Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 2:11

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 2:11. Serve the Lord with fear — A general direction to all men. Fear God with that reverence which is due to his supreme majesty. Serve him as subjects should their sovereign, and as servants should their master.

Rejoice with trembling. — If ye serve God aright, ye cannot but be happy; but let a continual filial fear moderate all your joys. Ye must all stand at last before the judgment-seat of God; watch, pray, believe, work, and keep humble.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 2:0 God’s ruler

There is no title to this psalm, though Acts 4:25 indicates that the writer was David. The psalm was probably written to celebrate some great national occasion such as the coronation of a king. It was a reminder to the king, the people and the enemy nations that the Israelite king was, in a sense, God’s son, the one through whom God exercised his rule (2 Samuel 7:11-16; cf. Exodus 4:22). Through him God would overpower all opposition and establish his rule on the earth.

In the opening portion of the psalm the official in charge of the ceremony reminds the hearers that rebellious people, such as the leaders of enemy nations round about Israel, challenge the rule that God desires to exercise through his anointed king (1-3). The king replies that God’s mighty power makes any human show of strength look so weak that it is laughable. Since the king is God’s son, his adopted representative, no one can withstand his conquering power (4-7). His rule will extend to the ends of the earth (8-9).
After such an expression of confidence in God, the presiding official returns the challenge to the rebels. He calls upon them to submit to God’s rule, otherwise God may turn on them in terrifying destruction (10-12).

History shows that David never experienced the triumph and glory he so confidently expressed in this psalm. The words received fuller meaning with the coming of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:25-31; Acts 13:33-34; Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5). They will have even more meaning in the future (1 Corinthians 15:24-25; Revelation 12:5; Revelation 19:15).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling."

The kings, rulers and judges of mankind should indeed be the spiritual leaders of the people, fearing God and showing by their example that allegiance and service which all men owe to their Creator. However, as this Psalm indicates, it is precisely this class of men who all too often have led the rebellion against God and His Christ.

It is the conceit and egotism of men which have frequently led them to excessive folly, as for example, when Herod Agrippa I arranged to have himself proclaimed as "a god" at Caesarea Philippi, as mentioned in Acts 12.

There are many more examples of such human perversity even in our own times. The late Kaiser Wilhelm of World War I times allowed it to be printed in the Royal Bulletin that, "Today (Sunday) the `Most High' went to church, paying his respect to the `Highest.' Also, generations of Japanese rulers have also accepted divine honors for themselves.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Serve the Lord with fear - With reverence, and with deep apprehensions of the consequences of not serving and obeying him. That is, serve him in not opposing, but in promoting his purpose of establishing a kingdom under the Messiah, with the deep apprehension that if you do not do it, he will arise and crush you in his wrath.

And rejoice - Prof. Alexander renders this “shout,” and supposes that it refers to the customary recognition of a present sovereign. The word used - גיל gı̂yl - means properly to move in a circle, to revolve; and then to dance in a circle, to exult, to rejoice. Then, according to Gesenius, it means to tremble, to fear, from the leaping or palpitation of the heart Job 37:1; Hosea 10:5; Psalms 29:6. Gesenius renders it here “fear with trembling.” The common translation, however, better expresses the sense. It means that they should welcome the purposes of Yahweh, and exult in his reign, but that it should be done with a suitable apprehension of his majesty and power, and with the reverence which becomes the public acknowledgment of God.

With trembling - With reverence and awe, feeling that he has almighty power, and that the consequences of being found opposed to him must be overwhelming and awful. The duty here enjoined on kings and rulers is that of welcoming the purposes of God, and of bringing their influence - derived from the station which they occupy - to bear in promoting the reign of truth upon the earth - a duty binding on kings and princes as well as on other men. The feelings with which this is to be done are those which belong to transactions in which the honor and the reign of God are concerned. They are mingled feelings, derived from the mercy of God on the one hand, and from his wrath on the other; from the hope which his promise and purpose inspires, and from the apprehension derived from his warnings and threatenings.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 2:1-12

The second psalm deals with the Kingdom Age. The glorious Kingdom Age when Jesus reigns upon the earth. A Messianic psalm.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? For the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his Anointed ( Psalms 2:1-2 ),

"His Anointed" there is His Messiah. The word Messiah is the anointed one. So they have taken counsel together against Jehovah and against His Messiah.

declaring, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us ( Psalms 2:2-3 ).

