Ps 2:3

“"Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us" [Psalm 2:3]. Although it admits of another acceptation, yet is it more fitly understood as in the person of those who are said to "meditate vain things." So that "let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us," may be, let us do our endeavour, that the Christian religion do not bind us, nor be imposed upon us.”

“Let us break their cords (nenattekah et mosroteimo): [The word mosroteimo - their cords/bonds] is from the root musar (מוּסָר - discipline, bond, instruction). Also their ropes (גַּם עֲבֹתֵימוֹ - gam avoteimo): Means thick ropes (chavalim avotim). The meaning [of mosrot and avot] is one and the same, [expressed] with different words. For this is a manner of rhetorical elegance (derekh tzachut), like [in (Numbers 23:8)]: "How shall I curse (mah ekov)... and how shall I denounce (umah ez'om)." [Using synonyms in parallel clauses]. He who sits (יוֹשֵׁב - yoshev) [referring to yoshev ba-shamayim - "He who sits in the heavens" in v. 4]: Because Scripture mentioned [in v. 2] "kings of the earth take their stand" (yityatzvu malkhei eretz), it states, in contrast to them, "He who sits in the heavens," which are above man. The [Rav Saadia] Gaon said: That the meaning of He will laugh (יִשְׂחָק - yischak) [v. 4] is that He will make them into an object of laughter and derision (sechok u-la'ag). And the correct [view] is: That HaShem created substance/matter (ha-geshem), which is the essence, and the forms (ha-tzurot), which are accidents/attributes. [These philosophical terms contrast with] whatever man does or the images of living things he forms [in his mind]. His Name [i.e., God Himself] alone is too exalted to be [described] in terms of substance/essence, let alone accident/attribute. However, because the speaker [of Scripture] is human, and likewise the hearer, the Torah spoke in the language of human beings (dibrah Torah ki-leshon bnei adam) so that the hearer may understand. And similarly, they treated the earth as if it had human form, [as in verses like]: "And the earth opened its mouth" (Numbers 16:32), [and phrases like] "from the recesses/ends (mi-yarketei) of the earth" (e.g., Jeremiah 6:22). [Thus, "laughing" is anthropomorphic language used for human understanding]. And -lamo [in yil'ag lamo - "will mock them" in v. 4]: Is like lahem (לָהֶם - to/for them) [an archaic pronoun form]. And the word la'ag (לַעַג - scorn, derision): Is always [found] with the letter Lamed [as a prefix to the object being scorned], like (Psalm 22:8) "they mock me" (yal'igu li) [and (Psalm 80:7)] "therefore our enemies mock them" (ve-oyveinu yil'agu lamo). [This is] a manner of expression (derekh kinuy - perhaps meaning 'idiomatic usage' or 'reference'), as I will explain [elsewhere, or referring perhaps to the specific usage here].”

“Let us break their bands asunder: – They were saying: “Let us break the bands of Israel and their league (lit. binding) in which they have bound themselves and agreed to make David king.” For there had elapsed seven years in which Israel as a whole had not agreed about him to make him king, and now when they had all agreed about him the Philistines said “let us break their bands asunder.” And cast away their cords from us: – He repeats himself in different words, while the meaning is the same for such is the idiom of the language. And the “bands” and “cords” denote the strongest ropes, and are a figure for counsel and firm agreement.”

“Next he sets forth the purpose of those who plot; hence he says: "Let us break their bonds," etc. This is properly said, for the dominion of the king is called a yoke. In 3 Kings 12, it is said to Rehoboam that he should lighten the yoke that Solomon had imposed on them. For just as oxen are joined by a yoke for work, so men are joined for the dominion of the kingdom. But the yoke cannot be removed unless the bonds are loosened. The bonds in a kingdom are those by which the royal power is secured in the kingdom, such as soldiers, fortresses, and arms. First, therefore, it is necessary to dissolve these, and then to remove the yoke. Spiritually, in Christ the yoke is the law of charity: Mt. 11: "My yoke is sweet," etc. The bonds are the virtues: hope, faith, charity: Eph. 4: "Eager to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Sir. 6: "Her bonds are a healing binding." That the conscience of man should not be under the yoke of the law of Christ cannot happen unless these bonds are first broken: which those do who say to God, "Depart from us; we do not want the knowledge of your ways," etc. (Job 21). Jer. 2: "Of old you broke your yoke, you burst your bonds, and you said, 'I will not serve.'" Or this is said in the person of David, from Christ to his servants: the Gloss says, as if they plot thus, but "O my servants, let us break," etc.; but this does not fit the intended meaning.”