Psalms 2 commentary

We are here told who would appear as adversaries to Christ. As this world is the kingdom of Satan, unconverted men, of every rank, party, and character, are stirred up by him to oppose the cause of God. But the rulers of the earth generally have been most active. The truths and precepts of Christianity are against ambitious projects and worldly lusts. We are told what they aim at in this opposition. They would break asunder the bands of conscience, and the cords of God's commandments; they will not receive, but cast them away as far as they can. These enemies can show no good cause for opposing so just and holy a government, which, if received by all, would bring a heaven upon earth. They can hope for no success in so opposing so powerful a kingdom. The Lord Jesus has all power both in heaven and in earth, and is Head over all things to the church, notwithstanding the restless endeavours of his enemies. Christ's throne is set up in his church, that is, in the hearts of all believers.

The kingdom of the Messiah is founded upon an eternal decree of God the Father. This our Lord Jesus often referred to, as what he governed himself by. God hath said unto him, Thou art my Son, and it becomes each of us to say to him, Thou art my Lord, my Sovereign'. The Son, in asking the heathen for his inheritance, desires their happiness in him; so that he pleads for them, ever lives to do so, and is able to save to the uttermost, and he shall have multitudes of willing, loyal subjects, among them. Christians are the possession of the Lord Jesus; they are to him for a name and a praise. God the Father gives them to him, when, by his Spirit and grace, he works upon them to submit to the Lord Jesus.

Whatever we rejoice in, in this world, it must always be with trembling, because of the uncertainty of all things in it. To welcome Jesus Christ, and to submit to him, is our wisdom and interest. Let him be very dear and precious; love him above all, love him in sincerity, love him much, as she did, to whom much was forgiven, and, in token of it, kissed his feet, Lu 7:38. And with a kiss of loyalty take this yoke upon you, and give up yourselves to be governed by his laws, disposed of by his providence, and entirely devoted to his cause. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. It will be utter destruction to yourselves; lest ye perish in the way of your sins, and from the way of your vain hopes; lest your way perish, lest you prove to have missed the way of happiness. Christ is the way; take heed lest ye be cut off from Him as your way to God. They thought themselves in the way; but neglecting Christ, they perish from it. Blessed will those be in the day of wrath, who, by trusting in Christ, have made him their Refuge.

PSALM 2

David boasts that his kingdom, though assailed by a vast multitude of powerful enemies, would, notwithstanding, be perpetual, because it was upheld by the hand and power of God. He adds, that in spite of his enemies, it would be extended even to the uttermost ends of the earth. And, therefore, he exhorts kings and other rulers to lay aside their pride, and receive, with submissive minds, the yoke laid upon them by God; as it would be vain for them to attempt to shake it off. All this was typical and contains a prophecy concerning the future kingdom of Christ.

Psalm 2:1-3

1. Why do the nations rise tumultuously, and the peoples murmur in vain? 2. The kings of the earth have confederated, and the princes have assembled together, against Jehovah and against his Christ. 3. Let us break of their bonds, and cast away their yoke from us.

WE know how many conspired against David, and endeavored to prevent his coming to the throne, and from their hostile attempts, had he judged according to the eye of sense and reason, he might have been so full of apprehension, as forthwith to have given up all hope of ever becoming king. And, doubtless, he had often to struggle sorrowfully with very grievous temptations. But, as he had the testimony of an approving conscience, that he had attempted nothing rashly nor acted as ambition and depraved desire impel many to seek changes in the government of kingdoms; as he was, on the contrary, thoroughly persuaded that he had been made king by divine appointment, when he coveted no such thing, nor even thought of it; Ne mesme y pensait. — Fr. he encouraged himself by strong confidence in God against the whole world, just as in these words, he nobly pours contempt both on kings and their armies. He confesses, indeed, that he had a sore battle to fight, inasmuch as it was no small party, but whole nations with their kings, who had conspired against him; but he courageously boasts that their attempts were vain, because they waged war, not against mortal man, but against God himself. It is not certain from the words, whether he speaks only of enemies in his own kingdom, or extends his complaints to foreign invaders. But, since the fact was, that enemies rose up against him in all quarters, and that as soon as he had settled the disturbances among his own people, the neighboring states, in their turn, became hostile to him, I am disposed to think that both classes of enemies are meant, Gentiles as well as Jews. It would be a strange mode of expression to speak of many nations and people when only one nation was meant, and to speak of many kings when he had in eye Saul only. Besides, it agrees better with the completeness of the type to suppose that different kinds of enemies were joined together; for we know that Christ had not only to do with enemies in his own country, but likewise with enemies in other nations; the whole world having entered into a common conspiracy to accomplish his destruction. The Jews, indeed, first began to rage against Christ as they had formerly done against David; but afterwards the same species of madness seized upon other nations. The sum is, that although those who endeavored to overthrow him might be strengthened by powerful armies, yet their tumults and counsels would prove vain and ineffectual.

By attributing to the people commotion and uproar, and to kings and rulers the holding of assemblies, to take counsel, he has used very appropriate language. Yet he intimates that, when kings have long and much consulted together, and the people have poured forth their utmost fury, all of them united would make nothing of it. But we ought carefully to mark the ground of such confidence, which was, that he had not thrust himself forward to be king rashly, or of his own accord, but only followed the call of God. From this he concludes, that in his person God was assailed; and God could not but show himself the defender of the kingdom of which he was the founder. By honoring himself with the title of Messias, or the Anointed, he declares that he reigned only by the authority and command of God, inasmuch as the oil brought by the hand of Samuel made him king who before was only a private person. David’s enemies did not, indeed, think they were making a violent attack against God, yea, they would resolutely deny their having any such intention; yet it is not without reason that David places God in opposition to them, and speaks as if they directly levelled their attacks against him, for by seeking to undermine the kingdom which he had erected, they blindly and ferociously waged war against Him. If all those are rebels against God who resist the powers ordained by him, much more does this apply to that sacred kingdom which was established by special privilege.

But it is now high time to come to the substance of the type. That David prophesied concerning Christ, is clearly manifest from this, that he knew his own kingdom to be merely a shadow. And in order to learn to apply to Christ whatever David, in times past, sang concerning himself, we must hold this principle, which we meet with everywhere in all the prophets, that he, with his posterity, was made king, not so much for his own sake as to be a type of the Redeemer. We shall often have occasion to return to this afterwards, but at present I would briefly inform my readers that as David’s temporal kingdom was a kind of earnest to God’s ancient people of the eternal kingdom, which at length was truly established in the person of Christ, those things which David declares concerning himself are not violently, or even allegorically, applied to Christ, but were truly predicted concerning him. If we attentively consider the nature of the kingdom, we will perceive that it would be absurd to overlook the end or scope, and to rest in the mere shadow. That the kingdom of Christ is here described by the spirit of prophecy, is sufficiently attested to us by the apostles, who, seeing the ungodly conspiring against Christ, arm themselves in prayer with this doctrine, (Acts 4:24.) But to place our faith beyond the reach of all cavils, it is plainly made manifest from all the prophets, that those things which David testified concerning his own kingdom are properly applicable to Christ. Let this, therefore, be held as a settled point, that all who do not submit themselves to the authority of Christ make war against God. Since it seems good to God to rule us by the hand of his own Son, those who refuse to obey Christ himself deny the authority of God, and it is in vain for them to profess otherwise. For it is a true saying,

“He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him,” (John 5:22.)

And it is of great importance to hold fast this inseparable connection, that as the majesty of God hath shone forth in his only begotten Son, so the Father will not be feared and worshipped but in his person.

A twofold consolation may be drawn from this passage:— First, as often as the world rages, in order to disturb and put an end to the prosperity of Christ’s kingdom, we have only to remember that, in all this there is just a fulfillment of what was long ago predicted, and no changes that can happen will greatly disquiet us. Yea, rather it will be highly profitable to us to compare those things which the apostles experienced with what we witness at the present time. Of itself the kingdom of Christ would be peaceable, and from it true peace issues forth to the world; but through the wickedness and malice of men, never does it rise from obscurity into open view without disturbances being excited. Nor is it at all wonderful, or unusual, if the world begin to rage as soon as a throne is erected for Christ. The other consolation which follows is, that when the ungodly have mustered their forces, and when, depending on their vast numbers, their riches, and their means of defense, they not only pour forth their proud blasphemies, but furiously assault heaven itself, we may safely laugh them to scorn, relying on this one consideration, that he whom they are assailing is the God who is in heaven. When we see Christ well nigh overwhelmed with the number and strength of his enemies, let us remember that they are making war against God over whom they shall not prevail, and therefore their attempts, whatever they may be, and however increasing, will come to naught, and be utterly ineffectual. Let us learn, farther, that this doctrine runs through the whole gospel; for the prayer of the apostles which I have just quoted, manifestly testifies that it ought not to be restricted to the person of Christ.

PSALM 2

Psa 2:1-12. The number and authorship of this Psalm are stated (Ac 4:25; 13:33). Though the warlike events of David's reign may have suggested its imagery, the scenes depicted and the subjects presented can only find a fulfilment in the history and character of Jesus Christ, to which, as above cited and in He 1:5; 5:5, the New Testament writers most distinctly testify. In a most animated and highly poetical style, the writer, in "four stanzas of three verses each," sets forth the inveterate and furious, though futile, hostility of men to God and His anointed, God's determination to carry out His purpose, that purpose as stated more fully by His Son, the establishment of the Mediatorial kingdom, and the imminent danger of all who resist, as well as the blessing of all who welcome this mighty and triumphant king.

1. Why do the heathen, &c.--Beholding, in prophetic vision, the peoples and nations, as if in a tumultuous assembly, raging with a fury like the raging of the sea, designing to resist God's government, the writer breaks forth into an exclamation in which are mingled surprise at their folly, and indignation at their rebellion.

heathen--nations generally, not as opposed to Jews.

the people--or, literally, "peoples," or races of men.

2. The kings and rulers lead on their subjects.

set themselves--take a stand.

take counsel--literally, "sit together," denoting their deliberation.

anointed--Hebrew, "Messiah"; Greek, "Christ" (Joh 1:41). Anointing, as an emblem of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, was conferred on prophets (Is 6:1); priests (Ex 30:30); and kings (1Sa 10:1; 16:13; 1Ki 1:39). Hence this title well suited Him who holds all these offices, and was generally used by the Jews before His coming, to denote Him (Da 9:26). While the prophet has in view men's opposition generally, he here depicts it in its culminating aspect as seen in the events of Christ's great trial. Pilate and Herod, and the rulers of the Jews (Mt 27:1; Lu 23:1-25), with the furious mob, are vividly portrayed.

3. The rebellious purposes of men are more distinctly announced by this representation of their avowal in words, as well as actions.

bands ... and ... cords--denote the restraints of government.

4. By a figure whose boldness is only allowable to an inspired writer, God's conduct and language in view of this opposition are now related.

He that sitteth in the heavens--enthroned in quiet dignities (compare Psa 29:10; Is 40:22).

shall laugh--in supreme contempt; their vain rage excites His derision. He is still the Lord, literally, "Sovereign," though they rebel.

5. Then shall he speak--His righteous indignation as well as contempt is roused. For God to speak is for Him to act, for what He resolves He will do (Ge 1:3; Psa 33:9).

vex them--agitate or terrify them (Psa 83:15).

6. The purpose here declared, in its execution, involves their overthrow.

Yet--literally, "and," in an adversative sense.

I have set--anointed, or firmly placed, with allusion in the Hebrew to "casting an image in a mould." The sense is not materially varied in either case.

my king--appointed by Me and for Me (Nu 27:18).

upon my holy hill of Zion--Zion, selected by David as the abode of the ark and the seat of God's visible residence (1Ki 8:1); as also David, the head of the Church and nation, and type of Christ, was called holy, and the Church itself came to be thus named (Psa 9:11; 51:18; 99:2; Is 8:18; 18:7, &c.).

7. The king thus constituted declares the fundamental law of His kingdom, in the avowal of His Sonship, a relation involving His universal dominion.

this day have I begotten thee--as 2Sa 7:14, "he shall be My son," is a solemn recognition of this relation. The interpretation of this passage to describe the inauguration of Christ as Mediatorial King, by no means impugns the Eternal Sonship of His divine nature. In Ac 13:33, Paul's quotation does not imply an application of this passage to the resurrection; for "raised up" in Ac 13:32 is used as in Ac 2:30; 3:22, &c., to denote bringing Him into being as a man; and not that of resurrection, which it has only when, as in Ac 2:34, allusion is made to His death (Ro 1:4). That passage says He was declared as to His divine nature to be the Son of God, by the resurrection, and only teaches that that event manifested a truth already existing. A similar recognition of His Sonship is introduced in He 5:5, by these ends, and by others in Mt 3:17; 17:5.

8. The hopes of the rebels are thus overthrown, and not only so; the kingdom they opposed is destined to be coextensive with the earth.

heathen--or, "nations" (Psa 2:1).

and the uttermost parts of the earth--(Psa 22:27); denotes universality.

9. His enemies shall be subject to His terrible power (Job 4:9; 2Th 2:8), as His people to His grace (Psa 110:2, 3).

rod of iron--denotes severity (Re 2:27).

a potter's vessel--when shivered cannot be mended, which will describe utter destruction.

10-12. kings ... judges--For rulers generally (Psa 148:11), who have been leaders in rebellion, should be examples of penitent submission, and with fear for His terrible judgments, mingled with trust in His mercy, acknowledge--

Why do the heathen rage - It has been supposed that David composed this Psalm after he had taken Jerusalem from the Jebusites, and made it the head of the kingdom; 2Sam 5:7-9. The Philistines, hearing this, encamped in the valley of Rephaim, nigh to Jerusalem, and Josephus, Antiq. lib. 7: c. 4, says that all Syria, Phoenicia, and the other circumjacent warlike people, united their armies to those of the Philistines, in order to destroy David before he had strengthened himself in the kingdom. David, having consulted the Lord, 2Sam 5:17-19, gave them battle, and totally overthrew the whole of his enemies. In the first place, therefore, we may suppose that this Psalm was written to celebrate the taking of Jerusalem, and the overthrow of all the kings and chiefs of the neighboring nations. In the second place we find from the use made of this Psalm by the apostles, Act 4:27, that David typified Jesus Christ; and that the Psalm celebrates the victories of the Gospel over the Philistine Jews, and all the confederate power of the heathen governors of the Roman empire.

The heathen, גוים goyim, the nations; those who are commonly called the Gentiles.

Rage, רגשו rageshu, the gnashing of teeth, and tumultuously rushing together, of those indignant and cruel people, are well expressed by the sound as well as the meaning of the original word. A vain thing. Vain indeed to prevent the spread of the Gospel in the world. To prevent Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, from having the empire of his own earth. So vain were their endeavors that every effort only tended to open and enlarge the way for the all-conquering sway of the scepter of righteousness.

Against his anointed - על משיחיה al Meshichiah, "Against his Messiah." - Chaldee. But as this signifies the anointed person, it may refer first to David, as it does secondly to Christ.

Let us break their bands - These are the words of the confederate heathen powers; and here, as Bishop Horne well remarks, "we may see the ground of opposition; namely, the unwillingness of rebellious nature to submit to the obligations of Divine laws, which cross the interests, and lay a restraint on the desires of men. Corrupt affections are the most inveterate enemies of Christ, and their language is, We will not have this man to reign over us. Doctrines would be readily believed if they involved in them no precepts; and the Church may be tolerated in the world if she will only give up her discipline."

He that sitteth in the heavens - Whose kingdom ruleth over all, and is above all might and power, human and diabolical. Shall laugh. Words spoken after the manner of men; shall utterly contemn their puny efforts; shall beat down their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices.

Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath - He did so to the Jews who rejected the Gospel, and vexed and ruined them by the Roman armies; he did so with the opposing Roman emperors, destroying all the contending factions, till he brought the empire under the dominion of one, and him he converted to Christianity viz., Constantine the Great.

I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion - Here the Gospel shall be first preached; here the kingdom of Christ shall be founded; and from hence shall the doctrine of the Lord go out into all the earth.

I will declare the decree - These words are supposed to have been spoken by the Messiah. I will declare to the world the decree, the purpose of God to redeem them by my blood, and to sanctify them by my Spirit. My death shall prove that the required atonement has been made; my resurrection shall prove that this atonement has been accepted.

Thou art my Son - Made man, born of a woman by the creative energy of the Holy Ghost, that thou mightest feel and suffer for man, and be the first-born of many brethren.

This day have I begotten thee - By thy resurrection thou art declared to be the Son of God, εν δυναμει, by miraculous power, being raised from the dead. Thus by thy wondrous and supernatural nativity, most extraordinary death, and miraculous resurrection, thou art declared to be the Son of God. And as in that Son dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, all the sufferings and the death of that human nature were stamped with an infinitely meritorious efficacy. We have St. Paul's authority for applying to the resurrection of our Lord these words, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee;" - see Act 13:33; see also Heb 5:6; - and the man must indeed be a bold interpreter of the Scriptures who would give a different gloss to that of the apostle. It is well known that the words, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee," have been produced by many as a proof of the eternal generation of the Son of God. On the subject itself I have already given my opinion in my note on Luk 1:35, from which I recede not one hair's breadth. Still however it is necessary to spend a few moments on the clause before us. The word היום haiyom, Today, Is in no part of the sacred writings used to express eternity, or any thing in reference to it; nor can it have any such signification. To-day is an absolute designation of the present, and equally excludes time past and time future; and never can, by any figure, or allowable latitude of construction, be applied to express eternity. But why then does the Divine Spirit use the word begotten in reference to the declaration of the inauguration of the Messiah to his kingdom, and his being seated at the right hand of God? Plainly to show both to Jews and Gentiles that this Man of sorrows, this Outcast from society, this Person who was prosecuted as a blasphemer of God, and crucified as an enemy to the public peace and a traitor to the government, is no less than that eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God, who was God, and in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily: that this rejected Person was he for whom in the fullness of time a body was prepared, begotten by the exclusive power of the Most High in the womb of an unspotted virgin, which body he gave unto death as a sin-offering for the redemption of the world; and having raised it from death, declared it to be that miraculously-begotten Son of God, and now gave farther proof of this by raising the God-man to his right hand.

The word ילדתי yalidti, "I have begotten," is here taken in the sense of manifesting, exhibiting, or declaring; and to this sense of it St. Paul (Rom 1:3, Rom 1:4) evidently alludes when speaking of "Jesus Christ, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, του ὁρισθεντος Υἱου Θεου εν δυναμει, κατα Πνευμα αγιωσυνης, εξ αναστασεως νεκρων; and declared (exhibited or determined) to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness." This very rejected Person, I this day, by raising him from the dead, and placing him at my right hand, giving to him all power in heaven and earth, declare to be my Son, the beloved one in whom I am well pleased. Therefore hear him, believe on him, and obey him; for there is no redemption but through his blood; no salvation but in his name; no resurrection unto eternal life but through his resurrection, ascension, and powerful intercession at my right hand. Thou art my Son; this day have I declared and manifested thee to be such. It was absolutely necessary to the salvation of men, and the credibility of the Gospel, that the supernatural origin of the humanity of Jesus Christ should be manifested and demonstrated. Hence we find the inspired writers taking pains to show that he was born of a woman, and of that woman by the sovereign power of the everlasting God. This vindicated the character of the blessed virgin, showed the human nature of Christ to be immaculate, and that, even in respect to this nature, he was every way qualified to be a proper atoning sacrifice and Mediator between God and man. I need not tell the learned reader that the Hebrew verb ילד yalad, to beget, is frequently used in reference to inanimate things, to signify their production, or the exhibition of the things produced. In Gen 2:4 : These are the generations, תולדות toledoth, of the heavens and the earth; this is the order in which God produced and exhibited them. See Hebrews and Eng. Concord., Venema, etc.

Ask of me, and I shall give thee - Here a second branch of Christ's office as Savior of the world is referred to; viz., his mediatorial office. Having died as an atoning sacrifice, and risen again from the dead, he was now to make intercession for mankind; and in virtue and on account of what he had done and suffered, he was, at his request, to have the nations for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. He was to become supreme Lord in the mediatorial kingdom; in consequence of which he sent his apostles throughout the habitable globe to preach the Gospel to every man.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron - This may refer to the Jewish nation, whose final rejection of the Gospel was foreseen, and in whose place the Gentiles or heathen were brought into the Church of Christ. They were dispossessed of their land, their city was razed to its foundations, their temple was burnt with fire, and upwards of a million of themselves were slaughtered by the Romans! So heavily did the iron rod of God's judgments fall upon them for their obstinate unbelief.

Be wise - O ye kings - An exhortation of the Gospel to the rulers of all kingdoms, nations, and states, to whom it may be sent. All these should listen to its maxims, be governed by its precepts, and rule their subjects according to its dictates.

Be instructed, ye judges - Rather, Be ye reformed - cast away all your idolatrous maxims; and receive the Gospel as the law, or the basis of the law, of the land.

Serve the Lord with fear - A general direction to all men. Fear God with that reverence which is due to his supreme majesty. Serve him as subjects should their sovereign, and as servants should their master.

Rejoice with trembling - If ye serve God aright, ye cannot but be happy; but let a continual filial fear moderate all your joys. Ye must all stand at last before the judgment-seat of God; watch, pray, believe, work, and keep humble.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry - It is remarkable that the word son (בר bar, a Chaldee word) is not found in any of the versions except the Syriac, nor indeed any thing equivalent to it.

The Chaldee, Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, and Ethiopic, have a term which signifies doctrine or discipline: "Embrace discipline, lest the Lord be angry with you," etc. This is a remarkable case, and especially that in so pure a piece of Hebrew as this poem is, a Chaldee word should have been found; rb bar, instead of b ben, which adds nothing to the strength of the expression or the elegance of the poetry. I know it is supposed that rb bar is also pure Hebrew, as well as Chaldee; but as it is taken in the former language in the sense of purifying, the versions probably understood it so here. Embrace that which is pure; namely, the doctrine of God.

As all judgment is committed to the Son, the Jews and others are exhorted to submit to him, to be reconciled to him, that they might be received into his family, and be acknowledged as his adopted children. Kissing was the token of subjection and friendship.

Is kindled but a little - The slightest stroke of the iron rod of Christ's justice is sufficient to break in pieces a whole rebel world. Every sinner, not yet reconciled to God through Christ, should receive this as a most solemn warning.

Blessed: are all they - He is only the inexorable Judge to them who harden their hearts in their iniquity, and still not come unto him that they may have life. But all they who trust in him - who repose all their trust and confidence in him as their atonement and as their Lord, shall be blessed with innumerable blessings, For as the word is the same here as in Psa 1:1, אשרי ashrey, it may be translated the same. "O the blessedness of all them who trust in him!"

This Psalm is remarkable, not only for its subject - the future kingdom of the Messiah, its rise, opposition, and gradual extent, but also for the elegant change of person. In the first verse the prophet speaks; in the third, the adversaries; in the fourth and fifth, the prophet answers, in the sixth, Jehovah speaks; in the seventh, the Messiah; in the eighth and ninth, Jehovah answers, and in the tenth to the twelfth, the prophet exhorts the opponents to submission and obedience - Dr. A. Bayly.

ANALYSIS OF THE SECOND PSALM

The prime subject of this Psalm is CHRIST; the type, DAVID. The persons we are chiefly to reflect on are three, and which make three parts of the Psalm: I. The enemies of Christ; II. Christ the Lord; III. The princes and judges of the earth.

I. The enemies of Christ are great men, who are described here, partly from their wickedness, and partly from their weakness.

First, Their wickedness is apparent. 1. They furiously rage. 2. They tumultuously assemble. 3. They set themselves-stand up, and take counsel, against the Lord and against his anointed. 4. They encourage themselves in mischief, saying, "Come, and let us cast away their cords from us." All which is sharpened by the interrogatory Why!

Secondly, Their weakness; in that they shall never be able to bring their plots and conspiracies against Christ and his kingdom to pass; for, 1. What they imagine is but a vain thing. 2. "He that sits in heaven shall laugh, and have them in derision." 3. "He shall speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." 4. For, maugre all their plots, "God hath set up his king upon his holy hill of Zion."

II. At Ps 2:6 begins the exaltation of Christ to his kingdom, which is the SECOND PART of the Psalm; in which the prophet, by a προσωποποιια, or personification, brings in God the Father speaking, and the Son answering.

First, The words of the Father are, "I have set my king;" where we have the inauguration of Christ, or his vocation to the crown.

Secondly, The answer of the Son, "I will preach the law;" which sets forth his willing obedience to publish and proclaim the laws of the kingdom; of which the chief is, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee."

Thirdly, The reply of the Father, containing the reward that Christ was to have upon the publication of the Gospel; which was, 1. An addition to his empire by the conversion and accession of the Gentiles: "Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance," &c. 2. And the confusion of his enemies: "Thou shalt break them," who would not have thee reign, that did rage and stand up against thee, "with a rod of iron; and break them in pieces as a potter's vessel."

III. In the third part the prophet descends to his exhortation and admonition, and that very aptly; for, Is Christ a King? Is he a King anointed by God? Is he a great King, a powerful King? So great that the nations are his subjects? So powerful that he will break and batter to pieces his enemies? Besides, Is he the only begotten Son of God? Be wise, therefore, O ye kings. In this we find,

First, The persons to whom this caveat is given: kings and judges.

Secondly, What they are taught. 1. To know their duty. "Be wise; be learned." 2. To do their duty: "Serve the Lord with fear; rejoice with trembling; kiss the Son."

Thirdly, The time when this is to be done; even now. The reason double: 1. Drawn from his wrath, and the consequent punishment: "Lest he be angry, and ye perish from the right way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." 2. From the happy condition of those who learn to know, and fear, and serve, and adore him: "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." There must be no delay; this is the time of wrath, and the day of salvation.

Heathen - Who did so against David, 2Sam 5:6,17 1Chron 14:8, and against Christ, Luke 18:32 Acts 4:25, &c.

The kings - Herod, and Pilate and others with or after them. Earth - So called in way of contempt and to shew their madness in opposing the God of heaven. Set - The word denotes the combination of their counsels and forces. Anointed - Against the king whom God hath chosen and exalted.

And cast - The same thing expressed with more emphasis. Let us not only break off their yoke and the cords by which it is fastened upon us, but let us cast them far away.

Sitteth - As the king of the whole world. Heavens - As an evidence both of God's clear and certain knowledge of all things that are done below, and of his sovereign and irresistible power. Laugh - Shall despise them and all their crafty devices.

Yet - Notwithstanding all their artifices and combinations. My king - Who ruleth in my stead, and according to my will, and for my glory. Zion - Over my church and people. Zion strictly taken, was an hill on the north part of Jerusalem, where there was a strong fort, called the city of David, but in a more large sense it is put for the city of Jerusalem, for the temple of Jerusalem, built upon the hill of Moriah, which was either a part of mount Sion, or adjoining to it; for the church of the Jews, and for the Christian church.

The decree - The will and appointment of God concerning this. My sin - Which tho' it may in some sort be said to, or of David, yet much more properly belongs to Christ, who is commonly known by this title both in the Old and New Testament, and to whom this title is expressly appropriated by the holy ghost, who is the best interpreter of his own words, Acts 13:33 Heb 1:5. This day - This may be understood either, Of his eternal generation. This day, from all eternity, which is well described by this day, because in eternity there is no succession, no [yesterday,] no [tomorrow,] but it is all as one continued day or moment without change or flux; or, Of the manifestation of Christ's eternal son - ship in time; which was done both in his birth and life, when his being the son of God was demonstrated by the testimony of the angel, Luke 1:32, and of God the Father, Matt 3:17 17:5, and by his own words and works; and in his resurrection, which seems to be here mainly intended, of which day this very place is expounded, Acts 13:33. When Christ was in a most solemn manner declared to be the son of God with power, Rom 1:4.

Earth - Not only the Jewish nation, but the whole world.

Them - Those that will not quietly submit to thee, shall be crushed and destroyed by thee. This was in part fulfilled, when the Jews who persisted in unbelief, were destroyed by the Romans power: And in the destruction of the Pagan power, when the Christian religion came to be established. But it will not be compleatly fulfilled, 'till all opposing power and principality be put down.

Now - While you have time for repentance and submission.

Fear - With an awful sense of his great and glorious majesty. Rejoice - Do not esteem his yoke your dishonour and grievance; but rejoice in this inestimable grace and benefit. Trembling - This is added to warn them of taking heed that they do not turn this grace of God into wantonness.

Kiss - In token of your subjection and adoration; whereof this was a sign among the eastern nations. The son - The son of God. Ye perish - Be taken out of the way by death or destruction. Wrath - The least degree of his anger is terrible.

1 VVHY do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing ?

Upon what provocation, or to what end or purpose?

Or, Gentiles: who did so against David. as we see 2. Sam. 5. 6, 17. 1. Chr. 14. 8. &c. and against Christ, Luk. 18. 32. Act. 4. 25, &c.

This is either another expression of the same thing, as is usual in Scripture: or as the former word notes the Gentiles, so this may design the Iews or Israelites, who also combined against David, 2, Sa[illegible: 1+ letters]. 2. 8, &c. and against Christ, Act. 4. 27. tho they were all of one nation, and descended from one and the same mother▪ as this word signifies, and it is used Gen. 25. 23.

What they shall never be able to effect, and if they could, it would do them no good, as they fancy, but great hurt.

Marginal references: Act. 4. 25.; Or, tumultuously assemble.; Heb. meditate.

2. The kings of the earth set themselves , and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD , and against his anointed , saying,

Either those mentioned 2. Sam. 5. & 8. or rather Herod the great, and the other Herod, and Pilate and others with or after them.

So called in way of contempt, and to shew their madness in opposing the God of heaven.

The word notes their firm purpose and professed hostility, and the combination of their counsels and forces.

Either directly and professedly; or indirectly and by consequence, because against his anointed, and against his counsel and command.

Or, that is, as that particle is oft used, the latter clause explaining the former, and shewing in what sence they fought against that God whom they pretended to own and worship.

Against such a King whom God hath chosen and exalted, and wonderfully accomplished and set up for his work and service, who therefore will certainly defend him against all his Enemies.

3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us .

(i. e.) The lords and his anointeds.

Which they design to put upon our necks that they may bring us into subjection. They mean the laws of God, which the King would oblige them to observe, which though easy and pleasant in themselves and to good men, Mat. 11. 29, 30. 1. Iohn 5. 3. yet are very grievous and burthensom to corrupt nature, and to men of wicked lives.

The same thing expressed with a little more emphasis. Let us not only break off their yoke and the cor[illegible: 1+ letters]s by which it is fastened upon us, but let us cast them far away, that they may never be recovered, and we may never be brought into bondage again.

Marginal references: Nah. 1. [illegible: 1 word].

4. He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh : the LORD shall have them in derision.

As the Judg upon his tribunal, and as the King of the whole world upon his royal throne; who without stirring from his place, can with one look or word destroy all his enemies.

This is opposed to their being, and reigning upon earth, v. 2. and is mentioned here, as it is in other places of Scripture, as an evidence both of Gods clear and certain knowledg of all things that are done below, as is noted Psal. 11. 4. And of his soveraign and irresistible power, as is hence gathered, Psal. 115. 3. See the preface to the Lord's prayer.

(i. e.) Shall both despise and deride them and all their crafty devices, which he shall manifest to the world to be ridiculous, and contemptible follies. Compare 2. Kings 19. 21. Psal. 37. 13.

Marginal references: Psal. 37. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. & 59. 8. Prov. 1. [illegible: 1+ letters]6.

5. Then shall he speak to them in his wrath , and vex them in his sore displeasure.

In the midst of all their plots and confidences of success,

He shall severely rebuke them▪ not so much verbally as really, by dreadful judgments. For Gods speaking is oft put for his actions; and so here it is explained by vexing in the next branch. Or, he shall pronounce a terrible Sentence against them.

Marginal references: Or, [illegible: 1 word].

6. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion .

Notwithstanding all their artifices and powerful combinations.

Heb. I have anointed, (i. e.) designed, appointed, or constituted, as this word is commonly used in Scripture, as of Priests, 1. Chron. 29. 22. and of Prophets, 1. Kings 19. 16, 19, 20. So also of Kings, as Iudg. 9. 8, 15. 2. Sam. 2. 4, 7. & 3. 39. Ezek. 28. 14.

In a singular manner, who hath not his kingdom by succession from former Kings, nor by election of the people, as other Kings have, but by my special and extraordinary destination; and who ruleth in my stead, and according to my will, and for my service and glory.

(i. e.) Over my Church and People. Sion properly and strictly taken, was an hill on the north part of Ierusalem, Psal. 48. 2. where there was a strong fort, which when David had taken he called it the City of David, 2. Sam. 5. 7, 9. and made it the head of his Kingdom. But in a more large and improper sence it is frequently put for the City Ierusalem, Psal. 48. 12. & 87. 2 & 110. 2. and for the Temple of Ierusalem, Psal. 137. 3. Isa. 18. 7. Ier. 51. 10. which was built upon the hill of Moriah, which was either a part of mount Sion, or another hill adjoyning to it; and for the Church of the Iews, Psal. 65. 1. & 69. 36. & 97. 8. and for the Christian Church, Heb. 12. 22. Revel. 14. 1. And by these things it is plain why Sion is here called Gods holy Hill▪

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 word].; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] lion the hill of [illegible: 1 word] holyness.

7. I will declare the decree : the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my son , this day have I begotten thee .

Or, publish, that all people concerned may take notice of [illegible: 1 word] and submit to it upon their peril. Publication or promulgation is essential to all laws or statutes.

Or, concerning the [illegible: 1 word], (i. e.) the will or pleasure and appointment of God concerning my advancement into the throne, and the submission and obedience which the people here following shall yield to me.

Which though it may in some sort be said to, or of D[illegible: 1+ letters]id, who was in some respects the son of God, and begotten by him, as all believers are, Iohn, 1. 12. 1. Iohn 3. 9. I[illegible: 1+ letters]m. 1. 18. yet much more truly and properly belongs to Christ, who is commonly known by this title both in the old and new Testament, as Prov. 30. 4. Hose. 11. 1. Mat. 2. 15. and 3. 17. and 4. 3. 6. and oft elsewhere: and to whom this title is expresly appropriated by the holy Ghost, who is the best interpreter of his own words, Act. 13. 33. Heb. 1. 5. and 5. 5. and to whom alone the following Passages belong.

This is also applied by some to David, and so this day is the day of his inauguration, when he might be said to be begotten by God, inasmuch as he was then raised and delivered from all his troubles and calamities, which were a kind of death, and brought forth and advanced to a new kind of life, of royal state and dignity; and so this was the birth-day tho not of his Person, yet of his Kingdom, as the Roman Emperors celebrated a double birthday; first the Emperor when he was born, and then the Empires, when he was advanced to the Empire. But this is but a lean and far-fetched and doubtful Sence; and therefore not to be allowed by the laws of Interpretation, when the words may be properly understood concerning Christ. And so this may be understood either, 1. Of his eternal generation. This day, from all eternity, which is well described by this day, because in Eternity there is no succession, no yesterday, no to morrow, but it is all as one continued day or moment without change or flux; upon which account one day is said to be with the Lord as long as a thousand years, and a thousand years as short as one day, 2, Pet. 3. 8. or rather, 2. Of the manifestation of Christ's eternal Son-ship in time; which was done partly in his birth and life, when his being the son of God was demonstrated by the Testimony of the Angel, Luke 1. 32. and of God the father, Mat. 3. 17▪ and 17. 5. and by his own words and works; but principally in his Resurrection, which seems to be here mainly intended, of which day this very place is expounded, Acts 13. 33. When Christ was in a most solemn manner declared to be the son of God with Power, Rom. 1. 4. And this day or time Christ might very well be said to be begotten by God the Father, partly because the Resurrection from the dead is in Scripture called a regeneration or second birth, Mat. 19. 28. as well it may, being a restitution of that very being which m[illegible: 1+ letters]n received by his first birth, and that by the peculiar and mighty power of God: partly because in this respect Christ is called the first-begotten of the dead, Revel. 1. 5. and partly because of that common observation, That things are oft said to be done in Scripture when they are only declared or manifested to be done: of which see Instances, Gen. 41. 13. Ier. 1. 10. Ezek. 43. 3. and elsewhere.

Marginal references: Or, [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1+ letters] de [illegible: 1+ letters].; Act. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. 33. Heb. 1. 5.

8. Ask of me and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance , and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy Possession.

Claim or demand it of me, as thy right by my promise, and thy birth and purchase.

To be possessed and enjoyed by thee in a manner of an Inheritance, to wit, constantly, surely, and perpetually.

Either 1. the whole land of Canaan from one end of it to the other, as this Phrase is used Psal. 61. 2. and 72. 8. which is but a very narrow sence, and that was but a very small Kingdom, and no way agreeable to those magnificent expressions here used. Or rather, the whole world, not only the Jewish Nation, but the Gentiles also, as this phrase is almost universally used in the old Testament, as Psal. 19. 4▪ and 22. 28. and 46. 10. and 65. 5. Isa. 40. 28: and 45. 22, &c. And so these words declare the great amplitude of the Kingdom of the Messiah.

Marginal references: Psal. [illegible: 1+ letters]2. 8.

9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of Iron , thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters vessel.

(i. e.) Those people that will not quie[illegible: 1+ letters]ly submit to thee, shall be crushed and destroyed by thee.

With thy mighty power, which they shall never be able to resist.

Marginal references: Rev. 2. 27. & 19. 15.

10. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings : be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

Understand your true interest.

Whilest you have time and space for repentance and submission.

You and your people. But he speaks of, and to Kings only, partly, because they most needed he admonition, as presuming upon their own power and greatness; and thinking it below them to submit to him; partly, because their authority and example could do much with their people: and par[illegible: 1+ letters], to [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] greatness of thi[illegible: 1+ letters] Mon[illegible: 1+ letters]rch, and [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] was [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Lord of Lords.

Or [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. the [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] Kings in the former branch.

11. Serve the LORD with [illegible: 1 word] , and rejoyce with trembling .

(i. e.) with reverence and an awful sence of his great and glorious Majesty, as very careful and diligent to [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] and affraid to offend him.

Do not [illegible: 1 word] his yoke [illegible: 1 word] dishonour and grievance; but know that it is a greater [illegible: 1 word] and happiness to be the subjects of this King, than to [illegible: 1 word] Emperors of the greatest Empire; and accordingly rejoyce in it, and bless God for this inestim[illegible: 1+ letters]ble grace and benefit.

This is added to express the quality of this joy to which he calls them, and to distinguish it from that carnal and worldly rejoycing, which is usually attended with security and presumption and licentiousness, and to warn them to take heed that they do not turn this grace of God into wan[illegible: 1+ letters]onness, nor slacken their dread of Gods tremendous Majesty, and of his terrible judgments, if they should h[illegible: 1+ letters]reafter revolt from him, or rebel against him; but on the contrary w[illegible: 1+ letters]rk o[illegible: 1+ letters]t [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1+ letters] vation with fear and trembling, as it is prescribed Phil. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 12. Compare Mat. 28. 8.

12. Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way , when his wrath is kindled but a little : blessed are all they that put their trust in him .

