Psalm 45:7

Verse 7. Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows; i.e., enriched and filled thee in a singular manner with the fulness of the Spirit, whereby thou art consecrated to thy office; and by reason whereof you out shine and excellest all the saints who are thy fellows, or copartners in these graces. So that in these words you have two parts, namely, first, the saint's dignity; and, secondly, Christ's preeminence. First. The saint's dignity, which consists in this, that they are Christ's fellows. The Hebrew word ($yrkxm), is very full and copious, and is translated consorts, companions, copartners, partakers; or as ours reads it, fellows; i.e., such as are partakers with him in the anointing of the Spirit, who do in their measure receive the same Spirit, every Christian being appointed, modo sibi proportionato, with the same grace and dignified with the same titles. 1 John 2:27 Revelation 1:6 . Christ and the saints are in common one with another. Doth the Spirit of holiness dwell in him? So he doth in them too. Is Christ King and Priest? Why, so are they, too, by the grace of union with him. He hath made us kings and priests to God and his Father. This is the saints' dignity, to be Christ's fellows, consorts, or copartners; so that look whatever grace or excellency is in Christ, it is not impropriated to himself, but they do share with him; for indeed he was filled with the fulness of the Spirit for their sakes and use. As the sun is filled with light not to shine to itself, but to others, so is Christ with grace; and therefore some translate the text not prae consortibus, above thy fellows, but propter consortes, for thy fellows; (Rivetus), making Christ the first receptacle of all grace, who first and immediately is filled from the fountain of the Godhead, but it is for his people who receive and derive from him according to their proportion. This is a great truth; and the dignity of the saints lies chiefly in the partnership with Christ, though our translation, above thy fellows, suits best both with the importance of the word and scope of the place. Secondly. But then, whatever dignity is ascribed herein to the saints, there is, and still must be, a preeminence acknowledged and ascribed to Christ: if they are anointed with the spirit of grace, much more abundantly is Christ: God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. John Flavel.

Verse 7. Oil of gladness. For sweet smelling oils were also used to beautify the face upon occasions of feasting and mirth. Psalms 23:5 104:15 Isaiah 61:3 . And likewise this oil of consecration and infusion of the gifts of the Holy Ghost hath been the cause and foundation of Christ's human nature's obtaining of the everlasting joys and glory. Philippians 2:9 Hebrews 12:2 . John Diodati.

Verse 7. Behold, O ye Arians, and acknowledge even hence the truth. The psalmist speaks of us all as fellows or partakers of the Lord, but were he one of things which come out of nothing, and of things generate, he himself had been one of those who partake. But since he hymned him as the eternal God, saying, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, and has declared that all other things partake of him, what conclusion must we draw, but that he is distinct from generated things, and he only the Father's veritable Word, Radiance, and Wisdom, which all things generate partake, being sanctified by him in Spirit? And, therefore, he is here anointed, not that he may become God, for he was so even before; nor that he may become king, for he has the kingdom eternally, existing as God's image, as the sacred oracle shows; but in our behalf is this written, as before. For the Israelitish kings, upon their being anointed, then became kings, not being so before, as David, as Ezekias, as Josias, and the rest; but the Saviour, on the contrary, being God, and ever ruling in the Father's kingdom, and being himself the dispenser of the Holy Ghost, nevertheless is here said to be anointed, that, as before, being said as man to be anointed with the Spirit, he might provide for us more, not only exaltation and resurrection, but the indwelling and intimacy of the Spirit...And when he received the Spirit, we it was who, by him were made recipients of it. And, moreover, for this reason, not as Aaron, or David, or the rest, was he anointed with oil, but in another way, above all his fellows, with the oil of gladness, which he himself interprets to be the Spirit, saying by the prophet, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me;" as also the apostle has said, "How God anointed him with the Holy Ghost." Athanasius.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 6-7. Empire, Eternity, Equity, Establishment, Exultation.

Verse 7. Thou hatest wickedness. He hated it when it assailed him in his temptation, hated it in others, denounced it, died to slay it, will come to condemn it.

Verse 7. Christ's love and hate.