Psalm 2:7
going forth from the beginning
The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. (Psalm 2:7 DR)
The sheer futility of those who set themselves against God is now brought to its consummation, as the Anointed One who is set as King over Sion is shown to be the very Son of God. David as king becomes a type of Christ, for St. Paul notes that such a statement as seen in this verse can only be said of the Son of God:
For to which of the angels hath he said at any time, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5 DR)
His argument is that if not even the angels—who are ontologically superior to humans—can be legitimately called “begotten” sons, then this verse of the Psalm cannot be merely some poetic reference to David’s special relationship with God but rather has prophetic and typological import. As a prophet David sees beyond himself and is given a glimpse behind the veil, foreseeing the Incarnation in which Christ will take upon Himself flesh that is in David’s line, thus truly being Son of God and son of David. The prophet Micah also foresees that this son of David if more than just a man:
And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. (Micah 5:2)
St. Augustine argues that this passage necessitates an interpretation that goes beyond the nativity of our Lord, but is referring to His eternal generation (as St. Paul argues):
Although that day may also seem to be prophetically spoken of, on which Jesus Christ was born according to the flesh; and in eternity there is nothing past as if it had ceased to be, nor future as if it were not yet, but present only, since whatever is eternal, always is; yet as today intimates presentiality, a divine interpretation is given to that expression, “Today have I begotten You,” whereby the uncorrupt and Catholic faith proclaims the eternal generation of the power and Wisdom of God, who is the Only-begotten Son. (St. Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, 2, 6.)
Unlike David who was chosen by God to rule His people and be king over Sion, being a “son” by grace, as it were, our Lord Jesus Christ is Son by means of nature, being eternally generated by the Father. King David’s authority came from his election as ruler; Christ’s comes by virtue of his very Being as God Himself. In the previous verse the Psalmist speaks of “preaching His commandment” by virtue of his being set as king over Sion; the Son of God in flesh is the very commandment itself, Himself being Word of the Father. His very existence, as it were, is the speaking of this commandment. This is why St. Paul says:
God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, In these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. (Hebrews 1:1-2 DR)
The rulers of this world thus array themselves in vain against Him, for their power is as nothing before Him:
Here is the beginning and the foundation of God’s decree. For to Christ, as being the true and natural Son of God, is due all power in heaven and on earth. (St. Robert bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of the Psalms, 2, 7)
St. Bellarmine also notes three distinct generations in this passage:
The first, when in the day of eternity, I God begot you God. The second, when, on the day of your birth, I begot thee according to the flesh, made you God Man, without the seed of man, your mother remaining inviolate, without the stain of sin. Thirdly, I begot you today, that is, on the day of your resurrection, when, by my divine power, I restored you to life, and that a glorious and immortal one. (ibid.)
The Psalmist thus intones a great mystery in which the Word of God is shown from his eternal going forth to His Incarnation to His glorious Resurrection.
For this animation I decided to keep it rather abstract as the subject matter didn’t lend itself (at least so I reasoned at the time) to something more concrete. In After Effects I applied Trapcode Mir to a Solid and tried to create something a bit like fire. I kind of liked the wispy look it created and decided to go with it. The rest was just dialing in the look and messing around with some color correction.
Enjoy.
The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.
(Psalm 2:7 DR)
View a higher quality version of this gif here: