Psalms 2:7

I will declare the decree,.... These are the words of Jehovah's Anointed and King, exercising his kingly office, according to the decree and commandment of the Father: for these words refer not to

I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

I will declare, or publish, that all people concerned may take notice of it, and submit to it upon their peril. Publication or promulgation is essential to all laws or statutes. The decree, or, concerning the decree, i.e. the will or pleasure and appointment of God concerning my advancement into the throne, and the submission and obedience which the people here following shall yield to me. Thou art my Son; which though it may in some sort be said to or of David, who was in some respects the son of God, and begotten by him, as all believers are, ; yet much more truly and properly belongs to Christ, who is commonly known by this title both in the Old and New Testament, as 4:3,6, and oft elsewhere; and to whom this title is expressly appropriated by the Holy Ghost, who is the best interpreter of his own words, 5:5, and to whom alone the following passages belong. This day have I begotten thee: this is also applied by some to David, and so this day is the day of his inauguration, when he might be said to be begotten by God, inasmuch as he was then raised and delivered from all his troubles and calamities, which were a kind of death, and brought forth and advanced to a new kind of life, of royal state and dignity; and so this was the birthday, though not of his person, yet of his kingdom, as the Roman emperors celebrated a double birthday; first the emperor’ s, when he was born, and then the empire’ s, when he was advanced to the empire. But this is but a lean, and far-fetched, and doubtful sense; and therefore not to be allowed by the laws of interpretation, when the words may be properly understood concerning Christ. And so this may be understood either, 1. Of his eternal generation. This day; from all eternity, which is well described by this day, because in eternity there is no succession, no yesterday, no to-morrow, but it is all as one continued day or moment, without change or flux; upon which account one day is said to be with the Lord as long as a thousand years, and a thousand years as short as one day, . Or rather, 2. Of the manifestation of Christ’ s eternal sonship in time; which was done partly in his birth and life, when his being the Son of God was demonstrated by the testimony of the angel, , and of God the Father, 17:5, and by his own words and works; but principally in his resurrection, which seems to be here mainly intended, of which day this very place is expounded, ; when Christ was in a most solemn manner declared to be the Son of God with power, .

Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee.Ver. 7. I will declare the decree] That irrevocable decree of the Father, for the setting up of his Son’ s sceptre contra gentes, point blank opposite to that decree of theirs, Psalms 2:3. This ordinance or decree of his Christ is still declaring in his Church by the ministers of the gospel, whose office it is to set forth Christ to the world in all his offices and efficacies, and to bring as many as may be to the obedience of the faith. Thou art my Son] David was so by adoption and acceptation, Psalms 89:26-27; but Christ, 1. By eternal generation, Proverbs 8:22-23 Hebrews 1:5 2. By hypostatical union, and so God had one only Son (as Abraham had his Isaac), though otherwise he were the Father of many nations. This day have I begotten thee] Understand it either in the day of eternity, or else of the fulness of time wherein God brought his first begotten Son into the world, and afterwards mightily declared him to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead, Romans 1:3 Acts 13:33, whence he is called the first begotten of the dead, Colossians 1:18 Revelation 1:5.

(7) I will declare.—The anointed king now speaks himself, recalling the covenant made with him by Jehovah at his coronation. I will tell.—Better, Let me speak concerning the appointment. The word rendered decree in our version is derived from a root meaning to engrave, and so stands for any formal agreement, but it is usually an ordinance clearly announced by a prophet or some other commissioned interpreter of the Divine will, and consecrated and legalised by mutual adoption by king and people. The Lord hath.—Better, Jehovah said unto me: that is, at that particular time, the day which the great event made the new birthday, as it were, of the monarch, or perhaps of the monarchy. From the particular prince, of whose career, if we could identify him with certainty, this would be the noblest historical memorial, the Psalmist—if, indeed, any one historic personage was in his thought at all—let his thoughts and hopes range, as we certainly may, on to a larger and higher fulfilment. The figure of an ideal prince who was always about to appear, but was never realised in any actual successor on the throne, may possibly, by the time of this psalm, have assumed its great place in the nation’s prophetic hopes. Certainly the whole line of tradition claims the passage in a Messianic sense. (See Note, Psalms 2:2; and in New Testament Commentary, Note to Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5. For the king, spoken of as God’s son, see Psalms 89:26-27, and comp. 2 Samuel 7:14.)

Verse 7. I will declare the decree] These words are supposed to have been spoken by the Messiah. I will declare to the world the decree, the purpose of God to redeem them by my blood, and to sanctify them by my Spirit. My death shall prove that the required atonement has been made; my resurrection shall prove that this atonement has been accepted. Thou art my Son] Made man, born of a woman by the creative energy of the Holy Ghost, that thou mightest feel and suffer for man, and be the first-born of many brethren. This day have I begotten thee.] By thy resurrection thou art declared to be the Son of God, ενδυναμει, by miraculous power, being raised from the dead. Thus by thy wondrous and supernatural nativity, most extraordinary death, and miraculous resurrection, thou art declared to be the Son of God. And as in that Son dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, all the sufferings and the death of that human nature were stamped with an infinitely meritorious efficacy. We have St. Paul's authority for applying to the resurrection of our Lord these words, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee; " - see Acts 13:33; see also Hebrews 5:5; - and the man must indeed be a bold interpreter of the Scriptures who would give a different gloss to that of the apostle. It is well known that the words, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee," have been produced by many as a proof of the eternal generation of the Son of God. On the subject itself I have already given my opinion in my note, See Clarke on Lu 1:35, from which I recede not one hair's breadth. Still however it is necessary to spend a few moments on the clause before us. The word היום haiyom, TO-DAY, is in no part of the sacred writings used to express eternity, or any thing in reference to it; nor can it have any such signification. To-day is an absolute designation of the present, and equally excludes time past and time future; and never can, by any figure, or allowable latitude of construction, be applied to express eternity. But why then does the Divine Spirit use the word begotten in reference to the declaration of the inauguration of the Messiah to his kingdom, and his being seated at the right hand of God?

7–9. Jehovah has acknowledged the king as His own: and now the king takes up Jehovah’s declaration, and appeals to the Divine decree of sonship, and the promise of world-wide dominion.

I will declare the decree - We have here another change in the speaker.

7. I will declare the decree—David now prophetically speaks in the person of Christ, or in Christ’s stead, who is called, Psalms 2:2, the “Anointed” of Jehovah, and, in Psalms 2:6, Jehovah’s “King,”