Scripture Reading: Psa. 45:9-17
Ⅰ
The proper way to understand Psalm 45 is to understand it according to typology—Luke 24:44-45:
A
In Psalm 45 we have a strange and wonderful type of Christ—the type of a man with hundreds of wives.
B
Solomon with his wives is a type of Christ as the One with a corporate wife, a wife composed of believers from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation—Psa. 45:1, 9; 1 Kings 11:1, 3a; Rev. 5:9.
C
The king typifies Christ, the queen typifies the church, and those around the queen typify the believers—Psa. 45:1, 9:
１
In type, the queen is not an individual person but a corporate person; the believers are both the components of this corporate queen and the honorable and beautiful women—Rev. 19:7, 9a.
２
In Psalm 45 the bride of Christ is typified by the queen, and His overcoming guests are typified by the honorable women around the queen; this indicates that the bride of Christ is actually a group of overcomers.
３
Here is a particular type of the church composed of the believers to be the corporate wife of Christ.
Ⅱ
Psalm 45 praises Christ not only concerning the things that are of Him directly but also concerning the things that are of Him indirectly through His church and His overcomers:
A
In verses 1 through 7 we have the direct praising of King Solomon as a type of Christ, the King appointed by God to rule over His people and over the entire universe.
B
In verses 9 through 15 we have the indirect praising of the king in the praising of the queen with the daughters of kings among the king's most honorable (prized) women and the virgins, the queen's companions:
１
The daughters of kings signify the believers of Christ in their royalty.
２
The king's most honorable women signify the believers of Christ in their honor and majesty.
Ⅲ
The king desires the queen's beauty—v. 11:
A
The queen's beauty signifies the virtues of Christ expressed through the church.
B
The beauty of the bride comes from the Christ who is wrought into the church and who is then expressed through the church—Eph. 5:25-27; 3:17a:
１
Our only beauty is the shining out of Christ from within us.
２
What Christ appreciates in us is the expression of Himself.
Ⅳ
In Psalm 45 the queen has two garments:
A
The first garment is the gold of Ophir, the woven work inwrought with gold—vv. 9b, 13b:
１
This garment corresponds to Christ as our objective righteousness, which is for our salvation—Luke 15:22.
２
The queen's being covered with gold signifies the church's appearing in the divine nature—Psa. 45:9b:
ａ
The gold that covers her is Christ.
ｂ
As our righteousness, Christ is our covering; this covering is altogether divine—1 Cor. 1:30; Isa. 61:10.
３
The garment of woven work inwrought with gold signifies that the Christ who has been dealt with through death and resurrection is the righteousness of the church to meet the righteous requirement of God for her to be justified by God—Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:26.
B
The second garment is the embroidered clothing—Psa. 45:14a:
１
This garment corresponds to Christ as our subjective righteousnesses, which are for our victory—Rev. 19:8:
ａ
As our subjective righteousnesses, Christ is the One dwelling in us to live for us a life that is always acceptable to God—Phil. 3:9; Matt. 5:6, 20.
ｂ
If we would have "the righteousnesses of the saints" (Rev. 19:8), we must have Christ lived out of us to be our subjective righteousnesses.
２
The garment of embroidered clothing signifies that the church will be led to Christ at their marriage clothed with the righteousnesses of the saints to meet the requirement of Christ for their marriage—cf. Matt. 22:14.
Ⅴ
The king's daughter is all glorious within the royal abode, and the virgins will enter the king's palace—Psa. 45:13a, 14-15:
A
The king's daughter is the queen signifying the church, and her being glorious within the royal abode signifies the glorious church taking Christ as her royal abode—v. 13a; John 15:4a.
B
The abode becomes the palace, which signifies the New Jerusalem—Psa. 45:15b; Rev. 21:2.
Ⅵ
In Psalm 45:16-17 we have the praising of the king in the praising of his sons, the princes, who signify the overcomers reigning with Christ over the nations—Rev. 2:26-27.
Ⅶ
In Psalm 45 we have a complete view, a full picture, of the beauty of Christ—His beauty in Himself, His beauty in the church, and His beauty in the overcomers.