A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.
For the choir director; according to the [a]Shoshannim. A [b]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45 My heart [c]overflows with a good theme;
I [d]address my [e]verses to the [f]King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2 You are fairer than the sons of men;
Grace is poured [g]upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.3 Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O [h]Mighty One,
In Your splendor and Your majesty!
4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
Let Your right hand teach You [i]awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharp;
The peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies.6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your fellows.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
This is certainly a dramatic shift from previous psalms, and is believed to be a song written for Solomon. The song is full of the king’s praises, and it was certainly all true when Solomon was in his prime. That is, when he was seeking truth and meekness and righteousness. But wait, what is “meekness” doing in the middle of all of this?
We have a king who is handsome (fairer than any other man), gracious, and no enemy can stand against him. He loves righteousness, and has great riches, with great influence among many kings, both near and far. If anyone had a right to be proud, it was Solomon, but the psalmist attributes meekness to the king right smack in the middle of everything.
But that was precisely the proper attitude for a man like Solomon, who knew everything he had was because of God’s blessing. None of it was his own doing, though God had used him in amazing ways. It all stemmed from Solomon’s request for wisdom, and if you read that, it is full of meekness. He knew he wasn’t enough for the task, and that he needed God’s help for the (humongous) task at hand.
So it is with us, whatever God has called us to, we are not enough on our own. Our own strength and understanding will fail us, but God’s wisdom is perfect, his strength unfailing. And whatever comes of it all, whatever blessing may befall us… they are not the fruit of our own labor. We should therefore remain meek as Solomon was, humbly giving God all the glory and praise. He is the only one worthy of honor, and our honor is in being a part of His plan, a part of the work He is doing. Thank God today for his blessings, even you think they be few, and you might just find there are more than you realized or remembered!