“Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” (Psalms 45:7)
There is discussion about whether this psalm refers to David, the Jewish Messiah or Jesus. I make a distinction between the Jewish Messiah and Jesus because although they are one and the same, Jewish writers do not believe this. The psalm is about the anointed king and his bride. If the Korah brothers wrote this about David, they prophetically wrote about the Messiah, Jesus. We know that David is a type of Jesus, meaning that there are in his life aspects that can be referenced to Jesus. Jesus is also a descendant of David and a king who will reign forever.
Paul believed that this psalm was about Jesus and repeated verse 7. “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:8-9) Paul uses the same words, “...therefore God, Thy God...” which brings up an interesting question. Is the Father, Jesus’ God? We know Jesus is the Son of God, divine and is God. (John 1:1) But while Jesus walked on this earth as man and also as God, did He consider the Father His God. We have Matthew 27:46 to support this: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. His statement to her tells us that Jesus considered the Father His God. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” (John 20:17) Jesus Who is God, had God, His Father, as His God. Sounds confusing, but when we consider Jesus as all man, we can see the logic in it. Jesus was all man. But He was also all God.
Jesus, God the Son, is anointed above “Thy fellows.” Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28) Jesus goes before us in all things. And we follow Him. We follow Him to the cross, dying to self. And we follow Him to the Father. “And He is the head of the body, the church: Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18) In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes about the work of God in us through Jesus, Who is, “...Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church...” (Ephesians 1:21-22)
Jesus is the One Who loves righteousness and hates wickedness. And so should we. In this world good is considered bad and wickedness is considered good. I won’t deliberate. To speak of wickedness as such is to speak hatred which is unlawful in the world. The people of God are punished and sanctioned for their beliefs and for being righteous. So, what are we to do? We cannot cower and deny Jesus as Peter did. Neither can we stand by and not call out wickedness. Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1) We are called to condemn the sin, but not the person. We are not God and have no right or authority to condemn others. So, before we approach anyone, let the Spirit of God’s love overwhelm us for the person first. (Ephesians 4:15) Cry out for the person’s soul. Then only if the Holy Spirit opens a door can we go and speak to another about their sin. What has happened in my case is that after much prayer and intercession, the person will have changed before I am compelled to approach them.
Jesus, the Righteous One is the bridegroom of the church. He is the First-born of those who will die and resurrect. (Colossians 1:18) He is Messiah, our Savior and Lord. He is God.
Comments