By Jeremy Bell
I am going to share my personal study on Psalm 45 according to my motif analysis. I have taken the elements of the analysis of the Psalm and grouped them together. So, the entirety of the Psalm will be posted, but in a different order. My hope is to share insights as to what the author intended to convey. This is a theologically sound practice, though good theology does not rely on one observation point alone. Take time to read the Psalm, pray on it, and test it in scripture to gain a good understanding of what God is saying through the author.
A Composer’s Commission
Felix Mendelssohn was a composer, pianist, organist and conductor. He began his public music career at the age of nine in 1818. Before he was 14 he wrote 12 string symphonies. Richard Wagner was a composer, theatre director, and conductor. When he was 20, in 1833, he composed his first opera. Each of these men produced works of significance and magnificence. Every classical professional knows them and their works, and their compositions are studied and played to this day.
Felix composed the “Wedding March” for a production of one of Shakespeare’s plays and “Here Comes the Bride” was the Bridal Chorus from an opera Richard Wagner wrote. Though impossible to state as fact, it is widely accepted that it was a royal wedding that adopted these songs in 1858 and made them the standard wedding songs many know today. Until then, music was reserved for the wedding reception. But princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise and Frederick William IV wanted a celebration during the ceremony.
Announcements
Music is used in the military to announce dignitaries and important people of rank. When music is played to announce royalty, everyone notices. Princess Victoria was to be announced walking down the aisle and she wanted a wedding march. Attention turns to the bride and respect is paid. For the groom, anticipation builds as his adorned bride walks towards him to join him. Psalm 45 is a wedding song where when the motif is discovered, the elements are clearly seen. God, the groom and the daughter.
Musically, this motif is represented in simple verse form. A verse is one idea that still has a breakdown of pattern, but those patterns are contained in one idea. I have identified 3 distinct sections, or elements, further highlighted in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization. These sections are much like the sections of a piece of music, each related, but distributed in a pattern throughout the Psalm.
[ Psalm 45 ]
My heart overflows with a noble theme.
I recite my verses for the king.
My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
I will make your name to be remembered in all generations.
Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.
You are the most excellent of the sons of men.
Grace has anointed your lips,
therefore God has blessed you forever.
Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one:
your splendor and your majesty.
In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness.
Let your right hand display awesome deeds.
Your arrows are sharp.
The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies.
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.
All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
Your sons will take the place of your fathers.
You shall make them princes in all the earth.
Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women.
At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.
Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear.
Forget your own people, and also your father’s house.
So the king will desire your beauty,
honor him, for he is your lord.
The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift.
The rich among the people entreat your favor.
The princess inside is all glorious.
Her clothing is interwoven with gold.
She shall be led to the king in embroidered work.
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you.
With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led.
They shall enter into the king’s palace.
Ceremonial Direction
Music adds to ceremony. Today, a wedding has many, and often predictable, parts. Music is often played as guests arrive. Music sets a tone and atmosphere. When the bride arrives to walk down the aisle, the wedding march is played, and the ceremony begins. The music changes and often very particular songs have been chosen by the bride or groom. This ceremony is their time, their display for their friends and family to demonstrate their vows for each other. This relationship is different than dating.
Music announces the finishing of the ceremony and possibly the announcement of a new family as the two have now become one. Transitional music happens while the wedding party gets ready for the reception and festivities where the music will become more spirited and celebratory. Princess Victoria and Frederick had been in love for some time, and they were married in a celebration that was to form music in future weddings for over one hundred years and counting. Imagine now a wedding, Jesus as groom, the church as bride, and the wedding march begins.
A Divine Wedding
If there were a divine wedding, the anticipation and expectancy of something like that might be powerful enough to cover thousands of years. In fact, it does! A wedding is coming, music is being created and soon, the sound of the trumpet is going to set in motion the end of all things and the beginning of something very new. And though it is known that there is separation between God and people, it is also known He has overcome that through Jesus.
Plans are being made, people are being prepared, a wedding is coming, the wedding march music has begun. Though the time is yet to be, for the one who has faith in Jesus, the joy of the moment is experienced now. Through faith in Him by the grace of God, God gives us the music of the wedding, preparing for the consummation of us and The Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Practical Steps to Worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.