And so, man rebelling against God and against Jesus Christ. The heathen raging, imagining a vain thing that they can cast God off from their lives.

But he that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure ( Psalms 2:4-5 ).

So we are looking at God's judgment upon the Christ-rejecting world. And in spite of their gathering together to try to thwart the return of Jesus Christ, yet God will establish His kingdom upon the earth. God declares,

Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me ( Psalms 2:6-7 ),

Now this is Jesus speaking, the King who is on the holy hill... or rather, beg your pardon, God is still speaking.

Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession ( Psalms 2:7-8 ).

Now, verse Psalms 2:8 is often taken out of context and it is used by many missionary societies as sort of a key verse for the missionary society. "Ask of Me and I'll give You the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." But this is not really a missionary scripture. It has nothing to do with present day missions. This scripture has to do with the Kingdom Age, as the Father declares unto the Son, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me and I will give You the heathen for Thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." It's talking about that glorious day when our prayers are fulfilled and His kingdom has come and His will is being done in the earth even as it is in heaven, and His kingdom covers the entire earth. So it is the Father speaking to the Son promising to Him the kingdom, ruling over the whole earth. Then God speaks of the nature of that kingdom.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel ( Psalms 2:9 ).

Now, Jesus in His message to the Church of Thyatira, picked up from this particular psalm, and He said, "He that overcometh," verse Revelation 2:26 of chapter 2 of Revelation, "He that overcometh, and keepeth My works until the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers. As I have received of My Father." And so Jesus actually quotes from this psalm as regards to the nature of the Kingdom Age.

Now, when Jesus comes again to the earth in His second coming, the purpose is to establish God's kingdom upon the earth. That the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies of the Kingdom Age might come to pass, as righteousness will cover the earth and waters do cover the sea. And He will reign in righteousness, in truth, and in judgment. But it will be an ironclad reign. During this period of time Satan is to be bound and cast into the abusso, the bottomless pit. So he will not be one that we will have to contend with in the Kingdom Age. All we'll have to contend with is that inherent evil that is in man.

Now, when Jesus comes again, the first thing that will transpire is that He will gather together all of the nations for judgment and He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place those on His right hand, and He will say unto those, "Come ye, blessed of the Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundations of the earth. For I was hungry and you fed Me; thirsty and you gave Me to drink; naked and you clothed Me; sick and you visited Me" ( Matthew 25:34-36 ). And to those on the left He will say, "Depart from Me ye workers of iniquity into everlasting judgment that was prepared for Satan and his angels. For I was hungry and you didn't feed Me. I was thirsty and you didn't give Me to drink. I was naked and you didn't clothe Me." "Well, Lord, when did we see You in these conditions?" And He said, "Inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these my brethren, you did it unto Me" ( Matthew 25:41-45 ). Speaking of His brethren the Jews. So the nations will actually be judged concerning their treatment of His brethren. Now, those who are placed on the right side will be allowed to go into the Kingdom Age.

