Psalm 45:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

NIV: You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

NASB: You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your companions.

CSB: You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions.

NLT: You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.

KJV: Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

NKJV: You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

In celebration of a king's marriage (Psalm 45:1), the psalmist has offered extravagant compliments (Psalm 45:2–5). These have included the deliberately exaggerated poetry often used in songs. In the prior verse, however, the psalmist made what seemed like a direct reference to God (Psalm 45:6). Since this song depicts a king in the line of David, it serves as a prophetic message about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. However, its immediate context is a particular human king. Most likely, the prior statement used terminology applied to human rulers.

In this verse, the same is true. However, it is easier to see a dual purpose which describes both the psalmist's then-ruling king and the prophesied Messiah, Jesus. The Gospel accounts of the earthly life of Jesus clearly reveal His love of righteousness. He refused to yield to temptation (Matthew 4:1–11). He continually performed God's will (John 8:29). In Acts 10:38 Peter told the crowd gathered in Cornelius's house that Jesus "went about doing good." Jesus detested wickedness (John 5:14). After forgiving the woman caught in the act of adultery, He told her: "Go, and from now on sin no more" (John 8:11). When He saw moneychangers turn the temple into a den of thieves, He drove out "those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons" (Mark 11:15).

This passage mentions intense joy and "gladness." This, also, is related to marriage (Isaiah 61:3)

According to Psalm 45:7, God has anointed His Son with the oil of gladness beyond His companions. The anointing with oil was part of Hebrew marriage proceedings and represents joy (Isaiah 61:3). Jesus' initial work as Messiah involved humility and even death (Isaiah 53:3–5; John 18:36; Philippians 2:5–8). His final works, however, will be to establish victory and eternal joy for His people (Philippians 2:9–11; Revelation 19:11–15; 21:1–4).

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.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.