Psalms 45:7

My Notes

What Does Psalms 45:7 Mean?

This is a royal psalm — a wedding song for a king — that Hebrews 1:8-9 applies directly to Christ. The verse describes a king whose character earns His anointing. "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness" — two active verbs, both emotional. This king doesn't just practice righteousness. He loves it. And He doesn't just avoid wickedness. He hates it. The love and the hatred are equally intense, equally personal. A king who loves righteousness but tolerates wickedness is compromised. A king who hates wickedness but doesn't love righteousness is merely punitive. This king does both.

"Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee" — the anointing is a consequence. "Therefore" — because of this character, because of this love and this hatred, God anoints Him. The oil of anointing was poured on kings and priests to set them apart for divine service. But this anointing is earned by character, not just position.

"With the oil of gladness above thy fellows" — the anointing oil is called "gladness" (sasson). Joy is the substance of the anointing. And "above thy fellows" means this king is set above every other — not just above enemies, but above companions, above equals, above everyone in His category. The writer of Hebrews reads this as Christ being set above every other being in existence. The oil of gladness singles Him out: the one who loved righteousness and hated wickedness more completely than anyone has ever done receives an anointing no one else can share.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Do you love righteousness — actively, emotionally — or do you just practice it out of obligation? What's the difference?
• 2.We're comfortable with Jesus loving righteousness. Are you equally comfortable with Him hating wickedness? Why or why not?
• 3.The anointing is 'the oil of gladness.' How does moral clarity — loving the right things and hating the right things — relate to joy in your own experience?
• 4.What are you currently tolerating that God hates — and what would change if your hatred of wickedness matched your love of righteousness?

Devotional

The anointing came because of what He loved and what He hated. Both mattered.

This verse describes a king — and the New Testament says that king is Jesus. His anointing wasn't arbitrary. It wasn't random selection. It was the result of His character: He loved righteousness. Fully, passionately, without reservation. And He hated wickedness. Not tolerated it, not managed it, not reluctantly opposed it. Hated it. The love and the hatred together made Him the one God anointed above all others.

We're comfortable with the first half. Jesus loves righteousness. That fits the gentle, compassionate image we carry. But Jesus hates wickedness — that's the part we sanitize. The same person who forgave the woman at the well drove money changers from the temple with a whip. The same person who wept over Jerusalem pronounced woe on the Pharisees. Love of righteousness without hatred of wickedness is sentimentality. Hatred of wickedness without love of righteousness is cruelty. Jesus holds both at full intensity.

"The oil of gladness above thy fellows." The anointing is joy. Not duty, not grim responsibility — gladness. The king who loved righteousness and hated wickedness was anointed with joy above everyone else. There's something here about the relationship between moral clarity and deep joy. The person who loves the right things and hates the right things experiences a gladness that the morally confused never access. Clarity produces joy.

If your spiritual life feels joyless, this verse suggests a diagnostic: what are you loving, and what are you hating? The oil of gladness flows toward those whose loves and hatreds align with God's.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture