Your father’s house” refers to the strong earthly bond that is present in the family relationships. This too must be given up when it comes to the connection with the Messiah (cf. Luke 9:59-60). The King’s desire is determined by the attachment to Him at the expense of every natural connection.

When He notices this, He will desire her beauty (Psalms 45:11). The beauty of Jerusalem can begin to shine, “when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4). Instead, the Bridegroom has given her the adornments of a bride (Isaiah 61:3; cf. Genesis 24:53a).

For us, it means that we walk in such a way that the Lord finds His joy in it. That is what we do when we break the connection with natural relationships. It is also what Christ has done. The old connections have been removed by His work on the cross, through which He formed new ones. Any boasting in the flesh must be given up. Paul says: “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

The acknowledgment of this will be seen in submission to His authority or to His being Lord. The bride’s awe for her Bridegroom is evident in her bowing down to Him, which is to give Him the due respect. This attitude of awe should also characterize the wife toward her husband in our day (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:6).

The bride will receive from “the daughter of Tyre”, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre, “a gift” (Psalms 45:12). Tyre was the richest city in the Near East at that time. This city, as well as other rich nations, will bring their contributions to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 60:5-7; Revelation 21:24; 26). They will do so in order to thereby seek the “favor” of the bride. Israel or Jerusalem will then no longer be despised and trampled upon, but will be recognized as the city on which they depend for every blessing.

The bride is “the King’s daughter”, meaning she is of royal descent (Psalms 45:13). “All glorious within” means ‘inside’, that is in the interior of the house where she is. It means that she is not yet visible to everyone. In the house she is “all glorious”, for “her clothing is interwoven with gold”. Her wedding clothing is artfully embroidered of gold thread. There is nothing that recalls her past. Her appearance has the radiance of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21:10-11). She is ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Then the bride is “led to the King in embroidered work” (Psalms 45:14; cf. Ezekiel 16:10; 13) to be united with Him (cf. Genesis 2:22). In her entourage are the “virgins, her companions”. In them we can see a picture of the cities of Judah (Isaiah 40:9), which come to honor the King. What a contrast there is between the treatment of the King when He was crucified and this scene. Now honor is brought to Him. The whole world will rejoice over this connection. The book of Song of Songs will be fulfilled.

The whole wedding procession enters the King’s palace in joy (Psalms 45:15). Now the bride with her entourage comes to the King. All who are with her are received as it were as king’s daughters. This cannot but work the utmost joy with them. There is great joy in all. This is expressed in the bride’s companions. They too are full of joy for the grace that was given to all.

The church, too, will be made stand in the presence of Christ “with great joy” to the glory of God (Jude 1:24; Ephesians 3:20-21; Ephesians 5:27). Then the call will sound through heaven: ““Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride [lit wife] has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Psalms 78:40

The Bride

Now the bride is addressed directly (Psalms 45:10). The first thing that is said to her is to listen. God has something to say to her. Any change begins with listening. What is said, she must “give attention”, in the sense of consider, and incline her ear to it, tune her ear to it. It is namely about something important: God tells her in what way she can show her beauty, so that the King’s desire will go out to her.

She will be attractive to Him in her beauty if she forgets her past. The faithful remnant is to forget the sins committed by the people in the past (Psalms 103:12). The judgment for it, borne by the Messiah, has caused a break with the past. Her full devotion to Him will be proof of that.

Everyone who repents knows this. He breaks with the past and starts a new life. With respect to the past, there is nothing the remnant can boast about or claim a right to. Through their unfaithfulness they have forfeited all right to the promise.

We see this presented in Ruth, the Moabitess. As a Moabitess, she has no right whatsoever to stay in the land, let alone inherit it (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). However, she leaves her people and makes herself dependent on grace. This brings her into connection with Boaz, a type of the Lord Jesus, giving her all that he possesses (Rth 1:7-17; Rth 4:9-10).

The connection with Christ breaks all the natural connections that were there and establishes entirely new ones (cf. Genesis 12:1; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 12:48-50; 2 Corinthians 5:17). “Your father’s house” refers to the strong earthly bond that is present in the family relationships. This too must be given up when it comes to the connection with the Messiah (cf. Luke 9:59-60). The King’s desire is determined by the attachment to Him at the expense of every natural connection.

When He notices this, He will desire her beauty (Psalms 45:11). The beauty of Jerusalem can begin to shine, “when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4). Instead, the Bridegroom has given her the adornments of a bride (Isaiah 61:3; cf. Genesis 24:53a).

For us, it means that we walk in such a way that the Lord finds His joy in it. That is what we do when we break the connection with natural relationships. It is also what Christ has done. The old connections have been removed by His work on the cross, through which He formed new ones. Any boasting in the flesh must be given up. Paul says: “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

The acknowledgment of this will be seen in submission to His authority or to His being Lord. The bride’s awe for her Bridegroom is evident in her bowing down to Him, which is to give Him the due respect. This attitude of awe should also characterize the wife toward her husband in our day (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:6).

The bride will receive from “the daughter of Tyre”, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre, “a gift” (Psalms 45:12). Tyre was the richest city in the Near East at that time. This city, as well as other rich nations, will bring their contributions to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 60:5-7; Revelation 21:24; 26). They will do so in order to thereby seek the “favor” of the bride. Israel or Jerusalem will then no longer be despised and trampled upon, but will be recognized as the city on which they depend for every blessing.

The bride is “the King’s daughter”, meaning she is of royal descent (Psalms 45:13). “All glorious within” means ‘inside’, that is in the interior of the house where she is. It means that she is not yet visible to everyone. In the house she is “all glorious”, for “her clothing is interwoven with gold”. Her wedding clothing is artfully embroidered of gold thread. There is nothing that recalls her past. Her appearance has the radiance of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21:10-11). She is ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Then the bride is “led to the King in embroidered work” (Psalms 45:14; cf. Ezekiel 16:10; 13) to be united with Him (cf. Genesis 2:22). In her entourage are the “virgins, her companions”. In them we can see a picture of the cities of Judah (Isaiah 40:9), which come to honor the King. What a contrast there is between the treatment of the King when He was crucified and this scene. Now honor is brought to Him. The whole world will rejoice over this connection. The book of Song of Songs will be fulfilled.

The whole wedding procession enters the King’s palace in joy (Psalms 45:15). Now the bride with her entourage comes to the King. All who are with her are received as it were as king’s daughters. This cannot but work the utmost joy with them. There is great joy in all. This is expressed in the bride’s companions. They too are full of joy for the grace that was given to all.

The church, too, will be made stand in the presence of Christ “with great joy” to the glory of God (Jude 1:24; Ephesians 3:20-21; Ephesians 5:27). Then the call will sound through heaven: ““Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride [lit wife] has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Psalms 78:41

The Bride

Now the bride is addressed directly (Psalms 45:10). The first thing that is said to her is to listen. God has something to say to her. Any change begins with listening. What is said, she must “give attention”, in the sense of consider, and incline her ear to it, tune her ear to it. It is namely about something important: God tells her in what way she can show her beauty, so that the King’s desire will go out to her.

She will be attractive to Him in her beauty if she forgets her past. The faithful remnant is to forget the sins committed by the people in the past (Psalms 103:12). The judgment for it, borne by the Messiah, has caused a break with the past. Her full devotion to Him will be proof of that.

Everyone who repents knows this. He breaks with the past and starts a new life. With respect to the past, there is nothing the remnant can boast about or claim a right to. Through their unfaithfulness they have forfeited all right to the promise.

We see this presented in Ruth, the Moabitess. As a Moabitess, she has no right whatsoever to stay in the land, let alone inherit it (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). However, she leaves her people and makes herself dependent on grace. This brings her into connection with Boaz, a type of the Lord Jesus, giving her all that he possesses (Rth 1:7-17; Rth 4:9-10).

The connection with Christ breaks all the natural connections that were there and establishes entirely new ones (cf. Genesis 12:1; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 12:48-50; 2 Corinthians 5:17). “Your father’s house” refers to the strong earthly bond that is present in the family relationships. This too must be given up when it comes to the connection with the Messiah (cf. Luke 9:59-60). The King’s desire is determined by the attachment to Him at the expense of every natural connection.

When He notices this, He will desire her beauty (Psalms 45:11). The beauty of Jerusalem can begin to shine, “when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4). Instead, the Bridegroom has given her the adornments of a bride (Isaiah 61:3; cf. Genesis 24:53a).

For us, it means that we walk in such a way that the Lord finds His joy in it. That is what we do when we break the connection with natural relationships. It is also what Christ has done. The old connections have been removed by His work on the cross, through which He formed new ones. Any boasting in the flesh must be given up. Paul says: “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

The acknowledgment of this will be seen in submission to His authority or to His being Lord. The bride’s awe for her Bridegroom is evident in her bowing down to Him, which is to give Him the due respect. This attitude of awe should also characterize the wife toward her husband in our day (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:6).

The bride will receive from “the daughter of Tyre”, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre, “a gift” (Psalms 45:12). Tyre was the richest city in the Near East at that time. This city, as well as other rich nations, will bring their contributions to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 60:5-7; Revelation 21:24; 26). They will do so in order to thereby seek the “favor” of the bride. Israel or Jerusalem will then no longer be despised and trampled upon, but will be recognized as the city on which they depend for every blessing.

The bride is “the King’s daughter”, meaning she is of royal descent (Psalms 45:13). “All glorious within” means ‘inside’, that is in the interior of the house where she is. It means that she is not yet visible to everyone. In the house she is “all glorious”, for “her clothing is interwoven with gold”. Her wedding clothing is artfully embroidered of gold thread. There is nothing that recalls her past. Her appearance has the radiance of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21:10-11). She is ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Then the bride is “led to the King in embroidered work” (Psalms 45:14; cf. Ezekiel 16:10; 13) to be united with Him (cf. Genesis 2:22). In her entourage are the “virgins, her companions”. In them we can see a picture of the cities of Judah (Isaiah 40:9), which come to honor the King. What a contrast there is between the treatment of the King when He was crucified and this scene. Now honor is brought to Him. The whole world will rejoice over this connection. The book of Song of Songs will be fulfilled.

The whole wedding procession enters the King’s palace in joy (Psalms 45:15). Now the bride with her entourage comes to the King. All who are with her are received as it were as king’s daughters. This cannot but work the utmost joy with them. There is great joy in all. This is expressed in the bride’s companions. They too are full of joy for the grace that was given to all.

The church, too, will be made stand in the presence of Christ “with great joy” to the glory of God (Jude 1:24; Ephesians 3:20-21; Ephesians 5:27). Then the call will sound through heaven: ““Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride [lit wife] has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Psalms 78:42

The Bride

Now the bride is addressed directly (Psalms 45:10). The first thing that is said to her is to listen. God has something to say to her. Any change begins with listening. What is said, she must “give attention”, in the sense of consider, and incline her ear to it, tune her ear to it. It is namely about something important: God tells her in what way she can show her beauty, so that the King’s desire will go out to her.

She will be attractive to Him in her beauty if she forgets her past. The faithful remnant is to forget the sins committed by the people in the past (Psalms 103:12). The judgment for it, borne by the Messiah, has caused a break with the past. Her full devotion to Him will be proof of that.

Everyone who repents knows this. He breaks with the past and starts a new life. With respect to the past, there is nothing the remnant can boast about or claim a right to. Through their unfaithfulness they have forfeited all right to the promise.

We see this presented in Ruth, the Moabitess. As a Moabitess, she has no right whatsoever to stay in the land, let alone inherit it (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). However, she leaves her people and makes herself dependent on grace. This brings her into connection with Boaz, a type of the Lord Jesus, giving her all that he possesses (Rth 1:7-17; Rth 4:9-10).

The connection with Christ breaks all the natural connections that were there and establishes entirely new ones (cf. Genesis 12:1; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 12:48-50; 2 Corinthians 5:17). “Your father’s house” refers to the strong earthly bond that is present in the family relationships. This too must be given up when it comes to the connection with the Messiah (cf. Luke 9:59-60). The King’s desire is determined by the attachment to Him at the expense of every natural connection.

When He notices this, He will desire her beauty (Psalms 45:11). The beauty of Jerusalem can begin to shine, “when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4). Instead, the Bridegroom has given her the adornments of a bride (Isaiah 61:3; cf. Genesis 24:53a).

For us, it means that we walk in such a way that the Lord finds His joy in it. That is what we do when we break the connection with natural relationships. It is also what Christ has done. The old connections have been removed by His work on the cross, through which He formed new ones. Any boasting in the flesh must be given up. Paul says: “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

The acknowledgment of this will be seen in submission to His authority or to His being Lord. The bride’s awe for her Bridegroom is evident in her bowing down to Him, which is to give Him the due respect. This attitude of awe should also characterize the wife toward her husband in our day (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:6).

The bride will receive from “the daughter of Tyre”, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre, “a gift” (Psalms 45:12). Tyre was the richest city in the Near East at that time. This city, as well as other rich nations, will bring their contributions to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 60:5-7; Revelation 21:24; 26). They will do so in order to thereby seek the “favor” of the bride. Israel or Jerusalem will then no longer be despised and trampled upon, but will be recognized as the city on which they depend for every blessing.

The bride is “the King’s daughter”, meaning she is of royal descent (Psalms 45:13). “All glorious within” means ‘inside’, that is in the interior of the house where she is. It means that she is not yet visible to everyone. In the house she is “all glorious”, for “her clothing is interwoven with gold”. Her wedding clothing is artfully embroidered of gold thread. There is nothing that recalls her past. Her appearance has the radiance of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21:10-11). She is ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Then the bride is “led to the King in embroidered work” (Psalms 45:14; cf. Ezekiel 16:10; 13) to be united with Him (cf. Genesis 2:22). In her entourage are the “virgins, her companions”. In them we can see a picture of the cities of Judah (Isaiah 40:9), which come to honor the King. What a contrast there is between the treatment of the King when He was crucified and this scene. Now honor is brought to Him. The whole world will rejoice over this connection. The book of Song of Songs will be fulfilled.

The whole wedding procession enters the King’s palace in joy (Psalms 45:15). Now the bride with her entourage comes to the King. All who are with her are received as it were as king’s daughters. This cannot but work the utmost joy with them. There is great joy in all. This is expressed in the bride’s companions. They too are full of joy for the grace that was given to all.

The church, too, will be made stand in the presence of Christ “with great joy” to the glory of God (Jude 1:24; Ephesians 3:20-21; Ephesians 5:27). Then the call will sound through heaven: ““Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride [lit wife] has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Psalms 78:43

The Bride

Now the bride is addressed directly (Psalms 45:10). The first thing that is said to her is to listen. God has something to say to her. Any change begins with listening. What is said, she must “give attention”, in the sense of consider, and incline her ear to it, tune her ear to it. It is namely about something important: God tells her in what way she can show her beauty, so that the King’s desire will go out to her.

She will be attractive to Him in her beauty if she forgets her past. The faithful remnant is to forget the sins committed by the people in the past (Psalms 103:12). The judgment for it, borne by the Messiah, has caused a break with the past. Her full devotion to Him will be proof of that.

Everyone who repents knows this. He breaks with the past and starts a new life. With respect to the past, there is nothing the remnant can boast about or claim a right to. Through their unfaithfulness they have forfeited all right to the promise.

We see this presented in Ruth, the Moabitess. As a Moabitess, she has no right whatsoever to stay in the land, let alone inherit it (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). However, she leaves her people and makes herself dependent on grace. This brings her into connection with Boaz, a type of the Lord Jesus, giving her all that he possesses (Rth 1:7-17; Rth 4:9-10).

The connection with Christ breaks all the natural connections that were there and establishes entirely new ones (cf. Genesis 12:1; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 12:48-50; 2 Corinthians 5:17). “Your father’s house” refers to the strong earthly bond that is present in the family relationships. This too must be given up when it comes to the connection with the Messiah (cf. Luke 9:59-60). The King’s desire is determined by the attachment to Him at the expense of every natural connection.

When He notices this, He will desire her beauty (Psalms 45:11). The beauty of Jerusalem can begin to shine, “when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4). Instead, the Bridegroom has given her the adornments of a bride (Isaiah 61:3; cf. Genesis 24:53a).

For us, it means that we walk in such a way that the Lord finds His joy in it. That is what we do when we break the connection with natural relationships. It is also what Christ has done. The old connections have been removed by His work on the cross, through which He formed new ones. Any boasting in the flesh must be given up. Paul says: “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

The acknowledgment of this will be seen in submission to His authority or to His being Lord. The bride’s awe for her Bridegroom is evident in her bowing down to Him, which is to give Him the due respect. This attitude of awe should also characterize the wife toward her husband in our day (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:6).

The bride will receive from “the daughter of Tyre”, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre, “a gift” (Psalms 45:12). Tyre was the richest city in the Near East at that time. This city, as well as other rich nations, will bring their contributions to Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 60:5-7; Revelation 21:24; 26). They will do so in order to thereby seek the “favor” of the bride. Israel or Jerusalem will then no longer be despised and trampled upon, but will be recognized as the city on which they depend for every blessing.

The bride is “the King’s daughter”, meaning she is of royal descent (Psalms 45:13). “All glorious within” means ‘inside’, that is in the interior of the house where she is. It means that she is not yet visible to everyone. In the house she is “all glorious”, for “her clothing is interwoven with gold”. Her wedding clothing is artfully embroidered of gold thread. There is nothing that recalls her past. Her appearance has the radiance of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21:10-11). She is ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Then the bride is “led to the King in embroidered work” (Psalms 45:14; cf. Ezekiel 16:10; 13) to be united with Him (cf. Genesis 2:22). In her entourage are the “virgins, her companions”. In them we can see a picture of the cities of Judah (Isaiah 40:9), which come to honor the King. What a contrast there is between the treatment of the King when He was crucified and this scene. Now honor is brought to Him. The whole world will rejoice over this connection. The book of Song of Songs will be fulfilled.

The whole wedding procession enters the King’s palace in joy (Psalms 45:15). Now the bride with her entourage comes to the King. All who are with her are received as it were as king’s daughters. This cannot but work the utmost joy with them. There is great joy in all. This is expressed in the bride’s companions. They too are full of joy for the grace that was given to all.

The church, too, will be made stand in the presence of Christ “with great joy” to the glory of God (Jude 1:24; Ephesians 3:20-21; Ephesians 5:27). Then the call will sound through heaven: ““Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride [lit wife] has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright [and] clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

Psalms 78:44

The Sons

In Psalms 45:16 the Messiah is addressed. “Your sons” are the sons who are led by God to the Son in glory (Hebrews 2:10; 13). “Your fathers” are the fathers after the flesh (Romans 1:3; Romans 9:5). They are replaced by a new generation (Psalms 22:30; Isaiah 53:10), by the “youth as the dew” (Psalms 110:3). The sons participate in the reign of the Messiah in the realm of peace and are appointed by Him as “princes in all the earth”. It is the payment of wages for what someone has done for Him (Matthew 19:28; Luke 19:17; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Revelation 20:6).

In Psalms 45:17, the Messiah speaks to God. He will cause God’s Name “to be remembered in all generations” (cf. Psalms 72:17). Christ will always do everything to the glory of God. He did that on earth, He does that now, and He will continue to do that. What He does in the realm of peace will work thanksgiving among the nations that will continue “forever and ever”. This praise will never die away. There will never be a time when God’s Name will not be honored. Blessed are those who partake of that thanksgiving!

Psalms 78:45

The Sons

In Psalms 45:16 the Messiah is addressed. “Your sons” are the sons who are led by God to the Son in glory (Hebrews 2:10; 13). “Your fathers” are the fathers after the flesh (Romans 1:3; Romans 9:5). They are replaced by a new generation (Psalms 22:30; Isaiah 53:10), by the “youth as the dew” (Psalms 110:3). The sons participate in the reign of the Messiah in the realm of peace and are appointed by Him as “princes in all the earth”. It is the payment of wages for what someone has done for Him (Matthew 19:28; Luke 19:17; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Revelation 20:6).

In Psalms 45:17, the Messiah speaks to God. He will cause God’s Name “to be remembered in all generations” (cf. Psalms 72:17). Christ will always do everything to the glory of God. He did that on earth, He does that now, and He will continue to do that. What He does in the realm of peace will work thanksgiving among the nations that will continue “forever and ever”. This praise will never die away. There will never be a time when God’s Name will not be honored. Blessed are those who partake of that thanksgiving!

Psalms 78:47

Introduction

After the Messiah has appeared in the previous psalm, in this psalm and the next two psalms the complaint of the remnant turns into a song of praise. God is their refuge. The voice of the enemy, which at first had said scornfully, ”where is your God?“ (Psalms 42:10), is silenced. Peace flows like a river, with no chance of disturbing it, because the weapons have been rendered useless.

We see the enemy in this psalm in three forms: 1. The violence of nature (Psalms 46:1b-3). 2. The political violence (Psalms 46:4-7). 3. The violence of war (Psalms 46:8-11). In this we have at the same time a division of the psalm. The threefold division is supported by a triple ‘selah’ (Psalms 46:3; 7; 11) and a (not complete) refrain (Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11).

This psalm is for Israel itself, which is evident from the expression “our” in Psalms 46:1b, Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11. “The LORD … is with us (or for us)” (Psalms 46:11) is the Name of Christ for His own: Immanuel, which means “God with us”.

God Is a Refuge, Strength and Help

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 46:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm is “set to Alamoth”. The word almah, the singular of “alamoth”, is used for ‘virgin’ in Isaiah 7: “Behold, a virgin will be with child” (Isaiah 7:14). The idea is similar to the song on the occasion of the redemption from Egypt. Miriam praises the LORD with all the women – so it is a female choir (Exodus 15:20) – because of the redemption. The sons of Korah do the same here. They sing of redemption.

In 1 Chronicles 15, in the section about the singers, the word “Alamoth” also occurs. There is talk of two kinds of pitches there (1 Chronicles 15:20-21). As indicated above, this word is related to the word “virgin”. Hence the idea that the pitch is ‘high tuned’, that of the soprano. We could also say that this song was written to be sung by girls (soprano).

That God is a refuge means that He Himself is a place of protection for His own from danger (Psalms 46:1b). This points to His presence with them. He is Immanuel, God with us. They may flee to Him and hide with Him. He takes upon Himself their defense, for besides protection, He is also their strength against the enemy. In this way God has often shown His help in the distresses in which His own have found themselves.

God is a “refuge and strength” and “a very present help” (or support, assistance) for His own. This idea is reinforced in Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11 by the phrase “stronghold”. This formidable God is “the LORD of hosts”, the warrior name of God, by which He is mentioned in those verses.

Trouble is anything that can happen to us that makes us anxious or sad. He has proved to be “a very present” help in every trouble, enabling us to rely on Him for any new situation in which we need His help. He is always available and always helps at the right time and in the right way (cf. Hebrews 4:16).

If faith firmly holds that God is a refuge, strength and help, it will banish all fear from the heart (Psalms 46:2). In Psalms 46:1b-3, the psalmist speaks of the coming of God to judge. When God appears, it is accompanied by impressive natural phenomena, such as earthquake and storm (cf. Psalms 18:7-19; Exodus 19:16-18; Isaiah 64:1-3).

How frightened a person can become by natural disasters (Luke 21:25-26). If the earth were to change location, we would lose all orientation. And suppose the mountains were moved to the heart of the seas. It would mean an end to all stability on earth. But those who have God as their refuge retain their orientation and stability.

The waters of the seas can roar and foam, causing fear (Psalms 46:3). The mountains may tremble due to the turbulence of the waters. But the believer is not afraid, for He is with God in a stronghold. We can think by the waters of the seas of hostile nations and by the mountains of political systems of power. They can rage so much that all orientation and stability disappear from society.

Hezekiah saw this in his days when the land was overrun by the armies of Assyria. Assyria is the disciplinary rod of God for His people (Isaiah 10:5a). We too, as His people, have to deal with the disciplinary rod of God. We have deviated as a whole and by His discipline He wants to bring us back on His way. The question is whether we recognize His discipline and what our response to it is (cf. Amos 4:6-12).

Psalms 78:48

Introduction

After the Messiah has appeared in the previous psalm, in this psalm and the next two psalms the complaint of the remnant turns into a song of praise. God is their refuge. The voice of the enemy, which at first had said scornfully, ”where is your God?“ (Psalms 42:10), is silenced. Peace flows like a river, with no chance of disturbing it, because the weapons have been rendered useless.

We see the enemy in this psalm in three forms: 1. The violence of nature (Psalms 46:1b-3). 2. The political violence (Psalms 46:4-7). 3. The violence of war (Psalms 46:8-11). In this we have at the same time a division of the psalm. The threefold division is supported by a triple ‘selah’ (Psalms 46:3; 7; 11) and a (not complete) refrain (Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11).

This psalm is for Israel itself, which is evident from the expression “our” in Psalms 46:1b, Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11. “The LORD … is with us (or for us)” (Psalms 46:11) is the Name of Christ for His own: Immanuel, which means “God with us”.

God Is a Refuge, Strength and Help

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 46:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm is “set to Alamoth”. The word almah, the singular of “alamoth”, is used for ‘virgin’ in Isaiah 7: “Behold, a virgin will be with child” (Isaiah 7:14). The idea is similar to the song on the occasion of the redemption from Egypt. Miriam praises the LORD with all the women – so it is a female choir (Exodus 15:20) – because of the redemption. The sons of Korah do the same here. They sing of redemption.

In 1 Chronicles 15, in the section about the singers, the word “Alamoth” also occurs. There is talk of two kinds of pitches there (1 Chronicles 15:20-21). As indicated above, this word is related to the word “virgin”. Hence the idea that the pitch is ‘high tuned’, that of the soprano. We could also say that this song was written to be sung by girls (soprano).

That God is a refuge means that He Himself is a place of protection for His own from danger (Psalms 46:1b). This points to His presence with them. He is Immanuel, God with us. They may flee to Him and hide with Him. He takes upon Himself their defense, for besides protection, He is also their strength against the enemy. In this way God has often shown His help in the distresses in which His own have found themselves.

God is a “refuge and strength” and “a very present help” (or support, assistance) for His own. This idea is reinforced in Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11 by the phrase “stronghold”. This formidable God is “the LORD of hosts”, the warrior name of God, by which He is mentioned in those verses.

Trouble is anything that can happen to us that makes us anxious or sad. He has proved to be “a very present” help in every trouble, enabling us to rely on Him for any new situation in which we need His help. He is always available and always helps at the right time and in the right way (cf. Hebrews 4:16).

If faith firmly holds that God is a refuge, strength and help, it will banish all fear from the heart (Psalms 46:2). In Psalms 46:1b-3, the psalmist speaks of the coming of God to judge. When God appears, it is accompanied by impressive natural phenomena, such as earthquake and storm (cf. Psalms 18:7-19; Exodus 19:16-18; Isaiah 64:1-3).

How frightened a person can become by natural disasters (Luke 21:25-26). If the earth were to change location, we would lose all orientation. And suppose the mountains were moved to the heart of the seas. It would mean an end to all stability on earth. But those who have God as their refuge retain their orientation and stability.

The waters of the seas can roar and foam, causing fear (Psalms 46:3). The mountains may tremble due to the turbulence of the waters. But the believer is not afraid, for He is with God in a stronghold. We can think by the waters of the seas of hostile nations and by the mountains of political systems of power. They can rage so much that all orientation and stability disappear from society.

Hezekiah saw this in his days when the land was overrun by the armies of Assyria. Assyria is the disciplinary rod of God for His people (Isaiah 10:5a). We too, as His people, have to deal with the disciplinary rod of God. We have deviated as a whole and by His discipline He wants to bring us back on His way. The question is whether we recognize His discipline and what our response to it is (cf. Amos 4:6-12).

Psalms 78:49

Introduction

After the Messiah has appeared in the previous psalm, in this psalm and the next two psalms the complaint of the remnant turns into a song of praise. God is their refuge. The voice of the enemy, which at first had said scornfully, ”where is your God?“ (Psalms 42:10), is silenced. Peace flows like a river, with no chance of disturbing it, because the weapons have been rendered useless.

We see the enemy in this psalm in three forms: 1. The violence of nature (Psalms 46:1b-3). 2. The political violence (Psalms 46:4-7). 3. The violence of war (Psalms 46:8-11). In this we have at the same time a division of the psalm. The threefold division is supported by a triple ‘selah’ (Psalms 46:3; 7; 11) and a (not complete) refrain (Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11).

This psalm is for Israel itself, which is evident from the expression “our” in Psalms 46:1b, Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11. “The LORD … is with us (or for us)” (Psalms 46:11) is the Name of Christ for His own: Immanuel, which means “God with us”.

God Is a Refuge, Strength and Help

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 46:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm is “set to Alamoth”. The word almah, the singular of “alamoth”, is used for ‘virgin’ in Isaiah 7: “Behold, a virgin will be with child” (Isaiah 7:14). The idea is similar to the song on the occasion of the redemption from Egypt. Miriam praises the LORD with all the women – so it is a female choir (Exodus 15:20) – because of the redemption. The sons of Korah do the same here. They sing of redemption.

In 1 Chronicles 15, in the section about the singers, the word “Alamoth” also occurs. There is talk of two kinds of pitches there (1 Chronicles 15:20-21). As indicated above, this word is related to the word “virgin”. Hence the idea that the pitch is ‘high tuned’, that of the soprano. We could also say that this song was written to be sung by girls (soprano).

That God is a refuge means that He Himself is a place of protection for His own from danger (Psalms 46:1b). This points to His presence with them. He is Immanuel, God with us. They may flee to Him and hide with Him. He takes upon Himself their defense, for besides protection, He is also their strength against the enemy. In this way God has often shown His help in the distresses in which His own have found themselves.

God is a “refuge and strength” and “a very present help” (or support, assistance) for His own. This idea is reinforced in Psalms 46:7 and Psalms 46:11 by the phrase “stronghold”. This formidable God is “the LORD of hosts”, the warrior name of God, by which He is mentioned in those verses.

Trouble is anything that can happen to us that makes us anxious or sad. He has proved to be “a very present” help in every trouble, enabling us to rely on Him for any new situation in which we need His help. He is always available and always helps at the right time and in the right way (cf. Hebrews 4:16).

