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| King’s of Glory* (The Father and His Beloved Son) - Download PDF ArticleYahweh of hosts, the King of Glory, had the psalmist write words of praise to his future beloved Son, who would not be born for another nine hundred years. The psalmist wrote, “Overflowed hath my heart, with an excellent theme, I will recite my poem concerning the king, Be, my tongue, like the pen of a scribe who is skilled. Most beautiful thou art, beyond the sons of adam, Christ is the antitype of the king of Psalm forty-five. Yahshua went from the high of the mountain top when the multitudes cried, “…Hosanna! Blessed is he that is coming in the name of Yahweh,––even the King of Israel,” to the absolute low of the valley when they “…cried aloud––Away! away! Crucify him! Pilate saith unto them––Your king, shall I crucify? The High–priests answered––We have no king but Caesar” (Jn. 12:13, 19:15)! Naked to the world, nailed to a cross with a title that read, “YAHSHUA, THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS,” mocked with a crown of thorns upon his head, Christ looked to the promise of Psalm forty-five as foretold by his Father, which reads, “Thy throne, O Elohim, is to times age–abiding and beyond, A sceptre of equity, is the sceptre of thy kingdom...For this cause, peoples, shall praise thee, to times age–abiding and beyond” (Ps. 45:6, 17). The Kings of Glory, Yahweh and Yahshua, are presented in the Psalms. Yahweh, is the King of Glory, in Psalm twenty-four and his beloved Son, Yahshua, is the king in Psalm forty-five, as the antitype. Psalm forty-five can be studied as typology. Typology (a.k.a. figura in Latin) in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testament. Events in the Old Testament are seen as pre-figuring events or aspects of Christ in the New Testament, and, in the fullest version of the theory, that is seen as the purpose behind the Old Testament events occurring. Typology, derived from the Greek word for "mark", posits that Old Testament events or statements are the "types" pre-figuring an aspect of Christ and his revelation, who is the "antitype" to each type. The king referred to in Psalm forty-five could be Solomon, Hezekiah or some other king but the anitype is Christ as is revealed in Hebrews 1:8. Christ will rule as King over his earthly kingdom for 1,000 years as recorded in Revelations twenty. After death and Sheol are thrown into the Lake of Fire, Christ will subject himself to Yahweh who will descend from heaven to rule the earth as King, as recorded in Revelations twenty-one and twenty-two. In Psalm twenty-four, Yahweh is the ‘King of Glory.’ (Jospeh Rotherham's exposition on Psalms twenty-four and forty-five will be used in our study of the Kings of Glory.) Psalm 24 Lift up, O ye gates, your heads, and lift yourselves up, ye age–abiding doors, “Passing on to survey the psalm as we have it on its merits, we observe the admirable fitness of the introductory stanza to serve its purpose, because it lays a solid foundation for all worship. The earth, with its contents, the world, with its inhabitants,—these all belong to Yahweh, because he made them; and therefore it is meet that he should be adored, thanked and praised for what he has done. Yahweh, the Elohim of grace, is at the same time the Elohim of nature: had he not created us such as we are, we could not have desired to worship him; we could not have known him and realized a need and a desire to know him better. Knowing him—knowing these fundamental things about him —and desiring to worship him; we next need to know where he may be found; and we learn that he dwells in yon holy place, on yonder holy mountain of Zion: "Who shall ascend the mountain of Yahweh?" This may not be all the truth: it may be but a stepping-stone to a higher truth. His local earthly presence may be only introductory to his local heavenly presence; and even his local heavenly presence may ultimately be found to be only introductory to his universal presence. Nevertheless, this is the way in which he is leading us; and we had better accept our lessons as he gives them. Even though means of an earthly symbolic presence, we may learn invaluable lessons; and one such lesson is given us here. Who may enter yonder sacred spot, who stands with acceptance in yonder hallowed shrine? "The clean of hands, and pure of heart" The answer comes in the form of a description of character: nothing else is named. Nationality is ignored: tribe, clan, family, age, social standing—these are all brushed aside; everything gives place to character. Character is to be triumphant. He that possesses these sterling characteristics shall bear away in triumph a blessing from Yahweh, a vindication from his delivering Elohim. Are there only a comparatively few who possess such a character? Then let all seek to belong to the comparatively few? Do any protest that they are not saints but sinners; that their characters have become broken and damaged and unpresentable before this holy Elohim? Then, this conviction may prepare them for the next lesson: it may put them on the track of salvation. But meantime this first lesson must be strongly enforced: that salvation is salvation into character: character becomes an abiding reality. Only the pure in heart can see Yahweh. The craving to worship is a craving to see Yahweh. But this earthly presence speaks of a heavenly presence; and the ultimate lesson is that a holy character is essential to the heavenly presence of Yahweh. But the heavenly presence is coming down to earth. Yahweh is coming down to lift us up. The tent of Yahweh—his eternal tent—his eternal near and intimate dwelling—is -coming down to be with men. Then men should arise and prepare to meet their Elohim. Advancing to the third stanza for general lessons, we mark the character in which Yahweh himself demands admission into his earthly temple: "Lift up, O ye gates, your heads, and lift yourselves up" it is as "King of Glory." Twice the demand for admission is made; twice it is as the "King of Glory." When identification is sought as to Who the King of Glory is, and the answer has been by name and attribute and relationship given, the answer is crowned by a third employment of this descriptive title: "He is the King of Glory." What is the NAME of "the King of Glory"? His name is "YAHWEH." What are his attributes? "Strong"—"mighty"—"mighty in battle": these are his attributes—all chosen as if to support the claim to be King, as much as to say—"Beware! for none can successfully resist him." Certainly, then, the Kingship of Yahweh is made especially prominent: by the threefold repetition of the title; by the attributes selected to enforce it; and, we may add, by the claim here made, that he has "ARMIES" at his command; for such is evidently the force of the word "hosts," "Yahweh of hosts," "Yahweh of armies in battle array." It is asked who are these, Yahweh's hosts? First and foremost, in the merely typical application, to the time and circumstances then present, David and his men; successors of Joshua and his men; the hosts of Israel, who are now completing their conquest of Canaan, the hosts of Israel with Yahweh, the King of Glory, at their head. This is the lowest application. We need not stop there. As the kingship is lifted up and the claim for submission is widened, —the "hosts," the "armies," will multiply, until they include the heavenly hosts themselves. The one point on which we would concentrate attention is the Kingship of Yahweh. And let it be remembered that "the King of Glory" is another way of saying, "Glorious King." As King he will enter: as King he will be enthroned: as King he will be worshipped. The Creator of the beginning of the psalm, is the Glorious King of the close of the psalm. Is all this a Type? From early times—from the times of the early "Fathers"—and we are willing to think from the very times of the Apostles, when Christ's early disciples realized that their Risen Lord had gone up into heaven, Christians have felt they were getting near—if they had not altogether reached—the Antitype of that Type—that magnificent Type from one point of view—that feeble type from another. Let it be remembered that it is the type of David's time which just now sets us on the right road of application. The Type had in it these elements: That it was the Earth—not heaven—to which claim was laid; that Jerusalem was regarded as the Governmental Centre of the Earth; that visible and effectively enforced Kingship claimed to be acknowledged at that center: Yahweh of armies—he is the Glorious King of Earth! Christ's ascension is only a part of the fulfillment; for—in a sense much needed and most true for the safe development of this theme—Christ's ascension is not yet complete. Christ the Head of the Church has ascended; but the Corporate Christ has not yet been "taken up in glory" (1 Tim. 3:16): that complementary ascension awaits the time when by "preaching Christ among the Gentiles," and his being "believed on in the world," the number required to complete his body will be made sufficiently large to suit the purposes of the Father's love. Then and thereafter will the Type be carried forward into a yet wider, deeper, higher fulfillment. We are but learners on this theme. This psalm does not stand alone, as though it were the only Ascension Psalm: there are others, and notably among them the 47th, in view of which we may shadow forth a legitimate surmise—provided we call it no more—that in the Coming Kingdom, Ascension and Descension may be repeated until at length the tent of Yahweh shall be with men, and He will dwell among them as their Elohim.” And, the holy city, new Jerusalem, saw I coming down out of heaven from Yahweh, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband... The King of Psalm 45 Another King is coming; one who delights in lovingkindness, justice and righteousness; “…and not, by the sight of his eyes, will he judge, Nor, by the hearing of his ears, will he decide; But he will judge, with righteousness, them who are poor, And decide, with equity! for the oppressed of the land,––And he will smite the land with the scepter of his mouth, And, with the breath of his lips, will he slay the lawless one” (Is. 11:3-4); “the same, shall be great, and, Son of the Most High, shall be called, and Yahweh Elohim, will give unto him, the throne of David his father” (Lk. 1:32). He is a conqueror in the Day of Yahweh. Revelations 19:11 proclaims the arrival of this King by saying, “And I saw heaven, set open, and lo! a white horse, and, he that was sitting thereon, Faithful, and True; and, in righteousness, doth he judge and make war; and, his eyes, are a flame of fire, and, upon his head, are many diadems, having, a name, written, which, no one, knoweth, but himself, and arrayed with a mantle sprinkled with blood, and his name hath been called––The Word of Yahweh. And, the armies