Fairer than Men

You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever.
Psalm 45:2

This somewhat obscure title comes from a glorious Messianic Psalm full of the names of Christ. Monikers like “King,” “Mighty One,” “Majesty,” and “Anointed” clearly establish that, in context, this title, refers to the Son of God. Now, the job is to understand what it means.

The phrase “fairer than men” refers to physical attractiveness. Other translations render this: “You are the most excellent of men”(NIV), “You are the most handsome of all” (NLT), and “Thou art beautiful above the sons of men” (Douay). That is an interesting concept, because the Bible also says, “There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Isaiah 53:2,3).

Jesus was torn up after the crucifixion. His face was so beaten and swollen that scripture says, “So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men” (Isaiah 52:14). The bottom line is it wasn’t his facial features that attracted people to the Lord, but His handsome character and the beauty of His love and grace.

That's the first level of interpretation, now I’d like to apply a rather “outside the box” application to the phrase “fairer than men.” I’ve often heard people complain that “life isn’t fair”, and even “God isn’t fair.” That may be true in a lot of ways. Bad people often exploit good people, the most qualified don’t always get the job and cancer afflicts both young and old. However, if God isn’t fair, He’s certainly much fairer than men.

People tend to be nasty, vindictive, and unforgiving. They remember wrongs done years ago and then bring them up just to hurt. Jesus doesn’t give us what we deserve. Praise the Lord!! We deserve death and hell, but He gives us instead forgiveness, fellowship, and healing of the soul. Thank God that Jesus isn’t fair and yet, He is always Fairer than Men.