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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM II.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
As the foregoing psalm was moral, and showed us our duty, so this is
evangelical, and shows us our Saviour. Under the type of David's
kingdom (which was of divine appointment, met with much opposition, but
prevailed at last) the kingdom of the Messiah, the Son of David, is
prophesied of, which is the primary intention and scope of the psalm;
and I think there is less in it of the type, and more of the anti-type,
than in any of the gospel psalms, for there is nothing in it but what
is applicable to Christ, but some things that are not at all applicable
to David
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>):
"Thou art my Son"
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:8">ver. 8</A>),
"I will give thee the uttermost parts of the earth," and
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:12">ver. 12</A>),
"Kiss the Son." It is interpreted of Christ
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Acts+4:24,13:33,Heb+1:5">Acts iv. 24; xiii. 33;
Heb. i. 5</A>.
The Holy Ghost here foretels,
I. The opposition that should be given to the kingdom of the Messiah,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
II. The baffling and chastising of that opposition,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
III. The setting up of the kingdom of Christ, notwithstanding that
opposition,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:6">ver. 6</A>.
IV. The confirmation and establishment of it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:7">ver. 7</A>.
V. A promise of the enlargement and success of it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>.
VI. A call and exhortation to kings and princes to yield themselves the
willing subjects of this kingdom,,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:10-12">ver. 10-12</A>.
Or thus: We have here,
I. Threatenings denounced against the adversaries of Christ's kingdom,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
II. Promises made to Christ himself, the head of this kingdom,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:7-9">ver. 7-9</A>.
III. Counsel given to all to espouse the interests of this kingdom,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:10-12">ver. 10-12</A>.
This psalm, as the former, is very fitly prefixed to this book of
devotions, because, as it is necessary to our acceptance with God that
we should be subject to the precepts of his law, so it is likewise that
we should be subject to the grace of his gospel, and come to him in the
name of a Mediator.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Ps2_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Enemies of Messiah.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
&nbsp; 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together, against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and against his anointed,
<I>saying,</I>
&nbsp; 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords
from us.
&nbsp; 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall
have them in derision.
&nbsp; 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in
his sore displeasure.
&nbsp; 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>the prince of the power of the</I>
very <I>air</I> we breathe in and <I>the god of the world</I> 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,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The mighty opposition that would be given to the Messiah and his
kingdom, to his holy religion and all the interests of it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-3"><I>v.</I> 1-3</A>.
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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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
<I>heathen,</I> the <I>people,</I> 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 <I>heathen,</I> 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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+4:27">Acts iv. 27</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. Who it is that they quarrel with, and muster up all their forces
against; it is <I>against the Lord and against his anointed,</I> 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 <I>have hated both me
and my Father,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+15:24">John xv. 24</A>.
The great author of our holy religion is here called <I>the Lord's
anointed,</I> or <I>Messiah,</I> or <I>Christ,</I> 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,
<I>therefore</I> 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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. The opposition they give is here described.
(1.) It is a most spiteful and malicious opposition. They <I>rage</I>
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
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+13:14,Joh+11:47,Ac+5:17,33,19:28">Luke xiii. 14;
John xi. 47; Acts v. 17, 33; xix. 28</A>.
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 <I>imagine</I> 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 <I>set
themselves,</I> 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 <I>take counsel
together,</I> to assist and animate one another in this opposition;
they carry their resolutions <I>nemine contradicente--unanimously,</I>
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:5">Ps. lxxxiii. 5</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
4. We are here told what it is they are exasperated at and what they
aim at in this opposition
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
<I>Let us break their bands asunder.</I> 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 <I>they will not have this man to reign over them,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+19:14">Luke xix. 14</A>.
Christ has <I>bands and cords</I>
for us; those that will be saved by him must be ruled by him; but they
are <I>cords of a man,</I> agreeable to right reason, and <I>bands of
love,</I> 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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
5. They are here reasoned with concerning it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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 <I>a
vain thing;</I> when they have done their worst Christ will have a
church in the world and that church shall be glorious and triumphant.
