Psalms 45:1

My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
heart	לִבִּ֨י li.Bi	H3820	the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
inditing	רָ֘חַ֤שׁ ra.Chash	H7370	to gush · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
good	ט֗וֹב Tov	H2896	good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · adjective, masculine singular absolute
matter	דָּ֘בָ֤ר da.Var	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine singular absolute
speak	אֹמֵ֣ר 'o.Mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
made	מַעֲשַׂ֣י ma.'a.Sai	H4639	an action (good or bad) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
king	לְמֶ֑לֶךְ le.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
tongue	לְ֝שׁוֹנִ֗י le.sho.Ni	H3956	the tongue (of man or animals) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
pen	עֵ֤ט 'et	H5842	a stylus or marking stick · noun, common masculine singular construct
ready	מָהִֽיר ma.Hir	H4106	quick · adjective, masculine singular absolute
writer	סוֹפֵ֬ר so.Fer	H5608	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 49:3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
2 Samuel 23:2 The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
Job 33:3 My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.
Proverbs 16:23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
Job 32:18-20 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
Song of Solomon 1:1-7 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
Isaiah 5:1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 45:1-5

Some make Shoshannim, in the title, to signify an instrument of six strings; others take it in its primitive signification for lilies or roses, which probably were strewed, with other flowers, at nuptial solemnities; and then it is easily applicable to Christ who calls himself the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys, Sol 2:1. It is a song of loves, concerning the holy love that is between Christ and his church. It is a song of the well-beloved, the virgins, the companions of the bride (Psa 45:14), prepared to be sung by them. The virgin-company that attend the Lamb on Mount Zion are said to sing a new song, Rev 14:3, Rev 14:4. I. The preface (Psa 45:1) speaks, 1. The dignity of the su…

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John Gill on Psalms 45:1

My heart is inditing a good matter,.... What is valuable and excellent, concerning the excellency of Christ's person, of his kingdom, of his love to the church, and of the church itself; what is pleasant and delightful, comfortable, useful, and profitable: this his heart was inditing; which shows that it was under the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and denotes the fervour of it; it "boiling up", as the word (x) signifies; being heated by the fire of the divine Spirit, whereby it was hot within him, and caused him to speak with his tongue; and also the abundance that was in it, it "bubbling up" (y), as some choose to render it: from whence this good matter flowed like water out of…

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John Calvin on Psalms 45:1-5

Psalm 45:1-5 1. My heart is boiling over with a good matter: I shall speak of the works which I have made concerning the king: my tongue is as the pen of a swift writer. 2. Thou art fairer than the sons of men: grace is poured into thy lips; because God hath blessed thee for ever. 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one! with glory and majesty. [156] 4. And in thy majesty do thou prosper: ride forth upon the word of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5. Thine arrows are sharp (so that the people fall under thee) in the heart of the enemies of the King. 1 My heart is boiling over [157] with a good matter This preface shows suf…

The Church Fathers

The one who speaks from his own resources, you see, hesitates and thinks twice about the efforts he makes, handicapped in his composition by ignorance, error and uncertainty, and there are many things that undermine the speed of his utterance. When on the contrary it is the Spirit who moves the mind, there is no obstacle.
— John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 45:2

The Son lives by the Father, because he is the Son begotten of the Father; by the Father, because he is of one substance with the Father; by the Father, because he is the Word given forth from the heart of the Father, because he came forth from the Father, because he is begotten of the "bowels of the Father," because the Father is the fountain and root of the Son's being.
— Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.10.133

It seems right for me to add what I am accustomed to quote in every question that is debated about his Godhead, that reverent saying: "Who shall declare his generation?" … For such expressions are connected with mental imagery alone and are accordingly subject to the laws of metaphor. And so the words "My heart has produced a good word" may be explained as referring to the constitution and coming into being of the primal Word, since it would not be right to suppose any heart, save one that we can understand to be spiritual, to exist in the case of the supreme God.
— Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 4:15.180

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Music — Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments (Gen. 4:21). The Hebrews were much given to the cultivation of music. Their whole history and literature afford abundant evidence of this. After the…
Prophet — (Heb. nabi, from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a fountain,” hence “to utter”, comp. Ps. 45:1). This Hebrew word is the first and the most generally used for a prophet. In the time of…
Psalms, Book Of — The present Hebrew name of the book is Tehill’im, “Praises;” but in the actual superscriptions of the psalms the word Tehillah is applied only to one, (Psalms 145:1) ... which is indeed emphatically…
Shoshannim — Lilies, the name of some musical instrument, probably like a lily in shape (Ps. 45; 69, title). Some think that an instrument of six strings is meant.
Solomon — Peaceful, (Heb. Shelomoh), David’s second son by Bathsheba, i.e., the first after their legal marriage (2 Sam. 12). He was probably born about B.C. 1035 (1 Chr. 22:5; 29:1). He succeeded his father…
Solomon, Song of — Called also, after the Vulgate, the “Canticles.” It is the “song of songs” (1:1), as being the finest and most precious of its kind; the noblest song, “das Hohelied,” as Luther calls it. The…
Writing — The art of writing must have been known in the time of the early Pharaohs. Moses is commanded “to write for a memorial in a book” (Ex. 17:14) a record of the attack of Amalek. Frequent mention is…
Christ, The King · Foretold — Foretold
Pen · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Scribes · Were ready writers — Were ready writers

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 45:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 45:1-5

John Gill on Psalms 45:1

John Calvin on Psalms 45:1-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 45:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 45:1-5

John Gill on Psalms 45:1

John Calvin on Psalms 45:1-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 45:1-2

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 45:1

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 45:1