A King and His Bride

Psalms 45:6-7

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions

...............

This chapter stands out in the Psalms for several reasons. The first and most obvious is that this song is not primarily directed to God. We have gotten used to these prayers and petitions addressing God directly, and then we are greeted with this romantic love song about a king and his bride. Why is it here and what does it mean for us?

Surely we can relate to a love song. Our culture today is filled with pop radio hits which linger on the emotional and physical details of lovers. We are built for relationship and every culture and people have given voice to their love through song. The Hebrews were no exception.

This Psalm first addresses Israel's king. The writer gushes with admiration for this mighty leader. What strikes me most is that the king is praised for both his meekness and his military strength, for both loving righteousness and hating wickedness. The takeaway: a good leader and a good government is marked by this twofold character. That every act of strength against an enemy must have a heart of love and righteousness behind it.

The second half of the psalm addresses the king's bride. She is encouraged to leave her family and commit herself completely to him. Her clothing and her companions are described in turn, rich adornments for her beauty. Like the king, the emphasis is on how blessed and how glad she must be. This is a celebration of the bride and their committed relationship.

As we've seen throughout the Psalms, while there is a clear meaning rooted in the writer's own time and place, there is also a secondary reference to our own Messiah and King: Jesus. I can say that with confidence because verses 6-7 are quoted directly by the author of the letter to the Hebrews hundreds of years later (Heb. 1:8-9). The New Testament writer used this Psalm along with several other passages to highlight Jesus' authority, power, and worth above all angels or earthly powers. His kingship is the government par excellence, taking the characteristics that the psalmist praised to the ultimate degree.

Likewise we can project the praises for the bride onto the ultimate bride of Christ, the Church. For what is the image that the book of Revelation uses to picture the final culmination of redemption history? A wedding! A great feast where our bridegroom finally reunites with the lover he purchased with his own blood. May we learn to revel in this cerebration and marvel at his grace and majesty.

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

"Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."
(Revelation 19:6‭-‬9)