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A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

To the Chief Musician; set to the [tune of] “Lilies.” A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. A Song of Love.

45 [a]My heart overflows with a good theme;
I address my psalm to the King.
My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

You are fairer than the sons of men;
Graciousness is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.


Strap Your sword on Your thigh, O mighty One,
In Your splendor and Your majesty!

And in Your majesty ride on triumphantly
For the cause of truth and humility and righteousness;
Let Your right hand guide You to awesome things.

Your arrows are sharp;
The peoples (nations) fall under You;
Your arrows pierce the hearts of the King’s enemies.


[b]Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness (virtue, morality, justice) and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, your God, has anointed You
Above Your companions with the oil of jubilation.(A)

All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia;
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.

Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

10 
Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear [to my instruction]:
Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 
Then the King will desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, bow down and honor Him.
12 
The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
The rich among the people will seek your favor.

13 
Glorious is the King’s daughter within [the palace];
Her robe is interwoven with gold.(B)
14 
She will be brought to the King in embroidered garments;
The virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 
With gladness and rejoicing will they be led;
They will enter into the King’s palace.

16 
In place of your fathers will be [c]your sons;
You shall make princes in all the land.
17 
I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the peoples will praise and give You thanks forever and ever.

God the Refuge of His People.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to soprano voices. A Song.

46 God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],
A very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,

Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.


There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.


Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.

God the King of the Earth.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

47 O clap your hands, all you people;
Shout to God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy.

For the Lord Most High is to be feared [and worshiped with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];
He is a great King over all the earth.

He subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.

He chooses our inheritance for us,
The glory and excellence of Jacob whom He loves.(C) Selah.


God has ascended amid shouting,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises in a skillful psalm and with understanding.

God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.

The princes of the people have gathered together as the people of the God of Abraham,
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is highly exalted.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 45:1 Jesus spoke of what was written of Him “in the Psalms” (see Luke 24:44). This is one such Messianic psalm; however, the capitalization indicating the deity is provided with the understanding that the chapter is written against the background of an ordinary royal wedding with anonymous participants. The New Testament reference to this psalm is in Heb 1:8, 9, where vv 6, 7 is quoted and applied to Christ. The preceding verses could also be applied to Christ, as well as most of the following verses referring to the King. However, v 16 can only apply to a mortal king (see note there).
  2. Psalm 45:6 This verse has mystified many commentators since God is distinguished from the King in vv 2 and 7, and various translations have been proposed to make the Hebrew rendered “O God” something other than a reference to the deity of the King. But the writer of Hebrews clearly understood it this way.
  3. Psalm 45:16 Unlike the other references to the King, this verse cannot be applied prophetically to Christ because He had no children. But it is not unusual for a prophecy to have more than one fulfillment (typically in the near future of the prophecy and another in the distant future), and by analogy there is no reason why this psalm cannot refer both to an ordinary king and to the future Messianic King.

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