Psalms 45 and 46 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

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I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

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Psalm 45

(The psalmist welcomes us as guests to the wedding of Jesus, our Messiah and King, in the presence of his Mother, Mary our Queen, to his bride, the Church.)

L

ord, your handsomeness and eloquence are a reflection of your inner beauty and a sign that you have been eternally blessed by God. Go forth in majesty and glory to fight for truth and justice and protect your people. Your words of truth are like arrows that pierce your enemies’ hearts and bring about their conversion. God promised David that your kingdom would have no end. He has charged you with the mission to bring justice to the world. By anointing you with fragrant oils, he has designated you as the Messiah, the anointed one.

To the sound of harps, the wedding procession begins. The daughters of the gentile nations who have converted to you are in your entourage. Your Queen Mother Mary, dressed in gold, takes her place at your right side, for she is more powerful than all other women. Your bride, the Church, dressed in a robe of purity, is led to you in all her glory, just as she will enter heaven at the general resurrection. As a bride must leave her family and past way of life behind her and pledge her loyalty to her husband, we are called to break previous ties and vow to be loyal to you and to God.

People from all nations will bring gifts of love and devotion to earn your favor. Future generations will bring honor to your name throughout the world. We will praise you forever, our mighty savior and King. Amen.¹⁴

Psalm 46

C

hrist reveals the mystery of God hidden in his incarnation. Before Christ incarnated, the earth was in turmoil because we all feared death. But after his glorious resurrection, the world knew that death was not the end. Jesus’ sacrifice opened up the flood gates of God’s grace. It flowed like a river throughout the world establishing God’s church among the gentiles and bringing peace to war ravaged nations. Prayer silenced the call to arms. The gulf that once existed between God and man because of our sinfulness was bridged by the incarnation of Christ, Emmanuel – God with us. God visited his people, and he is with us still. He is our rock, our protector, our salvation, and true sense of peace in the world. May his name be praised and honored now and forever. Amen.¹⁵

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Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

¹⁴John Brook, The School of Prayer. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1992), 243-248.

¹⁵The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 712.

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.