E H 1. The Psalmist.
J 2-8. The king.
J 9-16. The Queen.
H 17. The Psalmist.
(If in connection with the marriage of Hezekiah [2 Kings 21:1 and Isa. 62:4], its place here is accounted for between Pss. 44-48. Significant, because of its fulfillment in Messiah [Rev. 19:7. Cp. 54:5-8]. Hephzi-bah [Isa. 62:4] was the wife of Hezekiah.)
601 B.C.
Psalm 45)
1 My heart is building up (i.e. running-over, or overflowing with) a good theme:
I speak of the things which I have made touching the king:
My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer. (I.e. with readiness of mind in respect of the subject treated of.)
J K l 2-. The king's merits.
m -2. His reward. "Thereafter."
L 3,4. His weapon, and its effects.
L 5. His weapons, and their effect.
K l 6,7-. The king's merits.
m -7,8. His reward. "Thereafter."
2 You are fairer (i.e. in His glory which follows the suffering described in Isa. 52:14; 53:2) than the sons of men:
Grace is poured into your lips:
Therefore God has blessed you for ever.
3 Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty One,
Gird you with Your glory and Your majesty.
4 And in your majesty ride prosperously
On behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness;
And your right hand shall teach you terrible things.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart (put for "in the midst") of the king's enemies;
Whereby the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you (hence His name Messiah [Gr. Christ] = the anointed one)
The scepter of Your kingdom is a right scepter. (Cp. Cp.ss. 20,21,24. Luke 1;31-33,&c.)
7 You love righteousness, and hate lawlessness:
With the oil of gladness above your companions.
8 [So that] all your garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, (Cp. Ex. 30:23,24. John 12:3)
Out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made you glad.
J M O n 9-. Maids of honor.
o -9. The queens apparel.
P 10,11. The queen addressed.
N 12-. Suppliant.
N -12. Suppliants.
M O o 13,14-. The queens apparel.
n -14,15. Maids of honor.
P 16. The queen addressed.
9 Kings' daughters were among you honorable women: (Court ladies. English = maids of honor)
Upon your right hand does stand the queen (a type, past, Hephzi-bah [2 Kings 21:1. Isa. 62;4]; antitype, future, Israel, the bride of Messiah [Isa. 54:5-8; 62;45]. Cp. Rev. 19:7) in gold of Ophir.
10 Hearken, O daughter, and see plainly (or observe), and incline your ear;
Forget also your own people (as did Rebekah [Gen. 24:58], and Rachel [Gen. 31:14], and Asenath [Gen. 41:45], and Ruth [1:16]), and your father's house;
11 So shall the king greatly desire your beauty:
For he is your LORD (Adonim); and worship you him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre (either the queen of Tyre, or the people of Tyre personified) [shall entreat your favor] with a gift;
Even the rich among the people shall [come] and entreat your favor. (See 2 Chron. 32:23)
13 The king's daughter in nothing but glory [sits enthroned] within: (I.e. in the inner palace; not internally These Ellipses are caused by the bubbling over of the inditing heart, which is too quick for the pen.)
Her clothing is of wrought gold.
14 She shall be brought to the king in embroidered robes:
The virgins her companions that follow her
Shall be brought to you.
15 With great gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought:
They shall enter into the king's palace.
16 Instead of your fathers shall be your children,
Whom you may make princes in all the earth.
17 I will make your name to be remembered in all generations:
Therefore shall the peoples (or nations) praise you for ever and ever.
(Having been written for the marriage of Hezekiah, the Psalm was handed over for public use, as the glorious antitype of the marriage of Messiah in a yet future day [Rev. 19:7-9))
There is no dispute or question as to the meaning of these words : 'Al = relating to, or concerning, or connected with. 'Al has a wide range of meaning, and we may select the one which lends itself best to the context. As to 'Alamoth (fem. pl.), there is a consensus of opinion that it can mean only damsels or maidens. 'Almah occurs (in sing. and pl.) seven times in the Heb. O.T., and is rendered "virgin" in Gen. 24:43. Song 1:3; 6:8. Isa. 7:14; "maid" in Ex. 2:8. Prov. 30:19; and "damsel" in Ps. 68:25. The proper word for virgin is bethulah (Gen. 24:16, &c.), while 'almah denotes a young woman of marriageable age, still under the care of others. Every bethulah is an 'almah, but not every 'almah is, necessarily a bethulah.
In the plural, therefore, 'alamoth can mean only maidens. There is no need to think about music, or to restrict the use of the word here to "a maidens' choir", standing, as it now must stand, as the sub-scription to Ps. 45, and not as the super-scription of Ps. 46. There is no connection between "maidens" and Ps. 46, but there are many points in the subject-matter of Ps. 45 which link it on to that Psalm. There are references to the "king's daughter", and "honorable women" (v. 9). It is a "daughter" that is addressed as the bride (v. 10). There is the "daughter of Tyre" (v. 12); "the king's daughter" (v. 13); and "the virgins her companions" (v. 14).
There are special reasons, therefore, in the subject-matter of Ps. 45, which connect it with that Psalm; and make it very appropriate that, even if the Psalms were intended to be sung by maidens, such singing need not be connected with the Temple or its services. There was processional singing in the open air. And in 1Chron. 15 we have just the occasion for the use of the word in this connection. In the procession in which the Ark was carried up from the house of Obededom to Zion three bodies of singers are mentioned : (1) the Levites (vv. 16-19), (2) the maidens (v. 20); and (3) the Sheminith or men-singers (see No. XIX, p. 95) who brought up the rear of the procession (v. 21). This is the very order which is mentioned in Ps. 68 : (1) the singers going before (1Chron. 15:16-19); (2) the players on instruments following after (v. 22); in the midst, "the damsels (the 'Alamoth) playing with timbrels" (v. 20). Ps. 68 begins with the words of Num. 10:35, which prescribes the formula for the setting forth of the Ark. The "goings" of Ps. 68:24 refer to the great going up of the Ark to Zion. The company of those who published the word of Yahaveh (v. 11) is fem. plural, and the reference is not to Ex. 15:20 or 1Sam. 18:6, but to 1Chron. 15:20. From all this it is clear that this Psalm (68) must be carried back to as early a date as 951-950 B.C., instead of being assigned to the later dates of 537 B.C. or 167 B.C. as demanded by modern criticism.