The Divine Marriage – Psalm 45 – The Messianic Psalms
What is a Maschil (title: “Contemplation”)?
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
It denotes a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety, a didactic song.
Instructing, occurs in the title of thirteen Psalms (32, 42, 44, etc.). (https://www.kingjamesbibledictionary.com/Dictionary/Maschil#:~:text=Easton’s%20Bible%20Dictionary,great%20skill%20in%20its%20execution.)
… literally, enlightened, intellectual (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maskil#:~:text=:%20a%20person%20versed%20in%20Hebrew,adherent%20of%20the%20Haskalah%20movement)
So, what does this psalm teach us?
Titled, “A Song of Love”
Verse 1. Speaks of being Inspired.
Verses. 2-5.
You are fairer than the sons of men;
Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One,
With Your glory and Your majesty.
And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness;
And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things. (vv2-5)
Reminiscent of Revelation 19:11&ff.
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He [e]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in [f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a [g]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16)
But this is NOT A VISION OF WAR, but a victorious or ceremonial procession
Verses 6,7 quoted in Hebrews 1:8,9 – addressed to Jesus Christ – not merely an angel.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
Verses 10,11.
Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
This is a wedding song. How can anyone be “wedded” to Jesus?
Our reading from Luke:
They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:27)
Elsewhere, in Luke (also in Matthew and Mark), addressing the Sadducees:
Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; (Luke 20:34,35 [Mark 12:25; Matthew 22:30])
Jesus CONTRASTS “marrying and given in marriage” with those “counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead …”
NEGATIVELY, marriage refers to confirming worldly and selfish desires
BUT POSITIVELY, marriage speaks of the church (Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:19; John 3:29; Revelation 21:9; 22:17).
Verse 10b.
Forget your own people also, and your father’s house; …
And verse 16.
Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons,
Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.
Reminds me of:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
Leaving our heredity behind and being wedded to the Lord, there is productivity and prosperity.
From Facebook:
Two principles for a happy life:
- Use things, not people.
- Love people, not things.
“As for the way love and wisdom form a unity in things beneath or outside us–in the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom–this will come up throughout the following pages. I may mention three things by way of preface. First, there was a marriage of goodness and truth in the universe and in absolutely everything in it that the Lord created. Second, this marriage was broken up in us after creation. Third, it is a goal of divine providence that what has been broken apart should become a whole and therefore that the marriage of goodness and truth should be restored.” (Divine Providence, 9)