Series: Psalms
Title: A Song of Loves (of God the Father’s Love to his Son)
Text: Psalm 45: 1-17
Date: August 1, 2019
Place: SGBC, NJ
Psalm 45: 1: « To
the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of
loves.»
The subject of this
Psalm is “Shoshannim”—the lilies. This
is “a song of loves” plural. Plural
because it is a song of the love which the lilies have for each other. That is, it is a song of Christ’s love for his
bride and of his bride’s love for Christ.
In Song of Solomon, Christ says, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the
lily of the valleys.” Then Christ says of his bride, “As the lily
among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” (Song 2: 1-2)
But there is another reason this is “a song
of loves”—plural. It is because this Psalm
is God the Father speaking of his love for Christ his Son. Let me show you three reasons I say that.
One, it is because of
what God the Father says in the first verse—Psalm 45: 1: My heart is
inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the
king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Have you ever been so
in love that your heart was ready to bubble over? According to the marginal
reference that is the author’s love for his subject. He tells us who that subject is, “I speak
of the things which I have made touching the king.” God the Father is the
maker, the author, of eternal salvation which Christ the King accomplished for
his bride, his elect, the church. So the
subject that makes God the Father’s heart overflow is the glory of his Son, the
King, in how Christ laid down his life to adorn his bride so that she is “all
glorious within and without.” Christ
said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I
might take it again” (Jn 10:17).
Then at the end verse 1, the author says, “my
tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
We are not told who was used to write
down the words of this Psalm. But rarely,
if ever, is the utterance of the tongue better, or even as good as, a skilled
penman who carefully writes and edits his work. Yet, the writer says “my tongue”
is the pen of a skilled, accomplished writer.
It is because this song, like all scripture, is God breathed! That is the first reason that I say God
the Father is the author of this Psalm and that he is speaking of his love to his
Son, King Jesus!
Two, even better, I
say these are the words of God the Father to his Son because scripture tells us
that about verses 6 & 7—Psalm 45: 6: Thy throne, O God, is for
ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7: Thou
lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Hebrews 1 tells who spoke that and to
whom. It says of Christ,
Hebrews 1: 4: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5: For unto which of the
angels said he [God the Father] at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a
Son? 6: And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he [God
the Father] saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7: And of the
angels he [God the Father] saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers
a flame of fire. 8: But unto the Son [God the Father saith] Thy throne,
O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the
sceptre of thy kingdom. 9: Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows.
Three, I say this is God
the Father speaking to and of his Son because of the last verse—Psalm 45:
17: I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the
people praise thee for ever and ever. Who
but God the Father could make that promise and to whom could he make it but his
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Titled: A Song of Loves
Proposition: Psalm 45 is a song of loves because
it is God the Father speaking of his love for his Son, as he tells of his Son’s
love for his bride and how it results in his bride’s love for his Son.
THE EXCEEDING BEAUTY OF HIS SON
Psalm 45: 2: Thou art fairer than the
children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee
for ever.
God the Father’s heart overflows with the
beauty of his Son. He says to his Son
that out of all the children of men—from the first to the last—the Lord
Jesus is “fairer.” The Hebrew
word means exceeding great beauty.
He is not speaking of the Son’s divine
beauty as the only begotten of the Father.
As the Son of God he is “the brightness of his glory, the express
image of his person” (Heb 1: 3). But
rather, God the Father speaks of the beauty of his human nature as the
Son of man.
God the Father says to his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, "grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath
blessed thee for ever.” In his human
nature, the Lord Jesus is not of Adam like the rest of the children of men. We are all conceived of Adam’s corrupt
seed. Therefore, by our first
birth, we are so exceedingly sinful that God is of too pure eyes to even look
upon us. But the Son of man, the
Lord Jesus, is holy from the womb. He
came forth “full of grace and truth” in his nature and in his character.
Also, “grace was poured into his lips” in
that God gave him the gospel of God’s grace to preach. In times past and in different manners, God spoke
to us by the prophets. Yet, they only
saw glimpses and preached as those seeing through a dim glass. But of the Lord Jesus he says, “grace is
POURED into his lips.” He stood up
in the synagogue that day in Nazareth and read from Isaiah,
Luke 4: 18: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19: To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. 20: And he closed the book, and he gave it
again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the
synagogue were fastened on him. 21: And he began to say unto them, This day is
this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 22: And all bare him witness, and
wondered at the GRACIOUS WORDS WHICH PROCEEDED OUT OF HIS MOUTH…
When the Pharisee’s
sent officers to arrest him, “Then came the officers to the chief priests
and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The
officers answered, NEVER MAN SPAKE LIKE THIS MAN” (Jn 7: 45-46). Never man spake like the Son of man in
the graceful manner in which he spake, never with the infallibility with which
he spake, and never with the authority with which he spake. “His lips like lilies, dropping sweet
smelling myrrh” (Song 5:13).
