The King in His Beauty Text: Psalm 45:6-9
Introduction: A Wedding Song for the Cosmos
We live in an age that is profoundly confused about a number of things, but our confusion is perhaps most acute when it comes to authority and to marriage. We despise authority, and so we have redefined freedom as rebellion. We have desecrated marriage, and so we have redefined love as sentiment. The result is a world that is simultaneously tyrannical and lonely, a world of iron fists in velvet gloves. We have more rules than ever and less love than ever. We are governed by petty despots and sleep alone.
Into this sad and gray confusion, Psalm 45 erupts like a sunrise. It is a royal wedding song. On one level, it was likely written for the wedding of an Israelite king, perhaps Solomon. But the Spirit of God, who is the author of all Scripture, had a much higher and more glorious wedding in view. The language used here strains at the leash of any earthly monarch. It breaks the banks of any merely human reality and floods our imagination with a glory that can only find its fulfillment in one King, the Lord Jesus Christ. The writer to the Hebrews confirms this for us, grabbing verse 6 and applying it directly to the Son (Hebrews 1:8-9).
So this is not just a song about a king; it is a song about the King. And it is not just about a wedding; it is about the wedding, the great marriage supper of the Lamb. This Psalm is a portrait of the Lord Jesus in His majesty as the divine King and in His love as the heavenly Bridegroom. It addresses the two things our world despises and misunderstands most: righteous authority and covenantal love. It shows us that these two are not at odds, but are gloriously united in the person of Christ. He is the King who rules, and the Husband who loves. His scepter establishes righteousness, and His love establishes the Church. To understand this passage is to understand the very heart of the gospel and the destiny of the world.
The Text
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.
All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.
Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
(Psalm 45:6-9 LSB)
The Eternal Throne and the Righteous Scepter (v. 6)
The psalmist, caught up in adoration, addresses the King directly, and what he says is staggering.
"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom." (Psalm 45:6)
Right here, the psalmist calls the king "God." The Hebrew is direct: kiseakha Elohim olam va'ed. "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever." This is one of the clearest declarations of the deity of the Messiah in the entire Old Testament. No merely human king, not even David or Solomon, could receive this title. Their thrones were temporary, their lives were fleeting, and their kingdoms have long since turned to dust. But this King is God, and His throne is eternal. This is not poetry getting carried away; this is Spirit-breathed prophecy declaring the divine nature of the coming Christ.
His throne is "forever and ever." This establishes the permanence and stability of His government. Human empires rise and fall. Political movements are a flash in the pan. Cultural trends are like morning mist. But the kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom. This is the bedrock of history. All the frantic activity of men, all the plotting of nations, all the raging of the heathen is just noise on the surface. Underneath it all is the unshakable, eternal throne of God. This is our confidence. We are not on the losing side.
And what is the character of this eternal kingdom? It is governed by "a scepter of uprightness." A scepter is the king's rod of authority, the symbol of his power to rule. Christ's scepter, His rule, is one of "uprightness." This means His reign is perfectly just, straight, and righteous. It is not crooked. It is not arbitrary. He does not rule by polls or by power-grabs. He rules by a fixed, eternal standard of righteousness that is grounded in His own character. This is why true justice can only be found in His kingdom. All human attempts at justice are flawed, partial, and bent. But the scepter of Christ is perfectly straight. His law is holy, just, and good. And one day, that scepter will bring all things into conformity with its perfect straightness.
The Anointed King's Character (v. 7)
Verse 7 reveals the moral foundation of the King's reign. Why is His rule so righteous? Because of who He is.
"You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions." (Psalm 45:7)
Here we see the very heart of our King. His character is not one of detached neutrality. He is not morally ambivalent. He has a fierce, passionate love for righteousness and a corresponding, vehement hatred for wickedness. This is not a mild preference. He loves righteousness. He hates wickedness. This moral clarity is the engine of His kingdom. In our day, the highest virtue is thought to be tolerance, which is really just a fancy word for indifference. But God is not indifferent. He loves what is good and hates what is evil, and His Son perfectly embodies this holy passion.
