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Boker Tov! Welcome back to Mishkan Katan. This morning we are going to continue our study of the psalms by looking at Psalm 44.
This psalm is the third that is attributed to either the Sons of Korach or that was written by someone else with the sons of Korach as the musicians that performed it. We explored both options in more depth last week.
This psalm, composed either during or after the exile to Babylon, is an ode to the land of Israel. So, it would have to have been composed by the descendants of the original sons of Korach. It with great vividness describes the divine assistance which allowed the Hebrew people to conquer the foreign, pagan nations that formerly inhabited it. It also describes vividly and with great lament the displeasure of Hashem which led to the people losing their land to foreign invaders.
Is psalm 44 quoted in the Brit Chadasha?
Yes, the 22nd verse of this psalm is quoted in Romans 8:36. We’ll look at that a little later.
Let’s proceed through this psalm now, which is rather long, and note some key points. Grab your bibles and travel through this psalm with me. Let’s read verses 1 and 2. I’m using the CJB version, as has been my habit in this series.
(1) God, we heard it with our ears;
our fathers told us about it —
a deed which you did in their days,
back in days of old.
(2) With your hand you drove out nations
to plant them in [the land],
you crushed peoples
to make room for them.
In verse 1, the psalmist says that “our” ears have heard it…
This speaks to the incredible scholarship of the Jewish people, how they faithfully transmitted the truth of the Scriptures over generations. This transmission was so well-done, that it was as good as if the people in the days of the exile had literally heard it with their own ears.
What is being referred to here? The reference is to how Hashem drove the pagan nations from the Promised Land and then planted the Hebrew people there in their place. He crushed peoples to make room for them. How descriptive! Another translation puts it like this: “drove out peoples, and emplanted them.” In other words, drove out the pagan nations and emplanted the Hebrew people in their place.
The next couple of verses emphasize who truly achieved this, giving honor to Hashem, to whom it is due.
(3) For not by their own swords
did they conquer the land,
nor did their own arm
give them victory;
rather, it was your right hand,
your arm and the light of your face;
because you favored them.
(4) God, you are my king;
command complete victory for Ya‘akov.
Verse 3 is especially relevant today to the Jewish nation of Israel, as they are constantly being accused of being “colonizers”, a people not entitled to the Holy Land we today call Israel. These verses emphasize the rightful ownership of the Land. It was given to them by Hashem’s own hand, by his strong right arm, and that people group alone, the Jews, have the divine fiat to be there today.
At the end of verse 4, the reference to “complete victory for Ya’akov” indicates a longing for Jacob, that is, the nation of Judah, to be returned to their land after the exile. That happened after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, and the Jews were there until the nation began to be dispersed throughout the world in 70 CE. Nearly 1900 years after that, they were re-united with the land through a series of miraculous events, thereby demonstrating another fulfillment of the first four verses of this psalm.
There are some interesting rabbinical stories as to how the initial vanquishing of the Promised Land took place. Here’s one: Rabbi Levi says that the Amorites were vanquished because Hashem sent poisonous flying insects were sent to sting each of the Amorites in the eye, causing their deaths.
Moving on - - this first section ends with a summary verse, verse 8
(8) We will boast in our God all day
and give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)
Remember that Selah means: “stop and ponder this awesome truth.” Or, “How about that?!”
In the next section, the psalmist begins his lament of the bitter exile the nation was enduring in Babylon, at the time this psalm was written. Let’s read verses 9-22, and note that this section concludes with the verse (22) that is quoted in Romans 8:36.
(9) Yet now you have thrust us aside and disgraced us;
you don’t march out with our armies.
(10) You make us retreat from the adversary,
and those who hate us plunder us at will.
(11) You have handed us over like sheep to be eaten
and scattered us among the nations.
(12) You sell your people for a pittance,
you don’t even profit on the sale.
(13) You make us an object for our neighbors to mock,
one of scorn and derision to those around us.
(14) You make us a byword among the nations;
the peoples jeer at us, shaking their heads.
(15) All day long my disgrace is on my mind,
and shame has covered my face
(16) at the sound of those who revile and insult,
at the sight of the enemy bent on revenge.
