Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 45:2
Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee forever.
2. Thou art fairer &c.] Personal beauty was always regarded as a qualification for a ruler, partly on account of its intrinsic attractiveness, partly as the index of a noble nature. Cp. 1Sa 9:2; 1Sa 10:23 ; 1Sa 16:12; and the descriptions of the classical heroes in Homer and Vergil; e.g. Aeneas ( Aen. i. 589), “os humerosque deo similis.”
grace is poured into thy lips ] Or, upon thy lips. The gracious smile upon his lips gives promise of the gracious words which proceed from them. Cp. Pro 22:11, “He that hath gracious lips, the king shall be his friend”; Ecc 10:12; Luk 4:22.
therefore ] This is usually explained to mean, ‘Hence it may be seen that God hath blessed thee; it is the logical inference from this endowment of beauty.’ But must not therefore be understood as in Psa 45:7? Physical qualifications correspond to moral qualifications. They are in themselves a Divine gift; but they are further regarded as a ground of the special blessings which have been showered upon the king. The P.B.V. because is ungrammatical.
for ever ] The perpetuity of the covenant with David and his seed is constantly emphasised. Cp. 2Sa 7:13; 2Sa 7:16; 2Sa 7:25 ; 2Sa 7:29; Psa 18:50; Psa 89:2 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2 9. The royal bridegroom: his personal beauty, the justice of his government, the success of his arms, the glory of his kingdom, the magnificence of his court. He is one upon whom the Divine blessing has rested in fullest measure.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou art fairer than the children of men – That is, Thou art more fair and comely than men; thy comeliness is greater than that which is found among men. In other words, Thou art beautiful beyond any human standard or comparison. The language, indeed, would not necessarily imply that he was not a man, but it means that among all who dwell upon the earth there was none to be found that could be compared with him. The Hebrew word rendered thou art fairer – yapeyapiytha – is a very unusual term. It is properly a reduplication of the word meaning beautiful, and thus means to be very beautiful. It would be well expressed by the phrase Beautiful – beautiful – art thou above the children of men. It is the language of surprise – of a sudden impression of beauty – beauty as it strikes at the first glance – such as the eye had never seen before. The impression here is that produced by the general appearance or aspect of him who is seen as king. Afterward the attention is more particularly directed to the grace that is poured into his lips. The language here would well express the emotions often felt by a young convert when he is first made to see the beauty of the character of the Lord Jesus as a Saviour: Beautiful; beautiful, above all men.
Grace is poured into thy lips – The word here rendered is poured means properly to pour, to pour out as liquids – water, or melted metal: Gen 28:18; 2Ki 4:4. The meaning here is, that grace seemed to be spread over his lips; or that this was strikingly manifest on his lips. The word grace means properly favor; and then it is used in the general sense of benignity, kindness, mildness, gentleness, benevolence. The reference here is to his manner of speaking, as corresponding with the beauty of his person, and as that which particularly attracted the attention of the psalmist: the mildness; the gentleness; the kindness; the persuasive eloquence of his words. It is hardly necessary to remark that this, in an eminent degree, was applicable to the Lord Jesus. Thus if is said Luk 4:22, And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. So Joh 7:46 : Never man spake like this man. See also Mat 7:29; Mat 13:54; Luk 2:47.
Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever – In connection with this moral beauty – this beauty of character – God will bless thee to all eternity. Since he has endowed thee with such gifts and graces, he will continue to bless thee, forever. In other words, it is impossible that one who is thus endowed should ever be an object of the divine displeasure.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 45:2
Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever.
The King in His beauty
I. The person of the king. The old world valued in a king, personal beauty, and graciousness of speech. Both are ascribed here to the King spoken of. We have to think, not of the outward form, howsoever lovely with the loveliness of meekness and transfigured with the refining patience of suffering it may have been, but of the beauty of a soul that was all radiant with a lustre of loveliness that shames the fragmentary and marred virtues of the rest of us, and stands before the world for ever as the supreme type and high-water mark of the glory that is possible to a human spirit.
II. His warfare. He is to put on all His panoply. Thus arrayed, with the weapon by His side and the glittering armour on His limbs, He is called upon to mount His chariot or His warhorse and ride forth. But for what? On behalf of truth, meekness, righteousness. If He be a warrior these are the purposes for which the true King of men must draw His sword, and these only. No vulgar ambition nor cruel lust of conquest, earth-hunger or glory actuates Him. Nothing but the spread through the world of the gracious beauties which are His own can be the end of the Kings warfare. In two or three swift touches the psalmist next paints the tumult and hurry of the fight. Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things. There are no armies or allies, none to stand beside Him. The one mighty figure of the kingly warrior stands forth, as in the Assyrian sculptures of conquerors, erect and alone in His chariot, crashing through the ranks of the enemy, and owing victory to His own strong arm alone. Put side by side with this the picture of our Lords entry into Jerusalem. And yet that lowly procession of the Christ, with tears upon His cheeks, is part fulfilment of this glorious prediction. But it is only part. The psalm waits for its completion still, and shall be filled on that day of the true marriage supper of the Lamb.
III. The royalty of the king. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. In the great mosque of Damascus, which was a Christian church once, there may still be read, deeply cut in the stone, high above the pavement where the Mohammedans bow, these words, Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom. It is true, and yet it shall be known that He is for ever and ever the Monarch of the world. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The King of kings
We can be at no loss to understand what King is here meant (Heb 1:8-9).
I. His personal excellences.
1. They are of a moral and mental character. We must bear in mind that this whole psalm contemplates not only a king, but a Teacher-King, a Royal Prophet. He must, consequently, be, in His own person, the perfect exemplification of the Divine wisdom that He taught. Solomon, therefore, does not represent Christ by His outward splendour, of which our Lord had none, but by His spiritual perfections.
2. They are not derived; they are His own, native, meritorious perfections, for the sake of which He is worthy to reign. Now, this cannot be said of any man. If Christ had been any other than a sinless character, it must have been seen and noticed; for He passed His life in public, He was constantly surrounded by a crowd of vigilant and malicious witnesses. The same argument might be drawn from the absolute and unquestioned authority which lie always maintained over them, and which would have been weakened and destroyed if they had ever detected Him in a sin. Nor let it be imagined that all these things are said for the purpose of exhibiting our blessed Lord as a perfect model for admiration merely. The application of the doctrine lies here; that, if He had not been absolutely sinless, He could neither have been an acceptable sacrifice for sin, nor have been the great High Priest of our profession,
II. His peculiar official qualifications. Grace is poured into Thy lips.
1. Think of the manner in which this great Teacher-King communicated the knowledge of Himself, and His Fathers will. It is not possible for human language to express the kindness, the clearness, the tenderness that accompanied every word which proceeded from His lips.
2. Note the plenitude told of–grace is poured, not sparingly but abundantly. Now, is Christ to us altogether lovely? Did you never feel that you could part with all the world for just one beam, one spark of His infinite love; for just one drop of that heavenly joy which is the foretaste of its full fruition? I tell you plainly, I do not believe in that mans religion at all who has strong affections for all other objects, and nothing but a cold assent, an icy, philosophic calmness to lay at the feet of Jesus. I do not believe in it, because it is not the religion of the psalmist. You have just so much religion as you have love to Christ, and not an atom more!
III. The blessing pronounced upon him. God hath blessed Thee for ever. This could not be said of Solomon but of Christ only. And this blessing–
1. Descends through Him upon all who are His.
2. It comprehends perpetual increase. True, the progress seems to us slow, but no important promises in the past have ever been fulfilled without similar delays.
3. Its chief fulfilment will be seen in the latter-day glory. Christ is King; submit to Him, so gracious and gentle in His rule. (D. Katterns.)
Jesus Christ compared with men
Thou art fairer, etc.
