The King of Zion, the Messiah—Eternal King. Tyrants, Come to Your Senses!
This psalm is composed in the form of a dialogue; the speakers are not designated by name, but the content and structure of the speech easily point them out—as in the Song of Songs and in other cases.
1) The Prophet marvels at the audacity and folly of rulers and peoples who rise up against God and His Messiah (verses 1–3); 2) he foretells their shame and the wrath of God upon them (verses 4–6). And just as in the first part he first pointed out the raging of God’s enemies, then quoted, as it were, their words—so here he first points to the scornful and wrathful regard of the Heavenly Father upon them (verses 4–5), and then introduces His speech as it were (verse 6); 3) the Son, the Messiah, takes up the Father’s words (verses 7–9); 4) finally, the Prophet—or the Spirit of God through the Prophet’s lips—gives saving instruction to earthly rulers (verses 10–12).
The psalm is prophetic concerning the Messiah. From it words are cited in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:33): You are My Son, today I have begotten You; and others (Acts 4:25).
Verse 1. Why did the nations rage, and the peoples devise vain things?
Why? The question does not mean that the Psalmist, as one who does not know, wished only to elicit from God’s enemies the cause or pretext for their opposition; rather he is in the extreme of amazement and indignation at them, mourns the perverseness of these people, and condemns their profound folly. But at the same time he presignifies that their insolence is groundless and fruitlessly powerless. He asks, as it were: to what end these assemblies? These deliberations? These schemes? The Prophet, moved by the Spirit of God, had long been absorbed in reflection upon the Messiah’s coming Kingdom and the goods God would bestow on the human race within it. To this consoling vision was joined the foreseeing of the hostility of Jews and pagans toward Him. Having foreseen all the nations rising in hostility against Christ the Lord (a survey of all the persecutions may indeed leave just such an impression), holy David fell into amazement and cried out: why did the nations rage… To what end? — a reproachful expression (Gen. 3:13, 4:6; Ex. 1:18, 5:4 and elsewhere).
Did rage. From the Hebrew: they came into turmoil, they are agitated—past tenses, following the custom of the Prophets, used in place of the present, as a sign of certain assurance. Perhaps the Prophets also did so because they spoke on the occasion of their visions, already concluded or past, even as those visions related to things that would come afterwards. The impressions from these visions were so powerful that the Prophets regarded the events they indicated as already accomplished. The Hebrew word: ragash, to seethe with anger, to be stirred up with rage—occurs only here. Words derived from it appear in Ps. 54:15, 63:3. It denotes turmoil when crowds of restless, violent people, blinded by passion and heeding no one, stream together from all sides with noise—and being driven by passion are ready for anything, whoever takes charge of them. The LXX translated εφρυαξανfrom φρυαττω— to beat, to toss about, to neigh like a spirited horse that does not listen to its rider. Aquila: εθορυβηθησαν. Symmachus: κυκα— to mix, to throw into confusion, as with various liquids…
Nations, goim — Israelites who had become like the nations, who had adopted pagan ways. Such is the interpretation of Saints Cyril, Eusebius, Oecumenius, Jerome, and Athanasius. And in Scripture this word sometimes denotes Israelites (Gen. 12:2, 17:6, 16, 18:18; Ex. 19:6). But more naturally the uncircumcised peoples are intended here. Saint Luke cites this passage in relation to the Romans (Acts 14:27), to whom the Lord Himself foretells His delivery (Lk. 18:32). And indeed the pagan peoples rose against Christianity when they felt that the new Gospel teaching had begun to overcome their ancient idol-worship—as in Ephesus the worship of Diana (Acts 19:23 and following), or was causing them some loss (Acts 16:19), or was sternly reproving their evil ways, no longer allowing its confessors to follow them—as a holy people and those renewed. Hence began the bloody persecutions of Christians that the history of the first centuries of Christianity records.
Peoples (lamim). According to the indication of Saint Luke, these are the people of Israel (Acts 4:27). Lorin says that this word in the plural is used of the Jews when the speech is reproachful or condemnatory.
Did devise. Before this the external tumult was pointed to—and here the no-less-turbulent inward state of their souls is shown, when in their minds and hearts they devised stratagems and schemes and spoke of them among themselves with eagerness, loudly and noisily (the verb is the same as in Ps. 1:2). With respect to the devout this word signifies a reverent immersion in holy matters and modest conversing of what has been pondered. With respect to the ungodly here it signifies their restless schemes and likewise hostile speech and evil conversations directed at harming the Gospel—or what an unrestrained tongue may produce. (The Chaldean translation: they assault with fury, stamping their feet, or they seethe in displeasure and indignation (Deut. 1:27). Aquila: φθεγξεται κενως).
Vain things — they deliberate about something utterly unlike what they understand and declare it to be, and with an outcome utterly unlike what they expect. The Hebrew: raka — signifies empty… for example a vessel (Jer. 51:34), which resonates loudly but contains nothing inside that it could and should contain. Hence it is used of a lie, fine in outward appearance but having no firmness within itself (Ps. 4:3). More commonly it means: in vain (Lev. 26:16, 20; Ps. 72:13; Jer. 51:58; Is. 30:7, 49:4, 65:23; Job 39:16). Here are all the parallels of this word confirming its meaning. The Prophet indicates to them both the emptiness of the object they deliberate upon, the insignificance of the causes that provide occasion for it, and the futility of expecting success—so that the Jewish chieftains and people toiled over the death of Christ and the Apostles and against the spread of evangelical truth, sweating and straining, yet gained not the success they so desired and expected. In the history of the Lord’s Passion more than one consultation is mentioned—decisions, searches for false testimony, inciting the people, stirring up Pilate and the city (Mt. 26:4; Mk. 14:1; Lk. 22:2, 23:2). But all of this was in vain. The Resurrection of Christ scattered it all: the lie was exposed and the truth triumphed. Such too was the fate of those frequent plots against the Apostles who preached the Gospel—plots devised by Jews in Antioch (Acts 13:45, 14:19), in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5, 13), in Corinth (Acts 18:12), in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27, 23:9). By means of such instigations of persecution, the Gospel spread all the more, and the holy truth of it shone all the more brilliantly…
Verse 2. The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against His Messiah.
Took their stand. They confronted the new Kingdom of the Messiah in a solemn display and declared their hostile spirit toward it. The Hebrew word: yatsav — to stand, in the form hitpael, to present oneself—either to attach oneself to someone, as the priests to Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:13) (likewise—the seventy elders present themselves before the tabernacle (Num. 11:16); Moses presents himself to Pharaoh (Ex. 8:20, 9:13)); or with the aim of opposition, as the Angel to Balaam (Num. 22:22) (likewise—as Goliath before the army of Israel (1 Sam. 17:16; 2 Sam. 23:1, 10; Deut. 9:2; 2 Chron. 20:6; Job 33:5; Deut. 7:24, 11:25 and Josh. 1:5; Job 41:1)). And in our passage—it denotes open, stubborn hostility, not concealed but stepping forth openly with boastfulness and self-assurance…
Kings. It is not only the unreasoning mob that rises with violence against the truth, but the kings themselves and the heads of peoples—who not only did not suppress popular uprisings but encouraged them. By the kings of the earth are understood Herod and Pilate (Acts 4:27), but not exclusively, of course. How can one exclude Herod the Great, who prepared the murder of the Messiah even as a Child? How can one exclude the later persecutors who sought to annihilate the little flock of Christ? (Therefore one should not apply here the grammarians’ observation by which the plural sometimes stands for one of many—for example, the robbers for one of them (Mk. 15:32 and Lk. 23:39), the disciples in place of one of them (Mt. 26:8; Jn. 12:4). As if here kings stands for one king—Herod.) Clearly this prophecy presents an unbroken, unending chronology of the Kingdom of the Messiah as it were, and portrays His countenance in this world from beginning to end—ceaselessly and mercilessly struck by His enemies. Likewise there is no basis for understanding the word: of the earth — as referring only to the holy land, or Palestine. Rather, the kings of the earth are contrasted with the Supreme Heavenly King, of Whom speech immediately begins (verse 3), and are named with a touch of contempt and irony… for what can these locusts do against the One who holds in His embrace the whole circle of the universe? So in Isaiah (Is. 40:22): what is the Earth, this speck of dust, before the immeasurable breadth of the heavens and the number of bodies that suggest it? And what is this tiny point—Judea, or Italy, or Spain—before the whole body of the Earth? To this the witty speech of Socrates to Alcibiades is very applicable, when the latter was rather puffed up over his conquest: mark for me where that is on a geographical map—knowing that what had been conquered was so small that it was impossible to indicate it by any mark on the map.
And rulers — those who are below the king: the executors of his orders and the counselors or grandees in the state chosen to the governing council—in Judea these were the members of the great Sanhedrin, among them Annas and Caiaphas and others. The LXX and the evangelist Luke in Acts 4:5 call them αρχοντες, as Nicodemus is also named (Jn. 3:1, 10). Their distinctive mark is pointed out by Saint Paul: the rulers of this age (1 Cor. 2:6).
Gathered together. In Hebrew: they made compact in a consultative assembly… The LXX translation: συνηχθησαν επι το αυτο. The Chaldean translation: associate sunt una—they entered into fellowship and union. Symmachus: και υπαρχοι συσκεπτονται ομοθυμαδον. The commanders deliberate unanimously, so that by acting separately they might not delay or prove weak and suffer failure—thus they agreed to act as one, they founded a society. (The Hebrew word: yasad — in this sense occurs twice: in Is. 44:28 — concerning the founding by Cyrus of the temple in Jerusalem—and in Ex. 9:18 — concerning the founding or beginning of the land of Egypt (Ps. 101:26, 81:5). To this one can add another meaning the word may have if derived from sur, arcanum—a secret—namely: to deliberate in secret about some matter, to establish one’s views, intentions, and means concerning it, and thereby animate and fortify oneself for the undertaking. (In this sense, besides this passage, it occurs also in (Ps. 30:14) [1]). Just as a foundation is the beginning and chief part of a building, so a consultation is, as it were, the ideal construction of a matter, according to which it is then conducted in its actual execution. The fulfillment of this prophecy is manifest in the repeated consultations against Christ (Jn. 9:22): about seizing Him by cunning (Jn. 11:47–53); about posing questions to Him (Mk. 12:13; Mt. 22:34–35); about cutting off the spread of the Gospel (Acts 4:15–17, 5:33); about procuring false testimony (Mk. 14:55); and then—in the decrees of the Roman Senate and the edicts of the emperors.
Against the Lord. There is He against whom they directed all their arrows! He against whom all armed themselves with every force and means! Against the One who is the Lord of all (Jehovah, the Self-Existent)—from whom all received their being, and apart from whom nothing exists and can exist! Such is God in the undivided Trinity of His nature; but here perhaps God the Father is chiefly meant, since concerning God the Son, the Messiah, the word is immediately appended. Reason to include the Holy Spirit here as well is provided by the manifest opposition to Him by the Jews—exposed by the Lord Himself and noted by the Apostles (Acts 7:51).
And against His Messiah — in Hebrew: Meshiach. The Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ (Jn. 1:41). Meshiach comes from mashach — to anoint, as Christ comes from χριω. Anointing is ascribed, first, to the patriarchs—for no act or rite of their anointing is mentioned anywhere in Scripture: Ps. 104:15 (do not touch My anointed ones)—by the course of ideas this is about Abraham, Isaac, and others (compare: verse 9 and Gen. 26:3). Second, the prophets were anointed, as Elisha by Elijah (3 Kgdms. 19:16). Third, the high priests—on whose brow between the eyebrows was traced a cross of the following form: X (according to Kimhi in his commentary on Ps. 132, and Rabbi Solomon on Ex. 29:7). Fourth, the kings—on whom, according to the testimony of the same, was traced O—a circle, the sign of fullness and perfection. Saul is named the Lord’s anointed (1 Sam. 12:3), as is Cyrus (Is. 45:1), who for this reason is regarded by some as a type of the Messiah, on account of which he is also called a shepherd (from the Hebrew of Is. 44:28). But fifth—and chiefly, or in the proper sense—the name of Messiah belongs to the promised Redeemer of the human race as Prophet, High Priest, and King, prefigured by all the Old Testament prophets, high priests, and kings, who was anointed not with any visible and sensible anointing, but with an invisible spiritual anointing—with the Holy Spirit (Ps. 44:8; Is. 61:1; Acts 10:38 and elsewhere). In the present passage the Messiah clearly stands in this last meaning, as the combination of words requires: Jehovah and His Messiah. The Prophet wishes to convey that not only is their Kingdom one, but their worship ought to be one as well. Therefore insubordination and opposition to Them is also undivided—so that what is shown toward one is by that very fact shown toward the other. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (Jn. 5:23 and following). This is that Messiah who is the true Son of God, the Only-begotten Lord and Sovereign of all, to whom all glory, honor, and worship is due (Acts 4:25; Heb. 1:5; Prov. 8:22; Rev. 22:7, 11:15–16, 19:15).
