Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 45:2

"Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." — Psalms 45:2 (ASV)

You are fairer than the children of men—That is, You are more fair and comely than men; your comeliness is greater than that which is found among men. In other words, You are 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 on the earth there was no one to be found who could be compared with him. The Hebrew word rendered “you are fairer”—יפיפית yāp^eyāpiytha—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—are you 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 your lips—The word here rendered “is poured” properly means to pour, to pour out as liquids—water, or melted metal (Genesis 28:18; 2 Kings 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 properly means 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 it is said (Luke 4:22), And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. So (John 7:46): Never man spake like this man. (Matthew 13:54; Luke 2:47).

Therefore God has blessed you forever—In connection with this moral beauty—this beauty of character—God will bless you to all eternity. Since he has endowed you with such gifts and graces, he will continue to bless you, forever. In other words, it is impossible that one who is thus endowed should ever be an object of the divine displeasure.