The Kingship of Christ.
The unerring instinct of the Church has interpreted this psalm of the Messiah. Each Jewish king, in a sense, foreshadowed the true King. Of Solomon it might be said, in a special manner, that he was a type of the true King; but take him "in all his glory," and he was only a type dim and imperfect. "A greater than Solomon is here." Mark—
I. THE PERFECTNESS OF HIS CHARACTER. Christ's excellence is moral. All that was "fair" in others was but the broken fragments of the mirror. In him we see the perfection of beauty. Others might be "fair" in some things, and not in others, but in him all that is true and beautiful and good shines forth in harmony and fulness. "He is altogether lovely." And the excellence of Christ is not only human, but Divine. The glory of God shines in him He is the perfect King because he is the perfect Man; and he is the perfect Man, because "in him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." His perfections, therefore, not only command the homage of all hearts, but they are unchanging and unchangeable as the glory of God.
II. THE SPLENDOUR OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS. In the ancient monuments of Egypt and Assyria we see kings represented as going forth to conquer, and their enemies falling before their arrows. Such is the picture here. But the picture is relieved from all terrors and gloom. The King who conquers here conquers because he is also a Prophet, and because his cause is the cause of right and truth. His sword is "the Word of God." His arrows are the arrows of righteousness. His victory is the victory of love. "Grace" is in his lips. "Truth and meekness" mark his progress. "The people fall under" him—fall to rise again in dignity and strength.
III. THE BLESSEDNESS OF HIS REIGN. (Verses 6-9.)
1. The righteousness of his administration.
2. The happiness of his subjects.
3. The perpetuity of his kingdom.
The kingdoms of this world have no permanence. They contain within themselves the elements of decay. Kings and kingdoms pass away.
"Sceptre and crown must tumble down,
And in the grave be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade."
But it is otherwise with the kingdom of Christ. It is "for ever and ever."—W.F.