“In your majesty, mount your steed and charge with the word of truth, humility, and righteousness and your right hand instruct you in fearful things.”

(Psalm 45:5 {verse 4 in English})

The word picture that is being portrayed here is that of the Messiah riding victoriously into battle with his sword held high. This is the imagery that we will find again in John’s apocalypse, the book we know in English as “Revelation.” There we again see the Messiah riding out to destroy the wicked in judgement…one who is called “Faithful” and “True” and who has the name “King of kings and Lord of lords” upon his robe and thigh (Revelation 19:11-16).

And with what weapon does he charge into battle? He does so with the mighty of all weapons…his Word, which is truth, humility, and righteousness. The author of Hebrews reminds us that:

“The Word of God is living and effective and more sharp than any two-edged sword; it is able to penetrate until it divides the life from the spirit and the joints from the marrow, and it discerns the innate thoughts from the intents of the heart.”

(Hebrews 4:12)

In judgment, the wicked will find that they would prefer to face a literal sword, for the truth will cut them to the core. One cannot avoid the power of God’s word. You can ignore it, reject it, deny it, and rage against it, but in time all men will stand before it and no secrets will be able to be hid and all intentions will be revealed. As Jesus said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17b).

A note should be made about the language of humility in this context. Certainly this is not an attribute of Christ that ought to surprise us, but it seems a bit out of place in this context. The word in question is the Hebrew term: hÎw◊nAo (‘anwah). This word is only used once in the Hebrew Old Testament, but scholars tend to connect the term with the word hÎwÎnSo (‘anawah — the consonants are the same, though the vowel pointing is somewhat different), meaning “humility” as is found in Proverbs 15:33. The most significant thing to remember is that humility is an attribute of God and of His Messiah and thus is part of the standard by which humans are measured and will be judged.

The final clause may also sound awkward to us. If the Messiah is God himself in the flesh, then how can it be said that he is learning? Yet, we should be reminded of Luke 2:52:

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and maturity and favor with God and man.”

Though Jesus is and always was fully God, he also had a fully human nature (apart from the sin nature we inherit from Adam). Thus, it can be said that Jesus grew in his humanity and human nature while remaining eternal and infinite in his divine nature.