"To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.
My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
5 Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king's enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12 The people of Tyre will seek your favour with gifts,
the richest of the people.
13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
with her virgin companions following behind her.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
you will make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever."
Psalm 45
The second lesson we can draw from the Psalm relates to the great Bridegroom of the soul as He is portrayed here. We see first of all the grace of His Person (2), then His heroic deeds in battle (3-5), and finally (6, 7) His righteous rule (on the merely human level here is a pretty comprehensive portrait of the kind of man a Christian man should be!). In relation to the grace of His Person, what is being conveyed is the sheer attractiveness of Christ. The Psalmist's ideal is that of a gentle King, but His gentleness is something that draws and challenges and captures the hearts of men. Gentleness is not a weak thing, it is possible only in big people. And paradoxically, the gentle Christ has warrior strength: the Lamb of God is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The aim of all His goings forth is the cause of truth, clemency and justice. His sceptre is a sceptre of righteousness. He loves righteousness and hates iniquity. Is not this the vision we need today, to know that on the throne of the universe there sits a righteous God and Lord, and that righteous principles, not meaninglessness or relative values, are built into the structure of the world. This is our Christ. In the second half of the Psalm (10-17) - this is the third lesson it teaches - attention is turned to the bride. And we learn, in the advice given to her, the true attitude of the believer to the Lord. The actual marriage itself is depicted in 8, 9 and 10ff depict true wifely attitudes and behaviour. The exhortation to 'forget also thine own people, and thy father's house' inevitably find an echo in our Lord's words in Luke 14:26 (which see). Jesus requires a full surrender of our lives to Him. He must be undisputedly first in our hearts. Nothing else will do, for this belongs to the nature of a love relationship. But the promise and reward of such surrender is made very clear in 11a (but when protestations of love do duty for obedience and reverence we must beware, 11b). The bride is all glorious, but it is with a borrowed glory and all bestowed by Him (12, 13). Her dignity and royal demeanour are His gift. What is spoken of in 15 is the ultimate beatitude for all believers - 'they shall enter into the King's palace'. How very wonderful!