Psalm 2
Although Psalm 2 does not identify the author of the psalm, the early disciples in Acts 4:25 identified this psalm as a psalm of David. In Acts 13:33 Paul identified this psalm as the second of the psalms. From these two New Testament references, it is clear that the early church read Psalm 2 and found it to be meaningful to their faith in Jesus. But before we get to that, let’s try to understand what it meant to those who read it before the time of Jesus.
Psalm 2 seems to speak of a time when the rule of David as Israel’s anointed king was being threatened.
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
Psalm 2 could have been written at the time of II Samuel 10.
In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.
When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
This was a deliberate insult to David and Israel. King Nahash had been on friendly terms with David, but when he died and his son Hanun came to power, Hanun listened to his military advisors who seemed to think they were ready to flex their military muscle and make Israel subject to them.
After this deliberate humiliation of David’s envoys, David sent out his army under the leadership of Joab, his general. In the battle that ensued, the Ammonites and the Syrian mercenaries they had hired were defeated and these nations became subject to Israel. If II Samuel 10 was the occasion for the writing of this psalm, it was written after the successful completion of this military campaign in celebration of the victory.
Psalm 2 expresses the confidence of David as Israel’s divinely anointed king.
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
King Hanun decided to challenge the might and power of David but Psalm 2 says this was absolute futility. David did not seek to be king of Israel; he was chosen by God to be king of Israel. The prophet Samuel came to his family and said “no” to son after son of Jesse until finally the youngest son, the one out tending the sheep, was brought before him and then Samuel knew this was Israel’s king, chosen by God to replace Saul.
God chose David to be king and David’s confidence in being God’s choice is seen in verses 4-6.
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
David continues and remembers God’s word to him.
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
David went into battle dependent on God and trusting God to bring victory. David finishes his psalm with a warning to all kings and rulers who would threaten him.
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Make friends with me, David writes, or face the inevitable consequences.
David concludes with this true statement:
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 2 expresses David’s certainty that God was in control and that with God he would be victorious. It expresses the absolute futility of anyone who would oppose him. Any king or ruler who rose up in opposition to him would be fighting God, not just David and his army. And it expresses the safety which those who take refuge in God will experience.
This psalm was written by David at a time when his rule had been threatened, but when the early followers of Jesus read this psalm they saw truth in it that had not been seen before. What made the early followers of Jesus see Jesus in this psalm?
In the census taken of the entire Roman world, Joseph went to register in Bethlehem the town of David (Luke 2:4)
because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Matthew and Luke were very clear in their genealogies of Jesus to trace his line back to David. (Matthew 1:1)
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
In the gospels Jesus is repeatedly called, “the Son of David.” This is a Messianic term and indicated that people thought Jesus was the long promised Messiah.
So when the early followers of Jesus read Psalm 2 they saw those words, written by David about his own military victory, but fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. The psalm was written by David about his own rule but the deeper and more powerful truth was seen when the words are speaking about Jesus.
Opposition and rebellion were experienced by David and also by Jesus.
The three years the disciples spent with Jesus were marked by great teaching and miracles but they were also marked by opposition. The Pharisees were threatened by Jesus who overturned the tables of the money lenders in the Temple and who also overturned their understanding of the Law of Moses. Jesus angered them by healing people on the Sabbath, violating their understanding of the fourth of the Ten Commandments: (Exodus 20:8) “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
They strategized about ways to kill Jesus and when Jesus was crucified, the disciples were terrified that they would be the next to be arrested and killed. But then, just as David was victorious over the Ammorites, Jesus was victorious over death. Jesus rose from the dead and the disciples were dancing for joy. They read Psalm 2 and saw the triumph of Jesus.
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
They read this as, “Why do the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin plot in vain?”
The Pharisees tried their best to defeat Jesus. The Chief Priest and his inner circle conspired to have the Roman governor Pilate put Jesus to death and were confident they had been successful. But to their great dismay, the followers of Jesus did not disperse. They claimed that Jesus had resurrected from the dead and demonstrated it by teaching and healing, just as Jesus had taught and healed.
