Psalm II

Verse 1. " Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing" The heathen or nations are mentioned in the first verse of this Psalm, as in many other parts of the Holy Scripture, in connection with people ; and the former here signify states of evil in the will, and the latter, states of falsehood in the intellect.

Verse 4. " He who sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." The heavens signify the heavenly states of the internal or spiritual man, by means of which the Lord rules the raging of the heathen, or the lusts of evil in the natural will, and the vain imaginings of the people, or the false delusions of the understanding. It is said that He who sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision ; and this laughter of the Lord, and this derision, are but the appearances of truth, as they are presented to the natural man, in agreement with his own state, and in consequence of that state ; but in the spiritual sense, which is adapted to the spiritual man, they mark the contrariety which, before regeneration, is ever found, in the intellect and will, to the Lord and His Divine government.

The whole of this Psalm is, in its spiritual sense, descriptive of the struggles that arise in the mind of every one to whom the Divine Truth is manifested for his regeneration. It is therefore prophetic of the Lord's advent, not only to the church generally, but to every individual, in order to conquer the powers of darkness, and to raise up in him a new church of heavenly love and faith. The Son, who is to be kissed, lest He be angry, is the Divine Truth, or manifested form of the Divine Goodness, and to kiss Him is to be spiritually conjoined to the Lord by loving Him.