Psalm 2 - verse 7: This day have I begotten you

Continuing this mini-series on Psalm 2, today a look at the verse used at Midnight Mass of Christmas.

7	Vulgate	Dóminus dixit ad me: * fílius meus es tu, ego hódie génui te.
	Sept	διαγγέλλων τὸ πρόσταγμα κυρίου κύριος εἶπεν πρός με υἱός μου εἶ σύ ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε

Dóminus (the Lord) dixit (he said) ad (to) me: * fílius (the son) meus (my) es (you are) tu (you), ego (I) hódie (today) génui (I have begotten) te (you).

dico, dixi, dictum, ere 3, to say, speak;  to sing;  in the sense of to think, plan, desire; to praise.

filius, ii, m. a son. Of the Son of God;Of the angels; Of men: children, descendants.. ilii alieni, strangers.

hodie, adv.  today.

gigno, genui, genitum, ere 3 to beget. 

DR	The Lord said to me: you are my son, this day I have begotten you.
Brenton	the Lord said to me, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee.
MD	The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten Thee.
RSV	He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you.
Cover	whereof the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
Knox	how he told me, Thou art my son; I have begotten thee this day.
Grail	The Lord said to me: "You are my Son. It is I who have begotten you this day.

This verse is specifically applied to Christ by Scripture in Acts 13:

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, `Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee.' And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke in this way, `I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' (32-34)

It is important, though, to interpret this attribution correctly, in line with the thinking of the Church, for verse 7 of Psalm 2 can be applied to the three 'generations' of Christ: the eternal generation of the Son from the Father; the Incarnation, and his re-birth in the Resurrection.

Cassiororus perhaps provides the clearest explanation for its interpretation in relation to the eternal generation of the three Divine persons:

The Father had been able to designate and implant Him as Creator of the world.  By saying this day, He revealed that their majesty was co-external; with God, today has no beginning and is brought to no end.  He was not then, He will not be, but He always abides, always is, and the expression this day means any time you mention.  So in Genesis He bade Moses say of himself: Go and say to the children of Israel, I am who am.  He who is hath sent me to you.  So he wanted eternity to be denoted by the present tense.  This use of present time (‘today’) is acknowledged to be peculiar to the divine Scriptures in this sense of perpetuity.

The second meaning though, reflected in the Churches uses of this verse as the Introit in the Midnight Mass of Christmas, is in relation to the nativity:

Have I begotten thee signifies the nativity, of which Isaiah wrote: Who shall declare his generation?  He is Light from light, Almighty from Almighty, true God from true God, from whom and in whom are all things. (Cassiodorus)

 St Robert Bellarmine adds the third possible interpretation, namely in relation to the Resurrection, a reading taken up by St Aloysius Liguori and mentioned also in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

...The Psalter gives us the key to prayer in Christ. In the "today" of the Resurrection the Father says: "You are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." [Ps 2:7-8; cf. Acts 13:33] 

Psalm 2: Quare fremuérunt Gentes

Vulgate	Douay Rheims
Quare fremuérunt Gentes: * et pópuli meditáti sunt inánia?	Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?
2  Astitérunt reges terræ, et príncipes convenérunt in unum * advérsus Dóminum, et advérsus Christum ejus.	The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.
3  Dirumpámus víncula eórum: * et projiciámus a nobis jugum ipsórum.	Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.
4. Qui hábitat in cælis, irridébit eos: * et Dóminus subsannábit eos.	He that dwells in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them.
5  Tunc loquétur ad eos in ira sua, * et in furóre suo conturbábit eos.	Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his rage.
6  Ego autem constitútus sum Rex ab eo super Sion montem sanctum ejus, * prædicans præcéptum ejus.	But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.
7  Dóminus dixit ad me: * Fílius meus es tu, ego hódie génui te.	The Lord has said to me: You are my son, this day have I begotten you.
8  Póstula a me, et dábo tibi Gentes hereditátem tuam, * et possessiónem tuam términos terræ.	Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for your possession
9  Reges eos in virga férrea, * et tamquam vas fíguli confrínges eos.	You shall rule them with a rod of iron, and shall break them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
10  Et nunc, reges, intellígite: * erudímini, qui judicátis terram.	And now, O you kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth.
11  Servíte Dómino in timóre: * et exsultáte ei cum   tremóre.	Serve the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling.
12  Apprehéndite disciplínam, nequándo irascátur Dóminus, * et pereátis de via justa.	Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way.
13  Cum exárserit in brevi ira ejus: * beáti omnes qui confídunt in eo.	When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him.

And you can find the next set of notes on the psalm here.

Psalm 2 - verse 6 - Proclamation of Christ the King

From verse 6 onwards the voice of the speaker in Psalm 2 shifts from that of the psalmist to Christ himself.

6	V/R	Ego autem constitútus sum rex ab eo super sion montem sanctum ejus, * prædicans præcéptum ejus
	OR	ego autem constitutus sum rex ab eo super Sion montem sanctum eius praedicans praeceptum Domini
	NV	Ego autem constitui regem meum super Sion, montem sanctum meum! ”. Praedicabo decretum eius.
	JH	ego autem orditus sum regem meum  super Sion montem sanctum suum adnuntiabo Dei praeceptum .
		ἐγὼ δὲ κατεστάθην βασιλεὺς ὑ{P'} αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Σιων ὄρος τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ

Ego (I, emphasis) autem (but) constitútus sum (I have been appointed) rex (king) ab (by) eo (him) super (over) sion montem (mountain) sanctum (holy) ejus (his), prædicans (preaching) præcéptum (the precept) ejus (his)

autem, adversative conj., but, on the contrary, however.

constituo, stitui, stultum, ere 3 to set, place, put, appoint; make, create.;build, found; to devise, design ;to fix, appoint, mark out.

rex, regis, m. a king, ruler

super, with, on, upon, for, because of.

mons, montis, m., a mountain

sanctus, a, um, adj., holy.  

praedico, avi, atum, are, to proclaim, declare, announce, preach.

praeceptum, i, n. a law, commandment, precept, ordinance

DR	But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.
Brenton	But I have been made king by him on Sion his holy mountain, declaring the ordinance of the Lord:
MD	But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.
RSV	I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree of the LORD
Cover	Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion. I will preach the law,
Knox	Here, on mount Sion, my sanctuary, I enthrone a king of my own choice. Mine to proclaim the Lord’s edict;
Grail	"It is I who have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain."(I will announce the decree of the Lord:)

Christ the king

Christ's kingship, the fourth century commentator Theodoret points out, by virtue of his divinity is eternal, and not appointed by anyone.  

But as Incarnate Son, he has been appointed by the Father to rule the world: 

 …In fact he rules not only over Mount Sion but over all things visible and invisible and over all creation.  But on Mount Sion and in Judea he propounded his divine teachings to those who attended; those who accepted it derived streams flowing into the whole world through their obedience to his divine precepts: Go forth, he says, make disciples of all nations.  Now the verse I have been established as king by him is expressed in human fashion: as God he possesses his kingship by nature, as human being he receives it by election…

Mt Sion is the Church

Sion, the holy mountain has a wide variety of meanings in Scripture, including signifying the Church and heaven.  In this case, though, the Fathers argue that it clearly means the Church.  St Augustine, for example, instructs that:

we must not understand it of anything rather than of the Church, where daily is the desire raised of beholding the bright glory of God, according to that of the Apostle, but we with open face beholding the glory of the Lord.  Therefore the meaning of this is, Yet I am set by Him as King over His holy Church; which for its eminence and stability He calls a mountain.  

Preaching the Gospel

The final phrase of the verse, teaching the commandments or law of the Lord, is generally interpreted as referring to the Gospel.

Psalm 2: Quare fremuérunt Gentes

Vulgate	Douay Rheims
Quare fremuérunt Gentes: * et pópuli meditáti sunt inánia?	Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?
2  Astitérunt reges terræ, et príncipes convenérunt in unum * advérsus Dóminum, et advérsus Christum ejus.	The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.
3  Dirumpámus víncula eórum: * et projiciámus a nobis jugum ipsórum.	Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.
4. Qui hábitat in cælis, irridébit eos: * et Dóminus subsannábit eos.	He that dwells in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them.
5  Tunc loquétur ad eos in ira sua, * et in furóre suo conturbábit eos.	Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and troubled them in his rage.
6  Ego autem constitútus sum Rex ab eo super Sion montem sanctum ejus, * prædicans præcéptum ejus.	But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.
7  Dóminus dixit ad me: * Fílius meus es tu, ego hódie génui te.	The Lord has said to me: You are my son, this day have I begotten you.
8  Póstula a me, et dábo tibi Gentes hereditátem tuam, * et possessiónem tuam términos terræ.	Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for your possession
9  Reges eos in virga férrea, * et tamquam vas fíguli confrínges eos.	You shall rule them with a rod of iron, and shall break them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
10  Et nunc, reges, intellígite: * erudímini, qui judicátis terram.	And now, O you kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth.
11  Servíte Dómino in timóre: * et exsultáte ei cum   tremóre.	Serve the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling.
12  Apprehéndite disciplínam, nequándo irascátur Dóminus, * et pereátis de via justa.	Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way.
13  Cum exárserit in brevi ira ejus: * beáti omnes qui confídunt in eo.	When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him.

And you can find the next set of notes on this psalm here.

Psalm 2 - verse 4&5: Can we mock and deride evil-doers?

Christ Crowned and Mocked, c1530

Verses 4&5 of Psalm 2 invites us to see the irony in the fate of those who plotted against Christ: those who mocked Christ shall in turn be mocked and condemned, shall be the subject of God's anger and rage.

4	V/NV	Qui hábitat in cælis, irridébit eos: * et Dóminus subsannábit eos.
	Rom	qui habitat in caelis inridebit eos  et Dominus subsannabit eos
	JH	habitator caeli ridebit  Dominus subsannabit eos
		ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐκγελάσεται αὐτούς καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐκμυκτηριεῖ αὐτούς

Qui (who) hábitat (he lives) in cælis (in the heavens), irridébit (he will/shall laugh at) eos (them): et (and) Dóminus (the Lord) subsannábit (he will mock) eos (them). 

habito, avi, atum, are (freq. of habeo), to dwell, abide, live.

caelum, i, n., or caeli, orum, m. heaven, the abode of God; the heavens as opposed to the earth; the air; caelum caeli, or caeli caelorum is a Hebraism signifying the highest heavens, the heaven of heavens.

irrideo, risi, risum, ere 2 to laugh at, mock.

subsanno, avi, atum, are, to mock, deride, laugh to scorn.

DR	He that dwells in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them.
Brenton	He that dwells in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn, and the Lord shall mock them.
MD	He that dwelleth in heaven doth mock them, and the Lord doth laugh them to scorn.
RSV	He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
Cover	He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.
Knox	He who dwells in heaven is laughing at their threats, the Lord makes light of them
Grail	He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord is laughing them to scorn.

This verse points to the ridiculousness of the plot against Christ.  Cassiodorus notes that:

...they tried to set up false witnesses against the truth, they preferred to crucify the Lord of glory, and they stupidly sealed up the burial chamber of the almighty Christ.  

Their efforts are rendered futile by Christ's triumph, since, as Theodoret points out:

He who was crucified by them and given over to death is heaven, he has all things in his grasp, and he shows their plans to be vain and futile.  His Father, Lord of all things, will inflict a fitting punishment on them.

How should we view the idea that God mocks and derides the plotters though?  Is this, as some modern commentaries suggest, simply an anthropomorphism intended to convey an idea, but not something to imitate?

God's mockery and the call to repentance

The first point to note is that mockery and derision can be a tool that can make people realise the ridiculousness of their actions.  Proverbs 1:20-29, for example, instructs us to heed the warnings given now lest God refuse to help us in a time of crisis:

And all the while Wisdom is publishing her message, crying it aloud in the open streets; never a meeting of roads, never a gateway, but her voice is raised, echoing above the din of it. What, says she, are you still gaping there, simpletons? Do the reckless still court their own ruin? Rash fools, will you never learn?  Pay heed, then, to my protest; listen while I speak out my mind to you, give you open warning. Since my call is unheard, since my hand beckons in vain,  since my counsel is despised and all my reproof goes for nothing, it will be mine to laugh, to mock at your discomfiture, when perils close about you.  Close about you they will, affliction and sore distress, disasters that sweep down suddenly, gathering storms of ruin.It will be their turn, then, to call aloud; my turn, then, to refuse an answer. They will be early abroad looking for me, but find me never; fools, that grew weary of instruction, and would not fear the Lord.

The key, Cassiodorus suggests, is the spirit with which we adopt these tactics: we in our turn must avoid malice and anger, and use ridicule only as a means to advance the cause:

The words, He shall laugh and He shall deride and similar expressions are to be understood as appropriate to our own practice.  

