Our Wedding Day

This is another of the Psalms by the sons of Korah. The subject here has two levels. Level one is regarding the royal marriage of one of the kings of Israel to his bride. What a majestic event it must have been! The participants are unknown but a probable suggestion is Solomon’s marriage to the princess of Egypt. On the other hand, there is the other level, the messianic level. This psalm also speaks of another wedding much more important than the wedding of two mortals. The language in Psalm 45 is too elaborate for this. There is another King here, another bride, and another wedding – a heavenly one. That King is King Jesus, that bride is the church, and that wedding is the marriage of the Lamb to His church.  

The writer introduces his poem (1) then recites his poem (2-15), and lastly, he adds his benediction to His Master (16-17). 

Before one can clearly see what is happening in this psalm he must be somewhat acquainted with the ancient Jewish customs for marriage. First, there was the betrothal period, which could be quite lengthy. During this time the man and woman were considered husband and wife but without the physical union. In fact, they didn’t even live in the same home. The betrothed wife remained in her father’s house. The parents of the couple usually arranged the union. The betrothal period also usually involved the paying of a dowry (Ex. 22:17). The second part consisted of the groom gathering his wedding party and leading a procession to the bride’s house to get his her (Mat. 25:1 f.; Jn. 14:1-3). The last part of the custom involved the groom leading his bride and his entourage back to his home for a celebration that lasted between one and two weeks (Jer. 31:13).