Psalms 110:2

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion,.... His royal and powerful sceptre, called the sceptre of righteousness, Psalms 45:6 and is no other than the Gospel, the power of God unto

The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion - i:e., thy strong rod.

Send; or, send forth, into the world. The rod of thy strength; thy strong or powerful rod, by a usual Hebraism. And the rod is put for his sceptre, or kingly power, as it is ,11 19:11,12. But as the kingdom of Christ is not carnal, or of this world, , but spiritual; so this rod or sceptre is nothing else but his word published by himself, or by his apostles and ministers, and accompanied with his Spirit, by which the Messias did his great exploits, and set up and established his kingdom, converting some of his enemies, and confounding and destroying others of them, by that same instrument, as is manifest by comparing 11:4 . Hence this word is called the word of the kingdom, , and the power of God, . David having spoken of the Messias, , now turneth his speech to him. Out of Zion; from Jerusalem, which is frequently understood by the name of Zion, which was an eminent and venerable part of it, as 87:2 102:13,16, &c.; where the sceptre of the Messias was first to be established according to the predictions of the prophets, ,8 48:3 , &c.; to which the event exactly answered, 2:1,2, &c.; and from whence it was to be sent forth into all the parts and kingdoms of the world, to bring in the Gentiles, which also the prophets had foretold, as , and in divers of the foregoing Psalms, as hath been already frequently observed and proved. Rule thou; thou shalt rule; the imperative being here put for the future, as it is , and oft elsewhere. For this is not a command, but a prediction or a promise that he shall rule; which he doth partly by his grace, converting some, and so ruling their hearts by his word and Spirit, and subduing their lusts in them, and their external enemies for them; and partly by his powerful providence, whereby he defends his church and people, and subdues and punisheth all their adversaries. In the midst of thine enemies; who shall see it, and do what they can to oppose thy dominion, but shall never be able to hinder it, but shall split themselves against it.

Psalms 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.Ver. 2. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength] That is, the gospel, that sceptre of Christ’ s kingdom, that power of God to salvation, unto as many as believe, mighty through God to work wonders, 2 Corinthians 10:5 Acts 20:32, even the preaching of Christ’ s cross. Out of Zion] For salvation is of the Jews, John 4:22 Isaiah 2:3 Micah 4:1-2 Abide ye in Jerusalem till, &c., Acts 1:8 Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies] Among Jews, Pagans, Turks, Papagans; those that will not bend, let them break; those that will not stoop to thy government, let them feel thy power, Psalms 45:5.

(2) Send.—The verb should be here rendered stretch, as in Genesis 22:10; Genesis 48:14, and frequently of stretching out the hand, often with hostile intent. The poet here speaks in his own person, addressing the King, to whom the oracle has just been announced. Rod of thy strength—i.e., the sceptre, which is the emblem of royal power and sway. (See Jeremiah 48:17.) The word “staff” is different from that rendered “rod,” in Psalms 2:9; and the image is not, as there, necessarily of a weapon of destruction, but only of kingly rule, as in Psalms 45:6. Rule thou . . .—It is better to take these words as a quotation, and understand them as spoken of Jehovah. In the picture before us the Divine King seats the earthly monarch by His side, and taking his sceptre from his hand, stretches it in token of the wide empire he is to administer from Zion, where they sit enthroned, over the surrounding nations, and bids him assume the offered sway, in spite of the foes that surround him at present. The expression “in the midst,” instead of “over,” implies the condition under which the sovereignty was to be assumed, as also does the rest of the psalm, proceeding to describe the wars by which ultimate triumph over the hostile tribes would be secured.

Verse 2. The rod of thy strength] The Gospel - the doctrine of Christ crucified; which is the powerful sceptre of the Lord that bought us; is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; and is the power of God to salvation to all them that believe. The kingdom of our Lord was to be founded in Zion, and thence, by gradual conquests, to be extended over the whole earth. It was in Zion the preaching of the Gospel first began; and it is by the Gospel that Christ rules, even in the midst of his enemies; for the Gospel extends a moralizing influence over multitudes who do not receive it to their salvation.

2. The sceptre of thy strength shall Jehovah stretch forth (or, send forth) out of Zion] The poet speaks, expanding the oracle. The rod or sceptre is the symbol of authority and power, the instrument of chastisement. (Cp. Isaiah 10:24; Isaiah 10:26; and Psalms 2:9, though the Heb. word there is different.) Jehovah wields it on the king’s behalf. “He giveth strength unto his king” (1 Samuel 2:10). For the phrase rod of thy strength, cp. Jeremiah 48:17; Ezekiel 19:12; Ezekiel 19:14. out of Zion] The capital of the new kingdom. Cp. Psalms 2:6. rule thou in the midst of thine enemies] Supply saying before this clause. Jehovah speaks. The command is virtually a promise. Though enemies surround the king on every side, he is fearlessly to assume his sovereignty, and victoriously to exercise it. The word for ‘rule’ is used of Solomon in 1 Kings 4:24; cp. also Numbers 24:19; Psalms 72:8 (A.V. have dominion).

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion - The scepter of thy power; that with which thou shalt rule.

2. The Lord shall send—Jehovah shall send, not Adonoh. It declares what Jehovah will do through Adonah, or what Adonah or Messiah shall do in Jehovah’s name.