Now when Jesus comes again in His second coming, we will be coming with Him, only we will be in our glorified bodies. We will have gone through the metamorphosis that Paul speaks about in I Corinthians, chapter 15. "I show you a mystery, we are not going to all sleep but we're all going to be changed." The metamorphosis. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. For this corruption must put on incorruption; this mortal must put on immortality." So Paul said, "When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall we also appear with Him in glory." We'll be coming back with Jesus to live and reign with Him for a thousand years, during His millennial reign upon the earth. In Revelation, chapter 1, verse Psalms 2:6 , as it is speaking of Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us, and all, and it speaks there, "And we shall reign with Him as a kingdom of priests." And then in the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation as He takes the sealed scroll out of the right hand of Him who is sitting upon the throne, the glorious song that is sung at that point by the church is, "Worthy is the Lamb to take the scroll and loose the seals, for He was slain and has redeemed us by His blood out of all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples. And hath made us unto our God a kingdom of priests and we shall reign with Him upon the earth" ( Revelation 5:9-10 ).

So we are coming back to reign with Jesus upon the earth in his kingdom for a thousand years. That's one company, the church in their glorified bodies. But it will be possible and there will be some who will actually live through the Great Tribulation period; they'll survive it. And providing they have not worshipped the antichrist, providing they have not taken his mark, and providing their interest in God's people, they will be allowed to enter into the Kingdom Age in these bodies like we presently have in an earth that will be renewed and restored as was the Garden of Eden. In that again there will be a restored longevity of life. For a child will die being one hundred, those that are evil. But yet, those that are righteous will fulfill their years. They won't die; they will live during this entire period of time. The longevity will be restored.

But our position with Christ at that time. Satan will be bound, that force will be bound. And so Christ will be ruling, but we will be the enforcers of righteousness. As He said to the church of Thyatira, "To those that are overcome they will be with Me and they will rule over the nations with a rod of iron." And so here speaks of the ironclad type of rule that Jesus will have. In other words, people will be forced to be good. A person who is evil gets popped like a clay pot. Broken in shivers like a potter's vessel when it is hit with a piece of iron. It will be an ironclad rule. We won't have any sob sisters carrying signs in those days of leniency for the rapist. There will be absolute righteous judgment exercised. And people will be forced, that is, those who live in.

Now those who survive and live into the Kingdom Age, being in these bodies, will actually be able bear children, and there probably will be quite a population explosion during this period of time as the earth will be restored to such ideal conditions. However, at that point, we in our glorified bodies will be as the angels who neither marry nor are given in marriage. But we will just be with Christ, reigning and ruling with Him during the Kingdom Age over those people who have survived the Great Tribulation, who have survived the judgment of Jesus. And I do believe that that is what the forty-five day thing is in Daniel, where he says, Daniel is saying, "How long, Lord, until the end?" And He said, "From the time that they cause the daily sacrifices and oblations to cease it will be one 1,290 days, but blessed is he who comes to the 1,335 day." Which that blessedness of it is that you have made it through the judgment period; you can enter into the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ. During this thousand years, as we live upon a renewed earth under ideal conditions, it will be glorious. Annually we will be all taking a trip to Jerusalem to sit at the feet of Jesus, and just to worship there together in a glorious annual holiday. As the kings of the earth, which will be the church, come and sort of present themselves before the Lord in Jerusalem. Bringing the fruits of their section of the earth.

And the Lord said that in the parable when he had distributed the talents. To the one he gave five, he brought back and he said, "Lord, you gave me five. I have increased them and here are ten." And the Lord said, "Well done thou good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things now I will make thee ruler over ten cities. Enter into the joy of the Lord, enter into the Kingdom Age and ruling over ten cities." So the degree of our reigning and ruling with Christ will be in relationship to the degree of our faithfulness to those things that He has entrusted to us now. If I am faithful now in the little things that God has entrusted to me. But He said if He has entrusted the little things and we have not taken care of them, why would He entrust to us the greater things of the kingdom? So we live and reign with Christ.

Now at the end of that thousand year reign, Satan is going to be released and will go around the earth and will deceive many people. Now, there is no way that Satan at that point could deceive you or drag you down, because you are already in your glorified body. And you see, the only real angle that Satan has with us now is with the body. If it weren't for this body of flesh, Satan would be no problem to me at all. But it is because of my body of flesh, my fleshly desires that he appeals to that cause me to trip up. But I will be in my glorified body. So people say, "Oh, Satan's gonna... you know, many deceived. Will I be deceived?" No. Not if you are a child of God in your glorified body, no way. But those who have come into the kingdom who have been forced to be righteous, those who were born during this thousand-year period, will then have their time of testing. And God, just to prove through all eternity the human depravity of man, will allow Satan to be released. After men have lived in the ideal conditions under the reign of Christ for a thousand years, Satan will actually be able to gather together a great army to rebel against Jesus to come against Jerusalem to try to drive Him out. If you can believe that. Human depravity. God will have proven it once and for all, so that no one throughout all eternity will question the judgment of God in that He has cast certain ones out from His eternal kingdom. There will be no challenging of the fairness or justice of God, because every man will have his chance, and man will prove what is in him.

So the Kingdom Age, this is what we are referring to here. "Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." As Jesus shall reign as we sing, "Where ere the Son doth ere successive journeys run."

"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the eaRuth ( Psalms 2:10 ).

Now he is talking really to us, who will be reigning with Him as kings, as judges, as enforcers of His righteousness.

Serve the LORD with fear, rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him ( Psalms 2:11-12 ).

The bottom line: Blessed are those who put their trust, or, happy are those who put their trust in Him. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 2

In this "second psalm" (Acts 13:33), one of the most frequently quoted in the New Testament, David (Acts 4:25) exhorted the pagan nations surrounding Israel to forsake their efforts to oppose the Lord and His anointed king. He urged them to submit to the authority of the Son whom God has ordained to rule them (cf. 2 Samuel 10). The first and second psalms were always united as one in the rabbinical traditions. [Note: See Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, p. 59.]

This is a royal psalm and, more specifically, a messianic psalm. The New Testament writers quoted from the royal psalms at least 27 times: from Psalms 2, 18 times, from Psalms 18, 45, once each, and from Psalms 110, seven times.

"Obviously many years and various levels of hope intervened between the psalm and the first-century application. The messianic vision, while not complete in the Psalms, develops somewhere in between. We can see this development more clearly in the prophets than in the Psalter. In fact, there is a self-contained messianism in the prophets that we do not find in the Psalms. In contrast, the messianic application of the Psalms develops within the interpretive process of the Jewish and Christian communities, although it is important to recognize that the raw material for the messianic vision is already laid out in the Psalms and is not merely an invention of those communities." [Note: Bullock, p. 183.]

"If you are thinking only of yourself as you read these Psalms you will never see what the book is really taking up, but once you understand something of God’s prophetic counsel, once you enter into His purpose in Christ Jesus for the people of Israel and the Gentile nations, you will realize how marvelously this book fits in with the divine program." [Note: Ironside, p. 16.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

4. The psalmist’s exhortation 2:10-12

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

They should respond like the righteous by worshipping (serving), reverencing (fearing), rejoicing, and trembling before Him.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Serve the Lord with fear,.... Not the creature, neither more, nor besides, nor with the Creator; God and mammon cannot both be served; nor any fictitious and nominal deities, the idols of the Gentiles, who are not gods by nature; but the true Jehovah, the one and only Lord God, he only is to be worshipped and served, even Father, Son, and Spirit. Here it may be understood either of the Lord Christ, the Son of God, who is to be served by the kings and judges of the earth, he being King of kings, and Lord of lords; or rather of Jehovah the Father, since the Son seems to be distinguished from him in Psalms 2:12: and the service these persons are called unto lies not in the discharge of any office in the church, as in preaching the word, which is serving God in the Gospel of his Son; and hence the ministers of the word are eminently called the servants of the most high God; for kings and judges are not required hereby to lay aside their crowns and sceptres, and leave their seats of justice, and become preachers of the Gospel; but in acting according to the will of God revealed in his word, and in the whole worship of him, both internal and external: and this is to be done "with fear", not with fear of man, nor with servile fear of God, but with a godly and filial fear, with a reverential affection for him, and in a way agreeable to his mind and will; with reverence and awe of him, without levity, carelessness, and negligence;

