JimSpace: June 2013

Psalm 45:6 in the NET Bible declares: "Your throne, O God, is permanent." Its footnote on "O God" explains: "The king is clearly the addressee here, as in vv. 2-5 and 7-9. ... Because the Davidic king is God’s vice-regent on earth, the psalmist addresses him as if he were God incarnate. God energizes the king for battle and accomplishes justice through him. A similar use of hyperbole appears in Isa 9:6, where the ideal Davidic king of the eschaton is given the title “Mighty God” (see the note on this phrase there). ... When the king’s enemies oppose him on the battlefield, they are, as it were, fighting against God himself." netbible.org/bible/Psalms+45

Therefore, the Davidic king is called God in the Bible in a representative sense. Not in a literal sense, but in a representative sense.

And how is Psalm 45:6 applied in the NT? It's applied to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8. Thus, Jesus, the Davidic heir, represents God but is not God.

Additional points

The NASB Study Bible in a footnote makes the same point as the NET Bible footnote considered above. For "O God" it informs us: "Probably the king's throne is called God's throne because he is God's appointed regent. But it is also possible that the king himself is addressed as "god." The Davidic king (the "LORD'S anointed," 2 Sam 19:21), because of his special relationship with God, was called at his enthronement the "son" of God (see 2:7; 2 Sam 7:14; 1 Chr 28:6; cf. 89:27). In this psalm, which praises the king and especially extols his "splendor and ... majesty" (v. 3), it is not unthinkable that he was called "god" as a title of honor (cf. Isa 9:6). Such a description of the Davidic king attains its fullest meaning when applied to Christ, as the author of Hebrews does (Heb 1:8-9). (The pharaohs of Egypt were sometimes addressed as "my god" by their vassal kings in Canaan, as evidenced by the Amarna letters.)" Thus, to be consistent, Jesus as the Davidic heir is "God" "as a title of honor" "because he is God's appointed regent" and "because of his special relationship with God," not that he actually is God. That would be just as absurd as claiming the Davidic king was God! Yet, in their footnote comments on Hebrews 1:8, both study Bibles do just that, claiming that the reference to Psalm 45:6 is "a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ." (netbible.org/bible/Hebrews+1) To be consistent then, Psalm 45:6 would be a strong affirmation of the deity of the Davidic king. But as we have seen, their comments on that scripture contradicts that! The inconsistency is explained by the footnote authors having a baseless Trinitarian bias. The Davidic king, including Jesus per Hebrews 1:8, is God in a representational sense as God's regent, ambassador and agent. Jesus Christ is not the second person of the impersonal Trinitarian Godhead any more than the Davidic king was.

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