My heart is inditing a good matter; I speak of the things which I have made touching the king. Psalm 45 The song of the heavenly nuptials D. McLean. In accordance with unbroken tradition of the Church from the beginning, we interpret this as a spiritual epithalamium or nuptial-song, in honour of the wondrous espousals whereby Christ the Son of God takes into most real, intimate, blissful and everlasting union and fellowship with Himself the Church of ransomed, regenerate, believing souls. I. THE BRIDEGROOM (vers. 1-9). 1. In His present qualities.(1) Comeliness of countenance ( Song of Solomon 5:10-16 ).(2) Gracefulness of speech. He was, indeed, in highest sense, "master of sentences" — possessor of noble and powerful gift of eloquence, which He employed in commending the true, the holy, the blissful, impressing on their attention and reception what was for health and joy to them now and for ever. 2. In His warlike preparations and achievements. Peace and goodwill, benign, never-ending fellowship for all who choose to be loyal subjects of the King of kings, and faithful followers of "truth and meekness and righteousness," but war to the death, wounds unto death in which there is no dying, unto all who persist in wicked hostility and revolt. 3. In His kingly administration. He is God, and He became man; and it is properly in respect of His manhood — His Mediatorship especially on the side of His manhood, that we are to think of the sovereignty here spoken of as exercised. From the beginning and all through there were glimmerings, recognized and confessed, of the hidden majesty.(1) The duration of His sovereignty. "For ever and ever;" what contrast ,to earthly kings and human dynasties!(2) Its character. "A right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness," etc.(3) The personal reward which was to crown and consummate His administration. "Anointed Thee with the oil of gladness," etc. 4. In His nuptial splendour (vers. 8, 9). Ivory palaces, resounding with strains of grandest music, and filled with fragrance of choicest perfumes; a queenly bride in gold embroideries, with retinue of princely virgins; and, centre of all, the Bridegroom — Immanuel, showing perfection of beauty, renown of heroism, splendour of royalty, yea, of Divine majesty, associated with all gaiety and gladness of nuptial festivity. And where and when becomes it realized? Up yonder on the other side of the resurrection. II. THE BRIDE (vers. 10-15). 1. The present summons (vers. 10-12). And what have we here in the pure spiritual reality — stripped of allegorical drapery, but the substance of all genuine evangelical teaching? What is to be the central scope and aim of all pastoral labour and pulpit ministration and sanctuary ordinance and more private Christian effort but to win souls, one by one, and in collective multitude as well, from other and alien relationship unto Christ, ever more truly and nearly unto Christ? 2. The call itself. The manner of the utterance breathes the spirit of urgent solicitation, with undertone, as our ear catches it, of authoritative command; blending of majesty and grace such as is reflected in the entire range of Gospel overture and offer. And what, then, means the summons in its plain and direct application to us? It means "conversion" — the turning round of the soul, in respect of bent and aim, from course original and natural into channel that is new — transference of affection and aspiration from the sphere of the carnal into that of the holy, the heavenly, the divine. 3. The reasons which go to support the summons. He by whom or for whom it is given has —(1) The authority to command compliance. "He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him."(2) The bounty — the resources and the readiness — to reward compliance. There is reward of affection direct from Himself; and there are droppings of bounty, tokens of regard, through creature instrumentalities.(3) The excellence to deserve compliance. 4. What is spoken of the Bride (vers. 13-15). III. MESSIAH'S OFFSPRING AND RENOWN (vers. 16, 17). 1. Declaration concerning offspring to Messiah — fruit of the espousals (ver. 16). In ordinary earthly households you look to find a family likeness. So it is in the spiritual household. Resemblance, first of all, to remoter ancestry — to the "fathers," the fleshly ancestry of Immanuel, the prime and chief of these: on just such principle has an apostle hung before us a grand gallery of these in the eleventh of Hebrews. But likeness especially to the immediate common parent; and so that fine old picture-gallery takes us an to this for last halting-place and life-pattern — "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." The more that there can be seen in you, not an affected imitation, but a genuine embodiment of all that Christ was; the more that His humility, and gentleness, and purity, and integrity, and devoutness, and whatever else went to constitute His perfection of excellence, become radiant in your character, grow to be a very fragrance cleaving to you and diffusing itself from you around, the more claim have you to rank among the "children" whom He is to "set for princes in the earth." 2. Prediction to Himself of eternal renown (ver. 17).(1) Purpose of spreading and perpetuating the renown. Can you be too prompt, too eager, too constant, in the showing forth of His praise?(2) Assured prospect of responding praise. ( D. McLean. ) A unique king Homilist. Although it cannot be proved that such a king as represented in this psalm ever existed in fact, it is obvious that he existed in the conception of the poetic author. I. His ideal conception of his king STIRRED HIS SOUL. 1. An idea that appears good to a man carries with it a power to move the affections. "My heart bubbleth up." What the mind sees clearly the heart must ever feel more or less deeply. There is a King — Jesus of Nazareth — true ideas concerning whom are "a good matter" that will break up the fountains of the heart, and make all the affections like a well of water spring up to everlasting life. 2. When the affections are properly moved there will be a free-ness and aptness of utterance. "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer." Charge a man's soul with true emotions and he will grow eloquent. II. His conception of his king CORRESPONDS WITH NO KNOWN HISTORIC CHARACTER. Not in Egypt, Judaea, Persia, Rome or Europe has a king appeared answering to our poet's conception. Man has the power of conceiving better things than he has ever seen, better characters than have ever appeared. A glorious power this! 1. It is a proof of the Divine within us. 2. It is an incentive to moral progress. III. His conception of his king APPROACHES THE DIVINE TYPE. 1. His appearance was beautiful. 2. His campaign was moral. 3. His rule was righteous. 4. His character was true. 5. His patron was God. 6. His influences were delightful. 7. His associations were magnificent. 8. His fame was enduring. IV. His conception of his king was NOT EQUAL TO THE CHARACTER OF KIND JESUS, ( Homilist. ) The things concerning Zion's King, good matters to all Hi s true subjects — I. THE KING. 1. Jesus Christ is a King.(1) He is expressly so called by the Father ( Psalm 2:6 ; Micah 5:2 ).(2) Jesus affirms this concerning Himself (John 18:87).(3) All true believers own and acknowledge Him to be a King, and their King in particular ( Isaiah 33:22 ; John 1:49 ).(4) He was set forth to the Church by the prophets as a King ( Genesis 49:10 ). Also by type — David, Solomon, Melchisedec, etc.(5) Kingly titles and epithets are given Him in Scripture. Prince of peace; blessed and only Potentate; King of kings and Lord of lords ( Philippians 2:11 ).(6) Kingly prerogatives and badges of royalty are ascribed to Him ( Psalm 89:20 ; Song of Solomon 3:11 ; Psalm 65:1 ; Ephesians 3:8 ). 2. Jesus Christ is the King by way of eminence and excellency.(1) He is so in respect of His person ( Isaiah 9:6 .(2) He is a most ancient King ( Micah 5:2 ).(3):He is most singularly qualified for the management of His Kingdom ( Colossians 2:3 ; Matthew 28:18 ).(4) He is a most righteous King; He governs both His essential and mediatorial kingdoms with the strictest justice and equity ( Isaiah 32:1 ; Psalm 45:7 ; Isaiah 11:5 ).(5) He is a most rich and opulent King ( John 1:8 ; Colossians 1:16 ; Matthew 11:27 ; Ephesians 3:8 ).(6) He is a singularly blessed and happy King ( 1 Timothy 6:15 ; Psalm 21:6 ).(7) Zion's King is immortal, and therefore eternal ( 1 Timothy 1:17 ; Revelation 1:18 ).(8) He is a most gracious, loving and affectionate King ( Exodus 34:6, 7 ).(9) He is a most glorious King, yea, "the King of glory." Heaven and eternal glory is a purchased possession ( Ephesians 1:14 ), and He is the purchaser. He is the preparer of glory for all His true subjects ( John 14:2 ). He is the bestower of glory upon all the heirs of promise ( Luke 22:29 ). II. SOME THINGS WHICH CONCERN THE KING, AND ARE GOOD MATTERS IN THE ESTEEM OF HIS PEOPLE. 1. The glory and excellency of the King's person is a matter much set by in the esteem of all His true subjects ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 ; Philippians 3:10 ; John 1:14 ; Psalm 73:25 ). 2. The love of Christ; the love of a three-one God in Him, is truly a good matter to believers. Their life lies in His favour, and His lovingkindness is better than life. 3. The righteousness of our Lord Jesus is a good matter to believers. 4. The fulness of Christ is a good matter to believers ( Colossians 1:9 ; John 1:14 ; 1 Corinthians 1:30 ; John 17:2 ; Colossians 2:10 ). 5. The prosperity and success of His kingdom is a good matter to all His true subjects. 6. All His commandments are good matters to His people ( Psalm 119:32 ). 7. The very cross of Christ; all the tribulations and calamities which they are at any time called to endure for His name's sake are accounted good matters by His true followers ( Acts 5:41 ; Hebrews 11:26 ). 