Psalm 45

Personal Observations:

Subscription: meant to be sung, it was according to the “Shoshannim” (lilies), it was structured for wisdom, and it is a song of love

v. 1, the psalmist is singing to the King, whether heavenly or earthly (probably heavenly), I do not know. But he is eager to sing his song

v. 2, the King is highly esteemed and above any man; grace pours out from his heart (heart to mouth); clear evidence that God has blessed the King forever

v. 3-5, the King is a warrior, with sword, steed, and bow

He is armed with the sword

He rides in victory, for truth, meekness*interesting*, and righteousness (why is meekness in here?)

His arrows are aimed perfectly and are ready to drink the blood of His enemies

v.6-9, the language transitions from King to God, however nothing really indicates that the Person being described has changed

v. 6, King God’s throne is eternal, meaning His rule is eternal; his scepter (what is the importance of a scepter?) is uprightness and stands as the scepter of His kingdom

v. 7, This King loves righteousness and hates wickedness

*v.7, what does, “Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You...” even mean?*

v. 8, He smells good and is pleased by beautiful luxuries (significance?)

v. 9, find more information in this verse; the King’s queen is cover in gold; His wife decked out with royalty.

v. 10-15, the attention shifts from the King to the queen (?)

v. 10, wisdom/instruction is given to the queen: forget your past (?)

v. 11, Then God will desire His bride (research this)

v. 16-17, the King is addressed again

v. 13-15, what is this referring to?

v. 16-17, the King is addressed again

v. 16, why does the pronoun shift from uppercase to lowercase, then back to uppercase in v. 17

v. 17, the psalmist concludes with a doxology

Subject: What am I talking about?

ex. “Why is unity central to the Church?”

Complement: What exactly am I saying about what I’m talking about?

ex. Spiritual unity in the Church is a reflection of the oneness spread into every facet of the relationship between God and His people.

The Big Idea:

God uniting with His people is something tremendous to rejoice about!

Prayer Requests & Praise Reports

Read Passage

Intro:

The concise instruction according to the Shoshannim (“Lilies”) likely designates the melody of this psalm. It is A Song of Love in celebration of the king’s marriage. This and other psalms indicated as songs were to be sung, and some included additional musical direction.

Now who is exactly is the psalm about? Some have proposed that the psalm describes David’s marriage, perhaps to Michal, or Maacah of Geshur, or even to Bathsheba. But David was not king when he married Michal nor was he over all Israel when he married Maacah; and Bathsheba was not of a royal family (as v. 9 requires). Others have proposed Solomon as the kingly groom at his marriage to an Egyptian princess. But this is unlikely because: (1) this king was a warrior (vv. 3, 5) and Solomon was not and (3) Solomon’s marriages to pagan princesses would not have found the approval that this wedding does (cf. 1Kg 11:1–13).

Rydelnik, M., Vanlaningham, M., Barbieri, L. A., Boyle, M., Coakley, J., Dyer, C. H., … Zuber, K. D. (2014). Psalms. In The moody bible commentary (p. 798). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

Regardless of who this was written for, it was composed for an actual royal wedding and motivated by devotion to an earthly king. However this psalm, like all royal psalms, runs beyond what any earthly king could be, to the longed-for Messiah in whom all the glories are true. Likewise it speaks tellingly to the Bride of Christ of her true position, beauty and dedication.

Motyer, J. A. (1994). The Psalms. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 515). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

The Glorious King (v. 1-9)

Instructions for the Queen (v. 10-15)

Eternal Remembrance (v. 16-17)

The Glorious King (v. 1-9)

v. 1, the psalmist is singing to the King, whether heavenly or earthly (probably heavenly), I do not know. But he is eager to sing his song

v. 2, the King is highly esteemed and above any man; grace pours out from his heart (heart to mouth); clear evidence that God has blessed the King forever

v. 3-5, the King is a warrior, with sword, steed, and bow

He is armed with the sword

He rides in victory, for truth, meekness*interesting*, and righteousness (why is meekness in here?)

His arrows are aimed perfectly and are ready to drink the blood of His enemies

v.6-9, the language transitions from King to God, however nothing really indicates that the Person being described has changed

v. 6, King God’s throne is eternal, meaning His rule is eternal; his scepter (what is the importance of a scepter?) is uprightness and stands as the scepter of His kingdom

v. 7, This King loves righteousness and hates wickedness and is blessed by His God

*v.7, what does, “Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You...” even mean?*

v. 8, He smells good and is pleased by beautiful luxuries (significance?)

v. 9, find more information in this verse; the King’s queen is cover in gold; His wife decked out with royalty.

Gold of Ophir. Gold of Ophir was a rare commodity (), imported into Israel by ships that sailed from Ezion Geber, a port at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqabah (; ), to a destination variously conjectured to be India, Africa, the Arabian peninsula, or even South America. Gold of Ophir came to be the standard for gold of purity and quality. Most likely the bride’s gold ornamentation consisted of rings, bracelets, arm bands, necklaces, earrings, and a crown.

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 706). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

What’s the Main Point?

We have a King on His wedding day, garbed in glory, honor, victory and righteousness, standing next to His bride garbed in gold

Point 2 (v. -)

Instructions for the Queen (v. 10-15)

v. 10-15, the attention shifts from the King to the queen (?)

v. 10, wisdom/instruction is given to the queen: forget your past (?)

v. 11, Then God will desire His bride (research this)

v. 13-15, what is this referring to?

What’s the Main Point?

The queen is being brought in and is told to disconnect herself from her old identity and put on her new: she is bride to the King. With this new identity comes new benefits.

Point 3 (v. -)

Eternal Remembrance (v. 16-17)

v. 16-17, the King is addressed again

v. 16, why does the pronoun shift from uppercase to lowercase, then back to uppercase in v. 17

v. 17, the psalmist concludes with a doxology

What’s the Main Point?

The King should be remembered for all eternity.

The Big Idea:

I believe it’s help and appropriate on this side of the cross to take the wedding described in the psalm as symbolic. The wedding is more than that of the Davidic king but rather that of the Son of God (the “bridegroom”) and His people (the “bride”).

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God uniting with His people is something tremendous to rejoice about!