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Psalm 2

Why this tumult among nations,
among peoples this useless murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth,
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
“Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their yoke.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with terror.
“It is I who have set up my king
on Sion, my holy mountain.”

(I will announce the decree of the Lord :)

The Lord said to me:  “You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s jar.”

Now, O kings, understand,
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe
and trembling, pay him your homage
lest he be angry and you perish;
for suddenly his anger will blaze.

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

Commentary

Psalms 1 and 2 are closely linked as an introduction to the Psalter. Psalm 1 begins and Psalm 2 ends with a “beatitude”, while Psalm 2 begins where Psalm 1 ends, with a threat. Psalm 2 also introduces the messianic prophecies which are scattered throughout the Psalter. Jesus Himself guided the early Church to look for the prophetic level of the Psalms: “. . . everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled . . . ” (see Luke 24:44; N.A.B.).

Both Jewish and Christian interpreters agree that this psalm is messianic, like Psalm 110 which closely resembles it. Acts 4:25 attributes the authorship to King David, and it seems to have been used for the ceremony of the enthronement of a king.

In the ancient world, when a ruler died it set the surrounding states in commotion, especially if they were vassals of the dead king. These subordinate regions took the opportunity to revolt in an effort to achieve their freedom. Thus the primary role of the new king was to suppress this revolt in order to consolidate his power and establish peace again. This familiar scene forms the background to this dramatic poem. In fact the whole psalm could have been recited by the new king on his coronation day. The king in question would be of the dynasty of David, and therefore of the House of Judah in Jerusalem. The kings of Judah were God’s anointed ones, and so God Himself would suppress any revolt against them. The kings of the earth are warned to submit to God.

If this psalm were to be interpreted on one level, referring only to the kings of Judah, then it is a proud, arrogant boast; these were merely petty kings compared to the great empires of the day. When the psalm is read on the prophetic level, however, it contains no exaggerations, and the extent of the prophetic vision can be appreciated.

Why this tumult among nations,
among peoples this useless murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth,
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
“Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their yoke.”
(vv. 1-3)

The various renderings of verse 1 speak of a tumultuous gathering of the nations in revolt against God and His Anointed One, the Messiah. The “why” is very important, for the Psalmist sees it as futile, ridiculous and impotent. Opposition to God and to His Messiah are both very old and continuous. History abounds with references to persecutors and political systems which have tried in vain to eliminate God and His Christ from the earth. In our own day we have, in the West, freedom of worship, yet the pressure of godless solutions to problems and anti-Christian atheistic humanism weighs heavily upon us.

Jesus, the Messiah, experienced the raging of men against God when Herod and the people of Israel combined with Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles to kill Him (Acts 4:25-26). They failed because He triumphed over death. The nations will not succeed against the Church either, for Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would never prevail against it (see Matthew 12:18).

The enemies of God belong to two classes: some, like the kings and governments, know what they are doing. The masses of people, who often follow their leaders blindly in ignorance of the issues at stake, would be shocked to find that they can be in the other class ( see Luke 23:24, Acts 3:17, 1 Corinthians 2:8).

Since Jesus and the Father (Yahweh of the Old Testament) are one, then to oppose God and to oppose Christ are the same thing (see John 10:30, 14:9, etc., Matthew 10:40). Those in revolt want “to break their fetters and cast off their yoke”. The discipline of the Christian life and its lofty moral standards are seen as intolerable burdens, and they fight for the right to throw them off. The authority of Christ is denied and the authority which He passed on to the Church cast aside as irrelevant, old-fashioned, conservative and constricting, certainly unsuitable for our times! If only we would study history and learn its lessons, we could see that this cry is as old as the first revolt against God.

It is the assertion of Christ and His Church, that He has sovereign rights to rule over us as King, that is rejected (see Matthew 21:37-38). There would be no problem if Christ and His Church merely gave us doctrines to learn and did not demand any moral conduct to accompany them. The gentle yoke that Christ has demanded of us in Matthew 11:28 is the sweet burden of loving the neighbour, explained in John 13:34. Love of God and neighbour are unknown to those in revolt. Hate would be closer to their condition than love. It is the same for us as it was for Israel; Jesus was set before us as “a sign that would be contradicted . . . so that the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed . . . ” in every generation (see Luke 2:34-35).

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with terror.
“It is I who have set up my king
on Sion, my holy mountain.”
(vv. 4-6)

This revolt against God is ridiculous; it is like a fly attacking an elephant, or a person trying to pull the sun out of the heavens. We may shout and scream at the stars, but they continue their course. God is said to laugh at man’s impotent rage because it is so futile. The description is that of an oriental king reacting to the news that some servants were challenging the might of his empire. One stroke of his whip or of his pen and the servants would be wiped out.

To say that God laughs is to ascribe a human emotion to Him who is pure spirit. It is merely an attempt to say in human language how futile it is to revolt against the Maker and Ruler of the Universe. If God were to act in judgement on the nations He would strike terror into the hearts of His enemies, and maybe of His friends too! A powerful meteor striking the earth, or a huge volcanic eruption, or the melting of the icebergs, would cost God nothing in terms of power, but what would it cost in terms of fear?

Like it or not, God has sent us the Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth, and He is already declared both Lord and Christ (see Acts 2:36). His future coming in glory will be a major shock to the nations of the earth, for what God decrees He performs.

(I will announce the decree of the Lord :)
The Lord said to me:  “You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s jar.”
(vv.7-9).

It is this section of the psalm that could not be applied to any earthly ruler, no matter how great. God never said to anyone but His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, those wonderful words: “You are my Son”. This was the anointing and consecration of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (see Hebrews 1:5-14). Israel, as a nation, was called God’s “son” in the Old Testament. This referred to her election and her friendship with God (see Exodus 4:22). David’s descendants were to be considered “sons” in a special sense because they were the anointed kings (2 Samuel 7:14). Jesus alone is Son by eternal generation from the Father (see Luke 1:35, Matthew 3:17, Mark 9:7, 2 Peter 1:17). It is to Jesus, therefore, that the nations were given as His heritage. After the Resurrection He commissioned His representatives to go to the ends of the earth to establish the Kingdom of God. He therefore claimed this right to rule the nations. We see this clearly stated in Revelation 2:26: “To the one who wins the victory – I will give authority over the nations – the same authority I received from my Father” (N.A.B.) (see also Revelation 12:5, 19:15-16). Nothing that man can do will hinder the final triumph of the Gospel.

Now, O kings, understand,
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe
and trembling, pay him your homage
lest he be angry and you perish;
for suddenly his anger will blaze.

Blessed are they who put their trust in God
(vv. 10-12).

The only hope for the nations of the earth lies in submission to God. They are invited to submit now, so that they may know the joy and peace of the Kingdom of God on earth. “Be wise and be warned” is the tone of the message, for there is no refuge for us outside of God’s Kingdom. To reject both love and mercy from God exposes us to His role as the just judge of the world, so the nations are warned both as to their danger and their duty. They are asked not to disregard wisdom in their decision making. To serve the Lord with awe and trembling is a recognition of His majesty. This is that reverential fear that is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The final beatitude can be understood only by those who have lived under God’s loving care. They are, literally, to be envied if they have discovered the wisdom of a life of total trust in God, for then they know lasting peace, inner strength when times of difficulty come, and they have found the true meaning of life. Their life is one of quiet joy, a joy which is independent of circumstances, and therefore lasting. They are the truly happy.

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