Spurgeon: “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.”

1. PSALM 2 COMMETARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
I quote some contemporary authors, and if any of them does not wish their wisdom
to be shared in this way, they can let me know and I will remove it from this
commentary. My e-mail is glenn_p86@yahoo.com
ITRODUCTIO
1. Spurgeon: “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.”
2. Leupold, “The first strophe describes the bitter opposition of the enemies of the
Lord’s anointed. The second describes the calm assurance of the Lord Himself in
the face of this opposition. The third presents the glorious divine ordinance
appointed for the Lord’s anointed. The last consists of an exhortation to the rebels
to submit discreetly to Him who is their Lord.”
3. Murphy : “This Psalm is Messianic, for it speaks of an Anointed One who
transcends all earthly sovereigns; catholic, for it calls the Gentiles into the Church;
evangelical, for it announces happiness to all who trust in the Lord; and monitory,
for it warns the rebels to make a timely submission. It celebrates the kingly office of
the Messiah. The first and second Psalms form a pair. The former gives prominence
to the moral son of God, the latter to the proper Son of God; the one signalizes the
law as set forth in the spiritual life of the new man, the other celebrates the gospel in
the person of the Messiah, who secures the happiness of all who trust in Him.”
4. Warren Wiersbe, “We need to distinguish the four voices of Psalm 2. The first is

2. the voice of defiance--the nations of the world (vv. 1-3). It is amazing that the
nations would defy Almighty God. He has provided for them (Acts 14:17), guided
them (I Tim. 6:17) and determined their histories (Acts 17:26). Why do the nations
rebel? They seek freedom without God. P. T. Forsythe said, The purpose of life is
not to find your freedom. The purpose of life is to find your Master. Authority
demands submission (Matt. 11:29).
Second, we have the voice of derision--the voice of God the Father (vv. 4-6). While
there is tumult on earth, there is tranquillity in heaven. God laughs because the
Kingdom is secure; the King has been established. Jesus is God's King. Though the
nations rebel, we don't need to worry, for the King is already enthroned in heaven.
A third voice we hear in the world is the voice of declaration-- God the Son (vv. 7-9).
He runs the universe by decree, not by democracy. He knows everything, is
everywhere and can do anything. God's decrees will succeed. Puny, foolish men with
their godless living will not eradicate or hinder His decrees. God decrees that Jesus
Christ is His Son. Jesus is God, and He is King by nature, by conquest and by His
Resurrection. He is reigning today, and we can reign in life through Him (Rom.
5:17).
The fourth voice is the voice of decision--the Holy Spirit (vv. 10-12). He wants us to
learn--to be wise, to be instructed. Many depend on philosophy, psychology and
history. These disciplines are helpful, but Christians must rely first and foremost on
the Spirit of God to reveal truth. The Holy Spirit wants us to be willing to serve. We
serve the Lord, not sin. There is joy with our fear because God is our Father. In
searching for liberty, the rebellious crowd practices anarchy, for freedom without
authority is anarchy. We are made in the image of God. To rebel against Him is to
rebel against our own nature. The Holy Spirit also wants us to be reconciled. God is
reconciled to us through Christ (Acts 16:31). Jesus kissed us in His birth and
death. Today He is the Lamb, but someday He will come as the Lion to judge. God
is holy and will not allow sin and rebellion to go on forever.”
5. Jerry Shirley has the same idea, but puts it together like this:
Four different voices express themselves in Psalm 2…
A. Voice of the world speaking in Rejection and Rebellion. (1-3)
B. Voice of God speaking of Reproof and Retribution. (4-6)
C. Voice of Christ speaking of Rule and Relationships. (7-9)
D. Voice of the Spirit speaking of Receiving and Rejoicing. (10-12)

3. 6. Robert Wm. Redding has produced one of the best outlines of this Psalm.
Section A. - The Deliberations Against the Lord
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.
Section B. - The Displeasure of the Lord
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.
Section C. - The Decree of the Lord
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.
Section D. - The Discernment From the Lord
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.
7. “Traditionally, the Jewish interpretation of psalm 2 can be divided into 3
streams: a) RaSHI explains that Our Rabbis have taught that this concerns the
Messiah-King, and in harmony with this interpretion it can be applied to David
himself... b) Ibn Ezra reckons that the psalm refers to the anointing of David as
king, for which reason it is written; 'This day I have begotten you', or else it concerns
the Messiah... author unknown
8. Treasury of David, “We shall not greatly err in our summary of this sublime
Psalm if we call it THE PSALM OF MESSIAH THE PRICE; for it sets forth, as in
a wondrous vision, the tumult of the people against the Lord's anointed, the
determinate purpose of God to exalt his own Son, and the ultimate reign of that Son
over all his enemies. Let us read it with the eye of faith, beholding, as in a glass, the
final triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over all his enemies. Lowth has the following
remarks upon this Psalm: The establishment of David upon his throne,
notwithstanding the opposition made to it by his enemies, is the subject of the
Psalm. David sustains in it a twofold character, literal and allegorical. If we read
over the Psalm, first with an eye to the literal David, the meaning is obvious, and put
beyond all dispute by the sacred history. There is indeed an uncommon glow in the
expression and sublimity in the figures, and the diction is now and then exaggerated,
as it were on purpose to intimate, and lead us to the contemplation of higher and

4. more important matters concealed within. In compliance with this admonition, if we
take another survey of the Psalm as relative to the person and concerns of the
spiritual David, a noble series of events immediately rises to view, and the meaning
becomes more evident, as well as more exalted. The coloring which may perhaps
seem too bold and glaring for the king of Israel, will no longer appear so when laid
upon his great Antitype. After we have thus attentively considered the subjects
apart, let us look at them together, and we shall behold the full beauty and majesty
of this most charming poem. We shall perceive the two senses very distinct from
each other, yet conspiring in perfect harmony, and bearing a wonderful
resemblance in every feature and lineament, while the analogy between them is so
exactly preserved, that either may pass for the original from whence the other was
copied. ew light is continually cast upon the phraseology, fresh weight and dignity
are added to the sentiments, till, gradually ascending from things below to things
above, from human affairs to those that are Divine, they bear the great important
theme upwards with them, and at length place it in the height and brightness of
heaven.
9. Mark Copeland, “This psalm is Messianic in nature, with its theme being The
Ultimate Victory Of The Lord's Anointed. It is quoted by the apostles and
early church in their prayer for help against persecution (cf. Ac 4:24-30), in
which they applied it to the efforts of Pontius Pilate along with Gentiles and
those of Israel who crucified Christ. From this reference in Acts we also
learn that David was the author.”
10. Calvin, “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.”
11. McGee, “When we come to the second psalm we find that the Spirit of God uses
two cameras in a dramatic way beyond the imagination of man. First, the camera on
earth comes on, and when it does, we hear the voices of the masses. We hear little
man speaking his little piece and playing his part — as Shakespeare puts it, A poor
player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage of life. Little man. Then the
camera on earth goes off, the camera in heaven comes on, and we hear God the
Father speak. After He speaks, the camera shifts to His right hand, and God the Son
speaks His part. Then the camera in heaven goes off, the camera on earth comes on
again, and God the Holy Spirit has the last word.”
12. As I studied this Psalm, I was impressed as to how relevant this chapter is to the
whole world of politics. The rulers of our nation and the nations of this modern

