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.

Psalm 2 - Verse 3 the yoke of grace

Today's Christmas offering looks at verse 3 of Psalm 2, on the breaking of bonds:

3	V/Rom/NV	Dirumpámus víncula eórum: * et projiciámus a nobis jugum ipsórum.
	JH	disrumpamus vincula eorum  et proiciamus a nobis laqueos eorum
		διαρρήξωμεν τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπορρίψωμεν ἀ{F'} ἡμῶν τὸν ζυγὸν αὐτῶν

Dirumpámus (let us break = hortatory subjunctive) víncula (chains, fetters, bonds) eórum (of them): * et (and) projiciámus (let us cast away) a (from) nobis (us) jugum (the yoke) ipsórum (itself; their).

Di(s)rumpo, riipi, ruptum, ere 3, to rend, burst, break or dash to pieces; to cleave

vinculum, i, n. (vincio), a bond, fetter, chain.

is, ea, id, he, she, it.

projicio, jeci, jectum, ere 3 to cast away,off, or forth;  to cast;  to cast upon, i.e., commit to the care of; to drive away, scatter, or sweep away, as wind does dust; to cast down; to cast off, reject.

jugum, i, n. (root jug, whence also jungo), a yoke; fig., bonds, fetters, slavery; MT uses ropes, cords

ipse, a, um, demon, pronoun., himself, herself, itself; weak demonstrative or definite article

DR	Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.
Brenton	Let us break through their bonds, and cast away their yoke from us.
MD	Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast off from us their yoke
RSV	"Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us."
Cover	Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Knox	crying, Let us break away from their bondage, rid ourselves of the toils!
Grail	"Come, let us break their fetters, come, let us cast off their yoke."

The bonds of Christ

There is an interesting duality in Scripture, in the references to breaking bonds, that comes into play in the Patristic and later interpretations of this verse.

On the one hand, the speakers in this verse would seem to be the angry leaders of verse 1 and 2, who reject the law of God in favour of pursuing their own desires.  They shout the ancient cry of Satan: non serviam (I will not serve).  Instead of welcoming Christ and his teaching, they seek to destroy him.

At the same time, though, Christ came to break our bonds, the bonds of sin, alluded in Psalm 115:

7  Dirupísti víncula mea: * tibi sacrificábo hóstiam laudis, et nomen Dómini invocábo.

You have broken my bonds: I will sacrifice to you the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

The law of God v the law of man

St Thomas Aquinas pointed out that 'yoke' (jugum) in Scripture is generally a symbol of kingly power.  In 1 Kings 12, for example, the people complain about the heavy yoke imposed on them by King Solomon, and urge Roboam to take a less stringent approach; he, taking an extreme view of divine right, refuses, saying his yoke will be even heavier, whereupon they refuse to acknowledge him as king, splitting the kingdom.  For this reason, some of the Fathers suggest that this verse can be read as a call for us to reject the unjust laws and mores of the world, and conform ourselves only to Christ.  This is perhaps a message particularly apt for our time given the increasingly radical secularisation of most states.

The old law and grace

By the time of Christ, rabbinical literature had come to view the Mosaic law as a yoke, and this view is reflected in the New Testament.  Christ takes this starting point for his teaching, instructing that his yoke, by virtue of the grace he offers, is light:

Take my yoke upon yourselves, and learn from me; I am gentle and humble of heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mt 11:29-30)

This theme is further developed in Acts, where at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) St Peter  questions the calls for Jewish dietary and other laws to be imposed on gentile converts saying:

God, who can read men’s hearts, has assured them of his favour by giving the Holy Spirit to them as to us. He would not make any difference between us and them; he had removed all the uncleanness from their hearts when he gave them faith.  How is it, then, that you would now call God in question, by putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples, such as we and our fathers have been too weak to bear? It is by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we hope to be saved, and they no less.

For us then, St Thomas instructs, 'Spiritually, the yoke is the law of charity, bonds are the theological virtues'.

The nations that increasingly reject God, are, as Cassiodorus explains:

...totally deceived by their most vain desire, for though the Lord Saviour’s yoke is sweet, and his burden light, they considered his control most oppressive.  

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.

You can find the next part in this series here.