Psalms 2:9

_THOU SHALT BREAK THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON; THOU SHALT DASH THEM IN PIECES LIKE A POTTER'S VESSEL._ Break them with a rod of iron. Whichsoever of the pagan nations will not obey thee willingly as their rightful King, shall be broken by thee with a sceptre, not of ivory, silver, or gold, the ordinary materials, but of iron, crushing the anti-Christian faction (Psalms 2:2) with ponderous force. Compare Matt. 20:44 , "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder;" also, the kingdom of the great mountain issuing from the stone, which smote the image on the feet-namely, the fourth or iron kingdom "breaking in pieces," and consuming it and all other kingdoms, but itself standing "forever" (Daniel 2:34;...

This is expressly stated to teach us that Christ is furnished with power by which to reign even over those who are averse to his authority, and refuse to obey him. The language of David implies that all will not voluntarily receive his yoke, but that many will be stiff-necked and rebellious, whom notwithstanding he shall subdue by force, and compel to submit to him. It is true, the beauty and glory of the kingdom of which David speaks are more illustriously displayed when a willing people run to Christ in the day of his power, to show themselves his obedient subjects; but as the greater part of men rise up against him with a violence which spurns all restraint, it was necessary to add the truth, that this king would prove himself superior to all such opposition. Of this unconquerable power in war God exhibited a specimen, primarily in the person of David, who, as we know, vanquished and...

7-9 The kingdom of the Messiah is founded upon an eternal decree of God the Father. This our Lord Jesus often referred to, as what he governed himself by. God hath said unto him, Thou art my Son, and it becomes each of us to say to him, Thou art my Lord, my Sovereign'. The Son, in asking the heathen for his inheritance, desires their happiness in him; so that he pleads for them, ever lives to do so, and is able to save to the uttermost, and he shall have multitudes of willing, loyal subjects, among them. Christians are the possession of the Lord Jesus; they are to him for a name and a praise. God the Father gives them to him, when, by his Spirit and grace, he works upon them to submit to the Lord Jesus....

Verse Psalms 2:9. _THOU SHALT BREAK THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON_] This may refer to the _Jewish nation_, whose final rejection of the Gospel was foreseen, and in whose place the Gentiles or _heathen_ were brought into the Church of Christ. They were dispossessed of their land, their _city_ was razed to its foundations, their _temple_ was burnt with fire, and upwards of a _million of themselves_ were slaughtered by the Romans! So heavily did the _iron rod_ of God's judgments fall upon them for their obstinate unbelief....

THOU SHALT BREAK THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON - That is, evidently, thine enemies, for it cannot be supposed to be meant that he would sway such a scepter over his own people. The idea is that he would crush and subdue all his foes. He would have absolute power, and the grant which had been made to him would be accompanied with authority sufficient to hold it. That dominion which was to be conceded to him would be not only one of protection to his friends, but also of punishment on his enemies; and the statement here is made prominent because the former part of the psalm had respect to rebels, and the Messiah is here represented as being invested with power sufficient to punish and restrain them. The Vulgate renders this “thou shalt rule;” the Septuagint, “thou shalt feed - ποιμανεῖς _poimaneis_; that is, thou shalt feed them as a shepherd does his flock; thou shalt exercise over them the ca

EXPOSITION HERE we have again a psalm without a title, and, so far, we are left to conjecture its age and author. The Jews, however, have always regarded it as Davidical; and there is evidence in Scripture itself (Acts 4:25) that the early Christians were of the same opinion. Modern critics, for the most part, agree, although there are some (Ewald, Paulus, Bleek) who ascribe it to Solomon, and others (Maurer, Delitzsch) who suppose it written by Hezekiah or Isaiah. The psalm is certainly Messianic. It is assumed to be so in Acts 4:25; Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5;...

THOU SHALT BREAK THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON,.... Not his inheritance and possession among the Gentiles, the chosen ones given him by the Father; these he delights in, takes care of, protects, and preserves: but the stubborn and rebellious ones among the Heathen, and in each of the parts of the world, who will not have him to reign over them; who treat his person with contempt, reject his government, disobey his Gospel, and despise his commands; towards these Christ will use severity, and will exert his power and break them in pieces. The Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, render it, "shall feed" or "rule them"; and so it is cited in Revelation 2:27; and applied to Christ, the Word of God, and King of kings; and must be understood, as it is in those places, of the severity of his government over them, of the strictness of his justice, without the least display

Psalms 2:1. _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._ This was what they did when they took the Lord of life and glory, dragged him to the judgment seat, and then nailed him to the accursed tree. «This is the heir,» said they, «let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.» They thought that they had destroyed the power of Christ, the appointed and anointed King, and that he would never reign among the sons of men. Psalms 2:4. _He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision._ God might well laugh at their folly, for the

Psalms 2 THE REJECTED KING _ 1. The rejection and the coming confederacy (Psalms 2:1)_ 2. Jehovah's attitude and interference (Psalms 2:4) 3. The coming of the King and his inheritance (Psalms 2:7) 4. Warning and exhortation (Psalms 2:10) Psalms 2:1. The rejection of the perfect Man, the Son of God, by man, is here revealed. It is the first psalm quoted in the New Testament. See...

II. MESSIAH'S REIGN. Also without a title. Here we have a distinctly Messianic Ps., put in this place, possibly, as an introduction to other Messianic Pss. which follow. Messianic it is in the strictest sense of the word, for it does not look forward to a dynasty of Davidic kings (_cf._ Jeremiah 23:4 ff., Ezekiel 34:23), or to the direct intervention of Yahweh, as 2 Is. and Malachi do. Rather the Kingdom of God is to be founded and maintained by an anointed King who is the Son of God and His vicar on earth. The poet speaks as if the ideal King had already ascended His throne. But we cannot be sure that the Ps. refers to an actual king then alive. He is present to the imagination of the Psalmist: that is all we can say. Much less can we point to any contemporary in whom his dream was already realised