God and emotions

The eternal Godhead, though, it should be clear, does not act out of emotion.  As Cassiodorus puts it:

But the Lord does not laugh with spleen, nor deride with his countenance, rather he carries out his purposes by his own power in the spirit.

Nonetheless, on the receiving end, we should indeed take note of what is sent to us from God, and as humans, receive it emotionally.  The challenge is to use these emotions positively, to push us into right action.

The previous verse pointed to the rebels being made to feel foolish for rebelling against God; this verse points to more serious consequences.

The previous verse pointed out the ridiculousness of plotting against an omniscient and omnipotent God; in this verse derision turns to consequences.

5	V/ROM/NV/JH	Tunc loquétur ad eos in ira sua, * et in furóre suo conturbábit eos.
		τότε λαλήσει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ ταράξει αὐτούς

Tunc (then) loquétur (he will speak) ad (to) eos (them) in (in+ablative) ira (the anger) sua (his), et (and) in (in, with) furóre (rage) suo (his) conturbábit (he will confound) eos (them).

tunc, adv. denoting a point of time which corresponds with another; then, at that time. as a subst.

loquor - to speak, talk, say, tell, mentio

ira, ae, f anger, wrath

furor, oris, m. (furo), rage, wrath, fury, indignation

conturbo, avi, atum, are, confuse, disturb, derange, disorder, confound  to trouble, disquiet, discomfit, dismay; to disturb in mind, cause anxiety.

DR	Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his rage.
Brenton	Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his fury.
MD	Then in his anger he sspeaketh to them, and in his wrath confoundeth them.
RSV	Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
Cover	Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure
Knox	and at last, in his displeasure, he will speak out, his anger quelling them:
Grail	Then he will speak in his anger, his rage will strike them with terror.

 The Fathers generally interpreted this verse as being fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans forty years after Christ's death: the vengeance of God for their failure to repent of their rejection of Christ.  Theodoret for example says:

The fulfillment of the story teaches us the interpretation of these words: a Roman army assailed them, plundered the city and burnt down the Temple; most of them were put to death, while those who escaped the slaughter were taken captive and reduced to slavery.

In this life, God's anger - the effects of the withdrawal of his grace - can be averted by repentance and penance; there comes a point though where the consequences are unavoidable, for God is justice, as St Liguori points out:

God spoke to the wicked, and confounded them, not by words, but by the terrible punishments that he inflicted on them. We here observe that God never does anything in anger, as men do when they act through passion and with trouble of mind ; for the Lord disposes and does everything with moderation and in tranquillity. Hence, when one reads in Scripture that God becomes angry, we are to understand that he chastises sinners, not to conduct them to eternal salvation, as he often does in regard to some whom he chastises in order to bring them to repentance, but only that he is chastising them solely to punish them, and to give free course to his justice.

Psalm 2: Quare fremuérunt Gentes

Vulgate	Douay Rheims
Quare fremuérunt Gentes: * et pópuli meditáti sunt inánia?	Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?
2  Astitérunt reges terræ, et príncipes convenérunt in unum * advérsus Dóminum, et advérsus Christum ejus.	The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.
3  Dirumpámus víncula eórum: * et projiciámus a nobis jugum ipsórum.	Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.
4. Qui hábitat in cælis, irridébit eos: * et Dóminus subsannábit eos.	He that dwells in heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them.
5  Tunc loquétur ad eos in ira sua, * et in furóre suo conturbábit eos.	Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his rage.
6  Ego autem constitútus sum Rex ab eo super Sion montem sanctum ejus, * prædicans præcéptum ejus.	But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, preaching his commandment.
7  Dóminus dixit ad me: * Fílius meus es tu, ego hódie génui te.	The Lord has said to me: You are my son, this day have I begotten you.
8  Póstula a me, et dábo tibi Gentes hereditátem tuam, * et possessiónem tuam términos terræ.	Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for your possession
9  Reges eos in virga férrea, * et tamquam vas fíguli confrínges eos.	You shall rule them with a rod of iron, and shall break them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
10  Et nunc, reges, intellígite: * erudímini, qui judicátis terram.	And now, O you kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth.
11  Servíte Dómino in timóre: * et exsultáte ei cum   tremóre.	Serve the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling.
12  Apprehéndite disciplínam, nequándo irascátur Dóminus, * et pereátis de via justa.	Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way.
13  Cum exárserit in brevi ira ejus: * beáti omnes qui confídunt in eo.	When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him.

And continue on to the next set of notes.