Psalm 45

Psalm 45 belongs to Book II of the Psalter (Psalms 42–72) and is one of the psalms of the sons of Korah that begin with Psalm 42. The preceding Psalm 44 is a lament in which a defeated people appeal to God. Psalm 45 changes mood, becoming a song that celebrates the king's wedding.

Outline

• Verse 1 The poet opens by announcing that he will recite the song he has composed for the king.
• Verses 2–5 The psalm celebrates the king's beauty and grace. It prays that the king will gird on his sword and ride forth victoriously for the cause of truth, meekness, and righteousness.
• Verses 6–7 The psalm declares that the throne is everlasting and that the scepter (the staff symbolizing royal authority) is a scepter of righteousness. Because the king loves righteousness, God has anointed him with the oil of gladness.
• Verses 8–9 The psalm depicts the king's garments, fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia, and the music of stringed instruments from the ivory palaces. The queen, adorned in gold of Ophir, stands at the king's right hand.
• Verses 10–12 The daughter (the bride) is urged to forget her own people and her father's house. The daughter of Tyre brings a gift.
• Verses 13–15 The king's daughter, clothed in garments wrought with gold, and her virgin companions are led into the king's palace with gladness.
• Verses 16–17 The psalm concludes that the king's sons will take the place of their fathers and become princes in all the earth, and that the king's name will be remembered in all generations.

Key Verses

• Psalm 45:6–7 "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever…" Hebrews 1:8–9 quotes this passage as spoken of the Son (Christ).
• Psalm 45:10 "Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house." This is the central verse of the exhortation addressed to the bride.

People and Places

• The king An unnamed king of Israel.
• The queen and the king's daughter (the bride) The bride who is brought to the king.
• The sons of Korah The transmitters of this psalm named in the superscription; a Levitical family responsible for song in the temple.
• Ophir A place known as a source of fine gold.
• Tyre A wealthy port city on the Mediterranean coast.

Points for Reflection

• The text does not identify the king. Some regard the psalm as a wedding song of Solomon. Others, citing the references to Tyre and to the ivory palace (1 Kings 22:39), see it as celebrating the marriage of Ahab. Neither view has been established.
• Interpreters differ on verse 6, which appears to address the king as "O God." Some translations render the phrase with a meaning such as "the throne that God has established."
• Following Hebrews 1, Christian tradition reads this king as Christ the Messiah. It identifies the bride as the Church and connects her with Ephesians 5:31–32 and with the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation. Identifying the bride as the Church is a traditional interpretation, not something the psalm itself states directly.
• The Targum, the Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of Scripture, is also reported to interpret this king as the Messiah.