translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PSA

label: NET study note

text: . This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.


text: The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.


text: The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.


text: To love justice means to actively promote it.


text: To hate evil means to actively oppose it.


text: Anointed you . When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9 ) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.


text: The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3 , where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.


text: Submit to him . The poet here makes the point that the young bride is obligated to bring pleasure to her new husband. Though a foreign concept to modern western culture, this was accepted as the cultural norm in the psalmist’s day.


text: The nations will praise you . As God’s vice-regent on earth, the king is deserving of such honor and praise.