In token of your subjection and adoration▪ whereof this was a sign among the Eastern Nations, as is manifest both from Scripture, as 1. Sam. 10. 1. 1. Kings 19. 18. [illegible: 1 word]. 13. 2. and from heathen Authors. Submit to his person and government.

To wit, the son of God, as appears from v. [illegible: 1+ letters]. called here the son, by way of eminency and in a singular manner. Which agrees much better to Christ than to David, who is never particularly called by this name.

(i. e.) Be taken out of the way by death or destruction. Or, perish out of [illegible: 1 word] way, (i. e.) by losing the right way, by taking wrong and evil courses, the end of which will be your certain and utter ruine. Or, for the way, (i. e.) for your evil way or manner of living, for your perverse and foolish course of opposing my son instead of submitting to him. Or, in (which particle is oft understood) the way, (i. e.) in your wicked way or course, in the midst of your plots and rebellions against him; and so you will die in your sins, as it is expressed Iohn 8. 24. which is a sad aggravation of their death, and therefore here fitly proposed as a powerful argument to dis[illegible: 1+ letters]wade them from such dangerous and destructive courses.

(i. e.) The least degree of his anger is very terrible, much more the heat and height of it, caused by such a desperate provocation as this i[illegible: 1+ letters]. Or, for his wrath will be kindled shortly, or suddenly, or within a very little time, as this word is used Psal. 81. 14. [illegible: 1 word]. 3. 4. Isa. 26. 20. His patience will not last always, but will shortly be turned into fury; and therefore take heed that you neither deny nor delay subjection to him, but spe[illegible: 1+ letters]dily comply with his offers and commands before it be too late.

Who put themselves under his power and protection, believing in him, and expecting safety and happiness from him. Which cannot with any colour be applied to David, who always di[illegible: 1+ letters]wades all men from putting their trust in Princes, or in any men or thing besides or below God, Psal. 20. 7. and 44. 6. and 62. 6, 7, 8. and 118. 8. and 146. 3. and every where; and therefore it would very ill have become him to invite others to [illegible: 1 word] their trust in him. And he is pronounced cursed that [illegible: 1+ letters] eth in man, Ier. 17. 5. But Christ is every where propounded as an Object of trust, not only in the new Testament, but al[illegible: 1+ letters]o in the old, as I[illegible: 1+ letters]a. 28. 16. And therefore they are most truly and fitly said to be blessed that put their trust in him. Under which sentence the contrary is implied, that they are most cursed and miserable creatures that provoke and oppose him; and so cursed and miserable that David dreaded the very thoughts and mention of it, and therefore expresseth it by the contrary and blessed condition of his Friends and Subjects. And such like significations of the miseries of sinners by the blessedness of others opposed to them, we have Mat. 23. 39. Revel. 14. 13.

Marginal references: O[illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]2. 22.; [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1+ letters]6. 2[illegible: 1+ letters]. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1 word]. 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. J[illegible: 1+ letters]r. 17. 7. R[illegible: 1+ letters]m. [illegible: 1+ letters]. 33. & 1[illegible: 1+ letters]. 11. 1. Pet. 2. 6.

The Kingdom of God and of His Christ, to Which Everything Must Bow

The didactic Psa 1:1-6 which began with אשׁרי, is now followed by a prophetic Psalm, which closes with אשׁרי. It coincides also in other respects with Psa 1:1-6, but still more with Psalms of the earlier time of the kings (Psa 59:9; Psa 83:3-9) and with Isaiah’s prophetic style. The rising of the confederate nations and their rulers against Jahve and His Anointed will be dashed to pieces against the imperturbable all-conquering power of dominion, which Jahve has entrusted to His King set upon Zion, His Son. This is the fundamental thought, which is worked out with the vivid directness of dramatic representation. The words of the singer and seer begin and end the Psalm. The rebels, Jahve, and His Anointed come forward, and speak for themselves; but the framework is formed by the composer’s discourse, which, like the chorus of the Greek drama, expresses the reflexions and feelings which are produced on the spectators and hearers. The poem before us is not purely lyric. The personality of the poet is kept in the background. The Lord’s Anointed who speaks in the middle of the Psalm is not the anonymous poet himself. It may, however, be a king of the time, who is here regarded in the light of the Messianic promise, or that King of the future, in whom at a future period the mission of the Davidic kingship in the world shall be fulfilled: at all events this Lord’s Anointed comes forward with the divine power and glory, with which the Messiah appears in the prophets.

The Psalm is anonymous. For this very reason we may not assign it to David (Hofm.) nor to Solomon (Ew.); for nothing is to be inferred from Act 4:25, since in the New Testament “hymn of David” and “psalm” are co-ordinate ideas, and it is always far more hazardous to ascribe an anonymous Psalm to David or Solomon, than to deny to one inscribed לדוד or לשׁלמה direct authorship from David or Solomon. But the subject of the Psalm is neither David (Kurtz) nor Solomon (Bleek). It might be David, for in his reign there is at least one coalition of the peoples like that from which our Psalm takes its rise, vid., 2Sa 10:6 : on the contrary it cannot be Solomon, because in his reign, though troubled towards its close (1Ki 11:14.), no such event occurs, but would then have to be inferred to have happened from this Psalm. We might rather guess at Uzziah (Meier) or Hezekiah (Maurer), both of whom inherited the kingdom in a weakened condition and found the neighbouring peoples alienated from the house of David. The situation might correspond to these times, for the rebellious peoples, which are brought before us, have been hitherto subject to Jahve and His Anointed. But all historical indications which might support the one supposition or the other are wanting. If the God-anointed one, who speaks in Psa 2:7, were the psalmist himself, we should at least know the Psalm was composed by a king filled with a lofty Messianic consciousness. But the dramatic movement of the Psalm up to the ועתה (Psa 2:10) which follows, is opposed to such an identification of the God-anointed one with the poet. But that Alexander Jannaeus (Hitz.), that blood-thirsty ruler, so justly hated by his people, who inaugurated his reign by fratricide, may be both at the same time, is a supposition which turns the moral and covenant character of the Psalm into detestable falsehood. The Old Testament knows no kingship to which is promised the dominion of the world and to which sonship is ascribed (2Sa 7:14; Psa 89:28), but the Davidic. The events of his own time, which influenced the mind of the poet, are no longer clear to us. But from these he is carried away into those tumults of the peoples which shall end in all kingdoms becoming the kingdom of God and of His Christ (Rev 11:15; Rev 12:10).

In the New Testament this Psalm is cited more frequently than any other. According to Act 4:25-28, Act 4:1 and Act 4:2 have been fulfilled in the confederate hostility of Israel and the Gentiles against Jesus the holy servant of God and against His confessors. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, Psa 110:1-7 and Psa 2:1-12 stand side by side, the former as a witness of the eternal priesthood of Jesus after the order of Melchisedek, the latter as a witness of His sonship, which is superior to that of the angels. Paul teaches us in Act 13:33, comp. Rom 1:4, how the “to-day” is to be understood. The “to-day” according to its proper fulfilment, is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Born from the dead to the life at the right hand of God, He entered on this day, which the church therefore calls dies regalis, upon His eternal kingship.

The New Testament echo of this Psalm however goes still deeper and further. The two names of the future One in use in the time of Jesus, ὁ Χριστὸς and ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, Joh 1:50; Mat 26:63 (in the mouth of Nathanael and of the High Priest) refer back to this Ps. and Dan 9:25, just as ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου incontrovertibly refers to Psa 8:5 and Dan 7:13. The view maintained by De Wette and Hupfeld, that the Psalm is not applicable to the Christian conceptions of the Messiah, seems almost as though these were to be gauged according to the authoritative utterances of the professorial chair and not according to the language of the Apostles. Even in the Apocalypse, Ps 19:15; Psa 12:5, Jesus appears exactly as this Psalm represents Him, as ποιμαίνων τὰ ἔθνη ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ. The office of the Messiah is not only that of Saviour but also of Judge. Redemption is the beginning and the judgment the end of His work. It is to this end that the Psalm refers. The Lord himself frequently refers in the Gospels to the fact of His bearing side by side with the sceptre of peace and the shepherd’s staff, the sceptre of iron also, Mat 24:50., Mat 21:44, Luk 19:27. The day of His coming is indeed a day of judgment-the great day of the ὀργὴ τοῦ ἀγνίου, Rev 6:17, before which the ultra-spiritual Messianic creations of enlightened exegetes will melt away, just as the carnal Messianic hopes of the Jews did before His first coming.

Psa 2:1-3

The Psalm begins with a seven line strophe, ruled by an interrogative Wherefore. The mischievous undertaking condemns itself, It is groundless and fruitless. This certainty is expressed, with a tinge of involuntary astonishment, in the question. למּה followed by a praet. enquires the ground of such lawlessness: wherefore have the peoples banded together so tumultuously (Aquila: ἐθορυβήθησαν)? and followed by a fut., the aim of this ineffectual action: wherefore do they imagine emptiness? ריק might be adverbial and equivalent to לריק, but it is here, as in Psa 4:3, a governed accusative; for הגה which signifies in itself only quiet inward musing and yearning, expressing itself by a dull muttering (here: something deceitful, as in Psa 38:13), requires an object. By this ריק the involuntary astonishment of the question justifies itself: to what purpose is this empty affair, i.e., devoid of reason and continuance? For the psalmist, himself a subject and member of the divine kingdom, is too well acquainted with Jahve and His Anointed not to recognise beforehand the unwarrantableness and impotency of such rebellion. That these two things are kept in view, is implied by Psa 2:2, which further depicts the position of affairs without being subordinated to the למה. The fut. describes what is going on at the present time: they set themselves in position, they take up a defiant position (התיצּב as in 1Sa 17:16), after which we again (comp. the reverse order in Psa 83:6) have a transition to the perf. which is the more uncoloured expression of the actual: נוסד (with יחד as the exponent of reciprocity) prop. to press close and firm upon one another, then (like Arab. sâwada, which, according to the correct observation of the Turkish Kamus, in its signification clam cum aliquo locutus est, starts from the very same primary meaning of pressing close to any object): to deliberate confidentially together (as Psa 31:14 and נועץ Psa 71:10). The subjects מלכי־ארץ and רוזנים (according to the Arabic razuna, to be weighty: the grave, dignitaries, σεμνοί, augusti) are only in accordance with the poetic style without the article. It is a general rising of the people of the earth against Jahve and His משׁיח, Χριστὸς, the king anointed by Him by means of the holy oil and most intimately allied to Him. The psalmist hears (Psa 2:3) the decision of the deliberating princes. The pathetic suff. êmō instead of êhém refers back to Jahve and His Anointed. The cohortatives express the mutual kindling of feeling; the sound and rhythm of the exclamation correspond to the dull murmur of hatred and threatening defiance: the rhythm is iambic, and then anapaestic. First they determine to break asunder the fetters (מוסרות = מאסרות) to which the את, which is significant in the poetical style, points, then to cast away the cords from them (ממּנוּ a nobis, this is the Palestinian mode of writing, whereas the Babylonians said and wrote mimeenuw a nobis in distinction from ממּנוּ ab eo, B. Sota 35a) partly with the vexation of captives, partly with the triumph of freedmen. They are, therefore, at present subjects of Jahve and His Anointed, and not merely because the whole world is Jahve’s, but because He has helped His Anointed to obtain dominion over them. It is a battle for freedom, upon which they are entering, but a freedom that is opposed to God.

Psa 2:4

Above the scene of this wild tumult of battle and imperious arrogance the psalmist in this six line strophe beholds Jahve, and in spirit hears His voice of thunder against the rebels. In contrast to earthly rulers and events Jahve is called יושׁב בּשּׁמים: He is enthroned above them in unapproachable majesty and ever-abiding glory; He is called אדני as He who controls whatever takes place below with absolute power according to the plan His wisdom has devised, which brooks no hindrance in execution. The futt. describe not what He will do, but what He does continually (cf. Isa 18:4.). למו also belongs, according to Psa 59:9; Psa 37:13, to ישׂחק (שׂחק which is more usual in the post-pentateuchal language = צחק). He laughs at the defiant ones, for between them and Him there is an infinite distance; He derides them by allowing the boundless stupidity of the infinitely little one to come to a climax and then He thrusts him down to the earth undeceived. This climax, the extreme limit of the divine forbearance, is determined by the אז, as in Deu 29:19, cf. שׁם Psa 14:5; 36:13, which is a “then” referring to the future and pointing towards the crisis which then supervenes. Then He begins at once to utter the actual language of His wrath to his foes and confounds them in the heat of His anger, disconcerts them utterly, both outwardly and in spirit. בּהל, Arab. bhl, cogn. בּלהּ, means originally to let loose, let go, then in Hebrew sometimes, externally, to overthrow, sometimes, of the mind, to confound and disconcert.

Psa 2:5-6 Psa 2:5 is like a peal of thunder (cf. Isa 10:33); בּחרונו,   Psa 2:5, like the lightning’s destructive flash. And as the first strophe closed with the words of the rebels, so this second closes with Jahve’s own words. With ואני begins an adverbial clause like Gen 15:2; Gen 18:13; Psa 50:17. The suppressed principal clause (cf. Isa 3:14; Ew. §341, c) is easily supplied: ye are revolting, whilst notwithstanding I.... With ואני He opposes His irresistible will to their vain undertaking. It has been shown by Böttcher, that we must not translate “I have anointed” (Targ., Symm.). נסך, Arab. nsk, certainly means to pour out, but not to pour upon, and the meaning of pouring wide and firm (of casting metal, libation, anointing) then, as in הצּיג, הצּיק, goes over into the meaning of setting firmly in any place (fundere intofundare, constituere, as lxx, Syr., Jer., and Luther translate), so that consequently נסיך the word for prince cannot be compared with משׁיח, but with נציב.Even the Jalkut on the Psalms, §620, wavers in the explanation of נסכתי between אמשׁחתיה I have anointed him, (after Dan 10:3), אתיכתיה (I have cast him (after Exo 32:4 and freq.), and גדלתיו I have made him great (after Mic 5:4). Aquila, by rendering it καὶ ἐδιασάμην (from διάζεσθαι = ὑφαίνειν), adds a fourth possible rendering. A fifth is נסך to purify, consecrate (Hitz.), which does not exist, for the Arabic nasaka obtains this meaning from the primary signification of cleansing by flooding with water (e.g., washing away the briny elements of a field). Also in Pro 8:23 נסּכתּי means I am cast = placed.

The Targum rightly inserts וּמניתיהּ (et praefeci eum) after רבּיתי (unxi), for the place of the anointing is not על־ציּון. History makes no mention of a king of Israel being anointed on Zion. Zion is mentioned as the royal seat of the Anointed One; there he is installed, that He may reign there, and rule from thence, Psa 110:2. It is the hill of the city of David (2Sa 5:7, 2Sa 5:9; 1Ki 8:1) including Moriah, that is intended. That hill of holiness, i.e., holy hill, which is the resting-place of the divine presence and therefore excels all the heights of the earth, is assigned to Him as the seat of His throne.

Psa 2:7-9

The Anointed One himself now speaks and expresses what he is, and is able to do, by virtue of the divine decree. No transitional word or formula of introduction denotes this sudden transition from the speech of Jahve to that of His Christ. The psalmist is the seer: his Psalm is the mirrored picture of what he saw and the echo of what he heard. As Jahve in opposition to the rebels acknowledges the king upon Zion, so the king on Zion appeals to Him in opposition to the rebels. The name of God, יהוה, has Rebia magnum and, on account of the compass of the full intonation of this accent, a Gaja by the Shebâ (comp. אלהי Psa 25:2, אלהים Psa 68:8, אדני Psa 90:1).We may observe here, in general, that this Gaja (Metheg) which draws the Shebâ into the intonation is placed even beside words with the lesser distinctives Zinnor and Rebia parvum only by the Masorete Ben-Naphtali, not by Ben-Asher (both about 950 a.d.). This is a point which has not been observed throughout even in Baer’s edition of the Psalter so that consequently e.g., in Psa 5:11 it is to be written אלהים; in Psa 6:2 on the other hand (with Dechî) יהוה, not יהוה.

The construction of ספּר with אל (as Psa 69:27, comp. אמר Gen 20:2; Jer 27:19, דּבּר   2Ch 32:19, הודיע Isa 38:19): to narrate or make an announcement with respect to... is minute, and therefore solemn. Self-confident and fearless, he can and will oppose to those, who now renounce their allegiance to him, a חק, i.e., an authentic, inviolable appointment, which can neither be changed nor shaken. All the ancient versions, with the exception of the Syriac, read חק־יהוה together. The line of the strophe becomes thereby more symmetrical, but the expression loses in force. אל־חק rightly has Olewejored. It is the amplificative use of the noun when it is not more precisely determined, known in Arabic grammar: such a decree! majestic as to its author and its matter. Jahve has declared to Him: בּני אתּה,Even in pause here אתּה remains without a lengthened ā (Psalter ii. 468), but the word is become Milel, while out of pause, according to Ben-Asher, it is Milra; but even out of pause (as in Psa 89:10, Psa 89:12; Psa 90:2) it is accented on the penult. by Ben-Naphtali. The Athnach of the books תאם (Ps., Job, Prov.), corresponding to the Zakeph of the 21 other books, has only a half pausal power, and as a rule none at all where it follows Olewejored, cf. Psa 9:7; Psa 14:4; Psa 25:7; Psa 27:4; Psa 31:14; Psa 35:15, etc. (Baer, Thorath Emeth p. 37). and that on the definite day on which He has begotten or born him into this relationship of son. The verb ילד (with the changeable vowel i)The changeable i goes back either to a primary form ילד, ירשׁ, שׁאל, or it originates directly from Pathach; forms like ירשׁוּה and שׁאלך favour the former, ē in a closed syllable generally going over into Segol favours the latter.) unites in itself, like γεννᾶν, the ideas of begetting and bearing (lxx γεγέννηκα, Aq. ἔτεκον); what is intended is an operation of divine power exalted above both, and indeed, since it refers to a setting up (נסך) in the kingship, the begetting into a royal existence, which takes place in and by the act of anointing (משׁח). Whether it be David, or a son of David, or the other David, that is intended, in any case 2 Sam 7 is to be accounted as the first and oldest proclamation of this decree; for there David, with reference to his own anointing, and at the same time with the promise of everlasting dominion, receives the witness of the eternal sonship to which Jahve has appointed the seed of David in relation to Himself as Father, so that David and his seed can say to Jahve: אבי אתּה, Thou art my Father, Psa 89:27, as Jahve can to him: בּני אתּה, Thou art My son. From this sonship of the Anointed one to Jahve, the Creator and Possessor of the world, flows His claim to and expectation of the dominion of the world. The cohortative, natural after challenges, follows upon שׁאל, Ges. §128, 1. Jahve has appointed the dominion of the world to His Son: on His part therefore it needs only the desire for it, to appropriate to Himself that which is allotted to Him. He needs only to be willing, and that He is willing is shown by His appealing to the authority delegated to Him by Jahve against the rebels. This authority has a supplement in Psa 2:9, which is most terrible for the rebellious ones. The suff. refer to the גּוים, the ἔθνη, sunk in heathenism. For these his sceptre of dominion (Psa 90:2) becomes a rod of iron, which will shatter them into a thousand pieces like a brittle image of clay (Jer 19:11). With נפּץ alternates רעע (= רעץ frangere), fut. תּרע; whereas the lxx (Syr., Jer.), which renders ποιμανεῖς αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ (as 1Co 4:21) σιδηρᾷ, points it תּרעם from רעה. The staff of iron, according to the Hebrew text the instrument of punitive power, becomes thus with reference to שׁבט as the shepherd’s staff Psa 23:4; Mic 7:14, an instrument of despotism.

Psa 2:10-12

The poet closes with a practical application to the great of the earth of that which he has seen and heard. With ועתּה, καὶ νῦν (1Jo 2:28), itaque, appropriate conclusions are drawn from some general moral matter of face (e.g., Pro 5:7) or some fact connected with the history of redemption (e.g., Isa 28:22). The exhortation is not addressed to those whom he has seen in a state of rebellion, but to kings in general with reference to what he has prophetically seen and heard. שׁפטי ארץ are not those who judge the earth, but the judges, i.e., rulers (Amo 2:3, cf. 1:8), belonging to the earth, throughout its length or breadth. The Hiph. השׂכּיל signifies to show intelligence or discernment; the Niph. נוסר as a so-called Niph. tolerativum, to let one’s self be chastened or instructed, like נועץ Pro 13:10, to allow one’s self to be advised, נדרשׁ Eze 14:3, to allow one’s self to be sought, נמצא to allow one’s self to be found, 1Ch 28:9, and frequently. This general call to reflection is followed, in 1Ch 28:11, by a special exhortation in reference to Jahve, and in Psa 2:12, in reference to the Son. עבדוּ and גּילוּ answer to each other: the latter is not according to Hos 10:5 in the sense of חילוּ Psa 96:9, but, - since “to shake with trembling” (Hitz.) is a tautology, and as an imperative גילו everywhere else signifies: rejoice, - according to Psa 100:2, in the sense of rapturous manifestation of joy at the happiness and honour of being permitted to be servants of such a God. The lxx correctly renders it: ἀγελλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ. Their rejoicing, in order that it may not run to the excess of security and haughtiness, is to be blended with trembling (בּ as Zep 3:17), viz., with the trembling of reverence and self-control, for God is a consuming fire, Heb 12:28.

The second exhortation, which now follows, having reference to their relationship to the Anointed One, has been missed by all the ancient versions except the Syriac, as though its clearness had blinded the translators, since they render בר, either בּר purity, chastity, discipline (lxx, Targ., Ital., Vulg.), or בּר pure, unmixed (Aq., Symm., Jer.: adorate pure). Thus also Hupfeld renders it “yield sincerely,” whereas it is rendered by Ewald “receive wholesome warning,” and by Hitzig “submit to duty” (בּר like the Arabic birr = בּר); Olshausen even thinks, there may be some mistake in בר, and Diestel decides for בו instead of בר. But the context and the usage of the language require osculamini filium. The Piel נשּׁק means to kiss, and never anything else; and while בּר in Hebrew means purity and nothing more, and בּר as an adverb, pure, cannot be supported, nothing is more natural here, after Jahve has acknowledged His Anointed One as His Son, than that בּר (Pro 31:2, even בּרי = בּני) - which has nothing strange about it when found in solemn discourse, and here helps one over the dissonance of פּן בּן - should, in a like absolute manner to חק, denote the unique son, and in fact the Son of God.Apart from the fact of בר not having the article, its indefiniteness comes under the point of view of that which, because it combines with it the idea of the majestic, great, and terrible, is called by the Arabian grammarians Arab. 'l - tnkı̂r lt'dı̂m or ltktı̂r or lthwı̂l; by the boundlessness which lies in it it challenges the imagination to magnify the notion which it thus expresses. An Arabic expositor would here (as in Psa 2:7 above) render it “Kiss a son and such a son!” (vid., Ibn Hishâm in De Sacy’s Anthol. Grammat. p. 85, where it is to be translated hic est vir, qualis vir!). Examples which support this doctrine are בּיר Isa 28:2 by a hand, viz., God’s almighty hand which is the hand of hands, and Isa 31:8 מפּני־חרב before a sword, viz., the divine sword which brooks no opposing weapon.

The exhortation to submit to Jahve is followed, as Aben-Ezra has observed, by the exhortation to do homage to Jahve’s Son. To kiss is equivalent to to do homage. Samuel kisses Saul (1Sa 10:1), saying that thereby he does homage to him.On this vid., Scacchi Myrothecium, to. iii. (1637) c. 35.

The subject to what follows is now, however, not the Son, but Jahve. It is certainly at least quite as natural to the New Testament consciousness to refer “lest He be angry” to the Son (vid., Rev 6:16.), and since the warning against putting trust (חסות) in princes, Psa 118:9; Psa 146:3, cannot be applied to the Christ of God, the reference of בו to Him (Hengst.) cannot be regarded as impossible. But since חסה בּ is the usual word for taking confiding refuge in Jahve, and the future day of wrath is always referred to in the Old Testament (e.g., Psa 110:5) as the day of the wrath of God, we refer the ne irascatur to Him whose son the Anointed One is; therefore it is to be rendered: lest Jahve be angry and ye perish דּרך. This דּרך is the accus. of more exact definition. If the way of any one perish. Psa 1:6, he himself is lost with regard to the way, since this leads him into the abyss. It is questionable whether כּמעט means “for a little” in the sense of brevi or facile. The usus loquendi and position of the words favour the latter (Hupf.). Everywhere else כּמעט means by itself (without such additions as in Ezr 9:8; Isa 26:20; Eze 16:47) “for a little, nearly, easily.” At least this meaning is secured to it when it occurs after hypothetical antecedent clauses as in Psa 81:15; 2Sa 19:37; Job 32:22. Therefore it is to be rendered: for His wrath might kindle easily, or might kindle suddenly. The poet warns the rulers in their own highest interest not to challenge the wrathful zeal of Jahve for His Christ, which according to Psa 2:5 is inevitable. Well is it with all those who have nothing to fear from this outburst of wrath, because they hide themselves in Jahve as their refuge. The construct state חוסי connects בו, without a genitive relation, with itself as forming together one notion, Ges. §116, 1. חסה the usual word for fleeing confidingly to Jahve, means according to its radical notion not so much refugere, confugere, as se abdere, condere, and is therefore never combined with אל, but always with בּ.On old names of towns, which show this ancient חסה. Wetzstein’s remark on Job 24:8 [Comm. on Job, en loc.]. The Arabic still has hsy in the reference of the primary meaning to water which, sucked in and hidden, flows under the sand and only comes to sight on digging. The rocky bottom on which it collects beneath the surface of the sand and by which it is prevented from oozing away or drying up is called Arab. hasâ or hisâ a hiding-place or place of protection, and a fountain dug there is called Arab. ‛yn 'l - hy.

The Enemies of Messiah.

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord , and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

We have here a very great struggle about the kingdom of Christ, hell and heaven contesting it; the seat of the war is this earth, where Satan has long had a usurped kingdom and exercised dominion to such a degree that he has been called the prince of the power of the very air we breathe in and the god of the world we live in. He knows very well that, as the Messiah's kingdom rises and gets ground, his falls and loses ground; and therefore, though it will be set up certainly, it shall not be set up tamely. Observe here,

I. The mighty opposition that would be given to the Messiah and his kingdom, to his holy religion and all the interests of it, v. 1-3. One would have expected that so great a blessing to this world would be universally welcomed and embraced, and that every sheaf would immediately bow to that of the Messiah and all the crowns and sceptres on earth would be laid at his feet; but it proves quite contrary. Never were the notions of any sect of philosophers, though ever so absurd, nor the powers of any prince or state, though ever so tyrannical, opposed with so much violence as the doctrine and government of Christ—a sign that it was from heaven, for the opposition was plainly from hell originally.

1. We are here told who would appear as adversaries to Christ and the devil's instruments in this opposition to his kingdom. Princes and people, court and country, have sometimes separate interests, but here they are united against Christ; not the mighty only, but the mob, the heathen, the people, numbers of them, communities of them; though usually fond of liberty, yet they were averse to the liberty Christ came to procure and proclaim. Not the mob only, but the mighty (among whom one might have expected more sense and consideration) appear violent against Christ. Though his kingdom is not of this world, nor in the least calculated to weaken their interests, but very likely, if they pleased, to strengthen them, yet the kings of the earth and rulers are up in arms immediately. See the effects of the old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman, and how general and malignant the corruption of mankind is. See how formidable the enemies of the church are; they are numerous; they are potent. The unbelieving Jews are here called heathen, so wretchedly had they degenerated from the faith and holiness of their ancestors; they stirred up the heathen, the Gentiles, to persecute the Christians. As the Philistines and their lords, Saul and his courtiers, the disaffected party and their ringleaders, opposed David's coming to the crown, so Herod and Pilate, the Gentiles and the Jews, did their utmost against Christ and his interest in men, Acts iv. 27.

2. Who it is that they quarrel with, and muster up all their forces against; it is against the Lord and against his anointed, that is, against all religion in general and the Christian religion in particular. It is certain that all who are enemies to Christ, whatever they pretend, are enemies to God himself; they have hated both me and my Father, John xv. 24. The great author of our holy religion is here called the Lord's anointed, or Messiah, or Christ, in allusion to the anointing of David to be king. He is both authorized and qualified to be the church's head and king, is duly invested in the office and every way fitted for it; yet there are those that are against him; nay, therefore they are against him, because they are impatient of God's authority, envious at Christ's advancement, and have a rooted enmity to the Spirit of holiness.

3. The opposition they give is here described. (1.) It is a most spiteful and malicious opposition. They rage and fret; they gnash their teeth for vexation at the setting up of Christ's kingdom; it creates them the utmost uneasiness, and fills them with indignation, so that they have no enjoyment of themselves; see Luke xiii. 14; John xi. 47; Acts v. 17, 33; xix. 28. Idolaters raged at the discovery of their folly, the chief priests and Pharisees at the eclipsing of their glory and the shaking of their usurped dominion. Those that did evil raged at the light. (2.) It is a deliberate and politic opposition. They imagine or meditate, that is, they contrive means to suppress the rising interests of Christ's kingdom and are very confident of the success of their contrivances; they promise themselves that they shall run down religion and carry the day. (3.) It is a resolute and obstinate opposition. They set themselves, set their faces as a flint and their hearts as an adamant, in defiance of reason, and conscience, and all the terrors of the Lord; they are proud and daring, like the Babel-builders, and will persist in their resolution, come what will. (4.) It is a combined and confederate opposition. They take counsel together, to assist and animate one another in this opposition; they carry their resolutions nemine contradicente—unanimously, that they will push on the unholy war against the Messiah with the utmost vigour: and thereupon councils are called, cabals are formed, and all their wits are at work to find out ways and means for the preventing of the establishment of Christ's kingdom, Ps. lxxxiii. 5.

4. We are here told what it is they are exasperated at and what they aim at in this opposition (v. 3): Let us break their bands asunder. They will not be under any government; they are children of Belial, that cannot endure the yoke, at least the yoke of the Lord and his anointed. They will be content to entertain such notions of the kingdom of God and the Messiah as will serve them to dispute of and to support their own dominion with: if the Lord and his anointed will make them rich and great in the world, they will bid them welcome; but if they will restrain their corrupt appetites and passions, regulate and reform their hearts and lives, and bring them under the government of a pure and heavenly religion, truly then they will not have this man to reign over them, Luke xix. 14. Christ has bands and cords for us; those that will be saved by him must be ruled by him; but they are cords of a man, agreeable to right reason, and bands of love, conducive to our true interest: and yet against those the quarrel is. Why do men oppose religion but because they are impatient of its restraints and obligations? They would break asunder the bands of conscience they are under and the cords of God's commandments by which they are called to tie themselves out from all sin and to themselves up to all duty; they will not receive them, but cast them away as far from them as they can.

5. They are here reasoned with concerning it, v. 1. Why do they do this? (1.) They can show no good cause for opposing so just, holy, and gracious a government, which will not interfere with the secular powers, nor introduce any dangerous principles hurtful to kings or provinces; but, on the contrary, if universally received, would bring a heaven upon earth. (2.) They can hope for no good success in opposing so powerful a kingdom, with which they are utterly unable to contend. It is a vain thing; when they have done their worst Christ will have a church in the world and that church shall be glorious and triumphant. It is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The moon walks in brightness, though the dogs bark at it.

II. The mighty conquest gained over all this threatening opposition. If heaven and earth be the combatants, it is easy to foretel which will be the conqueror. Those that make this mighty struggle are the people of the earth, and the kings of the earth, who, being of the earth, are earthy; but he whom they contest with is one that sits in the heavens, v. 4. He is in the heaven, a place of such a vast prospect that he can oversee them all and all their projects; and such is his power that he can overcome them all and all their attempts. He sits there, as one easy and at rest, out of the reach of all their impotent menaces and attempts. There he sits as Judge in all the affairs of the children of men, perfectly secure of the full accomplishment of all his own purposes and designs, in spite of all opposition, Ps. xxix. 10. The perfect repose of the Eternal Mind may be our comfort under all the disquietments of our mind. We are tossed on earth, and in the sea, but he sits in the heavens, where he has prepared his throne for judgment; and therefore,

1. The attempts of Christ's enemies are easily ridiculed. God laughs at them as a company of fools. He has them, and all their attempts, in derision, and therefore the virgin, the daughter of Zion, has despised them, Isa. xxxvii. 22. Sinners' follies are the just sport of God's infinite wisdom and power; and those attempts of the kingdom of Satan which in our eyes are formidable in his are despicable. Sometimes God is said to awake, and arise, and stir up himself, for the vanquishing of his enemies; here is said to sit still and vanquish them; for the utmost operations of God's omnipotence create no difficulty at all, nor the least disturbance to his eternal rest.

2. They are justly punished, v. 5. Though God despises them as impotent, yet he does not therefore wink at them, but is justly displeased with them as impudent and impious, and will make the most daring sinners to know that he is so and to tremble before him. (1.) Their sin is a provocation to him. He is wroth; he is sorely displeased. We cannot expect that God should be reconciled to us, or well pleased in us, but in and through the anointed; and therefore, if we affront and reject him, we sin against the remedy and forfeit the benefit of his interposition between us and God. (2.) His anger will be a vexation to them; if he but speak to them in his wrath, even the breath of his mouth will be their confusion, slaughter, and consumption, Isa. xi. 4; 2 Thess. ii. 8. He speaks, and it is done; he speaks in wrath, and sinners are undone. As a word made us, so a word can unmake us again. Who knows the power of his anger? The enemies rage, but cannot vex God. God sits still, and yet vexes them, puts them in to a consternation (as the word is), and brings them to their wits' end: his setting up this kingdom of his Son, in spite of them, is the greatest vexation to them that can be. They were vexatious to Christ's good subjects; but the day is coming when vexation shall be recompensed to them.

3. They are certainly defeated, and all their counsels turned headlong (v. 6): Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. David was advanced to the throne, and became master of the strong-hold of Zion, notwithstanding the disturbance given him by the malcontents in his kingdom, and particularly the affronts he received from the garrison of Zion, who taunted him with their blind and their lame, their maimed soldiers, 2 Sam. v. 6. The Lord Jesus is exalted to the right hand of the Father, has all power both in heaven and in earth, and is head over all things to the church, notwithstanding the restless endeavours of his enemies to hinder his advancement. (1.) Jesus Christ is a King, and is invested by him who is the fountain of power with the dignity and authority of a sovereign prince in the kingdom both of providence and grace. (2.) God is pleased to call him his King, because he is appointed by him, and entrusted for him with the sole administration of government and judgment. He is his King, for he is dear to the Father, and one in whom he is well pleased. (3.) Christ took not this honour to himself, but was called to it, and he that called him owns him: I have set him; his commandment, his commission, he received from the Father. (4.) Being called to this honour, he was confirmed in it; high places (we say) are slippery places, but Christ, being raised, is fixed: "I have set him, I have settled him." (5.) He is set upon Zion, the hill of God's holiness, a type of the gospel church, for on that the temple was built, for the sake of which the whole mount was called holy. Christ's throne is set up in his church, that is, in the hearts of all believers and in the societies they form. The evangelical law of Christ is said to go forth from Zion (Isa. ii. 3, Mic. iv. 2), and therefore that is spoken of as the head-quarters of this general, the royal seat of this prince, in whom the children of men shall be joyful.

We are to sing these verses with a holy exultation, triumphing over all the enemies of Christ's kingdom (not doubting but they will all of them be quickly made his footstool), and triumphing in Jesus Christ as the great trustee of power; and we are to pray, in firm belief of the assurance here given, "Father in heaven, Thy kingdom come; let thy Son's kingdom come."

The Triumphs of Messiah.

7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

We have heard what the kings of the earth have to say against Christ's kingdom, and have heard it gainsaid by him that sits in heaven; let us now hear what the Messiah himself has to say for his kingdom, to make good his claims, and it is what all the powers on earth cannot gainsay.

I. The kingdom of the Messiah is founded upon a decree, an eternal decree, of God the Father. It was not a sudden resolve, it was not the trial of an experiment, but the result of the counsels of the divine wisdom and the determinations of the divine will, before all worlds, neither of which can be altered—the precept or statute (so some read it), the covenant or compact (so others), the federal transactions between the Father and the Son concerning man's redemption, represented by the covenant of royalty made with David and his seed, Ps. lxxxix. 3. This our Lord Jesus often referred to as that which, all along in his undertaking, he governed himself by; This is the will of him that sent me, John vi. 40. This commandment have I received of my Father, John x. 18; xiv. 31.

