Psalm 2

Psalm 2: Long Live the King

Rough Draft

Good Morning, Vanguard. It’s good to be here today with you on the Lord’s Day. It has been some time since I was up here. I preached on Psalm 1 back in December of last year, and today we will be going through Psalm 2. Since it has been some time, I will do a quick re-cap of Psalm 1 so that we have a good start into Psalm 2. If you care to join me, please turn to Psalm 2 in your Bibles.

Let me read our passage for today and then I will pray. I will be reading from the ESV. This is the word of the LORD:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

2  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

3  “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

4  He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6  “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

7  I will tell of the decree:

The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

8  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9  You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11  Serve the LORD with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

12  Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

PRAY

Before we begin with our text, let’s recap what we learned in Psalm 1. The big idea that we got from Psalm 1 is that Jesus is the Blessed Man. He is the one who perfectly follows God’s law and does no wickedness. Psalm 1 also talked about the two paths set out before us: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked, and their end result. We know that the way of the wicked will not last. Our call is to trust in Jesus as the Blessed Man and in his righteousness. Only by doing that can we be obedient to God’s Word and live lives worthy of the Gospel.

With that fresh in our minds, we can now continue into Psalm 2. Just like Psalm 1, Psalm 2 has no explicit author attributed to it, though we do find in the New Testament that David was said to be the author of this psalm. This is a Messianic / Kingship psalm in which the Lord’s Anointed is installed as King on Mt. Zion. It is not clear what the background is for this psalm. Some scholars suggest that this is a coronation psalm that was sung when a new king was appointed in Israel. Because this is a Messianic psalm, it will point beyond the context in which it was written to include future events.

Psalm 2 is broken up into four parts with each part consisting of 3 verses, so our sermon today will follow that path. The first part of our sermon, which is the first 3 verses, I have called, “The Nations Rebel”. Here we read,

English Standard Version Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

2  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

3  “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

Isn’t interesting to see that in these first three verses, we have a universal description of man’s rebellion against God. It is good use of Hebrew parallelism to capture man’s natural state.

THE WORLD IS IN OPEN REBELLION AGAINST GOD.

This has been man’s response and attitude towards God throughout history. We see it at the beginning when Adam and Eve first rebelled against God. They didn’t want to be under God’s rule and decided they could do better. It gets progressively worse as we continue in the Bible. It really bad during the time of Noah and as a result God had to send the Flood. We see it creep up again at the Tower of Babel when man wanted to make a name for itself by building a tower to reach the heavens. Throughout the history of the Old Testament story, we get this clear picture that man, in his nature is naturally hostile towards God and refuses to submit to him. And just in case we dare to think that that was the Old Testament, look at our world today.

Just look at the sin that runs rampant in our nation and in the other nations of the world. Sin is everywhere and it’s approved by the nations! The nations of the world have gotten together and have decided that they will not be bound by this God of the Bible:

“Why should we follow this God and his Law that restricts us from doing what we want to do? Just look at what we have been able to accomplish without this God. We can do better.”

Just look at the sexual immorality in this culture. What was once considered shameful and wrong just decades ago is now in music, movies, video games; it’s pervasive! The murder of babies in the womb is applauded as good and empowering! These are just a couple of ways that the world says:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

The opening question in this psalm is one of bafflement:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

What are you guys doing? Why are you plotting in vain? There is a sense of futility implied here. It’s pointless in what they are doing. The wicked that were mentioned in Psalm 1 are now identified as the nations here that plot in vain. The Hebrew word used to translate the word “meditate” in verse 2 of psalm 1 is the same one used to translate the word “plot” in Psalm 2. As the Blessed Man meditates on God’s Law, the nations meditate on how to overthrow it.

English Standard Version Psalm 2

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

3  “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

As we know, the word translated as “Anointed” here is where we get the word Messiah, and in Greek, Christ. The early church in the book of Acts viewed those who crucified Christ as fulfilling this part of Psalm 2.

In Acts 4, we read that the after Peter and John were let go by the religious leaders of their day, the church got together and prayed:

English Standard Version Chapter 4

Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

26  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

That’s a good example of the nations. We have Herod and Pontius Pilate, who didn’t like each other, but decided to make an unholy alliance against Christ. We have Gentiles and Jews forming an unholy alliance as well. The world is giving everything it has, and it gave everything it had when they crucified the Lord’s Anointed, our Lord Jesus Christ. And what is God’s response to this?

He LAUGHS! He laughs. Verse 4-6 states:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6  “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

I like kind of like the NASB’s translation of verse 4 here. The NASB translates this verse here as:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 2

He who sits in the heavens laughs,

The Lord scoffs at them.

In Psalm 1, we read that the scoffers sit and scoff at God’s Law. Here we read that the Lord sits in heaven an scoffs at the nations.

(Portray the act of scoffing)

I am not the guy who came up with this analogy, but it’s easy to imagine ants gathering together on there ant hill to overthrow the gardener. It’s laughable. All it takes a a spray from the water hose and they’re gone.

So what do we learn from God’s response?

God is not fazed by the world’s rebellion.

God is Sovereign. He is in control of his creation. He is not affected by what sinful humanity does in trying to overthrow him. When we look around us and see all the various ways the world tries to overthrow God’s rule, how the world spits on His name and does its best to take God out of the schools, entertainment, marriage, work and politics, rest assured and know that God sits on his throne in heaven and laughs at it all. We just read how the early church compared the rebellion of the nations to those who rose up against Christ and crucified Him. How did God respond to the world crucifying His Messiah. He laughed. He saw their efforts were pointless. And God doesn’t just respond with laughter. He responds with His mighty Word. Verse 5 and 6 state:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6  “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

God’s Word is indeed powerful. God, just by speaking, brought the universe in existence. By his Word he creates life. By his word he pronounces grace. But His word also pronounces judgment. It can take away life and destroy everything. Here His speech brings forth wrath and terrifies the nations. Remember how the Israelites were terrified when they stood before Mt. Sinai and trembled when God spoke to them? Remember how in the book of Revelation, the kings of the earth tremble in fear because the wrath of God has finally come upon them? Yes, God’s word can be re-assuring, comforting, and edifying, but it can also be terrifying and wrathful. And what does God say?

English Standard Version Psalm 2

As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

God’s response to the kings of the earth is that He has installed on Mt. Zion his own King. It’s the kings vs the King of kings. We can already see how the current flow of this psalm is patterned after the events of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Herod, Pilate, the Jews and the Gentiles get together to execute their plan to kill the LORD’s Anointed. And God responds with laughter as he resurrects and installs Jesus at His right hand until His enemies are made a footstool for his feet. Take comfort and rejoice, church, because our Lord is King and we are his people, and His kingdom is spreading and there is nothing the world can do about it.

Now something very interesting happening in the next verse. Verse 7 states:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

I will tell of the decree:

The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

Now when David wrote this, it is very likely what was going through his mind was 2 Samuel 7:13-14. In 2 Samuel, King David has been having a successful reign and the Lord is so pleased with him that he makes a covenant with David. This is what 2 Samuel says:

English Standard Version Chapter 7

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

The important thing about that covenant is that God promised David that one of his descendants will be on the throne and reign forever, and he will be a Son, and God will be his Father. Now going back to verse 7 of Psalm 2, what’s going on here?

The fascinating thing about verse 7 is that this is not talking about David. As a matter of fact, in a way, David is not evening talking here. If we look closely at verse 7, we see that the Messiah is saying that the LORD said to him, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” This is actually the Jesus, the second person of the Trinity speaking about what the Father has said to him. This may be new to some, but when you read Psalm 2 and get to verse 7-9, you are eaves dropping into a dialogue within the Trinity between the Father and Son.

It’s like watching a multi-film franchise, and when after you finish and go back to watch the first film, you find a small detail you didn’t catch before and you’re like, “They are actually talking about a certain character that doesn’t show up on screen until the last film!”