I. Christ is so as the son of God. All others have only a creature nature. He has the nature of God, and all the angels of God are bidden worship Him. Then should not we? And more than they, for He died for us, not for them.
II. As the son of man. The children of men are born of sinful fathers; He was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost. They are born with a sinful taint, but He was born without sin.
III. In work, suffering and temptation, which He shared with the children of men.
1. In work. He knew what it was. Some men never know their work; they spend their whole lives without finding it out, and consequently never do any work worth doing. But Christ knew His work. He made it His meat and His drink.
2. In suffering, too, Christ endured completely all that He was appointed to suffer. There was no putting away from Him that which He ought to bear; no hiding His face from that which He ought to see and confront. The cup which My Father hath given me, shall I not drink?
3. In temptation. It could not defile Him as it too often defiles us. Thoughts of wrong-doing were thrown into His mind like firebrands thrown into a house, but they never even proceeded towards the production of a wrong purpose.
IV. In his official characters of prophet, King and priest. Contrast the ordinary prophets and Christ. He was ever speaking by the Holy Spirit, ever faithful, ever possessing unlimited knowledge. And as King and priest he was perfect.
V. In four things in which men notably fail.
1. In the harmony and variety of His excellencies.
2. In the unbroken consistency of His actions.
3. In the perfection of His manifold works.
4. His influence was in all respects superior. We need nobody to tell us that Jesus Christ is better than man. Do you act the things you know best? Do you work out now the things with which you are most familiar? Certainly not. For example, you think of the children of men more than of Him who is fairer than, etc. And you love them more; and prize them more. They seem to give you more pleasure. You perhaps also trust the children of men more than you trust Him who is fairer than the children of men. They have often deceived you. Therefore we remind you of the truth of the text, that we may get more thought, more love, more confidence, more service, more honest speech for Him, mark, who is fairer than the children of men. Let us take care lest any of us, after having professed to account the Lord Jesus Christ fairer than the children of men should be condemned for having preferred men to our Saviour. (Samuel Martin.)
The beauty of Christ
The whole psalm tells of the spiritual marriage and unity that is betwixt Christ and His Church.
I. The excellence of the beauty of Christ. Thou art fairer than, etc.
1. It is not the beauty of His person in which the psalmist dwells with such admiration. Scripture is silent on the outward appearance of Christ. What hints there are now to show, that what, ever beauty of this kind there may have been, His sorrow, poverty and hardship had greatly destroyed.
2. But it is the beauty of His character that is told of here. He was unstained by sin, glorious in holiness. To do the will of God was His meat–necessary to His very existence.
II. The grace of his communications. He dwelt among us: people wondered at His gracious words. The text may refer–
1. To the gracefulness of His address.
2. To the graciousness of His words.
III. The glory of his reward. Therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever (Php 2:9-11). In conclusion, What think ye of Him? What will you ask of Him? (J. Jowett, M. A.)
Fairer than the children of men
The writer of this psalm sees his King in the light of his own adoration, and as he gazes, his subject is transfigured before him, form and raiment change, and at last he is gazing upon a glorified Being of his own vivid imagination. Take the text, then, as a description of Jesus our Lord in His superhuman excellence, wisdom and benign position. It presents to us–
I. His appearance. Thou art fairer, etc. There He stands, in disposition upright, pure, magnanimous, and the very embodiment of love. The clear light is produced by combination of every possible shade of colour. It is beautiful as broken up in rose, sunflower, and rainbow, but perfect in its whiteness. Christs soul is the pure white light resulting from the union of all possible excellencies. Every shade of worth and virtue which appears broken up and imperfect in the very best of mortals, glows in fullest splendour in His matchless character.
1. Gentleness.
2. Sympathy.
3. Self-forgetfulness.
4. Constancy.
II. His speech. Grace is poured, etc.
1. His voice must have been wondrously sweet, rich and musical; His accents more entrancing than those tones of fable which calmed the mad passions of men, quieted the ferocity of wild beasts, and charmed the very stocks and stones to listen.
2. We know His manner of speech; as pure literature the utterances of Jesus are beyond praise, and will remain a joy for ever. Nowhere will you find anything which in arrangement of words and sentences seems so exquisitely a work of nature–like the unfolding of the flower, the flow of the river, and the song of the birds.
3. The matter of His teaching was the message and prophecy of grace. He brings God home to mens hearts.
II. His beatific state. Therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever. We cannot judge of Divine blessing and curse from a superficial survey of present appearances. The thorny path which the Redeemer trod was His only way to the honour He sought. God has now placed Him in a position of supreme honour; He has gained the reverence and warm love of myriads, and is continually attracting more to Himself. Concentrate irate one sublime ideal all imagination can conceive of beauty of form, comprehensiveness of mind, depth and purity of soul; imagine a perfect state where the King reigns in righteousness, midst abounding peace and plenty, and all the good that God has destined human souls to realize in Christ; and you catch a glimpse of the ideal of the text. (Thomas Pitt.)
Christ Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church, fairer than the children of men
I. Some general observations.
1. In all our inquiries after the knowledge of Christ, the first thing we ought to know and consider is His person.
2. There is an ineffable glory and beauty in the person of Jesus Christ (Zec 9:17).
3. There are some seasons wherein our Lord Jesus is pleased to favour believers with more than ordinary clear and distinct views of His glory and beauty (Joh 2:11). He ordinarily does so in the day of conversion; the pleasant month of renewed manifestations, after a long and dark night of desertions; when they are called to suffer for His sake; when deeply engaged in secret prayer, meditation, self-examination, etc. And sometimes He gives believers very clear views of His glory about the time of their departure from the present world (2Sa 23:5); Simeon, Anna, etc.
4. A believing view of Christ in the beauty and glory of His person throws a veil over all created excellency.
5. Those to whom the Lord Jesus has been pleased to manifest His beauty in a saving manner, may go and tell Him, as the psalmist does, Thou art fairer than the children of men. Yea, they should do it. They should tell Him in the way of holy gratitude and thankfulness for His amazing condescension in showing them His glory.
II. In what respects our Lord Jesus is fairer than the children of men.
1. In the glory and dignity of His person.
2. In respect of that fulness of grace that is poured into His lips.
3. In respect of His work as the Head and Surety of the New Covenant (Isa 12:5; Dan 9:24; Heb 2:14; Isa 25:8).
4. In respect of the revelation of Gods mind and will which He has made to men (Joh 1:18; Psa 40:10; Joh 17:8).
5. In a relative capacity. There are many endearing relations in which He stands to His people; and in every one of them He infinitely excels all the children of men. Among fathers, He is the everlasting Father (Isa 9:6). Among husbands the most loving and affectionate; for He gave His life for His spouse (Eph 5:2). Among brethren He is the first-born. Among friends the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Is He prophet? then He is the Interpreter, one among a thousand (Job 33:23). Is He a Priest? then He is the High Priest of our profession (Heb 3:1). Is He a King? He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords (Num 24:7). Among shepherds He is the Chief (Heb 13:20). Is He a Physician? then He is the Physician both of the soul and the body. He heals all manner of soul diseases among the people (Psa 103:8). And our temporal as well as eternal life is in His hand. He gives the physician his skill, and causes the medicinal herb to spring.
6. There is an incomparable beauty and excellency in His Name. Hence says the spouse (Son 1:8). There is safety and protection in His Name; it is a strong tower unto which the righteous run and are safe.
III. Use.
1. For information.
(1) We may see and be informed why believers are so much in love with Him. They have seen the King in His beauty (Isa 33:17); and when He is seen by the eye of faith, it is impossible not to love Him (1Pe 2:7).
(2) We may see they have great cause and reason to rejoice unto whom God hath revealed Christ (Luk 10:2; Joh 17:3).
