David Dickson was
a Presbyterian minister who was born in 1585 in Glasgow, Scotland. He was an only child, and one asked of the Lord by religious parents
who had been childless for many years. Mr Dickson was first a pastor at Irvine in Ayrshire, where under his ministry “multitudes were
convinced and converted” despite the fierce persecution under Prelacy.
A very close and familiar friend of James Durham, one result of their
friendship was the excellent “Sum of Saving Knowledge” which is
usually bound with the Westminster Confession and the Catechisms. In the 1640’s he became a
minister in Glasgow and professor of theology; in 1649 he moved to Edinburgh to be minister and professor at the college there until his death in
1662.
PSALM
XLV.
To the chief musician upon Shoshannim,
for the sons of Korah, Maschil.
A song of loves.
Laying
aside what useth to be spoken here of Solomon’s
marrying Pharoah’s daughter, and of some typical
things therein, (tending to the extenuation of Solomon’s fault,) as
conjectural and serving nothing to the advantage of that marriage, presuppose
the conjecture held, both concerning the occasion, and also what might seem
typical in it; because similitudes taken from, and
types made of, what thing soever God pleaseth,
serve to make clear what the Spirit will have taken up about Christ, or about
any spiritual antitype, from being sinful, as, by the type of Agar, and of the
brazen serpent, and of Jonah’s punishment, and sundry other similitudes
and parables set down in Scripture appeareth. But
we are sure this psalm is a song, describing the mystical marriage of the
Messiah, Christ Jesus our Lord, and his church, wherein Christ the bridegroom
is praised, ver. 1-9; – and the church his spouse is instructed in her duty
to him, ver. 10-15; – and the end of the song declared to be the everlasting
praise of Christ, ver. 16, 17.
Concerning
the inscription, that this psalm is altogether spiritual and holy, appeareth,
first, by this, that it is directed to the public minister of God’s worship,
to be made publicly use of in God’s public praises: to the chief musician, for the sons of Korah;
secondly, it is entitled Maschil, a song to give
instruction to the church of God, concerning the majesty and the grace of the
kingdom of Christ, and the duty of the church, and the spiritual blessings of
the believers; thirdly, it is a part of divine scripture, ranked among the
psalms, and acknowledged by the church of the Old Testament for such;
fourthly, the testimony of the apostle, applying it directly as the word and
speech of the Father to the Son of God, Christ Jesus, Heb. i.
8; fifthly, the matter and words of the psalm, which cannot be verified in any
person save in Jesus Christ alone; sixthly, the plurality of loves here spoken
of, to show unto the reader the excellency of the
love of Christ, or the love of God to us in Christ Jesus; wherein the
perfection of all loves that ever were heard tell of, is surpassed; it
is a song of loves.
1.
My heart is inditing a good matter: I
speak of the things which I have made touching the king; my tongue is
the pen of a ready writer.
This
verse is a commendation given to this song by the Spirit of God, by way of
preface. 1. It is a good matter. 2. It is inspired; the Spirit of the Lord
making the heart filled with his presence, to be boiling in the inditing of
it. 3. It is of Christ the King. 4. It is the poem of the inspired prophet,
made ready to express what is furnished by the Spirit, for the edification of
the church in all ages. Whence learn, 1. The knowledge of the love of Christ
to his church, and of his espousing her, is the sweetest subject, the matter
of the most glad tidings that ever sinners heard
of, and worthy indeed to be called a good matter. 2. The heart, acquainted
with this sweet and saving knowledge, will be more ready to communicate what
it knoweth, than able to express itself; the heart
will be as a spring well, a boiling pot, according to the measure of the
Lord’s presence in it. 3. The theme of the praises of the believing soul is
Christ’s person, clothed with offices for the salvation of souls; for the
main subject of the song is touching the king. 4. When the heart is full of
gracious affection, the tongue will be loosed to praise God, so as others may
be edified: out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak heartily; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
2.
Thou art
fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God
hath blessed thee for ever.
3.
Gird thy sword upon thy
thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
4.
And in thy majesty ride prosperously,
because of truth, and meekness, and
righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
5.
Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; whereby
the people fall under thee.
6.
Thy throne, O God, is for
ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is
a right sceptre.
7.
Thou lovest
righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore
God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8.
