What does Psalm 45:10 mean?
The psalmist challenges the prospective bride of the king (Psalm 45:1, 9) to "forget" her people and her father's house. This does not mean to erase them from her memory. Instead, it means to set them aside in favor of her marriage. She was about to begin a new relationship. These words are reminiscent of Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Of course, the relationship is the same for the wife. She, too, must leave her father and mother and hold fast to her husband.What was true for the king's bride is also true for the Church, Jesus' bride. Christians should renounce their former love of the world. The apostle John writes: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). The apostle Paul reported sadly that one of his coworkers had dropped out of missionary work because he loved the world (2 Timothy 4:10). Paul testified that the cross had severed his relationship with the world (Galatians 6:14).
Psalm 45:6–17 describes the glorious king, his bride, and the wedding procession. The original subject of this song was an earthly king and his bride. However, the words also serve as prophecies about the ultimate Davidic King, Jesus Christ.
The psalm begins with the exaggeration for effect common to love songs and works celebrating an earthly king. The groom is described as handsome, powerful, and graceful. The psalm also speaks of an eternal throne—this connects to prophecies about the Messiah (2 Samuel 7:12–13; Hebrews 1:8–9). The Bible often uses marriage images to explain the relationship between Christ and the church, including songs such as this.
