A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM II.
_The kingdom of Christ.—Kings are exhorted to accept it._ Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his Anointed, _saying_, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou _art_ my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give _thee_ the heathen _for_ thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth _for_ thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 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. This Psalm is a remarkable prophecy concerning Christ: it is cited by the apostles in the Acts, chapter iv.: it predicted that Christ should suffer, be crucified, and glorified, and that he should be King and Lord of all creatures; that to him should be given all power both in heaven and in earth, and that his name should be above every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come.
This Psalm contains also a description of the kingdom of Christ and the terrible threatenings of God against the kings, the princes, the wise, and the powerful of the world; that they shall all perish, who, being carried away with the pride of human reason and carnal wisdom, do not acknowledge this King, Christ, nor obey his gospel; but who oppose his kingdom, and endeavour to blot out his name. On the other hand, this Psalm contains most consoling promises, namely, that he that sitteth in the heavens, (in comparison of whom all the kings of the earth are mere worms,) holds in derision, and in a moment defeats, all their counsels and all their crafty devices against his word and this kingdom of Christ; and that he ever powerfully and miraculously saves, preserves, delivers, and prospers believers, and the whole church throughout the world, in the midst of the kingdom of the devil, and against all the powers and the gates of hell. This Psalm flows from the First Commandment; where God declares that he alone will be our God, to save us and deliver us from all afflictions. Thus, it was he alone that delivered us, through Christ, from sin, from death, from the power of the devil, and from hell, and gave unto us eternal life. This pertains to the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.