It is <I>built upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.</I> The moon walks in brightness, though the dogs bark at
it.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>sits in the
heavens,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+29:10">Ps. xxix. 10</A>.
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,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The attempts of Christ's enemies are easily ridiculed. God
<I>laughs</I> at them as a company of fools. He <I>has them,</I> and
all their attempts, <I>in derision,</I> and therefore <I>the virgin,
the daughter of Zion, has despised them,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+37:22">Isa. xxxvii. 22</A>.
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
<I>awake,</I> and <I>arise,</I> and <I>stir up himself,</I> for the
vanquishing of his enemies; here is said to <I>sit still</I> and
vanquish them; for the utmost operations of God's omnipotence create no
difficulty at all, nor the least disturbance to his eternal rest.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. They are justly punished,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:4,2Th+2:8">Isa. xi. 4; 2 Thess. ii. 8</A>.
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. <I>Who knows the
power of his anger?</I> 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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. They are certainly defeated, and all their counsels turned headlong
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
<I>Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.</I> 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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:6">2 Sam. v. 6</A>.
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 <I>his</I> 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>I have set him;</I> 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>I
have set him,</I> I have settled him."
(5.) He is set upon <I>Zion,</I> 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 <I>holy.</I> 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 <I>go
forth from Zion</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:3,Mic+4:2">Isa. ii. 3, Mic. iv. 2</A>),
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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We are to sing
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-6">these verses</A>
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, <I>Thy kingdom come;</I> let thy Son's kingdom
come."</P>
<A NAME="Ps2_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Triumphs of Messiah.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 I will declare the decree: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath said unto me, Thou
<I>art</I> my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
&nbsp; 8 Ask of me, and I shall give <I>thee</I> the heathen <I>for</I> thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth <I>for</I> thy
possession.
&nbsp; 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash
them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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 <I>precept</I> or <I>statute</I>
(so some read it), the <I>covenant</I> or <I>compact</I> (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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:3">Ps. lxxxix. 3</A>.
This our Lord Jesus often referred to as that which, all along in his
undertaking, he governed himself by; <I>This is the will of him that
sent me,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+6:40">John vi. 40</A>.
<I>This commandment have I received of my Father,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+10:18,14:31">John x. 18; xiv. 31</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:18">John i. 18</A>.
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
<I>Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.</I> This scripture
the apostle quotes
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+1:5">Heb. i. 5</A>)
to prove that Christ has a more excellent name than the angels, but
that he <I>obtained it by inheritance,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
He is the Son of God, not by adoption, but his begotten Son, the only
begotten of the Father,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:14">John i. 14</A>.
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 <I>one with the Father</I> and was
<I>from eternity by him as one brought up with him,</I> thoroughly
apprized of all his counsels,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+8:30">Prov. viii. 30</A>.
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 <I>the Father loveth the Son he hath given all
things into his hand,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:35,5:20">John iii. 35; v. 20</A>.
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, "<I>Thou art my Son,</I>" 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: <I>This day have I begotten thee,</I> which
refers both to his eternal generation itself, for it is quoted
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+1:5">Heb. i. 5</A>)
to prove that he is the <I>brightness of his Father's glory and the
express image of his person</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:33">Acts xiii. 33</A>.
<I>He hath raised up Jesus again, as it is written, Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee.</I> 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 <I>declared to be the Son of God with
power,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:4">Rom. i. 4</A>.
Christ is said to be the <I>first-begotten</I> and <I>first-born from
the dead,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:5,Col+1:18">Rev. i. 5; Col. i. 18</A>.
Immediately after his resurrection he entered upon the administration
of his mediatorial kingdom; it was then that he said, <I>All power is
given unto me,</I> and to that especially he had an eye when he taught
his disciples to pray, <I>Thy kingdom come.</I>
2. A title by agreement,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
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
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:12">Isa. liii. 12</A>,
<I>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,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+6:13">Zech. vi. 13</A>.
