Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Psalms Chapter 2 mean?

Psalm 2 is credited to David by the New Testament (Acts 4:25). The apostles applied this idea to the persecution of Jesus by Israel’s religious leaders (Acts 4:27–28). This song expresses amazement that cultures and governments of earth would try to ignore God. The consequences of that will be dire. Instead, it is better to honor God and serve Him.

The opening lines of this psalm form a rhetorical question. The point is not to seek an answer, but to make a point. There seems no good reason why anyone, even kings and rulers, would try to defy God. The motivation of rebelling against God is selfishness and pride. This also comes with anger and hatred (1 Peter 4:3–4; John 15:18–19) (Psalm 2:1–3).

The fury of earthly people is not intimidating to God. In fact, His response to those who attempt to defy Him is laughter. The symbolism of God “laughing” implies His complete power and sovereignty. When a nation “rages,” and God “laughs” in response, it suggests how outmatched sinful people are. Despite the angst of those who disobey, God will establish His rule, through Christ, just as He has promised (Psalm 2:4–6).

Part of this “royal psalm” includes references to the eventual rule of earth by the Messiah. This will not come to complete fulfillment until Jesus Christ returns and reigns for a thousand years (Revelation 19:11; 20:4). The imagery of this passage again emphasizes the absolute domination God will express against His enemies (Psalm 2:7–9).

David ends this psalm pleading with kings and rulers to make the wiser choice. In this context, “fear” refers to respect and submission, not to abject terror. To “rejoice with trembling” carries a similar idea: a reference to emotion and sincerity. In ancient culture, polite forms of a kiss were the equivalent of a modern hug or handshake. To “kiss the Son” implies giving due honor and respect to the Anointed One (John 6:28–29). Those who do so can be saved, while those who refuse will face the wrath of God (John 3:36). Those who rely on God will be called “blessed” (Psalm 2:10–12).

Chapter Context
Psalm 2 is often labelled a royal psalm, because it refers to the King above all kings. This complements several other psalms: Psalms 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, and 144. Acts 13:33 relates Psalm 2:7 to Jesus. Revelation 2:27, spoken by the risen Savior, relates Psalm 2:9 to His victory over the rebellious nations and His reign on earth. Revelation 19:19–21 describes when and how Jesus will defeat the nations that assemble to go to war against God’s anointed Son.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Why do the nations rageand the peoples plot in vain?

This psalm starts with a rhetorical question. It’s ridiculous to think that one can overpower, undermine, or escape the will of God. The psalmist is amazed that so many people, cultures, and even entire nations are united in evil intent. He indicates that their intention is “in vain.” It is doomed to fail. The following verse explains why these efforts are doomed: they’re plans to overthrow God and His Anointed One (Psalm 2:2). “Anointed” is from the Hebrew term mashiyach, from which English derives the word “Messiah.“ Greek translates this as Christos, from which English derives the title of “Christ.”

Rage and anger are sinful mankind’s typical response to God. That includes hatred aimed at those who choose to obey God, instead of following the world (1 Peter 4:3–4; John 15:18–19).

Whether an individual or a nation or several nations plot against God, the plot is bound to fail. God is far too wise and too powerful to fall to puny mankind. Pharaoh and the Egyptians learned this truth the hard way. They planned to enslave God’s people, the Hebrews, indefinitely. Even after God persuaded Pharaoh by ten severe plagues to release the Hebrews from slavery, Pharaoh dispatched his cavalry to pursue the Hebrews. At the Red Sea, God told Moses, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD…The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13–14). Then the Lord dried up the Red Sea so His people could cross (Exodus 14:21–22). But the waters returned and engulfed the pursuing Egyptian cavalry (Exodus 14:26–28). Pharaoh’s plot failed miserably when he opposed the Lord.

Context Summary
Psalm 2:1–6 portrays nations arrayed in military fashion against the Lord God and His anointed King. They have plotted to throw off the Lord’s control. However, their scheme causes the Lord to laugh and to defeat their evil plan. He addresses them in His wrath and terrifies them in a display of His fury. After being released by the Sanhedrin, the Jews’ ruling body in the first century, Peter and John returned to a gathering of believers and reported what had transpired. Together, the believers quoted Psalm 2:6 and applied it to the risen Son of God (Acts 4:23–30).