8. What the King Himself is to His people, what He has done for them, what He has wrought in them, and what they yet expect from Him, are all good matters in their esteem. His true subjects have already received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness ( Romans 5:17 ). And shall reign in life by Jesus Christ. III. WHENCE IT IS THAT THE THINGS CONCERNING THE KING ARE VIEWED, AS MATTERS TRULY GOOD, BY ALL WHO BELIEVE IN HIM. 1. Because of the great love and regard believers have for the King Himself. 2. Because there is a real worth and excellency in all the things which concern this glorious King. They are suited to give satisfaction to the soul ( Song of Solomon 2:8 ; Psalm 36:7 ). 3. Because believers have eyes to discern the value and excellency of divine things ( Matthew 13:16 ; Matthew 16:17 ). 4. Because the King Himself is theirs, and they are His ( Song of Solomon 2:16 ). IV. USE. 1. Of information.(1) See from this subject the amazing condescension of the great God our Saviour, in submitting to exercise a variety of offices for the spiritual good and advantage of perishing sinners.(2) See one special difference between the true believer and the hypocrite. Hypocrites may assent to the truth of many things taught in the Word concerning Christ; but they have no love to His person, nor can they have any heart-affection to things touching Him.(3) See suitable exercise for the children and people of God. It is to meditate much upon Christ His person, offices, grace and fulness; particularly they should give themselves much to meditation upon His kingly office; the glory of His kingdom, with the justice and equity of His government.(4) See when it is persons can speak suitably concerning Christ and the things of Christ. When their hearts are in some measure filled with His grace.(5) See matter of terror to all the enemies of Zion's King. Who are Christ's enemies? All in a natural state and condition are His enemies; yea, the carnal mind is enmity against Him in the very abstract ( Romans 8:7 ). 2. Of trial and examination.(1) What views have you got of your natural state and condition? Have you seen it to be a state of sin, captivity and bondage?(2) Did ever this glorious King reveal His powerful arm to you, thereby making you heartily willing to renounce your own, and submit to His righteousness? ( Isaiah 45:24 ). And are you willing to be indebted to Him, not only for righteousness as the ground of your justification and acceptance before God, but likewise to deny yourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him?(3) Do you love Christ? Can you say to Himself, Thou knowest that I love Thee?(4) Do you love your fellow-subjects? ( 1 John 3:14 ).(5) Have you a prevailing desire and concern for the success and prosperity of God's work in the Church? ( Isaiah 62:6, 7 ).(6) Is the opposition that still remains in your own hearts to this glorious King, with the many dis-honours done Him in the world about you, matter of grief and sorrow to you? ( Psalm 139:21, 22 ). 3. Of exhortation.(1) To the true subjects of Christ.(2) Bless God for sending His Son into the world to be your King, and determining your hearts to accept of Him by faith as made of God to you wisdom, righteousness, etc. Trust in your glorious King; this is your duty at all times, and in every circumstance ( Psalm 62:8 ).(3) Be glad and rejoice in your King — in His love, wisdom, power, faithfulness, all-sufficiency and immutability.(4) Be concerned to grow in acquaintance with your King ( 2 Peter 3:18 ).(5) Seek to have the declarative glory of your King advanced in your day and generation. We exhort all the enemies of this glorious King to relinquish the camp of Satan and come over to Christ's standard. While you refuse to submit to His righteousness, you are in a state of the vilest slavery and bondage ( Ephesians 2:3 ). Our Lord Jesus, the King, is your rightful Lord and Sovereign. There is no possible way for you to escape from the curse of the broken law and the wrath to come but your uniting with Christ by faith. However long you have slighted the offers of His grace, He is still waiting that He may be gracious to you. His sceptre of grace is stretched out, and He invites you to take hold of it. ( T. Bennet. ) The conquests of Messiah Anon. I. His MATCHLESS BEAUTY (ver. 2). 1. A description of His person. We have, indeed, no direct and positive information in regard to His personal appearance. But it is certainly no extravagant supposition that His human form would be rendered as fit as it could be for the indwelling of the celestial inhabitant. And it is no unwarrantable supposition that perfect, truth, benevolence and purity should depict themselves on the countenance of the Redeemer — as they will be manifested in the aspect wherever they exist — and render Him the most beautiful of men; for the expression of these principles and feelings in the countenance constitutes beauty. And it is no improbable supposition that this beauty was marred by His long-continued and inexpressibly deep sorrows, and that He was so worn down and crushed by the sufferings which He endured as scarcely to have retained the aspect of a man. 2. The qualifications with which He was endowed. (1) The gracefulness of His speech. (2) The sweetness and excellence of the truths He declared. 3. The Divine favour with which He was regarded. Our Lord is now in heaven on the ground of His own worthiness. II. HIS GLORIOUS EXPLOITS. "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh," etc. The propagation of the Gospel is here referred to. 1. The appellation employed. He is mighty to destroy, as those will be brought to feel against whom His wrath will be kindled; but judgment is His strange work, while it is with unbounded joy that He exclaims, "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 2. The petition presented. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, is evidently intended. And as David said of the sword of Goliath, "There is none like that,"; so can we say with the fullest confidence concerning this heavenly instrument. "For the word of God is quick and powerful," etc. 3. The reasons adduced.(1) The character of the Conqueror. One who is truth itself, who is meek and lowly in heart, and who never has acted, and never will, but in strictest accordance with the principles of perfect rectitude. Blessed Jesus! ride on.(2) The results of His victories. Not merely is He distinguished by truth, and meekness, and righteousness, but He diffuses these blessings wherever He goes. 4. The confidence displayed. "And in Thy majesty ride prosperously," etc. That this confidence was well founded, the early history of the Christian cause abundantly demonstrates. Transformations of the most amazing kind took place; the Church beheld her converts flocking to her from all quarters, and her bitterest enemies became her most devoted friends. ( Anon. ) A missionary discourse Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. I. A PREFACE OR INTRODUCTION TO WHAT FOLLOWS. 1. The subject. "A good matter; things touching the King." Christ is the king. The things that concern Christ as a King are, the dignity of His person, the wisdom and equity of His government, the extent of His dominions, the happiness of His subjects, and the perpetuity of His reign. This is "good matter." It is illustrative of the character of Him who is essential goodness. The nearer we approximate towards a perfection of goodness, the more this "good matter" will occupy our attention. 2. A source whence it proceeded. "My heart is inditing," boiling or bubbling up, in allusion to water put in motion by the action of fire, or bubbling up from a spring. How the love of Christ will constrain us to speak of Him. 3. A manner of expression. "My tongue is the pen," etc. Many imitate the psalmist in the fluency of their speech; they talk rapidly, but alas! they talk wickedly. Others converse freely and piously; but incoherently, enthusiastically, and erroneously. Let us always think before we speak; and let our words be seasoned with grace that we may minister grace to the hearers. II. A DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTER. "Thou art fairer," etc. 1. In His person. There is moral as well as physical beauty. How holy was Christ's soul! What wisdom, love, patience, humility did He possess. 2. In His address. He not only possessed a plenitude of grace for His own support in the arduous work in which He was engaged, but that He might instruct add console others. 3. By the commendation of Jehovah. God hath "blessed," i.e. extolled His Son in the ascriptions of Divine titles, honours and perfections to Him. III. A PETITION ADDRESSED TO THE MESSIAH. 1. The cause He maintains. Not to dethrone monarchs, but to subdue vices.(1) Truth in opposition to error, shadow, prophecy. Christ accomplished and fulfilled all righteousness.(2) Meekness. Worldly warfare is the child of wrath; and fury and malevolence are its inseparable companions. But nothing could surpass the meekness and gentleness of Christ; and His disciples were to be formed on the same plan: "Learn of me" ( Matthew 11:29 ).(3) Righteousness. He Himself is the Lord of righteousness; and His laws, requirements, people and kingdom are all righteous. 2. The manner how the psalmist expected the Messiah to achieve His victories. "Gird thy sword," etc. This is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the Gospel of our salvation ( Hebrews 4:12 ; Revelation 1:16 ). The power of the Gospel surpasses all description ( Romans 1:16 ; 2 Corinthians 4:7 ; 1 Thessalonians 1:5 ). 3. The interest which the psalmist took in the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. He prays, "Gird thy sword," etc. ( Psalm 90:16, 17 ; Psalm 118:25 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:1 ). The same spirit pervades all Christians. ( Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. ) The excellency of Christ The special matter of the psalm is, "A song of loves." This may be so called — 1. Because the psalm tells of the love of Christ to His Church, and of her love to Him. Or — 2. It may be put in the plural, as is frequent in Hebrew, by way of eminency; so that what is meant is that the love told of is most excellent and incomparable. 3. It may be so called because of the manifold fruits of that one love. But probably the second sense is the one intended here — the mystical spiritual love that is between Christ and the Church is the most excellent love. Therefore, note — I. THIS LOVE OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH IN THEIR ESPOUSALS IS MATTER OF GREAT JOY AND REJOICING. 1. TO God Himself ( Zephaniah 3:17 ). 2. To Jesus Christ ( Song of Solomon 3:11 ). 3. To believers themselves ( 1 Peter 1:8 ). And the reason of all this joy is —(1) On the part of God, because He saw the design and purpose of His grace accomplished ( Ephesians 1:6 ).(2) It is joy to Christ because He saw of the travail of His soul, and is satisfied. This is that He laboured for. As Rachel was to Jacob ( Hosea 12:12 ).(3) And it is joy to all believers because it instates them in such new relations and conditions as they never could have looked for ( Isaiah 54:5 ). Let us learn, then, God's infinite wisdom, condescension and goodness in disposing the way of saving poor sinners, so as that it shall be matter of joy and rejoicing to Him, to Jesus Christ and to believers themselves. We were poor, desolate, forlorn, lost creatures; and that God should bring us into a way of saving us, so as that the heart of God and Christ and our own hearts should rejoice in it; this calls for our admiration. Do we find this joy in our own hearts? Shall God rejoice, and Christ rejoice, and not we? II. THERE IS NO LOVE LIKE TO THE LOVE BETWEEN CHRIST AND BELIEVERS — no, not the flaming love in some to their hearts, and in others to the world that even devour them. But who can tell adequately of the love of Christ? Consider it — 1. In its condescension ( Philippians 2:6-8 ). 2. In His suffering. 3. The care and tenderness which the Lord Jesus continues to manifest towards us now He is in heaven ( Hebrews 5:2 ; Hebrews 4:15 ).Then, on the other side, I say the love of believers to Christ is beyond all other love whatsoever. 1. In a way of value ( Matthew 13:45 ). They will part with all that they have to obtain Christ. They part with their sin, lust and corruption ( Galatians 5:24 ). Now that love which will carry a man out to deny all ungodliness and to renounce all his own righteousness, to lose all he hath wrought in his own strength, to deny himself upon every instance wherein Christ requires him; this is a transcendent love, above all other love whatsoever. 2. The love of believers manifests itself also in suffering for Christ; and oh, who can tell what the martyrs endured from love to the Lord Jesus? So that this psalm which treats of the espousals of Christ and believers may well have this title, "A song of loves"; it being the most excellent love. Two things from hence are incumbent upon us.(1) To labour to get a sense of this love of Christ upon our hearts.(2) Let us examine ourselves whether we have this transcendent love to Jesus Christ in our hearts. If we have, it will continually keep us up to the mortification of all our sin; and it will make us continually ready for all the service and suffering Christ shall call us unto. ( J. Owen , D. D. ) The excellency of Christ The preface of this psalm is in verse six. The song itself from verse two to the end. First, from the preface we learn that he that lays a good foundation makes a good beginning of what he hath to say. It is from his heart.. "My heart," saith he, "is inditing." A sacrifice without a heart, a silly dove that hath no heart, are things that God abhors ( Hosea 7:11 ). I. THE SUBJECT TREATED OF. 1. In general, that it is a good matter. It is not about vain and empty, much less about wicked things, as the songs of the world are. Nor is it only about true things, for true things may have no goodness in them. 2. What this good matter is. The subject of this song is the King. And it is limited to things concerning Him; as if He had said, it is not for me, it is not for any mortal man to conceive or express all the glories and excellencies of the great King, Jesus Christ; but, saith He, something touching, something concerning Him. The best we can reach or attain unto in this world is only something touching Christ. We cannot yet behold the King in His glory, we cannot see His uncreated excellencies or beauties, nor those unspeakable glories of His person, natures, and works, as we shall one day contemplate and behold. "I speak," saith he, "of the things I have made"; that is, which I have prepared; I will mention only the things which I have composed concerning Christ. II. There is THE MANNER OF THEIR DELIVERY, both as to their conception and as to outward expression; their conception it was in his heart; as to the outward delivery, it was by his tongue. And there is a peculiarity in both. It is not an ordinary conception of the heart, it is not a common expression of the tongue. The word refers to the bubbling up of water in a fountain or spring. The heart of the psalmist was so full of these things of Christ, things touching the King, that they did naturally overflow, as water rising out of a spring naturally flows into the stream without any labour or difficulty. It is promised that it shall be thus with them who believe ( John 4:14 ). "A ready writer" is one able with speed and steadiness to set down any thought or conception whatsoever. And now from the words thus explained let us observe — 1. That the things which concern Jesus Christ are a good matter to believers. And their being thus good to them distinguishes the sincere believer from the mere hypocrite. These latter assent to the Gospel as true, but never embrace its teachings as good; they do not cleave unto them as finding a rest, sweetness, excellency and suitableness in them for their own need. But to believers the things of Christ are good.(1) In themselves ( Colossians 1:18 ). Whatever is good in any kind, it all centres in Christ. The good things of Christ are God's best things. How, then, can they be otherwise than a good matter?(2) And they are so because believers have received the Spirit whereby they discern the excellency of them. Other men do not see such excellency ( Isaiah 53:2 ). But believers can ( 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 ). Let us, for application, inquire, Do we esteem them good things; are they so to us? Can we say as did Paul ( Philippians 3:8 )? Is our satisfaction with them so high that we can be satisfied without other things? This I can say, that the nearer some have been to the loving of all things, even life itself, the better Christ hath been unto them. Examine, therefore, yourselves, whether you do not only give a naked assent to the Gospel and the things of Christ; or whether you find a goodness in them, a suitableness and satisfaction in them; that it is a good matter unto you. And let us observe — 2. Also, from the words, that it is the duty of believers to be making things concerning Jesus Christ. "Things that I have made touching the King." Now, this is to meditate upon them and upon Christ; this it is which is here called, "The things I have made," composed, framed in my mind. He did not make pictures of Christ, or frame such and such images of Him; but he meditated upon Christ. It is called "beholding the glory of the Lord in a glass" ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ). What is our work and business? Why, it is to behold this glory, that is, to contemplate upon it by faith, to meditate upon it. If I have observed any thing by experience, it is this, a man may take the measure of his growth and decay in grace, according to his thoughts and meditations upon the person of Christ, and the glory of Christ's kingdom, and of His love. A heart that is inclined to converse with Christ as He is represented in the Gospel is a thriving heart. And especially should we meditate upon Him in His Kingly offices ( Isaiah 63:1 ). When a heart is full of love to Christ it will run over ( 2 Corinthians 4:13 ; Acts 4:20 ). But what sad evidence there is in men's silence about Him, of their lack of love for Him. Lastly, that profession alone is acceptable to God and useful in the Church, which proceeds from the fulness of the heart. It is no use to be able to speak much if the heart be not full. ( J. Owen , D. D. ) "A good matter Thomas Spurgeon "I speak of the things which I have made touching the King." It is not hearsay that I am descanting upon; I am not dealing in second-hand experience. It bubbles up from within me. I am not so much a reservoir or cistern that contains supplies from other sources, but God has caused me through His grace to be as a spring of living water. An ounce of experience is worth a ton of hearsay. Well, now, what is this goodly matter? I. First, it is concerning CHRIST, THE KING HIMSELF — His glorious person, His matchless charms, His ineffable grace. 