Psalm 45: Who's Really In Charge?

One of the ongoing conflicts in the history of Israel was that between prophets and kings.  All too often, the leaders of both kingdoms sought to emulate rulers in neighboring lands.  They'd argue that God had made his covenant with the monarch, who would then be the deity's representative on earth.  The prophets argued otherwise: the covenant was with all of God's people.  This tension was especially notable in the emergence of theology surrounding the special role of the House of David.  If Scripture is our guide, David was indeed God's annointed.  But it's also clear that being chosen doesn't include receipt of a free pass to do as one pleases, nor to think that one or one's heirs are the ultimate authority.  That role is God's, and God's alone.

Today's psalm was written by someone highly sympathetic to the king.  It's fulsome.  It's rhapsodic.  In many ways, it's over the top -- and should be read with a grain salt in the form of the prophets' warning that God is king and God's covenant is with all God's people, not just one lucky person and his progeny.  This reminder of who's really in charge seems especially apt on this Election Day in New Hampshire.  We should vote hoping our public servants will address challenges and serve the people.  But we should never place our ultimate trust in them, no matter how good or talented they may be, for that belongs to God alone.
 

1 My heart is stirring with a noble song;
let me recite what I have fashioned for the king;
my tongue shall be the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are the fairest of men;
grace flows from your lips,
because God has blessed you for ever.
3 Strap your sword upon your thigh, O mighty warrior,
in your pride and in your majesty.
4 Ride out and conquer in the cause of truth
and for the sake of justice.
5 Your right hand will show you marvelous things;
your arrows are very sharp, O mighty warrior.
6 The peoples are falling at your feet,
and the king's enemies are losing heart.
7 Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
8 Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
9 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia,
and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.
10 Kings' daughters stand among the ladies of the court;
on your right hand is the queen,
adorned with the gold of Ophir.
11 "Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely;
forget your people and your father's house.
12 The king will have pleasure in your beauty;
he is your master; therefore do him honor.
13 The people of Tyre are here with a gift;
the rich among the people seek your favor."
14 All glorious is the princess as she enters;
her gown is cloth-of-gold.
15 In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king;
after her the bridesmaids follow in procession.
16 With joy and gladness they are brought,
and enter into the palace of the king.
17 "In place of fathers, O king, you shall have sons;
you shall make them princes over all the earth.
18 I will make your name to be remembered
from one generation to another;
therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever."

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