Psalm 45:4
In your splendor ride forth in victory on behalf of truth and humility and justice; may your right hand show your awesome deeds.
In your majesty
The word "majesty" in Hebrew is "הֲדָרֶךָ" (hadareka), which conveys a sense of splendor, magnificence, and regal authority. This phrase sets the tone for the verse, emphasizing the kingly and divine nature of the one being addressed. In a conservative Christian perspective, this can be seen as a foreshadowing of Christ's majestic return, where His divine authority and splendor will be fully revealed. The majesty of Christ is not just in His appearance but in His righteous character and divine mission.

ride forth
The imagery of riding forth suggests action, movement, and purpose. In ancient times, a king or warrior riding forth would be a symbol of power and intent to conquer or achieve a mission. The Hebrew root "רָכַב" (rakav) implies not just riding but doing so with authority and purpose. This can be seen as a call to Christ's active role in the world, advancing His kingdom and purposes with divine authority.

in the cause of truth
The Hebrew word for "truth" is "אֱמֶת" (emet), which signifies reliability, faithfulness, and stability. Truth is foundational to God's character and His kingdom. In a world often marked by deception and falsehood, the cause of truth is a divine mission. For Christians, this underscores the importance of aligning with God's truth as revealed in Scripture and embodied in Jesus Christ, who declared Himself to be "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

humility
The Hebrew term "עֲנָוָה" (anavah) for humility is intriguing, as it combines the ideas of gentleness and meekness with strength under control. This is not weakness but a deliberate choice to submit to God's will and serve others. In the context of this psalm, it highlights the paradox of divine kingship—where true greatness is demonstrated through humble service. Jesus exemplified this in His life and ministry, offering a model for believers to emulate.

and justice
"Justice" in Hebrew is "צֶדֶק" (tsedeq), which encompasses righteousness, fairness, and moral integrity. Justice is a key attribute of God's character and a central theme in the Bible. It involves setting things right and ensuring that righteousness prevails. For Christians, this is a call to pursue justice in their own lives and communities, reflecting God's heart for the oppressed and marginalized.

let your right hand
The "right hand" is a biblical symbol of power and authority. In ancient cultures, the right hand was associated with strength and skill. The Hebrew word "יָמִין" (yamin) signifies not just physical power but also the ability to execute plans and achieve goals. In this context, it suggests divine intervention and the execution of God's will through His chosen king, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

achieve awesome deeds
The phrase "awesome deeds" in Hebrew is "נוֹרָאוֹת" (nora'ot), which conveys acts that inspire awe and reverence. These are not ordinary deeds but those that reveal God's power and majesty. In the biblical narrative, God's awesome deeds often involve deliverance, judgment, and the establishment of His kingdom. For believers, this is a reminder of God's active presence in the world, working through His people to accomplish His purposes and bring about His kingdom.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The King
The psalm is a royal wedding song, traditionally understood to refer to a king of Israel, often seen as a type of the Messiah.

2. The Messiah
In Christian interpretation, this psalm is often seen as a prophetic reference to Jesus Christ, the ultimate King.

3. The Wedding
The context of the psalm is a royal wedding, symbolizing the union between Christ and His Church.

4. The Nations
The psalm speaks to the influence and reach of the king's reign, extending to all nations.

5. The Right Hand
Symbolizes power and authority, often associated with divine intervention and strength.
Teaching Points
Majesty and Humility
True majesty is found in humility. As followers of Christ, we are called to emulate His humility even as we recognize His majesty.

Truth and Justice
Our lives should be marked by a commitment to truth and justice, reflecting the character of our King.

Divine Empowerment
Just as the king's right hand achieves awesome deeds, we are empowered by God to accomplish His purposes.

Victory in Christ
Our ultimate victory is found in Christ, who rides forth victoriously. We can trust in His triumph over sin and death.

Christ as the Bridegroom
The imagery of the wedding invites us to consider our relationship with Christ as His bride, the Church, and to live in faithful devotion to Him.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of a victorious king in Psalm 45:4 enhance your understanding of Christ's role as King in your life?

2. In what ways can you pursue truth, humility, and justice in your daily interactions and decisions?

3. How does the concept of divine empowerment encourage you in facing challenges or tasks that seem daunting?

4. Reflect on the connection between Psalm 45:4 and Revelation 19. How does this enhance your anticipation of Christ's return?

5. Considering the wedding imagery in Psalm 45, how can you deepen your relationship with Christ as part of His bride, the Church?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Revelation 19
This chapter describes Christ as the victorious rider on a white horse, paralleling the imagery of majesty and victory in Psalm 45:4.

Isaiah 11
This passage speaks of the Messiah's reign characterized by righteousness and justice, echoing the themes of truth, humility, and justice.

Philippians 2
Highlights Christ's humility and exaltation, connecting to the call for humility in Psalm 45:4.

Hebrews 1
Quotes Psalm 45, affirming its messianic interpretation and applying it to Jesus.

Ephesians 6
Discusses the armor of God, which includes the sword of the Spirit, aligning with the imagery of the king's right hand achieving awesome deeds.
The Captain of Salvation Riding Prosperously in the Gospel-Chariot and Bringing Terrible Things to PassT. Bonnet.Psalm 45:4
The Conquest of the World by MeeknessR. Ferguson, LL. D.Psalm 45:4
The Kingship of ChristW. Forsyth Psalm 45:1-6
A Good MatterThomas SpurgeonPsalm 45:1-17
A Gude Word for the KingPsalm 45:1-17
A Missionary DiscourseSketches of Four Hundred SermonsPsalm 45:1-17
A Unique KingHomilistPsalm 45:1-17
Concerning the KingJ. Thomas, M. A.Psalm 45:1-17
The Conquests of MessiahAnon.Psalm 45:1-17
The Excellency of ChristPsalm 45:1-17
The Excellency of ChristPsalm 45:1-17
The Glories of the Eternal KingC. Clemance Psalm 45:1-17
The Glory of Christ Partially DescribedPsalm 45:1-17
The Song of the Heavenly NuptialsD. McLean.Psalm 45:1-17
The Things Concerning Zion's King, Good Matters to All HiPsalm 45:1-17
Christ a Mighty ConquerorRobert Cairns.Psalm 45:3-5
Messiah's Victory Predicted and DesiredE. Payson, D. D.Psalm 45:3-5
The Captain of SalvationT. Bennet.Psalm 45:3-5
The Spiritual WarBishop Horsley.Psalm 45:3-5
The Triumph of Christ's Mediatorial KingdomCaleb Morris.Psalm 45:3-5
People
Korah, Ophir, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Awesome, Behalf, Cause, Deeds, Defend, Display, Dread, Fear, Fearful, Forth, Humility, Majesty, Meekness, Nobly, Power, Pride, Prosper, Prosperously, Ride, Righteousness, Showeth, Splendour, Teach, Teaching, Terrible, Tremendous, Truth, Victoriously
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 45:4

     1270   right hand of God
     1461   truth, nature of
     8305   meekness

Psalm 45:3-4

     1090   God, majesty of

Psalm 45:3-6

     9145   Messianic age

Psalm 45:4-5

     1210   God, human descriptions

Library
July 20. "Forget Also Thine Own" (Ps. Xlv. 10).
"Forget also thine own" (Ps. xlv. 10). We, too, like the ancient Levites, must be "consecrated every one upon our son and upon our brother," and "forget our kindred and our father's house" in every sense in which they could hinder our full liberty and service for the Lord. We, too, must let our business go if it stands between us and the Lord, and in any case let it henceforth be His business and His alone, pursued for Him, controlled by Him, and its profits wholly dedicated to Him, and used as He
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Portrait of the Bride
'Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; 11. So shall the King desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him. 12. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour. 13. The King's daughter within the palace is all glorious: her clothing is inwrought with gold. 14. She shall be led unto the King in broidered work: the virgins, her companions, that follow
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The King in his Beauty
'Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips: therefore God hath blessed Thee forever. 3. Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty one, Thy glory and Thy majesty. 4. And in Thy majesty ride on prosperously, because of truth and meekness and righteousness: and Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things. 5. Thine arrows are sharp; the peoples fall under Thee; they are in the heart of the King's enemies. 6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Gladness of the Man of Sorrows
Our text describes the joy poured forth upon our glorious King in a twofold manner. Our Lord is first made joyous by his Father--"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." But there is another joy, which he getteth not from one person, but from many. Read the next verse--"All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." Here both saints
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

Of virtue
Of Virtue It is thus we acquire virtue, with facility and certainty; for, as God is the fountain and principle of all virtue, we possess all in the possession of Himself; and in proportion as we approach towards this possession, in like proportion do we rise into the most eminent virtues. For all virtue is but as a mask, an outside appearance changeable as our garments, if it doth not spring up, and issue from within; and then, indeed, it is genuine, essential, and permanent: "The beauty of the King's
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

On virtue --All virtues Given with God in this Degree of the Prayer of the Heart.
This is the short and the sure way of acquiring virtue; because, God being the principle of all virtue, we possess all virtue in possessing God. More than this, I say that all virtue which is not given inwardly is a mask of virtue, and like a garment that can be taken off, and will wear out. But virtue communicated fundamentally is essential, true, and permanent. "The King's daughter is all glorious within" (Ps. xlv. 13). And there are none who practise virtue more constantly than those who acquire
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Of the First Seal.
The first occurrence of the Roman empire, and that a most illustrious one, is the commencement of the victory of Christ, by which the Roman gods began to be vanquished, and their worshippers to be transfixed with the arrows of the Gospel, to fail on every side, and to submit their necks to Christ the conqueror. "He went out (says he) conquering, and to conquer;" that is, he hath not yet completely conquered, but laid the foundations of victory, to he hereafter more and more fulfilled. The index of
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The High Calling
Gerhard Ter Steegen Ps. xlv. 9 Child of the Eternal Father, Bride of the Eternal Son, Dwelling-place of God the Spirit, Thus with Christ made ever one; Dowered with joy beyond the Angels Nearest to His throne, They, the ministers attending His beloved one: Granted all my heart's desire, All things made my own; Feared by all the powers of evil, Fearing God alone; Walking with the Lord in glory Through the courts divine, Queen within the royal palace, Christ for ever mine; Say, poor worldling, can
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

I Send Thee Not, Soul that Art Religiously Chaste...
38. I send thee not, soul that art religiously chaste, that hast not given the reins to fleshly appetite even so far as to allowed marriage, that hast not indulged thy body about to depart even to the begetting one to succeed thee, that hast sustained aloft thy earthly members, afloat to accustom them to heaven; I send thee not, in order that thou mayest learn humility, unto publicans and sinners, who yet enter into the kingdom of heaven before the proud: I send thee not to these: for they, who have
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

On the Opinion of Dionysius.
Letter of Athanasius concerning Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, shewing that he too was against the Arian heresy, like the Synod of Nicæa, and that the Arians in vain libel him in claiming him as on their side. 1. The Arian appeal to Dionysius a slander against him. You have been tardy in informing me of the present argument between yourself and the enemies of Christ; for even before your courtesy wrote to me, I had made diligent enquiry, and learnt about the matter, of which I heard with
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Thy Name is as Oil Poured Forth; Therefore have the virgins Loved Thee.
Sensible grace, which is here signified by the name of the Bridegroom, penetrates the whole soul so powerfully with the sweetness which God sends to the souls He intends to fill with His love, that it is truly like a balm poured forth, which extends and insensibly increases, in proportion as it is more and more poured out, and with so excellent an odor that the young soul finds itself wholly penetrated by its power and sweetness. This takes place without violence, and with so much pleasure that the
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon

So Then the Father is Lord and the Son is Lord...
So then the Father is Lord and the Son is Lord, [177] and the Father is God and the Son is God; for that which is begotten of God is God. [178] And so in the substance and power of His being there is shown forth one God; but there is also according to the economy of our redemption both Son and Father. Because to created things the Father of all is invisible and unapproachable, [179] therefore those who are to draw near to God must have their access to the Father through the Son. And yet more plainly
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Letter Lxv. To Principia.
A commentary on Ps. XLV. addressed to Marcella's friend and companion Principia (see Letter CXXVII.). Jerome prefaces what he has to say by a defence of his practice of writing for women, a practice which had exposed him to many foolish sneers. He deals with the same subject in his dedication of the Commentary of Sophronius. The date of the letter is 397 a.d.
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Christ is to be Loved
"Yes, He is altogether lovely." Song of Songs 5:16. At the ninth verse of this chapter, you have a question put forth by the daughters of Jerusalem, "What is your beloved more than another beloved?" The spouse answers, "He is the chief among ten thousand." She then recounts many of the things she finds so excellent in her beloved and then concludes with these words that I have read: "Yes, he is altogether lovely." The words set forth the transcendent loveliness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and naturally
John Flavel—Christ Altogether Lovely