which were in heaven, were following him, upon white horses, clothed with fine linen, white, pure; and, out of his mouth, is going forth a sharp sword, that, therewith, he may smite the nations,––and, he, shall shepherd them with a sceptre of iron, and, he, treadeth the wine–press of the wrath of the anger of Yahweh of Host. And he hath, upon his mantle and upon his thigh, a name, written Psalm 45 (Stanza I) “First and foremost (Stanza I.) we have a poet deeply moved by his theme; and if he knows that his mind has ever travailed in birth with grand and godly conceptions almost too big for utterance, he is conscious that it is so now. (Stanza II) Next (Stanza II.) we have an observable inversion of the usual delicacy of male preference for female beauty: here it is the King's surpassing beauty which throws its radiance over all the canvas; the queen's beauty being only incidentally alluded to later on. Either the poet is a sycophant; or he has before him a King most wonderful. Nor is it beauty of form and feature alone which attracts his admiration. To beauty of appearance is added the worthy concomitant consisting in graciousness of discourse: charming the ear and delighting the mind at the same time that the eye rests upon the pleasing vision of his person. That is all: no more is said for the present. These two things, the poet feels, must please Yahweh as well as man. Therefore hath Yahweh blessed thee to the ages. The first and most natural sense of the word therefore is, that these qualities satisfy Yahweh and evoke his abiding benediction. Such a king he will delight to bless for so long a time that the poet cannot see beyond it. Short is this stanza, but it is complete; and the refrain marks that it is so. (Stanza III) A surprise now awaits us (Stanza III.) in the sudden summons of the beautiful and eloquent king to make ready for war. Had the poet merely clad his hero with armour, and bade him ride in his chariot for display and for impressive suggestion of what on occasion he might be trusted to achieve,—we could have admired the poet's art, and been ready to pass on to the next scene. But it is far otherwise. An occasion for war has arisen. The king has to vindicate his faithfulness to the implied obligations of his kingship. Righteousness has been humiliated within his, domain, and for this cause he is summoned to interpose. An enemy has arisen on whom avengement must be inflicted, involving fearful punishment. No plan of campaign can be assigned the avenging monarch: his own skilled right hand will teach him what to do, first and last. No companion warriors are named, yet the king's arrows are sharp and their execution is so widespread that peoples fall under them; and the overthrow of the king's foes is so sudden that the description is broken, that the reader may behold it. As intimated, not only is the issue of the battle seemingly immediate; but the summons to wage this war is inferentially unexpected. So, at least, the poet's art suggests; since, to permit of this royal campaign, the royal marriage is postponed. This may, in exegesis, mean little; but it may mean much, and the poet's skill will be best vindicated should it appear to have been carefully designed. The foreseen issue of this war furnishes the poet with an occasion to speak the praises of the Warrior's throne, sceptre, and character; and then to crown this view of the King with another logical refrain, longer and larger than the first. His throne is an abiding throne, says the poet; and he takes pains to negative the thought of its overthrow or removal or disuse, by adding a word to his time reference: to the ages and beyond shall that throne stand! It may be naturally inferred, that it is the King's promptitude and prowess in making the war for the vindication of downtrodden righteousness, already noticed, which occasion the poet's reflection on the stability of his throne. And the same may be said of the notice of his scepture. But this is now distinctly traced to the King's character: He loveth righteousness and hateth lawlessness—the which, indeed, is thrown into the form of direct address, and stated in the complete tense which is fitted to comprehend an abiding quality with its recent manifestation. Therefore—because of this, the triumphant hero is anointed with the oil of gladness above his partners. It is a Divine anointing: Yahweh his Elohim has bestowed it. It is a festive gift: causing joy to its recipient. This joy is superlative in degree: above thy partners—whoever these may be, which is not yet declared. Placed where this anointing is: after the war—before the marriage: it looks in both directions. The Hero is made supremely glad, inasmuch as he has been able to deal so decisive a blow to lawlessness: being so made glad, he is ready for his Bride. (Stanza IV) The marriage approaches (Stanza IV.). Again the King most wonderful comes into view, not now clad in armour, but with flowing robes redolent of sweetest spices, as though woven of nothing else. In the near distance music is heard: reminding him of the happy occasion, in response to which his heart leaps for joy. King's daughters are proud to serve as menials in his household. And now the Queen, his Bride, is stationed at his right hand, place of highest honour; clad in gold-decked raiment. The poet recites these facts in language addressed to the King: thy garments—delighted thee—thy servants—thy right hand. This prepares us for a marked