You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips, therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. (Psalm 45:2-3)
As noted in the previous verse, this psalm is one of adoration for “the King” who, according to rabbinical commentators, is understood to be the Messiah. He is the One considered to be fairer than all the sons of men; it is He that God has blessed and exalted forever with glory and majesty. As Paul said of Yeshua, “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). According to Peter, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
In the verses above, the psalmist also said of the King that “grace” would be upon His lips. This phrase is interpreted in rabbinical literature to mean that the Messiah, anointed by the spirit of prophecy, would speak words of truth with unprecedented authority. God would endow Him with wisdom and knowledge which He would declare to God’s people to the amazement of all. This prophecy is corroborated by the Gospels; it is recorded that “the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). In another reference it says the people were all amazed, and questioned each other, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (Mark 1:27).
While all these points are important and interesting, in my view, the most striking thing the psalmist said of the King is this: “Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One.” The point is, it’s not so much about the King having a sword ready for use as it is that His sword is sheathed. In other words, though the king has the skill and authority to use the sword, the fact that his sword is sheathed hints at restraint and self control — a very important aspect of Messiah’s character. Even though He possessed all authority in heaven and earth, Yeshua always tempered His words and His actions so as to walk out the Father’s Will in righteousness and justice. He could have called twelve legions of angels to deliver Him from the hands of angry men but He didn’t.
I would suggest that the psalmist’s words teach us to follow the Messiah’s example and realize that the greatest victories are not won by the man who wields his sword, but by the man who refrains from drawing it. Let’s put it this way: it’s more important to do what is right in God’s eyes than to convince others that we are right. Messiah could have come down from the cross and rebuked the taunts of ignorant men — but He didn’t. And so, the temperate man who does justly in a humble fashion is the one who truly triumphs over his adversary. In so doing, he exhibits Godly attributes demonstrated to us by our King who, through our obedience to His Will, receives all glory and majesty.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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