Do you see the utter
foolishness for any of the sons of men to imagine that God can be pleased with
anything we do by nature? God says the
Lord Jesus, the Son of man, is exceedingly more beautiful than all the sons of
men throughout the history of this world. All our comeliness and all spiritual blessings
are freely given to his people only in and by our gracious Head, the Lord Jesus.
THE CAPTAIN OF HIS
PEOPLE’S SALVATION
Psalm 45: 3: Gird thy
sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy
majesty. 4: And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and
righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5: Thine
arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the
people fall under thee.
God the Father’s
heart overflows speaking to Christ as the captain of his people’s salvation. He says to his Son, "Gird thy sword
upon thy thigh." The Lord Jesus
has the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is
quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God the Father says
that Christ Jesus and his gospel is “mighty, with thy glory and thy
majesty.” Therefore, the Father says, “In thy majesty ride
prosperously!” Our Captain rides without
the possibility of failure! God the Father gives three reasons why.
One, the Captain of
our warfare rides prosperously “because of truth.” He shall not fail because Christ is the Truth.
He is prosperous because he established
his people in Truth with his own precious blood. And our Captain always prospers because he
teaches his people the Truth in spirit and in truth.
Two, he rides prosperously “because of
meekness.” It was in meekness to his
Father’s will that he took upon him the form of a servant. In meekness he walked this earth trusting the
Father in perfect fidelity as representative of his people. Then, in meekness, he laid down his life in
place of his people. As our great
Prophet he prospers because in meekness he calls his people to himself and teaches
us, saying to us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Mt 11:29)
Three, God the Father says the Captain of our
warfare rides prosperously “because of righteousness.” Christ prospers because of the righteousness
of his holy nature and pure life by which he gave the law perfect obedience on
our behalf. He prospers because of the
righteousness which he established by bearing our sin and our curse on the
cross. And he is always prosperous because
of the righteousness that he himself is, both, to and in his people.
Therefore, God the Father overflows in love
and praise to his Son, adding, “And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible
things.” Christ’s right hand
represents his power. By his power, he accomplished
and accomplishes “terrible” or mighty things. He accomplished redeeming his people and
purging our sins. He did this by his
death. On the mount, when he was transfigured
in glory, they spoke of "of his decease which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem.” By the power of his
blood, our Redeemer accomplished bruising the devil’s head, along with destroying
all his enemies. Therefore, in
the season of his love Christ accomplishes converting his people by his mighty
power and by his mighty power he accomplishes preserving us until each of his
people are carried home to be with him forever.
Our living Captain triumphs prosperously in
the hearts of his redeemed because his arrows always strike their mark as the
Father says, “Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies;
whereby the people fall under thee.” John
Gill said, “The Scriptures are the quiver out of which his arrows are taken;
the Gospel is the bow into which they are put, and out of which they are shot;
and his ministers are the archers that draw the bow at a venture, and shoot
them…” But it is Christ that makes them hit their mark. One day Christ made his arrows strike the
heart of this enemy. I was an enemy in
my mind by wicked works! But in mercy
and grace, Christ made me fall at his feet begging mercy! Then he prospered in giving me mercy in
abundance!
Brethren, aren’t you thankful that our Savior
rides prosperously? God said through
Isaiah, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he hath set judgment in
the earth” (Is 42: 4). Does your heart bubble over knowing that Christ is the
Captain of our salvation? That our warfare is accomplished?
HIS FAITHFULNESS AS GOD AND KING
Psalm 45: 6: Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7: Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest
wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows. 8: All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and
cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. 9: Kings’
daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand
the queen in gold of Ophir.
God the Father’s heart overflows with his Son
Jesus as he glorifies his faithfulness as God and King. God the Father says to Jesus, his Son, “Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right
sceptre.” Brethren, Jesus is God upon
his throne forever and ever. That one
tempted of the devil is God who created the devil then cast him out of heaven because
of his rebellion. The same one who said
“I thirst” is God who holds the water of this world in the hollow of his hand
(Is 40:2). That one crowned with
thorns by men is God before whom men are grasshoppers (Is 40: 22). The same Jesus one who suffered the hell
his people deserved in three hours of darkness on the cross is God who made the
sun and upholds it by the word of his power (Heb 1:3). Brethren, right this minute, that same
Jesus sits on his throne in glory ruling heaven, earth and hell with his righteous
scepter for you and me! It is right for
the scepter to be in his hand! And he
uses it righteously ruling everything for our good and his glory!
