Psalm 45

Alice S. Mooneyhan

“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. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever…Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows…Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace…” – Psalm 45:1-2,6-7,9-15.

Let us consider the “honorable women,” “virgins,” and “the queen,” but first let us identify the King whom David so highly extolled. In the first chapter of Hebrews, “He” is identified as the Son of God who “by himself purged our sins,” and “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” – Hebrews 1:3. That “he” is the King of Psalm 45 is confirmed by citations quoted from this Psalm. “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows” – Hebrews 1:8-9. By the Spirit, Paul applies these verses to the Man Christ Jesus whom he preached.

Revelation 19:7-8 announces the marriage of the Lamb and describes the wife of the Lamb who is clothed in fine linen, clean and white – “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” The Philadelphia church of Revelation 3:7-13 is the company who will win this honored place. Her righteousnesses are described in verses seven to ten. Her reward is stated in verse twelve – “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” This is the queen of Psalm 45.

The virgins are mentioned in Revelation 14:1,3,4 – “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.” These were sealed and anointed with the Holy Spirit, as stated in Revelation 7:4. They seem to be identical with the five wise virgins in the parable of Matthew 25, who went out to meet the Bridegroom and were welcomed unto the wedding as guest.

In John 12:1-2 we see a typical picture of the wedding feast. Mary represents the Bride who worships her Lord (Ps. 45:11). Martha represents another group of the Church (the second rank) seen in Revelation 7:9,15 – servants, “But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him” These were the guests. The others at the table are evidently Old Testament overcomers, according to Matthew 8:11, and are probably the “honorable women” of Psalm 45. In the Song of Solomon the wedding party is described in 6:8 as sixty queens (”honorable women”), concubines (servants – the second rank), virgins without number (friends of the Bridegroom and the Bride – guests), and the Bride (6:9).

The daughter of Tyre (Ps. 45:12), no doubt, represents the kings of the earth who will bring their glory and honor into the holy city – the Bride of the Lamb – “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it” – Revelation 21:24.