And because of this character, there is a consequence: "Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You." The Father anoints the Son. The title "Christ" or "Messiah" means "Anointed One." He is set apart and consecrated for His office as King. But what is He anointed with? Not just with oil, but with the "oil of joy." Joy is the atmosphere of His kingdom. This is not the fleeting, circumstantial happiness our world chases. This is deep, foundational, unshakeable joy. And He is anointed with it "above Your companions." Who are His companions? In one sense, all other kings. In another, all redeemed humanity whom He is not ashamed to call brethren (Hebrews 2:11). Christ is the gladdest man who ever lived, because He is the most righteous man who ever lived. True, deep, lasting joy is a fruit of righteousness. Sin always, eventually, leads to misery. Righteousness always, eventually, leads to joy. Jesus is the supreme embodiment of this truth.
The Fragrance of the King (v. 8)
From the character of the King, the psalmist moves to the sensory experience of being in His presence.
"All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad." (Psalm 45:8)
The King's presence is an aromatic and auditory delight. His robes are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. These were expensive, exotic spices used in the holy anointing oil of the tabernacle (Exodus 30:23-24). Myrrh was used in purification and embalming; it speaks of His sacrifice and death. Aloes were a fragrant wood; it speaks of the sweetness of His life. Cassia was a cinnamon-like spice; it speaks of the zeal and passion of His rule. To be near the King is to be overwhelmed by the fragrance of His perfect person and work.
His dwelling is in "ivory palaces." This speaks of a beauty, purity, and wealth that is not of this world. And from these palaces comes the sound of music. "Stringed instruments have made You glad." Our King is a glad King, and His court is filled with music and joy. This is a picture of heaven. Heaven is not a boring, sterile place. It is a vibrant, joyful, musical, fragrant palace, the court of the great King. The worship of the saints on earth is a faint echo of the glad music that eternally surrounds the throne of Christ.
The Royal Court and the Queen (v. 9)
Finally, the camera pans out to show us the royal court, and we are introduced to the Queen.
"Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir." (Psalm 45:9)
The court of this King is magnificent. "Kings' daughters are among Your noble ladies." The greatest and most honored of the earth are but attendants in His court. All earthly glory and royalty pale in comparison to His. All the powers and authorities of this world will one day bow before Him and find their proper place in service to Him.
But there is one who holds the place of highest honor. "At Your right hand stands the queen." The right hand is the position of favor, authority, and intimacy. And who is this queen? She is the Bride of Christ, the Church. She is not just one of the attendants; she is the consort of the King, chosen by Him to share in His glory and His rule. She is arrayed "in gold from Ophir," the finest and purest gold. This is not her own righteousness, but the imputed righteousness of Christ Himself. She is glorious because He has made her glorious. He has washed her robes and made them white in His own blood, and then adorned her with the fine gold of His own perfect obedience.
This is the destiny of the Church. This is our destiny, as believers. We are being prepared for a wedding. We are being made ready to stand at the right hand of the King. He is the divine King with an eternal throne, a righteous scepter, a holy character, and a glorious court. And He has chosen us, out of all the peoples of the earth, to be His bride, to stand beside Him, to share His joy, and to reign with Him forever.
Conclusion: The Royal Wedding Invitation
This Psalm, then, is far more than a beautiful poem. It is an invitation. It is an invitation to the royal wedding. The King is Jesus Christ, God incarnate, ruling in perfect righteousness and overflowing with joy. The Queen is His Church, all those who have trusted in Him, washed in His blood and clothed in His righteousness.
The world tells you to seek your own throne, to wield your own scepter, to define your own righteousness. But that is the path to a shack, not a palace. It is the path to misery, not joy. The gospel invites you to abandon your pathetic little kingdom of self and to enter the glorious kingdom of the Son. It invites you to bow the knee to the one true King.
And for those who are His, for those who make up the Church, this passage is a glorious reminder of who our Husband is and who we are in Him. He is the King of glory, and we are His beloved queen. He loves righteousness, and He is making us righteous. He is anointed with joy, and He shares that joy with us. His garments are fragrant, and He has drawn us into His fragrant presence. Let us, therefore, live as a queen should live. Let us walk in a manner worthy of the King who has chosen us, and let us long for the day when we will stand at His right hand, arrayed in gold, at the great wedding feast that will have no end.