Deeper Commentary
Psa 2:1 Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?- The question "Why?" may be purely rhetorical, as if to say that their raging is in vain because they are fighting against God and His anointed. But the Psalm later concludes with an appeal for them to repent, so that the judgments described here need not come about. "Why...?" is the abiding question; why go down this path of suffering Divine condemnation and personal suffering, why not just repent. "Plot a vain thing" could be rendered "mutter a vain thing". Again we see how God focuses upon the internal thoughts of men when judging them.
As noted on :2, this Psalm has multiple later applications; but the primary application may have been to David as the Lord's anointed (:2) feeling under threat of Gentile invasion, but calming himself with the realization that he as Yahweh's faithful anointed would be preserved. He had learnt that in his wilderness years, surrounded by Saul's forces; and as in our lives, the lessons are repeated in different contexts in our later years. The Psalm may have originated in David's taking of Zion from the Jebusites and facing opposition from the surrounding tribes afterwards. And possibly developed when he felt surrounded by his enemies at the time of Absalom's rebellion or at some other time. Possibly also that of 2 Sam. 5:17 when all the Philistines gathered against David after he was first declared king and immediately after he had captured Zion. For the Anointed of Yahweh was initially David.
Consider how many different applications the NT gives to Psalms 2 and 110. There is a tendency amongst some personality types to turn every disagreement over interpretation of Scripture into a right : wrong, truth : error scenario. Matters relating to basic doctrine are capable of being dealt with like this. But to turn the interpretation of every Bible verse into a conflict area is a recipe for ecclesial disaster. So often the debate becomes personal, with a brother sure that he is right and the other wrong, and the other must be shown to be wrong. This leads inevitably to pride, and there is the possibility that the other party is degraded and feels abused by the other. We simply have to accept that much of Scripture is open to various levels of interpretation, which if placed side by side would appear to be contradictory.
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth take a stand- In the sense of military confrontation (s.w. 1 Chron. 11:14). The picture of Jerusalem surrounded by armies with the Christ within it has specific reference to the last days. But the exact chronology of latter day events is impossible to work out ahead of time, for the purpose of Bible prophecy is not to provide world history in advance. Rather, when these things come to pass, then we shall know. The same scene is found in Revelation when Gog and Magog surround the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem and are destroyed; I have argued in commentary on Revelation that this refers to events around the Lord's return and not later.
And the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against His Anointed saying- See on :1. The Greek word “Christ” means ‘anointed’. This Psalm is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Scripture. It’s applied in various contexts- e.g. to the Roman and Jewish rulers trying to destroy Christ at His death (Acts 4:26); to the resurrection of Christ (2:7 = Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5); to the opposition to Christ’s people as they preached the Gospel (Acts 4:25) and to the situation soon after His return, when the rebellious nations will seek to overthrow Christ’s rule (2:9 = Rev. 2:27). What this shows is that Old Testament scripture can have multiple interpretations, in the same way as different people at different times can find the same Scripture speaking personally to them; and as we can find a single Bible passage amazingly relevant to us in different contexts and various times of our lives.
Just as the words about ruling the nations with a rod of iron
are applied to those "in Christ", so these words of Ps. 2:2 were applied
by the early believers to themselves in Acts 4:25,26. Likewise these words
are applied to the Lord Jesus and His people with Him, when His enemies
shall come against Him in the last day: "And I saw the beast and the kings
of the earth and their armies assembled to make war
against Him who sat on the horse and against His army" (Rev.
19:19). All that is true of the Lord Jesus is true of us; if we are
baptized into the singular seed of Abraham, then all that is true of Him
becomes true of us (Gal. 3:27-29). This means that our salvation is
achieved not by substitution, but by our willful and faithful
participation in the Lord Jesus as our representative.
Psa 2:3 Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us-
The primary application would be to peoples once under David's domination
desiring to rebel and even attack Jerusalem.
But David may have in view the rulers of the earth / land gathering
together against him at the time of Absalom's rebellion. David considered
that his return to Zion as king (:6) was therefore his justification by
God. Although the subsequent rebellions of Sheba an Adonijah showed this
wasn't in fact the case. David lost his focus on the future Son who was to
reign eternally, and liked to apply those promises
to himself. The Lord surely had this verse in mind when He
constructed His parable of the Jews within the vineyard speaking just like
these Gentiles: "We will not have this man to reign over us". Man's
instinctive sense is to cast off the ties that bind- but by doing so, man
ends up a prisoner needing release from those ties. The only path to
ultimate freedom is through swapping masters, from sin to righteousness,
exemplified in the act of baptism (Rom. 6).
