Psalms · psalm 45 of 150
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Psalm 45 is a royal wedding song composed by the sons of Korah. It praises the king for his beauty, his victory and his love of righteousness, then turns to the bride, who comes to his palace with joy. The letter to the Hebrews applies verses 6 and 7 to the Son of God, whose throne is forever.
The title calls it a love song, for the choirmaster, according to Lilies, of the sons of Korah, and labels it a Maskil. The text does not name the king or his bride, so tradition has proposed everyone from Solomon to other kings of Judah. It is the only psalm in the Psalter that celebrates a royal wedding. The New Testament sees in the king the Son of God.
The poet begins by saying that his heart overflows with a pleasing theme and that his tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. He addresses the king: you are the most handsome of the sons of men, grace is poured upon your lips, and therefore God has blessed you forever. He asks him to gird on his sword and ride out in splendor and majesty for truth, meekness and righteousness, and may his sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the enemies and subdue peoples.
Then the psalm addresses the king in another way: your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. His robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia, and from ivory palaces stringed instruments make him glad. Daughters of kings are among his ladies, and at his right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
The third part addresses the bride: hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. He is your lord; bow to him. The daughter of Tyre will come with gifts, and the richest of the people will seek her favor. The princess is decked in her chamber with robes interwoven with gold and is led to the king in many-colored garments, with her companions following, in joy and gladness. In place of her fathers she will have sons, whom she will make princes in all the earth. The poet promises to make the king's name remembered in all generations, and the peoples will praise him forever.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The king is the most handsome of men, and grace is poured upon his lips because God has blessed him forever. The poem sees in him a beauty that goes beyond physical appearance.
The king's throne is forever, his scepter is upright, and he has loved righteousness and hated wickedness, so God has anointed him with the oil of gladness. Hebrews 1:8-9 quotes these verses and applies them to the Son of God.
The bride is asked to forget her people and her father's house, because the king desires her beauty. A new bond demands a new loyalty, a theme the New Testament takes up when speaking of the church and Christ.
The poet promises to make the king's name remembered in all generations, and the peoples will praise him forever. That hope is fully realized in the eternal reign of Christ.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That it is like the pen of a ready scribe. — Psalm 45:1
Answer: As the most handsome of the sons of men, with grace poured upon his lips. — Psalm 45:2
Answer: With truth, meekness and righteousness. — Psalm 45:4
Answer: That it is forever and ever, with a scepter of uprightness. — Psalm 45:6
Answer: He loved righteousness and hated wickedness. — Psalm 45:7
Answer: To make the king's name remembered in all generations, so that the peoples praise him forever. — Psalm 45:17
Psalm 45 shows that faith also celebrates with joy. In a small group you can reflect on how we live our relationship with God: not only as duty and struggle but also with delight, beauty and festivity. A wedding is a biblical picture of God's communion with his people.
For Christians, the king of the psalm points to Christ, righteous and eternal, and the bride to the church. Ask what it means in your life to forget what competes with loyalty to Christ and what your church can do so that the name of Jesus is remembered in the next generations.
Psalm 45 ends with the king's name remembered forever. Psalm 46 moves from the festival of a wedding to trust in times of danger: God is our refuge and strength.
The text gives no name. Some think of Solomon or a later king of Judah, and Christian readers see in him an announcement of the Messiah. The psalm was probably used at the wedding of a king of David's line and, from there, points to the ultimate King, according to the New Testament.
Hebrews 1:8-9 quotes these verses to show that the Son is superior to the angels: his throne is forever, his scepter is upright and God has anointed him above his companions. For the author, the ideal king of the psalm is fully fulfilled in Jesus.
In verse 6 the king is addressed as God (Elohim). Some translate it your throne is of God. In the context of Hebrews, the author understands it as a declaration about the divinity of the Son. It is one of the reasons the psalm matters for the doctrine of Christ.