5. world have the same obligations as those in the days of David. They have the duty to
acknowledge God's King as their ultimate authority. Jesus is the King of kings, and
if you have authority in this world in any nation, you need to submit to that
authority or risk the wrath of God. This becomes the key way we should be looking
at leaders and politicians. Do they kiss the Son? Do they make decisions that honor
the revelation of God revealed in Christ? Do they conform to the ways and wisdom
that he has revealed by his life and teaching? These are the questions that people
need to ask, and then seek answers to before they vote.
1 Why do the nations conspire [a]
and the peoples plot in vain?
1. The question is, why are people so foolish as to think they can oppose the God
who made them and all things besides? What possesses people who actually set
down and plot how they can outwit the Lord, who is all wise, and all powerful? Evil
is guided by the irrational and not by wisdom and knowledge, which is the guide for
those who do good. There is no rational explanation for why people choose to follow
the path of evil, for it is contrary to all that makes sense. It is no wonder that God
laughs at such folly, for it is pure stupidity, and it is laughable. All efforts by man to
outwit God, and overthrow his plan for history are futile and vain. ot every story
of the little guy against the giant ends in victory for the little guy. Sometimes it is the
story of the ant and the man, and it ends with a foot crushing the ant. Such is the
story of God and the rebel nations.
2. Barnes, “Why do the heathen rage - “Why do nations make a noise?” Prof.
Alexander. The word “heathen” here - גוים gôyim - means properly “nations,” with
out respect, so far as the word is concerned, to the character of the nations. It was
applied by the Hebrews to the surrounding nations, or to all other people than their
own; and as those nations were in fact pagans, or idolators, the word came to have
this signification. eh_5:8; Jer_31:10; Eze_23:30; Eze_30:11; compare אדם 'âdâm,
Jer_32:20. The word Gentile among the Hebrews (Greek, ἔθνος ethnos expressed
the same thing. Mat_4:15; Mat_6:32; Mat_10:5, Mat_10:18; Mat_12:21, et soepe.
The word rendered “rage” - רגשׁ râgash - means to make a noise or tumult, and
would be expressive of violent commotion or agitation. It occurs in the Hebrew
Scriptures only in this place, though the corresponding Chaldee word - רגשׁ regash
is found in Dan_6:6, Dan_6:11, Dan_6:15 - rendered in Dan_6:6, “assembled
together,” in the margin “came tumultuously,” - and in Dan_6:11, Dan_6:15,
rendered “assembled.” The psalmist here sees the nations in violent agitation or
commotion, as if under high excitement, engaged in accomplishing some purpose -

6. rushing on to secure something, or to prevent something. The image of a mob, or of
a tumultuous unregulated assemblage, would probably convey the idea of the
psalmist. The word itself does not enable us to determine how extensive this
agitation would be, but it is evidently implied that it would be a somewhat general
movement; a movement in which more than one nation or people would participate.
The matter in hand was something that affected the nations generally, and which
would produce violent agitation among them.
And the people - לאמים Le'umiym. A word expressing substantially the same idea,
that of people, or nations, and referring here to the same thing as the word rendered
“heathen” - according to the laws of Hebrew parallelism in poetry. It is the people
here that are seen in violent agitation: the conduct of the rulers, as associated with
them, is referred to in the next verse. Imagine - Our word “imagine” does not
precisely express the idea here. We mean by it, “to form a notion or idea in the
mind; to fancy.” Webster. The Hebrew word, הגה hâgâh, is the same which, in
Psa_1:2, is rendered “meditate.” See the notes at that verse. It means here that the
mind is engaged in deliberating on it; that it plans, devises, or forms a purpose; - in
other words, the persons referred to are thinking about some purpose which is here
called a vain purpose; they are meditating some project which excites deep thought,
but which cannot be effectual.
A vain thing - That is, which will prove to be a vain thing, or a thing which they
cannot accomplish. It cannot mean that they were engaged in forming plans which
they supposed would be vain - for no persons would form such plans; but that they
were engaged in designs which the result would show to be unsuccessful. The
reference here is to the agitation among the nations in respect to the divine purpose
to set up the Messiah as king over the world, and to the opposition which this would
create among the nations of the earth. See the notes at Psa_2:2. An ample fulfillment
of this occurred in the opposition to him when he came in the flesh, and in the
resistance everywhere made since his death to his reign upon the earth. othing has
produced more agitation in the world (compare Act_17:6), and nothing still excites
more determined resistance. The truths taught in this verse are:
(1) that sinners are opposed - even so much as to produce violent agitation of
mind, and a fixed and determined purpose - to the plans and decrees of God,
especially with respect to the reign of the Messiah; and
(2) that their plans to resist this will be vain and ineffectual; wisely as their
schemes may seem to be laid, and determined as they themselves are in regard to
their execution, yet they must find them vain.
What is implied here of the particular plans against the Messiah, is true of all the
purposes of sinners, when they array themselves against the government of God.”
3. Clarke, “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; 2Sa_5:7-9. The Philistines, hearing this, encamped in the valley of

7. 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, 2Sa_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.
4. Henry, “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, Psa_2:1-3. 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. ever
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.”
5. Stuart D. Robertson, “Today Psalm 2 is before us. It is one of the royal psalms.
These are psalms that have to do with the king of Israel. We’re told that the royal
psalms were sung or chanted at the coronation of Israel’s kings. You would think
that a song sung at a king’s coronation would glorify the office of the king. The first
royal psalm indeed tells us the king was anointed by God, but only after uttering an
explosive complaint. It is remarkable that the first royal psalm should begin: Why
do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? Was this the first thing

8. needful to say at his successors’ coronation, that the king is surrounded by a
seething sea of opposition--hostile neighboring nations, a muttering multitude? You
wonder, how long after David was crowned did he write this? Did the pressures of
the job get to him? Is David thin-skinned, or paranoid? Is this the first thing that
would be important to remember each time a king was crowned?
He faced the running battle with the Philistines, whose giant Goliath fell to him
when he was a lad. Other neighboring nations, the Amelakites, Moabites, and other
ites wished to conquer Israel. He faced rebellion within his own family. He faced
the residue of resentment from courtiers who were loyal to king Saul, who preceded
him. David had reason to recognize that the position of king was not secure. Why
do the peoples plot? Did he add in vain as a wish, a prayer that their plots might
be in vain?”
6. Spurgeon, “We have, in these first three verses, a description of the hatred of
human nature against the Christ of God. o 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.”
7. Treasury of David, “Verse 1. 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. either in Spain, nor elsewhere, can
be pointed out the burial place of Christianity; it is not, for the living have no
tomb.'

9. 2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One. [b]
1. Barnes, “The kings of the earth - This verse is designed to give a more specific
form to the general statement in Psa_2:1. In the first verse the psalmist sees a
general commotion among the nations as engaged in some plan that he sees must be
a vain one; here he describes more particularly the cause of the excitement, and
gives a nearer view of what is occurring. He now sees kings and rulers engaged in a
specific and definite plot against Yahweh and against His Anointed. The word
“kings” here is a general term, which would be applicable to all rulers - as the
kingly government was the only one then known, and the nations were under the
control of absolute monarchs. A sufficient fulfillment would be found, however, if
any rulers were engaged in doing what is here described.
Set themselves - Or, take their stand. The latter expression would perhaps better
convey the sense of the original. It is the idea of taking a stand, or of setting
themselves in array, which is denoted by the expression; - they combine; they
resolve; they are fixed in their purpose. Compare Exo_2:4; Exo_19:17; Exo_34:5.
The attitude here is that of firm or determined resistance. And the rulers - A slight
addition to the word kings. The sense is, that there was a general combination
among all classes of rulers to accomplish what is here specified. It was not confined
to any one class.
Take counsel together - Consult together. Compare Psa_31:13, “While they took
counsel together against me.” The word used here, יחד yachad, means properly to
found, to lay the foundation of, to establish; then, to be founded (iphal); to support
oneself; to lean upon - as, for example, to lean upon the elbow. Thus used, it is
employed with reference to persons reclining or leaning upon a couch or cushion,
especially as deliberating together, as the Orientals do in the divan or council.
Compare the notes at Psa_83:3. The idea here is that of persons assembled to
deliberate on an important matter.
Against the Lord - Against Jehovah - the small capitals of “Lord” in our common
version indicating that the original word is Yahweh. The meaning is, that they were
engaged in deliberating against Yahweh in respect to the matter here referred to - to
wit, his purpose to place the “Anointed One,” his King (Psa_2:6), on the hill of Zion.
It is not meant that they were in other respects arrayed against him, though it is
true in fact that opposition to God in one respect may imply that there is an

10. aversion to him in all respects, and that the same spirit which would lead men to
oppose him in any one of his purposes would, if carried out, lead them to oppose
him in all things.
And against his Anointed - - משׁיחו meshı̂ychô - his Messiah: hence, our word
Messiah, or Christ. The word means “Anointed,” and the allusion is to the custom of
anointing kings and priests with holy oil when setting them apart to office, or
consecrating them to their work. Compare Mat_1:1, note; Dan_9:26, note. The
word Messiah, or Anointed, is therefore of so general a character in its signification
that its mere use would not determine to whom it was to be applied - whether to a
king, to a priest, or to the Messiah properly so called. The reference is to be
determined by something in the connection. All that the word here necessarily
implies is, that there was some one whom Yahweh regarded as his Anointed one,
whether king or priest, against whom the rulers of the earth had arrayed
themselves. The subsequent part of the psalm Psa_2:6-7 enables us to ascertain that
the reference here is to one who was a King, and that he sustained to Yahweh the
relation of a Son. The ew Testament, and the considerations suggested in the
introduction to the psalm (Section 4), enable us to understand that the reference is
to the Messiah properly so called - Jesus of azareth. This is expressly declared
Act_4:25-27 to have had its fulfillment in the purposes of Herod, Pontius Pilate, the
Gentiles, and the people of Israel, in rejecting the Saviour and putting him to death.
o one can doubt that all that is here stated in the psalm had a complete fulfillment
in their combining to reject him and to put him to death; and we are, therefore, to
regard the psalm as particularly referring to this transaction. Their conduct was,
however, an illustration of the common feelings of rulers and people concerning
him, and it was proper to represent the nations in general as in commotion in
regard to him.
1B. DAVID JAMES BURRELL, who began this war? The kings and rulers of the
earth are represented as sitting in council to devise schemes for thwarting the
beneficent plans of the Father and his anointed Son. But kings and their counselors
are not alone to blame. Behold the mob! The heathen are raging and the people
imagining a vain thing. Hear them shouting Let us break his bands asunder and
cast away his cords from us!'*
What bands? The bands of law and order and humanity and righteousness. Whose
cords? The restraining cords of the Lord and his Anointed. Thus rulers and people
clasp hands in an effort to cast off salutary restraint and revel in lawless freedom.
This is the world's war — All hands to the firing line ! It is a mad, reckless,
tumultuous revolt against God. “
1C. Spurgeon, “ote, 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

11. 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?”
2. Jamison, “anointed — Hebrew, “Messiah”; Greek, “Christ” (Joh_1:41).
Anointing, as an emblem of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, was conferred on prophets
(Isa_6:1); priests (Exo_30:30); and kings (1Sa_10:1; 1Sa_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 (Dan_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
(Mat_27:1; Luk_23:1-25), with the furious mob, are vividly portrayed.”
3. Gill, “ The kings of the earth set themselves,.... Rose and stood up in great wrath
and fury, and presented themselves in an hostile manner, and opposed the Messiah:
as Herod the great, king of Judea, who very early bestirred himself, and sought to
take away the life of Jesus in his infancy; and Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee,
who is called a king, Mar_6:14; who with his men of war mocked him, and set him
at nought; and Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, who represented the Roman
emperor, and condemned him to death, Mat_27:26; and all the kings of the earth
ever since, who ever persecuted Christ in his members, and have set themselves with
all their might to hinder the spread of his Gospel and the enlargement of his
interest;
and the rulers take counsel together; as did the Jewish sanhedrim, the great court of

12. judicature among the Jews, the members of which were the rulers of the people,
who frequently met together and consulted to take away the life of Christ: though it
may also include all other governors and magistrates who have entered into schemes
against the Lord, and against his Anointed, or Messiah, Christ: by the Lord, or
Jehovah, which is the great, the glorious, and incommunicable name of God, and is
expressive of his eternal being and self-existence, and of his being the fountain of
essence to all creatures, is meant God the Father; since he is distinguished from his
Son, the Messiah, his anointed One, as Messiah and Christ signify; and who is so
called, because he is anointed by God with the Holy Ghost, without measure, to the
office of the Mediator, Prophet, Priest, and King; from whom the saints receive the
anointing, which teacheth all things, and every grace of the Spirit in measure; and
who, after his name, are called Christians. This name of the promised Redeemer
was well known among the Jews, Joh_1:41; and which they took from this passage,
and from some others;
4. Henry, “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. ot 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, Act_4:27.
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, Joh_15:24. 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

13. holiness.”
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 Luk_13:14;
Joh_11:47; Act_5:17, Act_5:33; Act_19:28. 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, Psa_83:5.”
5. Spurgeon : “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?”
6. C Bouwman, “the revolt David alludes to in this Psalm was not just a separate
event in the history of mankind. This revolt, being as it is a revolt against God and
His anointed, lies on a line with the revolt of Paradise. Adam and Eve - and in them
the human race- had rebelled against God, had sought to be independent of God,
had endeavored to burst asunder what they then considered to be God’s bonds. And
that revolt of Paradise was in turn instigated by the earlier revolt in heaven, when a
number of angels left their God-given place and determined to cast off God’s
sovereignty. Indeed, this revolt of which David writes in Ps 2 has its roots in that
revolt of Satan and his angels, a revolt brought to earth in the fall in Paradise. It’s
all on one line; this revolt of the kings described in Ps 2 is part and parcel of the
antithesis, of the struggle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
Of that David is convinced, and that’s why he has no trouble in describing this
political revolt in terms of rebellion against none less than the God of heaven and

14. earth.”
7. “It is extremely important! In this hymn, God makes known three wonderful
names of the Redeemer who would come into the world to bring salvation to the
children of Adam. Did you hear the three names? They are: The Messiah, the King,
and the Son. First, we see that God calls the Redeemer the Messiah. Messiah is a
Hebrew word meaning the One whom God has selected {Lit. the Anointed One}. With
the name Messiah, God was announcing to the children of Adam that everyone must
believe and accept the Redeemer who was to come into the world, because He is the
One whom God Himself has selected as the Savior and Judge of the world. However,
in the first three verses of this hymn, God predicted that most of the children of
Adam would reject the Messiah whom God was going to send into the world. You
might be interested to know that the Hebrew word Messiah is the same as the Greek
word Christ. Both mean the One whom God has selected.
The second name is the King. The Messiah is also the King. Through that name,
God wants everyone to know that the Messiah will, in the end, be the Judge and
Ruler of the world even though most people would reject Him. On the great Day of
Judgment, everyone will kneel before Him, because He is the One whom God has
selected to be the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Consequently, the Messiah will be
either your Savior or your Judge-because, like it or not, He is the King whom God
has selected to reign forever!
Third, we heard in this chapter another name which God gives the Messiah. It is a
name we must consider very carefully. It is the Son. Here are three reasons from
the Writings of the Prophets why God called the Messiah His Son.
First, you must know that God called the Messiah His Son, because the Messiah
came from above; from heaven. Everyone who believes the Writings of the
Prophets, knows that the Messiah did not come from a man, but from the presence
of God. As you know, the Messiah did not have an earthly father. Concerning His
earthly existence, He came through the descendants of David, because the Messiah
was born of a virgin woman who was a relative of king David. But on His Father's
side, the Messiah came forth uniquely from the Spirit of God. That is why God
could say to Him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father!
Second, God called the Messiah His Son because the Scripture says that God and
the Messiah share the same holy character. Like father, like son. The promised
Redeemer had to be pure and holy just as God is pure and holy. We cannot go far
with this now, but when we come to the Gospel record we will see that the Messiah
was not like the sons of Adam who are stained with sin! As we have seen, even the
greatest of the prophets committed sin. However, the Messiah never sinned. He
always did the will of God. It was necessary that the Messiah be without sin since He
came into the world to save sinners from their sin! Can those with great debts pay
the debts of others? o, they cannot! The Messiah had no debt of sin. The Scripture
calls Him the one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above
the heavens. (Heb. 7:26) Yes, the Redeemer was holy, just as God who sent Him is

15. holy! That is why God was not ashamed to call him His Son.
Third, you should know that God called the Messiah His Son to distinguish Him
from all the other prophets. We have already seen how Abraham was called the
friend of God. The prophet Moses was called the man of God. Of David, God
said, I have found a man after my own heart. But to which prophet did God say,
You are my Son; today I have become your Father? That could only be said to the
Messiah, because the Messiah is the only one who came from above, who was born
of a virgin, and was unstained by sin.” author unknown
8. Vernon McGee, “ow when did this movement begin? Scripture lets us know
about this. Over in the fourth chapter of the Book of Acts, when the first
persecution broke out against the church, we're told that the apostles, Peter and
John, after they had been threatened, returned back to the church to give their
report: And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one
accord, and said, Lord, thou art God . . . ( Acts 4:24 ).
. . . Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all
that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the
heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? ( Acts 4:24-25 ). As you can see,
they were quoting Psalm 2 . The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were
gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ ( Acts 4:26 ). ow this is
the Holy Spirit's interpretation: 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 ( Acts 4:27 ). Here is this movement,
beginning, we are told by the Holy Spirit, back yonder when Pilate joined up with
the religious rulers and Herod in order to put Jesus to death. This is a movement
against God and Christ. It has been snowballing as it has come down through the
centuries, and it will break out finally in a worldwide revolution against God
and against Christ.”
9. Treasury of David, “Verse 2. 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.”

16. 3 Let us break their chains, they say,
and throw off their fetters.
1. Barnes, “Let us break their bands asunder - The bands of Yahweh and of his
Anointed. They who are engaged in this combination or conspiracy regard Yahweh
and his Anointed as one, and as having one object - to set up a dominion over the
world. Hence, they take counsel against both; and, with the same purpose and
design, endeavor to cast off the authority of each. The word “bands” here refers to
the restraints imposed by their authority. The figure is probably taken from
fastening a yoke on oxen, or the bands or cords which were used in plowing - the
bands of the yoke being significant of their subjection to the authority or will of
another. The same figure is used by the Saviour in Mat_11:29 : “Take my yoke
upon you.” The idea here is, that it was the purpose of Yahweh and his Anointed to
establish a dominion over men, and that it was equally the purpose of the kings and
rulers here referred to that it should not be done.
And cast away their cords from us - The same idea under another form - the cords
referring not to that which would bind them as prisoners, but to the ropes or thongs
which bound oxen to the plow; and, hence, to that which would bind men to the
service of God. The word translated “cords” is a stronger word than that which is
rendered bands. It means properly what is twisted or interlaced, and refers to the
usual manner in which ropes are made. Perhaps, also, in the words “let us cast
away” there is the expression of an idea that it could be easily done: that they had
only to will it, and it would be done. Together, the expressions refer to the purpose
among men to cast off the government of God, and especially that part of his
administration which refers to his purpose to establish a kingdom under the
Messiah. It thus indicates a prevalent state of the human mind as being impatient of
the restraints and authority of God, and especially of the dominion of his Son,
anointed as King.
The passage Psa_2:1-3 proves:
(1) that the government of Yahweh, the true God, and the Messiah or Christ, is
the same;
(2) that opposition to the Messiah, or to Christ, is in fact opposition to the
purposes of the true God;
(3) that it may be expected that men will oppose that government, and there will
be agitation and commotion in endeavoring to throw it off.
The passage, considered as referring to the Messiah, had an ample fulfillment
(a) in the purposes of the high priests, of Herod, and of Pilate, to put him to death,
and in the general rejection of him by his own countrymen;

