Psalm 2
Psalm 2:1-12
1 Why do the nations conspire (rage) [1] and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.[2]
3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 "I have installed my King[3] on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son[4] ; today I have become your Father.[5]
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will rule them with an iron scepter[6] ; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
I. Introduction:
1) This is a Messianic Psalm
A)Messianic psalms are the ones that describe and
point to the coming of the Messiah.
When we look at the psalms as Christians we can sometimes consider a passage Messianic which is not – because we know the rest of the story.
-This Psalm however is undeniably messianic
B)One unique feature of this Psalm is that the Messiah
Himself speaks in this Psalm
trough David.
2)Ps. 2 is one of the most quoted psalms in the New
Testament
Prominent examples:
a. Acts 4:24-27.
i. Quotes v.s 1-2 and applies it to:
A)Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and
people of Israel who opposed Jesus.
b. Heb. 1:5 and 5:5
i. Quote verse 7 of psalm 2 "You are my Son[4] ; today I have become your Father.[5]”
A)This verse is applied to Jesus in each case.
c. Revelation openly quotes the psalm 3 times.
(1:5, 2:27, 12:5)
3) Psalm 2 is an introductory psalm
a. There is evidence in Christian and Jewish
tradition that Psm 2 was originally joined to
ps 1
b. This is significant…because it cast another
light on Psm 2. (I will avoid the complicated
details of how this can be proved).
i. The two ways (evil / good) of Psalm 1 are further
explained
A)The evil man of Ps 1 is seen in open rebellion in
2:1-2
1 Why do the nations conspire (rage) [1] and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.[2]
B)The good man of Ps. 1 is identified as God’s Son in
7-8 of Psalm 2 and He receives the results of His
righteousness.
"7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son[4] ; today I have become your Father.[5] 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Ps. 2:7-8.
a.His blessedness (PS1:1) is seen in the inheritance
of the nations.
C)David points out in Ps.2 point out that the way the
wicked can avoid impending destruction is by taking
refuge in God’s Son (Jesus!)
“12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
II. Dialog of The 3 Speakers in Psalm. 2:
1)The narrator speaks concerning evil men.. v.s. 1-3
1 Why do the nations conspire (rage) [1] and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.[2] 3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."
a.Some argue that this was an account of evil eastern kings who wanted to remove David (God’s anointed earthly king) form the throne.
i.The Language in the passage itself directs our attention from David to the Lord (v.s.
2). “Against the Lord and His anointed one”
b.Note: Not all Psalms are messianic – but this one
is – especially when viewed as joined with Ch. 1.
2) God the Father speaks 3-6
a. God’s response to the rebellion of evil men:
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“What is God’s reaction to the haughty words of these pygmy human rulers? God does not tremble. He does not hide behind a vast celestial rampart, counting the enemy and calculating whether or not He has sufficient force to counter this new challenge to his kingdom. He does not even rise from where He is sitting. He simply laughs at these great imbeciles.” – (Boice 24)
3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 "I have installed my King[3] on Zion, my holy hill." Psalm 2:3-6
b.What has happened in the past to those who opposed
God?
“Of thirty Roman emperors, governors of provinces and others in high office, who distinguished themselves by their zeal and bitterness in persecuting the early Christians, one became speedily deranged after some atrocious cruelty, one was slain by his own son, one became blind, the eyes of one started out of his head, one was drowned, one was strangled, one died in a miserable captivity, one fell dead in a manner that will not bear recital, one died of so loathsome a disease that several of his physicians were put to death because they could not abide the stench that filled his room, two committed suicide, a third attempted it but had to call for help to finish the work, five were assassinated by their own people or servants, five others died the most miserable and excruciating deaths, several of them having an untold complication of diseases, and eight were killed in battles, or after being taken prisoners.
Among these was Julian the Apostate. In the days of his prosperity he is said to have pointed his dagger to heaven, defying the Son of God whom he commonly called the Galilean. But when he was wounded in battle, he saw that all was over with him, and he gathered up his clotted blood and threw it into the air, exclaiming, thou has conquered, O thou Galilean.” (Boise 25)
c.Human rebellion is a natural action for sinful
creation – but none the less foolish.
3) The Son Speaks. 7
Some Use v.s. 7 to argue that God adopted the king of Israel in a special way. While the king was definitely anointed by God in a special way V.s. 7a obviously speaks of Jesus when view through a NT context.
7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son[4] ; today I have become your Father.[5]
God the Father used these words to describe Jesus
A) At His Baptism (Mt. 3:17, Mark 1:11, Lk 3:22)
B) At the transfiguration (Mt. 17:5, Mk. 9:7, Lk 9:35)
2)Explanation of v.s. 7b. today I have become your
Father – Paul uses this verse to refer to Jesus
after the resurrection of Jesus.
Luke records Paul as saying, Acts 13:33: “We tell you the good news; What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son today I have become your Father. The fact that God raided him from the dead never to decay is stated in thes words: I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David”
** The Scripture is not referring to the eternal begetting of Jesus. Jesus has always been. It is refereeing to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
This can be further clarified by Col. 1;18 “THE FIRSTBOREN FROM AMONG THE DEAD”
4) The Father Speaks again. 8-9
3) 8 Ask of me and I will give he nations….You will
rule them.
A) No earthly king ever received this promise…
1. The nations are the inheritance of the Messiah… Since Jesus is the Son of God he receives a prize bigger than any earthy King has ever received.
*Interestingly, The anti-Christ will attempt to rule the nations… but his government will falter and be destroyed by the true King of the Nations!
2.Jesus not only inherits the earth, He earns it by
being the Good man described in Psalm 1
B)–Missionary commission to believers. –To be
ambassadors of the King proclaiming his kingdom!
5) The Narrator speaks again 10-12
4)The psalm closes with words of warning from the
narrator (evangelist)
A) Be wise (v. 10)
B) Be warned (v. 10)
C) Serve the Lord – with fear (v. 11)
D) Rejoice – with trembling (v. 11)
E) Kiss the son – expression of love and
submission (v.12)
F) (v.12) Warning of “final, fierce, destruction”
(Boice 26)
5)“Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” (v.12)
III. Closing:
a. The way we gain the blessedness of Ps. 1 is through taking refuge in the Messiah.
b.Jesus is the only safe refuge from the wrath of God.
Outline of Psalm. 2
I. Introduction:
1)An openly messianic Psalm
2)One of the most Quoted Psalms in the New Testament
3)An introductory Psalm
4)Originally Joined to Psalm 1 – Psalm 2 interprets
Psalm One
II.Dialog of The 3 Speakers in Psalm. 2:
1)The narrator speaks concerning evil men.. v.s. 1-3
a. Rebellion of Psalm. 1 is played out.
2)God the Father replies.
a. He laughs
b. Human rebellion is a natural result of sin,
but it is futile and foolish
3) The Son speaks.
4) The Father speaks to the Son
5) The Narrator speaks to the evil king’s& rulers
(all people of the earth could qualify)
IV. Closing:
c. The way we gain the blessedness of Psalm 1 is
through taking refuge in the Messiah.
Jesus is the only safe refuge from the wrath of God.