The Pharisees tried their best to defeat Jesus but they did not realize who he was. There had been other Jews who had gathered followers and tried to overthrow the Roman occupiers, but they were just men. The Pharisees did not understand that it was God who had sent Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. They did not realize that Jesus was God in the flesh.
The disciples remembered when Jesus asked them who they thought he was and Peter had answered, (Matthew 16:16)
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus is the divine Son of God and so when the early followers of Jesus read verse 7 they saw this as an affirmation of what they had heard, seen, looked at, and touched. (1 John 1:1)
I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
They remembered the words Jesus heard at his baptism. (Luke 3:22)
“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
They remembered what Jesus said about his father in heaven. When Peter declared Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus replied, (Matthew 16:17)
Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
They remembered Jesus saying, (Luke 10:22)
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
The certainty of who Jesus is makes it obvious that any opposition to his eternal rule is completely and utterly futile. Satan tried to defeat Jesus and failed. Humans have tried over and over again to work against his purposes and failed. God is working his purpose out and the gates of hell and the opposition of any human person, institution, or nation will fail to deter the growth and imminent coming of his kingdom.
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
The early followers of Jesus experienced persecution at the hands of Saul and the Pharisees. When Saul was converted on the road to Damascus he became persecuted as well. The early church in the Roman empire was persecuted. So as the early followers of Jesus read verses 4-6 they took comfort in the security that was theirs because their Lord Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. This gave the early followers of Jesus boldness to persevere even under the threat of persecution. We see an example of this in Acts 4.
Peter and John were on their way to pray in the Temple when they were led to heal a man born lame who begged by the gate called Beautiful. When he arose and began leaping and dancing with joy, the crowd looked on with wonder. The disturbance this created caused Peter and John to be arrested and questioned by the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Jewish elders. (Acts 4:23–31)
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
“ ‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.’
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
When they faced persecution they turned to Psalm 2 for encouragement. The certainty of having been chosen by Jesus and the futility of opposition to what Jesus was doing to build his kingdom inspired them to speak God’s words with boldness and to ask for healing, signs, and wonders through the name of Jesus.
The early church read Psalm 2 and heard it speak to them of certainty, the futility of opposition to Jesus, and then as a warning to those who resisted Jesus.
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron; 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 celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Imagine what went through Pilate’s mind when he died and discovered who Jesus was. Caiphus, the chief priest, and all the other Pharisees and Jewish leaders who plotted against Jesus died and then discovered they had plotted to kill God in the flesh. The Roman soldiers who beat, flogged, and mocked Jesus, after they died, discovered who it was they had beaten.
Many in the world have worked against Jesus only to die and discover to their horror that they had conspired against their eternal judge.
A slow news week is a time when not much happens and news magazines and papers dig out stories from their files that never made it into print so they have something to fill their pages. There have been no slow news weeks this summer. July is only half over and there has been no shortage of news. A terrorist attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh; bomb attacks in Baghdad; a terrorist attack at the Istanbul airport in Turkey; a terrorist who drove a truck for two kilometers through crowds celebrating in Nice, France. These attacks are aimed at all those who do not support the Islamic fundamentalists and sometimes they specifically target non-Muslims who cannot quote a verse from the Koran.
There is a long list of rulers in the world who are building their kingdoms and oppressing followers of Jesus in the process. Followers of Jesus are facing persecution in many of the nations of the world. Religious institutions are fighting to protect their kingdoms, trampling on followers of Jesus, without regard for a genuine search for truth.
Meanwhile, Jesus, who said (John 14:6) “I am the way and the truth and the life,” is steadily at work building his kingdom.
Those who oppose him would do well to consider John’s revelation where he paints a picture of Jesus who will return as judge of the world. (Revelation 19:11–16)
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.
The prophets call this the “great and dreadful day of the Lord,” (Joel 2:31) and only those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. A wise woman, a wise man takes note and acts on this truth.
This gracious rescue is our only hope for the future. Psalm 2 ends with “Blessed are all who take refuge in him,” and in Jesus we take refuge. We hold on to Jesus who has promised to be present with us through all of life’s events and to bring us safely into his kingdom when we die our earthly death.
