The Tongue Like the Pen of a Skillful Writer

[Psalm 45]

“What is the most difficult part of the human body to control? It is the small three-inch tongue. God has given two natural defense mechanisms to control the human tongue: the teeth and the lips. When a bad or evil word tries to come out, you must bite your tongue with your teeth. Also, when the tongue tries to slip through the teeth, the lips must be closed tightly to prevent any words from coming out. Despite these defenses, humans can still sin greatly with their small tongues. Christians must build up virtue with their lips. They must proclaim hope with their mouths. If a Christian spits out harsh words, they are closing the door to evangelism. We must examine ourselves by God’s Word and continually pray to remove the evil hidden in our tongues. This is the virtue that believers must build” (from the internet). That is why the prophet Isaiah said: “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear as the learned” (Isaiah 50:4).

Today, the psalmist in Psalm 45 refers to his tongue as “the pen of a skillful writer” and says that he composed a poem about the king with the “good words” overflowing from his heart (verse 1). In other words, the psalmist, intoxicated by the great appearance of the king, skillfully used his prepared lips to make a confession about the king. I want to meditate on this in three ways and also consider what our attitude toward the king should be.

The psalmist’s first confession is: “The king is more beautiful than any man.”

Look at Psalm 45:2: “You are more beautiful than the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.” Here the psalmist, praising the king with his tongue as the pen of a skillful writer, describes the king as more beautiful than any man. This means that his virtue excels his physical appearance (Park Yoon Sun). The king, whose virtue surpasses his appearance, “has grace poured upon his lips,” the psalmist says (verse 2). This refers to the king’s wise words in his rule, showing that he governs his people rightly as a wise king (Park Yoon Sun).

I am reminded of hymn number 87, verse 1 and the chorus:
“The robe my Lord wears is truly beautiful, its fragrance fills my heart and brings me joy; leaving the city of Zion, the heavenly kingdom, the Lord came to this humble world, my true Savior.”
As I sing this hymn with my lips, I ask myself: How should I reveal Jesus’ beauty? Then I remember Henri Nouwen’s book Compassion and his idea of the “downward life.” Our nature instinctively seeks an “upward life,” but living a downward life like Jesus deeply unsettles our hearts. Everyone struggles to gain a better life, a higher salary, and a more honorable status, but we have the responsibility to embody Jesus’ downward life here on earth. We must reveal Jesus’ beauty in low and ugly places. Nouwen said this about God’s compassion:

“Compassion is not about having a sympathetic attitude toward those who have failed to achieve an upward life. On the contrary, compassion is to go directly to those people, enter into the place of their greatest suffering, and stay there. … (God’s) compassion is the compassion of one who continually approaches the most forgotten places in the world, and who cannot rest peacefully knowing that there are still people with tears in their eyes” (Nouwen).

We must remember the verse from Isaiah 53:2:
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.”
The beauty of our Lord Jesus cannot be seen with worldly eyes. This is because, to us, Jesus does not have beauty worthy of admiration. Therefore, like Jesus, we too may not have — and indeed should not have — beauty worthy of admiration in the eyes of the world. We must never pursue worldly beauty. Why? Because worldly beauty may be part of an “upward life,” but Jesus’ life was a “downward life” (Nouwen). We must keep in mind that Jesus’ beauty is revealed in our downward life. And we must not forget that God blesses a life that reveals Jesus’ beauty:
“…therefore God has blessed the king forever” (Psalm 45:2).

The psalmist’s second confession is: “The king is a victor.”

Look at Psalm 45:4:
“Ride forth in majesty to defend truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.”
Here we see the king going to war. The purpose of this war is “truth, meekness, and righteousness” (verse 4). For this, the psalmist prays, “Ride forth in majesty to victory” (verse 4). This prayer shows that the psalmist considers the king to be a victor. The king, who is blessed by God forever, mounts his war horse and goes out to conquer. His powerful right hand performs all wonderful deeds (Park Yoon Sun). Therefore, the psalmist says:
“Your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; all the king’s foes will fall before him” (verse 5).
The king, described as an invincible general, goes out to war and pierces the hearts of his enemies. This victorious king refers to Jesus Christ, the King of hosts. He is the spiritual victor (Revelation 19:11–21) (Park Yoon Sun).