(3) We may see one special means of taking our hearts and affections off from the vain, transitory and fading things of a present world; and that is, to be much in the contemplation of the glory and excellency of the person of Christ; the fulness of grace that is in Him, the suitableness of His saving offices to the case of our souls, with the power and authority He has to put them in execution for the good of His Church and people.
(4) Is Christ incomparably fair and excellent, and every way suited to fill the hand and heart of faith? Then we may see matter of lamentation, that, though He is set before men in the dispensation of the Gospel, in the glory of His person and riches of His grace, there are but few disposed to put honour upon Him by believing.
(5) We may see that we should not content ourselves with a general consideration of the beauty and excellency of Christ; but should enter particularly into the consideration of these things in Him wherein He is fairer than the children of men.
2. For trial. Can you join with the psalmist in saying from the heart, Thou art fairer than the children of men? Is our Lord Jesus a covering of your eyes from every other Lord and lover? Do you confide in Christ, and solely rely upon His most perfect righteousness as the ground of your access to and acceptance with God?
3. For exhortation.
(1) We exhort you who have been admitted to behold the matchless beauty and excellency of our glorious Immanuel, to bless and praise a God of infinite love and grace for giving you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.
(2) As for you who never saw any beauty nor comeliness in Christ, why you should desire Him. Satan, the god of this world, has blinded your eyes that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ hath not yet shined unto you. (T. Bennet.)
Grace is poured into Thy lips.—
Grace poured into Christs lips
I. The grace which is poured into Christs lips.
1. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon Him as a spirit of wisdom, counsel and understanding (Isa 11:2-3). Wisdom and knowledge discovered themselves in Him, to the astonishment of His greatest enemies (Mar 6:2).
2. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon Him as the spirit of faith and trust in God (Mat 27:46).
3. The grace of holy gratitude and thankfulness to God, His heavenly Father, evidenced itself in Him in the highest degree of perfection (Psa 22:9-10; Joh 11:41).
4. Our Lord Jesus evidenced the most cheerful and ready compliance with the will of God in every part of His work (Joh 4:34; Mat 26:39).
5. The graces of humility and self-denial appear conspicuously in all the sayings and actings of Christ (Php 2:7; 2Co 7:9; Mat 11:29; Rom 12:2-3).
6. The graces of meekness and patience were most perfectly exercised by Him (Heb 12:3; 1Pe 2:24).
7. Our Lord Jesus is full of love; love to God, and love to the souls of men was the golden weight which engaged and carried Him forward in every part of the work Jehovah gave Him to do; so we find Him entering upon the crowning piece of the work of our redemption as to purchase, in the highest exercise of love to His, and our heavenly Father (Joh 14:31).
8. He was full of zeal for God and the advancement of His declarative glory (Joh 2:13-18).
II. In what capacity our Lord Jesus has this grace poured into his lips.
1. As the second Adam, the Surety of the New Covenant, the Head and Representative of His mystical body the Church.
2. As the Trustee of the New Covenant.
3. As the Administrator of the Covenant of grace (Act 5:31; Joh 14:13-14).
4. As sustaining the character of our Head and Husband, our Father, our elder Brother, our best Friend, and the Steward set over the family of God, to give every one his portion in due season.
III. Whence it is that the grace that is poured into the lips of our glorious redeemer is condescended on as such a leading part of his glory and beauty.
1. Grace is here considered as the glory of Christ, because in this internal grace the reparation of the image of God doth consist.
2. This grace is the glory of Christ, because it is that which inclines the heart of Jesus Christ unto all that goodness and kindness that He hath showed unto us.
3. Grace is the glory of Christ, as He is, in respect of it, the great example and pattern whereunto we ought to labour after conformity.
4. Because grace being poured into His lips, and poured into His lips for our special benefit, it renders Him in every respect a fit match for us.
5. Because Jesus Christ is made an everlasting blessing to the sons of men in virtue of this grace that is poured into His lips; God having poured grace into His lips, hath set Him to be blessings for ever (Psa 21:6). Men shall be blessed in Him.
IV. Improvement.
1. Inferences.
(1) If it be so as has been said, that grace and holiness is that which renders our Lord Jesus so very fair and beautiful; then we may see how much grace Should be prized by us. Grace is the ornament that adorns the soul.
(2) We may see what reason we have to admire the wisdom and goodness of God, which are so richly manifested towards fallen men, in His providing such a suitable help for them.
(3) We may see matter of comfort to believers amidst all their wants.
(4) We may see grounds of encouragement to those who are yet destitute of grace to come to Christ for it.
2. Use of trial. Do you believe in God as your God through our Lord Jesus Christ? And do you endeavour to maintain the claim of faith to Him as your God and Father, even when clouds and darkness are round about Him? Do you study, through grace, to yield a cheerful and ready obedience to all Gods commandments from love to Him and a tender regard to His authority? Are you humble and self-denied?
3. Exhortation.
(1) As to you who have been admitted to behold the beauty and glory of Christ by the eye of faith, and have been made partakers of His grace.
(a) We exhort you to be much taken up in the believing contemplation of the person and glory of Christ.
(b) We exhort you to use and improve the grace that is in Christ. Remember that it is poured into His lips for your behoof; that you may daily come to His fulness in the exercise of faith, and receive out of it grace for grace.
(c) We exhort you to be humble and thankful to God for the grace you have already received.
(2) As for you who are yet strangers to Christ and so destitute of saving grace. We exhort you to believe the misery of your present condition. To believe that you stand in absolute need of Christ and the grace that is poured into His lips. To believe there is grace in Christ answering to all your wants, and that He makes you heartily welcome to come to Him, and be enriched out of His fulness for time and eternity. To consider that the day of grace will not always last with you. It is a limited day, and may be shorter than you are aware of. (T. Bonnet.)
The worth of Jesus seen
Some Cornish fishermen found a belt containing diamonds. They considered it worth 20, and sold it for 20. Ah, said the buyer, I expect this is worth money–I think it is worth 1,000, and he sold it for I do not know how much. Ah, said the man who bought it, this is worth money–it is worth 3,000, and he sold it for 3,000. I believe eventually it passed into the hands of those who gave 10,000 for it. If you could only have put something at the back of the eyes of those fishermen which would have shown them the truth! That is what the Spirit of God has come for–to show us the worth of Jesus. Oh, it is such a sad thing that He should be to us so little when He wants to be so much; that we should be poor when He wants to enrich us with the treasures of His grace. (M. G. Pearse.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. Thou art fairer than the children of men] By whom are these words spoken? As this is a regular epithalamium, we are to consider that the bride and bridegroom have compliments paid them by those called the friends of the bridegroom, and the companions or maids of the bride. But it seems that the whole Psalm, except the first verse, was spoken by those who are called in the title yedidoth, the beloved maids, or female companions, who begin with his perfections, and then describe hers. And afterwards there is a prophetical declaration concerning his issue. We may, therefore, consider that what is spoken here is spoken by companions of the bride, or what are called yedidoth in the title. It would be unauthenticated to say Solomon was the most beautiful man in the universe; but to the perfections of the Lord Jesus they may be safely applied.
Grace is poured into thy lips] This probably refers to his speech, or the gracious words which he spoke. Solomon was renowned for wisdom, and especially the wisdom of his conversation. The queen of Sheba came from the uttermost parts of the land to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and so far did she find him exceeding all his fame, that she said one half had not been told her: but behold, a greater than Solomon is here. No man ever spoke like this man, his enemies themselves being judges.
God hath blessed thee for ever.] This, I am afraid, could in no sense be ever spoken of Solomon; but of the man Christ Jesus it is strictly true.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fairer, or, more beautiful, i.e. lovely and amiable. He speaks not here so much of this outward beauty, which, though it be an ornament both to a bridegroom and to a king, yet is not very considerable in either, nor is much admired or applauded by wise men, as of the inward and glorious endowments of his mind or soul, such as wisdom, and righteousness, and meekness, &c., as the particulars of this beauty are declared, Psa 45:4,7. Than the children of men; than all other men: which is most true of Christ, but not of Solomon; whom many have excelled, if not in wisdom, yet in holiness and righteousness, which is the chief part of this beauty, and most celebrated in this Psalm.
Grace is poured into thy lips; God hath plentifully poured into thy mind and tongue the gift of speaking with admirable grace, i.e. most wisely and eloquently, and therefore most acceptably, so as to find grace with and work grace in thy hearers. This was in the same sort true of Solomon, but far more eminently and effectually in Christ; of which see Isa 50:4; Luk 4:22; Joh 7:46. The former clause noted his inward perfections, and this signifies his ability and readiness to communicate them to others.
Therefore; which notes not the meritorious cause, for that beauty and grace now mentioned are declared to be the free gifts of God, and were the effects, and not the causes, of Gods blessing him; but rather the final cause, or the end for which God endowed him with those excellent qualifications; and so the sense of the place is, Because God hath so eminently adorned and qualified thee for rule, therefore he hath trusted and blessed thee with an everlasting kingdom. Or, because, as this particle is used, Gen 38:26; Psa 42:6, and elsewhere. And so Gods blessing him with such solid and everlasting blessings, is noted as the cause of this singular beauty and grace here expressed.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. To rich personal attractionsis added grace of the lips, captivating powers of speech. This isgiven, and becomes a source of power and proves a blessing. Christ isa prophet (Lu 4:22).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou art fairer than the children of men,…. Here begins the psalm, and this is an address to the King Messiah, the subject of it, commending him for his beauty and comeliness; which is not to be understood of his divine beauty or his glory, as the only begotten of the Father, in which he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person; for this admits of no comparison, nor is the beauty of angels and men to be mentioned with it; but of the beauty of his human nature, both in body and soul, which being the immediate produce of the Holy Spirit, and without sin, and full of wisdom, grace, and holiness, must transcend that of any or all the sons of Adam. They are all deformed by sin; and whatever spiritual beauty there is in any of them, they have it from Christ; they are comely through his comeliness the outward beauty of men is vain and deceitful, and soon perishes; but Christ is ever the same, and he esteemed of by all that know him, as exceeding precious, altogether lovely, and transcendently excellent and glorious. The Hebrew word here used is doubled in its radicals, which denotes the exceeding great fairness and beauty of Christ, especially as Mediator, and as full of grace and truth. It follows,
grace is poured into thy lips; by which is meant the matter of his speech, or the Gospel preached by him; these words of grace, as Kimchi on the text expresses himself; or gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, Lu 4:22. The Gospel of the grace of God was given him to preach; it was put into his mouth, and that in great abundance; it was given at sundry times and in divers manners, and by piecemeal, to the prophets before him; but it was poured into his lips, and he was abundantly qualified for preaching it, by having the Spirit without measure given him; and so was poured out in a graceful manner, with great authority, and as never man before him spake, in doctrines of grace, gracious invitations, precious promises, excellent prayers, and even words of eternal life; see So 5:13;
therefore God hath blessed thee for ever; or, “because e God hath blessed thee for ever”; in his human nature, with the grace of union to the Son of God, and with all the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God; and as Mediator, with all spiritual blessings, with grace and glory for his people. Hence all his comeliness, grace, and gracefulness.
e – “eo quid”, Tigurine version; “propterea quod”, Musculus, Piscator; “quia”, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Thou art fairer than the sons of men. The Psalmist commences his subject with the commendation of the beauty of the king, and then he proceeds also to praise his eloquence. Personal excellence is ascribed to the king, not that the beauty of the countenance, which of itself is not reckoned among the number of the virtues, ought to be very highly valued; but because a noble disposition of mind often shines forth in the very countenance of a man. This may have been the case with Solomon, so that from his very countenance it might have appeared that he was endued with superior gifts. Nor is the grace of oratory undeservedly commended in a king, to whom it belongs, by virtue of his office, not only to rule the people by authority, but also to allure them to obedience by argument and eloquence, just as the ancients feigned that Hercules had in his mouth golden chains, by which he captivated the ears of the common people, and drew them after him. How manifestly does this rebuke the mean-spiritedness of kings in our day, by whom it is regarded as derogatory to their dignity to converse with their subjects, and to employ remonstrance in order to secure their submission; nay, who display a spirit of barbarous tyranny in seeking rather to compel than to persuade them, and in choosing rather to abuse them as slaves, than to govern them by laws and with justice as a tractable and obedient people. But as this excellence was displayed in Solomon, so also did it shine forth more fully afterwards in Christ, to whom his truth serves the part of a scepter, as we shall have occasion by and by to notice mere at large. The term על-כן , al-ken, which we have translated because, is sometimes rendered wherefore; but it is not necessary that we should interpret it in this place in the latter sense, as if Solomon had been blessed on account of his beauty and excellence, for both of these are blessings of God. It is rather to be understood as the reason why Solomon was distinguished for these endowments, namely, because God had blessed him. As to the interpretation which others give, God shall bless thee for thy excellency, it is both cold and forced.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) Thou art fairer.Better, Fair art thou; aye, fairer than, &c. We may thus reproduce the Hebrew expression, which, however, grammatically explained, must convey this emphasis. The old versions render: Thou art fair with beauty; or, Thou hast been made beautiful with beauty.
Grace is poured into thy lips.Better, A flowing grace is on thy lips, which may refer either to the beauty of the mouth, or to the charm of its speech. Cicero, himself the grandest example of his own expression, says of another that Persuasion had her seat upon his lips; while Christian commentators have all naturally thought of Him at whose words of grace all men wondered.
Therefore.This word is apparently out of place. But there is nothing harsh in rendering: Therefore, we say, God hath blessed thee for ever. And we are struck by the emphasis of its occurrence in Psa. 45:7; Psa. 45:17, as well as here. Ewald seems to be right in printing the clause so begun as a kind of refrain. The poet enumerates in detail the beauties of the monarch and his bride, and is interrupted by the acclaim of his hearers, who cannot withhold their approving voices.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Thou art fairer The poet strikes at once into the heart of his theme, the king; and first, of his person.
Grace is poured into thy lips “Grace,” in the sense of benignity, kindness, favour. From the beauty of his person the description rises to the beauty or loveliness of his character, evidenced by his words or discourse. Ecc 10:12.
Therefore Because of this faultless character.
God hath blessed thee for ever The most comprehensive expression for happiness and prosperity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The King’s Splendour ( Psa 45:2 ).
Psa 45:2
‘You are fairer than the children of men,
Grace is poured into your lips,
Therefore God has blessed you for ever.’
‘You are fairer than the children of men.’ David himself appears to have been a splendid looking man (1Sa 16:12), a trait which he passed on to his children (consider Absalom – 2Sa 14:25). Thus while flattering this was probably not totally untrue. And dressed in his royal finery he must well have seemed so, especially to his admirers.
‘Grace is poured into your lips.’ This may indicate that he was well known for the gracious way in which he spoke to people (compare Pro 22:11), or it may have reference to the special gift of wisdom which God gave to him after his coronation (1Ki 3:5-15).
‘Therefore God has blessed you for ever.’ The God-given gifts above stress that God has blessed him, and his wisdom became a legend that was never forgotten. And he was blessed because of them. We still speak of ‘the wisdom of Solomon’. But primarily in mind here is the promise of the everlastingness of his house. Kingship would belong to his house for ever (2Sa 7:13; 2Sa 7:16; 2Sa 7:25 ; 2Sa 7:29; Psalms 2; Psa 18:50; Psa 89:2 ff).
These words even more were descriptive of the Messiah when He came. He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men (Luk 2:52), and on the Mount of Transfiguration His full beauty was made known (Mar 9:2-8). Men wondered at the gracious words that came from His lips (Luk 4:22). And He was ‘over all, God, blessed for ever’ (Rom 9:5).
2). The King, A Mighty Warrior ( Psa 4:3-4 ).
Psa 45:3-4
Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one,
Your glory and your majesty.
And in your majesty ride on prosperously,
Because of truth and meekness and righteousness,
And your right hand will teach you terrible things.’
All kings were supposed to be mighty warriors, and certainly sought to depict themselves as such. Even when they did not lead their troops into action they would regularly appear on the battlefield and loose an arrow at the enemy in order to impress on men their warlikeness. And they would dress for battle, sword on their thigh, and arrive on their splendid warhorse or in their war chariot. Solomon was not famed for his warlike activity but we have no need to doubt that he was present at times in the defence, and even extension, of his realm.
Here he is seen in the wedding procession both as bridegroom and warrior, sword girded on his thigh as a ‘mighty one’, glorious in majesty, riding majestically either on his war horse or in his chariot with a glorious future before him because he sought truth, meekness and righteousness (compare and contrast Zec 9:9; and see Son 3:9-11). The future looked rosy, until he frittered it away.
For the king of Israel truth was to be the central pillar of his life (Deu 17:18-20; Isa 11:1-5; Isa 29:19; contrast Isa 59:14-15). Meekness was expected of a king as he considered the needs and petitions of the poor of the land (2Sa 15:3-4; Isa 29:19; Psa 22:6; Psa 37:11; Psa 76:9). Righteousness was a prerequisite for a king of Israel (Isa 11:1-5).
‘Your right hand will teach you terrible things.’ From the activities of his sword arm he would achieve greatness and glory, and prove his appointment by God, and learn much about himself. And he would learn too the perils and dangers of greatness, as with his right hand he administered justice, and made his mistakes.
The Messiah would also go forward with His sword of truth (Isa 49:2; Rev 1:16), and was called ‘the Mighty God’ (Isa 9:6). And he too would enter Jerusalem gloriously, even though on an asses colt (Zec 9:9. This was the normal mount for a king of Israel in times of peace). And truth and meekness and righteousness would prosper at His hand (Isa 11:1-4). While His right hand would achieve the greatest things of all as He healed all who came to Him, and healed the souls of men. Indeed the final picture of the Messiah in the New Testament is a glorious one of Him riding to victory with His sharp two edged sword at the consummation of the age, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:11-16). It was, of course, a symbolic description indicating His supreme Kingship and power. He did not literally fight a battle. His victory was won by His word of mouth. The enemies just crumbled before Him as they fought each other.
The King An Impeccable Marksman ( Psa 45:5 )
Psa 45:5
‘Your arrows are sharp,
The peoples fall under you,
They are in the heart of the king’s enemies.’
The idea here is that Solomon and his armies are regularly victorious, and that his bowmen especially are always effective, so that his enemies cannot stand against him. It is an indication of the power and effectiveness of the hosts of Solomon.
But the Messiah is Himself like a polished arrow (Isa 49:2). And His shafts too are directed accurately into men’s hearts so that as a result men fall at His feet and cry mercy. And they reach into the very hearts of His enemies, bringing them into subjection to Him, by His word. We can compare how both Job and David saw their troubles as ‘arrows of the Almighty’ (Job 6:4; Psa 38:2; compare Lam 3:12).
The picture of arrows as a means of God’s judgment is found in Deu 32:23; Deu 32:42; 2Sa 22:15; Psa 77:17; Psa 144:6; Zec 9:14, often in parallel with the idea of His lightning.
The King Reigning In Glory And Equity As God’s Unique Representative ( Psa 45:6-7 ).
The prestigious position of the king in God’s eyes is now made clear. His rule will be everlasting, he will rule with equity, he will be elevated by God above all his fellow kings.
Psa 45:6-7
‘Your throne is of God (or ‘O God is’) for ever and ever,
A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness,
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you,
With the oil of gladness above your fellows.
The essential divine nature of his kingship is now expressed. He has been adopted by God as His son, and God has promised to be his Father (2Sa 7:14; Psa 2:7). Thus his throne is the one on earth appointed and established by God to have overall lordship, and its everlasting nature is guaranteed.
But having said that the king must rule as befits God’s appointee, in righteousness. His rule must demonstrate that he loves righteousness and hates all that is morally wrong. Thus his sceptre as king must be a sceptre of equity. He must rule justly and fairly, showing special favour to none. And it is for that reason that Elohim, his God (Elohim), has anointed him with joyous gladness above all others (compare 1Ki 3:12-13). He is to rejoice in being king of kings as the anointed of God.
Such a hope lay at the root of ideas about the Messiah, and it is the ideal kingship of the Messiah that is really in the prophet’s mind. There was only One Who was really fitted for these words. It is our Lord Jesus Christ, and He alone, Who is worthy to be addressed as the Mighty El (Isa 9:6), Whose reign is from everlasting (Mic 5:2), Who will be exalted above all (Php 2:9-11), and of whose kingdom there will be no end (Luk 1:33). He above all was worthy to be anointed above His fellows as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:16). And in His case we may therefore translate as, ‘Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever’, for He not only sits on a divine throne, but is Himself the Almighty God.
Note on ‘Your Throne Is Of God For Ever and Ever’.
There is here an interesting translation problem. The literal Hebrew is ‘your throne God for ever and ever’. We might thus translate:
1) ‘Your throne O God is for ever and ever’, seeing ‘God’ as a vocative, and thus as either addressing God or addressing the king..
2) ‘Your throne is elohim (divine) for ever and ever’, seeing God as intended adjectivally.
3) ‘Your throne is of God for ever and ever’, seeing God as descriptive of Who the real possessor of the throne is.
4) ‘God is your throne for ever and ever.’ Seeing God as the subject of the sentence (unlike in English, and similarly to Greek and Latin, word order in Hebrew does not indicate the order of meaning).
The Aramaic paraphrase in the Targum is, ‘the throne of your majesty, O YHWH, abides for ever and ever’. It thus sees ‘O God’ as referring to YHWH and not the king. But it must be seen as unlikely that the Psalmist would switch to addressing God in this way, and then immediately switch back again, in a passage where he is constantly addressing the king. It does, however, bring out how difficult the translators saw the Hebrew to be when they eschewed 1) above. They clearly did not like the idea of the king as being addressed as Elohim.
The writer to the Hebrews in Heb 1:8 follows LXX which could be rendered as any of the above, apart possibly from the third (because Greek is able to indicate a genitive, and here it does not). But it should be noted that the writer to the Hebrews is concentrating more on His superiority to the angels in His mission than on His actual Godhead, and ‘your throne is divine’ fits well in parallel with ‘a sceptre of righteousness’.
One factor that should be borne in mind is that in this group of Psalms Elohim is very much the Name used of God, which would favour referring elohim here to God. However some have argued that elohim is elsewhere used of earthly authorities. Examples cited are Exo 21:6; Exo 22:7; Psa 82:1; Psa 82:6; compare Psa 138:1, and it is said to be because they are God’s representatives and the bearers of His image on earth. However, only Psa 82:1; Psa 82:6 can be said to be conclusive out of these verses, and there it is clear that the word is being used in the plural (as elsewhere it is also used of the angels). It is not therefore strictly parallel with here. It must be considered how unlikely it is that a man, even a great king, would be addressed as Elohim, especially in such a context in the Elohistic Psalms.
