Изъяснение псалма 2-го.

“Not written among the Jews.” Having concluded the first psalm with a mention of the wicked, David again begins the second psalm with it, teaching that the end of the wicked predicted before this will befall those who rebelled with fury against the Savior, kings and princes, Jews and pagans. For in the second psalm he predicts suffering for humanity and the kingdom of the Lord Christ, and at the same time foreshadows the calling of the pagans, and mourns the unbelief of the Jews. For the words: “the nations are reeling” are befitting one who laments about foolishness and condemns it. We do not need many words to explain the psalm, when the godly Peter, the chief of the Apostles, gave an interpretation of it in the book of Acts, calling Herod and Pontius Pilate, high priests and scribes kings and princes; because Pilate was sent by the Roman king to act under his authority, and Herod was at that time the ruler of the Jews; and just as one had Jews under his command, so the other had Gentile soldiers. But, having come together and maliciously plotting the Master’s death, they consulted in vain and vainly, being unable to make Him Crucified by them forgotten; because, having risen on the third day, He became the owner of the universe. Very appropriately and quite rightly, the Prophet combined the words: “having learned in vain” with the word: “people” 1, because the Jews formed an evil plan against the Savior, and the Holy Gospel testifies to this, teaching that “the Pharisee went out with advice from Nan, knowing how they would destroy Him” (Mark 3:6). Caiaphas also testifies, saying: “It is not so that one man may die, and not the whole tongue perish” (John 11:49). And Aquila translated the word: “staggering”: “they made a noise,” while Symmachus: “restless.” since this word refers to the pagans, this suggests the idea that since the Jews presented Jesus to Pilate as a kind of kidnapper of royal power, and repeatedly said that they should put Him to death, Pilate against his will pronounced the death sentence, fearing, probably, to release Jesus, so that no accusation would arise against him. For, as blessed Luke said: “Nachahu Nan vaditi, saying: This is what we have found, corrupting our tongue, and forbidding tribute to be given to Caesar, saying to Himself to be Christ” (Luke 23:2). Ps.2:1. Why do peoples rebel, and nations plot in vain? Ps.2:2. The kings of the earth rise up, and the princes take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. “Where have the nations and people reeled, having learned in vain?” “The kings of the earth appeared, and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.” The word: “pagans” is used by the Prophet not with a member (τὰ ἔθνη), so as not to give you the idea that he includes everyone here, but without a member (ἔθνη), leading your thought to something private. Since the Jews, having taken Jesus Christ, handed Him over to the pagans, David asks: what was the reason for this, or what happened, why did the people of God move against Him and deliver Him into the hands of the pagans? Ps.2:3. Let us break their bonds and throw off their fetters. “Let us break Their bonds, and cast Their yoke away from us.” For it is said: “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father” (John 5:23). And it is not without reason that because of the yoke of the Son they throw off the yoke of the Father. But it seems to me that the Holy Spirit commands those who believe to say this: “let us break their bonds,” that is, the bonds of the wicked pagans, and “let us cast off their yoke from ourselves,” that is, the yoke of the lawless Jews, let us take upon ourselves the good yoke of Christ; because this is the Lord’s word: “Take My yoke upon you: for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30). Ps.2:4. He who lives in heaven will laugh; the Lord will mock him. “He who lives in heaven will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them”; because he who is nailed down and put to death by them, as one who is in heaven and contains everything, will make their advice vain and vain. His Father and Lord of all will deliver them to a worthy punishment. Ps.2:5. Then He will speak to them in His anger and will confuse them with His wrath. “Then He will speak out against them with His anger, and I will be crushed by His fury.” And the very execution of these words teaches interpretation; because the Roman army, having attacked the Jews, devastated the city, burned the church, put most of them to death, and enslaved those who escaped murder, making them captives. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the Prophet here mentions two Persons one after another, and firstly the Person of the Lord and Christ; for it is said: “to the Lord and to His Christ,” and then to the Face of Him Who Lives in Heaven and the Lord; for it is said: “He who lives in heaven will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them.” And subsequently the Prophet maintained the same image of presentation. Ps.2:6. “I have anointed My King over Zion, My holy mountain” 2. “And I am appointed King by Him.” It should stop here, and then add: “over Zion, His holy mountain.” Ps.2:7. I will proclaim the decree: The Lord said to Me: You are My Son; Today I have given birth to You. “Proclaim the commandment of the Lord.” Because he reigns not over Mount Zion only, but over the visible and invisible, and over all creation. On Mount Zion and in Judea He offered His Divine teaching to those who came to Him, and those who accepted this teaching, obeying His Divine commands, poured out streams of it into the whole universe. For it is said: “Go and teach all languages” (Matthew 28:19). This: “I am appointed King by Him,” speaks according to humanity; for as God, He has a kingdom by its very nature; but as a man, he accepts the anointing for the kingdom. And that, as God, He has a beginningless power, this same Prophet teaches this, saying: “Your throne, God, is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom” (Ps. 45:7). Blessed Paul says that this psalm is spoken about the Son (Heb. 1:8). However, as God, He has a kingdom, but as a man, He accepts it. Likewise, being called the Most High, like God, He is exalted like a man. And David, proclaiming the Divine height, says: “And let them know that Your name is Lord, You alone are highest in all the earth” (Ps. 82:9). And Zechariah says to John: “And as a child you were called Prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76). Blessed Paul teaches about the height of humanity, saying: “In the same way God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above every name” (Phil. 2:9). And the name: “Only Begotten Son” before centuries had God the Word as being akin to Him in essence, however, having, as God, the name of the Son, he accepts it as a person. Therefore, in the present psalm, the Prophet added, saying: “The Lord spoke to Me: You are My Son, I have given birth to You today.” Let anyone who believes in the teaching of the Divine Spirit not attribute this saying to the deity of the Lord Christ; because, as we hear, the God of all things speaks about this through David: “From the womb before the morning star I gave birth to Thee” (Ps. 109:3). Therefore, as a person, he accepts what was said above, and as a person, he also hears what is added: Ps.2:8. Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for Your inheritance and the ends of the earth for Your possession. “Ask from Me, and I will give You the tongues of Your inheritance, and Your possession the ends of the earth.” For, as God, He is the Creator of everything: “all things came into being, and without Him nothing came into being” (John 1:3); and: “By this, all things were created, visible and invisible” (Col. 1:16). And if He is the Lord and Creator of all things; then He is the Lord and Lord of what He created. However, being by nature a Lord, like God, he accepts dominion over everything, like a man. And since in ancient times he apparently thought only about the Jews, as it is said: “And the people of Jacob became the portion of the Lord, even Israel was his inheritance” (Deut. 32:9); The Jewish people are rejected, no matter how little they took advantage of God’s care for them; then rightly He turns His providence towards the pagans, not as one who neglected them in ancient times, but as one fulfilling Moses’ prophecy; because this is the saying of Moses: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people” (Deut. 32:43). You can also find an event that corresponds to the prophecy. For those who believed from the Jews were not twelve apostles only, but seventy disciples, and those one hundred and twenty gathered together, to whom blessed Peter addressed his speech (Acts. 1:16), and those five hundred to whom the Lord, after the resurrection, according to the divine Paul, appeared at one time (1 Cor. 15:6), and those three thousand, and those five thousand, whom the chief of the Apostles caught in the midst of his preaching (Acts 2:41; Acts 4:4), and those many darknesses about which the great James spoke: “You see, brother, how many Jews there are who believed” (Acts 21:20), all these and, in addition, all the Jews who believed in the whole universe, calling them holy people, and through them, having caught all the nations, the Lord fulfills the prophecy, which says: “rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people,” and in addition fulfills His own prophecy, which He spoke To the Jews, saying: “And there are other sheep that are not of this court: you too must be brought to Me. And they will hear My voice: and there will be one flock, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). This is also said in this psalm: “Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the tongues of Thy inheritance, and Thy possession the ends of the earth.” But the thought comes to me to cry about the unbelief of the Jews, who, hearing the prophecy that clearly mentions the ends of the earth, and knowing that, except for the one who came from David according to the flesh, the Lord Christ, not one of their kings acquired such dominion, they are blinded by the eyes of their minds, the prophecy uttering about this “they will touch the wall like blindness, and like a being without eyes they will be touched” (Isaiah 59:10). That is why the prophetic word threatens them: Ps.2:9. You will strike them with a rod of iron; You will crush them like a potter's vessel. “I have preserved with a rod of iron, and like the vessels of the poor I have crushed,” that is, you will crush the Roman kingdom, which Daniel’s prophecy figuratively calls iron, because of its strength and indestructibility. It crushes like vessels made of clay. For when they denied having Him alone as king, and cried out loudly, saying: “The king is not the king but Caesar” (John 19:15), he appointed Caesar, whom they asked for, over them, and from the army of Caesars they suffered punishment for wickedness. If anyone thinks that this was said not about the Jews, but about the pagans; then it must be understood this way: He will protect the pagans with a rod of iron, His strong and indestructible kingdom, and will crush them like the vessels of the poor, dissolving and creating the “wash of regeneration” (Titus 3:5), and will give them strength with the fire of the Spirit. Thus, having predicted this, blessed David finally exhorts both kings and subordinates to resort to the Savior, to accept saving laws with love, and to find benefit for themselves in studying and teaching them. For he says: Ps.2:10. So, understand, kings; learn, judges of the earth! “And now, kings, understand: be punished, all you who judge the earth”; because He is the king over all of us, of whom in ancient times they thought that He possessed only the Jews. Ps.2:11. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice [before Him] with trembling. “Work for the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling.” For we must not rely on love of mankind alone, but, rejoicing and rejoicing in salvation, we should fear and tremble at justice combined with love of mankind. For it is said: “Be sure to stand and be careful, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). When, having the fear of the rulers, we do what we must, we will have more reasons for joy in what we have done; because we will acquire a good conscience, which will give us great joy. It is said: “with trembling,” that is, with contrition, so that the joy of God does not turn into worldly joy. Ps.2:12. Honor the Son, lest He be angry, and lest you perish on your journey, for His anger will soon kindle. Blessed are all who trust in Him. “Take punishment, lest the Lord be angry, and perish from the righteous path.” For for perfection, acquiring knowledge of God alone is not enough, but you must also practice active virtue, clinging to which, you will follow the infallible path. “When His wrath is soon kindled, blessed are all who trust in Him.” For at the time of judgment, when your vices, like a combustible substance, ignite Divine wrath like fire, you will be far from the path of the righteous, bearing punishment for what you have sinned during this life. But those who truly and firmly place their trust in God will then receive the fruit of hope - bliss. For the Prophet says: “Blessed are all those who hope in New.” If the devotees of virtue are blessed in this life, all the more undoubtedly will they receive bliss on the day on which those who lived in wickedness attract God’s wrath upon themselves. According to the translation of the 70: I have been appointed by Him as King over Zion, His holy mountain. You might be interested in: