The heading for this Psalm calls it a love song, and in it we see a bride and groom prepared for each other. But with Paul’s words in the New Testament I think we can also see Christ and the church.
In large part this is because of verses 1-9, which describe a king. This could just be a king, a king like David or Solomon, but the language points to Christ. Verse 1 is almost a statement of worship:
“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.”
Here I am to praise the King. The King described here has “grace poured upon his lips” (verse 2) which leads me to think that from his mouth grace is shared, and certainly Jesus’ words are full of God’s grace.
Also in verse 2: “God has blessed you forever.” Verse 3: “Gird your sword on your thigh, O Mighty one, in your splendor and majesty.” These are words that could be describing an earthly king, but they are also fitting to describe the King of Kings.
Verses 4 and 5 begin to blur the distinctions between this King and God. In fact, it seems as if the writer is writing about God here, because the King is doing things God does:
“In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness” (verse 4)
God is the one who fights for the weak and the righteous. But this passage is addressed to the king:
“You are the most handsome of the sons of men” (verse 2)
This is about a man, and Christ is a man. This is about God, and Christ is God. If we continue to read Jesus into this text we will find more and more how He fits perfectly. His strength destroys evil:
“Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the people fall under you.” (verse 5)
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, uses the same language:
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’” (1 Cor. 15:26-27)
But then (returning to Psalm 45), in verse 6 the writer addresses this King (and I believe he is still addressing the king, because of verse 7) as God:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness” (verse 6)
This can’t be describing David, because he died. This king is righteous, so that rules out a lot of succeeding kings…and they also died. No, this has to about Jesus, who rules by righteousness and whose throne is forever and ever. No other king can claim that.
Also, the writer calls him God, and in verse 7 he makes a distinction in Trinitarian language:
“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions”
“God, your God” is addressed to the king the writer just called God. It’s Jesus and the Father. “God, your God has anointed you” – “Christ” means “anointed one.”
“…with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” The New Testament describes Christ as the most exalted, the most beloved, beyond anyone else – He is given a better seat than anybody else, He is held in a place of honor higher than anybody else. This can’t be talking about God the Father because God the Father doesn’t have any companions, which I mean as “equals” or “contemporaries”. Nobody else is like God, God has no peers or classmates from ’00. But Jesus, having become a man – while staying fully God – He can call other men and women peers and companions, and in Mark 3:34-35 Jesus calls those who do the will of God his brothers and sisters.
One last detail on verses 1-9: “your robes are all fragrant with myrrh” – I need to find out more about myrrh, like what the heck it is, but I can’t help seeing the Jesus connection here.
Now the psalm shifts to a bride and a wedding. Who could this great king be marrying? The language here also points to more than what’s on the surface, it points to the Church.
The writer tells the bride to “forget your people and your father’s house” (verse 10). That seems to be a small detail wedding in a regular wedding, but in Christ-Church language it is a call to the broken, the weary, the sinners. Forget where you came from, because you now belong to Christ.
For some reason the writer ties that into this idea: “and the king will desire your beauty” (verse 10). If we abandon sin and lift our lives and our hearts to God – if we accept Christ – we will be made righteous like Him. We, as a church, will be beautiful and pleasing to our King. And, “Since he is your lord, bow to him” (verse 11).
This leads to a wedding, and the Bible is full of wedding imagery. Jesus’ first miracle is at a wedding. In Revelation, at the end of time those made righteous by Christ (His church) are led to Jesus in the biggest wedding ever. A wedding is happy, and joyous, it’s about a covenant (and Jesus is the new covenant) and commitment. It’s a time of happiness – “With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king” (verse 15). We are happy at weddings because two together made into one are better than two apart. The Church needs Christ, and when He is finally here we will wonder how we ever got along without Him – that is, Him in the flesh, because He is already ever present (Matthew 28:18-20).
This marriage between Christ and the church, God and man, is celebrated throughout scripture. Isaiah writes:
“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed…
For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name…
For the LORD has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.” (Isaiah 54:4, 5, 6)
Finally, the writer of Psalm 45 turns back to addressing the King:
“I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.” (verse 17)
Since He was born Jesus has been sought after to worship, His name has always been the most important and He is the most important person in all of history. “Nations will praise you” – just like Rev. 7:9-10 we see:
“…a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (verse 9).
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