1. Notice that as soon as we begin to speak of Jesus He appears amongst us. The first verse declares the intention of the psalmist, and he has no sooner declared his purpose than, straightway, faith perceives the subject of the song in the very midst, and love adores. "Thou art fairer than the children of men" Every other man, however good and noble, has, it must be owned, even by his most ardent admirers, some lack, some fault or blemish; but I challenge Christ's friends or foes to find in Him any fault at all. No one was exposed to such severe tests as He; yet all men confessed that He was the Holy One of God. 2. Next, He is gloriously worthy because of His gracious words. "Grace is poured into thy lips." The people all hung upon Him listening; He riveted their attention when He was here among men. The words that He has left to us, they are spirit, and they are life. They are the words of a King, and where the word of a king is there is power. II. I see Him further on in the chapter ascending His throne and acting as A JUDGE rather than as a King. "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre," etc. The idea, if I mistake not, is that this King, though He does not set aside His regal rights, or lay His sceptre by, is virtually on the seat of justice. There He sits, dispensing justice, determining the laws, meting out evenhandedly the justice that is in His heart. Oh think of it, rejoice because of it! That throne is not a mere sham and delusion; it is a throne of justice; He reigns in equity. III. Further on in the chapter I recognize this same King as THE HUSBAND (ver. 9). There is in Jesus what I may call the domestic side of His character. This should touch us very closely. He is our Husband, our Lover, our fellow-Friend. He is our glorious Head, not merely as a mighty:Emperor, but as the pledged and espoused Lover of our souls. Come near to Him till your garments catch the perfume of His, and you, too, made glad by the ivory palaces, become redolent of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. You need not flee away from Him. He has not come to crush, and condemn, and doom you; He fights your cause, lie loves to save and serve you. Bow at His feet by all means, but you may climb His chariot too, and go forth to fight beneath His shield. ( Thomas Spurgeon ) Concerning the King J. Thomas, M. A. The real meaning is, "I am saying to myself, my works (or my compositions) are about the King." He keeps repeating this to himself, like some one continually reminding himself of good news which he can scarce believe for joy. The privilege he has obtained, the task he is performing, is a glory not to be missed and not to be diminished; so, lest he should flag or fail, or do his work unworthily, he keeps his enthusiasm on fire by constantly repeating, "My works are concerning the King." I. CHOOSE THE HIGHEST IDEAL FOR YOUR LIFE. Remember that the value of your work depends entirely upon the choice of your ideal. To live your life without an aim is to fling it away. The man of pressure is dead while he lives. Choose a definite ideal in life, and see to it that you choose an ideal worthy of our human estate. Though you scorn the aimlessness of a drifting life, and though energy and resolution and diligence strongly mark your character, yet you may bend all these upon an ideal that will nullify their power and lay their glory in the dust. The ideal you choose for your life is of primary importance; therefore, I pray you, consider it well. The perfect ideal for the lives of all men is found in Christ. His kingship over human character is twofold. He presents the sovereign ideal for character, and tie makes the realization of that ideal possible. Follow the vision of His glory until you find it fulfilled in your own life. The greatest moral heroes of history have been Christ's men. II. HAVING CHOSEN YOUR IDEAL, FILL YOUR HEART TO THE BRIM WITH IT. You will have w

Benson Commentary Psalm 45:1 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Psalm 45:1 . My heart is enditing a good matter — I am about to utter, not rash, vain, or foolish, much less false words, but such as proceed from my very heart, and most cordial affections; and are the result of my most deliberate and serious thoughts: things not only pleasant and delightful, and fit for the nuptial solemnity here intended, but excellent, as the word ???? , tob, often signifies: or holy and spiritual, as it is most commonly used: things heavenly and divine, and full of majesty, as is manifest from the matter of the Psalm. Surely this magnificent preface is too sublime and spiritual for such a carnal and earthly subject as Solomon’s marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter. The word ???? , rachash, here rendered is enditing, properly means boiling, or bubbling up, and is here used metaphorically, for meditating deeply, with fervour and vehemency, in allusion either to water boiled over a fire, or else springing forth from a fountain. I will speak of the things I have made — Hebrew, ????? , magnasi, my work, or composition; touching the king — The King Messiah and his government. The Hebrew, ????? , lemelech, is literally, to the king, and the clause is translated by the Seventy, ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? , I rehearse my works to the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer — That is, as some interpret it, “I will recite what I have composed with so much fluency, as shall equal the style of the most skilful and diligent writer.” Or, rather, he means, I am but the pen or instrument in uttering this song. It has another and higher original, namely, the Spirit of God, by whose hand this pen is guided. Psalm 45:2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Psalm 45:2 . Thou art fairer — More beautiful and amiable; than the children of men — Than all other men. Which is most true of Christ, but not of Solomon; whom many have excelled, if not in wisdom, yet in holiness and righteousness, which is the chief part of the beauty celebrated in this Psalm. Grace is poured into thy lips — God hath plentifully poured into thy mind and tongue the gift of speaking wisely, eloquently, and acceptably, so as to find grace with, and communicate grace to, the hearers. This was in some sort true of Solomon, but far more eminently of Christ, Isaiah 50:4 ; Luke 4:22 ; John 7:46 . The former clause refers to his inward perfections, and this to his ability and readiness to communicate them to others. Therefore God hath blessed thee, &c. — The psalmist does not mean that the beauty and grace, now mentioned, were the meritorious cause of the blessings which he speaks of, for they were the free gifts of God, and therefore, properly speaking, the effects and not the cause of God’s blessing. But the sense of the clause is, Because God hath so eminently adorned and qualified thee for rule, therefore he hath intrusted and blessed thee with an everlasting kingdom. Psalm 45:3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. Psalm 45:3-4 . Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty — “Having described the beauty and eloquence of the king, the prophet now proceeds to set forth his power, and to arm him as a warrior for the battle.” The sword of the Messiah, which is here put, by a synecdoche, for all his arms, is his Word, which, in the language of St. Paul, is said to be quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and is represented by St. John as a sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, Hebrews 4:12 ; Revelation 1:19 . With this he smites his enemies, and with this he subdues the nations, and enlarges and establishes his kingdom, both in the earth and in the hearts of his people. With thy glory and thy majesty — Or, which is thy glory and thy majesty; that is, which sword or word is the great instrument of maintaining and spreading thy honour, glory, and kingdom. Or, as Bishop Patrick paraphrases the clause, “Appear like thyself in such splendour and majesty, as may serve for an emblem of that most illustrious power and sovereign authority, wherein the omnipotent Lord of all the world shall show himself among men.” And in thy majesty — Being thus magnificently girt and armed; ride prosperously — March on speedily and successfully against thine enemies; because of truth, &c. — Hebrew, ?? ??? ??? , gnal debar emeth, upon the word of truth, that is, the gospel; which is called the word of truth, Ephesians 1:13 , and may no less truly be called the word of meekness, because it is not delivered with terror, as the law was at Sinai, but meekly and sweetly; and the word of righteousness, because it brings in everlasting righteousness, and strongly excites all men to the practice of righteousness and holiness. And so the gospel is compared to a horse or chariot, upon which Christ is said to ride, when the gospel is preached, and carried about from place to place. And this may be here added, to show the great difference between the kingdoms of the world, which are managed and governed with outward pomp and glory, and the kingdom of Christ, which is a spiritual kingdom, not of this world, and like the spouse, mentioned Psalm 45:13 : all glorious within, as consisting in spiritual graces and virtues, truth, meekness, and righteousness. And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things — Thou shalt do great and glorious exploits, which shall be terrible to thine enemies, as the next verse explains it, and this not by great forces, and the assistance of others, but by thine own single power, Isaiah 63:3 . But the phrase, thy right hand shall teach thee, is not to be taken properly, for so he taught his hand, not his hand him; but the meaning is, that his hand should show him, discover, and work before him. The LXX. render it, ???????? ?? ????????? , thy right hand shall guide, or direct thee wonderfully. Psalm 45:4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Psalm 45:5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Psalm 45:5 . Thine arrows are sharp, &c. — The allusion to an earthly conqueror is still continued. The arrows mean the same with the sword, both denoting the instruments wherewith he conquers his enemies; which are the truths, precepts, threatenings, promises, &c., of his word. These, when accompanied by the influences of the Holy Spirit, are sharp and powerful, and pierce the hearts of men with conviction of sin, shame, and sorrow, producing frequently terror, dismay, and exquisite distress for a time, till sinners are humbled, subdued, and reconciled. In the heart of the king’s enemies — Of thine enemies, the third person being put for the second, as is frequently done in prophetical writings; and the word king being here brought in probably to describe the persons against whom the arrows are shot, and the reason thereof, because they were enemies of his kingdom, and would not be subject to him. Whereby the people fall under thee — Either slain by thine arrows, or prostrate at thy feet, after the manner of conquered persons. Those that were by nature enemies are thus wounded, in order to their being reduced, reconciled, and made subject to this king; and those that persist in their enmity, in order to their being ruined and destroyed. The arrows of God’s terrors are sharp in their hearts, that they may so fall under him as to be made his footstool, Psalm 110:1 ; that, as they would not submit to his golden sceptre, and have him to reign over them, they may be broken by his iron rod, and slain before him. Psalm 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Psalm 45:6 . Thy throne, O God, &c. — It is evident that the speech is still continued to the same person whom he calls king, Psalm 45:1 ; Psalm 45:11 ; and here God, to assure us that he doth not speak of Solomon, but of a far greater king, who is not only a man, but the mighty God, Isaiah 9:6 . For though the name Elohim, or God, be sometimes given in Scripture to some creatures, yet, in those cases, it is always clogged with some diminishing expression, signifying that they are only made, or called gods, and that only for a certain time and purpose; (see Exodus 4:16 ; Exodus 7:1 ; Psalm 82:6 ; and it is nowhere put simply and absolutely for any person but him, who is God, blessed for ever, Romans 9:5 . Is for ever and ever — Namely, properly, and in thine own person, in which, as he lives for ever, so he must necessarily reign for ever; whereas David, whose throne was said to be established for ever, 2 Samuel 7:16 , was a mortal man, and therefore that promise was not intended of, nor could be fulfilled in, his person, without including his seed, and especially the Messiah. And, as he here gives to the Messiah the name of God, which was never given to David nor Solomon, so he ascribes an everlasting kingdom to him, in such a sense as was never given to them. So Daniel 2:44 ; Daniel 7:14 . The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre — The sceptres of earthly princes are often swayed with great injustice and manifold iniquities, which lay the foundation of their overthrow; but thou rulest with exact righteousness and equity, and therefore thy throne is established, Proverbs 16:12 . Psalm 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Psalm 45:7 . Thou lovest righteousness, &c. — Thou not only doest that which is good, and avoidest that which is evil, which even bad princes and men may do, and often actually do for political and prudential reasons; but thou doest these things from a pure and internal principle, from a sincere and most fervent love of righteousness, and an implacable hatred of all wickedness. The Lord Jesus has made it appear, by the holiness of his life, the merit of his death, and the great design of his gospel, that he loves righteousness; for by his example, his satisfaction, his precepts, and the influences of his grace and Spirit, he has brought in an everlasting righteousness: and his hatred to wickedness is equally manifest, for never did God’s hatred to sin appear so fully as in the sufferings of Christ. Therefore God, thy God — According to thy human nature, John 20:17 ; though in respect of thy divine nature thou art his fellow, Zechariah 13:7 , and one with him, John 10:30 . Hath anointed thee — Because thou hast given so many and great proofs of thy love to righteousness, and of thy hatred to sin; and that not only by the constant course of thy life, but also, and especially, by thy death and passion, therefore God hath raised and exalted thee far above all men and angels, to a state of joy and endless glory at his right hand: which is fully expressed by the oil of gladness. For anointing doth not always signify the conferring of inward gifts and endowments, but sometimes only the designation or inauguration of a person to some high dignity or employment, as Ezekiel 28:14 , and elsewhere. This seems to be the true sense of the clause, and is, for substance, the same thing which is expressed in other words, Php 2:8-10 , namely, the glorious exaltation of Christ, in reward of his obedience unto death. It is true, however, that Christ, as man and Mediator, in order that he might govern his kingdom in that perfectly righteous manner here intended, was anointed by God with his Holy Spirit, in a peculiar manner; was endowed with gifts and graces above his fellows, above all those that ever were anointed, whether prophets, priests, or kings, whether men or angels; to the comfort and refreshment, not only of his own heart, but of the hearts of all his people. For it pleased the Father that in him, should all fulness dwell, and that out of his fulness his people should receive grace upon grace. Psalm 45:8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. Psalm 45:8 . All thy garments smell of myrrh, &c. — Wherewith they used to perfume their garments, Genesis 27:27 . This may denote those glorious and sweet-smelling virtues, which, as they were treasured up inwardly in Christ’s heart, so did they manifest themselves outwardly, and give forth a grateful smell in the whole course of his life and actions; his doctrine also was a sweet savour unto God and men, 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 . Out of the ivory palaces — The king is here supposed to reside in his ivory palaces, and his garments are so fragrant that they not only perfume the whole palace in which he is, but the sweet savour is perceived by those that pass by them; all which is poetically said, and with allusion to Solomon’s glorious garments and palaces. The heavenly mansions may not unfitly be called ivory palaces, as elsewhere, in the same figurative manner, they are said to be adorned with gold and precious stones; from which mansions Christ came into the world; into which Christ went, and where he settled his abode after he went out of the world; and from whence he poured forth all the fragrant gifts and graces of his Spirit. Although there is no necessity to strain every particular circumstance in such poetical descriptions; for some expressions may be used only as ornaments, as they are in parables; and it may suffice to know, that the excellences of the King Christ are described by things in which earthly potentates place their glory. Whereby they have made thee glad — Or, thou art made glad by the sweet smell of thy garments out of those ivory palaces, or the effusion of the gifts and graces of thy Spirit from heaven; which, as it is a great blessing to those who receive them, so doth it rejoice the heart of Christ, both as it is a demonstration of his own power and glory, and as it is the instrument of bringing souls to God. Psalm 45:9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Psalm 45:9 . Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women — Among them that attend upon thy spouse, as the manner was in nuptial solemnities. As the queen is the church in general, so these honourable women are particular believers, who are daily added to the church, Acts 2:47 . And although the church is made up of particular believers, yet she is distinguished from them for the decency of the parable, as the whole is often distinguished in our minds from the parts of which it consists, and as the daughters of Jerusalem are distinguished from the spouse in the book of Canticles, though the spouse (the church) be wholly made up of them. And these believers may be said to be kings’ daughters, because, among others, many persons of royal race embraced the faith, and because they are, in a spiritual sense, kings unto God, Revelation 1:6 . On thy right hand — The most honourable place; did stand the queen — In the posture of a servant; to show that although she is a queen, yet she is also his subject to serve and obey him. Or, rather, as ???? , nitzebah, signifies, is placed, or seated, which seems more agreeable to the dignity of a queen, 1 Kings 2:19 , and of a spouse at the nuptial solemnity. In gold of Ophir — Clothed in the richest garments, made of the choicest gold; by which he designs the graces wherewith the church is adorned. Psalm 45:10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; Psalm 45:10 . Hearken, &c. — The prophet, having hitherto spoken to the bridegroom, addresses himself now to the bride or queen. O daughter — He speaks like an elder person, and as her spiritual father and counsellor; Consider, and incline thine ear — He useth several words signifying the same thing, to show his serious and earnest desire of her good, and the great importance and difficulty of practising the following counsel. Forget also — Comparatively; thine own people, and thy father’s house — He alludes to the law of matrimony, Genesis 2:24 , and to what Solomon said, or should have said, to Pharaoh’s daughter, to wean her from the idolatry and other vices of her father’s house. But this, as well as the rest of the Psalm, respects Christ, and is a seasonable and necessary advice and command to all persons that desire to be united to him, whether Jews or Gentiles, to cast off all their old errors and prejudices, all those superstitious, or idolatrous, or wicked opinions, or practices, which they had received by long, and ancient, and, as they might suppose, venerable tradition, from their fathers, and to give themselves up entirely to Christ to be instructed by him, to receive his doctrine, and obey his precepts, though they might seem new to them. Reader, art thou coming to Christ to give up thy name to him? Remember, thou art now entering into a new state; let old things, therefore, pass away; regard no more thy connections with earth; let the love, and, if possible, the very memory of thy former condition, be obliterated from thy mind; hate, comparatively, father and mother, and all that is dear to thee in the world; that is, love them less than Christ, and his honour, and thy interest in him, Luke 14:26 . Psalm 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. Psalm 45:11 . So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty — So shalt thou be amiable in the eyes of thy husband, and truly acceptable and dear to him, who, having purchased and betrothed thee to himself, justly requires thy whole heart, thy undivided love; and his affection, and the complacency which he will take in thee, will abundantly recompense thee for the loss of thy father’s house. For he is thy Lord — As he is thy husband, and also as he is thy King and God, he is thy Lord, and justly claims thy unlimited service and adoration: therefore worship thou him — Not only submit to his government, but give him divine honours: worship him as God and Lord. Honour the Son, in obedience to the divine command, even as thou honourest the Father: nay, in honouring the Son thou wilt honour the Father: for if thou confess that Christ is Lord and pay thy homage to him accordingly, it will be to the glory of God the Father, Php 2:11 . Psalm 45:12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. Psalm 45:12 . The daughter of Tyre shall be there — That is, the people of Tyre; as the daughter of Zion or Jerusalem, is put for their inhabitants: he mentions the Tyrians, because they, among others, and before many others, were to be converted to Christ, Matthew 11:21 ; Mark 3:8 ; Mark 7:24 ; Acts 21:3-5 ; but they are here put for all the Gentiles, whom that city fitly represented as being the mart of the nations, as she is called Isaiah 23:3 . With a gift — To testify their homage, which was done by gifts or presents; and to procure thine and thy Lord’s favour. Even the rich — Of other nations. Psalm 45:13 The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. Psalm 45:13 . The King’s daughter — The spouse, so called, because she was the daughter of one king, and the wife of another: intending the church of Christ; is all glorious within — In internal graces and gifts, with which she is adorned and accomplished. Her clothing is of wrought gold — Her internal perfections do not rest within her, but break forth into virtuous and honourable actions, wherewith she is adorned in the view of the world. Psalm 45:14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. Psalm 45:14-15 . She shall be brought unto the king — He alludes to the custom of conducting the bride to the bridegroom’s house; in raiment of needlework — The image of God, the divine nature, the robe of righteousness, the garment of salvation. The virgins, her companions — Her bride-maidens, attending upon her, called the honourable women, Psalm 45:9 . (where see the note,) and here virgins, because of their spiritual purity and chastity, 2 Corinthians 11:2 . With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought — Full of joy, for the glory and felicity of the bride and bridegroom, and for the comfort and benefit which redound to themselves therefrom. Psalm 45:15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. Psalm 45:16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. Psalm 45:16 . Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, &c. — Having directed his speech to the bride, he now returns to the bridegroom, as may be gathered both from the Hebrew words, which are of the masculine gender, and from the next verse, which unquestionably belongs unto him. And therefore this cannot be understood of Solomon, and his marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter, because he had no children by her, and but very few by all his wives and concubines; and his children were so far from being made princes in all the earth, that they enjoyed but a small part of their father’s dominions, but this was fully accomplished in Christ; who, instead of his fathers of the Jewish nation, had a numerous posterity of Christians of all the nations of the earth, which here and elsewhere are called princes and kings, because of their great power with God and with men. Psalm 45:17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. Psalm 45:17 . I will make thy name to be remembered, &c. — As he began the Psalm with the celebration of the King’s praises, so now he ends with it, and adds this important circumstance, that this nuptial song should not only serve for the present solemnity, but should be remembered and sung in all successive generations: which plainly shows that it was not composed upon such a slight and transitory occasion as that of Solomon’s marriage, which was soon forgotten, and which, indeed, the Israelites had little cause to remember with any satisfaction; but upon that great, and glorious, and everlasting marriage between Christ and his church, in which it is most properly and literally verified. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 45:1 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Psalm 45:1-17 THIS is an epithalamion or ode on a king’s marriage. The usual bewildering variety of conjectures as to his identity meets us in commentaries. The older opinion points to Solomon’s marriage to an Egyptian princess, to which it is objected that he was not a warrior king, as the monarch of the psalm is. Hitzig regards "daughter of Tyre," in Psalm 45:12 as a vocative, and therefore looks for a king who married a Tyrian woman. He is obliged to go to the northern kingdom to find one, and pitches on Ahab because Jezebel was the daughter of "a king of the Zidonians," and Ahab had an "ivory house". { 1 Kings 22:39 } It is hard to believe that that wedded pair of evil memory are the originals of the lovely portraits in the psalm, or that a psalmist would recognise the kingdom of Israel as divinely established and to be eternally upheld. Besides, the construction of Psalm 45:12 on which this theory pivots, is doubtful, and the daughter of Tyre there mentioned is more probably one of the bringers of gifts to the bride. The attributes of the king and the promises for his descendants cannot be extended, without incongruity, beyond the Davidic line. Hence Delitzsch has selected Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat principally because his wife, Athaliah, was of Tyrian descent, being Jezebel’s daughter, and partly because his father had been a trader, which accounts for the allusions to gold of Ophir and ivory. These are slender grounds of identification, to say nothing of the miserable contrast which Jehoram’s reign-a dreary record of apostasy and defeat, culminating in a tragic death and a dishonoured grave { 2 Chronicles 21:1-20 } -would present to the psalm. Some commentators have thought of the marriage of a Persian king, mainly because the peculiar word for consort in Psalm 45:9 is employed for Persian queens, { Nehemiah 2:6 } and also because the Tyrians were tributary to Persia, and because the sons of the king are to be "called princes in all lands," which reminds us of Persian satraps. Ewald finally fixed on Jeroboam II of Israel. Cheyne (" Orig. of Psalt .") finds the king of the psalm in Ptolemy Philadelphus, the inspirer, as was believed, of the LXX translation, whom Josephus and Philo extol. Its author puts this identification only as "tentative." Notwithstanding his anticipatory protest against making Philadelphus’ moral character an objection, he feels that it is an objection; for he urges that its darker shades had not yet disclosed themselves, and confesses that "a haze of illusion encompassed our poet," who "overrated this Ptolemy, from taking too external a view of the Messianic promise, and being flattered by a Hellenic king’s partiality for his people" (u.s., 172). Philadelphus afterwards married his sister. His hands were red with blood. Was a Jewish psalmist likely to take "up the singing robes of a court poet" (u.s.) in honour of a Ptolemy, or to transfer the promises to the Davidic line to, and to speak of God as the God of, a foreign king? Or how, if he did, came his song to find and keep a place in the Psalter? All these conjectures show the hopelessness of identifying the person intended addressed in the psalm. It is said that a knowledge of the historical allusions in the Psalter is indispensable to enjoying it. They would often be helpful if they could be settled, but that is no reason for elevating conjecture to the place of knowledge. One reason for the failure of attempts at identification is that the language is a world too wide for the best and greatest of Jewish kings. Much in the psalm applies to a historical occasion, the marriage of some monarch; but there is much that as obviously goes beyond it. Either, then, the psalm is hyperbole, outstripping even poetical licence, or there appear in it characteristics of the ideal monarch whom the psalmist knew to be promised to Israel. Every king of Judah by descent and office was a living prophecy. The singer sees the Messiah shining, as it were, through the shadowy form of the earthly king, whose limitations and defects, no less than his excellences and glories, pointed onwards to a greater than Solomon. in whom the "sure mercies" promised to David should be facts at last. The psalm has two main divisions, prefaced by a prelude ( Psalm 45:1 ), and followed by prediction of happy issue of the marriage and enduring and wide dominion. The two main parts are respectively addressed to the royal bridegroom ( Psalm 45:2-9 ) and to the bride ( Psalm 45:10-15 ). The singer lays claim to at least poetic inspiration. His heart is seething or boiling over with goodly words, or perhaps with the joyful matter which occasions his song-namely, the royal nuptials. He dedicates his "work" (like the original meaning of "poem"-a thing made) to "a king," the absence of the definite article suggesting that the office is more prominent than the person. He sings to a king; therefore his strains must be lofty. So full is his heart that the swift words pour out as the stylus of a rapid writer races over the parchment. The previous musing has been long, the fire has burned slowly; but at last all is molten, and rushes out, fluent because fervent. The picture of the king begins with two features on which the old-world ideal of a monarch laid stress-personal beauty and gracious speech. This monarch is fairer than the sons of men. The note of superhuman excellence is struck at the outset; and though the surface reference is only to physical beauty, that is conceived