17. (b) in the general conduct of mankind - in their impatience of the restraints of the
law of God, and especially of that law as promulgated by the Saviour, demanding
submission and obedience to him; and
(c) in the conduct of individual sinners - in the opposition of the human heart to
the authority of the Lord Jesus.
The passage before us is just as applicable to the world now as it was to the time
when the Savior personally appeared on the earth.
2. Clarke, “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 Divin0
3. Henry, “We are here told what it is they are exasperated at and what they aim at
in this opposition (Psa_2:3): 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, Luk_19:14. 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.
They are here reasoned with concerning it, Psa_2:1. 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.”
4. Gill, “ Let us break their bands asunder,.... These are not the words of the
apostles, nor of the saints in Gospel times, encouraging one another,
notwithstanding the rage and opposition of Jews and Gentiles against their Master

18. and his interest, to break asunder the bands of wickedness, the idolatrous customs
and practices of the Heathens, and to throw off the insupportable yoke of bondage,
of Jewish traditions and ceremonies, see Isa_58:6; but of the Heathen, the people,
and kings of the earth, and rulers who, with one voice, say this and what follows,
and cast away their cords from us; with relation to the Lord and his Anointed,
whose laws, ordinances, and truths, they call bands and cords; so Arama
interprets them of the law, and the commandments; or a yoke, as the Vulgate
Latin, Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render the last word; and
the phrases in general express their irreverence of God and the Messiah, their
rejection Christ and his religion; their non-subjection to him, and their refusal to
have him to rule over them; and their disesteem and contempt of his Gospel, and of
the ordinances of it, and of the laws and rules of his government in his churches:
and also they show the wrong notion that carnal men have of these things that
whereas Christ's yoke is easy, and his burden light, Mat_11:30; his Gospel and the
truths of it make men free from the slavery of sin and Satan, and from a spirit of
bondage, Rom_8:15; and true Gospel liberty consists in an observance of his
commands and ordinances; yet they look upon these things as bands and cords, as
fetters and shackles, as so many restraints upon their liberty, which are not to be
bore: when, on the other hand, they promise themselves liberty in a disengagement
from them, and in the enjoyment of their own lusts and sinful pleasures; whereas
thereby they are brought into bondage, and become the servants of corruption.
Some render it cast away from him (c); either from Christ, or everyone from
himself.”
5. Tim's Sermons, “Two points should also be made regarding verse 3 Let us break
their chains … and throw off their fetters (v. 3). This verse affirms the Lord’s hold
on his creation, on the sinner and the saved. The Lord restraints us from indulging
in all sorts of abominations. Just think, if you thought our depraved society was bad,
how much worse it would be without the staying hand of God on sinners!! Yet, the
depraved man wants the abomination, wants the debauchery, and man knows that
the only way we can indulge in our sin is to rid ourselves of the yoke of the Lord.
As Spurgeon writes, 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?
The question posed by God in verses 1 to 3 of our psalm has to be understood as a
rhetorical question of whether men will succeed against God, for which the
rhetorical answer is provided in the rest of this psalm. Verses 4-6 tell us how God
answers the question just as we would answer a rhetorical question - He laughs and
scoffs at us who shake our fists at Him!”
6. Calvin, “Let us break, etc. This is a prosopopoeia, in which the prophet introduces
his-enemies as speaking; and he employs this figure the better to express their
ungodly and traitorous design. ot that they openly avowed themselves rebels
against God, (for they rather covered their rebellion under every possible pretext,
and presumptuously boasted of having God on their side;) but since they were fully

19. determined, by all means, fair or foul, to drive David from the throne, whatever
they professed with the mouth, the whole of their consultation amounted to this,
how they might overthrow the kingdom which God himself had set up. When he
describes his government under the metaphorical expressions of bonds, and a yoke,
on the persons of his adversaries, he indirectly condemns their pride. For he
represents them speaking scornfully of his government, as if to submit to it were a
slavish and shameful subjection, just as we see it is with all the enemies of Christ
who, when compelled to be subject to his authority reckon it not less degrading than
if the utmost disgrace were put upon them.”
7. Unknown author, We will be our own god! We will rid ourselves of all restraint
and be free to commit all manner of abomination. What a vain and foolish thing!
Yet–
(a) SATA TRIED IT (Isa. 14:12-15). O son of the morning, O day star
how has mischief entered thine heart, to rid thyself of God. What a vain and
empty scheme!
(b) ADAM TRIED IT (Gen. 3:5-6). This was the first man's sin. We will be
gods ourselves, thereby rejecting the reign and rule of the Lord God.
(c) ME TRIED IT AT CALVARY (Acts 4:25-28). We will not have this
man reign over us. We have no king but Caesar. Crucify Him!
(d)THE COSPIRACY, LED BY THE ATICHRIST SATA,
COTIUES TODAY
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
1. Henry, “ 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, Psa_2:4. 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

20. accomplishment of all his own purposes and designs, in spite of all opposition,
Psa_29:10. 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_37:22. 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. Warren Wiersbe, “Are you surprised that God laughs? He who sits in the
heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision (v. 4). God has a sense of
humor, but His laughter is the kind that is born of judgment. It's the laughter of
derision, the laughter of irony. What is God laughing at? He's laughing at puny
little kings and rulers who have united to shake their fists at His throne and tell Him
they don't want Him to rule over them (vv. 2,3). God laughs at them because He
knows man cannot survive without submitting to His authority. Man is made in the
image of God, and if he fights against Him, he fights against himself. Man, in his
rebellion, tries to make God in his own image. He thinks God can be treated with
disdain and disobedience. And God laughs.”
3. Barnes, “He that sitteth in the heavens - God, represented as having his home, his
seat, his throne in heaven, and thence administering the affairs of the world. This
verse commences the second strophe or stanza of the psalm; and this strophe
Psa_2:4-6 corresponds with the first Psa_2:1-3 in its structure. The former describes
the feelings and purposes of those who would cast off the government of God; this
describes the feelings and purposes of God in the same order, for in each case the
psalmist describes what is done, and then what is said: the nations rage
tumultuously Psa_2:1-2, and then say Psa_2:3, “Let us break their bands.” God sits
calmly in the heavens, smiling on their vain attempts Psa_2:4, and then solemnly
declares Psa_2:5-6 that, in spite of all their opposition, he “has set his King upon his
holy hill of Zion.” There is much sublimity in this description. While men rage and
are tumultuous in opposing his plans, he sits calm and undisturbed in his own
heaven. Compare the notes at the similar place in Isa_18:4.
Shall laugh - Will smile at their vain attempts; will not be disturbed or agitated by
their efforts; will go calmly on in the execution of his purposes. Compare as above
Isa_18:4. See also Pro_1:26; Psa_37:13; Psa_59:8. This is, of course, to be regarded
as spoken after the manner of men, and it means that God will go steadily forward
in the accomplishment of his purposes. There is included also the idea that he will
look with contempt on their vain and futile efforts.
The Lord shall have them in derision - The same idea is expressed here in a varied
form, as is the custom in parallelism in Hebrew poetry. The Hebrew word לע ג lâ‛ag,
means properly to stammer; then to speak in a barbarous or foreign tongue; then to

21. mock or deride, by imitating the stammering voice of anyone. Gesenius, Lexicon
Here it is spoken of God, and, of course, is not to be understood literally, anymore
than when eyes, and hands, and feet are spoken of as pertaining to him. The
meaning is, that there is a result in the case, in the Divine Mind, as if he mocked or
derided the vain attempts of men; that is, he goes calmly forward in the execution of
his own purposes, and he looks upon and regards their efforts as vain, as we do the
efforts of others when we mock or deride them. The truth taught in this verse is,
that God will carry forward his own plans in spite of all the attempts of men to
thwart them. This general truth may lie stated in two forms:
(1) He sits undisturbed and unmoved in heaven while men rage against him, and
while they combine to cast off his authority.
(2) He carries forward his own plans in spite of them. This he does:
(a) directly, accomplishing his schemes without regard to their attempts; and
(b) by making their purposes tributary to his own, so making them the
instruments in carrying out his own plans. Compare Act_4:28.
4. Gill, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh,.... At the rage and tumult of the
Heathen; at the vain imaginations of the people; at the opposition of the kings of the
earth; at the mad counsel of the rulers, against him and his Messiah; and at their
proposal to one another to throw off the yoke and government of them both. This is
a periphrasis of God, who dwells in the heavens, and sits there enthroned; though
he is not included and comprehended in them, but is everywhere; and his being
there is mentioned in opposition to the kings of the earth, and the people in it; and
to show the vast distance there is between them, and how they are as nothing to him,
Isa_40:1, Job_4:18; and how vain and fruitless their attempts must be against him
and his Messiah: and his sitting there still and quiet, serene and undisturbed, is
opposed to the running to and fro, and the tumultuous and riotous assembling of the
Heathen. Laughing is ascribed unto him, according to the language of men, as the
Jewish writers speak (d), by an anthropopathy; in the same sense as he is said to
repent and grieve, Gen_6:6; and expresses his security from all their attempts,
Job_5:22; and the contempt he has them in, and the certain punishment of them,
and the aggravation of it; who will not only then laugh at them himself, but expose
them to the laughter and scorn of others, Pro_1:26;
the Lord shall have them in derision; which is a repetition of the same thing in other
words; and is made partly to show the certainty of their disappointment and ruin,
and partly to explain who is meant by him that sits in the heavens. The Targum calls
him, the Word of the Lord; and Alshech interprets it of the Shechinah.
5. Henry, “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, Psa_2:4. 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

22. 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,
Psa_29:10. 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,
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_37:22. 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.”
6. C Bouwman, “ God laughs. It’s not the laughter of delight and pleasure, but a
holy derision. The same word is used in Ezekiel 23 to describe what shall happen to
Jerusalem on account of her sins. Says Ezekiel: You shall be laughed to scorn and
held in derision (vs 31). It strikes us as strange. God has someone in derision? The
concept does not really fit in our mental picture of our holy God. Yet that,
congregation, is what the text says. God laughs, has particular persons in derision,
holds them in scorn.
otice too that God is not just described as being in heaven; rather, God is
described as sitting. And sitting is a Scriptural designation of power, of
governing; it is when the king sits on his throne that he is carrying out his royal
task. Then the Ammonite and Syrian kings may plot together against David and
against the God behind David, but in so doing they are plotting against a God who
governs, a God who both has power and carries out His power. These kings may
pretend to be so important and so powerful, but in actual fact these kings are
nothing compared to the God behind David. And that is why the God of heaven
laughs. For the whole idea of earthly kings rising in revolt against the God of heaven
is ludicrous, is preposterous. Fancy mice confidently revolting against a lion! Small
wonder that God has them in derision….
When the kings of the earth set themselves against David, and so against the God of
David, they ultimately rose up against the coming Christ! Do you see, then, beloved,
how their revolt lay on a line not just with the revolt of Paradise, but also with the
revolt of those mighty men in the days of Christ’s earthly sojourn - these kings and
rulers who counseled together, plotted their strategy to destroy the Son of God, to
put Him to death? For so read the Scriptures; the priests and the elders of Israel -
men of influence and power all- together with Pilate and Herod conspired together
to destroy the King God had set on Zion, the King to whom God had promised the
ends of the earth (cf Acts 4:27). They conspired, and seemed indeed able to break in

23. pieces the bonds of God and Christ His anointed, to cast divine cords from them.
For altogether they decided that Jesus of azareth ought to the crucified, enthroned
on a pole - king of the Jews that He claimed to be….
Yes, on Calvary they conspired together, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. But behind the conspiracy of these earthly kings,
these rulers made of dust, was Satan and his hosts, was the same force as motivated
the kings of the Ammonites and the Syrians; on Calvary climaxed the revolt of the
demons against God. And when God, in awesome wrath against sin, turned His face
from His Son in those three hours of darkness, it was the hosts of hell that attacked
Jesus, that conspired against Him in an effort to destroy once and for all the power
of Him who sits in the heavens.
And make no mistake, beloved: Satan did his utmost to break God’s anointed. With
a rod of iron Satan chastised Jesus on the cross, endeavored to dash Him to pieces
like a potter’s vessel. He hung there, a broken man, rejected by the God who
anointed Him, having nothing royal, nothing authoritative about Him. And the
henchmen of hell jeered at Him, they laughed Him to scorn; Come on, you who say
you are the King of the Jews, save yourself. And hell sat in stitches when on top of
the pole that sign was nailed; Jesus, King of the Jews. I have set my king on
Zion, my holy hill.’ Yes, O Israel, behold your king! He’s on his hill, alright.
Crucified. Behold your king!
Hell laughed, laughed while the Son of God hung so dejectedly on the cross. But,
beloved, make no mistake here either: heaven laughed too! O certainly, the awful
anger of holy God was poured out upon the Son, this king on Zion. But while the
kings of the earth, instigated as they were by the devil, nailed Christ to the cross,
while Satan pulled out all the stops in his effort to destroy this king, God in heaven
had Satan and his henchmen in derision. For here is the folly of hell. Satan, and
Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel with him, was
doing exactly what God had predestined should take place (cf Acts 4:28). They
conspired, revolted against God. And yet did not conspire without God. In fact,
their very revolt was proof that God remained sovereign; they were doing what God
had determined that they should do.”
7. God always has the last laugh. An unknown author wrote, “Psalm 2 opens with
the enemies of the LORD God in open rebellion against Him and His Anointed One.
It also describes the ultimate victory of the Lord's anointed over His rebellious
enemies. It reaches beyond King David to the glorious reign of the one who can
fulfill every aspect of the eternal kingdom as promised to David in 2 Samuel 7:13,
16. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His
Kingdom forever. . . and your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me
forever: your throne shall be established forever. “Mark the quiet dignity of the
omnipotent God. He does not take the trouble to rise up and do battle with the
raging people. HE LAUGHS! How absurd, how irrational, how futile are the claims
and boasting of weak and frail creatures against Him!”

