Psalm 2
This Psalm prophesies the kingship of the LORD Jesus Christ with a warning to the ruling elite to serve the LORD with fear.
Verse 1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The Psalmist asks a very good question that needs to be answered, particularly in light of the world situation today. The Hebrew word translated as “heathen” is “gouy” and it means a nation or people usually of non-Hebrew origin. Another word for this is Goyim. In today’s vernacular, it means a person who does not belong to a widely held religion, especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. And it can also mean a person who is regarded as lacking culture or moral principles. In the natural context of this verse, however, heathen appears to be in reference to all the people and their leadership (kings) who were not Jews and who did not want the nation Israel, which was at its peak of power at the writing of this Psalm, controlling them. In the spiritual context of this verse, however, heathen appears to be in reference to all the people and nations who have rejected God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and therefore it applies nicely to the situation of the world today. So two aspects will be considered when understanding these verses.
The Hebrew word translated as “rage” is “ragash” and it means to be in a tumult or commotion, to conspire, or to plot. To “imagine a vain thing” means to muse, meditate on, devise, or plot a thing that is empty or that fails to produce the desired results. In the natural, King David had many enemies and he was always under pressure and attack. He spent a good deal of his life running from danger. Others plotted his overthrow, conspired to ruin his reputation and his reign over Israel, and there was always a war situation throughout his entire time on the throne as King. Yet he was anointed by God to be king and to rule the people. All the effort of Satan to destroy God’s chosen and anointed king through evil people was in vain and failed miserably.
Likewise, when Jesus came to Earth as the promised Christ or Messiah, during His entire ministry He was under pressure and attack. People plotted His overthrow, attempted to destroy His credibility, and conspired to kill Him. There was war against Jesus who was/is God, very God, and who was in a sense anointed to fulfill prophecy and to die for the sins of mankind. But all of Satan’s efforts to destroy Jesus from His birth and throughout His ministry through the evil religious leaders and power elites failed and therefore was in vain.
Verses 2-3 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
So in the natural context, the Psalmist records that the rulers of the heathen take a united stand against the anointed king of Israel and against the LORD who is worshipped by both the king and the people of Israel at the time of the writing of this Psalm. “Let us” shows that the kings of the Earth are working together to accomplish their goal of freeing themselves from Israel’s rule. They may not like each other, but they are willing to work together for their common goal.
In the spiritual context, the kings of the Earth or the ruling elite/heads of state have always conspired against God and against His covenant people: the Hebrews originally and now the Church. They especially hate the LORD Jesus Christ and their goal is to wipe out Christianity and set up their own kingdom or one-world government on Earth at the behest of Satan who is their god and who they worship: the holy serpent, Leviathan.
Verses 4-5 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
The word “derision” means contemptuous ridicule or mockery. So God is pictured in the verse above as being seated. As mentioned elsewhere in this web site, to be seated means that one’s work is done. So God is not worried about the raging of the heathen or the conspiracy of the kings of the Earth. He is laughing at their efforts and ridiculing them. God has had a plan since the beginning of Creation and that plan is going forward regardless of what sinful man or Satan tries to do on the Earth. But “be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7 So God has and will deal with mankind’s’ rebellion against Him and their rebellion against His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ. Judgement is ongoing today in ways that the average man or woman may not see or understand, and a final judgement will happen at the end of time when all the wicked will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire to be with Satan and his fallen angels.
Verses 6-7 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Historically and in the natural context, King David and his son, King Solomon were anointed by God to rule the nation Israel during a time when the people of the nation, for the most part, were following the Law and living, for the most part, righteous lives. The physical city of Jerusalem was/is built on seven hills, one which was called Mount Zion. So Israel’s kings up to the time of the split of the nation into Israel (ten tribes) in the north and Judah (two tribes) in the south reigned on or in Mount Zion, and Jerusalem was called the city of David as he battled the Jebusite inhabitants, won the city, and then made it his capital.
Jesus walked the physical streets of Jerusalem and so He fulfilled the prophecy in verse 6 above, and He ascended into Heaven and rules and reigns in Heavenly Zion. So Jesus fulfilled both the natural and spiritual prophecy of being set upon the hill of Zion. So in the spiritual context, the LORD Jesus Christ is King of kings, is the Son of God, and He rose from the dead to rule and reign in a spiritual kingdom whose city is the heavenly Jerusalem above or heavenly Zion. Zion is the city of the LORD. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:26 So every true Christian believer is a citizen of this city in Heaven.
Application: Jesus came to Earth to fulfill prophecy, to fulfill the requirements of the Law, to end the Old Covenant and bring forth the New Covenant, to teach truth and make converts that would go forth and establish the Church which today is the Israel of God, to suffer and die as the final Sacrificial Lamb of God for mankind’s sins, and to be the firstborn from the dead. “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18 So today, Jesus is resurrected and in spiritual Zion in Heaven and His ghost/spirit is indwelling all converted Christian believers living on Earth. So since all Christian believers on Earth are literally “in” Jesus via His Holy Ghost/Spirit, they are spiritually dwelling in the Zion above while dwelling physically on this Earth. Under the Old Covenant, the LORD had a Temple for His people. Today under the New Covenant, the LORD has His people for His Temple, Jesus being the cornerstone. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the LORD: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the spirit.” Ephesians 2:18-22
Verses 8-9 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Here the Psalmist is prophesying the mystery of God which was/is that the Gentiles would be adopted into the Kingdom of God through faith and not through race. This happened when Jesus came to this Earth, was rejected by the Jews, and their nation was destroyed never to be rebuilt again as they and their nation were pronounced “desolate” by Jesus. The Apostle Paul carried the Gospel to the Gentiles and it is the Gentiles who make up most of the Church today as the people identifying as “Jewish” still reject their Messiah. The Prophet Malachi wrote of this in Chapter 1:11. “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. The sun travels from east to west so the uttermost parts of the Earth are covered by its light and Gentiles live everywhere the sun shines. So those Gentiles in the Church are the possession and inheritance of Jesus because He died and shed His blood for their salvation from sin, death, and Hell. But the wicked He will break and dash into pieces, a picture of destruction and rejection. It may seem that the rich and powerful, the ruling elite, and the conspirators working with Satan are winning the battle between good and evil, but God is in control and will bring the works of their hands back on them and eventually judge them and consign them to Hell.
Verses 10-12 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2)
This final warning from the Psalmist writing under the inspiration of the LORD ends this prophetic Psalm, and the promise of blessings is given to those who trust in the LORD and obey His commandments.