Verse 2. The kings of the earth set themselves,and the rulers take counsel together,against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

This clearly identifies the aggressors behind the evil plot mentioned before (Psalm 2:1), as well as the target of their aggression. The kings and rulers of the nations are the aggressors. The word “set” here implies deliberate preparation and arrangement. Translations such as the NASB render this as “take their stand,” suggesting the aggressors’ hostile intent. They gather their armies in military formation and brainstorm how to overthrow the Lord and His Anointed.

The English word “Anointed” here comes from the Hebrew term mashiyach. This is the origin of the word “Messiah.” In Greek, the same concept is expressed with the title Christos, from which comes the English title “Christ.” This points to Jesus, Israel’s Messiah (Acts 2:36). In Old Testament times three significant roles were inaugurated by the anointing with oil. They were the roles of prophet, priest, and king. The prophet delivered the Lord’s messages to the people; the priest represented the people before the Lord; the king ruled the people on behalf of the Lord.

Jesus, the promised Messiah, is all three: prophet, priest, and king. He came to earth as the Word and declared God’s message (John 1:14, 18). He is the believers’ High Priest, interceding for us (Hebrews 4:14–16). And someday He will rule the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14; 19:16).

Verse 3. “Let us burst their bonds apartand cast away their cords from us.”

Prior verses asked, rhetorically, why the world would rebel against an all-powerful God (Psalm 2:1–2). The purpose of their rage and plotting is an attempt to throw off the authority of God and His Anointed One. The ungodly cannot stand being controlled by the supreme Ruler of the universe and His Son (Acts 4:23–28).

Of course, the evil desire to usurp God and take His place is nothing new. Before the dawn of human history, Lucifer—the Devil—attempted to elevate himself to God’s throne. But his futile exercise of self-will led to his expulsion from heaven (Isaiah 14:12–15). Adam and Eve rejected God’s will concerning His command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:1–6). Their rebellion resulted in their expulsion from the garden of Eden, death for them and all their descendants, and a curse on nature (Genesis 3:16–19). In the era of the Judges, desire to reject God’s will and replace it with self-will brought the Israelites into bondage to their enemies. Every man did what was right in his own eyes, even if it was wrong in God’s eyes (Judges 17:6).

Ephesians 2:3 indicts the world of unbelievers for choosing to pursue self-will rather than God’s will. Isaiah 53:6 says we have all gone astray like sheep and turned to our own way. Indeed, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Verse 4. He who sits in the heavens laughs;the Lord holds them in derision.

Those who resist God’s rule, His will, and His truth do so in rage, frenzy, plotting, and scheming (Psalm 2:1–3). Scripture reveals the sovereign Lord’s response to the unbelieving world’s desire to overthrow Him. “The nations” (Psalm 2:1) and “the kings…and the rulers” (Psalm 2:2) think of themselves as the ultimate authority. They plan together to rebel against God’s will and His Word.

Even so, God “sits” in the heavens, a reference to His throne (Isaiah 6:1), from which He rules heaven and earth. From that lofty, secure vantage point, He sees the frantic, rebellious nations, and He laughs. The nations’ plot is ridiculous—it is laughable. God is not intimidated by tantrums from human beings. All the power of all the nations is no match for God. Isaiah 40:15 declares: “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.” And Isaiah 40:17 says, “All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

When proud mankind wanted to make a name for themselves by building a tower at Babel that reached high into the sky, Scripture says God came down to see it (Genesis 11:5). He then divided their common language into many languages and scattered the builders far from the construction site (Genesis 11:1–9). Similarly, according to the following verse, God will terrify the rebellious nations.

Verse 5. Then he will speak to them in his wrath,and terrify them in his fury, saying,

“The nations,” meaning the cultures and people groups of a fallen world, plot to usurp God from His throne and establish themselves as the sole rulers of earth (Psalm 2:1–3). God has other plans (Psalm 2:4). In His wrath, He will speak to them and terrify them in His fury.

These words preview Revelation chapter 20, where we read that the Devil gathers the nations for battle. The armies are so numerous that they resemble the sand of the sea (Revelation 20:8). The militant nations march on “the camp of the saints and the beloved city” (Revelation 20:9). In His wrath and fury, God rains fire from heaven upon the armies and consumes them.

The wrath of God is not a pleasant subject. Naturally, most would rather hear about God’s love. However, wrath is as much a part of God’s character as is His love. Sin naturally angers God, and His wrath abides on all sinners who refuse to believe on His Son, who paid the penalty for sin and offers forgiveness to all who believe on Him. Scripture states: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).

Verse 6. “As for me, I have set my Kingon Zion, my holy hill.”

The unbelieving world thinks it can throw off God’s truth and His will (Psalm 2:1–3). That will only earn a laugh, and wrath, from an all-powerful God (Psalm 2:4–5). The sovereign Creator of the universe will set His King—the Lord Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah—on Mount Zion, His holy hill. The book of Psalms mentions Zion thirty-nine times. David, who wrote Psalm 2, conquered Zion when it was a city of the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:7). Later, Zion referred to the temple area in Jerusalem and eventually it became synonymous with Jerusalem. God’s “holy hill” refers to the temple mount.

Someday, Jesus, God’s Anointed (Acts 4:23–28), will return to earth, subdue His enemies, and rule from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1–4; Malachi 3:1). In the angel Gabriel’s address to Mary, he prophesied concerning Jesus: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32–33). As surely as King David ruled from Jerusalem, so King Jesus will rule from Jerusalem!

Verse 7. I will tell of the decree:The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;today I have begotten you.

The psalmist, David (Acts 4:25), refers to God’s mention of the king’s right to rule. He recalls the covenant God made with him. This is a permanent decree authorizing Davidic rule. Second Samuel 7:13 provides God’s promise at the time of David’s coronation. God promised: “He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” This statement connects the idea of the promised Messiah being referred to as a “Son” of God.

Further, God referred to his relationship with David’s promised descendant—the One with a “kingdom forever” as a father-son relationship. He said, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:13–14). The covenant relationship between God and King David finds a greater fulfillment in the relationship of Father-Son that exists between God and His Son, the Messiah. John 3:16 emphasizes this relationship by stating, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…”

Context Summary
Psalm 2:7–9 records the words of God’s Son, Israel’s future King. They appropriately follow God’s promise to establish His Son on the throne of David, and to deal with rebellious nations in His wrath and fury. Faced with King Jesus’ victory over His foes, the psalmist’s counsel to the rebels follows in verses 10–12. Revelation 19:11–15 describes the King’s outpouring of God’s wrath and fury on the rebel nations during the end times.

Verse 8. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,and the ends of the earth your possession.

Traditionally, a father would provide an inheritance for his son, payable upon the father’s death. In the parable of the prodigal son, the prodigal asked his father for the inheritance in advance. In that case, it was a selfish request that sprang from a wrong motive (Luke 15:11–13). God, on the other hand, invites David to ask for his inheritance, including all the nations and all of the earth.

Although David’s kingdom was sizeable, the fulfillment of this promise awaits Messiah’s kingdom that follows His return to earth (Revelation 19:11; 20:4). Isaiah 9:7 points to the vast kingdom God’s eternal Son will possess. This prophecy reads: “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

Zechariah 2:11 anticipates Messiah’s possession of the nations by proclaiming: “And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.”

Verse 9. You shall break them with a rod of ironand dash them in pieces like a potter ‘s vessel.”

This verse predicts that the Lord’s Anointed will smash the rebellious nations when He returns to earth to establish His kingdom (Revelation 19:11; 20:4). Not one unrighteous person will be left to enter the kingdom (Titus 3:4–7). He will use a rod of iron to shatter the rebels just as a potter smashes a vessel into pieces.

The Hebrew word for “rod” is sē’bet, often applied to a shepherd’s crook. At other times it refers to a scepter. Reportedly, Pharaoh used his scepter to smash vessels that represented rebellious nations or rebellious cities in his empire. Revelation 19:15 unveils what happens to the rebellious nations when Jesus returns to earth. The verse declares: “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.”

Psalm 89:22–26 predicts the Messiah’s conquest and rule: “The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down those that hate him. My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’”

Verse 10. Now therefore, O kings, be wise;be warned, O rulers of the earth.

The psalmist, David (Acts 4:25), advises the kings to be wise, and he issues a warning to the rulers. It is unwise to oppose God considering His ability to execute His wrath on all who refuse to be warned. The idea of opposing God and defying His truth is laughable (Psalm 2:1–6). Those who oppose God and His Anointed One will face utter destruction (Psalm 2:7–9).