(17) Though all this came on us, we did not forget you;
we have not been false to your covenant;
(18) Our hearts have not turned back,
and our steps did not turn away from your path,
(19) though you pressed us into a lair of jackals
and covered us with death-dark gloom.
(20) If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
(21) wouldn’t God have discovered this,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
(22) For your sake we are put to death all day long,
we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.
In verse 18 the psalmist argues that the entire nation had not given in to apostasy, prior to the exile. I find this interesting, because things were so bad in Judah, they had departed so significantly from Hashem’s ways, that the exile was deemed necessary. That of course does not mean that every, single Jew had “gone off the reservation”, so to speak. But, it was a significant departure from Hashem’s commandments, for the nation as a whole that led to the awful conquering by Neb and the resulting 600+ mile trip to Babylon.
I heard a news anchor of color remark recently, as I was preparing this lesson, that when he was growing up his elder community members used to say this, “Just because you are from the ghetto does not mean you have to be like the ghetto.” Judea was as a whole, “acting ghetto”, which led to the Babylonian exile. But, not all of them did. For many, their hearts had not turned back, and their feet had not departed from a vibrant relationship with Hashem.
We are in a similar situation today. For the follower of Yeshua, we sometimes feel that we are in a lair of jackals. The ever-present sinful influences of this world are constantly tempting our flesh to sin, and sometimes we “go ghetto”. It’s frustrating when we fall down in our daily walk, because that is not where our heart is. The lair of jackals is our physical address, but it is not our spiritual address.
Now. Why did the apostle Paul directly quote verse 22 in Romans 8:36?
The sages tell us that when Israel was in exile the murder of a Jew was considered no more of a crime than killing a sheep. Paul linked followers of Yeshua with kol Yisrael, all Israel, by pointing out that, like the ancient Jews in exile, the people of The Way should not be surprised to find themselves martyred for their faith in Yeshua. Even so, even if we must face martyrdom, that is not the end of our story. We are eternal beings. In Yeshua HaMashiach, slaughter is not the end for us, because as. Paul goes on to say, “nothing shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.” The theologian Morgan said this:
“Thus we are reminded of the fact that those who are the people of God are called upon to endure suffering for which there is no explanation at the time, and certainly none in their own disloyalty. Such sufferings are part of the high and holy privilege of fellowship with God.”
I’m thinking today of a friend in our local congregation. He and his wife faithfully served the Lord on the mission field in Africa for several decades. They adopted several children. Today, they are not financially well-off. In their 70s, he today works 3 jobs, while also teaching a weekly Bible study at our church. She is dying of cancer, recently told she has less than a month to live. They have a son in his 30s who just this summer had most of his digestive system removed due to severe Crohn’s Disease. One of their children has rejected the Lord. They are undergoing all sorts of trials. I’m sure they feel “for your sake we are killed all the day long”, as the KJV puts it.
And, that kind of suffering is hard to understand.
Now, on to psalm 45.
You may recall from a previous teaching on another Sons of Korach psalm, that the sages say that three sons of Korach escaped the sudden death experience of being swallowed alive by the earth. The reason Hashem spared them, according to the Talmud, is that they repented of their treacherous mutiny their father led against Moshe. The sages go on to say that in light of their repentance, they composed this psalm to give honor to the sages of Moses’ Sanhedrin, those 70 men who went part way up Mt. Sinai with Moshe and “saw the sapphire blue floor of heaven”, and indeed saw God himself. In this psalm, those 70 are portrayed in the light of truth, as “the genuine article”.
There is a story in the rabbinical writings (Yakut Shimoni 752) that one day Moshe passed by these sons of Korach sitting with their father. It was customary to stand when a great man walked by. The sons were in a quandary though. If they stood in respect of Moshe, they would be dishonoring their father. Yet, if they sat, and through their dishonor of Moshe honored their father, they would be breaching the Torah commandment to rise in the presence of a Sage. They chose to stand, and it was at that moment that repentance began to blossom in their hearts.
