Psalm 45 is the 45th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "My heart is inditing a good matter". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 44. In Latin, it is known as "Eructavit cor meum". It was composed by the sons of Korach on (or "according to") the shoshanim–either a musical instrument or the tune to which the psalm should be sung. The psalm has been interpreted as an epithalamium, or wedding song, written to a king on the day of his marriage to a foreign woman, and is one of the royal psalms. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

Background

According to classical Jewish sources, Psalm 45 refers to the Jewish Messiah. According to Metzudot, a classical Jewish commentary, the king mentioned in verse 2 is the Jewish Messiah. Christian scholars frequently interpret the psalm as a Messianic prophecy. Henry explains the prophecy as referring to Jesus as both the future king and a bridegroom of the church. In Hebrews 1:8–9, verses 6–7 of this psalm are quoted as allusions to Jesus.

Themes

Shoshanim (lilys) can refer to either a musical instrument shaped like a lily (shoshana in Hebrew), or the tune to which the psalm should be sung. Rashi proposes that the term refers to Torah scholars, and interprets the rest of the psalm according to the scholars' efforts in and reward for Torah study. Jesuit writer Mitchell Dahood asserts that the psalm is an epithalamium, or a wedding song, written to a king on the day of his marriage to a foreign woman, and is one of the royal psalms. Die Bibel mit Erklärungen states that Psalm 45 is the only example of profane poetry in the Psalms and was composed and sung by a minstrel or cult prophets on the occasion of the marriage of the king. In the 19th century, Franz Delitzsch argued that the poem was written on the occasion of Jehoram of Judah's marriage to Athaliah; John Calvin and Alexander Kirkpatrick both maintained that it referred rather to the marriage of Solomon with an Egyptian princess. More recently, Near Eastern scholar Charles R. Krahmalkov posits that the wedding of Jezebel and Ahab was the likely occasion, reading verse 14 as originally referring not to a "King's daughter who is within" but a "daughter of the King of the Phoenicians (Pōnnīma)". Charles Spurgeon, however, rejects purely historical interpretations, stating: "Maschil, an instructive ode, not an idle lay, or a romancing ballad, but a Psalm of holy teaching, didactic and doctrinal. This proves that it is to be spiritually understood. … This is no wedding song of earthly nuptials, but an Epithalamium for the Heavenly Bridegroom and his elect spouse." Calvin also explicitly links the Psalm to the spiritual marriage between Christ and the Church. Verse 14 in the Hebrew, "All the glory of the king's daughter is within", encapsulates the import of tzniut (modesty) in Judaism. The Midrash Tanhuma teaches on this verse, "If a woman remains modestly at home, she is worthy that both her husband and children are Kohanim Gedolim [who wear golden clothes]." Although this is the only Psalm in which women are given a sustained presence, it has received criticism for its fairy-tale depiction of the bride's expected subservience to a handsome and powerful king.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Revised Standard Version

The verse marking for this psalm in the Revised Standard Version (RSV) differs from that used in other translations.

Uses

Judaism

In the Siddur Avodas Yisrael, Psalm 45 is recited as a Song of the Day on Shabbat Chayei Sarah and Shabbat Pekudei. This psalm is said as a general prayer for the end of the exile and the coming of the Mashiach.

New Testament

Verses 6 and 7 are quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews 1:8–9.

Catholic Church

Since the early Middle Ages, monasteries have traditionally performed this psalm during the celebration of Monday matins, according to the Rule of St. Benedict (530). In modern times in the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 45 is sung or recited, in two parts, at Vespers on Monday of the second week of the four-weekly cycle, and at the midday office on Saturday of the fourth week. The portion of the Psalm which refers to the 'Queen, in gold of Ophir' is also one of the set readings for mass on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the ninth day of the month, as well as at Mattins on Christmas Day.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase of Psalm 45 in German, "Mein Herz dichtet ein Lied mit Fleiß", SWV 142, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.

Interpretations

There have been a number of suggestions as to the location of Ophir. One such is the west coast of Hispaniola found by Christopher Columbus, "from whence at this time is brought most fine gold". The "Queen of gold of Ophir" has been variously interpreted to mean a mother of the king of Israel, Israel itself, the Christian Church, or the Virgin Mary.

Sources