II. There is a declaration of that decree as far as is necessary for the satisfaction of all those who are called and commanded to yield themselves subjects to this king, and to leave those inexcusable who will not have him to reign over them. The decree was secret; it was what the Father said to the Son, when he possessed him in the beginning of his way, before his works of old; but it is declared by a faithful witness, who had lain in the bosom of the Father from eternity, and came into the world as the prophet of the church, to declare him, John i. 18. The fountain of all being is, without doubt, the fountain of all power; and it is by, from, and under him, that the Messiah claims. He has his right to rule from what Jehovah said to him, by whose word all things were made and are governed. Christ here makes a tow-fold title to his kingdom:—1. A title by inheritance (v. 7): Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. This scripture the apostle quotes (Heb. i. 5) to prove that Christ has a more excellent name than the angels, but that he obtained it by inheritance, v. 4. He is the Son of God, not by adoption, but his begotten Son, the only begotten of the Father, John i. 14. And the Father owns him, and will have this declared to the world as the reason why he is constituted King upon the holy hill of Zion; he is therefore unquestionably entitled to, and perfectly qualified for, that great trust. He is the Son of God, and therefore of the same nature with the Father, has in him all the fulness of the godhead, infinite wisdom, power, and holiness. The supreme government of the church is too high an honour and too hard an undertaking for any mere creature; none can be fit for it but he who is one with the Father and was from eternity by him as one brought up with him, thoroughly apprized of all his counsels, Prov. viii. 30. He is the Son of God, and therefore dear to him, his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased; and upon this account we are to receive him as a King; for because the Father loveth the Son he hath given all things into his hand, John iii. 35; v. 20. Being a Son, he is heir of all things, and, the Father having made the worlds by him, it is easy to infer thence that by him also he governs them; for he is the eternal Wisdom and the eternal Word. If God hath said unto him, "Thou art my Son," it becomes each of us to say to him, "Thou art my Lord, my sovereign." Further, to satisfy us that his kingdom is well-grounded upon his sonship, we are here told what his sonship is grounded on: This day have I begotten thee, which refers both to his eternal generation itself, for it is quoted (Heb. i. 5) to prove that he is the brightness of his Father's glory and the express image of his person (v. 3), and to the evidence and demonstration given of it by his resurrection from the dead, for to that also it is expressly applied by the apostle, Acts xiii. 33. He hath raised up Jesus again, as it is written, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. It was by the resurrection from the dead, that sign of the prophet Jonas, which was to be the most convincing of all, that he was declared to be the Son of God with power, Rom. i. 4. Christ is said to be the first-begotten and first-born from the dead, Rev. i. 5; Col. i. 18. Immediately after his resurrection he entered upon the administration of his mediatorial kingdom; it was then that he said, All power is given unto me, and to that especially he had an eye when he taught his disciples to pray, Thy kingdom come. 2. A title by agreement, v. 8, 9. The agreement is, in short, this: the Son must undertake the office of an intercessor, and, upon that condition, he shall have the honour and power of a universal monarch; see Isa. liii. 12, Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, because he made intercession for the transgressors. He shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both, Zech. vi. 13. (1.) The Son must ask. This supposes his putting himself voluntarily into a state of inferiority to the Father, by taking upon him the human nature; for, as God, he was equal in power and glory with the Father and had nothing to ask. It supposes the making of a satisfaction by the virtue of which the intercession must be made, and the paying of a price, on which this large demand was to be grounded; see John xvii. 4, 5. The Son, in asking the heathen for his inheritance, aims, not only at his own honour, but at their happiness in him; so that he intercedes for them, ever lives to do so, and is therefore able to save to the uttermost. (2.) The Father will grant more than to the half of the kingdom, even to the kingdom itself. It is here promised him, [1.] That his government shall be universal: he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, not the Jews only, to whose nation the church had been long confined, but the Gentiles also. Those in the uttermost parts of the earth (as this nation of ours) shall be his possession, and he shall have multitudes of willing loyal subjects among them. Baptized Christians are the possession of the Lord Jesus; they are to him for a name and a praise. God the Father gives them to him when by his Spirit and grave he works upon them to submit their necks to the yoke of the Lord Jesus. This is in part fulfilled; a great part of the Gentile world received the gospel when it was first preached, and Christ's throne was set up there where Satan's seat had long been. But it is to be yet further accomplished when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ, Rev. xi. 15. Who shall live when God doeth this? [2.] That it shall be victorious: Thou shalt break them (those of them that oppose thy kingdom) with a rod of iron, v. 9. This was in part fulfilled when the nation of the Jews, those that persisted in unbelief and enmity to Christ's gospel, were destroyed by the Roman power, which was represented (Dan. ii. 40) by feet of iron, as here by a rod of iron. It had a further accomplishment in the destruction of the Pagan powers, when the Christian religion came to be established; but it will not be completely fulfilled till all opposing rule, principality, and power, shall be finally put down, 1 Cor. xv. 24; Ps. cx. 5, 6. Observe, How powerful Christ is and how weak the enemies of his kingdom are before him; he has a rod of iron wherewith to crush those that will not submit to his golden sceptre; they are but like a potter's vessel before him, suddenly, easily, and irreparably dashed in pieces by him; see Rev. ii. 27. "Thou shalt do it, that is, thou shalt have leave to do it." Nations shall be ruined, rather than the gospel church shall not be built and established. I have loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee, Isa. xliii. 4. "Thou shalt have power to do it; none shall be able to stand before thee; and thou shalt do it effectually." Those that will not bow shall break.

In singing this, and praying it over, we must give glory to Christ as the eternal Son of God and our rightful Lord, and must take comfort from this promise, and plead it with God, that the kingdom of Christ shall be enlarged and established and shall triumph over all opposition.

Warning to the Enemies of Messiah.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

We have here the practical application of this gospel doctrine concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, by way of exhortation to the kings and judges of the earth. They hear that it is in vain to oppose Christ's government; let them therefore be so wise for themselves as to submit to it. He that has power to destroy them shows that he has no pleasure in their destruction, for he puts them into a way to make themselves happy, v. 10. Those that would be wise must be instructed; and those are truly wise that receive instruction from the word of God. Kings and judges stand upon a level with common persons before God; and it is as necessary for them to be religious as for any others. Those that give law and judgment to others must receive law from Christ, and it will be their wisdom to do so. What is said to them is said to all, and is required of every one of us, only it is directed to kings and judges because of the influence which their example will have upon their inferiors, and because they were men of rank and power that opposed the setting up of Christ's kingdom, v. 2. We are exhorted,

I. To reverence God and to stand in awe of him, v. 11. This is the great duty of natural religion. God is great, and infinitely above us, just and holy, and provoked against us, and therefore we ought to fear him and tremble before him; yet he is our Lord and Master, and we are bound to serve him, our friend and benefactor, and we have reason to rejoice in him; and these are very well consistent with each other, for, 1. We must serve God in all ordinances of worship, and all instances of a godly conversation, but with a holy fear, a jealousy over ourselves, and a reverence of him. Even kings themselves, whom others serve and fear, must serve and fear God; there is the same indefinite distance between them and God that there is between the meanest of their subjects and him. 2. We must rejoice in God, and, in subordination to him, we may rejoice in other things, but still with a holy trembling, as those that know what a glorious and jealous God he is, whose eye is always upon us. Our salvation must be wrought out with fear and trembling, Phil. ii. 12. We ought to rejoice in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, but to rejoice with trembling, with a holy awe of him, a holy fear for ourselves, lest we come short, and a tender concern for the many precious souls to whom his gospel and kingdom are a savour of death unto death. Whatever we rejoice in, in this world, it must always be with trembling, lest we grow vain in our joy and be puffed up with the things we rejoice in, and because of the uncertainty of them and the damp which by a thousand accidents may soon be cast upon our joy. To rejoice with trembling is to rejoice as though we rejoiced not, 1 Cor. vii. 30.

II. To welcome Jesus Christ and to submit to him, v. 12. This is the great duty of the Christian religion; it is that which is required of all, even kings and judges, and it is our wisdom and interest to do it. Observe here,

1. The command given to this purport: Kiss the Son. Christ is called the Son because so he was declared (v. 7), Thou art my Son. He is the Son of God by eternal generation, and, upon that account, he is to be adored by us. He is the Son of man (that is, the Mediator, John v. 27), and, upon that account, to be received and submitted to. He is called the Son, to include both, as God is often called emphatically the Father, because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in him our Father, and we must have an eye to him under both considerations. Our duty to Christ is here expressed figuratively: Kiss the Son, not with a betraying kiss, as Judas kissed him, and as all hypocrites, who pretend to honour him, but really affront him; but with a believing kiss. (1.) With a kiss of agreement and reconciliation. Kiss, and be friends, as Jacob and Esau; let the quarrel between us and God terminate; let the acts of hostility cease, and let us be at peace with God in Christ, who is our peace. (2.) With a kiss of adoration and religious worship. Those that worshipped idols kissed them, 1 Kings xix. 18; Hos. xiii. 2. Let us study how to do honour to the Lord Jesus, and to give unto him the glory due unto his name. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him, Ps. xlv. 11. We must worship the Lamb, as well as him that sits on the throne, Rev. v. 9-13. (3.) With a kiss of affection and sincere love: "Kiss the Son; enter into a covenant of friendship with him, and let him be very dear and precious to you; love him above all, love him in sincerity, love him much, as she did to whom much was forgiven, and, in token of it, kissed his feet," Luke vii. 38. (4.) With a kiss of allegiance and loyalty, as Samuel kissed Saul, 1 Sam. x. 1. Swear fealty and homage to him, submit to his government, take his yoke upon you, and give up yourselves to be governed by his laws, disposed of by his providence, and entirely devoted to his interest.

2. The reasons to enforce this command; and they are taken from our own interest, which God, in his gospel, shows a concern for. Consider,

(1.) The certain ruin we run upon if we refuse and reject Christ: "Kiss the Son; for it is at your peril if you do not." [1.] "It will be a great provocation to him. Do it, lest he be angry." The Father is angry already; the Son is the Mediator that undertakes to make peace; if we slight him, the Father's wrath abides upon us (John iii. 36), and not only so, but there is an addition of the Son's wrath too, to whom nothing is more displeasing than to have the offers of his grace slighted and the designs of it frustrated. The Son can be angry, though a Lamb; he is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the wrath of this king, this King of kings, will be as the roaring of a lion, and will drive even mighty men and chief captains to seek in vain for shelter in rocks and mountains, Rev. vi. 16. If the Son be angry, who shall intercede for us? There remains no more sacrifice, no other name by which we can be saved. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. [2.] It will be utter destruction to yourselves: Lest you perish from the way, or in the way so some, in the way of your sins, and from the way of your vain hopes; lest your way perish (as Ps. i. 6), lest you prove to have missed the way to happiness. Christ is the way; take heed lest you be cut off from him as your way to God. It intimates that they were, or at least thought themselves, in the way; but, by neglecting Christ, they perished from it, which aggravates their ruin, that they go to hell from the way to heaven, are not far from the kingdom of God and yet never arrive there.

(2.) The happiness we are sure of if we yield ourselves to Christ. When his wrath is kindled, though but a little, the least spark of that fire is enough to make the proudest sinner miserable if it fasten upon his conscience; for it will burn to the lowest hell: one would think it should therefore follow, "When his wrath is kindled, woe be to those that despise him;" but the Psalmist startles at the thought, deprecates that dreadful doom and pronounces those blessed that escape it. Those that trust in him, and so kiss him, are truly happy; but they will especially appear to be so when the wrath of Christ is kindled against others. Blessed will those be in the day of wrath, who, by trusting in Christ, have made him their refuge and patron; when the hearts of others fail them for fear they shall lift up their heads with joy; and then those who now despise Christ and his followers will be forced to say, to their own greater confusion, "Now we see that blessed are all those, and those only, that trust in him."

In singing this, and praying it over, we should have our hearts filled with a holy awe of God, but at the same time borne up with a cheerful confidence in Christ, in whose mediation we may comfort and encourage ourselves and one another. We are the circumcision, that rejoice in Christ Jesus.

PSALME II.

WHy doe the heathens tumultuously rage, and the peoples meditate vanitie? The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the Princes doe plot together against Iehovah, and against his Christ.

Let us breake their bands, and cast their cords from us. Hee that sitteth in the heavens laugheth, the Lord mocketh at them.

Then will he speake unto them in his anger, and in his wrath hee will suddenly trouble them. And I have anointed my King upon Sion, the mountaine of my holinesse.

I will tell the decree; Iehovah said unto me, thou art my sonne; I this day begat thee.

Aske of me and I will give the Heathens for thine inheritance, & the ends of the earth for thy firme possession. Thou shalt roughly rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessell of a pottter thou shalt scatter them in peeces.

And now, O ye Kings, be prudent, be nurtured ye Iudges of the earth. Serve yee Iehovah with feare, and be glad with trembling. Kisse ye the sonne lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, when his anger shall burne suddenly; O blessed are all that hope for safetie in him.

Annotations. WHY] or, For what? David was the writer of this Psalme, (as the Greeke prefixeth this title, A Psalme of David:) and he beginneth with marvelling at the rage and folly of the Iewes and Gentiles, in persecuting Christ and his Church, Acts 4. 25, &c. And as David himselfe was a figure of Christ in his kingdome, and a father of him according to the flesh: so suffered hee the like opposition at the hands of his owne people, and of the nations round about him, 2 Sam. 2. 10. and 3. 1. and 5. 17. and 10. 6, 7, &c. Tumultuously rage] or, burtle together, conven[illegible: 1 letter] with rage and uprore mutinously. This word is also used in Daniels case; Dan. 6. 6. 11. and after in Psal. 64. 3. The Greeke eph[illegible: 2 letters]axan, whereby the holy Ghost tranflateth it, Act. 4▪ 25. denoteth rage, pride, and fiercenesse, as of horses that neigh and rush into the battell. peoples] or nations: under these names are comprehended the Iewes with the Gentiles, Act. 4. 27, 28. meditate vanitie] mutter a vaine or emptie thing, which shall have no effect. And here the Hebrew changeth the time (as it doth very often otherwhere▪) will meditate▪ noting by such phrase a continuance of the action, as they that did still or usually meditate vaine things. But the holy Ghost in Act. 4. 25. keepeth like time here as before: whose example I follow, according to the proprietie of our tongue. So after in this Psalme and many other. The Hebrew text it selfe sometime doth the like, as Isai. 37. 3[illegible: 1 letter]. compared with 2 Kings 19. 33. See the notes on Psal. 18. 7. Vers. 2. Set themselves] or present themselves, will stand up, noting a setled purpose in the heart, with a standing up in person to act the same, 1 Chr. 1[illegible: 1 letter]. 14. princes] rulers, or pri[illegible: 2 letters]e counsellors, subtile, prudent, and imployed in making decrees, Prov. 8. 15. next therefore in place to Kings, and joyned with them, as here, so in Iudg. 5. [illegible: 1 word]. Hab. 1. 10. Prov. 31. 4. plot] conspire, or, are founded, that is, have their foundation, plot, or ground-worke laid, as, Exod. 9. 1[illegible: 1 letter]. Is[illegible: 1 letter]. 44. 28. and this by assembling and consulting, and is therefore interpreted, gathered together, Act. 4. 26. So the Chaldee translateth it, consociate (or joyned together) to rebell before the Lord, & to fight against his anointed. Christ] or Anointed, in Hebrew, Mashiach or Messias, which word, though it be generall for the ancient Kings, and Priests, and Prophets that were anointed with oile, (Psal. 89. 31. and 105. 15. Isa. 45. 1. Num. 3. 3. 1 King. 19. 16.) yet is it principally the name of the Sonne of God, our Saviour, Dan. 9. 25, 26. who was knowne in Israel by the name Messias, Ioh. 1. 41. and 4. 25. and among Greekes, by the name Christ; of whom wee that beleeve in his name, are also called Christians, Act. 11. 26. because wee have an Anointing from him that is holy, 1 Ioh. 2. 20. 27. himselfe being first anointed with the Spirit, and with the oile of gladnesse above his fellowes, Luke 4. 18. Psal. 45. 8. Of him is this Psalme interpreted by his Apostles, saying; Of a truth, Lord, against thy holy Child Iesus, whom thou anointedst, gathered were both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations and peoples of Israel, to doe whatsoever thy hand and thy counsell had fore-determined to be done, Act. 4. 27, 28. Vers. 3. their bands] These were signes of subjection, Ier. 27. 2, 3. 6, 7. And thus the Kings and nations speake, refusing to serve Christ, though his yoke be easie, Matth. 11. 29, 30. Ier. 5. 5. The Hebrew phrase mo, importeth their bands and his; speaking of the Father and the Sonne jointly, and of the Sonne in speciall: but he that honoureth not the Sonne, honoureth not the Father which sent him, Ioh. 5. 23. So in the verse following, the Lord mocketh at them and at him; meaning them all jointly, and each severally. The like manner of speech see in Esay 53. 8. and 44. 15. Lam. 4. 10. Psal. 5. 12. and 11. 7. and 49. 14. and 59. 9. Iob 22. 19. Exod. 15. 15. Deut. 32. 23. 32. 35. 37. cords] or ropes, thicke twisted bands: signes also of subjection and restraint, Iob 39. 13. Ezek. 4. 8. and sometime of love, Hos. 11. 4. Vers. 4. The Lord] in Hebrew, Adonai; which in this forme is the peculiar title of God; having the forme plurall, and vowels of Iehovah, mystically signifying my staies, or my sustainers, my pillars. And where in one place Adonai is used, another speaking of the same thing hath sometime Iehovah: See Psal. 57. 10. with Psal. 108. 4. It commeth of Aeden, a hase or pillar which sustaineth any thing. The Chaldee translateth it, the Word of the Lord, that is, the title of Christ, Ioh. 1. 1. Rev. 19. 13. Our English word Lord hath much like force, being contracted of the old▪ Saxon Laford, or Hlafford, which commeth of Laef, to sustaine, refresh, cherish▪ mocketh] will mock, deride. This implieth both their folly, their punishment for it, and how God will leave them helplesse in their miserie, Psal. 59. 9. Prov. 1. 26. 28. It is spoken of God, after the manner of men, that hee laugheth, mocketh, is angry, and the like, not that he hath such passions as men, but because he doth such things as men use to doe when they are moved with such passions: and as the Hebrew Doctors say, The law speaketh (of God) according to the language of the sonnes of Adam. See the Annotations on Gen. 6. 6. Vers. 5. anger] ire, outward in the face, grame, grimnesse or fiercenesse of countenante. The originall aph signifieth both the Nose by which one breatheth, Psal. 115. 6. and Anger which appeareth in the snuffing or breathing of the nose; as Saul is said to breathe out threatnings and slaughter, Act 91. The circumstances of the Text will shew which of the two is meant: though sometime it is doubtfull, as Psal. 138. 7. wrath] fervent ire, inflamed displeasure. This word Charon, noteth burning or inflammation of choler, sometime of griese, Gen. 4. 5. Ior. 4. 10. sometime of other affections, Nehem. 3. 20. suddenly trouble] or vex, apall fright, make them to start. It noteth hastinesse of seare and trouble: opposed to firme staiednesse. Vers. 6. And I] The word And is here a signe of indignation stirred, as was in the Apostle, when he said, And sittest thou to judge me, &c. Act. 23. 3. or and may be used here for but, as in Gen. 42. 10. Isa. 10. 20. and often otherwhere. have anointed] or powred out, that is, ordained, authorized: by powring out the oile of the spirit, the oile of gladnesse, as is noted on vers. 2. Of this word Nasac that signifieth to shed or powre out, Nasick is used for a governour, or one in authoritie, Psal. 83. 12. Ios. 13. 21. Mic. 5. 5. Dan. 11. 8. According hereto, the wisdome of God saith, Prov. 8. 23. I was anointed (or authorized) from everlasting. In David Christs figure, this was outwardly performed, when he was anointed King, with oile, 1 Sam. 16. 1. 13. and 2. Sam. 2. 4. and 5. 3. upon Si[illegible: 1 letter]n] or, over Tsijon, the name of an high mountaine in Ierusalem, on top whereof was a strong fort, which the heathen Iebusites kept by force from Israel, till Davids dayes, Ios. 15. 63. 2 Sam. 5. 6, 7. but he tooke it from them, fortified it, and called it Davids citie, 1 Chro. 11. 4 5 7. Neere unto this was mount Morijah, wheron Solomon built the Temple; 2 Chron. 3. 1. Hereupon Ierusalem was called the holy citie, Nehem. 11. 1. Isa. 52. 1. and 48. 2. Mat. 4. 5. with Luk. 4. 9. and Sion is named the Lords holy mountaine, Ioel 3. 17. which he loved, Psa. 78. 68. from which the law should come forth, Isa. 2. 3. and where he would dwell for ever, Psal. 132. 13, 14. Therefore was it a figure of Christs Church, Heb. 12. 22. Rev. 14. 1. Isa. 60. 14. mountaine of my holinesse] or my mount of holinesse, that is, my holy mount, as the Greeke turneth it. So the Temple of Gods holinesse, Psal. 79. 1. and people of his holinesse, Esa. 63. 18. And in speech to Daniel, Ierusalem is called, the citie of his holinesse, that is, his holy citie, by him so esteemed and regarded, Dan. 9. 24. Such Hebrew phrases, because they are more forcible, the Apostles often used in Greeke, to inure the Gentiles with them: as Christ is called the Sonne of Gods love, that is, his beloved sonne, Col. 1. 13. our Lord Iesus Christ of glory, that is, our glorious Lord, Iam. 2. 1. and many the like. Vers. 7. I will tell] telling is often used for preaching, declaring, shewing, as Psal. 22. 23. with Heb. 2. 12. Exod. 9. 16. with Rom. 9. 17. So hereby Christ noteth his propheticall office. the decree] Here the Hebrew el seemeth to be used for eth: as cl haderech; 2 Chror. 6. 27. is the same that eth hoderech, 1 King. 8. 36. we may also read it thus, I will tell of the decree; cl being many times used for of, as Gen. 20 2. Iob 42. 7. 2 King. 19. 32. Ier. 51. 60. So the Greeke pros (answering to the Hebrew el) is used for of, or concerning, Heb. 1. 7. and 4. 13. decree] prescript, law or statute: the Greeke translateth it, the ordinance of the Lord; the Chaldee, the Covenant of God. The Hebrew Chok usually denoteth the rules, decrees, and ordinances about Gods worship, as the decree of the passeover, Exod. 12. 24. 43. the decree of dressing the lampes, Exod. 27. 21. of the Priests office and garments, Exod. 29. 9. of their washing, Exod. 30. 21. of the sacrifices, Lev. 3. 17. and 6. 18. 22. and many other things about Gods service. So may it here be taken, that Christ preacheth the decree or rule of his calling to the office of priesthood, as the Apostle gathereth from this place, Hebr. 5. 5. or of serving God, fulfilled of us by faith and obedience to his Gospel, when these legall ordinances had an end, Ioh. 4. 21. &c. thou art my sonne] Though holy men be called the sonnes of God, Deut. 14. 1. 1 Iohn 3. 1. and likewise Angels, Iob 1. 6. and 38. 7. yet is this title naturall and peculiar to our Lord Iesus, the onely begotten of the Father; whereupon the Apostle saith, to which of the Angels said he this at any time? Heb. 1. 5. The word art is supplied by the Apostle, in Act. 13. 33. the like is sometime in the Hebrew Text it selfe; as, True was the word, 1 King. 10. 6. which in 2 Chron. 9. 5. is, True the word: so, Thou leading out, 1 Chron. 11. 2. Thou wast leading out, 2 Sam. 5. 2. Also in the Greeke of the New Testament, Sommer neere, Mat. 24. 32. Sommer is neere, Luke 21. 30. I, this day] or, to day begat thee. The word this is often omitted in the Hebrew; as Deut. 4. 4. 8. 39. and 5. 1. 3. and 26. 17, 18. and often is expressed, as Deut. 2. 25. 30. and 4. 20. and 26. 16. and 27. 9. Of this point, thus speaketh the Apostle: Touching the promise made to the Fathers, God hath fulfilled it unto us their children, in that he raised up Iesus, as it is written in the second Psalme, Thou art my sonne, I this day begat thee, Act. 13. 32, 33. See also Rom. 1. 4. and Heb. 5. 5. where Christs calling to be our High Priest, is from hence proved. Vers. 8. for thine inheritance] or, to bethine inheritance. This noteth the subjection of the nations to the Sonne of God; as the like manner of speech importeth, Esay 14. 2. Zeph. 2. 9. Levit. 25. 46. Hereupon Christ is called heire, that is, Lord of all, Hebr. 1. 2. See Psal. 82. 8. Ier. 49. 2. for thy firme possession] or, to be thy tenement, to have and to hold. It implieth Christs government of the world; and so the Chaldee expoundeth it, the dominion of the ends of the earth for thy possession. The word for, or some such like, is here to be understood, and sometime the Hebrew expresseth it: as the house, 1 King. 7. 51. in stead of for the house, 2 Chron. 5. 1. servants, 1 Chron. 18. 6. in stead of for servants, 2 Sam. 8. 6. and sundry the like. Vers. 9. roughly rule them] or, bruse, crush them. The word signifieth to intreat evill, or rigorously: and this is meant of Christs enemies. potter] or former of the clay: this signifieth their utter destruction; for a potters vessell broken cannot be made whole againe, Ier. 9. 11. Esay 30. 14. So in Dan. 2. 44. it is prophefied, that Christs kingdome should breake in peeces and consume all those kingdomes, and it shall stand for ever. Vers. 10. be prudent] be skilfull, or, behave your selves skilfully, prudently, wisely. be nurtured] or, restrained, chastised, disciplined: and so the Chaldee translateth, receive chastisement ye governours (the Greeke saith, all ye Iudges) of the earth. Vers. 11. be glad] This word signifieth open and manifest joy, exultation, or outward glee. Gladnesse and trembling are here joyned together, as feare and joy, Matth. 28. 8. The Greeke sheweth in whom this gladnesse should be, saying, shew gladnesse unto him; the Chaldee translateth, pray with trembling. Vers. 12. Kisse the sonne] Kissing was used in signe of love and of obedience, Gen. 41. 40. 1 Sam. 10. 1. it was used also in religion and divine worship, 1 Kings 19. 18. Hos. 13. 2. Iob 31. 27. All these are due to Christ: but Iudas betrayed the Sonne of man with a kisse, Luke 22. 48. The Greeke translateth, Receive nurture (or instruction) and the Chaldee, receive doctrine; both are implied in kissing of the Sonne, Prov. 24. 26. perish in the way] or, from the way. To perish or be lost in the way, importeth sudden destruction, whiles they are doing their actions: to perish from the way, is to wander or lose the right way, and not know whither to goe. So Deut. 32. 28. perishing in (or from) counsels, is to be void of counsell, not knowing what to deliberate. The Chaldee translateth it, and yee lose the way: the Greeke, and yee perish from the just way. when his anger shall] or for his anger will burne; or, his angry countenance. suddenly] or very soone, or a very little: this manner of speech sometime meaneth a short time, speedily, Psal. 81. 15. Isa. 26. 20. 2 Chron. 12. 7. sometime, a little deale, as Isa. 1. 9. The Greeke here turneth it, soone or suddenly. See also Psal. 8. 6. that hope for safety] or, that shrowd, that relie confidently, that betake themselves for refuge and safety unto him. For, hee is made the author of eternall salvation to all that obey him, Hebr. 5. 9.