The overall structure of this psalm is as follows, broad strokes here - - at first the honor and knowledge of the heroes are questioned, but later in the psalm both are affirmed. Several individuals in the Tanakh walked this same path. Abraham, for example, started out as a “nobody”. Later, he had become one of the most powerful men in the world of his day. David was the youngest son of Jesse, with so many brothers “ahead” of him, it was unlikely he would have had any inheritance at all. Yet, he became the first king of Israel and arguably, its greatest. Then, Mashiach Yeshua. He started out his earthly life in a manger, in a sukkah, or as some say, a stable. He never became wealthy, but his power was so far-reaching and transformative, history is literally divided in two parts, based on the date of his birth.
The superscription of this psalm says “a song of endearments, or friendships”. Why would that be relevant? Two commentators, Alsich and Herschel explain that this psalm is a wedding song. When two people marry, they are very much unalike, very different in their personalities, opinions and previous experiences. However, as they grow as one, they ultimately begin to blend together more harmoniously.
This reference to endearments has been variously explained by Jewish sages in connection with this psalm to also describe Hashem’s love for His ordained Mashiach.
This psalm is directed to a king, and it is all about praising Him, and later on, it is about a beautiful Bride to the king, a royal wedding. Keep that in mind as we look as verses 6 and 7.
One other note (a bad pun) about the superscription. Shoshanim is a plural word for “shoshanah”, a word that is often translated “rose” or “lily”; here, it is believed to refer to a type of musical instrument, shaped like a rose. So, this psalm was to be played on several of this type of musical instrument.
Shoshanim is rendered by the Targum to refer to the Sanhedrin, as is also translated thusly in Psalm 69’s and Psalm 80’s superscriptions.
Rashi identifies Shoshanim with Israel, which resembles a beautiful rose, surrounded by menacing thorns.
Here is what the CJB version says in the superscription, to sum all this up:
0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By the descendants of Korach. A maskil. A lovesong:
Before we begin to look at this psalm, we should ask, as we do every week, if it is quoted anywhere in the Brit Chadasha? Yes, verses 6 and 7 of this psalm are directly quoted in Hebrews 1:8-9. We’ll explore that connection more later.
Let’s look at verse 1:
(1) My heart is stirred by a noble theme;
I address my verses to the king;
My tongue is the pen of an expert scribe.
The Hebrew of this verse is unusual. Specifically, this is the only place in the Tanakh where “rah-KHASH” is employed as a verb. Usually, it is used as a noun and means a creeping reptile, which moves with a unique motion, some have described as a quivering motion! So, the psalmist is saying his heart is “all a-quiver”. Accordingly, some Jewish and Christian commentators have attributed a special divine inspiration, a prophetic designation to this psalm. These words were welling up from his heart. Because his heart was stirred, it follows that his tongue is his pen.
Who is this king, though, spoken of here? The Scriptures are not specific. The actual Hebrew does not say “the king”, but rather “a king”, signifying that the actual person of that day was not the most important factor, but instead that the OFFICE of the king was of paramount importance. Some theologians have thought this psalm described the marriage of King Solomon to a princess of Egypt, although that is not specifically stated. It is very good exegesis, though, to conclude that this psalm points to a local king in the day it was written, but also and more importantly to a coming King of the future, hence the prophetic overtones of the psalm. So, dual-fulfillment prophecy.
Let’s look at the description of this king, in verses 2-5.
(2) You are the most handsome of men;
gracious speech flows from your lips.
For God has blessed you forever.
(3) Warrior, strap your sword at your thigh;
[gird on] your splendor and majesty.
(4) In your majesty, succeed, ride on
in the cause of truth, meekness and righteousness.
May your right hand teach you awesome things.
(5) Your arrows are sharp. The people fall under you,
as they penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
The Jewish rabbis interpret verse 2 to be a Messianic prophecy, pointing to the overall excellence of Mashiach/Messiah. They point to Isaiah 52:13, which says, “Behold My servant shall be enlightened, he shall be exalted and lifted up and he shall be very high.” Other Jewish sources attribute these characteristics to Torah scholars. We can embrace both interpretations, because should not the student be reflective of his or her master teacher?
The phrase describing the King as having gracious speech was wonderfully fulfilled in Yeshua, of whom even Torah scholars of that day said, “So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.” (Luke 4:22)
Verse 3 indicates that this King will not only be handsome, but also have the strength of a warrior, possessing beauty and strength. Isaiah 53:2 tells us that Messiah won’t be much to look at, and so we can interpret this verse here in Psalm 45 as referring to an inner beauty of soul and spirit more fair than another of the other sons of men.
Although Yeshua was a mighty warrior in spirit and influence, he was not in His day a “man of war” in the traditional sense. However, as the apostle John prophesies in Revelation 19:11-16, when Yeshua returns to the earth in triumph, He will trample down his enemies.
11 Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. 13 He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, “THE WORD OF GOD.” 14 The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations — “He will rule them with a staff of iron.”[b] It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven’s armies. 16 And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written:
KING OF KINGS
AND
LORD OF LORDS.
Note how the phrase “truth, meekness and righteousness” in this psalm echoes the characteristics of faithfulness, truth, righteousness and judgment in Revelation 19.
Now, the next set of verses in this psalm, verses 6-7.
(6) Your throne, God, will last forever and ever;
you rule your kingdom with a scepter of equity.
(7) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of joy in preference to your companions.
Hebrews 1:8-9 make it clear that the proper interpretation of these verses from Psalms is that Hashem is praising Mashiach and pointing out that Yeshua HaMashiach is part of the Divine Mysterious Majesty we commonly refer to as “God”, the Echad, the One in indescribable, unfathomable unity. The writer of the Hebrews explained that prophetically, the sons of Korah gave us the words that God the Father spoke to God the Son. Here are those verses from Hebrews.
8 but to the Son, he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever;
you rule your Kingdom with a scepter of equity;
9
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you
with the oil of joy in preference to your companions”;[a]
What an unmistakable connection of these prophetic verses of Psalm 45 to Yeshua, the Son, the Mashiach!
Verses 8-9 of Psalm 45 now.
(8) Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia;
from ivory palaces stringed instruments bring you joy.
(9) Daughters of kings are among your favorites;
at your right stands the queen in gold from Ofir.
How was and will be this King adorned? He will be wearing beautiful garments that smell good. The Jewish sages say that a righteous man, a Torah scholar, wear only flesh, clean, good-smelling clothing, because if a man ignores visible stains on his garments he likewise will ignore stains, character flaws on his soul. Mashiach is, of course, the ultimate Torah scholar. There was no stench about Him, when He walked the earth, nor will there be even the slightest unpleasant scent about Him when He returns as conquering King.
With whom does this righteous King surround Himself? With royalty, with friends of highest character.
e 9 indicates that kings from all over the world send their daughters to join this king’s royal court. This king is not only great because of his own character, but also by whom he associates with. These women were likely the maids of honor at his wedding.
I’m reminded that one measure of the incomparable majesty of Jesus is the greatness of the men and women down through the ages who have been His most devoted followers. These were and are, men and women of whom the world was not worthy, (to quote Hebrews 11:38).
And there, at the end of verse 9, we see the Bride, the Queen, rapturous in beauty, standing erect and elegant, adorned with gold jewelry from Ophir, which only she is privileged to wear. She wears the Crown Jewels, a symbol of her position as the King’s queen, his constant consort. If you are wondering about this land of Ophir, it is mentioned in 1 Kings 9:28, 22:49 and also in 1 Chronicles 29:4.
Verses 10 through 12 are addressed to the Queen, the Bride of Messiah. The Jewish sages see this as representing the entire congregation of Israel, as described in Lamentations 2:6. But, as the Church, so-called, is part of Kol Israel, as we the followers of Yeshua have been “grafted in” to Israel, both are true.
Verses 10-12:
(10) Listen, daughter! Think, pay attention!
Forget your own people and your father’s house,
(11) and the king will desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, so honor him.
(12) Then the daughter of Tzor, the richest of peoples,
will court your favor with gifts.