Psa 2:4 He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in
derision- One application of this Psalm was to Hezekiah being
surrounded by the Assyrians in Jerusalem. God's view was that the faithful
daughter of Zion had laughed at and derided the Assyrians (Is. 37:22). But
here we read that this was true of God. The faithful remnant, the daughter
of Zion, were scared of the Assyrians at the time, and hardly seemed
confident. But God imputed His confidence and attitudes, His
Spirit, to that of His weak but faithful people.
Psa 2:5 Then He will speak to them in His anger, and terrify them in His
wrath- Connecting this with :12, this appears to be a conditional
statement. God's anger could have been turned away had they reverenced His
Son. But we must never re-negotiate nor water down the absolute
fury of Yahweh against sin and sinners. Truly "we are saved from wrath
through Him". Only those who get that will be inspired to live lives of
humble gratitude.
Psa 2:6 Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion- If the idea
were simply of 'seating' then an appropriate word would have been used.
But the Hebrew used here for "set" is usually translated 'to pour',
'sacrifice' (s.w. Ps. 16:4) or 'cover'. Clearly there is a suggestion of
the sacrifice of God's Son on a hill near Zion. From this point, the
speaker becomes His Son (:7).
The 'pouring out' could also be an allusion to anointing. All the
same, as discussed on :7, the enthronement of God's Son as both King and
priest is of itself a demand for submission to Him.
Psa 2:7 I will tell of the decree- The same phrase used of declaring
the covenant (Ps. 50:16). The new covenant was declared in the death (:6)
and resurrection of the Son of God; and here we have Him as it were
proclaiming that new covenant.
Yahweh said to me, You are My son. Today I have become your father- This is given various applications in the New Testament, especially to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Acts 13:33 cp. Rom. 1:4). This would be appropriate to the allusion to the Lord's death noted on :6. Heb. 1:5 quotes this along with the promise to David in 2 Sam. 7:14 about the birth of his Messianic Son: "For to which of the angels said He at any time: You are my Son, this day have I begotten you? And again: I will be to him a Father and he shall be to me a Son?". We wonder if David was therefore wrong in appropriating the promise about his Messianic Son to himself, reigning in Zion. His line didn't continue reigning there, as Psalm 2 implies they would. But the words are clearly appropriated in the New Testament to both the birth, resurrection and enthronement in glory of the Lord Jesus. Heb. 5:5 quotes these words together with Ps. 110:1 as if they apply to the Lord beginning His priestly work in Heaven: "So Christ also did not glorify himself to become a high priest, but He that spoke to him: You are my Son. This day have I begotten you. As also He said elsewhere: You are a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek". The anointing of Ps. 2 is therefore understood as both that of a king and of a priest. For both kings and priests were inaugurated by anointing. Ps. 110:2 states that from His enthronement and start of His priestly work, the rod of His strength would go forth from Zion. Psalm 2 could be read as a typical coronation Psalm. The Lord Jesus is now king and ruling, crowned with glory and honour (Heb. 2:9), but "only" over those who submit their hearts to His kingly dominion [kingdom]. At the last day, this will be as it were enforced upon all men. But we face the same choice now- to submit, or suffer His wrath. The need to "kiss the son" in loyalty, lest His wrath fall upon us, is therefore a call for submission to Him and His rod which began at His Heavenly enthronement at His ascension.
But the application to Hezekiah in Jerusalem continues; the same words are used for how Hezekiah felt that "this day" (s.w. "today"), the children are come to the birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth" (Is. 37:3, s.w. "become your father"). Yahweh was strong enough. The righteous remnant, the primary fulfilment of the "suffering servant" prophecies, could have been brought forth after the enemies surrounding Jerusalem were destroyed. But they were not, and instead of 'inheriting' the Gentiles (:8), Hezekiah didn't "ask of Me" for that, and rather made covenants with them involving accepting their gods. The great potential possible wasn't realized, and so the Psalm was reapplied to the things of the Lord Jesus.
There is no recorded moment when God said these words to the Lord Jesus, although He surely did (Heb. 1:5). Presumably we have here a unique insight into the words spoken by the Father to the Son on the resurrection morning; it is perhaps appropriate that they aren't recorded historically. The moment was too intimate.
On the level of David, I would suggest that he is here misapplying the promises of 2 Sam. 7 about his future Messianic Son to himself. He considered that his reigning in Zion was a sign that he was the chosen son. But he wasn't. His focus upon the future Lord Jesus wandered, and came back to self focus.
Psa 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the
uttermost ends of the earth for your possession- The initial
reference would have been to David enthroned on mount Zion, having been
promised victory over all the nations within the earth / land promised to
Abraham: "I have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make
you a great name like unto the name of the great ones that are in the
earth / land" (2 Sam. 7:9). And so "All the Edomites became servants to
David... And the Syrians became servants to David" (2 Sam. 8:6); and thus
"the fame of David went out into all the lands, and the Lord brought the
fear of him upon all the nations" (1 Chron. 19:17).
See on :7 for the potential reference to Hezekiah.
God promised Abraham a very specific
"inheritance...
possession"
in Canaan
(Gen. 17:8; Dt. 4:21; 32:49). And yet this
promise seems to be interpreted in later Scripture as referring to the
world-wide Kingdom which will be established at the second coming
(e.g. Rom. 4:13 speaks of how Abraham was promised that he would inherit
the world; Ps. 72 and other familiar prophecies speak of a world-wide
Messianic Kingdom, based on the promises to Abraham). One possible
explanation is found in Psalm 2, where the Father seems to encourage the
Son to ask of Him "the heathen [i.e., not just the Jews] for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth [not just
the land of promise] for thy possession" (Ps. 2:8). Could it be that due
to the Lord's spiritual ambition, the inheritance was extended from the
Jewish people to all nations, and from literal Canaan to all the
earth? This is not to say, of course, that fundamentally the
promises to Abraham have been changed. No. The promise of eternal
inheritance of Canaan still stands as the basis of the Gospel of the
Kingdom (Gal. 3:8), but that promise has been considerably extended,
thanks to the Lord's spiritual ambition.
Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall dash them in
pieces like a potter’s vessel-
In Is. 11:4, the Lord strikes the wicked with the "rod of his mouth". But that same rod in Messiah's hand is what He uses to lead His people, and His rod and staff are their comfort (Mic. 7:14; Ps. 23:4). The rod is Messiah's scepter in Gen. 49:10. We are to respond to the rod of His word now, and find it our comfort. Those who do not shall be broken by it.
These words are quoted about the Lord Jesus and those
in Him, in Rev. 2:27. As He will rule the world with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:9) and
brake the nations to powder at His return (Dan. 2:44), so will each of
those in Him (Rev. 2:27). And notice how Ps. 2:1,2, a prophecy about
opposition to Jesus personally, is appropriated to those who preach Him,
because they are in Him (Acts 4:25,26).
Psa 2:10 Now therefore be wise, you kings; be instructed, you judges of
the earth- The judgment upon the nations of :9 doesn't have to
happen; if they are wise and are "instructed". True wisdom is to repent;
knowledge in the Hebraic sense refers to relationship with God, rather
than technical knowledge of information. In fact the first sin was to
partake of the fruit which would apparently make men "wise" (Gen. 3:6). It
was a short cut to 'wisdom' in the sense of relationship. And too often
the same mistake is made today, whereby knowledge is confused with the
wisdom and instruction of repentant relationship with God.
Psa 2:11 Serve Yahweh with respect and rejoice with trembling-
That trembling, joy and respect is what arises from realizing that they
should have been condemned (:9), but the outcome had been changed because
they had the wisdom to repent. This mixture of joy, humility and certainty
in His grace is very persuasive in our witness; when it is evidenced
within the very fibers of the being of those saved by grace through faith.
Psa 2:12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry and you perish
in the way, for His wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who
take refuge in Him-
As explained on :10, the judgment upon the nations of :9 doesn't have to
happen; if they are wise and are "instructed" in repentance. The urgency
of the appeal is because "soon" the wrath of the Son is to be poured out.
This appears therefore to be effectively the text of our latter day
appeal, as we take the great commission to the nations which have been
given to Him (see on :8). The implication is that none will survive the
judgments to come unless they repent. But I suggested on :9 that the
people in view are those who have already had a chance to respond to the
Gospel, and not the ignorant world.
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