Psalm 45 is a superb example of what C. S. Lewis has called “second meanings in the Psalms” (Reflections on the Psalms, 101–15). The primary meaning of the psalm is clear; it is a wedding song, celebrating the marriage of a king to a princess. In its original sense and context, it is not in any sense a messianic psalm. And yet within the context of early Christianity (and in Judaism before that), it becomes a messianic psalm par excellence. The express evidence for the transition is to be found in Heb 1:8–9, where Ps 45:7–8 is quoted with explicit reference to Jesus Christ. But the “second meaning” extends to the whole psalm, not merely to the two verses quoted, and it develops further the way in which the OT’s portrayal of human love and marriage may become the basis of an allegory of Christ and the Church, the Groom and the Bride.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 340.

Mercifully, the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t followed by immediate judgment for those who condemned him, but forgiveness was offered to those who turned from evil [Acts 3:27].

THOMAS R. SCHREINER, HANDBOOK ON ACTS AND PAUL’S LETTERS, 14.

The name of Jesus is not to be trifled with, and it doesn’t work like a magic charm.

Thomas R. Schreiner, Handbook on Acts and Paul’s Letters, 37.

When the psalmist stops speaking to himself (Ps 42) and addresses his words to God (Ps 43), the beginning of his deliverance is in sight.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 329.

Like a thirsty animal in a dry place, the psalmist thirsts for God, but it is specifically the worship of God in the temple for which he longs (as is implied by “the face,” or presence, of God: [Ps. 42] v 3b).

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 326.

In John’s Gospel (13:18), the lamenting words of the psalmist concerning betrayal by an intimate friend are used by Jesus in anticipation of his own betrayal [“I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me'” (Ps. 41:9)]. Thus, words which were originally part of a liturgy of sickness in the face of death, are transformed into what amounts to a prophetic prediction of betrayal in the life of Jesus.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 321.

In a remarkable copy of the Gospels dating from the fourteenth century, which once belonged to the Medicis (Gregory-Aland 16), the general run of the narrative is written in vermillion; the words of Jesus and angels are crimson and occasionally in gold; the words quoted from the Old Testament and those spoken by the disciples are blue; and, finally, the words of the Pharisees, Judas Iscariot, and the devil are black.

Bruce M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Palaeography, 18.

In the NT the theme to be developed most explicitly from Ps 40 is the passage on sacrifice, vv 7–9. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews develops the passage in his account of the permanent nature of the sacrifice of Christ. The words of the ancient psalm are now set in the mouth of Christ (Heb 10:5–10), though with some modification, for the writer of the Epistle employs the slightly different text of the Septuagint at this point (see note a* on v 7). In one sense, Hebrews goes beyond Ps 40; the perpetual sacrifices of the past have become obsolete in terms of the permanent sacrifice of Christ. But in another sense, the writer of the Epistle grasps the fundamental sense of the psalm and neatly reverses it. The king in the ancient kingdom had been required to offer sacrifices, but that was not all; beyond the formalities of the cult, obedience and profound spirituality were required of him, for sacrifices in and of themselves achieved nothing. In Christ, says the writer of the Epistle, there is a reversal; first, he affirms his intention to do the divine will (Heb 10:9), and that intention in turn leads back inevitably to sacrifice, but now to the sacrifice that ends all sacrifices.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 317.

Prayer (40:12). The brief element of prayer forms an appropriate transition between the thanksgiving for former acts of deliverance, and the lament (vv 13–17) which will culminate in an explicit prayer for a future act of deliverance (v 18). The whole thrust of the prayer is to be found in the imperative: “come.” The king prays for the divine presence in the approaching crisis, for it had only been that presence which converted former crisis into victory. The divine presence would bring with it those covenant characteristics of God (“mercies, lovingkindness, truth”) that would provide the necessary protection (v 12b) in crisis and would culminate in victory.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 316.

The essence of Ps 40 is that it is a part of a liturgy, and the formal and substantial changes within the psalm are to be understood against the background of progression within the liturgy. The liturgy begins with thanksgiving, thereby establishing precedent and laying a foundation for what is to follow. It then moves on to lament and prayer; it is only in the prayer that the overall purpose of the liturgy emerges, and the preparatory role of the thanksgiving is clarified.

PETER C. CRAIGIE AND MARVIN TATE, PSALMS 1-50, VOLUME 19: SECOND EDITION (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY), 314.