What does Psalm 45:13 mean?

The psalmist describes the king's bride (Psalm 45:1) as she enters the king's presence. She wears an embroidered gown that is interwoven with gold. Gold represents value and purity. An especially valued type of gold was mentioned earlier in this psalm (Psalm 45:9). The wedding of a king inspired this passage, and it also reflects the Bible's frequent use of wedding imagery to explain Christ's relationship to the church (John 3:29; Revelation 21:9; 22:17).

The King of kings, Jesus, valued His bride, the Church, so much that He died to redeem her (Ephesians 5:24–27). He esteemed her salvation more valuable than the whole world (Mark 8:36). The apostle Peter declares in 1 Peter 1:18–19: "knowing that you were not ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ…" Also, Jesus has bestowed on the members of His Church the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), and Peter explains that by obeying the truth believers have purified their souls (1 Peter 1:22). When Jesus takes His bride from the earth, she will be characterized by "splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing" (Ephesians 5:27).