7 I will make clear the Lord's decision: he has said to me, You are my son, this day have I given you being.
Which God has now put into effect for our children, by sending Jesus; as it says in the second Psalm, You are my Son; this day I have given you being.
And a voice came out of heaven, saying, This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
To which of the angels did God say at any time, You are my Son, this day I have given you being? or, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son? And again, when he is sending his only Son into the world, he says, Let all the angels of God give him worship.
For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life.
While he was still talking, a bright cloud came over them: and a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased; give ear to him.
And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.
And so the Word became flesh and took a place among us for a time; and we saw his glory--such glory as is given to an only son by his father--saw it to be true and full of grace.
No man has seen God at any time; the only Son, who is on the breast of the Father, he has made clear what God is.
And though he was a Son, through the pain which he underwent, the knowledge came to him of what it was to be under God's orders;
And they gave a loud cry, saying, What have we to do with you, you Son of God? Have you come here to give us punishment before the time?
Making clear from the first what is to come, and from past times the things which have not so far come about; saying, My purpose is fixed, and I will do all my pleasure;
But his purpose is fixed and there is no changing it; and he gives effect to the desire of his soul.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 2
Commentary on Psalms 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 2
As the foregoing psalm was moral, and showed us our duty, so this is evangelical, and shows us our Saviour. Under the type of David's kingdom (which was of divine appointment, met with much opposition, but prevailed at last) the kingdom of the Messiah, the Son of David, is prophesied of, which is the primary intention and scope of the psalm; and I think there is less in it of the type, and more of the anti-type, than in any of the gospel psalms, for there is nothing in it but what is applicable to Christ, but some things that are not at all applicable to David (v. 6, 7): "Thou art my Son' (v. 8), "I will give thee the uttermost parts of the earth,' and (v. 12), "Kiss the Son.' It is interpreted of Christ, Acts 4:27; 13:33; Heb. 1:5. The Holy Ghost here foretels,
Or thus: We have here,
This psalm, as the former, is very fitly prefixed to this book of devotions, because, as it is necessary to our acceptance with God that we should be subject to the precepts of his law, so it is likewise that we should be subject to the grace of his gospel, and come to him in the name of a Mediator.
Psa 2:1-6
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,
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.'
Psa 2:7-9
We have heard what the kings of the earth have to say against Christ's kingdom, and have heard it gainsaid by him that sits in heaven; let us now hear what the Messiah himself has to say for his kingdom, to make good his claims, and it is what all the powers on earth cannot gainsay.
In singing this, and praying it over, we must give glory to Christ as the eternal Son of God and our rightful Lord, and must take comfort from this promise, and plead it with God, that the kingdom of Christ shall be enlarged and established and shall triumph over all opposition.
Psa 2:10-12
We have here the practical application of this gospel doctrine concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, by way of exhortation to the kings and judges of the earth. They hear that it is in vain to oppose Christ's government; let them therefore be so wise for themselves as to submit to it. He that has power to destroy them shows that he has no pleasure in their destruction, for he puts them into a way to make themselves happy, v. 10. Those that would be wise must be instructed; and those are truly wise that receive instruction from the word of God. Kings and judges stand upon a level with common persons before God; and it is as necessary for them to be religious as for any others. Those that give law and judgment to others must receive law from Christ, and it will be their wisdom to do so. What is said to them is said to all, and is required of every one of us, only it is directed to kings and judges because of the influence which their example will have upon their inferiors, and because they were men of rank and power that opposed the setting up of Christ's kingdom, v. 2. We are exhorted,
In singing this, and praying it over, we should have our hearts filled with a holy awe of God, but at the same time borne up with a cheerful confidence in Christ, in whose mediation we may comfort and encourage ourselves and one another. We are the circumcision, that rejoice in Christ Jesus.