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Lenten Season · Annunciation of the Lord · Year B

Psalm 45 or Psalm 40:5-10

A Song for the Royal Wedding

March 25, 2027

The Jewish Bride, Rembrandt van Rijn
The Jewish Bride, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1665–1669Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Nobody knows who they are or what the title means; it was attached two centuries later. Van Gogh said he would give ten years of his life to sit in front of it for a fortnight.My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes; in many-coloured robes she is led to the king.Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt (1606-1669) painted scripture as if it had happened in a room he had been in, and returned to the same stories across forty years, changing his mind about them in public.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 1:26-38Lk 1:26-38
EpistleHeb. 10:4-10Heb 10:4-10
Old TestamentIsa. 7:10-14Is 7:10-14
PsalterPs. 45Ps 45 orPs. 40:5-10Ps 40:5-10

Overview & Insights

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever… you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.” (Psalm 45:6-7)

Psalm 45 belongs to the genre of royal psalms, which celebrate the king and his reign, not as a lone-standing king, but as a stand-in for Yahweh as king. It is better to think of these psalms as constituting two subgenres, psalms of the heavenly King, which celebrate Yahweh as king, providing the model for all kingship, and psalms of the earthly king, which shine the spotlight on Yahweh’s representative in this world (see the sidebar). The latter, according to the form critics, were performed either in the sanctuary or in the royal palace. Psalm 45 falls into this category and was most likely performed, perhaps even by its author, in the palace on the occasion of the royal wedding (45:1). At the same time, it is reflective of the heavenly King as the model and defender of truth and justice (45:4, 6–7).

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Take it further: Psalm 45 or Psalm 40:5-10

Commentary

Psalm 45Ps 45 Enduring Word · David Guzik

A verse-by-verse evangelical commentary on this royal wedding song read messianically.

Classic commentaries on Psalm 45Classic commentaries on Ps 45 BibleHub

Aggregated classic commentaries on the royal psalm verse by verse.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 45 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentaryPs 45 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentary Sefaria

The Hebrew text with classical Jewish commentary on the royal wedding psalm.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 45, patristic commentaryPs 45, patristic commentary Catena

Patristic reading of the royal psalm as a song to the messianic King.

Questions preachers ask

What is Psalm 45?

A wedding song for the king in his splendor, applied by the New Testament to Christ the eternal King and to the church as his bride.

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