“And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.”
The affirmation that the king succeeds in his campaign for truth and meekness and righteousness clarifies that military conquest serves the purpose of establishing justice and righteous order. The personification of meekness and righteousness as companions of the king suggests that these virtues guide his actions and characterize his reign. The specific mention of the king's right hand reaching terrible things implies that the power wielded by the monarch serves the establishment of divine order and the punishment of unrighteousness. The characterization of the king's arrows as sharp (suggesting effectiveness and penetration) establishes his role as one who effectively advances righteous causes. This verse transforms military imagery into theological significance, suggesting that conquests establish divine justice.
Church Fathers on Psalms 45:4
1. This Psalm, even as we ourselves have been singing with gladness together with you, we would beg you in like manner to consider with attention together with us. For it is sung of the sacred Marriage-feast; of the Bridegroom and the Bride; of the King and His people; of the Saviour and those who are to be saved....His sons are we, in that we are the “children of the Bridegroom;” and it is to us that this Psalm is addressed, whose title has the words, “For the sons of Korah,…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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