Psalms 2:9 - Exposition

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron . It is said that these words, and those of the next clause, "cannot describe the mild rule of Christ" (Rosenmuller, Do Wette, Hupfeld, etc.). But the objectors forget that there is a severe, as well as a mild, side to the dealings of God with his human creatures. St. Paul notes in the same verse both the "severity" and the "goodness" of God ( Romans 11:22 ). Christ, though "the Prince of Peace," "came to send a sword upon the earth" ( Matthew 10:34 ). As' the appointed Judge of men, he takes vengeance on tile wicked, while he rewards the righteous ( Luke 3:17 ; Matthew 25:46 ). Nay, St. John, in the Apocalypse, declares that "out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. and " ye shall rule them with a rod of iron " ( Revelation 19:15 ; comp. Revelation 2:27 ; Revelation 12:5 ). So, with respect to the other clause of the verse— Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel —it is to be noted that there is a similar threat made by the Lord of hosts against Jerusalem in the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 19:11 ), and that under the new covenant the same is threatened in the Revelation ( Revelation 2:27 ). In truth, both covenants are alike in denouncing the extreme of God's wrath on impenitent sinners, such as those here spoken of.