SCRIPTURE: Psalm 45
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a sceptre of justice. You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. [Psalms 46:6-7]
This is a love song, perhaps written for a royal wedding, for the king of Israel, the heir of king David; he is celebrated and admired, perhaps in a song sung by the women in the streets (or by his harem?).
For the people of Israel, the throne of David is the symbol of God’s guaranteed kingdom because He had promised that this throne would endure forever: “Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’” [2 Sam 7:16] – this is what the poet refers to in v.7.
Because the throne of David went through some tumultuous times, the people were waiting for a Messiah, a son of David who would finally establish the permanent kingdom of Israel [see Acts 1:6].
When the poets wrote their psalms, they would present the king of the day in messianic terms, as an anticipation of the coming Messiah.
But they always were aware that they were not talking ultimately about their king, but about the coming king.

Then Jesus presented them with a question. “Why is it,” he asked, “that the Messiah is said to be the son of David? For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honour at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’ Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” [Luke 20:41-44]
Jesus points out that even David recognized that the coming Messiah was greater than him; He quotes Psalm 110, a well-recognized messianic psalm, and shows that even David was looking beyond himself to the coming Messiah.
This is a helpful reminder for us as we read psalms that describe the throne of David (for example, Psalm 2, Psalm 45, Psalm 110) – they look beyond the present king to the future coming King, the Messiah!
The author to the book of Hebrews reads Psalm 45 this way too: But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a sceptre of justice. You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.” [Hebrews 1:8-9]

For me, this reinforces my thinking that Jesus is at the center of the whole bible (and the whole universe) – in Him all things hold together [Colossians 1:17].
This again is why I look for a passage from the gospels every time I reflect on a passage of the bible; I believe we need to read the bible through the lens of Jesus and the gospels are the clearest presentation of Jesus.
Jesus makes this point Himself when challenging the religious leaders about how they read the bible: You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. [John 5:39-40]

And so when you read this Psalm, or any passage from the bible, it is useless to just read it or study it or even memorize it, unless you also come to Jesus through it – talk to Him, honour Him, seek to know Him better!
Our relationship is not with a book, it is with a person, with the messiah, the King of the Universe.
Sing your own love song to Him, share your heart with Him!

PRAYER:
Lord, I will bring honour to Your name in every generation. Therefore, the nations will praise You forever and ever. [Psalms 45:17]