In Deuteronomy 20:4, the Scripture says:
“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
The God of victory fights on our behalf and grants us victory. That is why the Apostle Paul says:
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
By the God who gives us victory, we can fight and overcome ourselves, sin, the world, and Satan.

However, there is a question we must ask here: How did Jesus win the victory? We need to ask how it was that Jesus fought and won against Satan. The answer to that question is that Jesus won the victory through His death on the cross. That is why the Apostle Paul says:
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:55-56).
Jesus overcame the sting of death, which is sin, through His death on the cross, and He cleansed all our sins. Furthermore, God gave us eternal life.

Therefore, the secret to living a victorious life is that we must “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). We must “discipline our body and bring it into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

The third confession of the psalmist is: “The king loves righteousness and hates wickedness.”

In Psalm 45:7, the Bible says:
“You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.”
The victorious Lord, in building His kingdom, ensures that His kingdom is eternal because His reign is based on “fairness” (v.6). The reason God’s kingdom is fair is because the King, the Lord, “loves righteousness and hates wickedness” (v.7). Therefore, His kingdom is filled with joy.

In Isaiah 11:1-5, we find a prophecy concerning the Messiah. Look at verses 3-5:
“He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor decide by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked;
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.”

We, who are called to expand the kingdom of God with a Christ-centered vision, must live lives that pursue fairness, just as the Lord did.

We must remember the words in Micah 6:8:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”

One of the things God requires of us is to “do justly.” In order to do this, we must, like the king in Psalm 45, love righteousness and hate wickedness.

The “king” mentioned in today’s passage refers to Jesus Christ, the Messiah. This Jesus, the King of kings, is a beautiful Lord, a victorious one, and a Lord who loves justice and hates evil. What should our attitude as believers be toward this Jesus? We can think of three things:

(1) We must cut our ties with this world and long only for the Lord.

Look at Psalm 45:10 in today’s passage:
“Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your father’s house.”
Here, the psalmist is speaking of the queen. This queen can be seen as a metaphor for believers, who are the bride of Christ (Park Yun-seon).
Therefore, the attitude of believers toward King Jesus is that we must forget our people and the house of our father. In other words, we must cut our ties with the world and long only for the Lord (Park Yun-seon).

(2) We must worship the Lord.

Look at Psalm 45:11 in today’s passage:
“So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him.”
Here, the psalmist teaches us what kind of believer God sees as beautiful. The believer who worships the Lord is the one who is seen as beautiful in the eyes of God.
God finds beauty in those who worship Him. The beauty of a believer lies in humbly worshiping God. Those who worship God with humility are obedient. They live a life of worship. They spread the gospel through their life of worship. Thus, they will see spiritual offspring.
Look at verse 16:
“The sons of the king will be heirs to the throne, and the king will make them rulers over all the earth.”
Here, the phrase “the sons of the king will be heirs to the throne” is a metaphor, meaning “believers see their spiritual offspring through the preaching of the gospel” (Park Yun-seon).
Our responsibility as believers is to expand God’s kingdom by preaching the gospel of King Jesus. In this sense, we have the responsibility to obey the command to spread the gospel of the Lord. In doing so, all will become kings through Jesus Christ, the King (Revelation 5:10) (Park Yun-seon).

(3) We must have hope in the Lord.

Look at Psalm 45:15 in today’s passage:
“With gladness and rejoicing they will be brought, and they will enter the king’s palace.”
Our hope is to enter the palace of the Lord and worship Him forever.
Look at verse 13:
“The king’s daughter is all glorious within the palace; her clothing is woven with gold.”
Here, “the king’s daughter” also refers to us, the believers. The psalmist says that the believers will be led with joy and gladness into the king’s palace, where they will enjoy “all the glory” (verses 13-15).

In the hope of entering the palace of Jesus, the King of kings, we long to pursue the beauty of a life of humility.

Pastor James' Sharing
(Wishing victory in the battle with myself, through the victorious Jesus)