24. 8. Dr. McGee, “What kind of laughter is this? Let me say at the outset that it is not
the laughter of humor. He is not being funny. Do not misunderstand me — there is
humor in the Bible. The devil has really hit a home run by making people think that
going to church is quite an ordeal. We are living in a day when folk think you can't
have fun in church. I think the Bible is full of humor. Those of you who study with
us through the Bible know we find a lot of it. There used to be a dear maiden lady at
a church I served who never found any humor in the Bible. When I gave a message
which cited some humorous incident, she used to come down, shake a bony finger
under my nose and say, Dr. McGee, you are being irreverent to find humor in the
Bible. I said to her, Don't you wish you could? She's gone now to be with the
Lord, and I certainly hope she's had a good laugh since she has been there because
she has gone to the place where she can have a good time. She needs to have a good
time — she never had one down here. There are too many Christians like that
today. My friend, it is going to be thrilling to be with Him some day. We're going to
have a wonderful time with Him. It's going to be fun, and I'm looking forward to
that. God has a sense of humor, and there is humor in His Word.
Since this is not the laughter of humor, what is it? Well, look at it from God's
viewpoint — little man down there parading up and down, shaking his midget fist in
Heaven's face and saying, Come on out and fight me! I'm against you. God looks
down at the puny little creature. It's utterly preposterous. It is so ridiculous! He
looks down and laughs. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall
have them in derision. It is so utterly ridiculous, my friend. Little men putting
themselves in opposition to God won't be around very long. Mussolini did a lot of
talking, and we haven't heard from him lately. Stalin did the same thing, and he is
gone. Little man plays his brief role here on the stage of life, then his part is over.
How ridiculous and preposterous for him to oppose God!”
9. Treasury of David, “Verse 4. 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

25. 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.
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 4. 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.
5 Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
1. Henry, “They are justly punished, Psa_2:5. 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

26. 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_11:4; 2Th_2:8. 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 into 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.
2. Barnes, “Then shall he speak unto them - That is, this seeming indifference and
unconcern will not last forever. He will not always look calmly on, nor will he suffer
them to accomplish their purposes without interposing. When he has shown how he
regards their schemes - how impotent they are, how much they are really the objects
of derision, considered as an attempt to cast off his authority - he will interpose and
declare his own purposes - his determination to establish his king on the hill of Zion.
This is implied in the word “then.”
In his wrath - In anger. His contempt for their plans will be followed by
indignation against themselves for forming such plans, and for their efforts to
execute them. One of these things is not inconsistent with the other, for the purpose
of the rebels may be very weak and futile, and yet their wickedness in forming the
plan may be very great. The weakness of the scheme, and the fact that it will be
vain, does not change the character of him who has made it; the fact that he is
foolish does not prove that he is not wicked. God will treat the scheme and those
who form it as they deserve - the one with contempt, the other with his wrath. The
word “wrath” here, it is hardly necessary to say, should be interpreted in the same
manner as the word “laugh” in Psa_2:4, not as denoting a feeling precisely like that
which exists in the human mind, subject as man is to unreasonable passion, but as it
is proper to apply it to God - the strong conviction (without passion or personal
feeling) of the evil of sin, and the expression of his purpose in a manner adapted to
show that evil, and to restrain others from its commission. It means that he will
speak to them as if he were angry; or that his treatment of them will be such as men
experience from others when they are angry.
And vex them - The word here rendered “vex” - בה ל bâhal - means in the original
or Qal form, to tremble; and then, in the form used here, the Piel, to cause to
tremble, to terrify, to strike with consternation. This might be done either by a
threat or by some judgment indicative of displeasure or anger. Psa_83:15;
Dan_11:44; Job_22:10. The idea here is that he would alarm them, or make them
quake with fear, by what is specified of his purpose; to wit, by his determination to
set his King on his holy hill, and by placing the scepter of the earth in his hands.
Their designs, therefore, would be frustrated, and if they did not submit to him they
must perish (see Psa_2:9-12).
In his sore displeasure - literally, in his “heat” or “burning,” that is, in his anger;

27. as we speak of one that is inflamed with anger, or that burns with indignation; or, as
we speak of the passions, kindling into a flame. The meaning here is, that God
would be displeased with their purposes, and that the expression of his design would
be adapted to fill them with the deepest alarm. Of course, all such words are to be
interpreted in accordance with what we know to be the nature of God, and not in
accordance with the same passions in men. God is opposed to sin, and will express
his opposition as if he felt angry, but it will be in the most calm manner, and not as
the result of passion. It will be simply because it ought to be so.
3. Gill, “Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,.... Or, and he shall speak to
them; so oldius: that is, the Lord that sits in the heavens, and laughs, and has the
Heathen, the people, the kings and rulers in derision, shall not only silently despise
their furious and concerted opposition to him and his Messiah, but shall at last
speak out unto them, not in his word, but in his providences; and not in love, as to
his own people, when he chastises them, but in great wrath, inflicting severe and just
punishment. It seems to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem, after the crucifixion,
sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; and after the pouring out of
the Spirit, and when the Gospel, to their great mortification, had got ground, and
made large advances in the Gentile world;
and vex them in his sore displeasure; or in the heat of his anger (e): see
Deu_29:24, where the Holy Ghost speaks of the same people, and of the same ruin
and destruction of them at the same time, as here: and as the carrying of the Jews
captive into Babylon is called their vexation, Isa_9:1; much more may their
destruction by the Romans; then it was they howled for vexation of spirit,
Isa_65:14; the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermost; they were filled with
trouble and confusion, with terror and consternation, as the word (f) used signifies;
they were vexed to see themselves straitened and pent in on every side by the Roman
armies, oppressed with famine and internal divisions, rapine and murder; to see
their temple profaned and burnt, their city plundered and destroyed, and
themselves taken and carried captive: and what most of all vexed them was, that
their attempts against Jesus of azareth, the true Messiah, were fruitless; and that,
notwithstanding all their opposition to him, his name was famous, his interest
increased, his kingdom was enlarged, through the spread of his Gospel among the
Gentiles; and what Jehovah in Psa_2:6 says, though it is to the comfort of his people,
was to their terror and vexation.”
4. Spurgeon, “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

28. 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;
or 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.
7. Treasury of David, “Verses 5, 9. 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.

