Thus in Psalm ii. the nations of the world are represented in rebellion against God and the Messiah. "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed" (Ps. ii. 1, 2), i.e. Messiah--Christ. And then the decree of the universal sovereignty of Messiah is proclaimed: "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, 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" (Ps. ii. 7, 8). Then in Psalm xxii, after the mysterious sufferings of Messiah have been set forth, His Kingdom is again proclaimed as universal: "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee" (Ps. xxii. 27). And, to pass over other passages, in Psalm lxxii. Messiah's everlasting reign of righteousness and peace is described in glowing words: "They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. All kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. His Name shall endure for ever; and men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed[4]" (Ps. lxxii. 5, 7, 11, 17). Many years passed; and then Isaiah proclaimed in prophecy, "Behold a King shall reign in righteousness" (Isai. xxxii. 1); and in many a glowing passage described the peace and glory of His Kingdom. And Jeremiah yet more clearly announced, "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness" (Jer. xxiii. 5, 6). And Daniel was directed to explain the king's dream, as a vision of earthly empires, which should be overpowered "by the Stone cut out without hands;" for "the God of Heaven shall set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. ii. 44, 45). And Zechariah sang, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee" (Zech. ix. 9).