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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,'1-');">Psa 2</a> - <span>The</span> Reign of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed</h2>
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<p><i>Like many Psalms, the theme of <a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,'1-');">Psa 2</a> is emphasized in the final verse. We can defy God and perish, or surrender to Him and be blessed. The Psalm itself does not identify its author, but <a onclick="return mV('Act',4,'25-26');">Act 4:25-26</a> clearly attributes it to David.</i></p>
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<p>A. The rage of nations and the laugh of God.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,'1-3');">1-3</a>) <span>The</span> nations rebel.</p>
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<p class="c2">Why do the nations <span>rage,</span><br>And the people plot a vain thing?<br>The kings of the earth set themselves,<br>And the rulers take counsel together,<br>Against the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and against His Anointed, <i>saying,</i><br>"Let us break <span>Their</span> bonds in pieces<br>And cast away <span>Their</span> cords from us."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Why do the nations rage</span></b>: The Psalmist seems genuinely <span>mystified.</span> The nations have no <i>reason</i> to rage against God, and they have no <i>benefit</i> in raging against Him. Their opposition against God is nothing but a <b><span class="c3">vain thing</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The rulers take counsel together</span></b>: Since the time of Babel, men continue to band themselves together against God. They feel that two or more men united against God have a better chance than one man set against God.</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c</span>. <b><span class="c3">Against the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and against His Anointed</span></b>: They oppose both the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and His Anointed. Anointed speaks of the Christ, the Anointed One. Since Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',10,30);">Jhn 10:30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',14,9);">14:9</a>) if you oppose God the Father, you oppose Jesus. If you oppose Jesus, you oppose God the Father.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Let us break <span>Their</span> bonds in pieces</span></b>: Those who oppose the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and His Anointed think of God as a bondage-bringer. This attitude is evidence of spiritual insanity because God is a bondage-breaker, not a bondage-bringer.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "To a graceless neck the yoke of Christ is intolerable, but to the saved sinner it is easy and light...We may judge ourselves by this, do we love that yoke, or do we wish to cast it from us?" (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,'4-6');">4-6</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s laugh from heaven.</p>
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<p class="c2">He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;<br>The <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall hold them in derision.<br>Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,<br>And distress them in His deep displeasure:<br>"Yet I have set My King<br><span>On My holy hill of Zion."</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">He who sits in the heavens shall laugh</span></b>: God looks at the way man plots against Him and He laughs. God isn't afraid or confused or depressed about the opposition of man. God laughs at it.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. God laughs because He <b><span class="c3">sits in the heavens</span></b>. He sits as the Great King on a glorious throne. He isn't pacing back and forth in the throne room of heaven, wondering what He should do next. God <b><span class="c3">sits</span></b> in perfect peace and assurance.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. God laughs because He <b><span class="c3">sits in the heavens</span></b>. It isn't an earthly throne He occupies; it is the throne of heaven with authority over all creation. What does heaven have to fear from earth?</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "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)</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. "This derisive laughter of God is the comfort of all those who love righteousness. It is the laughter of the might of holiness; it is the laughter of the strength of love. God does not exult over the sufferings of sinning me. He does hold in derision all the proud boastings and violence of such as seek to prevent His accomplishment of His will." (Morgan)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall hold them in derision</span></b>: Through the centuries many have opposed God and His Kingdom in Jesus Christ. Each one of these opponents shall be frustrated and crushed.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A famous example of an opponent of Christianity was the Roman Emperor Diocletian (245-313 <span class="c6">a.d.</span>). He was such a determined enemy of Christians that he persecuted the church mercilessly, and fancied that he had defeated Christianity. He struck a medal with this inscription: "The name of Christianity being extinguished."</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Diocletian also set up two monuments on the frontier of his empire with these inscriptions:</p>
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<p class="c6; center"><i>Diocletian Jovian Maximian Herculeus Caesares Augusti for having extended the Roman Empire in the east and the west and for having extinguished the name of Christians who brought the Republic to ruin</i><br><i>Diocletian Jovian Maximian Herculeus Caesares Augusti for having everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ for having extended the worship of the gods</i></p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Diocletian is dead and gone, a footnote on the pages of history. The fame and glory of Jesus Christ is spread over all the earth. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall hold them in derision</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">He shall speak to them in His wrath</span></b>: God laughs in heaven, but He doesn't remain inactive. He laughs but He doesn't <i>only</i> laugh. Before He acts against defiant man, He first <i>speaks</i> to them.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This shows the great mercy of God. He has every reason and every right to simply <i>act</i> against defiant man. Love and mercy compel God to <b><span class="c3">speak</span></b> a word of warning before He acts.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion</span></b>: God wants defiant man to know that He has established a <b><span class="c3">King</span></b>. The defiant men closest in view in the Psalm are kings and rulers, and God especially wants them to know there is a <b><span class="c3">King</span></b> greater than they are. God's King in <i>established</i> (<b><span class="c3">set</span></b>), and established in Jerusalem (<b><span class="c3">Zion</span></b>).</p>