(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
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:4,5">John xvii. 4, 5</A>.
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 <I>the
heathen</I> for his inheritance, not the Jews only, to whose nation the
church had been long confined, but the Gentiles also. Those in <I>the
uttermost parts of the earth</I> (as this nation of ours) shall be his
<I>possession,</I> 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 <I>the
kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his
Christ,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:15">Rev. xi. 15</A>.
<I>Who shall live when God doeth this?</I>
[2.] That it shall be victorious: <I>Thou shalt break them</I> (those
of them that oppose thy kingdom) <I>with a rod of iron,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:40">Dan. ii. 40</A>)
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+15:24,Ps+110:5,6">1 Cor. xv. 24; Ps. cx. 5, 6</A>.
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
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+2:27">Rev. ii. 27</A>.
"Thou shalt do it, that is, thou shalt have <I>leave</I> to do it."
Nations shall be ruined, rather than the gospel church shall not be
built and established. <I>I have loved thee, therefore will I give men
for thee,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+43:4">Isa. xliii. 4</A>.
"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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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.</P>
<A NAME="Ps2_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Ps2_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Warning to the Enemies of Messiah.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges
of the earth.
&nbsp; 11 Serve the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
&nbsp; 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish <I>from</I> the
way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed <I>are</I> all
they that put their trust in him.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
We are exhorted,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. To reverence God and to stand in awe of him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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 <I>with fear and trembling,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+2:12">Phil. ii. 12</A>.
We ought to rejoice in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, but to
<I>rejoice with trembling,</I> 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
<I>rejoice with trembling is to rejoice as though we rejoiced not,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:30">1 Cor. vii. 30</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. To welcome Jesus Christ and to submit to him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. The command given to this purport: <I>Kiss the Son.</I> Christ is
called the <I>Son</I> because so he was declared
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
<I>Thou art my Son.</I> He is the Son of God by eternal generation,
and, upon that account, he is to be adored by us. He is the <I>Son of
man</I> (that is, the Mediator,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+5:27">John v. 27</A>),
and, upon that account, to be received and submitted to. He is called
the <I>Son,</I> to include both, as God is often called emphatically
the <I>Father,</I> 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:
<I>Kiss the Son,</I> 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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+19:18,Ho+13:2">1 Kings xix. 18; Hos. xiii. 2</A>.
Let us study how to do honour to the Lord Jesus, and to give unto him
the glory due unto his name. <I>He is thy Lord, and worship thou
him,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:1">Ps. xlv. 11</A>.
We must <I>worship the Lamb,</I> as well as him that sits on the
throne,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+5:9-13">Rev. v. 9-13</A>.
(3.) With a kiss of affection and sincere love: "<I>Kiss the Son;</I>
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,"
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+7:38">Luke vii. 38</A>.
(4.) With a kiss of allegiance and loyalty, as Samuel kissed Saul,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+10:1">1 Sam. x. 1</A>.
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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) The certain ruin we run upon if we refuse and reject Christ:
"<I>Kiss the Son;</I> for it is at your peril if you do not."
[1.] "It will be a great provocation to him. Do it, <I>lest he be
angry.</I>" The Father is angry already; the Son is the Mediator that
undertakes to make peace; if we slight him, the <I>Father's wrath
abides upon us</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:36">John iii. 36</A>),
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+6:16">Rev. vi. 16</A>.
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: <I>Lest you perish
from the way,</I> or <I>in</I> the way so some, <I>in</I> the way of
your sins, and <I>from</I> the way of your vain hopes; <I>lest your way
perish</I> (as
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:6">Ps. i. 6</A>),
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.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) The happiness we are sure of if we yield ourselves to Christ. When
his wrath is kindled, though <I>but a little,</I> 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
<I>blessed are all those,</I> and those only, <I>that trust in
him.</I>"</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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. <I>We are the circumcision, that rejoice in
Christ Jesus.</I></P>
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