Psalm 45

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 45
• Sermon
• Prayer

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Sermon Title: The Royal Wedding of the Messianic King and His Bride

Scripture: Psalm 45

I. Introduction — The Psalmist's Address to the King

A. The psalmist explicitly addresses the king, making the context clear: a royal wedding B. The psalmist's tongue is "like the pen of a ready scribe" — language of inspired, lofty beauty

1. Scribes were the most respected figures in the ancient Near East
2. One Lutheran commentator translates: "my heart overflows with inspired words"
3. The words are inspired almost beyond the writer's own comprehension

II. The King's Character — Psalm 45:2–9

A. The language, though resembling common ancient Near Eastern royal flattery, is genuinely Messianic — all ancient Hebrews understood this psalm as prophesying the coming Messianic King B. The contrast between majesty and meekness mirrors the hymn Ride On, Ride On in Majesty (Henry Milman)

1. Verse 3: "Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty" — the pomp of a great king
2. Verse 4: the king rides out for truth, meekness, and righteousness — lowly pomp
3. Verse 2: "Grace is poured upon your lips" — his strength is paired with grace C. The theological tension of verses 6–7: the king is called God, yet has a God above him
4. Kidner: "It is an example of Old Testament language bursting its banks to demand a more than human fulfillment"
5. Hebrews 1:8 directly attributes verse 6 to Jesus Christ
6. The tension is resolved only in the Incarnation: Jesus is both Son of God and Son of David, both divine and subject to the Father

III. The Bride's Preparation — Psalm 45:10–12

A. "Forget your people and your father's house" — the bride is called to leave all behind and cleave to the king

1. Parallels Genesis 2:24 — a man leaves father and mother and cleaves to his wife
2. Parallels Jesus's words in Luke 9:59–62 and Luke 12:51–53 — leave father, mother, brother, sister, and follow me
3. Parallels Ruth's leaving her people to follow Naomi, and Rebecca leaving her household
4. Sarah calls Abraham "lord" in Genesis 18 — in the context of receiving the son of promise, linking forward through Galatians 3 to Christ, the one seed B. Application to marriage: a spouse who has not truly cleaved to their partner undermines the covenant bond; the same is true spiritually — Christ desires his bride's full, undivided commitment C. The result of leaving and cleaving: "the King will desire your beauty" — the king is attracted to a bride wholly devoted to him D. Verse 12 — the people of Tyre (symbol of great wealth throughout the Old Testament) bring gifts; the bride who leaves all gains far more
5. Parallels Mark 10:29–31 — those who leave houses, family, and lands for Christ receive a hundredfold now, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come
6. Coming to Christ means gaining a vast family of brothers and sisters united in him

IV. The Meeting of the King and the Bride — Psalm 45:13–15

A. Ancient Hebrew wedding custom: the bride was prepared in her father's house; the groom came with his entourage in procession; then a second procession returned to the groom's home for the wedding feast B. New Testament fulfillment:

1. John 14:2–3 — Jesus goes to prepare a place and will come to bring his people to where he is
2. Revelation 19 and Revelation 21 — the marriage supper of the Lamb; the New Jerusalem coming down as a bride adorned for her husband
3. Ephesians 5:25–27 — Christ cleansed his bride with his blood to present her to himself without spot or wrinkle C. Psalm 45 is ultimately realized in the covenantal union between Christ the King and his church

V. The Closing Address to the King — Psalm 45:16–17

A. Verse 16: "In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth"

1. Hebrews 2:10–13 — God brings many sons to glory through Christ; Christ calls them brothers; they are the children given to him
2. United to Christ, believers are raised with him above the angels (cf. Psalm 8 — man made a little lower than the angels; Hebrews 1 — Christ now exalted above the angels); Scripture speaks of believers judging angels
3. Believers become princes united to the King of Kings B. Verse 17: the everlasting rule and reign flows from the wedding itself
4. Christ's exaltation is the Father's affirmation of the Son's completed work of purchasing and wedding his bride
5. His reign is inseparable from his covenantal union with the church — he rules not as a solitary man but as a corporate representative
6. The finished work of Christ is bound up in his becoming covenant-united to his bride through his shed blood