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<p>B. God's decree to the nations.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,'7-9');">7-9</a>) <span>The</span> decree of the Son.</p>
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<p class="c2">"I will declare the decree:<br>The <span class="c6">Lord</span> has said to <span>Me</span>,<br>'You <i>are </i>My Son,<br>Today I have begotten <span>You</span>.<br>Ask of <span>Me</span>, and I will give <i>You</i><br>The nations <i>for </i><span>Your</span> inheritance,<br>And the ends of the earth <i>for </i><span>Your</span> possession.<br>You shall break them with a rod of iron;<br>You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will declare the decree</span></b>: The following passage indicates that this is the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed Himself speaking. He will <b><span class="c3">declare the decree</span></b> that God the Father spoke to Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You are My Son, today I have begotten <span>You</span></span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed recalls what God the Father spoke to Him, identifying Him as the Son of the Father and emphasizing His standing as <b><span class="c3">begotten</span></b> of the Father.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The writer to the Hebrews quotes this passage in <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',1,5);">Hbr 1:5</a> as evidence of the deity of Jesus and superiority to all angels. He mentions the <i>more excellent name</i> Jesus received, greater than all the angels. This is the "name" <b><span class="c3">Son</span></b>. While angels are sometimes called the <i>sons of God</i> in a generic sense (<a onclick="return mV('Job',1,6);">Job 1:6</a>), the Father never said "<b><span class="c3">My Son</span></b>" to any angel in a specific sense. That is reserved for God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Begotten</span></b> is also an important idea, as a contrast to <span><i>created</i></span>. <span>Jesus was not created; rather He created everything that was created (<a onclick="return mV('Col',1,'16-17');">Col 1:16-17</a>). <b><span class="c3">Begotten</span></b></span> describes a relationship between two beings of the same essential nature and being, but we <i>create</i> things of a different essential being and nature than ourselves. A man <i>creates</i> a statue but <i>begets</i> a child.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">I will give <span>You</span> the nations for Your inheritance</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed holds the nations as His inheritance. He will rule over all nations and all judgment is committed to Him (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',5,22);">Jhn 5:22</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Rev',11,15);">Rev 11:15</a> describes an exciting consummation of this inheritance: <i>Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"</i></p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">You shall break them with a rod of iron</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed has such power over the nations that they are like clay pots that he can shatter with a blow from a <b><span class="c3">rod of iron</span></b>. This shows why it is so foolish for the nations to defy the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and His Anointed. There is no <i>reason</i> and no <i>benefit</i> to their defiant opposition.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',2,'10-12');">10-12</a>) <span>The</span> decree to the nations about the Son.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now therefore, be wise, O kings;<br>Be instructed, you judges of the earth.<br>Serve the <span class="c6">Lord</span> with fear,<br>And rejoice with trembling.<br>Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,<br>And you perish <i>in </i>the way,<br><span>When His wrath is kindled but a little.</span><br>Blessed <i>are </i>all those who put their trust in Him.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Be wise, O kings</span></b>: After the words of warning from the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed, the Psalmist counsels the <b><span class="c3">kings</span></b> of the earth to give up their foolish defiance of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Serve the <span class="c6">Lord</span> with fear, and rejoice with trembling</span></b>: The Psalmist calls the kings of the earth to surrender to God, giving Him proper reverence. In this submitted, surrendered place they can <b><span class="c3">rejoice</span></b> - yet with appropriate <b><span class="c3">trembling</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Kiss the Son</span></b>: This primarily has in mind the kiss of submission, where a dignitary receives the humble kiss of an inferior. It also hints at the <i>affection</i> God wants in relationship to Him. God wants us to recognize our proper place before Him, but to also <b><span class="c3">rejoice</span></b> in Him and be affectionate in our relationship.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Kissing was the token of <i>subjugation</i> and <i>friendship</i>." (Clarke)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. If the <b><span class="c3">kings</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">Jdg</span></b> of the earth are commanded to humble themselves before the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s Anointed, recognizing His total superiority, then what of the rest of us? Speaking to the <b><span class="c3">kings</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">Jdg</span></b> therefore includes all of humanity.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him</span></b>: Those who defy God are <i>broken</i>, but those who depend on Him are <i>blessed</i>. The Psalmist leaves the choice with everyone: Broken or Blessed?</p>
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