If faith firmly holds that God is a refuge, strength and help, it will banish all fear from the heart (Psalms 46:2). In Psalms 46:1b-3, the psalmist speaks of the coming of God to judge. When God appears, it is accompanied by impressive natural phenomena, such as earthquake and storm (cf. Psalms 18:7-19; Exodus 19:16-18; Isaiah 64:1-3).

How frightened a person can become by natural disasters (Luke 21:25-26). If the earth were to change location, we would lose all orientation. And suppose the mountains were moved to the heart of the seas. It would mean an end to all stability on earth. But those who have God as their refuge retain their orientation and stability.

The waters of the seas can roar and foam, causing fear (Psalms 46:3). The mountains may tremble due to the turbulence of the waters. But the believer is not afraid, for He is with God in a stronghold. We can think by the waters of the seas of hostile nations and by the mountains of political systems of power. They can rage so much that all orientation and stability disappear from society.

Hezekiah saw this in his days when the land was overrun by the armies of Assyria. Assyria is the disciplinary rod of God for His people (Isaiah 10:5a). We too, as His people, have to deal with the disciplinary rod of God. We have deviated as a whole and by His discipline He wants to bring us back on His way. The question is whether we recognize His discipline and what our response to it is (cf. Amos 4:6-12).

Psalms 78:50

God Is a Stronghold

The judgments of God have been like a mighty flood (cf. Isaiah 8:7-8). Now rest has come. This is portrayed in Psalms 46:4. In contrast to the furious rushing of the seas “there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God”. “Streams” is literally “branches”, that is, channels and streams that are tributaries to the great river.

“The city of God” is one of the titles of Jerusalem (Psalms 48:1b; Psalms 87:3). “The city of God” is a superlative in Hebrew. Nineveh is literally called a great city of God in Jonah 3, which NASB translates as “an exceedingly great city” (Jona 3:3).

The raging waters are calmed down in “the city of God”, as it were, by Him Who dwells there (cf. Luke 8:22-25). Jerusalem therefore resembles a second paradise (cf. Genesis 2:10-14; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35). The river reminds us of the river that goes out from the throne of God in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1; cf. Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8).

It is not a literal river, but it is peace, flowing, as it were, like a river through the city (cf. Isaiah 48:18). Unlike, say, the Nile, Jerusalem does not have a literally branched river. A branched river speaks of abundance and fertility (irrigation), in this case not of water but of peace. Then Jerusalem will finally be truthfully according to the meaning of its name a city of peace. Because of the river of peace, there is an invigorating gladness in the city of God.

It is the city of God because “the dwelling places of the Most High” are there (cf. Psalms 76:1-2). By “dwelling places” we can think of the holy place and the holy of holies. The name “Most High” is the Name of God in connection with the realm of peace (cf. Genesis 14:18-24).

It is a special encouragement to the sons of Korah to know that “God is in the midst of her” (Psalms 46:5; cf. Isaiah 12:6; Zephaniah 3:17). Then Jerusalem is truthfully “the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling” (Deuteronomy 12:5; 11; 14; 18; 21; 26). This also makes the city the city of God. Here the thirst of the soul of the God-fearing for God, for the living God, is quenched (Psalms 42:1b-2).

The church that gathers around the Lord Jesus can also say that He is in her midst. Only through His presence a local church is a dwelling place of God (Matthew 18:20). The Korahites, by their run out of Israel, were distanced from the sanctuary, but not from the God of the sanctuary. Because of their sight of the Messiah in the previous psalm, it is as if they are reimbursed for the lack of the temple in seeing Him Who dwells there.

Because God is in her midst, “she will not be moved”. “God will help her” in the battle against overpowering enemies. This occurs “when morning dawns” (cf. Exodus 14:24; Isaiah 37:36). His help consists in judging the enemies of His people, after which “a morning without clouds” (2 Samuel 23:4), that is, the realm of peace, will dawn. Then “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2), that is the Lord Jesus, will rise.

Against the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, God makes His voice heard (Psalms 46:6). God does not use His hand here, but the sword from His mouth, His voice (cf. Psalms 2:4-5; Revelation 19:15a). He spoke once, and then everything came into being (Psalms 33:6; 9). When He speaks in judgment, the earth melts away. Such is the power of His voice, impressively described in Psalms 29 (cf. Psalms 29:3-9).

In the face of the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, faith places “the LORD of hosts” (Psalms 46:7). The enemies do not see Him, but the impotent believing remnant looks in faith upon Him, Who is the Commander of all the hosts (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17). They now speak of God as “the LORD”, which is the name of God in connection with His covenant. He is “the LORD of hosts”, which is His mighty warrior name.

At the same time, He is “the God of Jacob”, the God Who in grace helps the failing, helpless Jacob when he is in need. In Jacob being in trouble, we see the faithful remnant of Israel in the “time of Jacob’s distress” (Jeremiah 30:7). When the nations and kingdoms surround and oppress them, they will have “a stronghold” in Immanuel, God with us. As a result, they will be untouchable from the enemies.

Psalms 78:51

God Is a Stronghold

The judgments of God have been like a mighty flood (cf. Isaiah 8:7-8). Now rest has come. This is portrayed in Psalms 46:4. In contrast to the furious rushing of the seas “there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God”. “Streams” is literally “branches”, that is, channels and streams that are tributaries to the great river.

“The city of God” is one of the titles of Jerusalem (Psalms 48:1b; Psalms 87:3). “The city of God” is a superlative in Hebrew. Nineveh is literally called a great city of God in Jonah 3, which NASB translates as “an exceedingly great city” (Jona 3:3).

The raging waters are calmed down in “the city of God”, as it were, by Him Who dwells there (cf. Luke 8:22-25). Jerusalem therefore resembles a second paradise (cf. Genesis 2:10-14; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35). The river reminds us of the river that goes out from the throne of God in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1; cf. Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8).

It is not a literal river, but it is peace, flowing, as it were, like a river through the city (cf. Isaiah 48:18). Unlike, say, the Nile, Jerusalem does not have a literally branched river. A branched river speaks of abundance and fertility (irrigation), in this case not of water but of peace. Then Jerusalem will finally be truthfully according to the meaning of its name a city of peace. Because of the river of peace, there is an invigorating gladness in the city of God.

It is the city of God because “the dwelling places of the Most High” are there (cf. Psalms 76:1-2). By “dwelling places” we can think of the holy place and the holy of holies. The name “Most High” is the Name of God in connection with the realm of peace (cf. Genesis 14:18-24).

It is a special encouragement to the sons of Korah to know that “God is in the midst of her” (Psalms 46:5; cf. Isaiah 12:6; Zephaniah 3:17). Then Jerusalem is truthfully “the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling” (Deuteronomy 12:5; 11; 14; 18; 21; 26). This also makes the city the city of God. Here the thirst of the soul of the God-fearing for God, for the living God, is quenched (Psalms 42:1b-2).

The church that gathers around the Lord Jesus can also say that He is in her midst. Only through His presence a local church is a dwelling place of God (Matthew 18:20). The Korahites, by their run out of Israel, were distanced from the sanctuary, but not from the God of the sanctuary. Because of their sight of the Messiah in the previous psalm, it is as if they are reimbursed for the lack of the temple in seeing Him Who dwells there.

Because God is in her midst, “she will not be moved”. “God will help her” in the battle against overpowering enemies. This occurs “when morning dawns” (cf. Exodus 14:24; Isaiah 37:36). His help consists in judging the enemies of His people, after which “a morning without clouds” (2 Samuel 23:4), that is, the realm of peace, will dawn. Then “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2), that is the Lord Jesus, will rise.

Against the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, God makes His voice heard (Psalms 46:6). God does not use His hand here, but the sword from His mouth, His voice (cf. Psalms 2:4-5; Revelation 19:15a). He spoke once, and then everything came into being (Psalms 33:6; 9). When He speaks in judgment, the earth melts away. Such is the power of His voice, impressively described in Psalms 29 (cf. Psalms 29:3-9).

In the face of the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, faith places “the LORD of hosts” (Psalms 46:7). The enemies do not see Him, but the impotent believing remnant looks in faith upon Him, Who is the Commander of all the hosts (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17). They now speak of God as “the LORD”, which is the name of God in connection with His covenant. He is “the LORD of hosts”, which is His mighty warrior name.

At the same time, He is “the God of Jacob”, the God Who in grace helps the failing, helpless Jacob when he is in need. In Jacob being in trouble, we see the faithful remnant of Israel in the “time of Jacob’s distress” (Jeremiah 30:7). When the nations and kingdoms surround and oppress them, they will have “a stronghold” in Immanuel, God with us. As a result, they will be untouchable from the enemies.

Psalms 78:52

God Is a Stronghold

The judgments of God have been like a mighty flood (cf. Isaiah 8:7-8). Now rest has come. This is portrayed in Psalms 46:4. In contrast to the furious rushing of the seas “there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God”. “Streams” is literally “branches”, that is, channels and streams that are tributaries to the great river.

“The city of God” is one of the titles of Jerusalem (Psalms 48:1b; Psalms 87:3). “The city of God” is a superlative in Hebrew. Nineveh is literally called a great city of God in Jonah 3, which NASB translates as “an exceedingly great city” (Jona 3:3).

The raging waters are calmed down in “the city of God”, as it were, by Him Who dwells there (cf. Luke 8:22-25). Jerusalem therefore resembles a second paradise (cf. Genesis 2:10-14; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35). The river reminds us of the river that goes out from the throne of God in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1; cf. Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8).

It is not a literal river, but it is peace, flowing, as it were, like a river through the city (cf. Isaiah 48:18). Unlike, say, the Nile, Jerusalem does not have a literally branched river. A branched river speaks of abundance and fertility (irrigation), in this case not of water but of peace. Then Jerusalem will finally be truthfully according to the meaning of its name a city of peace. Because of the river of peace, there is an invigorating gladness in the city of God.

It is the city of God because “the dwelling places of the Most High” are there (cf. Psalms 76:1-2). By “dwelling places” we can think of the holy place and the holy of holies. The name “Most High” is the Name of God in connection with the realm of peace (cf. Genesis 14:18-24).

It is a special encouragement to the sons of Korah to know that “God is in the midst of her” (Psalms 46:5; cf. Isaiah 12:6; Zephaniah 3:17). Then Jerusalem is truthfully “the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling” (Deuteronomy 12:5; 11; 14; 18; 21; 26). This also makes the city the city of God. Here the thirst of the soul of the God-fearing for God, for the living God, is quenched (Psalms 42:1b-2).

The church that gathers around the Lord Jesus can also say that He is in her midst. Only through His presence a local church is a dwelling place of God (Matthew 18:20). The Korahites, by their run out of Israel, were distanced from the sanctuary, but not from the God of the sanctuary. Because of their sight of the Messiah in the previous psalm, it is as if they are reimbursed for the lack of the temple in seeing Him Who dwells there.

Because God is in her midst, “she will not be moved”. “God will help her” in the battle against overpowering enemies. This occurs “when morning dawns” (cf. Exodus 14:24; Isaiah 37:36). His help consists in judging the enemies of His people, after which “a morning without clouds” (2 Samuel 23:4), that is, the realm of peace, will dawn. Then “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2), that is the Lord Jesus, will rise.

Against the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, God makes His voice heard (Psalms 46:6). God does not use His hand here, but the sword from His mouth, His voice (cf. Psalms 2:4-5; Revelation 19:15a). He spoke once, and then everything came into being (Psalms 33:6; 9). When He speaks in judgment, the earth melts away. Such is the power of His voice, impressively described in Psalms 29 (cf. Psalms 29:3-9).

In the face of the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, faith places “the LORD of hosts” (Psalms 46:7). The enemies do not see Him, but the impotent believing remnant looks in faith upon Him, Who is the Commander of all the hosts (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17). They now speak of God as “the LORD”, which is the name of God in connection with His covenant. He is “the LORD of hosts”, which is His mighty warrior name.

At the same time, He is “the God of Jacob”, the God Who in grace helps the failing, helpless Jacob when he is in need. In Jacob being in trouble, we see the faithful remnant of Israel in the “time of Jacob’s distress” (Jeremiah 30:7). When the nations and kingdoms surround and oppress them, they will have “a stronghold” in Immanuel, God with us. As a result, they will be untouchable from the enemies.

Psalms 78:53

God Is a Stronghold

The judgments of God have been like a mighty flood (cf. Isaiah 8:7-8). Now rest has come. This is portrayed in Psalms 46:4. In contrast to the furious rushing of the seas “there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God”. “Streams” is literally “branches”, that is, channels and streams that are tributaries to the great river.

“The city of God” is one of the titles of Jerusalem (Psalms 48:1b; Psalms 87:3). “The city of God” is a superlative in Hebrew. Nineveh is literally called a great city of God in Jonah 3, which NASB translates as “an exceedingly great city” (Jona 3:3).

The raging waters are calmed down in “the city of God”, as it were, by Him Who dwells there (cf. Luke 8:22-25). Jerusalem therefore resembles a second paradise (cf. Genesis 2:10-14; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35). The river reminds us of the river that goes out from the throne of God in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1; cf. Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8).

It is not a literal river, but it is peace, flowing, as it were, like a river through the city (cf. Isaiah 48:18). Unlike, say, the Nile, Jerusalem does not have a literally branched river. A branched river speaks of abundance and fertility (irrigation), in this case not of water but of peace. Then Jerusalem will finally be truthfully according to the meaning of its name a city of peace. Because of the river of peace, there is an invigorating gladness in the city of God.

It is the city of God because “the dwelling places of the Most High” are there (cf. Psalms 76:1-2). By “dwelling places” we can think of the holy place and the holy of holies. The name “Most High” is the Name of God in connection with the realm of peace (cf. Genesis 14:18-24).

It is a special encouragement to the sons of Korah to know that “God is in the midst of her” (Psalms 46:5; cf. Isaiah 12:6; Zephaniah 3:17). Then Jerusalem is truthfully “the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling” (Deuteronomy 12:5; 11; 14; 18; 21; 26). This also makes the city the city of God. Here the thirst of the soul of the God-fearing for God, for the living God, is quenched (Psalms 42:1b-2).

The church that gathers around the Lord Jesus can also say that He is in her midst. Only through His presence a local church is a dwelling place of God (Matthew 18:20). The Korahites, by their run out of Israel, were distanced from the sanctuary, but not from the God of the sanctuary. Because of their sight of the Messiah in the previous psalm, it is as if they are reimbursed for the lack of the temple in seeing Him Who dwells there.

Because God is in her midst, “she will not be moved”. “God will help her” in the battle against overpowering enemies. This occurs “when morning dawns” (cf. Exodus 14:24; Isaiah 37:36). His help consists in judging the enemies of His people, after which “a morning without clouds” (2 Samuel 23:4), that is, the realm of peace, will dawn. Then “the sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2), that is the Lord Jesus, will rise.

Against the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, God makes His voice heard (Psalms 46:6). God does not use His hand here, but the sword from His mouth, His voice (cf. Psalms 2:4-5; Revelation 19:15a). He spoke once, and then everything came into being (Psalms 33:6; 9). When He speaks in judgment, the earth melts away. Such is the power of His voice, impressively described in Psalms 29 (cf. Psalms 29:3-9).