On the other hand the use of Elohim adjectivally in this way would be unique in the Old Testament. Where a noun is used adjectivally it usually indicates the constituent nature of what is being described, and that would not be the case here.
It would appear to us therefore that initially the text should be translated, ‘your throne is of God’ indicating that he does rule with God as his Overlord, although possibly with the intention of indicating some kind of special exaltation of the king. Compare 2Sa 7:14; Psa 2:7 where he had received his throne directly from God. When applied to the Messiah therefore it can be seen as being given its fuller significance.
End of note.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
A Description of The King’s Glory ( Psa 45:2-7 ).
His description of the bridegroom’s glory follows a carefully constructed pattern.
1) Firstly he describes the king’s splendour (Psa 45:2). He is fairer than the children of men, granted wisdom by God and blessed by God for ever. This was no doubt the nation’s view of Solomon, and it is even more true of the even greater ‘Son of David’, our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose bride is His people.. He is the fairest among ten thousand, has received directly the wisdom of the Father, and is truly from everlasting to everlasting.
2) Secondly he is a mighty warrior on behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness (Psa 45:3-4). This was initially true of Solomon until he lapsed, and it is permanently and everlastingly true of our Lord Jesus Christ, the greater than Solomon (Mat 12:42).
3) Thirdly his arrows are sharp and effective (Psa 45:5). No doubt Solomon like all great Overlords would attend at the battlefield and fire his bow so that he could be lauded for having taken part in the fighting. (A similar picture is found of the Great King of Assyria on Assyrian inscriptions – compare Isa 37:33). But the greater than Solomon would Himself be a polished arrow in God’s quiver (Isa 49:2). The arrow of His word would be sharp and true.
4) His throne is the very throne of God (Psa 45:6-7). In the case of Solomon it was established by God, and Solomon was to be His righteous representative before His people, while in the case of the Coming One He Himself would share God’s throne, and would indeed be God upon that throne.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 45:2. Grace is poured into thy lips Hebrew, Grace is poured upon thy lips. The former part of the verse describes the beauty of the king’s person; this, his eloquence and gracefulness of address. In this sense Solomon uses these words, Pro 22:11. The king is a friend to the grace of lips; i.e. to eloquence of speech and graceful address; and in Ecc 10:12. The words of a wise man’s mouth are said to be grace; i.e. graceful and eloquent. Grace is poured, is used here in the same sense in which Milton uses it, Book 4: ver.364.
Such grace The hand that form’d them on their shape hath pour’d.
Perhaps we cannot have a better comment upon this period than Raphael’s description of Adam, in the same author, Book 8: ver. 218.
Nor are thy lips ungraceful, fire of men, Nor tongue ineloquent; for God on thee Abundantly his gifts hath also pour’d, Inward and outward both, his image fair; Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace Attends thee, and each word each motion forms.
Such was the eloquence of Solomon, that when the queen of Sheba, who came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear him, had been witness of the wisdom with which he spoke, There was no more spirit in her, nor was he less remarkable for the elegance of his person: and such was the eloquence and graceful address of our Lord, that even the Nazarites, the most prejudiced of his enemies, could not help wondering at the graceful words which proceeded out of his mouth; nor could the officers who were sent by the Jewish Sanhedrin to take him, find in their hearts to execute their commission; because, never man, said they, spake like this man. We may just observe, that the prophet Isa 52:14; Isa 53:2 represents the Messiah as having no form or comeliness; but this relates chiefly to the scandal of his cross; though it may also refer to his countenance, which, before his death, had been wasted and disfigured by fasting and weariness, by painfulness and sorrow; his visage being marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. But the words of the Psalmist principally relate to that internal beauty, which in the prophesy of Ezekiel is called The beauty of wisdom, chap. Psa 28:7 or to that glory which men beheld when Christ was manifested in the flesh, even the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father. See Isa 50:4.; Luk 2:52. Instead of therefore God, in the last clause, some read, because God.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Nothing can be more beautiful than this abrupt way of discourse. The prophet sets out with a professed design to speak of the King. But, as if, in the moment he had so intended, the glorious Person, of whom he was going to speak, appeared to his view, he instantly leaves every other consideration, to speak to him himself. And what a rapturous address he makes. He first describes the glories, the beauties, the astonishing loveliness of his person. Though to a carnal eye there was no beauty to desire him, his visage was marred more than any man’s, And his form more than the sons of men; yet to an eye truly enlightened, he is the King in his beauty, fairer, as the glorious Mediator, the Head, the Bridegroom, of his church and people, than all the children of men. And, in the, Father’s view, so greatly beloved, so truly glorious, that grace was poured into his lips. Reader, observe the expression; not simply grace put into his heart, for the holiness and purity of his person, but poured into his lips, that, like the honey, it might drop upon his people; and be forever communicated to all his redeemed, in an endless perpetuity of all suited blessings here, and glory hereafter. Well might the Church, therefore; cry out, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for thy love is better than wine, when, in the kiss, grace must be communicated. Son 1:2 . The expression, ‘God hath blessed thee forever, is a most delightful conclusion to this rapturous verse. Therefore, for this cause, as the glorious Head and Husband of thy Church, Jehovah hath made thee an everlasting source of felicity to all thy redeemed. Men shall be blessed in thee; for there is no blessing out of Christ. All blessings are only blessings as they are in him; thus fulfilling the prophecy, Gen 12:3 , and confirming the word, Psa 72:17 . Reader, what saith your experience to this precious account of the Lord Jesus? Are you blessed in him? Hath the Lord Jehovah come to bless your soul? If so, depend upon it, it is only in the Beloved. And everyone that is blessed in Jesus finds cause to join the Apostle in that hymn of praise, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph 1:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 45:2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
Ver. 2. Thou art fairer than the children of men ] Heb. Thou art double fairer. The Hebrew word is doubled, ad corroborandum, saith Kimchi; Valde Pulchruisti (Vat.). It may very well be that Solomon was, for his beauty, another Nireus; and for his eloquenee, another Nestor; wisdom might make his face to shine. Of Christ we are sure, that his body, being of the finest temperament, and no way diseased, could not be but very beautiful. The Roman register reporteth him to have been of a reverend countenance, his stature somewhat tall, his hair after the colour of the ripe hazel nut, his forehead smooth and plain, his face without wrinkle, mixed with moderate red, his eyes grey, various, and clear (Lentulus ad Senat. ap. Magdeb. Cent. 1). Surely if Stephen’s face was “as the face of an angel,” and if with his bodily eyes he could pierce the heavens, and see there what he would; how much more could the Lord Christ, whose very manhood came the nearest unto God of any that ever was or could be? His very countenance did express a Divinity in him. And what if to the Jews, who esteemed him not, but maligned him, and crucified him, he had “neither form nor beauty?” Isa 53:2 ; what if he were so broken at thirty-three years of age, with continual pains and grief for them, that they judged him well-nigh fifty? Joh 8:57 ; yet he was every way complete and comely above all the children of men; yea, above all the angels in heaven; for in him the “Godhead dwelt bodily,” Col 2:9 , and we “beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” Joh 1:14 . His soul was like a rich pearl in a rough shell; like the tabernacle, goat’s hair without, but gold within; or as Brutus’s staff, cuius intus solidum aurum corneo velabatur cortice (Plutarch). He was all-glorious within; had a fulness of grace above that of Adam, Joh 1:16 , as much as a creature was capable of; and more near familiarity with the Godhead than any creature.
Grace is poured into thy lips
Therefore God hath blessed thee
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psalms
THE KING IN HIS BEAUTY
Psa 45:2 – Psa 45:7
There is no doubt that this psalm was originally the marriage hymn of some Jewish king. All attempts to settle who that was have failed, for the very obvious reason that neither the history nor the character of any of them correspond to the psalm. Its language is a world too wide for the diminutive stature and stained virtues of the greatest and best of them, and it is almost ludicrous to attempt to fit its glowing sentences even to a Solomon. They all look like little David in Saul’s armour. So, then, we must admit one of two things. Either we have here a piece of poetical exaggeration far beyond the limits of poetic license, or ‘a greater than Solomon is here.’ Every Jewish king, by virtue of his descent and of his office, was a living prophecy of the greatest of the sons of David, the future King of Israel. And the Psalmist sees the ideal Person who, as he knew, was one day to be real, shining through the shadowy form of the earthly king, whose very limitations and defects, no less than his excellences and his glories, forced the devout Israelite to think of the coming King in whom ‘the sure mercies’ promised to David should be facts at last. In plainer words, the psalm celebrates Christ, not only although, but because, it had its origin and partial application in a forgotten festival at the marriage of some unknown king. It sees Him in the light of the Messianic hope, and so it prophesies of Christ. My object is to study the features of this portrait of the King, partly in order that we may better understand the psalm, and partly in order that we may with the more reverence crown Him as Lord of all.
I. The Person of the King.
Here, at the very outset, we have the keynote struck of superhuman excellence; and though the reference is, on the surface, only to physical perfection, yet beneath that there lies the deeper reference to a character which spoke through the eloquent frame, and in which all possible beauties and sovereign graces were united in fullest development, in most harmonious co-operation and unstained purity.
‘Thou art fairer than the children of men.’ Put side by side with that, words which possibly refer to, and seem to contradict it. A later prophet, speaking of the same Person, said: ‘His visage was so marred, more than any man, and His form than the sons of men. . . . There is no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him.’ We have to think, not of the outward form, howsoever lovely with the loveliness of meekness and transfigured with the refining patience of suffering it may have been, but of the beauty of a soul that was all radiant with a lustre of loveliness that shames the fragmentary and marred virtues of the best of us, and stands before the world for ever as the supreme type and high-water mark of the grace that is possible to a human spirit. God has lodged in men’s nature the apprehension of Himself, and of all that flows from Him, as true, as good, as beautiful; and to these three there correspond wisdom, morality, and art. The latter, divorced from the other two, becomes earthly and devilish. This generation needs the lesson that beauty wrenched from truth and goodness, and pursued for its own sake, by artist or by poet or by dilettante , leads by a straight descent to ugliness and to evil, and that the only true satisfying of the deep longing for ‘whatsoever things are lovely’ is to be found when we turn to Christ and find in Him, not only wisdom that enlightens the understanding, and righteousness that fills the conscience, but beauty that satisfies the heart. He is ‘altogether lovely.’ Nor let us forget that once on earth ‘the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment did shine as the light,’ as indicative of the possibilities that lay slumbering in His lowly Manhood, and as prophetic of that to which we believe that the ascended Christ hath now attained-viz. the body of His glory, wherein He reigns, filled with light and undecaying loveliness on the Throne of the Heaven. Thus He is fairer in external reality now, as He is, by the confession of an admiring, though not always believing, world, fairer in inward character than the children of men.
Another personal characteristic is ‘Grace is poured into Thy lips.’ Kingly courtesy, and kingly graciousness of word, must be the characteristic of the Sovereign of men. The abundance of that bestowment is expressed by that word, ‘poured.’ We need only remember, ‘All wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth,’ or how even the rough instruments of authority were touched and diverted from their appointed purpose, and came back and said, ‘Never man spake like this Man.’ To the music of Christ’s words all other eloquence is harsh, poor, shallow-like the piping of a shepherd boy upon some wretched oaten straw as compared with the full thunder of the organ. Words of unmingled graciousness came from His lips. That fountain never sent forth ‘sweet waters and bitter.’ He satisfies the canon of St. James: ‘If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man.’ Words of wisdom, of love, of pity, of gentleness, of pardon, of bestowment, and only such, came from Him. ‘Daughter! be of good cheer.’ ‘Son! thy sins be forgiven thee.’ ‘Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy-laden.’
‘Grace is poured into Thy lips’; and, withal, it is the grace of a King. For His language is authoritative even when it is most tender, and regal when it is most gentle. His lips, sweet as honey and the honeycomb, are the lips of an Autocrat. ‘He speaks, and it is done: He commands, and it stands fast.’ He says to the tempest, ‘Be still!’ and it is quiet; and to the demons, ‘Come out of him!’ and they disappear; and to the dead, ‘Come forth!’ and he stumbles from the tomb.
Another personal characteristic is-’God hath blessed Thee for ever.’ By which we are to understand, not that the two preceding graces are the reasons for the divine benediction, but that the divine benediction is the cause of them; and therefore they are the signs of it. It is not that because He is lovely and gracious therefore God hath blessed Him; but it is that we may know that God has blessed Him, since He is lovely and gracious. These endowments are the results, not the causes; the signs or the proofs, not the reasons of the divine benediction. That is to say, the humanity so fair and unique shows by its beauty that it is the result of the continual and unique operation and benediction of a present God. We understand Him when we say, ‘On Him rests the Spirit of God without measure or interruption.’ The explanation of the perfect humanity is the abiding Divinity.
II. We pass from the person of the King, in the next place, to His warfare.
The singer calls upon Him to bind on His side His glittering sword, and to put on, as His armour, ‘glory and majesty.’ These two words, in the usage of the psalms, belong to Divinity, and they are applied to the monarch here as being the earthly representative of the divine supremacy, on whom there falls some reflection of the glory and the majesty of which He is the vice-regent and representative. Thus arrayed, with His weapon by His side and glittering armour on His limbs, He is called upon to mount His chariot or His warhorse and ride forth.
But for what? ‘On behalf of truth, meekness, righteousness.’ If He be a warrior, these are the purposes for which the true King of men must draw His sword, and these only. No vulgar ambition or cruel lust of conquest, earth-hunger, or ‘glory’ actuates Him. Nothing but the spread through the world of the gracious beauties which are His own can be the end of the King’s warfare. He fights for truth; He fights-strange paradox-for meekness; He fights for righteousness. And He not only fights for them, but with them, for they are His own, and by reason of them He ‘rides prosperously,’ as well as ‘rides prosperously’ in order to establish them.
In two or three swift touches the Psalmist next paints the tumult and hurry of the fight. ‘Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things.’ There are no armies or allies, none to stand beside Him. The one mighty figure of the Kingly Warrior stands forth, as in the Assyrian sculptures of conquerors, erect and solitary in His chariot, crashing through the ranks of the enemy, and owing victory to His own strong arm alone.
Then follow three short, abrupt clauses, which, in their hurry and fragmentary character, reflect the confusion and swiftness of battle. ‘Thine arrows are sharp. . . . The people fall under Thee.’ . . . ‘In the heart of the King’s enemies.’ The Psalmist sees the bright arrow on the string; it flies; he looks-the plain is strewed with prostrate forms, the King’s arrow in the heart of each.
Put side by side with that this picture:-A rocky road; a great city shining in the morning sunlight across a narrow valley; a crowd of shouting peasants waving palm branches in their rustic hands; in the centre the meek carpenter’s Son, sitting upon the poor robes which alone draped the ass’s colt, the tears upon His cheeks, and His lamenting heard above the Hosannahs, as He looked across the glen and said, ‘If thou hadst known the things that belong to thy peace!’ That is the fulfilment, or part of the fulfilment, of this prophecy. The slow-pacing, peaceful beast and the meek, weeping Christ are the reality of the vision which, in such strangely contrasted and yet true form, floated before the prophetic eye of this ancient singer, for Christ’s humiliation is His majesty, and His sharpest weapon is His all-penetrating love, and His cross is His chariot of victory and throne of dominion.