All thy garments smell
of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out
of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
9.
Kings’ daughters were
among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of
Ophir.
In
the description of the excellency of Christ, the
very true Son of God, there are set down sundry points of glory. 1. No beauty
among men is comparable to the beauty of Christ, who is not only the fairest
of ten thousand for wisdom and holiness, and whatsoever virtue can be named,
as he is man; but also, as he is God, he is the resplendency
of his Father’s glory, the Holy One of Israel, of whose glory the whole
earth is full, by whose beautiful righteousness and power the deformity of sin
and misery of his own is taken away in part, and shall be removed fully;
therefore justly it is said of him, thou
art fairer than the children of men. 2. Christ, by the doctrine which he delivereth,
is able not only to discover sin and misery, and the true way of delivery from
the same by grace, and to direct a man in the way of salvation by grace, but
also graciously and powerfully to persuade a man to embrace it: grace
is poured into thy lips. 3. Christ, as man, is furnished, abundantly and
above measure, for communicating the blessing to his hearers invincibly and
infallibly, and for making his doctrine effectually powerful to salvation to
whomsoever he will; for therefore,
or to this purpose, God hath blessed him
forever. 4. Christ is furnished to subdue and conquer and bring in so many
as he pleaseth under subjection unto his kingdom;
he hath his sword, even the rod of
his mouth, his word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, which no man
can withstand. 5. He goeth not abroad to conquer
or subdue without this his sword, which is his word; it is always with him
ready to be drawn forth, and to be thrust into the soul and conscience of the
hearer with whom he mindeth to deal: his sword is girded upon his thigh. 6. Christ is almighty, and so
able to make good all that he speaketh, and to
make his word of precept, promise, and threatening effectual unto the errand
for which it is sent: he is most mighty.
7. Where he is pleased to open his word and discover himself what he is, they
that sit in darkness see a great light of his own glory as God; a shining
light, a glorious light, making open the deep counsel of God and mystery of
men’s salvation: gird thy sword upon
thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory. 8. Where he pleaseth
to show himself, there the stateliness of a mighty monarch is seen, the
sovereignty of the rule of heaven and earth is seen, able to shake with fear
and awe of his greatness; with his glory
there is majesty, or stately magnificence. 9. The wheels of Christ’s
chariot, whereupon he rideth when he goeth
forth to conquer and subdue new converts to his kingdom, are majesty,
truth, meekness, righteousness, manifested in the preaching of his gospel;
majesty, when the stately
magnificence of his person and offices is declared; truth,
when certainty of all that he teacheth in
Scripture is known; meekness, when
his grace and mercy are offered to rebels; and righteousness,
when justification by faith in his name is clearly set forth. 10. Christ goeth
no voyage in vain, he cometh not short of his
intent and purpose, but doth the work for which he cometh, preaching the
gospel: in his majesty, truth, meekness,
and righteousness he rideth prosperously. 11.
Christ can do what he will; he can do terrible things, to make his enemies
tremble and his friends reverence him with holy fear, having omnipotency
in him to work by, as ready as a man hath his right hand to employ; let him
but will to have anything done, and it shall be done; he hath not long to
advise what he is able to do, as men consult with their ability whether they
be so powerful as to effect what they intend or would have done: thy
right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 12. Albeit he needeth
no admonition to do what he is doing or will do, yet loveth
he to have his children furthering the advancement of his kingdom, showing
unto him what they would have done, and praying unto him that his kingdom may
more and more come, as the form of speech indited
by the Holy Spirit importeth: gird
thy sword, ride thou prosperously, &c. 13. Christ in his conquest is
to meet with his enemies, of whom some will openly oppose him, some will
feignedly profess subjection, but will not heartily submit themselves unto
him, but stand aloof and at a distance, being far from him in their hearts
when with their lips they draw near hand unto him; both these are here called the
King’s enemies. 14. Such as do not draw near unto him in their heart, he
can and will send messengers of wrath into their heart, threatenings which
shall be executed, terrors which
shall be followed with judgments, and judgments
which shall end in their destruction, sudden and unexpected; how many or
how strong soever they seem to be, they shall not stand before him nor be able
to hinder his conquest: thine arrows are
sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies, whereby the
people fall under thee. 15. Christ Jesus, the promised Messiah, was
revealed to the church of Israel to be the very true eternal God, that their
faith and ours might have satisfaction, and a solid ground to rest upon, in
the all-sufficiency and infinite worthiness of the promised Redeemer; as the
apostle, Heb. i. 8, confirmeth
unto us, citing to this purpose this very text, thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever. 16. Christ shall not want a church,
from generation to generation; let persecutors do their worst, he shall reign
as King, and sit on his throne in his church, giving forth his laws, and
executing them, oppose him who will: thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever. 17. The sceptre of Christ’s
kingdom, which is the gospel, or the word of God in Scripture, whereby he gathereth
his subjects and ruleth them, and the manner of
his governing his people by the rule of his law and discipline, are most just
and equitable; a righteous sceptre, whereby the subjects may be instructed in
all righteousness, and may be justified and made righteous: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 18. The holiness
and righteousness of Jesus Christ, both as he is God and as he is God
incarnate, are so essential to his person and employment, that his rule of
government and administration of his affairs in his kingdom cannot be but
right, as for direction, and punishments of the disobedient: thou
lovest righteousness and hatest
iniquity. 19. As Christ is very God, so is he very man in all things,
except sin, like unto us whom he calleth, Psal.
xxii. 22, and Heb. ii. 12, his brethren, and here his fellows,
sharemen and partakers of all that is given to
him, and joint-heirs with him, Rom. viii. 17, and by reason of making covenant
in our name with the Father, and by assuming our nature, according to the
tenor of the covenant, God becometh his God and
our God, and he, in our name, as man, receiveth
the gifts of the Holy Spirit without measure, for fitting him, as he is man,
to manage his kingdom in righteousness effectually; for it is said, therefore, or to that intent, God,
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness. 20. The gifts and
grace of the Holy Spirit, spoken of here in terms of oil, (employed for
figuring men’s furnishing unto their calling, and enabling of kings and
priests unto their offices, and employed also in the entertainment of
honourable guests invited to a feast,) are so bestowed on believers,
joint-heirs with Christ, as Christ is not degraded from his sovereignty by his
partners’ exaltation; for of Christ it is said, thy
God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 21. As
the attendants of great persons are refreshed by the smell of their ointments
and perfumed garments, so are Christ’s attendants refreshed with the
consolations of Christ’s Spirit perfuming all his outward ordinances,
wherein, as in his garments, he showeth forth
himself to his church more comfortably than any perfume or odoriferous spice
can set forth: all thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia. 22. Not only
the heavens, where God showeth forth his glory to
souls of just men made perfect, but also all the places where his honour dwelleth,
all the meetings of his church where he showeth
himself in his ordinances to a spiritual eye, are all of them most glorious
and stately palaces; for there is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and there is
the beauty of holiness, whence cometh forth the smell of his graces in his
ordinances, as out of ivory palaces.
23. It is savoury and well-pleasing to Christ when his people find pleasure in
him and are refreshed by his blessing upon the public ordinances; for thereby
they have made thee glad, saith the psalmist to Christ. 24. Albeit the
catholic [universal] church,
consisting of true converts or real saints, be but the one and only true
spouse of Christ, yet particular visible churches, consisting of saints by
calling, by obligation, by profession, and common estimation, their own or
others; some of them being true saints indeed in the spirit, some of them but
counterfeits and saints in the letter only, are in number many, as they are
dispersed for time and place wherein they live, and make up sundry
incorporations and ecclesiastic consociations in parishes, towns, countries,
and kingdoms, as the Lord giveth them occasion,
opportunity, or possibility, to make use of one another for communion of
saints; in this respect, I say, they are many, and therefore the true spouse,
the true church, consisting of true converts, (whose praise is of God, to whom
only they are certainly known, and not of men,) being but one, is compared to
the queen; but the particular churches, whose collections and consociations
are known to men, being many, are compared to ladies of honour which serve the
queen; of this sort it is here prophesied, that the most renowned cities,
countries, provinces, and kingdoms, should be professed attendants of Christ
the bridegroom’s honour, and professed servants of his church, and promoters
of the honour, estate, and welfare of his spouse: king’s
daughters among thy honourable women. 25. Albeit our Lord will allow a
place of honour and room in his own court unto visible churches, in their
several consociations, greater and smaller, for that service which they may do
in order to the gathering in of the elect into the inner court of nearest
spiritual communion with him, yet it is the universal invisible church which
he considereth his spouse; she is the queen who
hath access unto him, to be in highest honour beside him: upon
thy right hand did stand the queen. 26. As the whole society of true
saints reverently attend the will of the Lord, that every one of them in their
place may honour the Lord; so are they all highly honoured of the Lord, and
adorned with whatsoever may make them glorious; for the ornaments put on by
Christ, such as adoption, justification, sanctification, with all other
relations tending to their felicity, are here compared to the finest gold: the queen doth stand at his right hand in gold of Ophir.
10.
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and
incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
11.
So shall the King greatly desire thy
beauty; for he is thy Lord, and
worship thou him.
12.
And the daughter of
Tyre
shall
be there with a gift; even
the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour.
13.
The King’s daughter is
all-glorious within; her clothing is
of wrought gold.
14.
She shall be brought unto the King in
raiment of needle-work: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be
brought unto thee.
15.
With gladness and rejoicing shall
they be brought: they shall enter into the King’s palace.
This
is the other part of the psalm wherein the Spirit of the Lord speaketh
to the true church militant, and directeth her in
her duty; and encourageth her by sundry
inducements to follow the Lord’s direction. Whence learn, 1. As because
there is spiritual love and respect between God and his church, therefore the
covenant and the spiritual communion between Christ and his church are
compared to a marriage; so, because the derivation of all spiritual life,
grace, and motion which the church hath, is from God, and dependeth
on him; therefore the church is compared to a daughter; hearken, O daughter, and ver. 13, she is called the
King’s daughter. 2. The way and order of bringing the church to her
duty, is by hearing of his word, consideration of what is taught, and
subjection of her spirit to the obedience of faith; hearken,
O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear. 3. Because even the true
members of the church, whose praise is not of men but of God, are in this life
entangled in affection to their old ways and corruption of manners; therefore
every one hath need to renounce and forget more and more his old lusts and
enticements of the world, which is a very true fruit, and necessary evidence
of their hearing in faith; forget also,
saith he, thine own people, and thy
father’s house. 4. The more we renounce and abandon our lusts and sinful
inclinations in obedience to God, the more are we beautified with holiness,
and are acceptable to God in our endeavours; forsake thy father’s house, so shall the King greatly desire thy
beauty. 5. Christ hath all right unto our service, and by creation,
redemption, and covenant, we are absolutely bound to serve and honour him in
all things; he is thy Lord, and worship
thou him. 6. When the church honoureth Christ
he will honour her, and make the noble and potent in the world submit
themselves to her and seek communion with her, and to esteem the meanest true
member of the church, more blessed than riches or honour can make any man; the
daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift: the rich among the people shall
entreat thy favour. 7. The glory of the true kirk
[church], and of every true member
thereof is in things spiritual, not discernible by the uptaking
of the natural man; for what is outwardly professed, is inwardly studied unto
sincerity by them who worship God in spirit and in truth; and the graces
wherewith she is adorned, as knowledge, faith, love, hope, zeal, courage,
sobriety, patience, are not the object of outward beholders, but most
beautiful in the eyes of a spiritual discerner, and in the eyes oh Him that seeth
in secret: the King’s daughter is
all-glorious within. 8. Whatsoever inherent graces the saints have, and
how beautiful soever they be; yet they have need of a garment which may hide
their imperfections, and beautify them before God; to wit, the imputed
righteousness of Christ, the husband of the church, who only hath this garment
to sell, Rev. iii. 18; and though it be bought without money and without
price, yet it is very rich, for whatsoever either nature or art can furnish to
set it forth, is but a shadowing similitude of it; her
clothing is of wrought gold. 9. Though the marriage of Christ and his
church be bound up, and the hand-fastening be past, and tokens of love be
given to the bride, yet the full solemnity of the complete marriage is delayed
till a set time, that the particular members and the whole church may be
perfected. The time of the bride’s being brought to a constant habitation
with Christ, is at the Lord’s appointed time; to wit, at the death of every
particular saint, and of the whole church together at the day of our Lord’s
second coming; the day is coming, wherein she
shall be brought unto the King. 10. Albeit now there be many imperfections
of the saints, which Christ’s imputed righteousness hideth,
yet in the day of the church’s being brought into the presence of God, to be
with him for ever, she shall have no imperfection, spot or wrinkle, or want of
any thing which may perfect her glory in all respects. She shall put on
immortality and incorruption, and her very body of
flesh shall be made conformable to the glorious body of our Lord Jesus; she
shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle work: wherein the height
of artifice and of nature’s materials are joined, as the fittest
similitude which can express this inexpressible glory. 11. The same shall be
the glorious state of particular saints, and particular congregations, which
shall be of the whole church universal; whereof as every true congregation and
particular saint therein is a part, and have contributed their service in
their time to the good of the whole church, as handmaids to their mistress: so
shall they share in the glorious reward; the virgins, her companions shall be brought unto thee, saith the
psalmist unto Christ. 12. Great shall be the joy of men and angels in the
general meeting of the whole church, all being gathered together by the
angels, who have lived from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof,
and all received into the fellowship of God in blessedness to endure for ever;
with gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought, they shall enter into the
King’s palace.