This queen came from a foreign people, as evidenced by the reference to “forget your own people” in verse 10. Implicit is this is the command to also forsake and forget your foreign, false gods. The queen and each of the other daughters of kings were required to convert to Judaism, upon joining the king’s court. Similarly, even though we were not forced or required to follow Yeshua, implicit in our accepting His invitation to “follow me” is to leave behind our old, former way of living and embrace the ways of our Savior, as revealed in Scripture. Paul states this succinctly in Ephesians 4:17-24 - -
17 Therefore I say this — indeed, in union with the Lord I insist on it: do not live any longer as the pagans live, with their sterile ways of thinking. 18 Their intelligence has been shrouded in darkness, and they are estranged from the life of God, because of the ignorance in them, which in turn comes from resisting God’s will. 19 They have lost all feeling, so they have abandoned themselves to sensuality, practicing any kind of impurity and always greedy for more. 20 But this is not the lesson you learned from the Messiah! 21 If you really listened to him and were instructed about him, then you learned that since what is in Yeshua is truth, 22 then, so far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature, because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires; 23 and you must let your spirits and minds keep being renewed, 24 and clothe yourselves with the new nature created to be godly, which expresses itself in the righteousness and holiness that flow from the truth.
The king Mashiach desires the beauty of His Bride, the ones who trust in, believe in, follow Him. The commentator Horne, puts it like this:
“Her beauty, so greatly desired and delighted in by Messiah, is spiritual; it is the beauty of holiness; and her clothing is ‘the righteousness of saints’ “. See 1 Peter 3:3 and Revelation 19:8.”
By her love, expressed in choosing to live righteously at the prompting of Messiah’s spirit within her, this Queen demonstrates her fealty to and honor of her King Husband. (Vs. 11). So should it be with us, the Bride of Messiah, today.
Can you hear the Bridal Chorus playing? Listen for it, as we read verses 13-15, which describe the bridal procession to the king!
(13) Inside [the palace], the king’s daughter looks splendid,
attired in checker-work embroidered with gold.
(14) In brocade, she will be led to the king,
to you, with the virgins in her retinue.
(15) They will be led in with gladness and joy,
they will enter the king’s palace.
There is no coercion here. The bridal party goes willingly before Messiah, according to the Jewish scholar Metzudas David. The traditional Jewish interpretation is that these represent the Gentile nations, which will gather eagerly around Mashiach, to embrace His teachings. But, in the more Christian interpretation, these represent various members of the Bride. Charles Spurgeon put it this way:
“In one sense they are a part of the church, but for the sake of the imagery they are represented as maids of honour; and, though the figure may seem incongruous, they are represented as brought to the King with the same loving familiarity as the bride, because the true servants of the church are of the church, and partake in all her happiness.”
In verses 16 and 17, the Bridegroom is once again addressed and the psalm ends speaking of the king’s legacy. How do we know that the shift has gone back to the Bridegroom? Because, in the Hebrew here, the pronouns “you” and “your” are once again in the masculine voice.
(16) You will have sons to succeed your ancestors;
you will make them princes in all the land.
(17) I will make your name known through all generations;
thus the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
The stories of David and his appointed heir, Solomon, illustrate this type of legacy beautifully, although it was perfectly fulfilled by Yeshua HaMasahiach, in the spiritual sense.
Shir Hashirim Rabbah of the Midrash puts it like this:
Solomon took the place of his father in every way: a king, son of a king; a scholar, son of a scholar; a righteous man, son of a righteous man. David ruled 40 years; Solomon ruled 40 years. David was given the Tavnit (blueprints) for the Temple; Solomon built the Temple on those foundations. David authored books and wrote songs; so did Solomon. David built an altar; Solomon did as well. David brought the Ark of the Covenant to its appointed place of service, per Hashem’s instructions. In like manner, Solomon brought the Ark into the Holy of Holies of the newly-constructed Temple.
So, the spiritual offspring of the King and his Queen are “princes” and by extension, princesses.
Hirsch says this: “May your sons develop the competence which will enable them to assist you in ruling the land for the benefit of your subjects.”
I’m reminded of another verse in Hebrews, 2:10, when it speaks of “many sons being brought to glory”.
In some translations, there is a “therefore” at the beginning of verse 17. In other words, “because of all this preceding info” …. I will make your name known…etc.
This psalm ends on a note of praise, as do the others.
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!”
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