Heading.
‘For the Chief Musician; set to Shoshannim. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Maschil. A Song of loves.'
Again we have a psalm for the choirmaster set to the tune Shoshannim (‘lilies'). In the Song of Solomon 2:16; Song of Solomon 6:2-3 the place of lilies was the place for love, and so the name of the tune fits the theme. As previously it is a Maschil and is ‘of the sons of Korah' (see introduction to Book 2). And it is a song of ‘loves', a wedding song, for it deals with the marriage between the Davidic king and his bride. The word used here for ‘loves' always indicates a high and holy love. In practise the king and his bride may well never have previously met, for this great occasion suggests a political marriage, as does the exhortation to the bride, so that the love is anticipated rather than real.
The splendour of the occasion fits well with Solomon, and initially this psalm may well be describing the time when he was united with his Egyptian bride, the daughter of Pharaoh. But the king is undoubtedly addressed in terms reminiscent of the promises to David of the coming King from his house Who would rule the world, and be established on God's throne (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalms 2). Thus the Psalm looks forward also to the Coming King, and we must also therefore find within it an indication of the coming of the Messiah. Indeed the Aramaic Targum paraphrases Psalms 45:2 as, ‘Your beauty O King Messiah exceeds that of the children of men, a spirit of prophecy is bestowed on your lips'.