16.
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy
children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
17.
I will make thy name to be remembered in
all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
The
two last verses may be applied both to the bride the true militant church, and
to the bridegroom Christ Jesus, the King of saints. As it is applied to the
church, learn, 1. The saints have no ground of gloriation
in their progenitors according to the flesh, of whom they draw nothing but
what is polluted with sin; but all the glory of the church is rather in her
children which she bringeth
forth by the gospel unto God: instead of
thy fathers shall be thy children. 2. What any member of the church seemeth
to lose in the world by forsaking thereof and coming to Christ, it is made up
to them by Christ in spiritual respects, if not also in temporal blessings
when God seeth fit; instead of thy fathers shall be thy children. 3. The true children
of the church are indeed the excellent ones of the earth, and princes indeed,
wherever they live, in comparison of all other men who are but the beastly
slaves of Satan; thy children are
princes in all the earth. 4. The true church shall be honourable, and
honoured by her kindly children in all generations, because of the estimation
which God putteth upon her in his holy Scripture; I
will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore the people
shall praise thee.
These
verses may also be applied more pertinently to the bridegroom Christ Jesus,
for whose praise the whole psalm is composed, ver. 1. Of whom only the words
can be verified fully, as only capable of what is ascribed directly to the
person spoken unto here, and cannot well be ascribed to Solomon and
Pharaoh’s daughter in their marriage; because partly Solomon’s marriage
with outlandish women is marked among his faults, and so can hardly be
esteemed to be honoured with this song delivered to the church for her
perpetual instruction; partly because in the inscription there is not so much
as mention of Solomon’s name, either as type or resemblance of this marriage
of Christ and his church; and partly also because what is here spoken, hath
little typical verity answering to it in the history of Scripture concerning
Solomon’s marriage, or children of Pharaoh’s daughter. And lastly, this
song is set down not in a typical manner, but in a simple similitude of the
marriage of a king and queen indefinitely, whose marriage useth
to be the most glorious of all earthly marriages, and fittest to lead us up to
that incomparably glorious spiritual marriage of Christ and his church. In
which consideration, from these words, learn, 1. Christ draweth
not glory from his progenitors according to his flesh, but giveth
being, and gracious being, to such as he regenerateth
by his word and Spirit, to be his children; and so it may be said to Christ, instead
of thy fathers shall be thy children. 2. The excellency
of Christ’s children, and their princely disposition above the rest of
mankind unregenerate, is of Christ’s making; he only it is, of whom properly
it may be said, thou shalt make thy
children princes in all the earth; for, he hath made us kings and priests to God and his Father. 3. By the
Spirit that indited this psalm, and all other
Scriptures, Christ’s name shall be holden forth
and remembered from age to age, while the world lasteth:
I will make thy name, saith the
Spirit, to be remembered to all
generations. 4. Christ’s espousing unto himself a church, and gathering
more and more from age to age by his word and Spirit unto it, his converting
souls, and bringing them into the fellowship of his family, and giving unto
them princely minds and affections wherever they live, are large matters of
growing and everlasting glory unto his majesty; for in regard of this point,
and what is said before in this psalm, he addeth
as the close of all, therefore shall the
people praise thee.
Reference
A
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS, by David Dickson. Published by The
Banner of Truth Trust, 1985. pp 255-265.
