So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
The psalm is prophetic of Christ and His church, and the King who sends His gospel to win the world is Christ Himself. The verse looks to His personal coming before the millennium, when He returns no longer marred as in humiliation but fairer than men, riding triumphantly to sit on His own throne forever, subdue the nations, end war, and dwell with His people. Then the queen at His right hand is the Bride, the Lamb's wife, made all glorious within and without spot or wrinkle, clothed in heavenly raiment and fadeless loveliness, and greatly desired by Him in her beauty. For He is her Lord, the verse commands her to worship Him, for the Son is worthy of honor equal to the Father, so that to refuse Him worship is disobedience.
Prophetic Identity and Context
Psalm 45 is prophetic of Christ and His church, a prophetic song about the two together. It stands among the psalms that foretell Christ Himself. As such it dwells explicitly on the Saviour's work of redemption, on His wonderful work and triumph. That triumph gives joy and cheer and help and encouragement after strong faithful denunciation.
The psalm predicts Messiah as a righteous King and emphatically as the Prince of peace. That prediction is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was eminently distinguished as a righteous person and as the great peacemaker both on earth and in heaven. It is one of the Messianic Psalms pointing to the promised king whose kingdom is established forever, to be read alongside the promise to David and New Testament references to Christ's reign.
The King in the verse is Christ, who sends His Gospel to win the world to Himself. The psalm identifies the rider on Revelation's white horse as the Lord Jesus. It was regarded by the Abyssinians as a prophecy of the queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem.
Millennial Marriage to Church
The verse belongs to the millennial era and promises the personal, pre-millennial coming of Christ to earth. The King is Christ, no longer marred and without comeliness as in His humiliation but now fairer than the children of men, riding forth triumphantly and sitting on His own throne for ever and ever. At His right hand stands the queen as the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, and the marriage festival is celebrated. At His return He makes the people fall under Him, quells the tumult of the nations, makes wars cease unto the end of the earth, and dwells with His people. The Bridegroom who espouses the church is the second person of the Trinity, not the third, so the triumphal procession and marriage cannot mean only the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and must not be spiritualized away.
The King will greatly desire the beauty of His church when He sits upon His glorious throne in the regeneration, in the dispensation of the fullness of times when all things in heaven and earth are gathered together in Christ and all are purified and glorified. She will then be presented to Him without spot or wrinkle, with vile bodies changed and fashioned like His most glorious body, after earthly servitude and suffering are laid aside. Her beauty is blooming heavenly healthfulness and fadeless loveliness, clothed in heavenly raiment and wrought gold, brought in raiment of needlework with gladness, with bridal diadem and immortal jewelry, looking forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, all glorious within. She will be praised and admired as worthy of all the love He set upon her.
Worship Due to Christ
The verse is a direct command to worship the king as Lord, whose beauty he greatly desires. He is Christ the Bridegroom-King, fairer than the children of men, riding forth in triumph and seated upon his own throne for ever and ever, with the queen standing at his right hand as the Bride, the Lamb's wife. The marriage festival it describes is the promise of his personal, pre-millennial return to earth to cause the peoples to fall under him, to still the tumult of the nations, to make wars cease unto the end of the earth, and to dwell with his people. It cannot be reduced to an emblem of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for the Bridegroom who espouses the church is the second person of the Trinity, not the third.
The command identifies him as Lord and establishes that Christ, the Son of God, is worthy of worship and honor equal to the Father. To profess to worship the Father while refusing to worship the Son is therefore disobedience rather than true worship.
The psalm is prophetic of Christ and His church, and the King who sends His gospel to win the world is Christ Himself. The verse looks to His personal coming before the millennium, when He returns no longer marred as in humiliation but fairer than men, riding triumphantly to sit on His own throne forever, subdue the nations, end war, and dwell with His people. Then the queen at His right hand is the Bride, the Lamb's wife, made all glorious within and without spot or wrinkle, clothed in heavenly raiment and fadeless loveliness, and greatly desired by Him in her beauty. For He is her Lord, the verse commands her to worship Him, for the Son is worthy of honor equal to the Father, so that to refuse Him worship is disobedience.
Prophetic Identity and Context
Psalm 45 is prophetic of Christ and His church, a prophetic song about the two together. It stands among the psalms that foretell Christ Himself. As such it dwells explicitly on the Saviour's work of redemption, on His wonderful work and triumph. That triumph gives joy and cheer and help and encouragement after strong faithful denunciation.
The psalm predicts Messiah as a righteous King and emphatically as the Prince of peace. That prediction is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was eminently distinguished as a righteous person and as the great peacemaker both on earth and in heaven. It is one of the Messianic Psalms pointing to the promised king whose kingdom is established forever, to be read alongside the promise to David and New Testament references to Christ's reign.
The King in the verse is Christ, who sends His Gospel to win the world to Himself. The psalm identifies the rider on Revelation's white horse as the Lord Jesus. It was regarded by the Abyssinians as a prophecy of the queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem.
Millennial Marriage to Church
The verse belongs to the millennial era and promises the personal, pre-millennial coming of Christ to earth. The King is Christ, no longer marred and without comeliness as in His humiliation but now fairer than the children of men, riding forth triumphantly and sitting on His own throne for ever and ever. At His right hand stands the queen as the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, and the marriage festival is celebrated. At His return He makes the people fall under Him, quells the tumult of the nations, makes wars cease unto the end of the earth, and dwells with His people. The Bridegroom who espouses the church is the second person of the Trinity, not the third, so the triumphal procession and marriage cannot mean only the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and must not be spiritualized away.
The King will greatly desire the beauty of His church when He sits upon His glorious throne in the regeneration, in the dispensation of the fullness of times when all things in heaven and earth are gathered together in Christ and all are purified and glorified. She will then be presented to Him without spot or wrinkle, with vile bodies changed and fashioned like His most glorious body, after earthly servitude and suffering are laid aside. Her beauty is blooming heavenly healthfulness and fadeless loveliness, clothed in heavenly raiment and wrought gold, brought in raiment of needlework with gladness, with bridal diadem and immortal jewelry, looking forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, all glorious within. She will be praised and admired as worthy of all the love He set upon her.
Worship Due to Christ
The verse is a direct command to worship the king as Lord, whose beauty he greatly desires. He is Christ the Bridegroom-King, fairer than the children of men, riding forth in triumph and seated upon his own throne for ever and ever, with the queen standing at his right hand as the Bride, the Lamb's wife. The marriage festival it describes is the promise of his personal, pre-millennial return to earth to cause the peoples to fall under him, to still the tumult of the nations, to make wars cease unto the end of the earth, and to dwell with his people. It cannot be reduced to an emblem of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for the Bridegroom who espouses the church is the second person of the Trinity, not the third.
The command identifies him as Lord and establishes that Christ, the Son of God, is worthy of worship and honor equal to the Father. To profess to worship the Father while refusing to worship the Son is therefore disobedience rather than true worship.