Therefore, the Father’s heart overflows at our
Redeemer’s faithfulness. He says
to him, “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness.” Believer, due to the fact that our Head and
Substitute loves righteousness and hates wickedness, in him, so do we. And in we do so in perfection!
Due to him loving righteousness and hating
wickedness, God has anointed him to be our Prophet, Priest and King because he
deserves it. God says to him, “Therefore
God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” By
his perfect faithfulness, he earned it! That
cannot be said about any of the sons of men.
God the Father says to his Son, “All thy
garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces,
whereby they have made thee glad. Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable
women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” Read these precious verses together and
rejoice, believer. All Christ’s garments
smell of perfection to God the Father. Therefore,
believer, he has clothed you and me with his very same garments, whereby he has
made God glad! We stand as his queen at
his right hand—the place of honor. And we
stand there in gold of Ophir—in the righteousness of Christ! Another scripture that says the same thing as
these verses is Paul’s word in Colossians 2: 9-10: “For in him dwelleth all
the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power:” (Col 2:9-10)
GOD’S WORD TO HIS PEOPLE
Psalm 45: 10: Hearken, O daughter, and
consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s
house; 11: So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy
Lord; and worship thou him….13: The king’s daughter is all glorious
within: her clothing is of wrought gold. 14: She shall be brought unto
the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her
shall be brought unto thee. 15: With gladness and rejoicing shall they be
brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace. 16: Instead of thy fathers
shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 17: I
will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the
people praise thee for ever and ever.
Lord willing, we will
look at these verses more in depth next time.
For now, let’s simply read them and I will make a few brief
comments. This is God the Father’s word
to Christ’s bride, to you and I who believe on Christ, as well as to you who God
shall make to believe on Christ. Oh, may our great God and Savior give us grace
this minute to obey him as he commands, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider
and incline thine ear. Forget
also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” Oh, may he give us grace so that we hear
all this good news and our heart so bubbles over in love to Christ, that we leave
all for him. God promises, “So shall
the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.”
If God has made us willing to believe on
Christ it because we are “the King’s daughter.” With Christ dwelling in us we are “all
glorious within; our clothing is of wrought gold” wrought by Christ
himself! Therefore, we “shall be
brought unto Christ the king.” We
shall be brought unto him—"in raiment of needlework”—which is
Christ’s righteousness.
And each elect, redeemed child of God shall
be brought “with gladness and rejoicing.” God our Savior shall be glad and rejoicing. The host of heaven shall be glad and rejoicing.
And we ourselves shall be glad and
rejoicing. This is God’s promise to his
Son due to his righteousness and this is God’s word of comfort to you and me whose
only hope is Christ, “They shall enter into the king’s palace.” Believer, God is so pleased with his Son, and so
pleased with us in his Son, God shall bring us into the palace of our King
Jesus.
How can we be so sure? Because the Father promise his Son, “Instead
of thy fathers shall be thy children”—God the Father promises Christ that
instead of his elect being called only the children God his Father, they shall also
be called Christ’s children.
How can we be so sure? Because of his people, God the Father
promises Christ our King, “whom thou mayest make princes in all the
earth.” Christ loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood.
Therefore, God promises Christ that he “mayest” make each of his people “princes
in all the earth.” Christ makes us “kings
and priests unto God”—"a royal priesthood” (Rev 1: 5-6; 1 Pet 2:9). And here God says to Christ “thou mayest”
do so. God the Father gives Christ
divine permission to make his elect scattered throughout all the earth to be
princes and priests because the justice of God which Christ satisfied by his
own blood says it is right to do so!
That, my brethren, is assurance to us that God shall bring us into the
palace of Christ our King!
The Father promises his Son, “I will make
thy name to be remembered in all generations.”
Men fight, bite and claw their way through life just to make a name
for themselves that will be remembered, only to be forgotten by the very next
generation. But God the Father has made the
name of his dear Son to be remembered from the first generation until our present
generation and God shall continue to make the name of his dear Son remembered
in all generations. God promises his Son,
“therefore the people shall praise him forever and ever.” It is this promise of God to his Son that
is our guarantee that God shall bring each and every one of Christ’s redeemed
to believe on Christ and shall preserve us unto that day he brings us to enter
into the King’s palace where we shall praise our Redeemer forever and
ever! Now, may God in his grace, make
our hearts overflow in love and praise to Christ, even as God our Father’s.
Amen!