Now someone can object and say that, “This isn’t an inner dialogue within the Trinity. It’s probably just talking about King David as God’s Son. How do you know that it is Jesus here speaking about what the Father said to him here?” And if you are wondering that today, the answer is because the New Testament tells us so. If you care to join me, you can bookmark Psalm 2 and go to Hebrews 1. Now the context of Hebrews 1 is the supremacy of God’s Son, Jesus.

In Hebrews 1, Jesus is said to be better than the angels, because he has inherited a more excellent name than they. Now the author again gives reasons for why Jesus is better than the angels. The author states in verse 5,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,

and he shall be to me a son”?

Again in Hebrews 5:5, concerning the glory of becoming the high priest, the author states:

English Standard Version Chapter 5

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”;

And lastly in Acts 13:32-33, the apostle Paul says,

English Standard Version Chapter 13

32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

“ ‘You are my Son,

today I have begotten you.’

The point of all this is that Jesus is actually speaking in Psalm 2 and the Israelites got to sing that and if we sing this psalm as well, we get to do that too.

Now before I move on, I want to address one more thing in this verse that I believe is important. What does it mean when the Father says to Jesus, “Today I have begotten you”? This may sound a little confusing to us. If Jesus is God and always has been for all eternity, how can he be begotten today? If he is begotten, doesn’t that mean, there was a time when Jesus did not exist and was not God’s Son?

Some scholars have pointed to the New Testament, saying that when this verse is quoted, it is in the context of the resurrected and exalted Christ. In addition to that, Jesus is described as the firstborn from the dead. Jesus is begotten in the sense that he is the first in God’s new creation. Although it’s true that verse 7 of Psalm 2 is quoted in the New Testament, describing the risen and exalted Christ, and he is the firstborn from the dead, I believe this answer only describes half of what is going on in this verse.

To get the full picture, we need to look to eternity, to the eternal nature of the Son. You see, the reason why the nations should fear and serve THIS Messiah, this Anointed One, of Psalm 2 is because this is not just a mere mortal, human king. This is the Eternal Divine King! We need to look to eternity to understand the language of, “Today” and “begotten”.

One of the most well-known theologians of church history, Augustine, believed that this verse most likely spoke about Jesus’ eternal birth. Augustine explains, “The word today signifies the present, and in eternity there is nothing which is past, as though it had ceased to be, nor future, as though not yet in existence; there is present only, because whatever is eternal always is.” Augustine, as well as other theologians from church history, believed that this verse proclaimed the eternal birth of the Son. And I agree with them on this.

So when we combine this with the ascension of the Son to the Father after the resurrection, we get this beautiful picture which is this: The decree of Psalm 2 was spoken by the Father to the Son in eternity and Jesus re-stated the eternal decree at his ascension when he sat down at the Father’s side. This is the Anointed One of Psalm 2, God’s eternally begotten Son. This is who rules. This is who the nations should fear, and this is our victorious King.

Let’s read on:

English Standard Version Psalm 2

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9  You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

The Father is now telling the Son, “Ask me, and I will give you the world and you will rule over your enemies. We are getting a preview of the final outcome of the world. John picks up this imagery in the book of Revelation. He quotes and alludes to this a couple of times. One of them is in Revelation 19:15 when Jesus comes back at the end of everything, on his white horse, and he is described as this,

English Standard Version Chapter 19

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Already at Psalm 2, we get find out what happens in the end. Jesus wins. He will destroy all his enemies and his kingdom will cover the whole earth and it will have no end. Think of the most powerful nations to have ever existed. Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome. All gone, but God’s kingdom through the proclamation of his word has continued. It’s interesting to think of this, but the United States, one of the most powerful nations to have ever existed, will one day not.

Saint Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms 1–32, ed. John E. Rotelle, trans. Maria Boulding, vol. 15, The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2000), 73.

Now just to note something here. Everything we have been talking about and will talk about in this psalm is eschatological. It’s very end timsey, if you will.