In the face of the roaring nations and the tottering kingdoms, faith places “the LORD of hosts” (Psalms 46:7). The enemies do not see Him, but the impotent believing remnant looks in faith upon Him, Who is the Commander of all the hosts (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17). They now speak of God as “the LORD”, which is the name of God in connection with His covenant. He is “the LORD of hosts”, which is His mighty warrior name.

At the same time, He is “the God of Jacob”, the God Who in grace helps the failing, helpless Jacob when he is in need. In Jacob being in trouble, we see the faithful remnant of Israel in the “time of Jacob’s distress” (Jeremiah 30:7). When the nations and kingdoms surround and oppress them, they will have “a stronghold” in Immanuel, God with us. As a result, they will be untouchable from the enemies.

Psalms 78:54

God Makes Wars to Cease

The psalmist calls for us to “come” and “behold the works of the LORD” (Psalms 46:8). “Behold” means to ponder, resulting in the abandonment of resistance to God followed by wise action. It is about looking over the battlefield. There lie the defeated enemies as the result of His actions (cf. Isaiah 37:36). Because of the great tribulation, He “has wrought desolations in the earth”, the results of which will be visible (Isaiah 66:23-24). As the stone loosened without the intervention of human hands, He has destroyed the statue of states representing the world’s empires (Daniel 2:44-45; cf. Isaiah 34:2-4). When that time comes, the time of judgment will be over.

In bringing about His destructions, the LORD has made “the wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Psalms 46:9; Zechariah 9:10). The Prince of peace is seated on the throne in Jerusalem. The time of peace has come. What meetings and conferences of whatever powerful rulers have never been able to accomplish, He has brought about: world peace.

He has also brought about total disarmament, something governments have always tried to achieve. They never succeeded because they did so on the basis of a misplaced trust in man. Through the Lord Jesus, all military means are broken or shattered and turned into useful instruments (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). He has burned “the chariots with fire” and thus rendered useless (Isaiah 9:4; cf. Ezekiel 39:9). They are also no longer required.

To this perspective God attaches the message for man to cease his efforts to arrange things himself (Psalms 46:10). He must give up in the realization that he is only a man and that God alone is God. Man must stop thinking in his pride that he can contribute anything to world peace, let alone work it out. Any attempt by man to do so is a denial of the existence and government of God.

God is the Only One Who will be praised among the nations and on the earth. The knowledge that He is God must not be merely an intellectual knowing. It must lead to entrusting yourself to Him (Psalms 46:11), that you take refuge in Him, that He is your stronghold.

Whatever may befall believers, whatever opposition they may experience, they can confidently say that “the LORD of hosts” is with them (Romans 8:31-39). The Captain of all the earthly and heavenly hosts, both good and evil, is with them. Why then and for what will they still fear? Added to that, they may know that “the God of Jacob” is “a stronghold” for them. The name “Jacob” refers to the people in their weakness. But if God is their stronghold, it means that they are untouchable, for who can do anything against Him?

Psalms 78:55

God Makes Wars to Cease

The psalmist calls for us to “come” and “behold the works of the LORD” (Psalms 46:8). “Behold” means to ponder, resulting in the abandonment of resistance to God followed by wise action. It is about looking over the battlefield. There lie the defeated enemies as the result of His actions (cf. Isaiah 37:36). Because of the great tribulation, He “has wrought desolations in the earth”, the results of which will be visible (Isaiah 66:23-24). As the stone loosened without the intervention of human hands, He has destroyed the statue of states representing the world’s empires (Daniel 2:44-45; cf. Isaiah 34:2-4). When that time comes, the time of judgment will be over.

In bringing about His destructions, the LORD has made “the wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Psalms 46:9; Zechariah 9:10). The Prince of peace is seated on the throne in Jerusalem. The time of peace has come. What meetings and conferences of whatever powerful rulers have never been able to accomplish, He has brought about: world peace.

He has also brought about total disarmament, something governments have always tried to achieve. They never succeeded because they did so on the basis of a misplaced trust in man. Through the Lord Jesus, all military means are broken or shattered and turned into useful instruments (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). He has burned “the chariots with fire” and thus rendered useless (Isaiah 9:4; cf. Ezekiel 39:9). They are also no longer required.

To this perspective God attaches the message for man to cease his efforts to arrange things himself (Psalms 46:10). He must give up in the realization that he is only a man and that God alone is God. Man must stop thinking in his pride that he can contribute anything to world peace, let alone work it out. Any attempt by man to do so is a denial of the existence and government of God.

God is the Only One Who will be praised among the nations and on the earth. The knowledge that He is God must not be merely an intellectual knowing. It must lead to entrusting yourself to Him (Psalms 46:11), that you take refuge in Him, that He is your stronghold.

Whatever may befall believers, whatever opposition they may experience, they can confidently say that “the LORD of hosts” is with them (Romans 8:31-39). The Captain of all the earthly and heavenly hosts, both good and evil, is with them. Why then and for what will they still fear? Added to that, they may know that “the God of Jacob” is “a stronghold” for them. The name “Jacob” refers to the people in their weakness. But if God is their stronghold, it means that they are untouchable, for who can do anything against Him?

Psalms 78:56

God Makes Wars to Cease

The psalmist calls for us to “come” and “behold the works of the LORD” (Psalms 46:8). “Behold” means to ponder, resulting in the abandonment of resistance to God followed by wise action. It is about looking over the battlefield. There lie the defeated enemies as the result of His actions (cf. Isaiah 37:36). Because of the great tribulation, He “has wrought desolations in the earth”, the results of which will be visible (Isaiah 66:23-24). As the stone loosened without the intervention of human hands, He has destroyed the statue of states representing the world’s empires (Daniel 2:44-45; cf. Isaiah 34:2-4). When that time comes, the time of judgment will be over.

In bringing about His destructions, the LORD has made “the wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Psalms 46:9; Zechariah 9:10). The Prince of peace is seated on the throne in Jerusalem. The time of peace has come. What meetings and conferences of whatever powerful rulers have never been able to accomplish, He has brought about: world peace.

He has also brought about total disarmament, something governments have always tried to achieve. They never succeeded because they did so on the basis of a misplaced trust in man. Through the Lord Jesus, all military means are broken or shattered and turned into useful instruments (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). He has burned “the chariots with fire” and thus rendered useless (Isaiah 9:4; cf. Ezekiel 39:9). They are also no longer required.

To this perspective God attaches the message for man to cease his efforts to arrange things himself (Psalms 46:10). He must give up in the realization that he is only a man and that God alone is God. Man must stop thinking in his pride that he can contribute anything to world peace, let alone work it out. Any attempt by man to do so is a denial of the existence and government of God.

God is the Only One Who will be praised among the nations and on the earth. The knowledge that He is God must not be merely an intellectual knowing. It must lead to entrusting yourself to Him (Psalms 46:11), that you take refuge in Him, that He is your stronghold.

Whatever may befall believers, whatever opposition they may experience, they can confidently say that “the LORD of hosts” is with them (Romans 8:31-39). The Captain of all the earthly and heavenly hosts, both good and evil, is with them. Why then and for what will they still fear? Added to that, they may know that “the God of Jacob” is “a stronghold” for them. The name “Jacob” refers to the people in their weakness. But if God is their stronghold, it means that they are untouchable, for who can do anything against Him?

Psalms 78:57

God Makes Wars to Cease

The psalmist calls for us to “come” and “behold the works of the LORD” (Psalms 46:8). “Behold” means to ponder, resulting in the abandonment of resistance to God followed by wise action. It is about looking over the battlefield. There lie the defeated enemies as the result of His actions (cf. Isaiah 37:36). Because of the great tribulation, He “has wrought desolations in the earth”, the results of which will be visible (Isaiah 66:23-24). As the stone loosened without the intervention of human hands, He has destroyed the statue of states representing the world’s empires (Daniel 2:44-45; cf. Isaiah 34:2-4). When that time comes, the time of judgment will be over.

In bringing about His destructions, the LORD has made “the wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Psalms 46:9; Zechariah 9:10). The Prince of peace is seated on the throne in Jerusalem. The time of peace has come. What meetings and conferences of whatever powerful rulers have never been able to accomplish, He has brought about: world peace.

He has also brought about total disarmament, something governments have always tried to achieve. They never succeeded because they did so on the basis of a misplaced trust in man. Through the Lord Jesus, all military means are broken or shattered and turned into useful instruments (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3). He has burned “the chariots with fire” and thus rendered useless (Isaiah 9:4; cf. Ezekiel 39:9). They are also no longer required.

To this perspective God attaches the message for man to cease his efforts to arrange things himself (Psalms 46:10). He must give up in the realization that he is only a man and that God alone is God. Man must stop thinking in his pride that he can contribute anything to world peace, let alone work it out. Any attempt by man to do so is a denial of the existence and government of God.

God is the Only One Who will be praised among the nations and on the earth. The knowledge that He is God must not be merely an intellectual knowing. It must lead to entrusting yourself to Him (Psalms 46:11), that you take refuge in Him, that He is your stronghold.

Whatever may befall believers, whatever opposition they may experience, they can confidently say that “the LORD of hosts” is with them (Romans 8:31-39). The Captain of all the earthly and heavenly hosts, both good and evil, is with them. Why then and for what will they still fear? Added to that, they may know that “the God of Jacob” is “a stronghold” for them. The name “Jacob” refers to the people in their weakness. But if God is their stronghold, it means that they are untouchable, for who can do anything against Him?

Psalms 78:59

Introduction

This psalm connects to the previous one in which the remnant was calmed by the thought of Messiah’s presence in the city of God. It has been suggested that in it the supremacy of God is sung because of His intervention in the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib, in which He killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (Isaiah 37:36-37). The victories of King Jehoshaphat have also been suggested.

In any case, this event foreshadows the defeating of the enemies of God’s people by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in the end time. The expelled and oppressed remnant sees in faith the things that await their fulfillment and completion as if the moment had already arrived. The result, as described in this psalm, is that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is exalted and magnified as “a great King over all the earth” (Psalms 47:2), Who will be worshiped by all nations (Psalms 47:9; cf. Isaiah 52:13; Revelation 15:4).

Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 speak of Zion, the city of God, the city of the great King (Psalms 46:4; Psalms 48:1b; Matthew 5:35), in Psalms 47 we find the great King Himself (Malachi 1:14). Great King means that there is no king who can be compared to Him, not even Sennacherib, though he lets himself to be called so (2 Kings 18:19). He is the King of kings. Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 are songs of praise about the city of the great King, Psalms 47 is a song of praise about the great King Himself. Psalms 46 is about the coming of the King to judge, Psalms 47 is about the acknowledgment by the whole world that He is the great King, the King of kings.

The psalm can be divided by selah after Psalms 47:4 into two stanzas that complement each other. The first stanza is about God’s love for His people to whom He subdued nations (Psalms 47:4). The second stanza is about God’s holiness: He sits as King on His holy throne and reigns over all nations (Psalms 47:8).

We can also divide the psalm into two stanzas, each beginning with a call to praise God (Psalms 47:1b and Psalms 47:6) followed by the reason. Both stanzas consist of ten lines (Psalms 47:1b-5 and Psalms 47:6-9).

God Is King

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 47:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm begins with a call for “all peoples” to clap their hands (Psalms 47:1b). Clapping hands here is an expression of delight and homage (2 Kings 11:12; Isaiah 55:12). Before the eyes of the spectators a scene has taken place about which they are so delighted that they cannot help but clap their hands.

The voice is also used to express the delight. Shouts of joy “to God with voices of joy” are heard. The fact that the subdued peoples praise Him Who has subdued them with songs of joy means that this can only be fulfilled in the millennial realm of peace. Then it will be so.

These expressions of joy take place because “the LORD Most High is to be feared” (Psalms 47:2). God is here called “LORD”, Yahweh, the God of the covenant with His people. He has acted for His people as the “Most High”, which is His Name in connection with the realm of peace (Psalms 9:2). In the realm of peace, He is to all and sundry “a great King over all the earth” (cf. Malachi 1:14b). He governs all and has authority over all.

That omnipotent and omnipresent King is the King of His people. His people are then no longer a smitten and trampled people. They are no longer the tail, but the head of the nations (Deuteronomy 28:13; 44). They do not owe this to themselves, but to God. This is how they confess it: “He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet” (Psalms 47:3).

And what is the reason? Not something in them, but in Himself, namely His love for them (Psalms 47:4). He has chosen for them their inheritance, which is the land to which He has led them. He did that in the past, after He delivered them from Egypt. He will do so in the future – and He is already busy in doing so now! – when He will bring them back to their land from the scattering that He had to bring upon them because of their unfaithfulness to Him (Ezekiel 36:22-28).

God has chosen that land for them to give it to them as their “inheritance” (Ezekiel 20:6a). This means that it is their inalienable property. The hostile nations dispute their right to it, but God has established their right to it. Therefore, any disputing it is rebellion against Him, leading to His judgment. He also calls it “the glory of Jacob”, for it is also “the glory of all the lands” (Ezekiel 20:6b), a land that brings glory and splendor to them. They owe all this to God.

Psalms 78:60

Introduction

This psalm connects to the previous one in which the remnant was calmed by the thought of Messiah’s presence in the city of God. It has been suggested that in it the supremacy of God is sung because of His intervention in the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib, in which He killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (Isaiah 37:36-37). The victories of King Jehoshaphat have also been suggested.

In any case, this event foreshadows the defeating of the enemies of God’s people by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in the end time. The expelled and oppressed remnant sees in faith the things that await their fulfillment and completion as if the moment had already arrived. The result, as described in this psalm, is that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is exalted and magnified as “a great King over all the earth” (Psalms 47:2), Who will be worshiped by all nations (Psalms 47:9; cf. Isaiah 52:13; Revelation 15:4).

Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 speak of Zion, the city of God, the city of the great King (Psalms 46:4; Psalms 48:1b; Matthew 5:35), in Psalms 47 we find the great King Himself (Malachi 1:14). Great King means that there is no king who can be compared to Him, not even Sennacherib, though he lets himself to be called so (2 Kings 18:19). He is the King of kings. Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 are songs of praise about the city of the great King, Psalms 47 is a song of praise about the great King Himself. Psalms 46 is about the coming of the King to judge, Psalms 47 is about the acknowledgment by the whole world that He is the great King, the King of kings.

The psalm can be divided by selah after Psalms 47:4 into two stanzas that complement each other. The first stanza is about God’s love for His people to whom He subdued nations (Psalms 47:4). The second stanza is about God’s holiness: He sits as King on His holy throne and reigns over all nations (Psalms 47:8).

We can also divide the psalm into two stanzas, each beginning with a call to praise God (Psalms 47:1b and Psalms 47:6) followed by the reason. Both stanzas consist of ten lines (Psalms 47:1b-5 and Psalms 47:6-9).

God Is King

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 47:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm begins with a call for “all peoples” to clap their hands (Psalms 47:1b). Clapping hands here is an expression of delight and homage (2 Kings 11:12; Isaiah 55:12). Before the eyes of the spectators a scene has taken place about which they are so delighted that they cannot help but clap their hands.

The voice is also used to express the delight. Shouts of joy “to God with voices of joy” are heard. The fact that the subdued peoples praise Him Who has subdued them with songs of joy means that this can only be fulfilled in the millennial realm of peace. Then it will be so.

These expressions of joy take place because “the LORD Most High is to be feared” (Psalms 47:2). God is here called “LORD”, Yahweh, the God of the covenant with His people. He has acted for His people as the “Most High”, which is His Name in connection with the realm of peace (Psalms 9:2). In the realm of peace, He is to all and sundry “a great King over all the earth” (cf. Malachi 1:14b). He governs all and has authority over all.

That omnipotent and omnipresent King is the King of His people. His people are then no longer a smitten and trampled people. They are no longer the tail, but the head of the nations (Deuteronomy 28:13; 44). They do not owe this to themselves, but to God. This is how they confess it: “He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet” (Psalms 47:3).

And what is the reason? Not something in them, but in Himself, namely His love for them (Psalms 47:4). He has chosen for them their inheritance, which is the land to which He has led them. He did that in the past, after He delivered them from Egypt. He will do so in the future – and He is already busy in doing so now! – when He will bring them back to their land from the scattering that He had to bring upon them because of their unfaithfulness to Him (Ezekiel 36:22-28).

God has chosen that land for them to give it to them as their “inheritance” (Ezekiel 20:6a). This means that it is their inalienable property. The hostile nations dispute their right to it, but God has established their right to it. Therefore, any disputing it is rebellion against Him, leading to His judgment. He also calls it “the glory of Jacob”, for it is also “the glory of all the lands” (Ezekiel 20:6b), a land that brings glory and splendor to them. They owe all this to God.

Psalms 78:61

Introduction

This psalm connects to the previous one in which the remnant was calmed by the thought of Messiah’s presence in the city of God. It has been suggested that in it the supremacy of God is sung because of His intervention in the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib, in which He killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (Isaiah 37:36-37). The victories of King Jehoshaphat have also been suggested.

In any case, this event foreshadows the defeating of the enemies of God’s people by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in the end time. The expelled and oppressed remnant sees in faith the things that await their fulfillment and completion as if the moment had already arrived. The result, as described in this psalm, is that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is exalted and magnified as “a great King over all the earth” (Psalms 47:2), Who will be worshiped by all nations (Psalms 47:9; cf. Isaiah 52:13; Revelation 15:4).

Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 speak of Zion, the city of God, the city of the great King (Psalms 46:4; Psalms 48:1b; Matthew 5:35), in Psalms 47 we find the great King Himself (Malachi 1:14). Great King means that there is no king who can be compared to Him, not even Sennacherib, though he lets himself to be called so (2 Kings 18:19). He is the King of kings. Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 are songs of praise about the city of the great King, Psalms 47 is a song of praise about the great King Himself. Psalms 46 is about the coming of the King to judge, Psalms 47 is about the acknowledgment by the whole world that He is the great King, the King of kings.

The psalm can be divided by selah after Psalms 47:4 into two stanzas that complement each other. The first stanza is about God’s love for His people to whom He subdued nations (Psalms 47:4). The second stanza is about God’s holiness: He sits as King on His holy throne and reigns over all nations (Psalms 47:8).

We can also divide the psalm into two stanzas, each beginning with a call to praise God (Psalms 47:1b and Psalms 47:6) followed by the reason. Both stanzas consist of ten lines (Psalms 47:1b-5 and Psalms 47:6-9).

God Is King

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 47:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm begins with a call for “all peoples” to clap their hands (Psalms 47:1b). Clapping hands here is an expression of delight and homage (2 Kings 11:12; Isaiah 55:12). Before the eyes of the spectators a scene has taken place about which they are so delighted that they cannot help but clap their hands.

The voice is also used to express the delight. Shouts of joy “to God with voices of joy” are heard. The fact that the subdued peoples praise Him Who has subdued them with songs of joy means that this can only be fulfilled in the millennial realm of peace. Then it will be so.

These expressions of joy take place because “the LORD Most High is to be feared” (Psalms 47:2). God is here called “LORD”, Yahweh, the God of the covenant with His people. He has acted for His people as the “Most High”, which is His Name in connection with the realm of peace (Psalms 9:2). In the realm of peace, He is to all and sundry “a great King over all the earth” (cf. Malachi 1:14b). He governs all and has authority over all.

That omnipotent and omnipresent King is the King of His people. His people are then no longer a smitten and trampled people. They are no longer the tail, but the head of the nations (Deuteronomy 28:13; 44). They do not owe this to themselves, but to God. This is how they confess it: “He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet” (Psalms 47:3).

And what is the reason? Not something in them, but in Himself, namely His love for them (Psalms 47:4). He has chosen for them their inheritance, which is the land to which He has led them. He did that in the past, after He delivered them from Egypt. He will do so in the future – and He is already busy in doing so now! – when He will bring them back to their land from the scattering that He had to bring upon them because of their unfaithfulness to Him (Ezekiel 36:22-28).

God has chosen that land for them to give it to them as their “inheritance” (Ezekiel 20:6a). This means that it is their inalienable property. The hostile nations dispute their right to it, but God has established their right to it. Therefore, any disputing it is rebellion against Him, leading to His judgment. He also calls it “the glory of Jacob”, for it is also “the glory of all the lands” (Ezekiel 20:6b), a land that brings glory and splendor to them. They owe all this to God.

Psalms 78:62

Introduction

This psalm connects to the previous one in which the remnant was calmed by the thought of Messiah’s presence in the city of God. It has been suggested that in it the supremacy of God is sung because of His intervention in the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib, in which He killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (Isaiah 37:36-37). The victories of King Jehoshaphat have also been suggested.

In any case, this event foreshadows the defeating of the enemies of God’s people by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in the end time. The expelled and oppressed remnant sees in faith the things that await their fulfillment and completion as if the moment had already arrived. The result, as described in this psalm, is that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is exalted and magnified as “a great King over all the earth” (Psalms 47:2), Who will be worshiped by all nations (Psalms 47:9; cf. Isaiah 52:13; Revelation 15:4).

Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 speak of Zion, the city of God, the city of the great King (Psalms 46:4; Psalms 48:1b; Matthew 5:35), in Psalms 47 we find the great King Himself (Malachi 1:14). Great King means that there is no king who can be compared to Him, not even Sennacherib, though he lets himself to be called so (2 Kings 18:19). He is the King of kings. Psalms 46 and Psalms 48 are songs of praise about the city of the great King, Psalms 47 is a song of praise about the great King Himself. Psalms 46 is about the coming of the King to judge, Psalms 47 is about the acknowledgment by the whole world that He is the great King, the King of kings.

The psalm can be divided by selah after Psalms 47:4 into two stanzas that complement each other. The first stanza is about God’s love for His people to whom He subdued nations (Psalms 47:4). The second stanza is about God’s holiness: He sits as King on His holy throne and reigns over all nations (Psalms 47:8).

We can also divide the psalm into two stanzas, each beginning with a call to praise God (Psalms 47:1b and Psalms 47:6) followed by the reason. Both stanzas consist of ten lines (Psalms 47:1b-5 and Psalms 47:6-9).

God Is King

For “for the choir director” (Psalms 47:1a) see at Psalms 4:1.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

The psalm begins with a call for “all peoples” to clap their hands (Psalms 47:1b). Clapping hands here is an expression of delight and homage (2 Kings 11:12; Isaiah 55:12). Before the eyes of the spectators a scene has taken place about which they are so delighted that they cannot help but clap their hands.

The voice is also used to express the delight. Shouts of joy “to God with voices of joy” are heard. The fact that the subdued peoples praise Him Who has subdued them with songs of joy means that this can only be fulfilled in the millennial realm of peace. Then it will be so.

These expressions of joy take place because “the LORD Most High is to be feared” (Psalms 47:2). God is here called “LORD”, Yahweh, the God of the covenant with His people. He has acted for His people as the “Most High”, which is His Name in connection with the realm of peace (Psalms 9:2). In the realm of peace, He is to all and sundry “a great King over all the earth” (cf. Malachi 1:14b). He governs all and has authority over all.

That omnipotent and omnipresent King is the King of His people. His people are then no longer a smitten and trampled people. They are no longer the tail, but the head of the nations (Deuteronomy 28:13; 44). They do not owe this to themselves, but to God. This is how they confess it: “He subdues peoples under us, and nations under our feet” (Psalms 47:3).

And what is the reason? Not something in them, but in Himself, namely His love for them (Psalms 47:4). He has chosen for them their inheritance, which is the land to which He has led them. He did that in the past, after He delivered them from Egypt. He will do so in the future – and He is already busy in doing so now! – when He will bring them back to their land from the scattering that He had to bring upon them because of their unfaithfulness to Him (Ezekiel 36:22-28).

God has chosen that land for them to give it to them as their “inheritance” (Ezekiel 20:6a). This means that it is their inalienable property. The hostile nations dispute their right to it, but God has established their right to it. Therefore, any disputing it is rebellion against Him, leading to His judgment. He also calls it “the glory of Jacob”, for it is also “the glory of all the lands” (Ezekiel 20:6b), a land that brings glory and splendor to them. They owe all this to God.

Psalms 78:63

God Is Exalted

Psalms 47:5 still belongs to Psalms 47:1b-4. There is a selah at the end of Psa 47:4 because Psalms 47:5 is no longer about what He has done to the nations (Psalms 47:3; 4), but about who He Himself is. In terms of content, Psalms 47:5 still belongs to the previous verses because God “ascended with a shout” and the LORD “with the sound of a trumpet”, meaning that after defeating the nations, He returns to Jerusalem. The going to Jerusalem is called: ascending. Jerusalem is higher than the surrounding places, both literally and figuratively. Therefore, going to Jerusalem is an ascension.

It is not clear to which occasion we should think here. It is comparable to the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion by David. That was also done “with shouting and the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:15). Shouting is common at an enthronement. It has to do with the proclamation of the kingship of God (cf. Numbers 23:21). We can connect trumpeting with the day of atonement as the announcement of the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:9; 10) which prophetically refers to the realm of peace. Then the “period of restoration of all things” has come (Acts 3:20-21).

We can also think of the glorification of the Lord Jesus after He finished the work on the cross (Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8-10). As a reward for this, He is immediately glorified by God at His right hand in heaven (John 13:32) and by Him “made both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

In Psalms 47:6-7, “sing praises” is repeated five times. First, it is repeated twice to sing praises “to God” (Psalms 47:6). God is the Almighty and Supreme. He is the Only One, the Truthful One. He alone is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 14:6-7).

In the first stanza (Psalms 47:1b-5), it has already been noted that God is the great King. In the second stanza, which begins in Psalms 47:5, His Kingship is given additional emphasis. Twice He is called King (Psalms 47:6; 7) and His government and His throne are mentioned (Psalms 47:8). The call sounds to sing praises “to our King”, the great, sovereign God, the King, the Ruler of His people.

A king has a people. God is King and has a people. The people that God has as their King are an exceedingly blessed people. This people is Israel. God is their King and dwells in their midst. That gives special cause to sing joyfully and to praise Him, especially after He has put an end to the time of tribulation (Zephaniah 3:14-15).

It is also true for us that we have a special reason to praise God after a time of trial. In the tribulation we have sometimes felt as if He had forgotten us. Then when He brightens it for us, a deep joy and peace come into our heart, for which we honor Him with great gratitude.

God is King! At an ascension to the throne, a call is made in Israel: Such and such is king! (2 Samuel 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13). Here we are talking about the enthronement of God, which is the reason to sing praises. Since God is “King over all the earth”, the singing of praises for and about Him implies singing “a skillful psalm” literally “a maskil psalm” (Psalms 47:7). Maskil means instruction, understanding, wisdom. It is the word we encounter in the heading of several psalms. It is singing with understanding and insight, as is done in the Christian church (1 Corinthians 14:15; cf. Colossians 3:15).

That this song is “a maskil” or “instruction” means that it is a song that brings insight and understanding. For example, in Psalms 32, the first maskil-psalm, we are instructed about and gain insight into the forgiveness of sin. In Psalms 45, we are instructed about and gain insight into the Person of Christ. Here, in Psalms 47, we are instructed about and given insight into the exaltedness of the great King.

That God is King over all the earth means that His reign knows no boundaries. He is not a national God like the idols of the nations. If this comes through to us, we will let ourselves be ‘instructed’ by it with regard to our whole life, in all areas of it.

The ‘instruction’ also extends into the future, when “God reigns over the nations” (Psalms 47:8). When He is King over all earth, it means that He governs everything publicly. We don’t see that now, but we see Him to Whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:8-9). By this we know that He is in control of everything and directs it in such a way that it cooperates in the accomplishment of His plans. Although the dominion over the world was given away by man to satan at the Fall, that does not mean that God no longer rules. We see this in the book of Job.

God “sits on His holy throne”. This means that He is holy and reigns in holiness. This is already seen by faith today. Soon it will be seen by all. Then it will be said: “The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

In the realm of peace, Israel is the means through which God has blessing for all the earth and all nations, through which the nations will also worship the one true God. Also in Psalms 47:1b is the call to the people to rejoice before the LORD. The call to sing praises may also be directed to the nations and not just the people of Israel. The nations will join God’s people by their “princes” to be blessed by them (Psalms 47:9).

God’s people are here called “the people of the God of Abraham”. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that He would make him a father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5-6). And in him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3b; Galatians 3:8).

By “the shields of the earth” is meant the “princes of the people” from the first line of this Psalms 47:9. “Shields” indicate that they are responsible for the protection of the people. These ‘protectors’ “belong to God” (cf. Proverbs 8:15). He is their Owner; they are accountable to Him. They are completely in His power and cannot do anything without Him. They cannot be compared to Him. He alone “is highly exalted” (cf. Zechariah 14:9).

Psalms 78:64

God Is Exalted

Psalms 47:5 still belongs to Psalms 47:1b-4. There is a selah at the end of Psa 47:4 because Psalms 47:5 is no longer about what He has done to the nations (Psalms 47:3; 4), but about who He Himself is. In terms of content, Psalms 47:5 still belongs to the previous verses because God “ascended with a shout” and the LORD “with the sound of a trumpet”, meaning that after defeating the nations, He returns to Jerusalem. The going to Jerusalem is called: ascending. Jerusalem is higher than the surrounding places, both literally and figuratively. Therefore, going to Jerusalem is an ascension.

It is not clear to which occasion we should think here. It is comparable to the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion by David. That was also done “with shouting and the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:15). Shouting is common at an enthronement. It has to do with the proclamation of the kingship of God (cf. Numbers 23:21). We can connect trumpeting with the day of atonement as the announcement of the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:9; 10) which prophetically refers to the realm of peace. Then the “period of restoration of all things” has come (Acts 3:20-21).

We can also think of the glorification of the Lord Jesus after He finished the work on the cross (Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8-10). As a reward for this, He is immediately glorified by God at His right hand in heaven (John 13:32) and by Him “made both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

In Psalms 47:6-7, “sing praises” is repeated five times. First, it is repeated twice to sing praises “to God” (Psalms 47:6). God is the Almighty and Supreme. He is the Only One, the Truthful One. He alone is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 14:6-7).

