Sunday Sermonette: What ' s this doing in the Bible?

Psalm 45 is apparently written to celebrate a royal wedding. It starts with a panegyric to the king, then introduces the bride and exhorts her to renounce her family and country of origin. RSV translates the word " Shoshannim " as Lilies, which would apparently refer to a melody, but some think it actually refers to a musical instrument. In any event, nobody has any idea what this has to do with the sons of Korah, although it seems to me the most likely explanation is that they are a guild of musicians, or perhaps even a specific band -- the New Christie Minstrels of the day. Notably, there is no theological content, and the only mention of God is that he has anointed and blessed the king. This is a purely secular composition, so of course Christian apologists have tried to squeeze some sort of theological meaning out of it. They resort to the same strategy they use for the Song of Songs, that it ' s a messianic prophecy and somehow Jesus is both the future king and " bridegroom of the church, " whatever that means. Obviously this is bullshit, some king of Judah got married to a princess from Tyre and somebody wrote this song about it. Of course the last verse is an epic fail: "I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever. " Nobody knows who this is supposed to be about.To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song.45 My heart overflows with a goodly the...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs