| Barnes' Notes on the Bible My heart is inditing - That is, I am engaged in inditing a good matter; though implying at the same time that it was a work of the heart - a work in which the heart was engaged. It was not a mere production of the intellect; not a mere work of skill; not a mere display of the beauty of song, but a work in which the affections particularly were engaged, and which would express the feelings of the heart: the result or effusion of sincere love. The word rendered is "inditing" - רחשׁ râchash - is rendered in the margin, boileth or bubbleth up. It means properly to boil up or over, as a fountain; and the idea here is that his heart boiled over with emotions of love; it was full and overflowing; it found expression in the words of this song. The Hebrew word does not occur elsewhere in the Bible. A good matter - literally, a good word; that is, it was something which he was about to say which was good; something interesting, pure, important; not only a subject on which his heart was engaged, but also which was worthy of attention. I speak of the things which I have made - literally, "I say my works to the king." That is, My work - that which I meditate and am about to compose - pertains to the king. Touching the king - He is to be the main subject of my song. Compare the notes at Isaiah 5:1. If the remarks made in the introduction to the psalm are correct, then the "king" here referred to was the future Messiah - the great personage to whom all the writers of the Old Testament looked forward, and whose glory they were so anxious to see and to describe. Compare the notes at 1 Peter 1:10-12. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer - Let my tongue in speaking of him be as the pen of a rapid writer. That is, let my tongue rapidly and freely express my thoughts and feelings. The word rendered "pen" - עט ‛êṭ - means a stylus, usually made of iron, used for the purpose of inscribing letters on lead or wax. See the notes at Job 19:24. The idea is that the psalmist's mind was full of his subject, and that he desired to express his thoughts in warm, free, gushing language - the language of overflowing emotion.
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleMy heart is inditing a good matter - רחש rachash, boileth or bubbleth up, as in the margin. It is a metaphor taken from a fountain that sends up its waters from the earth in this way. The Vulgate has eructavit, which is most literally translated by the old Psalter: Mi hert ryfted gude word. My heart belcheth - Anglo-Saxon. I speak of the things which I have made touching the king - אמר אני מעשי למלך, literally, "I dedicate my work unto the king." Or, as the Psalter, I say my werkes til the kyng. This was the general custom of the Asiatic poets. They repeated their works before princes and honorable men; and especially those parts in which there was either a direct or constructive compliment to the great man. Virgil is reported to have a part of his Aeneid before Augustus, who was so pleased with it that he ordered ten sestertia to be given him for every line. And the famous Persian poet Ferdusi read a part of his Shah Nameh before Sultan Mahmoud, who promised him thirty thousand denars for the poem. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer - I shall compose and speak as fluently the Divine matter which is now in my heart, as the most expert scribe can write from my recitation. My tung of maister swiftly wrytand. "That es, my tung is pen of the Haly Gast; and nout but als his instrument, wham he ledis als he wil. For I speke noght bot that he settis on my tung; als the pen dos noght withouten the writer. Swyftly wrytand, for the vertu of goddes inspiracioun is noght for to thynk with mons study, that he schewes til other of the purete of heven; that es some for to com that he wrytes." - Old Psalter.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleMy heart is inditing a good matter,.... What is valuable and excellent, concerning the excellency of Christ's person, of his kingdom, of his love to the church, and of the church itself; what is pleasant and delightful, comfortable, useful, and profitable: this his heart was inditing; which shows that it was under the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and denotes the fervour of it; it "boiling up", as the word (x) signifies; being heated by the fire of the divine Spirit, whereby it was hot within him, and caused him to speak with his tongue; and also the abundance that was in it, it "bubbling up" (y), as some choose to render it: from whence this good matter flowed like water out of a fountain; I speak of the things which I have made touching the King; the King Messiah; the King of the whole world, and of the kings of it, and of the saints in it; over whom he reigns in a spiritual manner, and in righteousness; concerning whom this psalm or poem was composed by David under divine inspiration, and which he here delivers: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer; or as (z) one; such an one as Ezra was, Ezra 7:6, that writes swiftly and compendiously; suggesting, that as he was; full of matter, he freely communicated it, being moved by the Holy Spirit, who spake by him, and whose word was in his tongue; which made him so ready and expert in this work. The allusion is to scribes and notaries, and such like persons, that are extremely ready and swift in the use of the pen. The word for "pen" is derived either from which signifies "to fly" (a), and from whence is a word used for a "flying fowl"; yet we are not to imagine that here it signifies a pen made of a bird's quill, as now in common use with us: for this did not obtain until many hundred years after David's time. It seems that Isidore of Seville, who lived in the seventh century, is the first person that makes mention of "penna", a "pen", as made of the quill of a bird (b), but rather the pen has its name in Hebrew, if from the above root, from the velocity of it, as in the hand of a ready writer; or rather it may be derived from "to sharpen", in which sense it seems to be used, Ezekiel 21:15; and so a pen has its name from the sharp point of it: for when the ancients wrote, or rather engraved, on stone, brass, lead, and wood, they used a style or pen of iron; see Job 19:24; so when they wrote on tables of wood covered with wax, they used a kind of bodkin made of iron, brass, or bone; See Gill on Habakkuk 2:2; and when upon the rind and leaves of trees, and on papyrus and parchment, they made use of reeds, particularly the Egyptian calamus or reed; and the word here is translated calamus or reed by the Targum, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions. Now as the Jews had occasion frequently to copy out the book of the law, and other writings of theirs, their scribes, at least some of them, were very expert and dexterous at it; but whether the art of "shorthand" was to any degree in use among them is not certain, as it was in later times among the Romans, when they used marks, signs, and abbreviations, which seems to have laid the foundation of the above art, and had its rise, as is said, from Cicero himself, though some ascribe it to Mecaenas (c): and in Martial's time it was brought to such perfection, that, according to him, the hand could write swifter than a man could speak (d). (x) "ebullit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth. (y) "Eructavit", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Munster. (z) So the Targum, Tigurine version, Gejerus, & Michaelis. (a) Vid. Kimchi Sepher Shorash. rad. (b) Origin. l. 6. c. 13. (c) Vid. Kipping. Antiqu. Roman. l. 2. c. 4. p. 554. (d) "Currant verba licet, manus est velociter illis; nondum lingua suum, dextra peregit opus", Martial. Epigr. l. 14. ep. 189. of the origin of shorthand with the Romans, and among us, with other curious things concerning writing, and the matter and instruments of it, see a learned treatise of Mr. Massey's, called, "The Origin and Progress of Letters", p. 144. printed 1763.
The Treasury of David1 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. "My heart." There is no writing like that dictated by the heart. Heartless hymns are insults to heaven. "Is inditing a good matter." A good heart will only be content with good thoughts. Where the fountain is good good streams will flow forth. The learned tell us that the word may be read overfloweth, or as others, boileth or bubbleth up, denoting the warmth of the writer's love, the fulness of his heart, and the consequent richness and glory of his utterance, as though it were the ebullition of his inmost soul, when most full of affection. We have here no single cold expression; the writer is not one who frigidly studies the elegancies and proprieties of poetry, his stanzas are the natural outburst of his soul, comparable to the boiling jets of the geysers of Hecla. As the corn offered in sacrifice was parched in the pan, so is this tribute of love hot with sincere devotion. It is a sad thing when the heart is cold with a good matter, and worse when it is warm with a bad matter, but incomparably well when a warm heart and a good matter meet together. O that we may often offer to God an acceptable minchah, a sweet oblation fresh from the pen of hearts warmed with gratitude and admiration. "I speak of the things which I have made touching the King." This song has "the King" for its only subject, and for the King's honour alone was it composed, well might its writer call it a good matter. The Psalmist did not write carelessly; he calls his poem his works, or things which he had made. We are not to offer to the Lord that which cost us nothing. Good material deserves good workmanship. We should well digest in our heart's affections and our mind's meditations any discourse or poem in which we speak of one so great and glorious as our Royal Lord. As our version reads it, the Psalmist wrote experimentally things which he had made his own, and personally tasted and handled concerning the King. "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer," not so much for rapidity, for there the tongue always has the preference, but for exactness, elaboration, deliberation, and skilfulness of expression. Seldom are the excited utterances of the mouth equal in real weight and accuracy to the verba scripta of a thoughtful accomplished penman; but here the writer, though filled with enthusiasm, speaks as correctly as a practised writer; his utterances therefore are no ephemeral sentences, but such as fall from men who sit down calmly to write for eternity. It is not always that the best of men are in such a key, and when they are they should not restrain the gush of their hallowed feelings. Such a condition of heart in a gifted mind creates that auspicious hour in which poetry pours forth her tuneful numbers to enrich the service of song in the house of the Lord.
