Psalms 45:6

Thy throne, O God, [is] for ever and ever,.... This verse and Psalms 45:7 are cited in Hebrews 1:8; and applied to the Son of God, the second Person in the Trinity; and therefore are not an

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

O God: it is most evident that the speech is still continued to the same person, whom he calls King, ,11, and here God; which change of the title was very expedient, and in some sort necessary, to give us a true understanding of this Psalm, and to assure us that he doth not speak of Solomon, (to whom neither these, nor the foregoing, nor the following words agree, because his reign was peaceable and short, and stained with many and great iniquities,) but a far greater King, even of the Messias, who is not only a man, but also the mighty God, as he is called, , and as the apostle solidly proves from this place, . For though the name of Elohim, or God, be sometimes given in Scripture to some creatures, yet in those cases it is always clogged with some diminishing expression, signifying that they are only made or called gods, and that only for a certain time and purpose, as is manifest from 7:1 ; and it is no where put simply and absolutely for any person, but him, who is God blessed for ever, . Is for ever and ever, to wit, properly and in thine own person, in which as he lives for ever, so he must necessarily reign for ever; whereas David, whose throne is said to be established for ever, , was a mortal man, and therefore that promise was not intended of, nor could be fulfilled in, his person, without including his posterity. And as he here gives to the Messias the name of God, which was never given to David nor Solomon, so he ascribes an everlasting kingdom to him in such a sense as it was never given to them. So 7:14. The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre; it is not strange that thy throne is not liable to the same uncertainties and casualties with the thrones of earthly princes, because their sceptres are commonly managed with great injustice and manifold iniquities, which lay the foundation of their overthrow; whereas thou rulest with exact righteousness and equity, whereby thy throne is established, .

Psalms 45:6 Thy throne, O God, [is] for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom [is] a right sceptre.Ver. 6. Thy throne, O God] Here the prophet directeth his speech not to Solomon (who never took upon him the name of God, as did Sesostris, king of Egypt, Antiochus Yεος, Caligula, and some other proud princes), but to Christ, Hebrews 1:8, who is God, blessed for ever, αυτοθεος, not so called by an excellence only, as the angels are, Psalms 8:5 Hebrews 2:1-9, nor by office and title only, as magistrates are gods, Psalms 82:6, nor catachrestically and ironically so called, as the heathen gods, nor a diminutive god, inferior to the Father, as Arius held, but God by nature, every way co-essential, co-eternal, and co-equal with the Father and the Holy Ghost, John 1:1 Philippians 2:6 1 John 5:20. Hold this fast; for it is the rock, Matthew 16:16; it is of the very foundation; so that if we believe it not there is no heaven to be had, 1 John 5:20. As for his kingly office here described, it belongeth to him as Mediator, and what is here spoken of him is to be understood of his whole person; for so is he Head of the Church, and King of Israel, for ever. The sceptre of thy kingdom, &c.] Thy government is not with rigour, but with righteousness; thou camest rightly by it, casting out Satan the usurper, Matthew 12:29 Hebrews 2:14; and dost most righteously administer it, Deuteronomy 4:8.

(6) Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.—This is the rendering of the LXX., Vulg., and of the versions generally. But whether they supposed the words to be addressed to the Divine Being, or that the theocratic king is thus styled, is uncertain. The Christian use of the verse as applied to the Messiah (Hebrews 1:8, Note, New Testament Commentary) does not help us to explain how the monarch, who is the poet’s theme here, could be addressed as God. The use of Elohîm in Psalms 82:6; Psalms 97:7, Exodus 22:28, hardly offers a satisfactory parallel, and even 1 Samuel 28:13 (where we should render, “I saw a god, &c) hardly prepares us to find such an emphatic ascription to an earthly king, especially in an Elohistic psalm. Two alternative renderings present themselves—(1) Thy throne of God is for ever . . . i.e., thy divine throne. (Comp. Psalms 31:2, “thy refuge of strength.”) (2) Thy throne is of God for ever, which is grammatically preferable, and with which may be compared 1 Chronicles 29:23, “the throne of the Lord.”

Verse 6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever] כסאך אלהים עולם ועד kisacha Elohim olam vaed. "O God, thy throne is for ever, and eternal!" The word Elohim here is the very first term or name by which the Supreme God has made himself known to the children of men. See Genesis 1:1; and this very verse the apostle, Hebrews 1:8, has applied to Jesus Christ. On this I shall make a very short remark, but it shall be conclusive: If the apostle did not believe Jesus Christ to be the true and eternal God, he has utterly misapplied this Scripture. The translation in the old Psalter, and the paraphrase will, on this controverted text, be considered of some importance: Thi settil God in werld of werlde: wande of ryghtyng wande of thi kyngedome. Here he loues [celebrates] God Crist ----- of dome. Thi settil of demyng and of kynges pouste. God es werld of werld for al that he demes es noght chaunged and that byfalles the, for the wande that es ceptre and the governyng of thi kyngdom es wande of ryghtyng, that ryghtes croked men this es the wand of goddes evenes that ay es ryght and never croked that reules ryghtwis men and smytes wiked men. The reader will observe a blank space between the word Crist and of dome: it is the same in the original. A word has been so carefully erased with the scalpel in the above place, that not a vestige of a letter is left. From the following words I should suspect it to have been kynge or lard. Here he praises God, Christ, king of judgment. However this may be, it is evident that this ancient commentator understood the word God to be applied to Christ. I have given the sentence as it is pointed in the original.

6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever] (1) This appears to be the sense given by all the Ancient Versions, for though it has been argued that ὁθεὸς in the LX X is not the vocative (Thy throne O God) but the predicate (Thy throne is God), the words do not appear to have been so understood by any of the ancient commentators, and the construction is certainly not an obvious one. But this rendering involves serious difficulties, whether it is taken as an address to the king or to God. (a) Can the king who is the subject of the Ps. be addressed as Elohim, ‘God’? The older expositors, who regarded the Psalm as directly Messianic, of course felt no difficulty, and saw in the words a recognition of the Deity of Christ. But the tone and contents of the Psalm make it clear that it is addressed to some actual king. Could such a king be so addressed? It is argued that judges were called gods (Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:8-9; Exodus 22:28(?); 1 Samuel 2:25); that the theocratic king as the representative of God was said to sit “on the throne of Jehovah” (1 Chronicles 28:5; 1 Chronicles 29:23); that a prophet can predict that the house of David should be as God (Zechariah 12:8); that Elohim is applied to men in the sense of divine or supernatural (Exodus 7:1; 1 Samuel 28:13); that Isaiah speaks of the Messianic king as El gibbτr, ‘mighty God’; and that the words of the next verse (where doubtless Jehovah thy God originally stood) preclude the possibility of misunderstanding. But it is doubtful whether judges are actually called gods (see R.V. of the passage quoted): certainly they are only so called as the mouthpieces of God, Who is regarded as the fountain of judgement: and after all that has been urged in favour of this interpretation it seems hardly possible to suppose that the king is directly addressed as Elohim. (b) The Targum regards the words as addressed to Jehovah, ‘The throne of Thy majesty, O Jehovah, abideth for ever and ever.’ Jehovah’s throne may mean His heavenly throne (Psalms 145:13; Lamentations 5:19), or the throne which He has established on earth as its counterpart and representative. But this interpretation seems to be excluded by the context. The king is addressed in the preceding and following verses, and it seems hardly possible to suppose that in this verse alone Jehovah is abruptly addressed. (2) In view of these difficulties it is necessary to consider whether the words are correctly translated. Various other renderings have been proposed, taking Elohim as the subject or predicate of the clause instead of as a vocative. (a) God is thy throne: i.e. thy kingdom is founded upon God. In support of this are quoted such phrases as “Jehovah is my refuge and my fortress” (Psalms 91:2), or, “The eternal God is thy dwelling-place” (Deuteronomy 33:27). But the expression, to say the least, would be a strange one. (b) Thy throne is God, i.e. divine.

Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever - This passage is quoted by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews in proof that the Messiah is exalted above the angels, and it is, beyond all question,

6, 7. From the king in war, (Psalms 45:3-5,) the poet now turns to the king in peace—his rank and the quality and perpetuity of his government.