Bellarmine on Psalm II : Verse 9

Verse 9

Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Reges eos in virga ferrea, et tamquam vas figuli confringes eos.

Here is indicated the highest and most just power of Christ in the Church and over all men, meaning he is as easily able to reward the good and to punish with torments the wicked, as a potter can break with a rod of iron clay vessels newly formed. In the first part of the verse, the height of Christ’s power is likened to an iron rod, that is, to unbending and most righteous judgement, which no-one can withstand; in the second, the men subject thereby in relation to Christ are likened  to clay vessels recently formed by the potter. And so, the word confringes (shalt break) does not refer to 

Christ’s action but to His power; that is, it is not meant that Christ will beak all men into pieces, but that all peoples will be subject to Him so that He can break them into pieces as He judges,  whether mercifully breaking in them their infidelity and sin, and from vessels of reproach forming them into vessels of honour; or justly and strictly breaking them with eternal punishments in accordance with their desserts. For confringes ut vasa figuli (thou shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel), should also be read as reges in virga ferrea (Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron): for these words do not refer only to the punishment of the wicked but to just and all-powerful governance of the whole Church. This is clear from the version of the Septuagint Translators who render the Greek word as pasces (thou shalt nourish) which is also how St. John renders it in Greek in chapters ii and xix of the Apocalypse; again, it is clear from chapter v of Micheas where, speaking explicitly of Christ, who is to come forth out of Bethlehem, it says : “ Thou shalt rule them in power,” and the same word is used as here, governance, raha.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm II ; Verse 8

Verse 8

Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Postula a me, et dabo tibi gentes hæreditatem tuam, et possessionem tuam terminos terrae.

These words are quite unambiguous, as though God the father were to say : Because Thou, O Christ, art my natural Son, by my power made flesh and raised form the dead, Thou mayest seek from me power over all peoples, as Thine inheritance, and over all the earth even unto its very limits, as an inheritance due to Thee. There are certain points, however, to be noted : firstly, in the Scriptures, the noun inheritance may apply to anything which is possessed by someone as his own, even when it has not been left by a deceased father : for example, God’s people are said to be God’s inheritance, just as God Himself is 

said to be the people’s inheritance. And as an inheritance strictly so called was often divided between brothers, and was generally divided by lot, and then the parts so divided measured by chains, so inheritance may also be represented by the words portion, lot, chain and possession; often tow of these words are used together, as in Psalm XV : “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance,”[1] that is, the Lord is my portion which comes to me through inheritance; and elsewhere, in Deut XXXII : “Jacob the lot of his inheritance,”[2] that is, the people of Israel are the Lord’s inheritance, which he chose for Himself and are 

measured as with a chain and divided from the other inheritances. And so in this text all nations are said to be Christ’s inheritance, because he was made Lord of the whole world, as is explained in the following words: “and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Secondly, it is to be noted that these words are to be understood chiefly of the spiritual reign of Christ, that is, the Church spread throughout the whole world, as St. Augustine very frequently teaches. The meaning therefore is that Christ has been constituted king over Sion, that is over the Lord’s people, but this kingdom is not limited by the borders of Judea or Palestine, like the kingdom of David and Solomon; but it is to be extended to include all the gentiles and to cover all the kingdoms of the world, as is written in the prophecy of Daniel, chapter ii. For it is not be denied that Christ’s power extends over all nations, even the infidels : “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth;”[3] and it is he who is constituted judge of the living and the dead, Acts X.

[1] Ps XV 5.

[2] Deut. XXXII 9.

[3] And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Et accedens Jesus locutus est eis, dicens : Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra : euntes ergo docete omnes gentes : baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti: [Matt. xxviii 18-19]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm 2 : Verse 7 (Part 2)

Verse 7 (Part 2)

The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

Dominus dixit ad me : Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te.

the word genui, as does the Hebrew ialad, which properly speaking means parere / to bring forth. For God has no need of a mother’s co-operation for the eternal generation, but He Himself generated and brought forth His only-begotten Son, as Psalm CIX says: “From the womb before the day star I begot thee.” The next explanation relates to the Lord’s resurrection, which may be gathered from the same Apostle in Acts XIII, where we read : “ And we declare unto you, that the promise which was made to our fathers, This same God hath fulfilled to our children, raising up Jesus, as in the second psalm also is written: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”[1] And these words fit best with the Lord’s 

resurrection, as we have it in Matth. xix:“In the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit”;1  for the resurrection of Christ was by God alone, and in Coloss I, He Himself is called “the firstborn from the dead”; finally, because in the day of the resurrection, there begins the glorious exaltation of Christ, and the showing forth of that name which is above all names, see Philip. ii : “For which cause God also hath exalted him;” and the Lord Himself says in the last chapter of Matthew: “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth,” and this is the interpretation of Hilary and Chrysostom. The third explanation relates to the Lord’s birthday according to the flesh, which is found in book II, chapter viii of St. Cyprian’s Contra Judæos and may also be inferred from the introit of the night mass for the Nativity. For the Church applies the words of this Psalm to the mystery of the birth according to the flesh, for that generation was a singular work of God, as the angel Gabriel said: “And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”[2] The Holy Fathers interpret Isaiah’s words in chapter liii as referring not only to the divine generation but also to Christ’s human generation : “Who shall declare his generation?”[3] According to those Theologians who teach that in this sentence may be found several literal meanings, we read the sense of these words as: This day, that is, the day of eternity, I God generated Thee God; and this day, that is, in the day of Thy birth according to the flesh, I generated Thee, that is, I made Thee God to be man, without a man’s seed, without a mother’s corruption, without stain of sin; and again, today, that is, in the day of Thy resurrection, I generated Thee, that is, by my divine power, I made Thee return to a life immortal and glorious.

[1] Cf. And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Et accedens Jesus locutus est eis, dicens : Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra : euntes ergo docete omnes gentes : baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti: [Matt. xxviii 18-19]

[2] Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee? tanto melior angelis effectus, quanto differentius prae illis nomen haereditavit. [5] Cui enim dixit aliquando angelorum : Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te? [Hebr. I 4-5]

[3] And we declare unto you, that the promise which was made to our fathers, This same God hath fulfilled to our children, raising up Jesus, as in the second psalm also is written: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Et nos vobis annuntiamus eam, quae ad patres nostros repromissio facta est : quoniam hanc Deus adimplevit filiis nostris resuscitans Jesum, sicut et in Psalmo secundo scriptum est : Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. [Acts xiii 32-33]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

Bellarmine on Psalm 2 : Verse 7 (Part 1)

 Verse 7

The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

Dominus dixit ad me : Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te.

This is the beginning and foundation of the divine decree : for to Christ is due all power in heaven and on earth,[1] for He is the true and natural Son of God. There are three explanations of this text, all literal and drawn from the Holy Spirit. The first refers to (His) eternal generation, which may be gathered from the Apostle in Hebrews, “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee?”[2]  This text of the Apostle cannot be understood of the generation of any created entity, as in the case of birth or resurrection according to the flesh, because it is through generation that the Angels are created sons of God, as is evident in chapters i, ii and iii of the book of Job; and yet the Apostle intends to show that Christ is a Son but that angels are attendants. The words of the Apostle cited in the Psalm need to be interpreted literally, St. Augustine rightly explains, as referring to an eternal generation; the word hodie  (“this day”) supports this interpretation, because eternity is an enduring present, with no beginning or end.

[1] Cf. And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Et accedens Jesus locutus est eis, dicens : Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra : euntes ergo docete omnes gentes : baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti: [Matt. xxviii 18-19]

[2] Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee? tanto melior angelis effectus, quanto differentius prae illis nomen haereditavit. [5] Cui enim dixit aliquando angelorum : Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te? [Hebr. I 4-5]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.