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament(Heb.: 45:2-3) The verb רחשׁ, as מרחשׁת shows, signifies originally to bubble up, boil, and is used in the dialects generally of excited motion and lively excitement; it is construed with the accusative after the manner of verbs denoting fulness, like the synonymous נבע, Psalm 119:171 (cf. Talmudic לשׁונך תרחישׁ רננות, let thy tongue overflow with songs of praise). Whatever the heart is full of, with that the mouth overflows; the heart of the poet gushes over with a "good word." דּבר is a matter that finds utterance and is put into the form of words; and טּוב describes it as good with the collateral idea of that which is cheerful, pleasing, and rich in promise (Isaiah 52:7; Zechariah 1:13). The fact that out of the fulness and oppression of his heart so good a word springs forth, arises from the subject in which now his whole powers of mind are absorbed: I am saying or thinking (אני pausal form by Dechמ, in order that the introductory formula may not be mistaken), i.e., my purpose is: מעשׁי למלך, my works or creations (not sing., but plur., just as also מקני in Exodus 17:3; Numbers 20:19, where the connection leads one to expect the plural) shall be dedicated to the king; or even: the thought completely fills me, quite carries me away, that they concern or have reference to the king. In the former case למלך dispenses with the article because it is used after the manner of a proper name (as in Psalm 21:2; Psalm 72:1); in the latter, because the person retires before the office of dignity belonging to it: and this we, in common with Hitzig, prefer on account of the self-conscious and reflecting אמר אני by which it is introduced. He says to himself that it is a king to whom his song refers; and this lofty theme makes his tongue so eloquent and fluent that it is like the style of a γραμματεὺς ὀξύγραφος. Thus it is correctly rendered by the lxx; whereas סופר מהיר as an epithet applied to Ezra (Ezra 7:6) does not denote a rapid writer, but a learned or skilled scribe. Rapidly, like the style of an agile writer, does the tongue of the poet move; and it is obliged to move thus rapidly because of the thoughts and words that flow forth to it out of his heart. The chief thing that inspires him is the beauty of the king. The form יפיפית, which certainly ought to have a passive sense (Aquila κάλλει ἐκαλλίωθης), cannot be explained as formed by reduplication of the first two radicals of the verb יפה (יפי); for there are no examples to be found in support of quinqueliterals thus derived. What seems to favour this derivation is this, that the legitimately formed Pealal יפיפה (cf. the adjective יפהפי equals יפיפי, Jeremiah 46:20) is made passive by a change of vowels in a manner that is altogether peculiar, but still explicable in connection with this verb, which is a twofold weak verb. The meaning is: Thou art beyond compare beautifully fashioned, or endowed with beauty beyond the children of men. The lips are specially singled out from among all the features of beauty in him. Over his lips is poured forth, viz., from above, חן (gracefulness of benevolence), inasmuch as, even without his speaking, the form of his lips and each of their movements awakens love and trust; it is evident, however, that from such lips, full of χάρις, there must proceed also λόγοι τῆς χάριτος (Luke 4:22; Ecclesiastes 10:12). In this beauty of the king and this charm of his lips the psalmist sees a manifestation of the everlasting blessing of God, that is perceptible to the senses. It is not to be rendered: because Elohim hath blessed thee for ever. The assertion that על־כּן is used in some passages for על־כּן אשׁר cannot be proved (vid., on Psalm 42:7). But the meaning of the psalmist is, moreover, not that the king, because he is so fair and has such gracious lips, is blessed of God. If this were the idea, then the noble moral qualities of which the beauty of this king is the transparent form, ought to be more definitely expressed. Thus personally conceived, as it is here, beauty itself is a blessing, not a ground for blessing. The fact of the matter is this, beauty is denoted by על־כן as a reason for the blessing being known or recognised, not as a reason why the king should be blessed. From his outward appearance it is at once manifest that the king is one who is blessed by God, and that blessed for ever. The psalmist could not but know that "grace is deceitful and beauty vain" (Proverbs 31:30), therefore the beauty of this king was in his eyes more than mere earthly beauty; it appears to him in the light of a celestial transfiguration, and for this very reason as an imperishable gift, in which there becomes manifest an unlimited endless blessing.
Geneva Study Bible<{a} Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of {b} loves.>> 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. (a) This was a certain tune of an instrument. (b) Of that perfect love that ought to be between the husband and the wife.
Wesley's Notes 45:1 Enditing - Heb. boileth, or bubbleth up like water over the fire. This denotes that the workings of his heart, were fervent and vehement, kindled by God's grace, and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Made - Have composed. Pen - He was only the pen or instrument in uttering this song; it was the spirit of God, by whose hand this pen was guided.
King James Translators' NotesMaschil: or, of instruction is inditing: Heb. boileth, or, bubbleth up
Scofield Reference Notes[1] Shoshannim Shoshannim, "lilies," and so, the spring; the Shoshannim Psalms were probably connected with the Passover season, and hence reminders of redemption out of bondage, and of the origins of Israel. [2] king This great psalm of the King, with Psalms 46.-47., obviously looks forward to the advent in glory. The reference in Heb 1:8,9 is not Song much to the anointing as an event Mt 3:16,17 as to the permanent state of the King. Cf. Isa 11:1,2. The divisions are: (1) The supreme beauty of the King (Ps 45:1,2); (2) the coming of the King in glory Ps 45:3-5 Rev 19:11-21. (3) the deity of the King and character of His reign Ps 45:6,7 Heb 1:8,9 Isa 11:1-5. (4) as associated with Him in earthly rule, the queen is presented, Ps 45:9-13 and in that relation the King is not called Elohim See Scofield Note: "Gen 1:1" as in verse 6, but Adonai, the husband name of Deity See Scofield Note: "Gen 15:2". (5) the virgin companions of the queen, who would seem to be the Jewish remnant. See Scofield Note: "Rom 11:5". Rev 14:1-4 are next seen Ps 45:14,15, and (6) the Psalm closes with a reference to the earthly fame of the King. See Psalm 68., next in order of the Messianic Psalms.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible CommentaryPSALM 45 Ps 45:1-17. Shoshannim-literally, "Lilies," either descriptive of an instrument so shaped, or denoting some tune or air so called, after which the Psalm was to be sung (see on [589]Ps 8:1, title). A song of loves, or, of beloved ones (plural and feminine)-a conjugal song. Maschil-(See on [590]Ps 32:1, title, and [591]Ps 42:1, title) denotes the didactic character of the Psalm; that it gives instruction, the song being of allegorical, and not literal, import. The union and glories of Christ and his Church are described. He is addressed as a king possessed of all essential graces, as a conqueror exalted on the throne of a righteous and eternal government, and as a bridegroom arrayed in nuptial splendor. The Church is portrayed in the purity and loveliness of a royally adorned and attended bride, invited to forsake her home and share the honors of her affianced lord. The picture of an Oriental wedding thus opened is filled up by representing the complimentary gifts of the wealthy with which the occasion is honored, the procession of the bride clothed in splendid raiment, attended by her virgin companions, and the entrance of the joyous throng into the palace of the king. A prediction of a numerous and distinguished progeny, instead of the complimentary wish for it usually expressed (compare Ge 24:60; Ru 4:11, 12), and an assurance of a perpetual fame, closes the Psalm. All ancient Jewish and Christian interpreters regarded this Psalm as an allegory of the purport above named. In the Song of Songs the allegory is carried out more fully. Hosea (Ho 1:1-3:5) treats the relation of God and His people under the same figure, and its use to set forth the relation of Christ and His Church runs through both parts of the Bible (compare Isa 54:5; 62:4, 5; Mt 22:3; 25:1; Joh 3:29; Eph 5:25-32, &c.). Other methods of exposition have been suggested. Several Jewish monarchs, from Solomon to the wicked Ahab, and various foreign princes, have been named as the hero of the song. But to none of them can the terms here used be shown to apply, and it is hardly probable that any mere nuptial song, especially of a heathen king, would be permitted a place in the sacred songs of the Jews. The advocates for any other than the Messianic interpretation have generally silenced each other in succession, while the application of the most rigorous rules of a fair system of interpretation has but strengthened the evidences in its favor. The scope of the Psalm above given is easy and sustained by the explication of its details. The quotation of Ps 45:6, 7 by Paul (Heb 1:8, 9), as applicable to Christ, ought to be conclusive, and their special exposition shows the propriety of such an application. 1. An animated preface indicative of strong emotion. Literally, "My heart overflows: a good matter I speak; the things which I have made," &c. inditing-literally, "boiling up," as a fountain overflows. my tongue is the pen-a mere instrument of God's use. of a ready writer-that is, it is fluent. The theme is inspiring and language flows fast.