In the first stanza (Psalms 47:1b-5), it has already been noted that God is the great King. In the second stanza, which begins in Psalms 47:5, His Kingship is given additional emphasis. Twice He is called King (Psalms 47:6; 7) and His government and His throne are mentioned (Psalms 47:8). The call sounds to sing praises “to our King”, the great, sovereign God, the King, the Ruler of His people.

A king has a people. God is King and has a people. The people that God has as their King are an exceedingly blessed people. This people is Israel. God is their King and dwells in their midst. That gives special cause to sing joyfully and to praise Him, especially after He has put an end to the time of tribulation (Zephaniah 3:14-15).

It is also true for us that we have a special reason to praise God after a time of trial. In the tribulation we have sometimes felt as if He had forgotten us. Then when He brightens it for us, a deep joy and peace come into our heart, for which we honor Him with great gratitude.

God is King! At an ascension to the throne, a call is made in Israel: Such and such is king! (2 Samuel 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13). Here we are talking about the enthronement of God, which is the reason to sing praises. Since God is “King over all the earth”, the singing of praises for and about Him implies singing “a skillful psalm” literally “a maskil psalm” (Psalms 47:7). Maskil means instruction, understanding, wisdom. It is the word we encounter in the heading of several psalms. It is singing with understanding and insight, as is done in the Christian church (1 Corinthians 14:15; cf. Colossians 3:15).

That this song is “a maskil” or “instruction” means that it is a song that brings insight and understanding. For example, in Psalms 32, the first maskil-psalm, we are instructed about and gain insight into the forgiveness of sin. In Psalms 45, we are instructed about and gain insight into the Person of Christ. Here, in Psalms 47, we are instructed about and given insight into the exaltedness of the great King.

That God is King over all the earth means that His reign knows no boundaries. He is not a national God like the idols of the nations. If this comes through to us, we will let ourselves be ‘instructed’ by it with regard to our whole life, in all areas of it.

The ‘instruction’ also extends into the future, when “God reigns over the nations” (Psalms 47:8). When He is King over all earth, it means that He governs everything publicly. We don’t see that now, but we see Him to Whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:8-9). By this we know that He is in control of everything and directs it in such a way that it cooperates in the accomplishment of His plans. Although the dominion over the world was given away by man to satan at the Fall, that does not mean that God no longer rules. We see this in the book of Job.

God “sits on His holy throne”. This means that He is holy and reigns in holiness. This is already seen by faith today. Soon it will be seen by all. Then it will be said: “The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

In the realm of peace, Israel is the means through which God has blessing for all the earth and all nations, through which the nations will also worship the one true God. Also in Psalms 47:1b is the call to the people to rejoice before the LORD. The call to sing praises may also be directed to the nations and not just the people of Israel. The nations will join God’s people by their “princes” to be blessed by them (Psalms 47:9).

God’s people are here called “the people of the God of Abraham”. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that He would make him a father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5-6). And in him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3b; Galatians 3:8).

By “the shields of the earth” is meant the “princes of the people” from the first line of this Psalms 47:9. “Shields” indicate that they are responsible for the protection of the people. These ‘protectors’ “belong to God” (cf. Proverbs 8:15). He is their Owner; they are accountable to Him. They are completely in His power and cannot do anything without Him. They cannot be compared to Him. He alone “is highly exalted” (cf. Zechariah 14:9).

Psalms 78:65

God Is Exalted

Psalms 47:5 still belongs to Psalms 47:1b-4. There is a selah at the end of Psa 47:4 because Psalms 47:5 is no longer about what He has done to the nations (Psalms 47:3; 4), but about who He Himself is. In terms of content, Psalms 47:5 still belongs to the previous verses because God “ascended with a shout” and the LORD “with the sound of a trumpet”, meaning that after defeating the nations, He returns to Jerusalem. The going to Jerusalem is called: ascending. Jerusalem is higher than the surrounding places, both literally and figuratively. Therefore, going to Jerusalem is an ascension.

It is not clear to which occasion we should think here. It is comparable to the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion by David. That was also done “with shouting and the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:15). Shouting is common at an enthronement. It has to do with the proclamation of the kingship of God (cf. Numbers 23:21). We can connect trumpeting with the day of atonement as the announcement of the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:9; 10) which prophetically refers to the realm of peace. Then the “period of restoration of all things” has come (Acts 3:20-21).

We can also think of the glorification of the Lord Jesus after He finished the work on the cross (Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8-10). As a reward for this, He is immediately glorified by God at His right hand in heaven (John 13:32) and by Him “made both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

In Psalms 47:6-7, “sing praises” is repeated five times. First, it is repeated twice to sing praises “to God” (Psalms 47:6). God is the Almighty and Supreme. He is the Only One, the Truthful One. He alone is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 14:6-7).

In the first stanza (Psalms 47:1b-5), it has already been noted that God is the great King. In the second stanza, which begins in Psalms 47:5, His Kingship is given additional emphasis. Twice He is called King (Psalms 47:6; 7) and His government and His throne are mentioned (Psalms 47:8). The call sounds to sing praises “to our King”, the great, sovereign God, the King, the Ruler of His people.

A king has a people. God is King and has a people. The people that God has as their King are an exceedingly blessed people. This people is Israel. God is their King and dwells in their midst. That gives special cause to sing joyfully and to praise Him, especially after He has put an end to the time of tribulation (Zephaniah 3:14-15).

It is also true for us that we have a special reason to praise God after a time of trial. In the tribulation we have sometimes felt as if He had forgotten us. Then when He brightens it for us, a deep joy and peace come into our heart, for which we honor Him with great gratitude.

God is King! At an ascension to the throne, a call is made in Israel: Such and such is king! (2 Samuel 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13). Here we are talking about the enthronement of God, which is the reason to sing praises. Since God is “King over all the earth”, the singing of praises for and about Him implies singing “a skillful psalm” literally “a maskil psalm” (Psalms 47:7). Maskil means instruction, understanding, wisdom. It is the word we encounter in the heading of several psalms. It is singing with understanding and insight, as is done in the Christian church (1 Corinthians 14:15; cf. Colossians 3:15).

That this song is “a maskil” or “instruction” means that it is a song that brings insight and understanding. For example, in Psalms 32, the first maskil-psalm, we are instructed about and gain insight into the forgiveness of sin. In Psalms 45, we are instructed about and gain insight into the Person of Christ. Here, in Psalms 47, we are instructed about and given insight into the exaltedness of the great King.

That God is King over all the earth means that His reign knows no boundaries. He is not a national God like the idols of the nations. If this comes through to us, we will let ourselves be ‘instructed’ by it with regard to our whole life, in all areas of it.

The ‘instruction’ also extends into the future, when “God reigns over the nations” (Psalms 47:8). When He is King over all earth, it means that He governs everything publicly. We don’t see that now, but we see Him to Whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:8-9). By this we know that He is in control of everything and directs it in such a way that it cooperates in the accomplishment of His plans. Although the dominion over the world was given away by man to satan at the Fall, that does not mean that God no longer rules. We see this in the book of Job.

God “sits on His holy throne”. This means that He is holy and reigns in holiness. This is already seen by faith today. Soon it will be seen by all. Then it will be said: “The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

In the realm of peace, Israel is the means through which God has blessing for all the earth and all nations, through which the nations will also worship the one true God. Also in Psalms 47:1b is the call to the people to rejoice before the LORD. The call to sing praises may also be directed to the nations and not just the people of Israel. The nations will join God’s people by their “princes” to be blessed by them (Psalms 47:9).

God’s people are here called “the people of the God of Abraham”. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that He would make him a father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5-6). And in him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3b; Galatians 3:8).

By “the shields of the earth” is meant the “princes of the people” from the first line of this Psalms 47:9. “Shields” indicate that they are responsible for the protection of the people. These ‘protectors’ “belong to God” (cf. Proverbs 8:15). He is their Owner; they are accountable to Him. They are completely in His power and cannot do anything without Him. They cannot be compared to Him. He alone “is highly exalted” (cf. Zechariah 14:9).

Psalms 78:66

God Is Exalted

Psalms 47:5 still belongs to Psalms 47:1b-4. There is a selah at the end of Psa 47:4 because Psalms 47:5 is no longer about what He has done to the nations (Psalms 47:3; 4), but about who He Himself is. In terms of content, Psalms 47:5 still belongs to the previous verses because God “ascended with a shout” and the LORD “with the sound of a trumpet”, meaning that after defeating the nations, He returns to Jerusalem. The going to Jerusalem is called: ascending. Jerusalem is higher than the surrounding places, both literally and figuratively. Therefore, going to Jerusalem is an ascension.

It is not clear to which occasion we should think here. It is comparable to the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion by David. That was also done “with shouting and the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:15). Shouting is common at an enthronement. It has to do with the proclamation of the kingship of God (cf. Numbers 23:21). We can connect trumpeting with the day of atonement as the announcement of the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:9; 10) which prophetically refers to the realm of peace. Then the “period of restoration of all things” has come (Acts 3:20-21).

We can also think of the glorification of the Lord Jesus after He finished the work on the cross (Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8-10). As a reward for this, He is immediately glorified by God at His right hand in heaven (John 13:32) and by Him “made both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

In Psalms 47:6-7, “sing praises” is repeated five times. First, it is repeated twice to sing praises “to God” (Psalms 47:6). God is the Almighty and Supreme. He is the Only One, the Truthful One. He alone is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 14:6-7).

In the first stanza (Psalms 47:1b-5), it has already been noted that God is the great King. In the second stanza, which begins in Psalms 47:5, His Kingship is given additional emphasis. Twice He is called King (Psalms 47:6; 7) and His government and His throne are mentioned (Psalms 47:8). The call sounds to sing praises “to our King”, the great, sovereign God, the King, the Ruler of His people.

A king has a people. God is King and has a people. The people that God has as their King are an exceedingly blessed people. This people is Israel. God is their King and dwells in their midst. That gives special cause to sing joyfully and to praise Him, especially after He has put an end to the time of tribulation (Zephaniah 3:14-15).

It is also true for us that we have a special reason to praise God after a time of trial. In the tribulation we have sometimes felt as if He had forgotten us. Then when He brightens it for us, a deep joy and peace come into our heart, for which we honor Him with great gratitude.

God is King! At an ascension to the throne, a call is made in Israel: Such and such is king! (2 Samuel 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13). Here we are talking about the enthronement of God, which is the reason to sing praises. Since God is “King over all the earth”, the singing of praises for and about Him implies singing “a skillful psalm” literally “a maskil psalm” (Psalms 47:7). Maskil means instruction, understanding, wisdom. It is the word we encounter in the heading of several psalms. It is singing with understanding and insight, as is done in the Christian church (1 Corinthians 14:15; cf. Colossians 3:15).

That this song is “a maskil” or “instruction” means that it is a song that brings insight and understanding. For example, in Psalms 32, the first maskil-psalm, we are instructed about and gain insight into the forgiveness of sin. In Psalms 45, we are instructed about and gain insight into the Person of Christ. Here, in Psalms 47, we are instructed about and given insight into the exaltedness of the great King.

That God is King over all the earth means that His reign knows no boundaries. He is not a national God like the idols of the nations. If this comes through to us, we will let ourselves be ‘instructed’ by it with regard to our whole life, in all areas of it.

The ‘instruction’ also extends into the future, when “God reigns over the nations” (Psalms 47:8). When He is King over all earth, it means that He governs everything publicly. We don’t see that now, but we see Him to Whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:8-9). By this we know that He is in control of everything and directs it in such a way that it cooperates in the accomplishment of His plans. Although the dominion over the world was given away by man to satan at the Fall, that does not mean that God no longer rules. We see this in the book of Job.

God “sits on His holy throne”. This means that He is holy and reigns in holiness. This is already seen by faith today. Soon it will be seen by all. Then it will be said: “The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

In the realm of peace, Israel is the means through which God has blessing for all the earth and all nations, through which the nations will also worship the one true God. Also in Psalms 47:1b is the call to the people to rejoice before the LORD. The call to sing praises may also be directed to the nations and not just the people of Israel. The nations will join God’s people by their “princes” to be blessed by them (Psalms 47:9).

God’s people are here called “the people of the God of Abraham”. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that He would make him a father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5-6). And in him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3b; Galatians 3:8).

By “the shields of the earth” is meant the “princes of the people” from the first line of this Psalms 47:9. “Shields” indicate that they are responsible for the protection of the people. These ‘protectors’ “belong to God” (cf. Proverbs 8:15). He is their Owner; they are accountable to Him. They are completely in His power and cannot do anything without Him. They cannot be compared to Him. He alone “is highly exalted” (cf. Zechariah 14:9).

Psalms 78:67

God Is Exalted

Psalms 47:5 still belongs to Psalms 47:1b-4. There is a selah at the end of Psa 47:4 because Psalms 47:5 is no longer about what He has done to the nations (Psalms 47:3; 4), but about who He Himself is. In terms of content, Psalms 47:5 still belongs to the previous verses because God “ascended with a shout” and the LORD “with the sound of a trumpet”, meaning that after defeating the nations, He returns to Jerusalem. The going to Jerusalem is called: ascending. Jerusalem is higher than the surrounding places, both literally and figuratively. Therefore, going to Jerusalem is an ascension.

It is not clear to which occasion we should think here. It is comparable to the bringing up of the ark to Mount Zion by David. That was also done “with shouting and the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:15). Shouting is common at an enthronement. It has to do with the proclamation of the kingship of God (cf. Numbers 23:21). We can connect trumpeting with the day of atonement as the announcement of the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:9; 10) which prophetically refers to the realm of peace. Then the “period of restoration of all things” has come (Acts 3:20-21).

We can also think of the glorification of the Lord Jesus after He finished the work on the cross (Psalms 68:18; Ephesians 4:8-10). As a reward for this, He is immediately glorified by God at His right hand in heaven (John 13:32) and by Him “made both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

In Psalms 47:6-7, “sing praises” is repeated five times. First, it is repeated twice to sing praises “to God” (Psalms 47:6). God is the Almighty and Supreme. He is the Only One, the Truthful One. He alone is worthy of worship (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 14:6-7).

In the first stanza (Psalms 47:1b-5), it has already been noted that God is the great King. In the second stanza, which begins in Psalms 47:5, His Kingship is given additional emphasis. Twice He is called King (Psalms 47:6; 7) and His government and His throne are mentioned (Psalms 47:8). The call sounds to sing praises “to our King”, the great, sovereign God, the King, the Ruler of His people.

A king has a people. God is King and has a people. The people that God has as their King are an exceedingly blessed people. This people is Israel. God is their King and dwells in their midst. That gives special cause to sing joyfully and to praise Him, especially after He has put an end to the time of tribulation (Zephaniah 3:14-15).

It is also true for us that we have a special reason to praise God after a time of trial. In the tribulation we have sometimes felt as if He had forgotten us. Then when He brightens it for us, a deep joy and peace come into our heart, for which we honor Him with great gratitude.

