THE LOVE SONG OF THE KING
PSALM 45
For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. (Psalm 45:1).
ALL PRAISE TO THE KING
Verses 1-9 are a description of the King. Solomon appears to be in view, but the narration clearly goes far beyond King Solomon to the ultimate king in this Psalm who is King Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ.
THE BEAUTY OF THE KING
My mind is inspired with a theme that is noble, As I myself utter my poemb concerning a king, My tongue is as the pen of a scribe who is skilled.
Thou art surpassingly fair, above the children of men;
Over thy lips hath grace been poured;
Therefore Jehovahd hath blessed thee forever.Thou art fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Thy lips;
Therefore God has blessed Thee forever. (45:2).
THE KINGS GREAT STRENGTH
On thy thigh gird thy sword, O hero, In thy splendor and majesty go on, and prosper; 3 For the cause of truth and right, rule on, And wonderful deeds thy right hand will show thee. Gird Thy sword on Thy thigh, O Mighty One,
Thine arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under Thee; Thine arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies. (Psalm 45:3-5).
The strength of the King is described in terms of His military prowess. Observe him as he straps his sword upon his thigh. He rides in victory for his cause is truth and meekness and righteousness.
The book of Revelation presents this same picture of King Yeshua/Jesus. The difference is a sword unsheathed.
THE KING OF RIGHTEOUS
Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee With the oil of joy above Thy fellows. (Psalm 45:6-7).
A quotation in Hebrews 1:8-9 where the writer of that epistles says that it is a reference to Jesus. In that passage, the writer says that Jesus can be seen to be much better than the angels.
THE ANOINTED ONE
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Thy God,
has anointed Thee with the oil of joy above Thy fellows. (Psalm 45:7).
The Hebrew word for anointing in this passage is ^x]v'm. (Meshcha). It is from this verb that we derive our word Messiah, literally "anointed one." Anointing was a normative process in the ancient world. In the Old Testament we read of 3 types of anointing described in the Old Testament.
And you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve Me as priests. (Exodus 28:41).
And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me. (Exodus 30:30).
Then Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel;
now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD" (1 Samuel 15:1).
When the Lord wanted to demonstrate that He had rejected Saul and was now going to ordain David and his descendants as the new king, He did so by sending Samuel to anoint him.
God's instructions to Elijah state: And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; 16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. (1 Kings 19:15-16).
There are 3 anointings described there. The first two are the kings of Aram and Israel. But the third anointing is not for a king at all. It is for a prophet.
Yeshua/Jesus was anointed by the very Spirit of God. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2).
You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power... (Acts 10:38).
The wonderful thing about this is that, if you have come to Christ in faith, then you have an anointing, too (1 John 2:20). The same Spirit that was upon Jesus has also been given to you.
OUR JOYOUS KING
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee
with the oil of joy above Thy fellows.
All Thy garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made Thee glad. (Psalm 45:7-8).
Because of the sufferings of Yeshua/Jesus, God granted anointed Him with joy such as no other has ever experienced. Hebrews 12:2 speaks of how He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. And on the night of the Last Supper, He said to His disciples, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full".
THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE BRIDE
Forget your past...
O daughter, hear and see and give ear, Forget thy people and the house of thy father, For the king longeth ever for thy beauty; To him be subject, for he indeed is thy lord. With a gift the daughters of Tyre shall do homage, The richest of the nations will court thy face.
The pattern for a marriage is that the bride is to leave her family and be joined to her husband as a part of a new family.
A PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE
Then the King will desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. (Psalm 45:11).
THE MAGNIFICENT WEDDING PROCESSION
Psalm 45 ends with a beautiful description of the wedding procession itself.
That is the picture presented in verses 12-17. It is a wedding procession, not just of a bride and groom, but of the Messiah as King and His bride.
In all her glory the king's daughter is within, Her clothing is inwrought with precious gold. In embroidered garments she is brought to the king; The maidens in her train, her companions, are brought in to her. To her they are brought in with gladness and rejoicing, Into the palace of the king they are led. Her attire and her attendants To the place of thy fathers may thy sons succeed, Throughout the land thou wilt make them princes.
I will cause thy name to be remembered for all ages,1 Therefore nations shall praise thee forever and ever.(Psalm 45:12-17).
The Hebrew tense here is imperfect, denoting incompletion of action -- used here to express the future tense. This is how the Psalm ends. The final wedding procession has yet to take place. The King is Coming! His Bride (His people) await His arrival.
II. A COLLECTION OF ANTE-NUPTIAL SONGS
Song. of Songs. 1:2-3:5
Sg. of Sgs. 1 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine, Thine ointments have a goodly fragrance, Thy name is as an ointment poured out; Therefore do the maidens love thee.
Draw me. [Attendants]: We will run after thee. [Bride]: Bringb me, O king, into thy chambers. [Attendants]: We will be glad and rejoice in thee; We will extol thy love more than wine. [Bride]: Yea, rightly do they love thee. I am browned. [Attendants]: Yea, but comely. [Bride]: O daughters of Jerusalem, I am like the tents of Kedar. [Attendants]: Nay, like the curtains of Solomon. [Bride]: Look not upon me, for I am browned, Because the sun has burned me. My brothers were angry with me, they made me keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Tell me, thou whom I love, Where thou feedest thy flock, And makest it rest at noontide. Why must I be like a wandererg Among the flocks of thy comrades?
If thou know not, O fairest of women,h Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids by the shepherds' tents.
III. WEDDING SONGS
Song. of Songs. 3:6-8:14
Sg. of Sgs. 3 Who is this coming up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and incense, with all the powders of the merchant? Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!
Sixty brave warriors are about it, of the warriors of Israel, All of them handle the sword and are expert in war; 8 Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, because of fear at night. King Solomon made himself a palanquin of the wood of Lebanon; 9 He made its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, 10 Its seat of purple, its midst adorned with love. Go forth, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,b and behold King Solomon, 11 With the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him on the day of his espousals.
4 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are like doves peeping fromd behind thy veil. Thy hair is as a flock of goats that stream down from Mount Gilead.
A Minister For Your Marriage Celebration