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary45:1-5 The psalmist's tongue was guided by the Spirit of God, as the pen is by the hand of a ready writer. This psalm is touching the King Jesus, his kingdom and government. It is a shame that this good matter is not more the subject of our discourse. There is more in Christ to engage our love, than there is or can be in any creature. This world and its charms are ready to draw away our hearts from Christ; therefore we are concerned to understand how much more worthy he is of our love. By his word, his promise, his gospel, the good will of God is made known to us, and the good work of God is begun and carried on in us. The psalmist, ver. 3-5, joyfully foretells the progress and success of the Messiah. The arrows of conviction are very terrible in the hearts of sinners, till they are humbled and reconciled; but the arrows of vengeance will be more so to his enemies who refuse to submit. All who have seen his glory and tasted his grace, rejoice to see him, by his word and Spirit, bring enemies and strangers under his dominion.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryPSALM 45 This psalm is an illustrious prophecy of Messiah the Prince: it is all over gospel, and points at him only, as a bridegroom espousing the church to himself and as a king ruling in it and ruling for it. It is probable that our Saviour has reference to this psalm when he compares the kingdom of heaven, more than once, to a nuptial solemnity, the solemnity of a royal nuptial, Mt. 22:2; 25:1. We have no reason to think it has any reference to Solomon's marriage with Pharaoh's daughter; if I thought that it had reference to any other than the mystical marriage between Christ and his church, I would rather apply it to some of David's marriages, because he was a man of war, such a one as the bridegroom here is described to be, which Solomon was not. But I take it to be purely and only meant of Jesus Christ; of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man; and to him (v. 6, 7) it is applied in the New Testament (Heb. 1:8), nor can it be understood of any other. The preface speaks the excellency of the song (v. 1). The psalm speaks, I. Of the royal bridegroom, who is Christ. 1. The transcendent excellency of his person (v. 2). 2. The glory of his victories (v. 3-5). 3. The righteousness of his government (v. 6, 7). 4. The splendour of his court (v. 8, 9). II. Of the royal bride, which is the church. 1. Her consent gained (v. 10, 11). 2. The nuptials solemnized (v. 12-15). 3. The issue of this marriage (v. 16, 17). In singing this psalm our hearts must be filled with high thoughts of Christ, with an entire submission to and satisfaction in his government, and with an earnest desire of the enlarging and perpetuating of his church in the world. To the chief musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil. A song of loves. Verses 1-5 Some make Shoshannim, in the title, to signify an instrument of six strings; others take it in its primitive signification for lilies or roses, which probably were strewed, with other flowers, at nuptial solemnities; and then it is easily applicable to Christ who calls himself the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys, Cant. 2:1. It is a song of loves, concerning the holy love that is between Christ and his church. It is a song of the well-beloved, the virgins, the companions of the bride (v. 14), prepared to be sung by them. The virgin-company that attend the Lamb on Mount Zion are said to sing a new song, Rev. 14:3, 4. I. The preface (v. 1) speaks, 1. The dignity of the subject. It is a good matter, and it is a pity that such a moving art as poetry should every be employed about a bad matter. It is touching the King, King Jesus, and his kingdom and government. Note, Those that speak of Christ speak of a good matter, no subject so noble, so copious, so fruitful, so profitable, and so well-becoming us; it is a shame that this good matter is not more the matter of our discourse. 2. The excellency of the management. This song was a confession with the mouth of faith in the heart concerning Christ and his church. (1.) The matter was well digested, as it well deserved: My heart is inditing it, which perhaps is meant of that Spirit of prophecy that dictated the psalm to David, that Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets, 1 Pt. 1:11. But it is applicable to his devout meditations and affections in his heart, out of the abundance of which his mouth spoke. Things concerning Christ ought to be thought of by us with all possible seriousness, with fixedness of thought and a fire of holy love, especially when we are to speak of those things. We then speak best of Christ and divine things when we speak from the heart that which has warmed and affected us; and we should never be rash in speaking of the things of Christ, but weigh well beforehand what we have to say, lest we speak amiss. See Eccl. 5:2. (2.) It was well expressed: I will speak of the things which I have made. He would express himself, [1.] With all possible clearness, as one that did himself understand and was affected with the things he spoke of. Not, "I will speak the things I have heard from others," that is speaking by rote; but, "the things which I have myself studied." Note, What God has wrought in our souls, as well as what he has wrought for them, we must declare to others, Ps. 66:16. [2.] With all possible cheerfulness, freedom, and fluency: "My tongue is as the pen of a ready writer, guided by my heart in every word as the pen is by the hand." We call the prophets the penmen of scripture, whereas really they were but the pen. The tongue of the most subtle disputant, and the most eloquent orator, is but the pen with which God writes what he pleases. Why should we quarrel with the pen if bitter things be written against us, or idolize the pen if it write in our favour? David not only spoke what he thought of Christ, but wrote it, that it might spread the further and last the longer. His tongue was as the pen of a ready writer, that lets nothing slip. When the heart is inditing a good matter it is a pity but the tongue should be as the pen of a ready writer, to leave it upon record. II. In these verses the Lord Jesus is represented, 1. As most beautiful and amiable in himself. It is a marriage-song; and therefore the transcendent excellencies of Christ are represented by the beauty of the royal bridegroom (v. 2): Thou art fairer than the children of men, than any of them. He proposed (v. 1) to speak of the King, but immediately directs his speech to him. Those that have an admiration and affection for Christ love to go to him and tell him so. Thus we must profess our faith, that we see his beauty, and our love, that we are pleased with it: Thou are fair, thou art fairer than the children of men. Note, Jesus Christ is in himself, and in the eyes of all believers, more amiable and lovely than the children of men. The beauties of the Lord Jesus, as God, as Mediator, far surpass those of human nature in general and those which the most amiable and excellent of the children of men are endowed with; there is more in Christ to engage our love than there is or can be in any creature. Our beloved is more than another beloved. The beauties of this lower world, and its charms, are in danger of drawing away our hearts from Christ, and therefore we are concerned to understand how much he excels them all, and how much more worthy he is of our love. 2. As the great favourite of heaven. He is fairer than the children of men, for God has done more for him than for any of the children of men, and all his kindness to the children of men is for his sake, and passes through his hands, through his mouth. (1.) He has grace, and he has it for us; Grace is poured into thy lips. By his word, his promise, his gospel, the good-will of God is made known to us and the good work of God is begun and carried on in us. He received all grace from God, all the endowments that were requisite to qualify him for his work and office as Mediator, that from his fulness we might receive, Jn. 1:16. It was not only poured into his heart, for his own strength and encouragement, but poured into his lips, that by the words of his mouth in general, and the kisses of his mouth to particular believers, he might communicate both holiness and comfort. From this grace poured into his lips proceeded those gracious words which all admired, Lu. 4:22. The gospel of grace is poured into his lips; for it began to be spoken by the Lord, and from him we receive it. He has the words of eternal life. The spirit of prophecy is put into thy lips; so the Chaldee. (2.) He has the blessing, and he has it for us. "Therefore, because thou art the great trustee of divine grace for the use and benefit of the children of men, therefore God has blessed thee for ever, has made thee an everlasting blessing, so as that in thee all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Where God gives his grace he will give his blessing. We are blessed with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, Eph. 1:3. 3. As victorious over all his enemies. The royal bridegroom is a man of war, and his nuptials do not excuse him from the field of battle (as was allowed by the law, Deu. 24:5); nay, they bring him to the field of battle, for he is to rescue his spouse by dint of sword out of her captivity, to conquer her, and to conquer for her, and then to marry her. Now we have here, (1.) His preparations for war (v. 3): Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty! The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. By the promises of that word, and the grace contained in those promises, souls are made willing to submit to Jesus Christ and become his loyal subjects; by the threatenings of that word, and the judgments executed according to them, those that stand it out against Christ will, in due time, be brought down and ruined. By the gospel of Christ many Jews and Gentiles were converted, and, at length, the Jewish nation was destroyed, according to the predictions of it, for their implacable enmity to it; and paganism was quite abolished. The sword here girt on Christ's thigh is the same which is said to proceed out of his mouth, Rev. 19:15. When the gospel was sent fort to be preached to all nations, then our Redeemer girded his sword upon his thigh. (2.) His expedition to this holy war: He goes forth with his glory and his majesty, as a great king takes the field with abundance of pomp and magnificence-his sword, his glory, and majesty. In his gospel he appears transcendently great and excellent, bright and blessed, in the honour and majesty which the Father had laid upon him. Christ, both in his person and in his gospel, had nothing of external glory or majesty, nothing to charm men (for he had no form nor comeliness), nothing to awe men, for he took upon him the form of a servant; it was all spiritual glory, spiritual majesty. There is so much grace, and therefore glory, in that word, He that believes shall be saved, so much terror, and therefore majesty, in that word, He that believes shall not be damned, that we may well say, in the chariot of that gospel, which these words are the sum of, the Redeemer rides forth in glory and majesty. In thy majesty ride prosperously, v. 4. Prosper thou; ride thou. This speaks the promise of his Father, that he should prosper according to the good pleasure of the Lord, that he should divide the spoil with the strong, in recompence of his sufferings. Those cannot but prosper to whom God says, Prosper, Isa. 52:10-12. And it denotes the good wishes of his friends, praying that he may prosper in the conversion of souls to him, and the destruction of all the powers of darkness that rebel against him. "Thy kingdom come; Go on and prosper." (3.) The glorious cause in which he is engaged-because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness, which were, in a manner, sunk and lost among men, and which Christ came to retrieve and rescue. [1.] The gospel itself is truth, meekness, and righteousness; it commands by the power of truth and righteousness; for Christianity has these, incontestably, on its side, and yet it is to be promoted by meekness and gentleness, 1 Co. 4:12, 13; 2 Tim. 2:25. [2.] Christ appears in it in his truth, meekness, and righteousness, and these are his glory and majesty, and because of these he shall prosper. Men are brought to believe on him because he is true, to learn of him because he is meek, Mt. 11:29 (the gentleness of Christ is of mighty force, 2 Co. 10:1), and to submit to him because he is righteous and rules with equity. [3.] The gospel, as far as it prevails with men, sets up in their hearts truth, meekness, and righteousness, rectifies their mistakes by the light of truth, controls their passions by the power of meekness, and governs their hearts and lives by the laws of righteousness. Christ came, by setting up his kingdom among men, to restore those glories to a degenerate world, and to maintain the cause of those just and rightful rulers under him that by error, malice, and iniquity, had been deposed. (4.) The success of his expedition: "Thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things; thou shalt experience a wonderful divine power going along with thy gospel, to make it victorious, and the effects of it will be terrible things." [1.] In order to the conversion and reduction of souls to him, there are terrible things to be done; the heart must be pricked, conscience must be startled, and the terrors of the Lord must make way for his consolations. This is done by the right hand of Christ. The Comforter shall continue, Jn. 16:8. [2.] In the conquest of the gates of hell and its supporters, in the destruction of Judaism and Paganism, terrible things will be done, which will make men's hearts fail them for fear (Lu. 21:26) and great men and chief captains call to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, Rev. 6:15. The next verse describes these terrible things (v. 5): Thy arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies. First, Those that were by nature enemies are thus wounded, in order to their being subdued and reconciled. Convictions are like the arrows of the bow, which are sharp in the heart on which they fasten, and bring people to fall under Christ, in subjection to his laws and government. Those that thus fall on this stone shall by broken, Mt. 21:44. Secondly, Those that persist in their enmity are thus wounded, in order to their being ruined. The arrows of God's terrors are sharp in their hearts, whereby they shall fall under him, so as to be made his footstool, Ps. 110:1. Those that would not have him to reign over them shall be brought forth and slain before him (Lu. 19:27); those that would not submit to his golden sceptre shall be broken to pieces by his iron rod. |