God is King! At an ascension to the throne, a call is made in Israel: Such and such is king! (2 Samuel 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13). Here we are talking about the enthronement of God, which is the reason to sing praises. Since God is “King over all the earth”, the singing of praises for and about Him implies singing “a skillful psalm” literally “a maskil psalm” (Psalms 47:7). Maskil means instruction, understanding, wisdom. It is the word we encounter in the heading of several psalms. It is singing with understanding and insight, as is done in the Christian church (1 Corinthians 14:15; cf. Colossians 3:15).

That this song is “a maskil” or “instruction” means that it is a song that brings insight and understanding. For example, in Psalms 32, the first maskil-psalm, we are instructed about and gain insight into the forgiveness of sin. In Psalms 45, we are instructed about and gain insight into the Person of Christ. Here, in Psalms 47, we are instructed about and given insight into the exaltedness of the great King.

That God is King over all the earth means that His reign knows no boundaries. He is not a national God like the idols of the nations. If this comes through to us, we will let ourselves be ‘instructed’ by it with regard to our whole life, in all areas of it.

The ‘instruction’ also extends into the future, when “God reigns over the nations” (Psalms 47:8). When He is King over all earth, it means that He governs everything publicly. We don’t see that now, but we see Him to Whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:8-9). By this we know that He is in control of everything and directs it in such a way that it cooperates in the accomplishment of His plans. Although the dominion over the world was given away by man to satan at the Fall, that does not mean that God no longer rules. We see this in the book of Job.

God “sits on His holy throne”. This means that He is holy and reigns in holiness. This is already seen by faith today. Soon it will be seen by all. Then it will be said: “The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

In the realm of peace, Israel is the means through which God has blessing for all the earth and all nations, through which the nations will also worship the one true God. Also in Psalms 47:1b is the call to the people to rejoice before the LORD. The call to sing praises may also be directed to the nations and not just the people of Israel. The nations will join God’s people by their “princes” to be blessed by them (Psalms 47:9).

God’s people are here called “the people of the God of Abraham”. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that He would make him a father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5-6). And in him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3b; Galatians 3:8).

By “the shields of the earth” is meant the “princes of the people” from the first line of this Psalms 47:9. “Shields” indicate that they are responsible for the protection of the people. These ‘protectors’ “belong to God” (cf. Proverbs 8:15). He is their Owner; they are accountable to Him. They are completely in His power and cannot do anything without Him. They cannot be compared to Him. He alone “is highly exalted” (cf. Zechariah 14:9).

Psalms 78:69

Introduction

This psalm is the second to last in the series of psalms “of the sons of Korah” that began with Psalms 42. In Psalms 42-43 we hear the complaint of the single person and in Psalms 44 the complaint of the whole remnant. They are in distress and cry out to God to deliver them from the power of the enemy. They are especially distressed because of their flight from the land, which makes them feel an immense lack of staying in the temple. Psalms 45 presents Christ as the answer to their cry to God for help. He is the One through Whom deliverance and their return to the land, Jerusalem and the temple will come.

Psalms 46 expresses trust in God through the experience of God’s grace in the present. Psalms 47 celebrates God’s intervention on behalf of His people, with Christ being King over all the earth and Israel exalted above the nations. The call is to praise God together. Psalms 48 presents the King in Zion, the center of government from which He rules over all the earth. This psalm also talks about the importance of the city and the temple of God to the heart of God.

Psalms 45 speaks of the beauty of the King (Psalms 45:2), Who is the great King in Zion (Psalms 47:2). Psalms 48 speaks of the beauty of Zion (Psalms 48:2), the city of the great King. Then the name Jerusalem will be changed to Yahweh Tsidkenu, which is “the LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16), and to Yahweh Shammah, which is “The LORD is there” (Ezekiel 48:35b). Jerusalem has become the capital of the world (cf. Isaiah 2:2-3).

The City of God

This “psalm” is called “a song” (Psalms 48:1a). By “a song” is usually meant a song of praise. It is a song of praise about the LORD’s victory over all His enemies. Now the realm of peace is dawning.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Finally, there is rest for the believing remnant. God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:8). This leads them to exclaim: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” (Psalms 48:1b). God is “great”. God’s greatness is reflected in this psalm in the beauty of Zion, the city of the great King. We see as a comparison the same thing with King Solomon, whose greatness is reflected in the house he built and in his servants (1 Kings 10:4-5).

God is exalted above all peoples and their gods. He has shown His power over them and overthrown all the hostile powers that were raised up against His city. Therefore, He is “greatly to be praised”. He is worthy of all praise and worship, both in His Person and in His actions.

He dwells “in the city of our God”. It is the city of God because He dwells there and has ascended His throne. He has chosen that city Himself. The Korahites speak of “the city of our God” because the God who dwells in His city is their God. His throne and His temple are both on “His holy mountain”, which is Mount Zion. It is His “holy” mountain, which further emphasizes that God is there.

They primarily sing of the city of Jerusalem in this song as a stronghold and a safe dwelling place. But they begin their song by singing of the beauty of the city, which is perfect (Psalms 48:2; Psalms 50:2). This is the first thing that moves them when they see the city (cf. Ezekiel 16:14; Lamentations 2:15; Mark 13:1). The city is “beautiful in elevation”. The word “beautiful” is used except here for the city only for the Messiah (Psalms 45:2). This indicates that the city is “beautiful” because of the Messiah Who dwells there. ‘Elevation’ in Hebrew is literally ‘height’. The city stands out above all other cities. This is so both because of the presence of the great King in that city and geographically (Zechariah 14:10b).

Because Christ sits on His throne as King-Priest, there is joy for the whole earth. From the city of God, where the throne of Messiah stands and He reigns, blessing goes out over the whole earth (cf. Isaiah 2:1-5). There is peace and joy everywhere. By “Mount Zion” is meant the city of Jerusalem. That there is talk of “the far north” means that it is the place of God’s government (Isaiah 14:13). First God’s government was from heaven, but now it is also on earth. This is the fulfillment of two prayers from the prayer the Lord Jesus taught His disciples: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

God is in the palaces, or strongholds, of the city in which princes dwell (Psalms 48:3). The strength and security of Jerusalem lie in the presence of God in the city. Because it is known that God has chosen the city as His dwelling place, the inhabitants of the city have no fear of outside threats mentioned in the next verse.

Those outside threats have been frequent in earlier days (Psalms 48:4). Hostile kings have jointly marched against the city in the past. Perhaps here we can think of the enemies who went up against Jehoshaphat and were defeated by God’s action (2 Chronicles 20:1-2; 22-23).

Another clear evidence of God’s protection is His deliverance of Jerusalem in the days when Sennacherib besieged the city (Isaiah 37:36). In the future, He will deliver Jerusalem from the king of the North and still later from the armies coming from the remotest parts of the north (Daniel 11:45; Ezekiel 39:1-6).

From this action of God against those who have the audacity to attack His city, we see how valuable this city is to Him. It is His dwelling place that He has amidst His people. There He wants to be worshiped and served by them. God will retaliate for every attack on the apple of His eye. This is also true for us who are the church of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

God makes sure that the attackers of His city will see something whereby they will be “amazed” and “terrified” (Psalms 48:5). What they will see is not mentioned. The city, “it” is in brackets in this verse, indicating that these words are not in the original text. Nor is it likely that the sight of the city will amaze and terrify them. More likely it is an appearance of a heavenly army or of the LORD Himself (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17; Isaiah 37:36).

In any case, what they will see will cause them to flee in alarm. They came (Psalms 48:4), they saw (Psalms 48:5a) and … they fled (Psalms 48:5b). They have thought, in the words of Julius Caesar’s famous saying, Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), that they would take Jerusalem that easy. Instead, it will be for them, to put it with a pun of Julius Caesar’s saying: Veni, Vidi, Vanish. As quickly as they can, they will move away from the city. No one, however, will escape.

What seemed to them to be an easy victory becomes a dramatic downfall. They are seized with “panic” (Psalms 48:6). They tremble with fear and feel the pain and anguish “as of a woman in childbirth”. This description of the enemies’ downfall makes the remnant realize all the more the value of that city and that temple on that mountain to God.

Encouraged by God’s action on their behalf as just described, they turn to Him (Psalms 48:7). They express confidence that “with the east wind” He will “break the ships of Tarshish”. Just as the ships of Tarshish are powerless against an east wind, so the enemies of the great King are powerless against the sight of His majesty (Psalms 48:5).

They have seen this perspective fulfilled (Psalms 48:8), having previously heard about it from the mouths of the Old Testament prophets. They have also heard what God has done for His people in the past (Psalms 44:1b). God has stood up for His people in the past and He has done so once again.

In the city dwells the Captain of the heavenly hosts. God no longer protects from heaven like He did in the past, but He now protects the city by His very presence in the city. He deploys His heavenly hosts as soon as His city is attacked. That city is “the city of our God”, the city where He Himself is. Therefore it is the city of His people. Therefore, every attack is a suicide attempt. It is an impossible task to besiege this city, let alone to conquer it, because “God will establish her forever”.

We can also apply this to the church. We, the church, are the New Jerusalem, in which God dwells. We too may rejoice in this fact. We too may know that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:31-39).

There is no power on earth or in the heavenly places that can conquer or even do any harm to God’s New Testament city, the church (Revelation 21:9-10). That city is built on the rock, that is the Son of the living God. Therefore, the gates of Hades, or the power of the realm of the dead, will not be able to overpower it (Matthew 16:16-18). She abides in the perfection of the Son for all eternity.

Psalms 78:70

Introduction

This psalm is the second to last in the series of psalms “of the sons of Korah” that began with Psalms 42. In Psalms 42-43 we hear the complaint of the single person and in Psalms 44 the complaint of the whole remnant. They are in distress and cry out to God to deliver them from the power of the enemy. They are especially distressed because of their flight from the land, which makes them feel an immense lack of staying in the temple. Psalms 45 presents Christ as the answer to their cry to God for help. He is the One through Whom deliverance and their return to the land, Jerusalem and the temple will come.

Psalms 46 expresses trust in God through the experience of God’s grace in the present. Psalms 47 celebrates God’s intervention on behalf of His people, with Christ being King over all the earth and Israel exalted above the nations. The call is to praise God together. Psalms 48 presents the King in Zion, the center of government from which He rules over all the earth. This psalm also talks about the importance of the city and the temple of God to the heart of God.

Psalms 45 speaks of the beauty of the King (Psalms 45:2), Who is the great King in Zion (Psalms 47:2). Psalms 48 speaks of the beauty of Zion (Psalms 48:2), the city of the great King. Then the name Jerusalem will be changed to Yahweh Tsidkenu, which is “the LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16), and to Yahweh Shammah, which is “The LORD is there” (Ezekiel 48:35b). Jerusalem has become the capital of the world (cf. Isaiah 2:2-3).

The City of God

This “psalm” is called “a song” (Psalms 48:1a). By “a song” is usually meant a song of praise. It is a song of praise about the LORD’s victory over all His enemies. Now the realm of peace is dawning.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Finally, there is rest for the believing remnant. God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:8). This leads them to exclaim: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” (Psalms 48:1b). God is “great”. God’s greatness is reflected in this psalm in the beauty of Zion, the city of the great King. We see as a comparison the same thing with King Solomon, whose greatness is reflected in the house he built and in his servants (1 Kings 10:4-5).

God is exalted above all peoples and their gods. He has shown His power over them and overthrown all the hostile powers that were raised up against His city. Therefore, He is “greatly to be praised”. He is worthy of all praise and worship, both in His Person and in His actions.

He dwells “in the city of our God”. It is the city of God because He dwells there and has ascended His throne. He has chosen that city Himself. The Korahites speak of “the city of our God” because the God who dwells in His city is their God. His throne and His temple are both on “His holy mountain”, which is Mount Zion. It is His “holy” mountain, which further emphasizes that God is there.

They primarily sing of the city of Jerusalem in this song as a stronghold and a safe dwelling place. But they begin their song by singing of the beauty of the city, which is perfect (Psalms 48:2; Psalms 50:2). This is the first thing that moves them when they see the city (cf. Ezekiel 16:14; Lamentations 2:15; Mark 13:1). The city is “beautiful in elevation”. The word “beautiful” is used except here for the city only for the Messiah (Psalms 45:2). This indicates that the city is “beautiful” because of the Messiah Who dwells there. ‘Elevation’ in Hebrew is literally ‘height’. The city stands out above all other cities. This is so both because of the presence of the great King in that city and geographically (Zechariah 14:10b).

Because Christ sits on His throne as King-Priest, there is joy for the whole earth. From the city of God, where the throne of Messiah stands and He reigns, blessing goes out over the whole earth (cf. Isaiah 2:1-5). There is peace and joy everywhere. By “Mount Zion” is meant the city of Jerusalem. That there is talk of “the far north” means that it is the place of God’s government (Isaiah 14:13). First God’s government was from heaven, but now it is also on earth. This is the fulfillment of two prayers from the prayer the Lord Jesus taught His disciples: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

God is in the palaces, or strongholds, of the city in which princes dwell (Psalms 48:3). The strength and security of Jerusalem lie in the presence of God in the city. Because it is known that God has chosen the city as His dwelling place, the inhabitants of the city have no fear of outside threats mentioned in the next verse.

Those outside threats have been frequent in earlier days (Psalms 48:4). Hostile kings have jointly marched against the city in the past. Perhaps here we can think of the enemies who went up against Jehoshaphat and were defeated by God’s action (2 Chronicles 20:1-2; 22-23).

Another clear evidence of God’s protection is His deliverance of Jerusalem in the days when Sennacherib besieged the city (Isaiah 37:36). In the future, He will deliver Jerusalem from the king of the North and still later from the armies coming from the remotest parts of the north (Daniel 11:45; Ezekiel 39:1-6).

From this action of God against those who have the audacity to attack His city, we see how valuable this city is to Him. It is His dwelling place that He has amidst His people. There He wants to be worshiped and served by them. God will retaliate for every attack on the apple of His eye. This is also true for us who are the church of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

God makes sure that the attackers of His city will see something whereby they will be “amazed” and “terrified” (Psalms 48:5). What they will see is not mentioned. The city, “it” is in brackets in this verse, indicating that these words are not in the original text. Nor is it likely that the sight of the city will amaze and terrify them. More likely it is an appearance of a heavenly army or of the LORD Himself (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17; Isaiah 37:36).

In any case, what they will see will cause them to flee in alarm. They came (Psalms 48:4), they saw (Psalms 48:5a) and … they fled (Psalms 48:5b). They have thought, in the words of Julius Caesar’s famous saying, Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), that they would take Jerusalem that easy. Instead, it will be for them, to put it with a pun of Julius Caesar’s saying: Veni, Vidi, Vanish. As quickly as they can, they will move away from the city. No one, however, will escape.

What seemed to them to be an easy victory becomes a dramatic downfall. They are seized with “panic” (Psalms 48:6). They tremble with fear and feel the pain and anguish “as of a woman in childbirth”. This description of the enemies’ downfall makes the remnant realize all the more the value of that city and that temple on that mountain to God.

Encouraged by God’s action on their behalf as just described, they turn to Him (Psalms 48:7). They express confidence that “with the east wind” He will “break the ships of Tarshish”. Just as the ships of Tarshish are powerless against an east wind, so the enemies of the great King are powerless against the sight of His majesty (Psalms 48:5).

They have seen this perspective fulfilled (Psalms 48:8), having previously heard about it from the mouths of the Old Testament prophets. They have also heard what God has done for His people in the past (Psalms 44:1b). God has stood up for His people in the past and He has done so once again.

In the city dwells the Captain of the heavenly hosts. God no longer protects from heaven like He did in the past, but He now protects the city by His very presence in the city. He deploys His heavenly hosts as soon as His city is attacked. That city is “the city of our God”, the city where He Himself is. Therefore it is the city of His people. Therefore, every attack is a suicide attempt. It is an impossible task to besiege this city, let alone to conquer it, because “God will establish her forever”.

We can also apply this to the church. We, the church, are the New Jerusalem, in which God dwells. We too may rejoice in this fact. We too may know that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:31-39).

There is no power on earth or in the heavenly places that can conquer or even do any harm to God’s New Testament city, the church (Revelation 21:9-10). That city is built on the rock, that is the Son of the living God. Therefore, the gates of Hades, or the power of the realm of the dead, will not be able to overpower it (Matthew 16:16-18). She abides in the perfection of the Son for all eternity.

Psalms 78:71

Introduction

This psalm is the second to last in the series of psalms “of the sons of Korah” that began with Psalms 42. In Psalms 42-43 we hear the complaint of the single person and in Psalms 44 the complaint of the whole remnant. They are in distress and cry out to God to deliver them from the power of the enemy. They are especially distressed because of their flight from the land, which makes them feel an immense lack of staying in the temple. Psalms 45 presents Christ as the answer to their cry to God for help. He is the One through Whom deliverance and their return to the land, Jerusalem and the temple will come.

Psalms 46 expresses trust in God through the experience of God’s grace in the present. Psalms 47 celebrates God’s intervention on behalf of His people, with Christ being King over all the earth and Israel exalted above the nations. The call is to praise God together. Psalms 48 presents the King in Zion, the center of government from which He rules over all the earth. This psalm also talks about the importance of the city and the temple of God to the heart of God.

Psalms 45 speaks of the beauty of the King (Psalms 45:2), Who is the great King in Zion (Psalms 47:2). Psalms 48 speaks of the beauty of Zion (Psalms 48:2), the city of the great King. Then the name Jerusalem will be changed to Yahweh Tsidkenu, which is “the LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16), and to Yahweh Shammah, which is “The LORD is there” (Ezekiel 48:35b). Jerusalem has become the capital of the world (cf. Isaiah 2:2-3).

The City of God

This “psalm” is called “a song” (Psalms 48:1a). By “a song” is usually meant a song of praise. It is a song of praise about the LORD’s victory over all His enemies. Now the realm of peace is dawning.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Finally, there is rest for the believing remnant. God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:8). This leads them to exclaim: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” (Psalms 48:1b). God is “great”. God’s greatness is reflected in this psalm in the beauty of Zion, the city of the great King. We see as a comparison the same thing with King Solomon, whose greatness is reflected in the house he built and in his servants (1 Kings 10:4-5).

God is exalted above all peoples and their gods. He has shown His power over them and overthrown all the hostile powers that were raised up against His city. Therefore, He is “greatly to be praised”. He is worthy of all praise and worship, both in His Person and in His actions.

He dwells “in the city of our God”. It is the city of God because He dwells there and has ascended His throne. He has chosen that city Himself. The Korahites speak of “the city of our God” because the God who dwells in His city is their God. His throne and His temple are both on “His holy mountain”, which is Mount Zion. It is His “holy” mountain, which further emphasizes that God is there.

They primarily sing of the city of Jerusalem in this song as a stronghold and a safe dwelling place. But they begin their song by singing of the beauty of the city, which is perfect (Psalms 48:2; Psalms 50:2). This is the first thing that moves them when they see the city (cf. Ezekiel 16:14; Lamentations 2:15; Mark 13:1). The city is “beautiful in elevation”. The word “beautiful” is used except here for the city only for the Messiah (Psalms 45:2). This indicates that the city is “beautiful” because of the Messiah Who dwells there. ‘Elevation’ in Hebrew is literally ‘height’. The city stands out above all other cities. This is so both because of the presence of the great King in that city and geographically (Zechariah 14:10b).

Because Christ sits on His throne as King-Priest, there is joy for the whole earth. From the city of God, where the throne of Messiah stands and He reigns, blessing goes out over the whole earth (cf. Isaiah 2:1-5). There is peace and joy everywhere. By “Mount Zion” is meant the city of Jerusalem. That there is talk of “the far north” means that it is the place of God’s government (Isaiah 14:13). First God’s government was from heaven, but now it is also on earth. This is the fulfillment of two prayers from the prayer the Lord Jesus taught His disciples: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

God is in the palaces, or strongholds, of the city in which princes dwell (Psalms 48:3). The strength and security of Jerusalem lie in the presence of God in the city. Because it is known that God has chosen the city as His dwelling place, the inhabitants of the city have no fear of outside threats mentioned in the next verse.

Those outside threats have been frequent in earlier days (Psalms 48:4). Hostile kings have jointly marched against the city in the past. Perhaps here we can think of the enemies who went up against Jehoshaphat and were defeated by God’s action (2 Chronicles 20:1-2; 22-23).

Another clear evidence of God’s protection is His deliverance of Jerusalem in the days when Sennacherib besieged the city (Isaiah 37:36). In the future, He will deliver Jerusalem from the king of the North and still later from the armies coming from the remotest parts of the north (Daniel 11:45; Ezekiel 39:1-6).

From this action of God against those who have the audacity to attack His city, we see how valuable this city is to Him. It is His dwelling place that He has amidst His people. There He wants to be worshiped and served by them. God will retaliate for every attack on the apple of His eye. This is also true for us who are the church of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

God makes sure that the attackers of His city will see something whereby they will be “amazed” and “terrified” (Psalms 48:5). What they will see is not mentioned. The city, “it” is in brackets in this verse, indicating that these words are not in the original text. Nor is it likely that the sight of the city will amaze and terrify them. More likely it is an appearance of a heavenly army or of the LORD Himself (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17; Isaiah 37:36).

In any case, what they will see will cause them to flee in alarm. They came (Psalms 48:4), they saw (Psalms 48:5a) and … they fled (Psalms 48:5b). They have thought, in the words of Julius Caesar’s famous saying, Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), that they would take Jerusalem that easy. Instead, it will be for them, to put it with a pun of Julius Caesar’s saying: Veni, Vidi, Vanish. As quickly as they can, they will move away from the city. No one, however, will escape.

What seemed to them to be an easy victory becomes a dramatic downfall. They are seized with “panic” (Psalms 48:6). They tremble with fear and feel the pain and anguish “as of a woman in childbirth”. This description of the enemies’ downfall makes the remnant realize all the more the value of that city and that temple on that mountain to God.

Encouraged by God’s action on their behalf as just described, they turn to Him (Psalms 48:7). They express confidence that “with the east wind” He will “break the ships of Tarshish”. Just as the ships of Tarshish are powerless against an east wind, so the enemies of the great King are powerless against the sight of His majesty (Psalms 48:5).

They have seen this perspective fulfilled (Psalms 48:8), having previously heard about it from the mouths of the Old Testament prophets. They have also heard what God has done for His people in the past (Psalms 44:1b). God has stood up for His people in the past and He has done so once again.

In the city dwells the Captain of the heavenly hosts. God no longer protects from heaven like He did in the past, but He now protects the city by His very presence in the city. He deploys His heavenly hosts as soon as His city is attacked. That city is “the city of our God”, the city where He Himself is. Therefore it is the city of His people. Therefore, every attack is a suicide attempt. It is an impossible task to besiege this city, let alone to conquer it, because “God will establish her forever”.

We can also apply this to the church. We, the church, are the New Jerusalem, in which God dwells. We too may rejoice in this fact. We too may know that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:31-39).

There is no power on earth or in the heavenly places that can conquer or even do any harm to God’s New Testament city, the church (Revelation 21:9-10). That city is built on the rock, that is the Son of the living God. Therefore, the gates of Hades, or the power of the realm of the dead, will not be able to overpower it (Matthew 16:16-18). She abides in the perfection of the Son for all eternity.

Psalms 78:72

Introduction

This psalm is the second to last in the series of psalms “of the sons of Korah” that began with Psalms 42. In Psalms 42-43 we hear the complaint of the single person and in Psalms 44 the complaint of the whole remnant. They are in distress and cry out to God to deliver them from the power of the enemy. They are especially distressed because of their flight from the land, which makes them feel an immense lack of staying in the temple. Psalms 45 presents Christ as the answer to their cry to God for help. He is the One through Whom deliverance and their return to the land, Jerusalem and the temple will come.

Psalms 46 expresses trust in God through the experience of God’s grace in the present. Psalms 47 celebrates God’s intervention on behalf of His people, with Christ being King over all the earth and Israel exalted above the nations. The call is to praise God together. Psalms 48 presents the King in Zion, the center of government from which He rules over all the earth. This psalm also talks about the importance of the city and the temple of God to the heart of God.

Psalms 45 speaks of the beauty of the King (Psalms 45:2), Who is the great King in Zion (Psalms 47:2). Psalms 48 speaks of the beauty of Zion (Psalms 48:2), the city of the great King. Then the name Jerusalem will be changed to Yahweh Tsidkenu, which is “the LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16), and to Yahweh Shammah, which is “The LORD is there” (Ezekiel 48:35b). Jerusalem has become the capital of the world (cf. Isaiah 2:2-3).

The City of God

This “psalm” is called “a song” (Psalms 48:1a). By “a song” is usually meant a song of praise. It is a song of praise about the LORD’s victory over all His enemies. Now the realm of peace is dawning.

For “of the sons of Korah” see at Psalms 42:1.

Finally, there is rest for the believing remnant. God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:8). This leads them to exclaim: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” (Psalms 48:1b). God is “great”. God’s greatness is reflected in this psalm in the beauty of Zion, the city of the great King. We see as a comparison the same thing with King Solomon, whose greatness is reflected in the house he built and in his servants (1 Kings 10:4-5).

God is exalted above all peoples and their gods. He has shown His power over them and overthrown all the hostile powers that were raised up against His city. Therefore, He is “greatly to be praised”. He is worthy of all praise and worship, both in His Person and in His actions.

He dwells “in the city of our God”. It is the city of God because He dwells there and has ascended His throne. He has chosen that city Himself. The Korahites speak of “the city of our God” because the God who dwells in His city is their God. His throne and His temple are both on “His holy mountain”, which is Mount Zion. It is His “holy” mountain, which further emphasizes that God is there.

They primarily sing of the city of Jerusalem in this song as a stronghold and a safe dwelling place. But they begin their song by singing of the beauty of the city, which is perfect (Psalms 48:2; Psalms 50:2). This is the first thing that moves them when they see the city (cf. Ezekiel 16:14; Lamentations 2:15; Mark 13:1). The city is “beautiful in elevation”. The word “beautiful” is used except here for the city only for the Messiah (Psalms 45:2). This indicates that the city is “beautiful” because of the Messiah Who dwells there. ‘Elevation’ in Hebrew is literally ‘height’. The city stands out above all other cities. This is so both because of the presence of the great King in that city and geographically (Zechariah 14:10b).

Because Christ sits on His throne as King-Priest, there is joy for the whole earth. From the city of God, where the throne of Messiah stands and He reigns, blessing goes out over the whole earth (cf. Isaiah 2:1-5). There is peace and joy everywhere. By “Mount Zion” is meant the city of Jerusalem. That there is talk of “the far north” means that it is the place of God’s government (Isaiah 14:13). First God’s government was from heaven, but now it is also on earth. This is the fulfillment of two prayers from the prayer the Lord Jesus taught His disciples: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

God is in the palaces, or strongholds, of the city in which princes dwell (Psalms 48:3). The strength and security of Jerusalem lie in the presence of God in the city. Because it is known that God has chosen the city as His dwelling place, the inhabitants of the city have no fear of outside threats mentioned in the next verse.

Those outside threats have been frequent in earlier days (Psalms 48:4). Hostile kings have jointly marched against the city in the past. Perhaps here we can think of the enemies who went up against Jehoshaphat and were defeated by God’s action (2 Chronicles 20:1-2; 22-23).

Another clear evidence of God’s protection is His deliverance of Jerusalem in the days when Sennacherib besieged the city (Isaiah 37:36). In the future, He will deliver Jerusalem from the king of the North and still later from the armies coming from the remotest parts of the north (Daniel 11:45; Ezekiel 39:1-6).

From this action of God against those who have the audacity to attack His city, we see how valuable this city is to Him. It is His dwelling place that He has amidst His people. There He wants to be worshiped and served by them. God will retaliate for every attack on the apple of His eye. This is also true for us who are the church of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

God makes sure that the attackers of His city will see something whereby they will be “amazed” and “terrified” (Psalms 48:5). What they will see is not mentioned. The city, “it” is in brackets in this verse, indicating that these words are not in the original text. Nor is it likely that the sight of the city will amaze and terrify them. More likely it is an appearance of a heavenly army or of the LORD Himself (cf. 2 Kings 6:14-17; Isaiah 37:36).

In any case, what they will see will cause them to flee in alarm. They came (Psalms 48:4), they saw (Psalms 48:5a) and … they fled (Psalms 48:5b). They have thought, in the words of Julius Caesar’s famous saying, Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), that they would take Jerusalem that easy. Instead, it will be for them, to put it with a pun of Julius Caesar’s saying: Veni, Vidi, Vanish. As quickly as they can, they will move away from the city. No one, however, will escape.

What seemed to them to be an easy victory becomes a dramatic downfall. They are seized with “panic” (Psalms 48:6). They tremble with fear and feel the pain and anguish “as of a woman in childbirth”. This description of the enemies’ downfall makes the remnant realize all the more the value of that city and that temple on that mountain to God.

Encouraged by God’s action on their behalf as just described, they turn to Him (Psalms 48:7). They express confidence that “with the east wind” He will “break the ships of Tarshish”. Just as the ships of Tarshish are powerless against an east wind, so the enemies of the great King are powerless against the sight of His majesty (Psalms 48:5).

They have seen this perspective fulfilled (Psalms 48:8), having previously heard about it from the mouths of the Old Testament prophets. They have also heard what God has done for His people in the past (Psalms 44:1b). God has stood up for His people in the past and He has done so once again.

In the city dwells the Captain of the heavenly hosts. God no longer protects from heaven like He did in the past, but He now protects the city by His very presence in the city. He deploys His heavenly hosts as soon as His city is attacked. That city is “the city of our God”, the city where He Himself is. Therefore it is the city of His people. Therefore, every attack is a suicide attempt. It is an impossible task to besiege this city, let alone to conquer it, because “God will establish her forever”.

We can also apply this to the church. We, the church, are the New Jerusalem, in which God dwells. We too may rejoice in this fact. We too may know that nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:31-39).

There is no power on earth or in the heavenly places that can conquer or even do any harm to God’s New Testament city, the church (Revelation 21:9-10). That city is built on the rock, that is the Son of the living God. Therefore, the gates of Hades, or the power of the realm of the dead, will not be able to overpower it (Matthew 16:16-18). She abides in the perfection of the Son for all eternity.