How does all this apply to us? First of all, there is never any need to despair when looking at world events or when we ourselves find our personal world in turmoil. (Psalm 46:1–3)
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
We read this in our worship earlier. When all is in chaos, when danger is present at every turn, when relationships are fracturing, when everything seems to be going wrong, when there is no earthly reason for hope, we do not despair because we know that Jesus is in control, Jesus is building his kingdom, this world will come to an end, and Jesus has promised to bring us safely into his kingdom.
Secondly, we need to be careful that we ourselves are not resisting the work of Jesus in the world. It is not only terrorist groups, despotic kings and presidents who need to pay heed to the warning of Psalm 2 because even if we do not have the power and influence of these men and women, our response to terrorism and injustice can also work against the work of Jesus to build his kingdom.
God is love and justice is also part of God’s character. God is justice and the Old and New Testament is filled with his concern for those who have little power and are abused by those who have power. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the law God had given him, he said (Deuteronomy 10:18)
[God] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.
God cares for those without power and we are called to take on his heart. Let me mention just two of the many ways we can do that.
If we are to follow Jesus then we must reach out to immigrants, welcome them, help them assimilate into our countries, love them in the name of Jesus. The Western world sends out missionaries to take the gospel of Jesus to the world and then those same countries reject the world who comes to their neighborhood. This breaks the heart of God who loves these immigrants.
The prophet Malachi spoke of a coming judgment when God said (Malachi 3:5)
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
There is a reaction in the world to the Islamic terrorist attacks that works against the heart of Jesus to rescue those he loves. When leaders use the fear of the terrorist attacks to deprive Muslims living in their countries freedom, this works against Jesus who is working to love them and bring them into his kingdom. These leaders must be resisted.
Religious freedom for Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others is spiritually important because only a voluntary choice has any eternal significance in the Kingdom of God. God does not force us or coerce us to follow him. He gives us the freedom to choose to follow him. We have to protect the rights of others to voluntarily choose as well.
A second way we can take on God’s heart for the world is to use what God has given us to care for the widows, orphans, and aliens – for those without power and wealth. God judges those who please themselves and show no concern for the poor. In Amos 4:1 Amos speaks out in judgment against the women of Israel.
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy
and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
There are three accusations against the women of Israel in this verse. First, these women were accused of oppressing the poor. Through their husbands they took advantage of the poor in order to supply themselves with all their wealth and luxury. Second, they were accused of crushing the needy. They walked all over the “little people”. They hardly glanced at the workers who provided them with their extravagant life. They never gave a moment’s thought about their lives. They thought it was the purpose of the poor to serve the rich. And third, they said to their husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” They nagged their husbands to bring them more and more. What they had was never enough.
How are we handling the wealth we have received? Whether we have a lot or a little, how do we handle what we have been given? Who is benefitting from what God has given us?
Richard Sibbes was a 17th century Anglican theologian in Britain and he said, “The life of a Christian is wondrously ruled in this world, by the consideration and meditation of the life of another world.”
Every action we take, every decision we make, should be taken and made in light of the eternal life that awaits us. All we have in this world, our money, our politics, our influence needs to be ruled by the consideration and meditation of the life we will live when Jesus brings us into his kingdom. We are pretty good at figuring out how something will benefit ourselves. We need to ask, “How will this make a difference to me when I stand before Jesus at the end of time?”
Peace in this world has always been illusive. This world has never been a safe place to live. The world was in pain when Jesus was born and it continues to be in pain today. We can push the pain away and medicate ourselves with nice houses, wonderful vacations, and large savings accounts. We can medicate ourselves with food and pleasure, drugs and alcohol. We can harden our hearts so we don’t feel the pain of the world. Or we can face the pain and be hopeful because God’s love is more powerful than all the pain in the world.
If this life is all there is, then there is plenty or reason to despair and get drunk. But we have been privileged to see an eternal future and to know the one who will take us there. Jesus has revealed himself to us and so we have reason to celebrate like no one else on earth can celebrate.
We are certain because God is the one who reached down to save us. He gave us his Holy Spirit as a guarantee that he will bring us safely into his kingdom. Because of this we understand the compete and utter futility of resisting his work to rescue men and women and build his kingdom. We are wise to take heed to the warning not to resist his work in the way we treat others and the way we handle what he has given us. We come to him to find refuge and are blessed.