PSAL. II.

Verſ. 1 VVHy do the Heathen rage?] Why? or for what? The Pſalm beginneth abruptly, with an angry interrogation, q.d. What? are they mad to attempt ſuch things, as whereof they can neither give any good reaſon, nor expect any good effect? The Lord Chriſt of whom David was both a Father and a Figure, (as here appeareth) ſhall ſurely reign, maugre all the rage and reſiſtance of his enemies, who may ſeem to be ambitious of their own deſtruction, and are therefore in this Pſalm ſchooled, and counſelled to deſiſt. Nothing is more irrational than irreligion; Why do the Heathen tumultuouſly rage, or hurtle together, Fremunt & ferociunt? When the Philiſtines heard that David was made King in Hebron, they came up to ſeek him, and to unking him, 2 Sam. 5.17. ſo the Heathen and People, that is, Gentiles and Jews would have dealt by Chriſt, Acts 4.25, 26. The Devil ever ſince hee was caſt out of Heaven, tumultuateth, and keepeth ado; ſo do unruly ſpirits acted and agitated by him. Dan. 6.15. Then thoſe men kept a ſtir with the King againſt Daniel; it is the ſame Hebrew word that is here, and poſſibly Daniels ſpirit might think of Davids terms. John 11.33. Jeſus troubled himſelf, but after another manner than theſe his enemies; his paſſions were without mud, as clear water in a Chryſtal Glaſs; what was an act of power in Chriſt, is an act of weakneſs, if not of wickedneſs, in others. [non-Latin text not transcribed] Acts 4.25. The Apoſtles Greek word for this in the text denoteth rage, pride, and fierceneſs, as of Horſes that Neigh, and ruſh into the Battel.

And the people imagine] Heb. meditate, or mutter a vain thing, an empty deſign, that ſhall come to noting.

Niteris incaſſum Chriſti ſubmergere puppem: Fluctuat, at nunquam mergitur illaratis. Dipt may the Churches Ship be, but not drown'd; Chriſt will not fail her enemies to confound.

Some think that by this, muttering people are meant, ſuch as act not open outrages againſt Chriſt; but yet in words murmur and mutiny, whiſpering Treaſon.

Verſ. 2. The Kings of the earth ſet themſelves] Or, ſtand up, as if they would do the deed, and bear down all before them. The many had acted their part, verſ. 1. and now the mighties ſhew themſelves, but go off again with ſhame enough. The Spaniſh Frier uſed to ſay, there were but few Princes in Hell; and why? becauſe there were but few in all. It was a poor comfort to our Henry 8. to bee told upon his Death-bed, That he was now going to the place of Kings. Some ſuch there have been as proved nurſing Fathers to the Church, and propagated the Kingdom of Chriſt in their Generations, Eſa. 49.33. but what a vain vaunt was that of thoſe bloudy Tyrants in the Primitive times, who ſounded the Triumph before-hand, and thus engraved the Victory upon pillars of Marble, Nomine Chriſtianorum deleto qui Remp. evertebant? What was all this, but a blaze before their laſt Light went out? or like ſome bulging wall that was ſwoln immediatly before it fell? have any ever yet waxed fierce againſt Chriſt and proſpered? Job 9.4.

And the Rulers take counſel together] Or, have laid their foundation: for counſel is to action,Syncretiſm[illegible: 1 letter]m incunt, & quaſi ſe funda[illegible: 1 letter]t conſiliis ſuis, &c. ſaith Aben-Ezra here, the ſame that the foundation is to a building. The Chaldee hath it, they conſociate to rebel before the Lord, and to fight againſt his Annoynted. But with what ſucceſs, ſee Iſa. 8.9, 10. Immanuel will over-match them.

Verſ. 3. Let us break their bands aſunder, &c.) Here theſe Rebels are brought in, proclaming their treaſonable Decrees againſt Chriſt, and his adherents, who ſeek to promote his Kingdom. Reſolved they were to run riot, as lawleſs and awleſs, and therefore they ſlander the ſweet Laws of Chriſts Kingdom, as bonds and thick cords (thoſe ſigns of ſlavery, Jer. 27.2, 6, 7.) as burdens, and grievances.Melch. Adam in vit. Bucer. So the Popiſh Clergy of Collen told their good Arch-Biſhop Albert (who had made uſe of Bucer and Melancthon to bring things into better order) that they had rather live under the Turkiſh Government, than under ſuch a Reformation. But what ſaith our Saviour? My yoke is eaſie, and my burthen light: No more burthen it is to a regenerate perſon, than the wings are to the Bird. He delighteth in the Law of God after the inward man, Rom. 7. It is not to him now, as once, bands and cords, but as Girdles and Garters, which gird up his loyns, and expedite his courſe the better. It confineth him to live in that element where he would live; as if one ſhould be confined to Paradiſe, where he would be, though there were no ſuch Law.

Verſ. 4. He that ſitteth in the Heavens ſhall laugh at them] Videt, ridet: He ſeeth and ſmileth, he looketh and laugheth at theſe Giants. Hee ſitteth in Heaven far above their reach; neither doth he much trouble himſelf about the matter. No more ſhould we; but truſt in him, and know that there is a Council in Heaven that will daſh the mould of all contrary Counſels upon Earth; as the ſtone cut out of the Mountain did the Four great Monarchies, Dan. 2.34. See an inſtance hereof in latter times. Luther, that Heroical Reformer was Excommunicated by the Pope, proſcribed by the Emperour, hated and curſed all Chriſtendom over almoſt, yet he proſpered, and the Work of Chriſt went on in his hands. And when the Elector of Saxony (his only Patron) was much afraid what would become of him, and of the buſineſs of Religion, Luther out of his Pathmus (as he called it) where he lay hid, writeth him a rouſing Letter, wherein is read this among many other brave paſſages; Sciat Celſitudo tua & nihil dubitet longè alitèr in coelo quàm Noribergae de hoc negotio concluſum eſt, Let your Highneſs reſt well aſſured of this, that things are far otherwiſe carried, and concluded of in Heaven, than they are at the Imperial Diet held at Norinberg. After this, in the year of Grace, one thouſand five hundred twenty ſix, there conſpired againſt the Goſpel, and the Profeſſors thereof, the Emperour and his Priſoner in Spain, the French King, the Princes alſo, and Biſhops in Germany, ſtirred up by the Pope. The French King was ſet at liberty, upon condition to joyn with the Emperour to root out Lutheraniſm, that is, true Religion. This was the agreement, but God brake it, for the French King was no ſooner come home, but he made a League with the Pope, and the Venetians, againſt the Emperour. The Pope excuſeth his falling off from Caeſar by a petulant and malapert Epiſtle. Caeſar by another Letter [illegible: 1 letter]ays open to the World the Popes perfidy, exhorting him to peace, and concluding, that they had more need to unite their Forces for the extirpation of Lutheran Hereſie, &c. By this means the Church had an happy Halcyon, whiles theſe great ones were out, and at it.

The Lord will have them in deriſion] Adonai, that is, the ſuſtainer and upholder of all. Chriſt is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Rev. 19.16. Lords and Loſels are all his vaſſals and underlings, as Conſtantine, Theodoſius, and Valentine, thoſe great Emperours called themſelves. This Name or Stile Chriſt hath written on his Veſture, that all may ſee it, and on his Thigh, where hangs his Sword, to ſhew his abſolute Dominion, his illimited Empire, got and held out of the hands of his enemies, with his Sword, and with his Bow, as Gen. 48.22. And when he is ſaid to deride them, this is more than to laugh at them, as the following effects ſhew.

Verſ. 5. Then ſhall he ſpeak unto them, &c.] Hep. He ſhall tell them, viz. a peece of his minde, to their ſmall comfort. As a great Prince ſitting on a lofty Throne, rateth his Rebels when once he hath brought them before him, and pronounceth ſentence upon them in fierce wrath. See Jer. 52.9. ſo will the King of Heaven do by his ſturdy refractories. Whether he will ſpeak unto them by his words, or by his rods, Job 33.14, 19, 20, 21. and when he will do it, he hath reſerved in his own power and pleaſure, Acts 1.7. but ſooner or later he will not fail to do it; and Poena venit gravior, quò magè ſeravenit.

And vex them] Or trouble them, as he did the Babel-builders, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, others: Either by horror of Conſcience, or corporal Plagues, one way or other he will have his penny-worths of them, as he had of the old and late Perſecutors of his people.

Verſ. 6. Yet have I ſet my King] Heb. And I have ſet, Heb. I have anointed; where the ſign of his inauguration, or entrance into his Kingdom, is put for the poſſeſſion and injoying thereof. David was anointed by Gods appointment. Chriſt was alſo anho[illegible: 2 letters]ted and appointed by his Father, to the Office and work of a Mediator; and is therefore here called his King. And, is here a ſign of indignation ſtirred.

Ʋpon mine holy hill of Zion] Davids ſtrong Hold, and a Figure of the Church; Heb. 12.22. Rev. 14.1. Iſa. 60.14. as being the Seat of the Kingdom and Sanctuary. Out of Zion alſo went forth the Law; and the Word of the Lord out of Jeruſalem, Iſa. 2.3. it ſignifieth a Watch-tower: In the Church Chriſt, Angels, Miniſters, common Chriſtians, watch againſt enemies viſible and inviſible.

Verſ. 7. I will declare the decree] that irrevocable decree of the Father, for the ſetting up of his Sons Scepter contra gentes, point blank oppoſite to that decree of theirs, verſ. 3. This Ordinance or Decree of his, Chriſt is ſtill declaring in his Church by the Miniſters of the Goſpel, whoſe Office it is to ſet forth Chriſt to the world in all his Offices and Efficacies, and to bring as many as may be to the obedience of the faith.

Thou art my Son] David was ſo by Adoption, and Acceptation, Pſal. 89.26, 27. But Chriſt, I By eternal generation, Prov. 8. Heb. 1.5. 2 By hypoſtatical union, and ſo God had one only Son (as Abraham had his Iſaac) though otherwiſe he were the Father of many Nations.

This day have I begotten thee] Underſtand it either of the day of Eternity, or elſe of the fulneſs of time wherein God brought his firſt begotten Son into the world, and afterwards mightily declared him to be the Son of God by the Reſurrection from the dead, Rom. 1.3. Acts 13.33. whence he is called the firſt begotten of the dead, Col. 1.18. Rev. 1.5.

Verſ. 8. Ask of me, and I will give thee] All things were conveyed to Chriſt by asking: Shall we think to have any thing without asking? Or, are we not worthily miſerable that will not make our ſelves happy by asking? Now, through Chriſts Paſſion, and Interceſſion, it is but ask and have: Open thy mouth, and I will fill it. If at any time we ask and miſs, it is for moſt part becauſe we ask amiſs, [illegible: 1 word]. 4.2.

The Heathen for thine inheritance] The Kingdom of Grace, (the object whereof are all Nations) Chriſt hath by Donation from his Father: for his Natural Kingdom he hath as God coaequal with his Father from all eternity.

Verſ. 9.Thou ſhalt roughly rule them. Ainſw: Thou ſhalt break them, &c.] ſc. thoſe that will not bend, thou ſhalt thus break. Chriſts gracious Government of his obedient people, though not ſo fully expreſſed here, yet is to be neceſſarily underſtood; and in the laſt words of the Pſalm it is plainly held forth, Bleſſed are all they that truſt in him.

Thou ſhalt daſh them in peeces (or, ſcatter them abroad, being already broken) as a Potters veſſel] i.e. without any hope of repair and recovery. It is a fearful thing to fall into the puniſhing hands of the living God, Heb. 10. He that will not be warned in hearing, ſhall be cruſht to peeces in feeling, ſaid that Martyr, Aut faciendum aut patiendum, God will be obeyed either actively, or paſſively. Look to it.

Verſ. 10. Be wiſe now therefore O yee Kings] Redeem your own ſorrows, by trembling at Gods Judgements, whiles they hang in the threatnings: this is an high point of heavenly wiſdom.

Ergo Dei tandem verbo ſubſoribite reges: Ne rapiant Stygiae vos Acherontis aqua.

Theſe Kings were not without wit and learning; Julian the Apoſtate for inſtance (who ſaid unto the King Chriſt, Apoſtato) but they wanted godly wiſdom, and are therefore here called upon to behave themſelves prudently, and to play the wiſe men. For as wicked men are fools in print: ſo on the contrary, in our old Engliſh Books, a righteous man is printed a right wiſe man, and righteouſneſs right-wiſeneſs. For it is the only true both Wiſdom, Pſal. 111.10. Prov. 1.7. and Honour, for the righteous are Princes in all Lands, Pſal. 45.16. yea they are Kings. Compare Mat. 13.17. with Luke 10.25. Many righteous, ſaith the one, many Kings, ſaith the other Evangeliſt.

Be inſtructed yee Judges] Be nurtured yee Sages; ſubmit to Chriſts Diſcipline, acknowledge his Prophetical Office here, his Prieſtly, verſ. 11. his Kingly, v. 12. Eſtote ligati, ſo Aben-Ezra rendreth it, Be yee bound, in oppoſition to that evil decree of theirs, verſ. 3. Let us break their bonds, &c. And this they are adviſed to do forth-with, while it is called to day, Now therefore, before God the Father vex you, God the Son bruiſe you, with his Iron mace.

Verſ. 11. Serve the Lord with fear] Timore non ſervili ſed amicali, with reverence and godly fear, Heb. 12.28. Say to Chriſt as the people did to Joſhua, chap. 1.16. and as the Rulers and Elders of Iſrael did to John, 2 King. 10.5. We are thy ſervants, and will do all that thou ſhalt bid us.

And rejoyce before him with trembling] A ſtrange mixture of contrary paſſions, (for baſe fear hath torment, 1 Joh. 4.18.) but ſuch as is uſual with Gods Servants, whoſe task it is to work out their ſalvation with fear and trembling, Phil. 2.12. Agreeable whereunto is that of Bernard, Laetiſimus ſed non ſecuri: gandentes in Domino ſed caventes à recidivo. Thoſe good women went from Chriſts Sepulcher with fear and great joy. We ſhould come to him in his Ordinances, like affected.