Even without the return of Messiah to rule the world (Revelation 19:11; 20:4), there are biblical examples of God humiliating those who arrogantly defy Him. Two Babylonian kings learned firsthand that God is not to be trifled with. In a display of his inflated ego, King Nebuchadnezzar erected a 90-foot-tall golden image on the plain of Dura. He commanded everyone to fall down at the sound of music and worship the image (Daniel 3:1–7). Later, he boasted about Babylon as a great city that he had built (Daniel 4:30). Such egotistical idolatry incurred God’s wrath. God humbled Nebuchadnezzar by driving him from men to eat grass like an ox for seven years (Daniel 4:33–37). Sometime later, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson Belshazzar was King of Babylon, and he, too, was proud and idolatrous (Daniel 5:1–4). God responded to Belshazzar’s wickedness by allowing the Medes and Persians to kill him and seize his kingdom (Daniel 5:30–31).

Acts 12:20–23 records the surprising death of Herod Agrippa I, another proud king who refused to honor God. When King Herod attired himself, sat on his throne, and received the worship of his subjects, immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he died of a worm infestation.

Context Summary
Psalm 2:10–12 closes the song by urging kings and rulers of the earth to make a wise decision. The psalmist counsels them to change their rebellious attitude and come to friendly terms with the Lord’s anointed Son. Doing so will avert the Son’s anger and avoid eternal punishment. Also, coming to friendly terms with God’s Son will provide refuge and blessing. This conveys a message like that of John the Baptist. He urged everyone in Israel to repent in preparation for the arrival of Messiah and His kingdom (Matthew 3:1–3; John 1:8). Jesus invited those who heard Him to repent and believe on Him (Matthew 4:17; 11:28; Luke 5:32; 13:3, 34). He said no one can enter the kingdom without being born again (John 3:3). The apostles Peter and Paul, too, urged those who heard them preach to turn to Jesus for forgiveness (Acts 2:38–39; 17:30–31; Romans 10:1–13).

Verse 11. Serve the Lord with fear,and rejoice with trembling.

David, the author of this psalm (Acts 4:25), calls upon the rebellious kings and rulers to serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling; that is, with respect and strong emotion. Instead of opposing the Lord (Psalm 2:1–6), the kings and rulers had an opportunity to do His bidding reverently and with deep joy.

Service that combines reverence and joy is the hallmark of genuine Christianity. Psalm 100:2 implores God’s people to “serve the LORD with gladness!” Further, God’s people ought to humbly acknowledge His authority and ownership. Scripture states, “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

The early believers who trusted in Christ on the Day of Pentecost modeled this kind of relationship to God. Acts 2:42–47 reports that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, broke bread together, prayed, shared their goods with one another, gave generously to help the needy, ate with glad hearts, and praised God. In Psalm 5:7 the psalmist shared his resolve to respond to God’s abundant, steadfast love to enter God’s house and bow down toward the Lord’s temple in fear of Him. This attitude of trust and devotion to God should be repeated by all believers.

Verse 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.

The psalmist, David (Acts 4:25), continues his counsel to the kings and rulers by telling them to kiss the Son to avert His anger. This contrasts with their plans to defy God (Psalm 2:1–6).

“Kiss” suggests homage. When Elijah was depressed in the desert and feeling that he was the only one who worshiped the Lord, the Lord told him, “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18). In biblical times a kiss on the cheek was an expression of friendship. Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, feigned friendship with Jesus by kissing him (Matthew 26:47–49). In 1 Thessalonians 5:26, Paul commanded the Christians to “greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” Today, at least in Western cultures, a firm handshake and/or a hug is an equivalent sign of friendliness.

This psalm makes it clear that failure to establish a friendly relationship with the Anointed One brings about His anger and wrath that results in damnation (John 3:36). Revelation 20:10–15 reveals that this fate involves being cast into the lake of fire. However, those who “kiss the Son” are blessed and protected by Him (John 3:16–18). This is a summary of the gospel message: that we can be saved only through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 16:31).

End of Psalm 2.

Please Note:

The material use in this post, video is from BibleRef.com which is from Got Questions Ministries and is posted here to be read by Immersive reader in the Edge Browser. If you copy this material please follow these rules:

•Content from BibleRef.com may not be used for any commercial purposes, or as part of any commercial work, without explicit prior written consent from Got Questions ministries.

•Any use of our material should be properly credited; please make it clear the content is from BibleRef.com.

•BibleRef.com content may not be altered, modified, or otherwise changed unless such changes are specifically noted.