Bellarmine on Psalm 2 : Verse 3

Verse 3

Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us.

Dirumpamus vincula eorum, et projiciamus a nobis jugum ipsorum.

The Prophet gives a reason why the kings and the princes, along with the gentiles and the people, raged and met together against Christ. The reason is lest they be forced to keep Christ’s law against following the desires of the flesh and merely human wisdom. Accordingly, these words are spoken in the person of the wicked kings and princes, as though he were to say: “The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ,” saying to one another : “Let us break their bonds asunder,” that is, let us not allow ourselves to be subject to the rule and laws of the Messiah. For their yoke, St. Jerome has their snares; the Hebrew word signifies ropes; it seems the Prophet wanted to repeat the same word, as it was his wont to say things twice. Accordingly, the Septuagint translators and St. Jerome focused not so much on the word as on the sense. The words are all metaphorical, whether you call the law chains, or ropes, or snares or a yoke. These metaphors explain the nature of the law in terms of what it is in the judgement of the wicked. For the wicked, the law of the Lord is a most grievous yoke and seems to be a deadly snare, but for holy men this same law is sweeter than honey, and more desirable than gold and precious stones, as we see in Psalm XVIII.1

[1] More to be desired than gold and many precious stones: and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Desiderabilia super aurum et lapidem pretiosum multum; et dulciora super mel et favum. [Psalm XVIII]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.