Verſ. 12. Kiſs the Son] That Son of God, verſ. 7. Bar is an Hebrew word alſo; (ſee Prov. 31.2) as R. Abraham confeſſeth, though other Rabbins deny it; and therefore render this text. Oſculamini purè, Kiſs purely, and Oſculamini eum qui ſelectus eſt, Oſculo homagii, as Samuel kiſſed Saul. 1 Sam. 10. [illegible: 1 word] Gen. 41;40. Euſeb. Mortuus eſt Moſes ad os Jehova. Maimonides. [non-Latin text not transcribed] Kiſs him who is ſelected, or ſet apart: Chriſt is Gods elect, Iſa. 42.1. Mat. 12.14. Him men muſt kiſs with a kiſs of adoration and ſubjection, with a kiſs of faith and love, 1 Pet. 5.14. Kiſs his holy Wounds, as Conſtantine did the Eye of Paphnutius, that was bored out in Maximinus the Tyrants time; ſo ſhall hee kiſs us with the kiſſes of his mouth, Cant. 1.1. and with his kiſſes ſuck out the ſting of death, and take away our ſouls with a kiſs, as the Rabbins from Deut. 34.5. ſay he did Moſes his ſoul. The ancient Patriarks ſaluted Chriſt afar off, and were interchangeably ſaluted by him, Heb. 11.13, for they ſaw by faith him who is inviſible, verſ. 27. O get a Patriarks eye, ſtudy Moſes his Opticks: for here the Northern Proverb is found true, Unkent unkiſt. Men know not the Son of God, and therefore love him not, kiſs him not, unleſs it be Oſculo Iſcariotico, as the Traitor kiſſed him: See a lofty and lively deſcription of him, Heb. 1.2, 3.

Leſt he be angry] For meek though he be as a Lamb, and will not break the bruiſed Reed; yet ſo angry he can be, that the Kings and great ones ſhall be glad to flee from the wrath of this Lamb, Rev. 6. who hath feet like burning braſs, and eyes like flaming fire, Rev. 1. Plato ſaith of the King of Bees, that although he hath no ſting, yet he ruleth and governeth his Common-wealth with great ſeverity and juſtice: So doth the Lord Chriſt; and every good Soul is ready to ſay as the Poet did, Ut mala nulla feram niſi nudam Caeſaris iram, Nuda parùm nobis Caeſaris ira mali eſt?Ovid.

And yee periſh form the way] Or, in the way, that is in medio ſtadio, before yee come to your Journies end, to the full accompliſhment of your purpoſes and practices, deſtruction ſhall ſuddenly ſeize you, 1 Theſſ. 5.3.

When his wrath is kindled but a little] It is ſometimes let out in minnums, as Hoſ 5.12. but if timely courſe be not taken it grows to a great matter, as Thunder doth, and as Fire, that at firſt burns a little within upon a few boards, but if not quenched, burſteth out in a moſt terrible flame.

Bleſſed are all they that put their truſt in him] That is, in Chriſt, Joh. 14.1. Now to truſt in him, is ſo to be unbottom'd of thy ſelf, and of every Creature, and ſo to lean upon Chriſt, that if he fail thee, thou ſinkeſt: it is to relye upon him alone for ſafety here, and Salvation hereafter. This, this is to ſecure a mans title to true Bleſſedneſs; and with this grave ſentence the Prophet ſhutteth up the whole Pſalm, ſhewing the different condition of the godly from the wicked. See the Note on verſ. 9.

We have, in these first three verses, a description of the hatred of human nature against the Christ of God. No better comment is needed upon it than the apostolic song in Acts 4:27, 28: "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." The Psalm begins abruptly with an angry interrogation; and well it may: it is surely but little to be wondered at, that the sight of creatures in arms against their God should amaze the psalmist's mind. We see the heathen raging, roaring like the sea, tossed to and fro with restless waves, as the ocean in a storm; and then we mark the people in their hearts imagining a vain thing against God. Where there is much rage there is generally some folly, and in this case there is an excess of it. Note, that the commotion is not caused by the people only, but their leaders foment the rebellion. "The kings of the earth set themselves." In determined malice they arrayed themselves in opposition against God. It was not temporary rage, but deep-seated hate, for they set themselves resolutely to withstand the Prince of Peace. "And the rulers take counsel together." They go about their warfare craftily, not with foolish haste, but deliberately. They use all the skill which art can give. Like Pharaoh, they cry, "Let us deal wisely with them." O that men were half as careful in God's service to serve him wisely, as his enemies are to attack his kingdom craftily. Sinners have their wits about them, and yet saints are dull. But what say they? what is the meaning of this commotion? "Let us break their bands asunder." "Let us be free to commit all manner of abominations. Let us be our own gods. Let us rid ourselves of all restraint." Gathering impudence by the traitorous proposition of rebellion, they add —"let us cast away;" as if it were an easy matter — "let us fling off 'their cords from us.'" What! O ye kings, do ye think yourselves Samsons? and are the bands of Omnipotence but as green withs before you? Do you dream that you shall snap to pieces and destroy the mandates of God —the decrees of the Most High —as if they were but tow? and do ye say, "Let us cast away their cords from us?" Yes! There are monarchs who have spoken thus, and there are still rebels upon thrones. However mad the resolution to revolt from God, it is one in which man has persevered ever since his creation, and he continues in it to this very day. The glorious reign of Jesus in the latter day will not be consummated, until a terrible struggle has convulsed the nations. His coming will be as a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap, and the day thereof shall burn as an oven. Earth loves not her rightful monarch, but clings to the usurper's sway: the terrible conflicts of the last days will illustrate both the world's love of sin and Jehovah's power to give the kingdom to his only Begotten. To a graceless neck the yoke of Christ is intolerable, but to the saved sinner it is easy and light. We may judge ourselves by this, do we love that yoke, or do we wish to cast it from us?

Let us now turn our eyes from the wicked counsel-chamber and raging tumult of man, to the secret place of the majesty of the Most High. What doth God say? What will the King do unto the men who reject his only-begotten Son, the Heir of all things?

Mark the quiet dignity of the Omnipotent One, and the contempt which he pours upon the princes and their raging people. He has not taken the trouble to rise up and do battle with them —he despises them, he knows how absurd, how irrational, how futile are their attempts against him —he therefore laughs at them.

After he has laughed he shall speak; he needs not smite; the breath of his lips is enough. At the moment when their power is at its height, and their fury most violent, then shall his Word go forth against them. And what is it that he says? —it is a very galling sentence — "Yet," says he, "despite your malice, despite your tumultuous gatherings, despite the wisdom of your counsels, despite the craft of your lawgivers, 'yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion'." Is not that a grand exclamation! He has already done that which the enemy seeks to prevent. While they are proposing, he has disposed the matter. Jehovah's will is done, and man's will frets and raves in vain. God's Anointed is appointed, and shall not be disappointed. Look back through all the ages of infidelity, hearken to the high and hard things which men have spoken against the Most High, listen to the rolling thunder of earth's volleys against the Majesty of heaven, and then think that God is saying all the while, "Yet have I set my kimg upon my holy hill of Zion." Yet Jesus reigns, yet he sees the travail of his soul, and "his unsuffering kingdom yet shall come" when he shall take unto himself his great power, and reign from the river unto the ends of the earth. Even now he reigns in Zion, and our glad lips sound forth the praises of the Prince of Peace. Greater conflicts may here be foretold, but we may be confident that victory will be given to our Lord and King. Glorious triumphs are yet to come; hasten them, we pray thee, O Lord! It is Zion's glory and joy that her King is in her, guarding her from foes, and filling her with good things. Jesus sits upon the throne of grace, and the throne of power in the midst of his church. In him is Zion's best safeguard; let her citizens be glad in him.

"Thy walls are strength, and at thy gates

A guard of heavenly warriors waits;

Nor shall thy deep foundations move,

Fixed on his counsels and his love.

Thy foes in vain designs engage;

Against his throne in vain they rage,

Like rising waves, with angry roar,

That dash and die upon the shore."

This Psalm wears something of a dramatic form, for now another person is introduced as speaking. We have looked into the council-chamber of the wicked, and to the throne of God, and now we behold the Anointed declaring his rights of sovereignty, and warning the traitors of their doom.

God has laughed at the counsel and ravings of the wicked, and now Christ the Anointed himself comes forward, as the Risen Redeemer, "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Romans 1:4. Looking into the angry faces of the rebellious kings, the Anointed One seems to say, "If this sufficeth not to make you silent, 'I will declare the decree'." Now this decree is directly in conflict with the device of man, for its tenour is the establishment of the very dominion against which the nations are raving. "Thou art my Son." Here is a noble proof of the glorious Divinity of our Immanuel. "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" What a mercy to have a Divine Redeemer in whom to rest our confidence! "This day have I begotten thee." If this refers to the Godhead of our Lord, let us not attempt to fathom it, for it is a great truth, a truth reverently to be received, but not irreverently to be scanned. It may be added, that if this relates to the Begotten One in his human nature, we must here also rejoice in the mystery, but not attempt to violate its sanctity by intrusive prying into the secrets of the Eternal God. The things which are revealed are enough, without venturing into vain speculations. In attempting to define the Trinity, or unveil the essence of Divinity, many men have lost themselves: here great ships have foundered. What have we to do in such a sea with our frail skiffs?

"Ask of me." It was a custom among great kings, to give to favoured ones whatever they might ask. (See Esther 5:6; Matthew 14:7.) So Jesus hath but to ask and have. Here he declares that his very enemies are his inheritance. To their face he declares this decree, and "Lo! here," cries the Anointed One, as he holds aloft in that once pierced hand the sceptre of his power, "He hath given me this, not only the right to be a king, but the power to conquer." Yes! Jehovah hath given to his Anointed a rod of iron with which he shall break rebellious nations in pieces, and, despite their imperial strength, they shall be but as potters' vessels, easily dashed into shivers, when the rod of iron is in the hand of the omnipotent Son of God. Those who will not bend must break. Potters' vessels are not to be restored if dashed in pieces, and the ruin of sinners will be hopeless if Jesus shall smite them.

"Ye sinners seek his grace,

Whose wrath ye cannot bear;

Fly to the shelter of his cross,

And find salvation there."

The scene again changes, and counsel is given to those who have taken counsel to rebel. They are exhorted to obey, and give the kiss of homage and affection to him whom they have hated. "Be wise." —It is always wise to be willing to be instructed, especially when such instruction tends to the salvation of the soul. "Be wise now, therefore;" delay no longer, but let good reason weigh with you. Your warfare cannot succeed, therefore desist and yield cheerfully to him who will make you bow if you refuse his yoke. O how wise, how infinitely wise is obedience to Jesus, and how dreadful is the folly of those who continue to be his enemies! "Serve the Lord with fear;" let reverence and humility be mingled with your service. He is a great God, and ye are but puny creatures; bend ye, therefore, in lowly worship, and let a filial fear mingle with all your obedience to the great Father of the Ages. "Rejoice with trembling," —There must ever be a holy fear mixed with the Christian's joy. This is a sacred compound, yielding a sweet smell, and we must see to it that we burn no other upon the altar. Fear, without joy, is torment; and joy, without holy fear, would be presumption. Mark the solemn argument for reconciliation and obedience. It is an awful thing to perish in the midst of sin, in the very way of rebellion; and yet how easily could his wrath destroy us suddenly. It needs not that his anger should be heated seven times hotter; let the fuel kindle but a little, and we are consumed. O sinner! Take heed of the terrors of the Lord; for "our God is a consuming fire." Note the benediction with which the Psalm closes: —"Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Have we a share in this blessedness? Do we trust in him? Our faith may be slender as a spider's thread; but if it be real, we are in our measure blessed. The more we trust, the more fully shall we know this blessedness. We may therefore close the Psalm with the prayer of the apostles: —"Lord, increase our faith."

The first Psalm was a contrast between the righteous man and the sinner; the second Psalm is a contrast between the tumultuous disobedience of the ungodly world and the sure exaltation of the righteous Son of God. In the first Psalm, we saw the wicked driven away like chaff; in the second Psalm we see them broken in pieces like a potter's vessel. In the first Psalm, we beheld the righteous like a tree planted by the rivers of water; and here, we contemplate Christ the Covenant Head of the righteous, made better than a tree planted by the rivers of water, for he is made king of all the islands, and all the heathen bow before him and kiss the dust; while he himself gives a blessing to all those who put their trust in him. The two Psalms are worthy of the very deepest attention; they are, in fact, the preface to the entire Book of Psalms, and were by some of the ancients, joined into one. They are, however, two Psalms; for Paul speaks of this as the second Psalm. (Acts 13:33.) The first shows us the character and lot of the righteous; and the next teaches us that the Psalms are Messianic, and speak of Christ the Messiah —the Prince who shall reign from the river even unto the ends of the earth. That they have both a far-reaching prophetic outlook we are well assured, but we do not feel competent to open up that matter, and must leave it to abler hands.

"Why do nations make a noise," tumultuate, or rage? The Hebrew verb is not expressive of an internal feeling, but of the outward agitation which denotes it. There may be an allusion to the rolling and roaring of the sea, often used as an emblem of popular commotion, both in the Scriptures and the classics. The past tense of this verb (Why have they raged?) refers to the commotion as already begun, while the future in the next clause expresses its continuance. J. A. Alexander, D.D., 1850.

"Rage." The word with which Paul renders this in the Greek denotes rage, pride, and restiveness, as of horses that neigh, and rush into the battle. 'Efruaxag, from Fruassw, to snort or neigh, properly applied to a high-mettled horse. See Acts 4:25.

"A vain thing." A medal was struck by Diocletian, which still remains, bearing the inscription, "The name of Christians being extinguished." And in Spain, two monumental pillars were raised, on which were written: —I. "Diocletian Jovian Maximian Herculeus Caesares Augusti, for having extended the Roman Empire in the east and the west, and for having extinguished the name of Christians, who brought the Republic to ruin." II. "Diocletian Jovian Maximian Herculeus Caesares Augusti, for having adopted Galerius in the east, for having everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ, for having extended the worship of the gods." As a modern writer has elegantly observed: "We have here a monument raised by Paganism, over the grave of its vanquished foe. But in this 'the people imagined a vain thing;' so far from being deceased, Christianity was on the eve of its final and permanent triumph, and the stone guarded a sepulchre empty as the urn which Electra washed with her tears. Neither in Spain, nor elsewhere, can be pointed out the burial place of Christianity; it is not, for the living have no tomb.'"

Herod, the fox, plotted against Christ, to hinder the course of his ministry and mediatorship, but he could not perform his enterprise; 'tis so all along, therefore it is said, "Why do the heathen imagine a vain thing?" A vain thing, because a thing successless, their hands could not perform it. It was vain, not only because there was no true ground of reason why they should imagine or do such a thing, but vain also because they laboured in vain, they could not do it, and therefore it follows, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." The Lord sees what fools they are, and men (yea, themselves) shall see it. The prophet gives us a elegant description to this purpose. Isaiah 59:5, 6. "They weave the spider's web . . . Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works." As if he had said, they have been devising and setting things in a goodly frame to catch flies; they have been spinning a fine thread out of their brains, as the spider doth out of her bowels; such is their web, but when they have their web they cannot cut it out, or make it up into a garment. They shall go naked and cold, notwithstanding all their spinning and weaving, all their plotting and devising. The next broom that comes will sweep away all their webs and the spiders too, except they creep apace. God loves and delights to cross worldly proverbs and worldly craft. Joseph Caryl, 1647.

The many had done their part, and now the mighty show themselves. John Trapp.

"They banded themselves against the Lord, and against his Anointed." But why did they band themselves against the Lord, or against his Anointed? What was their desire of him? To have his goods? No, he had none for himself; but they were richer than he. To have his liberty? Nay, that would not suffice them, for they had bound him before. To bring the people unto dislike of him? Nay, that would not serve them, for they had done so already, until even his disciples were fled from him. What would they have, then? his blood? Yea, "they took counsel," saith Matthew, "to put him to death." They had the devil's mind, which is not satisfied but with death. And how do they contrive it? He saith, "they took counsel about it." Henry Smith, 1578

"Against Jehovah and against his Anointed." What an honour it was to David to be thus publicly associated with Jehovah! And because he was HIS anointed, to be an object of hatred and scorn to the ungodly world! If this very circumstance fearfully augmented the guilt, and sealed the doom of these infatuated heathen, surely it was that which above everything else would preserve the mind of David calm and serene, yea, peaceful and joyful notwithstanding the proud and boastful vauntiness of his enemies. . . .When writing this Psalm David was like a man in a storm, who hears only the roaring of the tempest, or sees nothing but the raging billows threatening destruction on every side of him. And yet his faith enabled him to say, "The people imagine a vain thing." They cannot succeed. They cannot defeat the counsels of heaven. They cannot injure the Lord's Anointed. David Pitcairn, 1851.

Resolved they were to run riot, as lawless, and aweless, and therefore they slander the sweet laws of Christ's kingdom as bonds and thick cords, which are signs of slavery. Jeremiah 27: 2, 6, 7. But what saith our Saviour? "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." It is no more burden to a regenerate man than wings to a bird. The law of Christ is no more as bands and cords, but as girdles and garters which gird up his loins and expedite his course. John Trapp.

"He that sitteth in the heavens." Hereby it is clearly intimated, (1) that the Lord is far above all their malice and power, (2) that he seeth all their plots, looking down on all; (3) that he is of omnipotent power, and so can do with his enemies as he lists. "Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he pleased." Psalm 115:3. Arthur Jackson, 1643.

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh," etc. Sinners' follies are the just sport of God's infinite wisdom and power; and those attempts of the kingdom of Satan, which in our eyes are formidable, in his are despicable. Matthew Henry.

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh." They scoff at us, God laughs at them. Laugh? This seems a hard word at the first view: are the injuries of his saints, the cruelties of their enemies, the derision, the persecution of all that are round about us, no more but matter of laughter? Severe Cato thought that laughter did not become the gravity of Roman consuls; that it is a diminution of states, as another told princes, and it is attributed to the Majesty of heaven? According to our capacities, the prophet describes God, as ourselves would be in a merry disposition, deriding vain attempts. He laughs, but it is in scorn; he scorns, but it is with vengeance. Pharaoh imagined that by drowning the Israelite males, he had found a way to root their name from the earth; but when at the same time, his own daughter, in his own court gave princely education to Moses, their deliverer, did not God Laugh?

Short is the joy of the wicked. Is Dagon put up to his place again? God's smile shall take off his head and his hands, and leave him neither wit to guide nor power to subsist. . . . . We may not judge of God's works until the fifth act: the case, deplorable and desperate in outward appearance, may with one smile from heaven find a blessed issue. He permitted his temple to be sacked and rifled, the holy vessels to be profaned and caroused in; but did not God's smile make Belshazzar to tremble at the handwriting on the wall? Oh, what are his frowns, if his smiles be so terrible! Thomas Adams.

The expression, "He that sitteth in the heavens," at once fixes our thoughts on a being infinitely exalted above man, who is of the earth, earthy. And when it is said, "HE shall laugh," this word is designed to convey to our minds the idea, that the greatest confederacies amongst kings and peoples, and their most extensive and vigorous preparations, to defeat HIS purposes or to injure HIS servants, are in HIS sight altogether insignificant and worthless. HE looks upon their poor and puny efforts, not only without uneasiness or fear, but HE laughs at their folly; HE treats their impotency with derision. He knows how HE can crush them like a moth when HE pleases, or consume them in a moment with the breath of HIS mouth. How profitable it is for us to be reminded of truths such as these! Ah! it is indeed "a vain thing" for the potsherds of the earth to strive with the glorious Majesty of Heaven. David Pitcairn.

"The Lord," in Hebrew, Adonai, mystically signifieth my stays, or my sustainers —my pillars. Our English word "Lord" hath much the same force, being contracted of the old Saxon word "Llaford," or "Hlafford," which cometh from "Laef," to sustain, refresh, cherish. Henry Ainsworth.

