Psalm 45 · a question people ask
Did Psalm 45 speak first of a king at his wedding, or of Jesus directly?
The psalm names no king. Its title calls it "A wedding song" (Psalm 45:1), and the psalmist says, "I recite my verses for the king" (Psalm 45:1). The New Testament quotes two of its verses: "But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever" (Hebrews 1:8), and on through "above your fellows" (Hebrews 1:9). Hebrews speaks there of God's Son (Hebrews 1:2), and names him later: "Jesus, the Son of God" (Hebrews 4:14). Christians read how the psalm speaks of him in two main ways. Both read Hebrews 1:8-9 as the psalm's words said of Jesus, and both take the psalm as naming no king.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
First of a king at his wedding, then of Jesus
Those who read it this way take the psalm as sung first for a king on his wedding day. They point to its title, "A wedding song" (Psalm 45:1), and to the psalmist's words, "I recite my verses for the king" (Psalm 45:1). The king has a queen at his right hand (Psalm 45:9), a princess who "shall be led to the king" (Psalm 45:14), and fathers whose place his sons will take (Psalm 45:16). On this reading, Hebrews takes up words first said to that king and says them of the Son: "But of the Son he says" (Hebrews 1:8).
Psalm 45:1 · Psalm 45:9 · Psalm 45:14 · Psalm 45:16 · Hebrews 1:8-9
Of Jesus directly
Those who read it this way take the king of the psalm as the Son from the first. They point to what the psalm says to him: "God has blessed you forever" (Psalm 45:2), "Your throne, God, is forever and ever" (Psalm 45:6), and "I will make your name to be remembered in all generations" (Psalm 45:17). And they point to Hebrews, which sets these words apart from what is said of angels ("Of the angels he says", Hebrews 1:7) with "But of the Son he says" (Hebrews 1:8), and goes straight on to say to him, "You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth" (Hebrews 1:10).
Psalm 45:2 · Psalm 45:6 · Psalm 45:17 · Hebrews 1:7-8 · Hebrews 1:10
The verses
“For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A wedding song. My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.”
“Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”
“has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.”
“But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.””