Psalm 2

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 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.

4 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.

6 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.

8 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.

10 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.  (KJV)

This psalm is a prophecy about the Lord. This psalm focus is on the Lord and those who stand against the Lord.  As I read the first three verses, I recall the words of Paul in Romans 1:21 “Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful: but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts was darkened.”   Paul had firsthand knowledge of knowing God and rejecting his way (Acts 9:1-15).  However, on the road to Damascus Paul (Saul) was confronted by the Lord and asked the question “Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me?”  Paul’s answer was “Who art thou Lord” and the Lord’s answer was “I am Jesus whom that persecutes, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”  This conversion must be a part of every believer.  We must either accept Jesus as Lord of our life, and if we don’t that means we have rejected him. For those that reject him Paul gives them this warning in Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient:” They become ungodly, ones that do not follow the way of God.

The only time the saints are found only in this psalm is in the last sentence. We are blessed (reread psalm one) our refuge is in him. It is not by our acts but by his grace that we are blessed. Therefore, heed verse twelve kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you be destroyed in your way. Notice that way is singular. In Psalm 1:6 David writes but the way of the wickedwill perishes, this is the way that the son will destroy in verse twelve of this psalm. Kiss the son is an act of reverence. Your way then is simply put to this one question “what do you think of Christ?” Is Christ the way, the truth and the light in your life?

Reading Psalm two, I wonder what the Lord told the two disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32) about this portion of the scriptures. In Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spoke to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?” was a trip that one of my favorite Bible teachers stated as his dream trip. That short journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus was the best discourse on Old Testament theology that was ever delivered. Christ himself gives us the keys to understanding the scriptures in Luke 24:46,47 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Simply put it is the gospel.

Watching the news and listening to everyday discussions about the affairs of men, I see little refer being made to the King of Kings in either case. Studying the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters five through seven, I see the King of Kings presenting his kingdom and his principles to mankind. The theme of this psalm can be found in the first three verses. The people of this earth take their stand against God. Their goal is to break the chains that they state that God has placed upon them. These chains that the kings and the rulers want to break are simply the desire to set themselves up as gods so that men would worship them instead of God. As I study Isaiah fourteen verse twelve through seventeen, I realize that this was the same chains that Satan wanted to break. In Isaiah 14:12-17:

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

Just as Satan, these kings and rulers of the earth paid no heed to God’s law and disregard the honor due Him. However, God has set Christ up as King. When studying the gospels, a person needs to take a closer look at the parables that Christ gave after his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. The parables of the two sons, the land tenants, the wedding banquet, the ten virgins, and the given talents, all point to a returning Lord. As we approach each day are our eyes should be focused on the clouds and looking for the coming King.  Instead, it seems that most individuals are so focused on the daily activities around them and being part of this world that they have taken their eyes away from looking for the return of the coming King.

I was asked the other day if God ever laughs. Here in verse four of this Psalm, as well as Psalm 37:13 and Psalm 59:8 I have found the answer. God laughs at the wicked. In these three psalms the issue that God laughs at is the stand the wicked have taken against God and his anointed One. He laughs that they believe that they can rebel against God and free themselves from his ways. God looks down from heaven and views this as foolishness. His advice is simply “serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling”. So be warned “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you will be destroyed in your way”.  Romans 1:18 states “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness”.  And then in Romans 1:25 Paul characterizes this ungodliness as people who “Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen.” 

Reading Revelations 9:20, 21 “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plaques yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone: which neither can see ,nor hear, nor walk:  neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts”: I ask myself a simple question of why would they not repent?  The answer came to me by watching the news the other night.  No matter how much destruction happens in Gaza, the population of Gaza will never repent of the acts that Hamas committed on October the 7.  To the population in Gaza, Israel does not have the right to exist, just as the ungodly believe that they can change the truth of God into a lie and worship themselves instead of the Creator of the universe.  So, no matter how bad the wrath of will be poured upon the earth there will be some that will never repent.