change of address, which is thereby rendered impressive. (Stanza V) For hearken! the venerable poet (Stanza V.), who may be regarded as at once giving away the Bride and solemnising the nuptials, presumes to address the Queen. His address is familiar, for he calls the Bride daughter; but his words are few, and much to the point—if the Lady whom he accosts has either been brought from a foreign land or promoted from a lowly station: one caution, one inference, one sanction. One caution: let the Bride be supremely devoted to her husband, comparatively forgetting all else. One inference: thus will the king long, for thy beauty. One sanction: he is thy lord—he owns thee, thou art his, he will be within his rights. No more. That short line from the Septuagint is splendidly eloquent in its stern reticence. Nothing can be added without spoiling it. How the harpist would deal with so short a line, is a minor question: we recall several such short lines, left short for emphasis (1:1, 4, 8:1, 9, 150:6); or the musician by a simple repeat could expand this line into a tetrameter, a measure which is characteristic of this psalm. Let the bowing down in homage be reverently (with the Septuagint) handed on for the daughters of Tyre, and so help to form a well-balanced line to match the respectful suit for the Queen's favour pressed by the rich men of the honoured nation to whom the King is related. (Stanza VI) After this address to the Queen, it is at least poetically correct to conceive of all eyes as now (Stanza VI.) directed to her, and to have her resplendent appearance made the subject of admiring exclamations. Ere the King finally disappears in his palace, and the Queen is conducted to him, and her companions follow in her train, appropriate good wishes are by the poet addressed to them both (Stanza VII.): (Stanza VII) first, as Dr. Ginsburg has pointed out, to the Queen; to whom is assigned the privilege, in the event of the fulfillment of the good wishes, of furnishing rulers for all the land, or as better suiting the wide outlook of the psalm, all the earth, a wish not more notable for, its delicacy than for its boldness; and then, finally, the address passes over to the King—good wishes for whom take the forth of a positive intention, as the avowed motive on the poet's part' It might have passed as an obvious and natural compliment, to have merely said, that he, the poet, hoped to memorialize his - hero's name to all succeeding generations: but, when he goes on to foretell that the thanks of all coming time will, by virtue of this marriage-song, be tendered to his hero by peoples or nations, then we feel that the poet is either guilty of extravagance or is assuming the role of a prophet. Only by assuming that he is a prophet, and that the Messiah is his ultimate theme, can we acquit him of such suspicion. Christ's Kingdom upon the Earth Yahshua's kingdom is coming to the earth when Yahweh will "...give the nations as his inheritance, and, as his possession, the ends of the earth: He shall shepherd them with a sceptre of iron,––as a potter’s vessel, shall he dash them in pieces" (Ps. 2:8-9). The King, the only one who is worthy to open the seals, will battle victoriously in the Day of Yahweh. The King of kings shall reign upon the earth for one thousand years, while the dragon is bound in the abyss. His bride will be Israel, those that worship and serve Yahweh. Christ's thousand year kingdom will have one massive revolt. Revelations 20:7 proclaims, "And, as soon as the thousand years, shall be ended, the Accuser shall be loosed out of his prison, and will go forth to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, the Gog and Magog, to gather them together unto the battle––the number of whom, is as the sand of the sea. And they came up over the breadth of the land, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. And there came down fire out of heaven, and devoured them; and, the Adversary that had been deceiving them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where were both the wild–beast and the false–prophet; and they shall be tormented, day and night, unto the ages of ages." Yahweh's Kingdom upon the Earth The earth becomes purified after death, Sheol and those who are not written in the Book of Life are thrown into the Lake of Fire. This purification of the earth for the arrival of Yahweh has been accomplished by Christ. Christ's reign upon the earth becomes subject to Yahweh's reign upon the earth as Yahweh descends from the heavens to abide with men; "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for, the first heaven and the former earth, have passed away, and, the sea, is no more. And, the holy city, new Jerusalem, saw I coming down out of heaven from Yahweh, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The city, hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they should shine therein; for, the glory of Yahweh, illumined it, and, the lamp thereof, was the Lamb; the throne of Yahweh and of the Lamb, shall be, therein, ––and his servants will render divine service unto him, and they shall see his face, and, his name, shall be upon their foreheads (Rev. 21 & 22). (For footnotes, read PDF version) (When quoting scriptures, from the Rotherham Emphasized Bible New Testament, I will substitute the Hebrew words Yahshua for Jesus, Yahweh and Elohim for God and the LORD and ruah for pneuma (spirit).)
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