of as the indication of a fair nature which moulds the fair form. "For of the soul the body form doth take; For soul is form, and doth the body make." The highest truth of this opening word is realised only in Him of whom it was also said, in apparent contradiction, but real harmony with it. "His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." The craving for "whatsoever things are lovely," like all other desires, has for its object Jesus Christ. Another kingly excellence is sweet courtesy of speech. Possibly, indeed, the "grace poured on the lips" may mean the gracious smile which moulds their curves, but more likely it refers to the kindly speech that so well becomes a mouth that can command. The sweetest examples of such words are poor beside "the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth." The psalmist’s ideal is that of a gentle king. Where else than in the King whose sceptre was a reed, not an iron rod, has it been fulfilled? "Nor know we anything more fair Than is the smile upon Thy face." From such characteristics the psalmist draws an inference-"therefore God hath blessed thee forever"; for that "therefore" does not introduce the result of the preceding excellences, but the cause of them. The psalmist knows that God has blessed the king because he sees these beauties. They are the visible signs and tokens of the Divine benediction. In its reference to Christ, the thought expressed is that His superhuman beauty is to all men the proof of a unique operation of God. Abiding divinity is witnessed by perfect humanity. The scene changes with startling suddenness to the fury of battle. In a burst of lyric enthusiasm, forgetting for a moment nuptials and wedding marches, the singer calls on the king to array himself for war and to rush on the foe. Very striking is this combination of gentleness and warrior strength-a union which has been often realised in heroic figures, which is needful for the highest type of either, and which is fulfilled in the Lamb of God, who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The king is to gird on his sword, and to array himself, as in glittering armour, in his splendour and majesty, and, thus arrayed, to mount his chariot, or, less probably, to bestride his warhorse, and hurl himself on the yielding ranks of the enemy. "Press forward, drive (or ride) on," crushing obstacles and forcing a path. But Israel’s king could be no vulgar conqueror, impelled by lust of dominion or "glory." His sword is to be girt on for the help or "on behalf of truth, meekness, and righteousness." These abstracts may be used for concretes-namely, the possessors of the qualities named. But the limitation is not necessary. The monarch’s warfare is for the spread of these. The Hebrew binds the two latter closely together by an anomalous construction, which may be represented by connecting the two words with a hyphen. They are regarded as a double star. Then follows a verse of hurry: "Thy right hand shall teach thee awe-striking deeds." He has no allies. The canvas has no room for soldiers. The picture is like the Assyrian sculptures, in which the king stands erect and alone in his chariot, a giant in comparison with the tiny figures beneath him. Like Rameses in Pentaur’s great battle song, "he pierced the line of the foe; he was all alone, no other with him." Then follow three abrupt clauses, reflecting in their fragmentary character the stress of battle: "Thine arrows are sharp-The peoples fall under thee-In the heart of the enemies of the king." The bright arrow is on the string; it whizzes; the plain is strewed with prostrate forms, the king’s shaft in the heart of each. It is no mere fanciful spiritualising which sees in this picture an adumbration of the merciful warfare of Christ all through the ages. We get to the kernel of the history of Israel when we regard it as the preparation for Christ. We understand the raison d’etre of its monarchy when we see in these poor shadows the types of the King of men, who was to be all that they should have been and were not. The world wide conflict for truth and meekness and righteousness is His conflict, and the help which is done on earth He doeth it all Himself. The psalm waits for its completion still, and will wait until the day when the marriage supper of the Lamb is preceded by the last battle and crowning victory of Him who "in righteousness doth judge and make war." All the older versions take "God," in Psalm 45:6 a, - as a vocative, while most moderns seek another construction or text. "The sum of the matter is that the only natural rendering of the received text is that of the Versions. ‘Thy throne, O God" (Cheyne, in loc. ). Three renderings have been proposed, all of which are harsh. "Thy throne is the throne of God," etc., is Ewald’s suggestion, revived from a Jewish expositor, and adopted widely by many recent commentators, and in the margin of the R.V. It is clumsy, and leaves it doubtful whether the stress of the assertion lies on the Divine appointment or on the eternal duration of the throne. "Thy God’s throne is," etc., is very questionable grammatically, and extremely harsh. The only other suggested rendering, "Thy throne is God," etc., may fairly be pronounced impossible. If the vocative construction is retained, are we shut up to Cheyne’s further opinion, that "the only natural interpretation [is] that of the Targum, Thy throne, O Jehovah"? If so, we shall be obliged to admit textual corruption; for a reference to the eternal duration of Jehovah’s dominion is quite out of place here, where the parallelism of the next clause demands some characteristic of the king’s throne corresponding to that of his sceptre, there stated. But in Exodus 21:6 ; Exodus 22:8 , and Psalm 82:6 the name God ( Elohim ) is applied to rulers and judges, on the ground, as our Lord puts it, in John 10:35 , that "unto them the word of God came"- i.e. , that they were theocratic officers. The designation, therefore, of the king as Elohim is not contrary to the Hebrew line of thought. It does not predicate divinity, but Divine preparation for and appointment to office. The recurrence of Elohim (God) in its full Divine signification in the next verse is felt by many to be an insuperable objection to recognising the lower sense here. But the emphatic "thy God," which is appended to the name in Psalm 45:7 , seems expressly intended to distinguish between the uses of the word in the two verses. August, then, as the title is, it proves nothing as to the divinity of the person addressed. We recognise the prophetic character of the psalm, and strongly believe that it points onwards to Christ the King. But we cannot take the ascription of the title "O God" as having reference to His Divine nature. Such a thought lay far beyond the prophetic horizon. The Old Testament usage, which is appealed to in order to justify the translation of the word "God" as a vocative, must govern its meaning. The careful distinction drawn by the expressions of Psalm 45:7 , between the lower and higher senses of the name, forbid the attempt to find here a premature and anomalous statement of deep truth, for which the ages were not ripe. While we, who know the full truth, may permissibly apply the psalmist’s words as its expression, we must not forget that in so doing we are going beyond their real meaning. The controversies waged over the construction of this verse have sometimes been embittered by the supposition that it was a buttress for the truth of Christ’s Divine nature. But that is a mistake. The psalm goes no further than to declare that the king is divinely endowed and appointed. It does outline a character fairer than the sons of men, which requires indwelling Deity for its realisation in humanity. But it does not speak the decisive word, which alone could solve the mystery of its requirement, by proclaiming the fact of incarnation. The perpetuity of the king’s throne is guaranteed, not only by his theocratic appointment by God, but by the righteousness of his rule. His sceptre is not a rod of iron, but "a sceptre of uprightness." He is righteous in character as well as in official acts. He "loves righteousness," and therefore cannot but "hate iniquity." His broad shield shelters all who love and seek after righteousness, and he wars against evil wherever it shows itself. Therefore his throne stands firm, and is the world’s hope. A singer who had grasped the truth that power divorced from justice could not endure was far in advance of his time. The nations have not yet learned his lesson. The vast robber kingdoms which seemed to give the lie to his faith have confirmed it by their evanescence. The king’s love of righteousness leads to his being "anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows." This anointing is not that of a coronation, but that of a feast. His "fellows" may either be other kings or his attendant companions at his marriage. The psalmist looks as deep into individual life as he has just done into politics, and ascribes to righteousness lofty powers in that region too. The heart which loves it will be joyful, whatever befalls. Conformity to the highest ideal known to a man, or, at all events, hearty love thereof, leading to efforts after it, is the surest foundation for lasting and deep joy. Since Christ is the fulfilment of the psalmist’s picture, and perfectly realised the perfection of manhood, the psalmst’s words here are most fully applicable to Him. True, He was "a man of sorrows," but beneath His sorrow had abiding and central joy, which He bequeathed to us, with the assurance that to possess it would make our joy full. His pure manhood was ever in touch with God, and lived in conscious righteousness, and therefore there was ever light within, though there was darkness around. He, the saddest, was likewise the gladdest of men, and "anointed with the oil of joy above His fellows." In Psalm 45:8 the psalm reaches its main theme-the marriage of the king. The previous verses have painted his grace of person, his heroic deeds in