John Calvin 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)

Thou art fairer than the sons of men. The Psalmist begins his subject with the commendation of the king's beauty, and then he also proceeds to praise his eloquence. Personal excellence is ascribed to the king, not because the beauty of his appearance, which in itself is not counted among the virtues, should be very highly valued, but because a noble disposition of mind often shines forth in a man's very appearance.

This may have been the case with Solomon, so that from his very appearance it might have been evident that he was endowed with superior gifts. Nor is eloquence undeservedly praised in a king, whose office requires him not only to rule the people by authority but also to persuade them to obedience by argument and eloquence. This is just as the ancients imagined that Hercules had golden chains in his mouth, by which he captivated the ears of the common people and drew them after him.

How clearly this rebukes the mean-spiritedness of kings in our day, who regard it as beneath their dignity to converse with their subjects and to use reasoned argument to secure their submission. Indeed, they display a spirit of barbarous tyranny in seeking to compel rather than persuade them, and in choosing to abuse them as slaves rather than to govern them by laws and with justice as a manageable and obedient people.

But just as this excellence was displayed in Solomon, so also did it shine forth more fully later in Christ, for whom His truth serves as a scepter, as we will have occasion to notice in more detail later.

The term על-כן , al-ken, which we have translated because, is sometimes rendered therefore; but it is not necessary for us to interpret it here 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. Instead, it should be understood as the reason why Solomon was distinguished for these gifts: namely, because God had blessed him. As for the interpretation that others give, God shall bless you for your excellence, it is both cold and forced.