But not only in His earthly life of meek suffering does Christ fight as a King, but all through the ages the world-wide conflict for truth and meekness and righteousness is His conflict; and wherever that is being waged, the power which wages it is His, and the help which is done upon earth He doeth it all Himself. True, He has His army, willing in the day of His power, and clad in priestly purity and armour of light, but all their strength, courage, and victory are from Him; and when they fight and conquer, it is not they, but He in them who struggles and overcomes. We have a better hope than that built on ‘a stream of tendency that makes for righteousness.’ We know a Christ crucified and crowned, who fights for it, and what He fights for will hold the field.
This prophecy of our psalm is not exhausted yet. I have set side by side with it one picture-the Christ on the ass’s colt. Put side by side with it this other. ‘I beheld the heaven opened; and lo! a white horse. And He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.’ The psalm waits for its completion still, and shall be fulfilled on that day of the true marriage supper of the Lamb, when the festivities of the marriage chamber shall be preceded by the last battle and crowning victory of the King of kings, the Conqueror of the world.
III. Lastly, we have the royalty of the King.
Then it is to be remembered that, throughout the Old Testament, we have occasional instances of the use of that great and solemn designation in reference to persons in such place and authority as that they are representatives of God. So kings and judges and lawyers and the like are spoken of more than once. Therefore there is not, in the language, translated as in our English Bible, necessarily the implication of the unique divinity of the persons so addressed. But I take it that this is an instance in which the prophet was ‘wiser than he knew,’ and in which you and I understand him better than he understood himself, and know what God, who spoke through him, meant, whatsoever the prophet, through whom He spoke, did mean. That is to say, I take the words before us as directly referring to Jesus Christ, and as directly declaring the divinity of His person, and therefore the eternity of His kingdom.
We live in days when that perpetual sovereignty is being questioned. In a revolutionary time like this it is well for Christian people, seeing so many venerable things going, to tighten their grasp upon the conviction that, whatever goes, Christ’s kingdom will not go; and that, whatever may be shaken by any storms, the foundation of His Throne stands fast. For our personal lives, and for the great hopes of the future beyond the grave, it is all-important that we should grasp, as an elementary conviction of our faith, the belief in the perpetual rule of that Saviour whose rule is life and peace. In the great mosque of Damascus, which was a Christian church once, there may still be read, deeply cut in the stone, high above the pavement where now Mohammedans bow, these words, ‘Thy kingdom, O Christ! is an everlasting kingdom.’ It is true, and it shall yet be known that He is for ever and ever the Monarch of the world.
Then, again, this royalty is a royalty of righteousness. ‘The sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness.’ His rule is no arbitrary sway, His rod is no rod of iron and tyrannical oppression, His own personal character is righteousness. Righteousness is the very life-blood and animating principle of His rule. He loves righteousness, and, therefore, puts His broad shield of protection over all who love it and seek after it. He hates wickedness, and therefore He wars against it wherever it is, and seeks to draw men out of it. And thus His kingdom is the hope of the world.
And, lastly, this dominion of perennial righteousness is the dominion of unparalleled gladness. ‘Therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of joy above Thy fellows.’ Set side by side with that the other words, ‘A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.’ And remember how, near the very darkest hour of the Lord’s earthly experiences, He said:-’These things have I spoken unto you that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.’ Christ’s gladness flowed from Christ’s righteousness. Because His pure humanity was ever in touch with God, and in conscious obedience to Him, therefore, though darkness was around, there was light within. He was ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,’ and the saddest of men was likewise the gladdest, and possessed ‘the oil of joy above His fellows.’
Brother! that kingdom is offered to us; participation in that joy of our Lord may belong to each of us. He rules that He may make us like Himself, lovers of righteousness, and so, like Himself, possessors of unfading joy. Make Him your King, let His arrow reach your heart, bow in submission to His power, take for your very life His words of graciousness, lovingly gaze upon His beauty till some reflection of it shall shine from you, fight by His side with strength drawn from Him alone, own and adore Him as the enthroned God-man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Crown Him with the many crowns of supreme trust, heart-whole love, and glad obedience. So shall you be honoured to share in His warfare and triumph. So shall you have a throne close to His and eternal as it. So shall His sceptre be graciously stretched out to you to give you access with boldness to the presence-chamber of the King. So shall He give you too, ‘the oil of joy for mourning,’ even in the ‘valley of weeping,’ and the fulness of His gladness for evermore, when He sets you at His right hand.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
fairer: i.e. in His glory which follows the suffering described in Isa 52:14; Isa 53:2.
children = sons.
men. Hebrew. ‘adam. App-14.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 45:2
Psa 45:2
ADDRESS TO THE KING
“Thou art fairer than the children of men;
Grace is poured into thy lips:
Therefore God hath blessed thee forever.”
“Thou art fairer than the children of men.” This does not say that He is fairer than other children of men; but the words place Him in a different category from all the children of men, meaning that He is a Divine Person who is the subject of this psalm. Some writers claim “this is not what the psalmist meant”; to which our reply is simply, “that this is surely what he said.”
“Grace is poured into thy lips.” Who, other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, ever brought the grace of God to all men?
“Therefore God hath blessed thee forever.” This was clearly in the mind of Paul when he wrote: “Of whom is Christ, as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever” (Rom 9:5). Who is capable of accepting these words as applicable to any of the historical kings of antiquity, either Jewish or Gentile?
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 45:2. The pronouns are in the 2nd person but refer to David. This is a clear and specific example of a fact described previously, that an inspired man could write by the dictation of the Spirit, yet write about himself as if he were another. See the comments at Psa 10:1. In the present verse David was considering the many favors he had received from God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
fairer: Son 2:3, Son 5:10-16, Zec 9:17, Mat 17:2, Joh 1:14, Col 1:15-18, Heb 1:3, Heb 1:4, Heb 7:26, Rev 1:13-18
grace: Pro 22:11, Isa 50:4, Luk 4:22, Joh 7:46
God: Psa 21:6, Psa 72:17-19, Phi 2:9-11
Reciprocal: Psa 141:6 – for they Pro 5:2 – thy lips Pro 15:7 – lips Pro 16:21 – the sweetness Son 1:16 – thou art Son 4:3 – lips Son 5:13 – his lips Son 5:16 – most Isa 33:17 – eyes Isa 49:2 – he hath made Mat 7:28 – the people Luk 1:42 – blessed is Luk 2:40 – the grace Eph 4:29 – that which Col 1:18 – in all Col 4:6 – your
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 45:2. Thou art fairer More beautiful and amiable; than the children of men Than all other men. Which is most true of Christ, but not of Solomon; whom many have excelled, if not in wisdom, yet in holiness and righteousness, which is the chief part of the beauty celebrated in this Psalm. Grace is poured into thy lips God hath plentifully poured into thy mind and tongue the gift of speaking wisely, eloquently, and acceptably, so as to find grace with, and communicate grace to, the hearers. This was in some sort true of Solomon, but far more eminently of Christ, Isa 50:4; Luk 4:22; Joh 7:46. The former clause refers to his inward perfections, and this to his ability and readiness to communicate them to others. Therefore God hath blessed thee, &c. The psalmist does not mean that the beauty and grace, now mentioned, were the meritorious cause of the blessings which he speaks of, for they were the free gifts of God, and therefore, properly speaking, the effects and not the cause of Gods blessing. But the sense of the clause is, Because God hath so eminently adorned and qualified thee for rule, therefore he hath intrusted and blessed thee with an everlasting kingdom.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
45:2 Thou art {c} fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
(c) Solomon’s beauty and eloquence to win favour with his people, and his power to overcome his enemies, is here described.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
To him, the king was the greatest man he knew. One evidence of this was his gracious speech, for which God had poured out His blessing on the king.