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Psalms 45

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Praise for the King's Glory and Power 1–9

1
My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. ​
2
Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. ​
3
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one, Thy glory and thy majesty. ​
4
And in thy majesty ride on prosperously, Because of truth and meekness and righteousness: And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
5
Thine arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under thee; They arein the heart of the king’s enemies.
6
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ​
7
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows. ​
8
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad.
9
Kings’ daughters are among thy honorable women: At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir. ​

Counsel to the Royal Bride 10–15

10
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house: ​
11
So will the king desire thy beauty; For he is thy lord; and reverence thou him. ​
12
And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; The rich among the people shall entreat thy favor. ​
13
The king’s daughter within the palace is all glorious: Her clothing is inwrought with gold.
14
She shall be led unto the king in broidered work: The virgins her companions that follow her Shall be brought unto thee.
15
With gladness and rejoicing shall they be led: They shall enter into the king’s palace.

Prophecy of the King's Enduring Legacy 16–17

16
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth. ​
17
I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: Therefore shall the peoples give thee thanks for ever and ever. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 45

Verse 1

a good matter — The psalm is introduced as Maschil, a psalm of instruction, and 'A Song of loves' (yedidot, from yadid, beloved). 'Inditing' is rachash, to well up; the 'ready writer' is a skilful scribe (mahir). The 'things … touching the king' are quoted of the Son in Heb 1:8–9.

Verse 2

Thou art fairer than the children of men — 'Fairer' comes from yaphah, to be bright, fair, set against the bene adam, 'sons of Adam'. 'Grace' is chen, favour, and it is 'poured' (yatsaq) into his lips, as when 'all … wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth' (Luke 4:22).

Verse 3

Gird thy sword upon thy thigh — Chagar is to gird on. 'O most mighty' is gibbor, the word in 'The mighty God' of Isa 9:6. The sword in Rev 19:15 belongs to the same king: 'out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.'

Verse 6

Thy throne, O God — Hebrews 1:8 quotes the verse with 'But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever', and adds 'a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom'. The king is addressed as Elohim, and the next verse distinguishes him from 'God, thy God'. 'Right' is mishor, level or straight.

Verse 7

the oil of gladness — Mashach, to anoint, is the verb behind 'Messiah'. Hebrews 1:9 gives the verse in full: 'Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.' 'Fellows' is chaber, companions, so the anointing sets him above them.

Verse 9

in gold of Ophir — 'Queen' is shegal, found elsewhere in the KJV only at Neh 2:6, 'the queen also sitting by him'. Ophir is the land from which gold was fetched for Solomon (1 Kgs 9:28). To stand on the 'right hand' is the place of honour, where Bathsheba sat beside her son the king (1 Kgs 2:19).

Verse 10

forget also thine own people, and thy father's house — The bride is told to 'Hearken… and incline thine ear', and to leave her father's house, which echoes the LORD's word to Abram, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house' (Gen 12:1). Rev 21:9 speaks of 'the bride, the Lamb's wife'.

Verse 11

he is thy Lord — 'Lord' is adon, master, and 'worship' is shachah, to bow down, the verb of Ps 95:6, 'O come, let us worship and bow down'. The bride's bowing to the king goes with his desire for her yophi, beauty. Isa 54:5 speaks of the covenant in the same terms: 'thy Maker is thine husband'.

Verse 12

the daughter of Tyre — Tsor, Tyre, whose king Hiram 'sent messengers to David, and cedar trees' (2 Sam 5:11), so the city is named among those who bring a minchah, a gift. To 'intreat thy favour' is chalah panim, an idiom for entreating. The rich among the people come with it.

Verse 16

Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children — The king's sons take the place of his fathers, and he sets them (shith) as 'princes' (sar, rulers) 'in all the earth'. The New Testament says of those redeemed by Christ, 'hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth' (Rev 5:10).

Verse 17

I will make thy name to be remembered — 'Remembered' is zakar, and 'in all generations' is literally 'in generation and generation'. 'Praise' is yadah, to give thanks, the verb of Ps 44:8. The people's praise lasts 'for ever and ever' (olam va'ed), the words of v.6, matched by Ps 72:17, 'His name shall endure for ever'.