and rejoice with trembling; some reference may be had to the joy in public worship, as at sacrifices and festivals, and the music in divine service under the law; and the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs under the Gospel; and especially to the Gospel dispensation itself, which is a time of joy and rejoicing; the Gospel is good tidings of great joy; the kingdom of God is not in things external, but in joy in the Holy Ghost; and, above all, respect is had to a rejoicing in Christ Jesus, in his person, righteousness, and salvation: and which is consistent with "trembling"; not with a fearful looking for of judgment, but with modesty and humility; in which sense this word, when joined with "fear" as here, is used Philippians 2:12, and stands opposed to pride, haughtiness, and arrogance; men should so rejoice in Christ as to have no confidence in the flesh, or assume any degree of glory to themselves, or have any rejoicing in themselves, but wholly in Christ, giving all the glory of what they have to him.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.   11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.   12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

      We have here the practical application of this gospel doctrine concerning the kingdom of the Messiah, by way of exhortation to the kings and judges of the earth. They hear that it is in vain to oppose Christ's government; let them therefore be so wise for themselves as to submit to it. He that has power to destroy them shows that he has no pleasure in their destruction, for he puts them into a way to make themselves happy, Psalms 2:10; Psalms 2:10. Those that would be wise must be instructed; and those are truly wise that receive instruction from the word of God. Kings and judges stand upon a level with common persons before God; and it is as necessary for them to be religious as for any others. Those that give law and judgment to others must receive law from Christ, and it will be their wisdom to do so. What is said to them is said to all, and is required of every one of us, only it is directed to kings and judges because of the influence which their example will have upon their inferiors, and because they were men of rank and power that opposed the setting up of Christ's kingdom, Psalms 2:2; Psalms 2:2. We are exhorted,

      I. To reverence God and to stand in awe of him, Psalms 2:11; Psalms 2:11. This is the great duty of natural religion. God is great, and infinitely above us, just and holy, and provoked against us, and therefore we ought to fear him and tremble before him; yet he is our Lord and Master, and we are bound to serve him, our friend and benefactor, and we have reason to rejoice in him; and these are very well consistent with each other, for, 1. We must serve God in all ordinances of worship, and all instances of a godly conversation, but with a holy fear, a jealousy over ourselves, and a reverence of him. Even kings themselves, whom others serve and fear, must serve and fear God; there is the same indefinite distance between them and God that there is between the meanest of their subjects and him. 2. We must rejoice in God, and, in subordination to him, we may rejoice in other things, but still with a holy trembling, as those that know what a glorious and jealous God he is, whose eye is always upon us. Our salvation must be wrought out with fear and trembling,Philippians 2:12. We ought to rejoice in the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, but to rejoice with trembling, with a holy awe of him, a holy fear for ourselves, lest we come short, and a tender concern for the many precious souls to whom his gospel and kingdom are a savour of death unto death. Whatever we rejoice in, in this world, it must always be with trembling, lest we grow vain in our joy and be puffed up with the things we rejoice in, and because of the uncertainty of them and the damp which by a thousand accidents may soon be cast upon our joy. To rejoice with trembling is to rejoice as though we rejoiced not,1 Corinthians 7:30.

