If we are enlightened and renewed, we will realize that Psalm 45 is lovable. First, in verses 2 through 7, this psalm praises the king, Solomon, in his fairness, in his victory, in his kingdom, and in the sweetness of his virtues. After this, the psalmist continues by praising the king in the praising of his queen. The queen is not alone but is accompanied by the daughters of kings (v. 9) and by the virgins, her friends (v. 14). If we view this as a type, we will see that the king typifies Christ, that the queen typifies the church, and that those around the queen typify the believers. In type, this queen is not a single, individual person—she is corporate. The believers are the constituents, the components, of this corporate queen. Actually, the believers are both the constituents of the queen and the honorable and beautiful women.

The situation is the same in Revelation 19:7 and 9a. Verse 7 says, "Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." This verse speaks of the wife of the Lamb. However, verse 9a says, "Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb." This verse speaks of those who are invited to the Lamb's marriage dinner. When I was young I was troubled by this, believing that the wife is the church but not understanding much about the overcomers. Actually, the wife, the bride of Christ, here is not the church but the overcomers. Then who are the invited ones, the guests? The guests also are the overcomers. This means that, on the one hand, the overcomers are the bride and that, on the other hand, they are the guests. We may say that the bride is composed of the guests. First the overcomers are the corporate bride, and then they are also the guests. In Psalm 45 the bride of Christ is typified by the queen, and His overcoming guests are typified by the honorable women around the queen. The bride of Christ, therefore, is actually the group of overcomers. We need to have this understanding as we study Psalm 45.

In this psalm we see the praise to Solomon as a type of Christ, the King appointed by God to rule over His people and over the entire universe. The praise here is marvelous. It praises Christ not only concerning the things that are of Him directly—His fairness, victory, majesty, kingdom, and sweetness—but also concerning the things that are of Him indirectly through His church and His overcomers. Since the overcomers are Christ's members, whatever is of them directly is of Him indirectly and is His glory. Thus, the fairness of Christ in this psalm is of two layers: the first layer, the layer that is of Himself directly, and the second layer, the layer that is of His Body, His members, directly and of Him indirectly.

With such an understanding as a foundation, we come now to verses 9 through 17 of Psalm 45.