29. 6 I have installed my King [c]
on Zion, my holy hill.
1. Henry, “They are certainly defeated, and all their counsels turned headlong
(Psa_2:6): 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, 2Sa_5:6. 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 endeavors 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 honor 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 honor, 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_2:3, Mic_4:2), 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.”
2. Barnes, “Yet have I set my king - The word “yet” is merely the translation of the
conjunction “and.” It is rendered in the Vulgate “but ...autem;” and so in the
Septuagint, δέ de. It would be better rendered perhaps by the usual word “and:”
“And I have set or constituted my king,” etc. This is properly to be regarded as the

30. expression of God himself; as what he says in reply to their declared purposes
Psa_2:3, and as what is referred to in Psa_2:5. The meaning is, he would speak to
them in his anger, and say, “In spite of all your purposes and all your opposition, I
have set my king on the hill of Zion.” That is, they had their plans and God had his;
they meant to cast off his authority, and to prevent his purpose to set up the Messiah
as king; he resolved, on the contrary, to carry out his purposes, and he would do it.
The word rendered set - נסך nâsak - means, literally, to pour, to pour out, as in
making a libation to the Deity, Exo_30:9; Hos_9:4; Isa_30:1; then, to pour out oil in
anointing a king or priest, and hence, to consecrate, to inaugurate, etc. See
Jos_13:21; Psa_83:11; Mic_5:5. The idea here is, that he had solemnly inaugurated
or constituted the Messiah as king; that is, that he had formed the purpose to do it,
and he therefore speaks as if it were already done. The words “my King” refer, of
course, to the anointed One, the Messiah, Psa_2:2. It is not simply a king, or the
king, but “my king,” meaning that he derived his appointment from God, and that
he was placed there to execute his purposes. This indicates the very near relation
which the anointed One sustains to him who had appointed him, and prepares us for
what is said in the subsequent verse, where he is called His Son.
Upon my holy hill of Zion - Zion was the southern hill in the city of Jerusalem. See
the notes at Isa_1:8. It was the highest of the hills on which the city was built. It was
made by David the capital of his kingdom, and was hence called the city of David,
2Ch_5:2. By the poets and prophets it is often put for Jerusalem itself, Isa_2:3;
Isa_8:18; Isa_10:24; Isa_33:14, et al. It did not obtain this distinction until it was
taken by David from the Jebusites, 2Sa_5:5-9; 1Ch_11:4-8. To that place David
removed the ark of the covenant, and there he built an altar to the Lord in the
threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite, 2Sa_24:15-25. Zion became thenceforward
the metropolis of the king dom, and the name was transferred to the entire city. It is
to this that the passage here refers; and the meaning is, that in that metropolis or
capital God had constituted his Messiah king, or had appointed him to reign over
his people. This cannot refer to David himself, for in no proper sense was he
constituted or inaugurated king in Jerusalem; that is, there was no such ceremony
of inauguration as is referred to here. Zion was called the “holy hill,” or “the hill of
my holiness” (Hebrew), because it was set apart as the seat of the theocracy, or the
residence of God, from the time that David removed the ark there. That became the
place where God reigned, and where his worship was celebrated. This must refer to
the Messiah, and to the fact that God had set him apart to reign over his people, and
thence over all the earth. The truth taught in this passage is, that God will carry
forward his own purposes in spite of all the opposition which men can make, and
that it is his deliberate design to make his anointed One - the Messiah - King over
all.
3. Gill, “Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Or, behold, I have set,
c. so oldius by Zion is meant the church of God, especially under the Gospel
dispensation; see Heb_12:22; so called, because, as Zion was, it is the object of God's
love and choice, the place of his habitation and residence; where divine worship is
observed, and the word and ordinances of God administered; and where the Lord
distributes his blessings of grace; and which is the perfection of beauty, through

31. Christ's comeliness put upon her; and will be the joy of the whole earth: it is
strongly fortified by the power and grace of God, and is immovable and
impregnable, being built on Christ, the Rock of ages; and, like Zion, it is an high
hill, eminent and visible; and more especially will be so when the mountain of the
Lord's house is established upon the tops of the mountains: and it is an Holy One,
through the presence and worship of God in it, and the sanctification of his Spirit.
And over this hill, the church, Christ is King; he is King of saints, and is
acknowledged by them; and it is for their great safety and security, their joy,
comfort, and happiness, that he is set over them: he is called by his Father my
King, because he who is King of Zion is his Anointed, as in Psa_2:2; and his Son,
his begotten Son, as in Psa_2:7; his firstborn, his fellow and equal; and because he is
his as King; not that he is King over him, for his Father is greater than he, as man
and Mediator, or with respect to his office capacity, in which he is to be considered
as King; and therefore he is rather King under him: but he is a King of his setting
up, and therefore called his; he has appointed him his kingdom, given him the
throne of his father David; put a crown of pure gold on his head, and crowned him
with glory and honour, and the sceptre of righteousness in his hand, and has given
him a name above every name. He did not make himself a King, nor was he made so
by men; but he was set up, or anointed by God the Father, as the word (g) here
used signifies; and may refer either to the inauguration of Christ into his kingly
office, and his investiture with it from all eternity, as in Pro_8:23, where the same
word is used as here; and anointing with oil being a ceremony performed at the
instalment of kings into their office, the phrase is used for the thing itself: or rather,
since Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost in the human nature, at his
incarnation and baptism, and especially at the time of his ascension, when he was
made or declared to be LORD and CHRIST; this may refer to the time when he, as
the ascended Lord and King, gave gifts to men, to his apostles, and qualified them in
an extraordinary manner to carry his Gospel into the Gentile world, and spread it
there, as they did with success; whereby his kingdom became more visible and
glorious, to the great vexation of the Jews; for, in spite of all their opposition, Christ
being set by his Father King over his church and people, continued so, and his
kingdom was every day more and more enlarged, to their great mortification.”
4. “Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, though widely separated in the book of Psalms, are both
Messianic Psalms of David. The latter says in the superscription “A Psalm of
David,” and the context bears out that it was about this famous king, and his more
famous successor Jesus. Acts 4:25 explicitly attributes the former to “thy servant
David.” Both psalms are applied to Jesus by ew Testament writers. Both are
similar in that they speak of Messiah vested with royal authority subduing his
enemies and both are famous psalms well known and well discussed.
Both Psalm 2 and 110 refer to Christ entering his royal honors at his resurrection.
“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day
have I begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7). In the Hebrew language, as in the Greek, the
word for begotten is used either for begettal or birth, and could be rendered