      II. To welcome Jesus Christ and to submit to him, Psalms 2:12; Psalms 2:12. This is the great duty of the Christian religion; it is that which is required of all, even kings and judges, and it is our wisdom and interest to do it. Observe here,

      1. The command given to this purport: Kiss the Son. Christ is called the Son because so he was declared (Psalms 2:7; Psalms 2:7), Thou art my Son. He is the Son of God by eternal generation, and, upon that account, he is to be adored by us. He is the Son of man (that is, the Mediator, John 5:27), and, upon that account, to be received and submitted to. He is called the Son, to include both, as God is often called emphatically the Father, because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in him our Father, and we must have an eye to him under both considerations. Our duty to Christ is here expressed figuratively: Kiss the Son, not with a betraying kiss, as Judas kissed him, and as all hypocrites, who pretend to honour him, but really affront him; but with a believing kiss. (1.) With a kiss of agreement and reconciliation. Kiss, and be friends, as Jacob and Esau; let the quarrel between us and God terminate; let the acts of hostility cease, and let us be at peace with God in Christ, who is our peace. (2.) With a kiss of adoration and religious worship. Those that worshipped idols kissed them, 1 Kings 19:18; Hosea 13:2. Let us study how to do honour to the Lord Jesus, and to give unto him the glory due unto his name. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him,Psalms 45:1. We must worship the Lamb, as well as him that sits on the throne, Revelation 5:9-13. (3.) With a kiss of affection and sincere love: "Kiss the Son; enter into a covenant of friendship with him, and let him be very dear and precious to you; love him above all, love him in sincerity, love him much, as she did to whom much was forgiven, and, in token of it, kissed his feet," Luke 7:38. (4.) With a kiss of allegiance and loyalty, as Samuel kissed Saul, 1 Samuel 10:1. Swear fealty and homage to him, submit to his government, take his yoke upon you, and give up yourselves to be governed by his laws, disposed of by his providence, and entirely devoted to his interest.

      2. The reasons to enforce this command; and they are taken from our own interest, which God, in his gospel, shows a concern for. Consider,

      (1.) The certain ruin we run upon if we refuse and reject Christ: "Kiss the Son; for it is at your peril if you do not." [1.] "It will be a great provocation to him. Do it, lest he be angry." The Father is angry already; the Son is the Mediator that undertakes to make peace; if we slight him, the Father's wrath abides upon us (John 3:36), and not only so, but there is an addition of the Son's wrath too, to whom nothing is more displeasing than to have the offers of his grace slighted and the designs of it frustrated. The Son can be angry, though a Lamb; he is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the wrath of this king, this King of kings, will be as the roaring of a lion, and will drive even mighty men and chief captains to seek in vain for shelter in rocks and mountains, Revelation 6:16. If the Son be angry, who shall intercede for us? There remains no more sacrifice, no other name by which we can be saved. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. [2.] It will be utter destruction to yourselves: Lest you perish from the way, or in the way so some, in the way of your sins, and from the way of your vain hopes; lest your way perish (as Psalms 1:6), lest you prove to have missed the way to happiness. Christ is the way; take heed lest you be cut off from him as your way to God. It intimates that they were, or at least thought themselves, in the way; but, by neglecting Christ, they perished from it, which aggravates their ruin, that they go to hell from the way to heaven, are not far from the kingdom of God and yet never arrive there.

      (2.) The happiness we are sure of if we yield ourselves to Christ. When his wrath is kindled, though but a little, the least spark of that fire is enough to make the proudest sinner miserable if it fasten upon his conscience; for it will burn to the lowest hell: one would think it should therefore follow, "When his wrath is kindled, woe be to those that despise him;" but the Psalmist startles at the thought, deprecates that dreadful doom and pronounces those blessed that escape it. Those that trust in him, and so kiss him, are truly happy; but they will especially appear to be so when the wrath of Christ is kindled against others. Blessed will those be in the day of wrath, who, by trusting in Christ, have made him their refuge and patron; when the hearts of others fail them for fear they shall lift up their heads with joy; and then those who now despise Christ and his followers will be forced to say, to their own greater confusion, "Now we see that blessed are all those, and those only, that trust in him."

      In singing this, and praying it over, we should have our hearts filled with a holy awe of God, but at the same time borne up with a cheerful confidence in Christ, in whose mediation we may comfort and encourage ourselves and one another. We are the circumcision, that rejoice in Christ Jesus.