Verse 3. Let us burst their bonds asunder and cast their yoke from us.
Let us burst asunder. Understood: [they say], which is often omitted in speech of this kind (for example: Is. 3:6). The Hebrew word and expression conveys the idea of an abrupt, swift, violent rejection—combined with the harm and damage to the thing rejected—out of impatience with it or contempt for it… Thus Samson burst the cords as if they were threads (Judg. 16:9–12; compare: Jer. 2:20, 5:5, 30:8; Nah. 1:13; Ps. 106:14). From these passages it is evident that here the extreme audacity of the peoples and their rulers against the heavenly teaching is meant—an audacity by which they resolved, as if by mutual agreement, not to listen to it—like captives or condemned prisoners in revolt, or like wild horses that have thrown off their rider and rush headlong, trampling everything in their path.
Their bonds — that is, those of the Lord and His Messiah—the rules, dogmas, and institutions by which godlessness and superstition are banished, along with corrupt morals, passions, and all evil orders of life, and the contrary is enjoined; by which the free will is bound as by fetters—just as wild beasts are shackled so they may not roam at will and harm those who live peaceably in the keeping of their duties. Bonds of this kind are: self-renunciation, the bringing of reason into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), putting off the old man and putting on the new, love from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5). The fear of God also belongs here, by which transgressors are held within the bounds of duty (Job 30:11; Mt. 11:29). The Hebrew word used here comes from the verb: yasar — to discipline, which points to God’s discipline, by which violators of His will are held to their proper order (Ps. 106:14; Job 39:5; Jer. 5:5, 2:20, 27:2, 30:8; Nah. 1:13). Apart from these passages this word does not appear elsewhere.
Let us cast it off with contempt, with aversion and impatience, with force and exertion (Ps. 50:13; Eccl. 3:5–6)!
Their yoke (funes densos)—a tightly drawn yoke of cords, that is, the strict rules of faith and life by which our conscience is bound (religio from ligare—to bind). The enemies of Christ find it incompatible with their high opinion of themselves to allow such a teaching to bind them—a teaching that presents itself to the reason as folly and to the flesh as a heavy and intolerable yoke; they want freedom of will and unrestrained conduct. We do not want him to reign over us! (Lk. 19:14). Depart—we desire no knowledge of Your ways (Job 21:14). (Compare according to the Hebrew text: Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15; Ezek. 20:28, 19:11, 31:3, 6, 14; Ex. 28:14, 22, 39:15; Mic. 7:3. Also: Is. 5:18; Ps. 128:4; Job 39:10; Ezek. 3:25, 4:8; Judg. 15:13–14, 16:12; Ex. 28:24, 14, 39:17–18). From these passages it is evident that the word employed (avot-ey) denotes a strong, all-round, obedience-demanding authority—powerful and heavy and unbearable for the ungodly; which is why they refuse to submit to it.
Verse 4. He who dwells in the heavens will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them.
Until now we have heard the croaking frogs and the buzzing locusts (Is. 40:22). It is time now to turn our gaze and hearken to the One against whom all these agitations and schemes are directed. He is the living One or the one who sits in the heavens. Here there is an implied but evident contrast between Him and those who dwell in houses of clay founded on dust and sand (Job 4:19), for all that they are the kings of the earth (verse 2)—a contrast with the One whose throne is in the highest, most spacious, most resplendent, and untouchable heavens, who embraces all that is earthly and by His influence preserves and sustains all things. Yet even as there is a contrast between the turbulent rebelliousness of unruly rulers and peoples and the peaceful sitting of God in the heavens—wherein the sitting also signifies the authority of a judge and recompenser (compare: Ps. 9:8–9)—the meaning of the speech is better elucidated from the Hebrew: yashav — one who abides, one who dwells (Ps. 122:1, 112:5–6; Is. 66:1). Yet this abiding does not signify limitation by place, but rather the absolute sovereignty and immeasurable exaltedness of God over all earthly things—God who is omnipresent, looks upon all things, guards all, and cares for all (Eccl. 5:1; Ps. 112:5).
Will laugh. He scorns their senseless attacks and will laugh—as the iron scepter over earthen pots. This is an anthropomorphic expression, signifying the exposure and condemnation of the extreme folly of such hostility—where on one side the power is unlimited and able to carry out its purposes unhindered, and on the other there is utter insignificance, for all the bragging and malicious scheming. (Solomon mentions such laughter (Prov. 1:26); and David himself in other places (Ps. 58:9, 36:12–13). In other places God is depicted as rejoicing over the destruction of those who oppose Him (Deut. 28:63; Is. 1:24 and elsewhere). Sometimes laughter denotes safety, assurance of it, or the sense of it (Job 5:22, 41:20–21). According to others, to laugh at means to expose to derision, as is seen in Is. 14:4. Also Ps. 36:13; Prov. 1:26; Ps. 51:8; Rev. 18:19–20; Am. 5:9.)
And the Lord — whom these unreasoning people refuse to submit to, even as He is the foundation and fortress of all that exists, holding all things together, the Absolute Sovereign.
Will mock them — that is, He will deliver them to the utmost shame and disgrace, and not only will He render their schemes vain; He will subject them personally to the very misfortunes and afflictions they were preparing for the worshipers of God, so that they will find no compassion anywhere but will be encompassed on all sides by derision and contempt.
Verse 5. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and in His fury He will terrify them.
Then. When—then? When the kings and princes imagine that their plans to destroy the Kingdom of the Messiah are reliable and their means for doing so are powerful; when God’s long-suffering is exhausted and the hardening of hearts has reached its uttermost limit. When in self-delusion they abandon themselves to the feeling of freedom and of being unbound—as if the yoke has been cast off, the bonds have been burst…
He shall speak. Some commentators say: well translated as “he shall speak,” but there is another opinion on this word from the most learned grammarian Kimchi, according to which it should be rendered: then he shall slay or smite their mighty ones. However fitting such an interpretation may seem, it is opposed nonetheless both by the ordinary meaning of the word, from which one should not depart without need, and by the agreement of ancient translations into languages close to Hebrew—the Chaldean, Syriac, Ethiopian, Arabic, and the LXX—all of which have: he shall speak to them. Moreover, if someone is attracted by smiting, it is already contained in the wrathful speech of God: for the wrathful word of God is itself what smites, since the word of God is not the same as the fruitless word of man. Therefore the following thought fits better here: God, though He sometimes remains silent, observing the senseless resistance of men to His will, at last pronounces His authoritative judgment, condemnation, punishment… and, if the Israelites could not endure the legislative word of God (Ex 20:19), still less can these opponents of His will endure the terrible thunders of judgment issuing from this stern Avenger of iniquity—sometimes without an outwardly audible word, but by deed itself or by smiting.
To them (elimo — a poetic form instead of elegem)—to these intractable evildoers.
In His wrath — Hebrew: in wrath; He will cease to call them into His Kingdom after they have stubbornly persisted in their resistance to grace; instead of the blessings they rejected, the curse shall smite them. In their consciences they will perpetually hear stern words inaudible to the outer ear; inwardly they will behold the wrathful face of God, invisible to the outer eye.
And in His fury — Hebrew: in fury. The force of the utterance intensifies (Hebrew: gorah—to be kindled). It depicts the mounting severity of God’s chastisements, just as verses 1–3 portray the degrees of the enemies’ resistance.
He shall confound them. He shall so suddenly overturn their plans that they will run to and fro, not knowing where to turn or where to find a refuge in which to hide.
Verse 6. Yet I am appointed King by Him over Zion, His holy mountain.
Yet I. This stands in contrast to those many kings and princes who said: let us burst asunder, and so forth. It is as though the Lord were saying: you—who are dust and ashes—devise much in your pride; I, however, whose every Counsel stands and who will accomplish all that I have purposed (Is 46:10), will shortly make all your schemes vain and will gloriously defend My King against whom you rise up in such fury (the letter vav — as a particle of opposition—is used in other passages too (Mal 1:4; Is 29:13).
Am set. The Chaldean translation not without reason uses two verbs in place of one: I have exalted My King and set Him over Zion the mountain. The meaning: though the Messiah is hateful to you, know that He did not take this honor upon Himself or arrogate such a dignity (Heb. 5:4–5)—nor does He hold such authority by human choice or desire (Jn 6:15, 18:36); but I Myself, the Lord of all creatures, by My own divine Counsel and decree, have appointed Him King—to resist this is foolish and profitless (Lk 1:32; Ps 44:5; Jn 3:34; Is 61:1).
Set as My King—that same Messiah who was mentioned in verse 2; God the Father calls Him His own not only because His Kingdom and the laws of His Kingdom are divine and utterly unlike worldly kingdoms and their laws (Jn 18:36), but more properly because He is His own Son, of one nature with Him, God—and His royal authority is not of earthly origin and is not an accidental addition, but is His essential characteristic, the radiance of the glory He shares with the Father. For this reason all kings are commanded to come to Him (at the close of this verse) as to the Most High above them all (Ps 88:28); all tribes and nations shall serve Him (Dan 7:14); He shall shatter all kingdoms (Dan 2:44); and of His Kingdom there shall be no end (Lk 1:33).
Upon Zion, His holy mountain. Zion is a type of the Messiah’s Kingdom—on it stood David’s royal throne (2Sam 5:9; 1King 8:1) and the tabernacle was erected; in its place, on the adjacent hill of Moriah, Solomon later built the temple to the true God (Is 31:4; 2Chron 3:1). On Zion were united the power of kingship and of priesthood, just as in the Messiah those same dignities were afterwards joined, after the order of Melchizedek. Therefore, just as the Messiah is often called David, so His Kingdom—or the seat of His Kingdom and royal throne—is called mount Zion, not in the sense that it would be a particular kingdom bounded by narrow borders, but because Zion foreshadowed the new-covenant Kingdom of the Messiah in many features: its beauty and impregnability, but especially because from Zion the law was to go forth—the gospel proclamation to all lands (Is 2:3–4; Lk 24:47; Acts 1:4; Mic 4:2; Ps 109:2, 131:13, 86:3; Zah 9:9). Zion is called holy not here only, but in other passages as well (Ps 42:3, 47:2, 98:9; Joel 2:1; Ezek 20:40). Not by its own nature, but because the tabernacle was there, wherein the all-holy God dwelt (2Sam 6:17, 12; 1Chron 15:1, 3, 12, 16:1; 2Chron 8:11). For this reason the very temple is also understood by the name Zion (Ps 136:3; Jer 51:10; Is 18:7; Lam 5:18). For this Zion is called the mountain beloved of God, the dwelling and throne of God (Ps 77:68, 86:2, 67:17, 9:12, 73:2, 75:3), and is set in contrast to mount Sinai (Heb. 12:22). Thus, since in all the world there was no mountain equal in glory to mount Zion, the Father declares that on this mountain He will set His most chosen and unique King, to whose care all the holy ones are entrusted, who also surround His throne (Rev 14:1).
Verse 7. I will declare the decree of the Lord. The Lord said to Me: You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.
I will declare. In Hebrew: I will declare. Here a new speaking person is suddenly introduced—that very King of whom the Heavenly Father had just spoken. Such changes of speaker are not rare in poetic songs. (The meaning of the word used (safar) may be derived from comparing the following passages: (Ps 47:13; Judg 7:13; Gen 40:8, 41:12; 2King 8:4–5; Ex 18:8; Ps 9:2, 15, 21:23, 43:2, 72:28, 25:7, 65:16, 74:2, 77:3–4, 95:3, 101:22, 117:17, 144:6; Ex 9:16; 1Chron 16:24) From this it follows that the Messiah takes upon Himself the declaration, proclamation, and open, faithful, tireless, and glorious preaching—glorifying for His Father and salvific for the human race—which He then fulfilled both through His own lips and through the lips of the Apostles and other servants of the new-testament word (Rom 15:8; Is 61:1; Lk 4:18). This is one aspect of His redemptive work—the prophetic ministry, which can be exercised only through speech or word.
The decree. This expression encompasses the entire gospel teaching about God’s good will toward us in Christ, which Christ declared with such precision that He did not permit Himself to say anything other than what the Father had commanded Him (Jn 14:31, 12:49, 5:30, 6:40, 8:28, 18:37; Lk 4:18, 43). As before in verse 6 Jehovah was speaking, so now the Messiah (set alongside Jehovah in verse 2) continues to speak of the decision and decree of Jehovah—that is, His Father—according to which it pleased Him that His eternal Word, or the Only-begotten Son, being born in time from the seed of David, that is, having become incarnate, should become the Redeemer of the human race, Saviour and King.
The Lord said to Me. The meaning: just as the Father declared His will concerning the appointment of a King over Zion and the subsequent establishment of the Kingdom (verse 6), so I too, the Messiah, will likewise declare the foundations of that Kingdom—namely, that despite being a son of David in the flesh, I am essentially the eternal Son of God, whom the Father confesses as eternally begotten, who, being personally united in time with the humanity descended from David’s seed, became the King of the new Kingdom destined to receive all nations as its inheritance. There is no need to inquire when or where the Father utters this: for whether we regard it from the standpoint of the decree made before all time, or from the standpoint of its fulfillment in time, one always hears the Father declaring of the Messiah that He is His only-begotten and essential Son. This was announced at the Annunciation (Lk 1:32), at the Baptism (Mt 3:17), and at the Transfiguration (Mt 17:5). Thus the Father Himself points all to the Son, and the Son has no need to glorify Himself (Jn 5:23; Ps 109:1).
You are My Son. The speech here is not about an adopted son or about some person especially beloved of God, such as the angels (Job 1:6) or the rulers of the people (Ps 81:6), but about the Only-begotten Son (Jn 1:14, 3:16, 18)—the proper or essential Son (Rom 8:32), the true Son (Jn 5:20), and the beloved Son (Mt 3:17, 17:5; 2Pet 1:17), such as He can only be through eternal and essential generation (Heb 1:5), by virtue of which the same nature abides in the Begetter and the Begotten; hence this Son is called the one who is in the bosom of the Father (Jn 1:18). He is with God and is God (Jn 1:1–2).
I, that is Jehovah, the Father, to whom allusion is also made in Proverbs (Prov 30:4).
This day, that is, in the immovably present eternity that has neither past nor future—or before the foundation of the world (Jn 17:5; Prov 8:21–24; Mic 5:2). With God a thousand years are as yesterday that has passed, and as a watch in the night (Ps 89:5; 2Pet 3:8). This day does not denote any particular moment in time, for the goings forth of the Son are from of old, from everlasting (Mic 5:2; Mt 2:5–6). In a word, this day expresses eternity. But lest the generation be counted imperfect, He used the word: I have begotten. Let us recall the words of the Lord: before Abraham came into being, I am (Jn 8:58).
I have begotten You, that is, I make You a participant of one and the same Divine nature and sustain You in an ineffable manner, without division. Therefore the Lord says: the Father is in Me and I am in the Father (Jn 14:10). For the same reason the Son is called the radiance of glory and the very impress of the being of God (Heb 1:3), the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15). The generation is not something ideal or merely contemplated, but actual and essential.
Verses 8–9. In the following 8th and 9th verses the same heavenly picture is set forth. The speech continues from the Person of the Son. In it is declared the divine decree, by virtue of which all nations and all the earth are given to the Messiah as an inheritance (κληρονομιαν), and He may sternly punish and destroy the disobedient. The eternal divine decree was fulfilled in time. As the eternal Son of God, the Word of God possesses, as does the Father, eternal glory and equal power; but as the God-man, as the Messiah, all authority was given to Him upon His resurrection (Mt 28:18; Phil 2:9–10 and others).
Verses 10–12. In the final verses the prophetic vision of David returns to earth. The prophet turns to the rebellious with an exhortation to come to their senses, to restrain themselves, to submit with reverence to the Lord, and to greet (rejoice!) Him as Lord in the person of His Anointed. The prophet calls them to hasten to reform their lives. The Russian rendering of the Hebrew word nasheku-var as honor the Son can scarcely be considered accurate. In virtually all the ancient translations, in agreement with the LXX: receive instruction. In conclusion—a threat of God’s righteous anger against all who oppose God, and a promise of blessedness to all who trust in the King-Messiah.