Question of the Comparison Between the Active and the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? Cardinal Cajetan, On Preparation for the Contemplative Life S. Augustine, Confessions, X., xliii. 70 " On Psalm xxvi. II. Is the Active Life more Meritorious than the Contemplative? III. Is the Active Life a Hindrance to the Contemplative Life? Cardinal Cajetan, On the True Interior Life S. Augustine, Sermon, CCLVI., v. 6 IV. Does the Active Life precede the Contemplative? I Is the Active Life preferable to the Contemplative? The Lord
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

For not Even Herein Ought Such as are Married to Compare Themselves with The...
10. For not even herein ought such as are married to compare themselves with the deserts of the continent, in that of them virgins are born: for this is not a good of marriage, but of nature: which was so ordered of God, as that of every sexual intercourse whatever of the two sexes of human kind, whether in due order and honest, or base and unlawful, there is born no female save a virgin, yet is none born a sacred virgin: so it is brought to pass that a virgin is born even of fornication, but a sacred
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

If, Therefore, You had not as yet Vowed unto God Widowed Continence...
23. If, therefore, you had not as yet vowed unto God widowed continence, we would assuredly exhort you to vow it; but, in that you have already vowed it, we exhort you to persevere. And yet I see that I must so speak as to lead those also who had as yet thought of marriage to love it and to seize on it. Therefore let us give ear unto the Apostle, "She who is unmarried," saith he, "is careful about the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit; but she who is married is careful about
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Introduction to Four Discourses against the Arians.
Written Between 356 And 360. There is no absolutely conclusive evidence as to the date of these Discourses, in fact they would appear from the language of ii. 1 to have been issued at intervals. The best judges, however, are agreed in assigning them to the fruitful period of the third exile.' The Discourses cannot indeed be identified with the lost account of the Arian heresy addressed to certain Egyptian monks (see Introd. to Arian Hist. supra); but the demand for such a treatise may have set Athanasius
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

My Beloved is White and Ruddy, the Chiefest among Ten Thousand.
My Well-beloved, replies the Spouse, is white by His purity, innocence and simplicity. He is ruddy by His charity, and because He has chosen to be dyed and purpled in His own blood. He is white by His frankness, ruddy by the fire of His love. He is chiefest among ten thousand, that is to say, He is above all I have chosen and preferred Him to every other. His Father has chosen Him above all the children of men as His Beloved Son in whom He is well pleased (Matt. iii. 17). In short, if you would know,
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon

Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14).
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

King of Kings and Lord of Lords
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, K ING OF K INGS AND L ORD OF L ORDS T he description of the administration and glory of the Redeemer's Kingdom, in defiance of all opposition, concludes the second part of Messiah Oratorio. Three different passages from the book of Revelation are selected to form a grand chorus, of which Handel's title in this verse is the close --a title which has been sometimes vainly usurped by proud worms of this earth. Eastern monarchs, in particular,
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

He is Lovely in his Person
First, He is altogether lovely in his person: he is Deity dwelling in flesh, John 1:14. The wonderful, perfect union of the divine and human nature in Christ renders him an object of admiration and adoration to both angels and men, 1 Tim. 3:16. God never presented to the world such a vision of glory before. Consider how the human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ is overflowing with all the graces of the Spirit, in such a way as never any of the saints was filled. O what a lovely picture does this
John Flavel—Christ Altogether Lovely

He is Lovely in his Relations.
First, He is a lovely Redeemer, Isa. 61:1. He came to open the prison-doors to them that are bound. Needs must this Redeemer be a lovely one, if we consider the depth of misery from which he redeemed us, even "from the wrath to come," 1 Thess. 1:10. Consider the numbers redeemed, and the means of their redemption. Rev. 5:9, "And they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every
John Flavel—Christ Altogether Lovely

Of Rest in the Presence of God --Its Fruits --Inward Silence --God Commands it --Outward Silence.
The soul, being brought to this place, needs no other preparation than that of repose: for the presence of God during the day, which is the great result of prayer, or rather prayer itself, begins to be intuitive and almost continual. The soul is conscious of a deep inward happiness, and feels that God is in it more truly than it is in itself. It has only one thing to do in order to find God, which is to retire within itself. As soon as the eyes are closed, it finds itself in prayer. It is astonished
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

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