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh at them: the Lord shall have them in derision." This tautology or repetition of the same thing, which is frequent in the Scriptures, is a sign of the thing being established: according to the authority of the patriarch Joseph (Genesis 41:32), where, having interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh, he said, "and for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass." And therefore, here also, "shall laugh at them," and "shall have them in derision," is a repetition to show that there is not a doubt to be entertained that all these things will most surely come to pass. And the gracious Spirit does all this for our comfort and consolation, that we may not faint under temptation, but lift up our heads with the most certain hope; because, "he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Hebrews 10:37. Martin Luther.

"Vex them;" either by horror of conscience, or corporal plagues; one way or the other he will have his pennyworths of them, as he always has had the persecutors of his people. John Trapp.

It is easy for God to destroy his foes. . . . . Behold Pharaoh, his wise men, his hosts, and his horses plouting and plunging, and sinking like lead in the Red sea. Here is the end of one of the greatest plots ever formed against God's chosen. Of thirty Roman emperors, governors of provinces, and others high in office, who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily deranged after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, one became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, one died in a miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room, two committed suicide, a third attempted it, but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assassinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, several of them having an untold complication of diseases, and eight were killed in battle, or after being taken prisoners. Among these was Julian the apostate. In the days of his prosperity he is said to have pointed his dagger to heaven defying the Son of God, whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle, he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered up his clotted blood, and threw it into the air, exclaiming, "Thou hast conquered, O thou Galilean." Voltaire has told us of the agonies of Charles IX. of France, which drove the blood through the pores of the skin of that miserable monarch, after his cruelties and treachery to the Hugenots. William S. Plumer, D.D., L.L.D., 1867.

It is easy for God to destroy his foes. . . . . Behold Pharaoh, his wise men, his hosts, and his horses plouting and plunging, and sinking like lead in the Red sea. Here is the end of one of the greatest plots ever formed against God's chosen. Of thirty Roman emperors, governors of provinces, and others high in office, who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily deranged after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, one became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, one died in a miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room, two committed suicide, a third attempted it, but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assassinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, several of them having an untold complication of diseases, and eight were killed in battle, or after being taken prisoners. Among these was Julian the apostate. In the days of his prosperity he is said to have pointed his dagger to heaven defying the Son of God, whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle, he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered up his clotted blood, and threw it into the air, exclaiming, "Thou hast conquered, O thou Galilean." Voltaire has told us of the agonies of Charles IX. of France, which drove the blood through the pores of the skin of that miserable monarch, after his cruelties and treachery to the Hugenots. William S. Plumer, D.D., L.L.D., 1867.

"Yet have I set my King." Notice —1. The royal office and character of our glorious Redeemer: he is a King, "This name he hath on his vesture and on his thigh." Revelation 19:16. 2. The authority by which he reigns; he is "my King," says God the Father, and I have set him up from everlasting: "The Father judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." The world disowns his authority, but I own it; I have set him, I have "given him to be head over all things to the church." 3. His particular kingdom over which he rules; it is over "my holy hill of Zion" — an eminent type of the gospel church. The temple was built upon Mount Zion and therefore called a holy hill. Christ's throne is in his church, it is his head-quarters, and the place of his peculiar residence. Notice the firmness of the divine purpose with respect unto this matter. "Yet have I set" him "King;" i.e., whatever be the plots of hell and earth to the contrary, he reigns by his Father's ordination. Stephen Charnock, 1628-1680.

"Yet have I set my KING," etc. —Jesus Christ is a threefold King. First, his enemies' King; secondly, his saints' King; thirdly, his Father's King. First, Christ is his enemies' King, that is, he is King over his enemies. Christ is a King above all kings. What are all the mighty men, the great, the honourable men of the earth to Jesus Christ? They are but like a little bubble in the water; for if all the nations, in comparison to God, be but as the drop of the bucket, or the dust of the balance, as the prophet speaks in Isaiah 40:15, how little then must be the kings of the earth! Nay, beloved, Christ Jesus is not only higher than kings, but he is higher than the angels; yea, he is the head of angels, and, therefore, all the angels in heaven are commanded to worship him. Colossians 2:12; Hebrews 1:6. . . . . He is King over all kingdoms, over all nations, over all governments, over all powers, over all people. Daniel 7:14. . . . . The very heathen are given to Christ, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. Psalm 2:8. Secondly. Jesus Christ is his saints' King. He is King of the bad, and of the good; but as for the wicked, he rules over them by his power and might; but the saints, he rules in them by his Spirit and graces. Oh! this is Christ's spiritual kingdom, and here he rules in the hearts of his people, here he rules over their consciences, over their wills, over their affections, over their judgments and understandings, and nobody hath anything to do here but Christ. Christ is not only the King of nations, but the King of saints; the one he rules over, the other he rules in. Thirdly. Jesus Christ is his Father's King too, and so his Father calls him: "I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion." Well may he be our King, when he is God's King. But you may say, how is Christ the Father's King? Because he rules for his Father. There is a twofold kingdom of God committed to Jesus Christ; first, a spiritual kingdom, by which he rules in the hearts of his people, and so is King of saints; and, secondly, a providential kingdom, by which he rules the affairs of this world, and so he is King of nations. Condensed from William Dyer's Christ's Famous Titles, 1665.

"Zion." The name "Zion" signifies a "distant view" (speculam). And the church is called "a distant view" (specula), not only because it views God and heavenly things by faith (that is, afar off), being wise unto the things that are above, not unto those that are of the earth; but also, because there are within her true viewers, or seers, and watchmen in the spirit, whose office is to take charge of the people under them, and to watch against the snares of enemies and sins; and such are called in the Greek bishops (episkopoi), that is, spyers or seers; and you may for the same reason give them, from the Hebrew, the appellation of Zionists or Zioners. Martin Luther.

The dispute concerning the eternal filiation of our Lord betrays more of presumptuous curiosity than of reverent faith. It is an attempt to explain where it is far better to adore. We could give rival expositions of this verse, but we forbear. The controversy is one of the most unprofitable which ever engaged the pens of theologians. C. H. S.

"Ask of me." The priesthood doth not appear to be settled upon Christ by any other expression than this, "Ask of me." The Psalm speaks of his investiture in his kingly office; the apostle refers this to his priesthood, his commission for both took date at the same time; both bestowed, both confirmed by the same authority. The office of asking is grounded upon the same authority as the honour of king. Ruling belonged to his royal office, asking to his priestly. After his resurrection, the Father gives him a power and command of asking. Stephen Charnock.

As the limner looks on the person whose picture he would take, and draws his lines to answer him with the nearest similitude that he can, so God looks on Christ as the archtype to which he will conform the saint, in suffering, in grace, in glory; yet so that Christ hath the pre-eminence in all. Every saint must suffer, because Christ suffered: Christ must not have a delicate body under a crucified head; yet never any suffered, or could, what he endured. Christ is holy, and therefore so shall every saint be, but in an inferior degree; an image cut in clay cannot be so exact as that engraved on gold. Now, our conformity to Christ appears, that as the promises made to him were performed upon his prayers to his Father, his promises made to his saints are given to them in the same way of prayer: "Ask of me," saith God to his Son, "and I shall give thee." And the apostle tells us, "Ye have not, because ye ask not." God hath promised support to Christ in all his conflicts. Isaiah 42:1. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold;" yet he prayed "with strong cries and tears," when his feet stood within the shadow of death. A seed is promised to him, and victory over his enemies, yet for both these he prays. Christ toward us acts as a king, but toward his Father as a priest. All he speaks to God is by prayer and intercession. So the saints, the promise makes them kings over their lusts, conquerors over their enemies; but it makes them priests toward God, by prayer humbly to sue out these great things given in the promise. William Gurnall, 1617-1679.

It will be observed in our Bible that two words of verse eight are in italics, intimating that they are not translations of the Hebrew, but additions made for the purpose of elucidating the meaning. Now if the "thee" and the "for" are left out, the verse will read thus, "Ask of me, and I shall give the heathen, thine inheritance, and thy possession, the uttermost parts of the earth." And this reading is decidedly preferable to the other. It implies that by some previous arrangement on the part of God, he had already assigned an inheritance of the heathen, and the possession of the earth, to the person of whom he says, "Thou art my Son." And when God says, "I will give," etc., he reveals to his Anointed, not so much in what the inheritance consisted, and what was the extent of possession destined for him, as the promise of his readiness to bestow it. The heathen were already "the inheritance," and the ends of the earth "the possession," which God had purposed to give to his Anointed. Now he says to him, "Ask of me," and he promises to fulfil his purpose. This is the idea involved in the words of the text, and the importance of it will become more apparent, when we consider its application to the spiritual David, to the true Son of God, "whom he hath appointed heir of all things."

The "rod" has a variety of meanings in Scripture. It might be of different materials, as it was employed for different purposes. At an early period, a wooden rod came into use as one of the insignia of royalty, under the name of sceptre. By degrees the sceptre grew in importance, and was regarded as characteristic of an empire, or of the reign of some particular king. A golden sceptre denoted wealth and pomp. The right, or straight sceptre, of which we read in Psalm 45:6, is expressive of the justice and uprightness, the truth and equity, which shall distinguish Messiah's reign, after his kingdom on earth has been established. But when it is said in Revelation 19:15, that he, "whose name is called the Word of God," will smite the nations, and "rule them with a rod of iron," if the rod signifies "his sceptre," then the "iron" of which it is made must be designed to express the severity of the judgments which the omnipotent "King of kings" will inflict on all who resist his authority. But to me it appears doubtful whether the "rod of iron" symbolises the royal sceptre of the Son of God at his second advent. It is mentioned in connection with "a sharp sword," which leads me to prefer the opinion that it also ought to be regarded as a weapon of war; at all events, the "rod of iron" mentioned in the Psalm we are endeavouring to explain. is evidently not the emblem of sovereign power, although represented as in the hands of a king, but an instrument of correction and punishment. In this sense the word "rod" is often used. . . . .When the correcting rod, which usually was a wand or cane, is represented as in this second Psalm, to be of "iron," it only indicates how weighty, how severe, how effectual the threatened chastisement will be —it will not merely bruise, but it will break. "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron."

Now it is just such a complete breaking as would not readily be effected excepting by an iron rod, that is more fully expressed in the following clause of the verse, "Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." The completeness of the destruction, however, depends on two things. Even an iron rod, if gently used, or used against a hard and firm substance, might cause little injury; but, in the case before us, it is supposed to be applied with great force, "Thou shalt dash them;" and it is applied to what will prove as brittle and frangible as "a potter's vessel" — "Thou shalt dash them in pieces." . . . . Here, as in other respects, we must feel that the predictions and promises of this Psalm were but very partially fulfilled in the history of the literal David. Their real accomplishment, their awful completion, abides the day when the spiritual David shall come in glory and in majesty as Zion's King, with a rod of iron to dash in pieces the great antichristian confederacy of kings and peoples, and to take possession of his long-promised and dearly-purchased inheritance. And the signs of the times seem to indicate that the coming of the Lord draws nigh. David Pitcairn.

"Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings," etc. As Jesus is King of kings and Judge of judges, so the gospel is the teacher of the greatest and wisest. If any are so great as to spurn its admonitions, God will make little of them; and if they are so wise as to despise its teachings, their fancied wisdom shall make fools of them. The gospel takes a high tone before the rulers of the earth, and they who preach it should, like Knox and Melvill, magnify their office by bold rebukes and manly utterances even in the royal presence. A clerical sycophant is only fit to be a scullion in the devil's kitchen. C. H. S.

"Serve the Lord with fear." This fear of God qualifies our joy. If you abstract fear from joy, joy will become light and wanton; and if you abstract joy from fear, fear then will become slavish. William Bates, D.D., 1625-1699.

"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." There are two kinds of serving and rejoicing in God. First, a serving in security, and a rejoicing in the Lord without fear; these are peculiar to hypocrites, who are secure, who please themselves, and who appear to themselves to be not unuseful servants, and to have great merit on their side, concerning whom it is said (Psalm 10:5), "Thy judgments are far above out of his sight;" and also afterwards (Psalm 36:1), "There is no fear of God before his eyes." These do righteousness without judgment at all times; and permit not Christ to be the Judge to be feared by all, in whose sight no man living is justified. Secondly, a serving with fear and a rejoicing with trembling; these are peculiar to the righteous who do righteousnesses at all times, and always rightly attemper both; never being without judgments, on the one hand, by which they are terrified and brought to despair of themselves and of all their own works; nor without that righteousness on the other, on which they rest, and in which they rejoice in the mercy of God. It is the work of the whole lives of these characters to accuse themselves in all things, and in all things to justify and praise God. And thus they fulfil that word of Proverbs 28:14, "Blessed is the man that feareth alway;" and also that of Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord alway." Thus, between the upper and nether millstone (Deuteronomy 24:6), they are broken in pieces and humbled, and the husks being thus bruised off, they come forth the all-pure wheat of Christ. Martin Luther.

The fear of God promotes spiritual joy; it is the morning star which ushers in the sunlight of comfort. "Walking in the fear of God, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost." God mingles joy with fear, that fear may not be slavish. Thomas Watson, 1660.

"Kiss," a sign of love among equals: Genesis 33:4; 1 Samuel 20:41; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20. Of subjection in inferiors: 1 Samuel 10:1. Of religious adoration in worshippers: 1 Kings 19:18; Job 31:27. John Richardson, Bishop of Ardagh, 1655.

"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry." From the Person, the Son, we shall pass to the act (Osculamini, kiss the Son); in which we shall see, that since this is an act which licentious men have depraved (carnal men do it, and treacherous men do it —Judas betrayed his Master by a kiss), and yet God commands this, and expresses love in this; everything that hath, or may be abused, must not therefore be abandoned; the turning of a thing out of the way, is not a taking of that thing away, but good things deflected to ill uses by some, may be by others reduced to their first goodness. Then let us consider and magnify the goodness of God, that hath brought us into this distance, that we may kiss the Son, that the expressing of this love lies in our hands, and that, whereas the love of the church, in the Old Testament, even in the Canticle, went no farther but to the Osculator me (O that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! Canticles 1:1), now, in the Christian church, and in the visitation of a Christian soul, he hath invited us, enables us to kiss him, for he is presentially amongst us. This leads us to give an earnest persuasion and exhortation to kiss the Son, with all those affections, which we shall there find to be expressed in the Scriptures, in that testimony of true love, a holy kiss. But then, lest that persuasion by love should not be effectual and powerful enough to us, we shall descend from that duty, to the danger, from love, to fear, "lest he be angry;" and therein see first, that God, who is love, can be angry; and then, that this God who is angry here, is the Son of God, he that hath done so much for us, and therefore in justice may be angry; he that is our Judge, and therefore in reason we are to fear his anger: and then, in a third branch, we shall see how easily this anger departs —a kiss removes it.

"Kiss the Son." That is, embrace him, depend upon him all these ways: as thy kinsman, as thy sovereign; at thy going, at thy coming; at thy reconciliation, in the truth of religion in thyself, in a peaceable unity with the church, in a reverent estimation of those men, and those means, whom he sends. Kiss him, and be not ashamed of kissing him; it is that which the spouse desired, "I would kiss thee, and not be despised." Canticles 7:1. If thou be despised for loving Christ in his Gospel, remember that when David was thought base, for dancing before the ark, his way was to be more base. If thou be thought frivolous for thrusting in at service, in the forenoon, be more frivolous, and come again in the afternoon: "Tanto major requies, quanto ab amore Jesu nulla requies;" (Gregory) "The more thou troublest thyself, or art troubled by others for Christ, the more peace thou hast in Christ." . . . . "Lest he be angry." Anger, as it is a passion that troubles, and disorders, and discomposes a man, so it is not in God; but anger, as it is a sensible discerning of foes from friends, and of things that conduce, or disconduce to his glory, so it is in God. In a word, Hilary hath expressed it well: "Poena patientis, ira decernentis;" "Man's suffering is God's anger." When God inflicts such punishments as a king justly incensed would do, then God is thus angry. Now here, our case is heavier; it is not this great, and almighty, and majestical God, that may be angry —that is like enough; but even the Son, whom we must kiss, may be angry; it is not a person whom we consider merely as God, but as man; may not as man neither, but a a worm, and no man, and he may be angry, and angry to our ruin. . . . "Kiss the Son," and he will not be angry; if he be, kiss the rod, and he will be angry no longer —love him lest he be: fear him when he is angry: the preservative is easy, and so is the restorative too: the balsamum of this kiss is all, to suck spiritual milk out of the left breast, as well as out of the right, to find mercy in his judgments, reparation in his ruins, feasts in his lents, joy in his anger. From Sermons of John Donne, D.D., Dean of St. Paul's, 1621-1631.

"Kiss the Son." To make peace with the Father, kiss the Son. "Let him kiss me," was the church's prayer. Canticles 1:2. Let us kiss him — that be our endeavour. Indeed, the Son must first kiss us by his mercy, before we can kiss him by our piety. Lord, grant in these mutual kisses and interchangeable embraces now, that we may come to the plenary wedding supper hereafter; when the choir of heaven, even the voices of angels, shall sing epithalamiums, nupital songs, at the bridal of the spouse of the Lamb. Thomas Adams.

"If his wrath be kindled but a little;" the Hebrew is, if his nose or nostril be kindled but a little; the nostril, being an organ of the body in which wrath shows itself, is put for wrath itself. Paleness and snuffling of the nose are symptoms of anger. In our proverbials, to take a thing in snuff, is to take it in anger. Joseph Caryl.

"His wrath." Unspeakable must the wrath of God be when it is kindled fully, since perdition may come upon the kindling of it but a little. John Newton.

HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER Whole Psalm. Shows us the nature of sin, and the terrible results of it if it could reign.

Nothing is more irrational than irreligion. A weighty theme.

The reasons why sinners rebel against God, stated, refuted, lamented, and repented of.

The crowning display of human sin in man's hatred of the Mediator.

Verses 1 and 2. Opposition to the gospel, unreasonable and ineffectual. Two sermons by John Newton.

Verses 1 and 2. These verses show that all trust in man in the service of God is vain. Inasmuch as men oppose Christ, it is not good to hang our trust upon the multitude for their number, the earnest for their zeal, the mighty for their countenance, or the wise for their counsel, since all these are far oftener against Christ than for him.

"Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 495, "The Greatest Trial on Record."

The true reason of the opposition of sinners to Christ's truth, viz.: their hatred of the restraints of godliness.

God's derision of the rebellious, both now and hereafter.

The voice of wrath. One of a series of sermons upon the voices of the divine attributes.

Christ's Sovereignty.

1. The opposition to it: "yet."

2. The certainty of its existence: "Yet have I set."

3. The power which maintains it: "have I set."

4. The place of its manifestation: "my holy hill of Zion."

5. The blessings flowing from it.

The divine decree concerning Christ, in connection with the decrees of election and providence. The Sonship of Jesus.

This verse teaches us faithfully to declare, and humbly to claim, the gifts and calling that God hath bestowed upon us. Thomas Wilcocks.

Christ's inheritance. William Jay.

Prayer indispensable. —Jesus must ask.

The ruin of the wicked. Certain, irresistible, terrible, complete, irretrievable, "like a potter's vessel." The destruction of systems of error and oppression to be expected. The gospel an iron rod quite able to break mere pots of man's making.

True wisdom, fit for kings and judges, lies in obeying Christ.

The gospel, a school for those who would learn how to rule and judge well. They may consider its principles, its exemplar, its spirit, etc.

Mingled experience. See the case of the women returning from the sepulchre. Matthew 28:8. This may be rendered a very comforting subject, if the Holy Spirit direct the mind of the preacher.

True religion, a compound of many virtues and emotions.

An earnest invitation.

1. The command.

2. The argument.

3. The benediction upon the obedient. "Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 260. Last clause. —Nature, object, and blessedness of saving faith.