Charles Ellicott Commentary


Charles Ellicott Commentary
"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. — Better, You are fair; indeed, fairer than, etc. We may thus reproduce the Hebrew expression, which, however grammatically explained, must convey this emphasis. The old versions render: “You are fair with beauty;” or, “You have been made beautiful with beauty.”
Grace is poured into your lips. — Better, A flowing grace is on your 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 has blessed you for ever. And we are struck by the emphasis of its occurrence in Psalm 45:7, 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.