battle, and his righteous rule. Now he stands ready to pass into the palace to meet his bride. His festival robes are so redolent of perfumes that they seem to be composed of nothing but woven fragrance. There are difficulties in the rendering of Psalm 45:8 a, but that adopted above is generally accepted as the most probable. The clause then describes the burst of jubilant music which welcomed and rejoiced the king as he approached the "palaces of ivory," where his bride waited his coming. Psalm 45:9 carries the king into his harem. The inferior wives are of royal blood, but nearest him and superior to these is the queen-consort glittering with golden ornaments. This feature of the psalmist’s description can only have reference to the actual historical occasion of the psalm, and warns against overlooking that in seeking a prophetic reference to the Christ in every particular. The second half of the psalm is an address to the bride and a description of her beauty and state. The singer assumes a fatherly tone, speaking to her as "daughter." She is a foreigner by birth, and is called upon to give up all her former associations, with whole-hearted consecration to her new duties. It is difficult to imagine Jezebel or Athaliah as the recipient of these counsels, nor does it seem to the present writer to add anything to the enjoyment of the psalm that the person to whom they were addressed should be identified. The exhortation to give up all for love’s sake goes to the heart of the sacred relation of husband and wife, and witnesses to the lofty ideal of that relation which prevailed in Israel, even though polygamy was not forbidden. The sweet necessity of wedded love subordinates all other love, as a deeper well, when sunk, draws the surface waters and shallower springs into itself. "The rich, golden shaft Hath killed the flock of all affections else That live in her." The king sung of in the psalm was a type of Christ. Every true marriage is in the same fashion a type of the union of the soul with Jesus, the lover of all, the bridegroom of humanity. So it is not arbitrary spiritualising, but recognition of the nobleness of the lower love and of its essential similarity with the highest, when the counsel to this bride is regarded as shadowing the duties of the soul wedded to Christ. If a heart is really influenced by love to Him, that love will make self-surrender blessed. A child gladly drops toys when it stretches out its little hand for better gifts. If we are joined to Jesus, we shall not be unwilling to "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge" of Him. Have the terms of wedded life changed since this psalm was written? Have the terms of Christian living altered since it was said, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple"? The law still remains, "Daughter, forget thine own people and Thy father’s house." The exhortation is followed by a promise: "So shall the king desire thy beauty." The application of these words to the relations of Christ and His people carries with it a striking thought that He is affected by the completeness of our self-surrender and dependence. He pours love on the unworthy, but that is a different thing from the love with which He responds to such abandonment of self and other loves. Holy, noble living will bring a smile into His face and draw Him nearer to us. But whilst there is all this sweet commerce of love and giving, the bride is reminded that the king is her lord, and is to be reverenced as welt as loved. There is here, no doubt, the influence of an archaic mode of regarding marriage and the wife’s position. But it still is true that no woman finds all that her heart needs in her husband, unless she can bring her reverence where she has brought her love; and that love will not long remain if reverence departs. Nor is the warning less needed in, the higher region of the wedlock of the soul with the Saviour. Some types of emotional religion have more to say about love than about obedience. They are full of half-wholesome apostrophes to a "dear Lord," and are apt to forget the last word in the emphasis which they put on the first. The beggar maid married to a king was full of reverence as well as love; and the souls whom Jesus stoops to love and wash and wed are never to forget to blend adoration with approach and obedience with love. A picture of the reflected honour and influence of the bride follows in Psalm 45:12 . When she stands by the king’s side, those around recognise her dignity, and seek to secure her favour. Hupfeld, Hitzig, and others take "daughter of Tyre" to be a vocative, addressed to the bride, who is, according to their view, a Tyrian princess. But there is a strong grammatical objection to that construction in the copula ("and") prefixed to "daughter," which is never so prefixed to a vocative unless preceded by another vocative. Delitzsch, Baethgen, Perowne, and Cheyne agree in recognising the force of that consideration, and the three former regard the phrase not as a vocative, but as a nominative. It is a personification of the Tyrians according to a familiar idiom. The clause is elliptical, and has to be supplemented by supposing that the same verb, which appears in the next clause in the plural, is to be supplied in thought, just as that clause requires the supplement of "with a gift" from this one. There appears to be some flaw in the text, as the clauses are unsymmetrical, and possibly the punctuators have marked a hiatus by the sign ( Pasek ) after the word "daughter of Tyre." To "seek thy favour" is literally to "smooth thy face"-a graphic representation. In the highest region, which we regard the psalm as adumbrating, the words have fulfilment. The bride standing by her bridegroom, and showing her love and devotion by self-abandonment and reverence, will be glorious in the eyes of those around. They who manifestly live in loving communion with their Lord will be recognised for what they are, and, though sometimes hated therefor, will also be honoured. When the Church has cast all but Christ out of its heart, it will conquer the world. "The sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee." In Psalm 45:13-15 the bride’s apparel and nuptial procession are described. She is "all glorious within,"-by which is not meant, as ordinarily supposed, that she possesses a tuner beauty of soul, but that the poet conceives of her as standing in the inner chamber, where she has been arrayed in her splendour. Krochmal, followed by Graetz and Cheyne, changes the text so as to read corals, or, as Cheyne renders, pearls ( Heb. p’ninim ), for within ( p’ninah ), and thus preserves unity of subject in the verse by removing the local designation. But the existing reading is intelligible. In Psalm 45:14 the marriage procession is described. The words rendered "embroidered robes" are by some taken to mean "tapestry of divers colours" (Perowne), or richly woven carpets spread for the bride to walk on, and by others (Hitzig, Riehm) gay-coloured cushions, to which she is led in order to sit beside the bridegroom. But the word means apparel elsewhere, and either of the other meanings introduces an irrelevant detail of another kind into the picture. The analogy of other Scripture metaphors leads at once to interpreting the bride’s attire as symbolic of the purity of character belonging to the Church. The Apocalypse dresses "the Lamb’s wife" in "fine linen, clean and white." The psalm arrays her in garments gleaming with gold, which symbolise splendour and glory, and in embroidered robes, which suggest the patient use of the slow needle, and the variegated harmony of colour attained at last. There is no marriage between Christ and the soul, unless it is robed in the beauty of righteousness and manifold graces of character. In ether places we read that the bride "made herself ready," and also that "to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white," in which sayings are set forth the double sources of such a garment of the soul. It is a gift from above. It is "put on" by continual effort, based on faith. The picture of the homecoming of the bride follows. She is attended by her maidens, and with them she passes into the palace amid joys and exultation. The psalm stops at the threshold. It is not for the singer to draw back the curtains and let in the day. "The door was shut." The presence of virgin companions waiting on the bride no more interferes with the application of the psalm to Christ and His Church than the similar representation brings confusion into our Lord’s parable of the Ten Virgins. Parables and symbols are elastic, and often duplicate their representations of the same thing; and such is the case here. The closing verses are addressed, not to the bride, but to the king, and can only in a very modified way and partially be supposed to pass beyond the Jewish monarch and refer to the true King. Hopes that he might be blessed with fortunate issue of the marriage were quite in place in an epithalamion , and the delicacy of the light touch with which this closing note is struck is noteworthy, especially in contrast with the tone of many famous secular songs of similar import. But much straining is needed to extract a spiritual sense from the words. Perowne truly says that it is "wiser to acknowledge at once the mixed character" of the psalm, and he quotes a sagacious saying of Calvin’s to the effect that it is not necessary that every detail should be carefully fitted to Christ. The psalm had a historical basis; and it has also a prophetic meaning, because the king of Israel was himself a type, and Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the ideal never realised by its successive occupants. Both views of its nature must be kept in view in its interpretation; and it need cause no surprise if, at some points, the rind of prose fact is, so to speak, thicker than at others, or if certain features absolutely refuse to lend themselves to the spiritual interpretation. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.