Psalms Chapter 2 - Collection of Biblical Commentaries

Psalms 2
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Psalms 2
Contents: The psalm of the king; rejected, established and
finally reigning.
Characters: God, Christ, kings of earth.
Conclusion: The kings of earth are ever setting themselves in
array against God and His Annointed King, but in the day when
He comes those who will not bend will be broken. Infinitely wise
is he who yields his life to Jesus now and dreadful is the folly of
those who continue in enmity to Him.
Key Word: God’s King, Psa 2:6.
Strong Verses: Psa 2:8, Psa 2:12.
Striking Facts: Psa 2:12. The yoke of Christ is intolerable to a
graceless neck but to the sinner, saved by His precious blood, it
is easy and light. Mat 11:29.
Psalms 2
Title - We shall not greatly err in our summary of this sublime
Psalm if we call it The Psalm of Messiah the Prince; for it sets forth
as in a wondrous vision the tumult of the people against the Lord's
anointed, the determinate purpose of God to exalt his own Son,
and the ultimate reign of that Son over all his enemies. Let us
read it with the eye of faith, beholding, as in a glass, the final
triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over all his enemies. Lowth has
the following remarks upon this Psalm: “The establishment of
David upon his throne, notwithstanding the opposition made to it
by his enemies, is the subject of the Psalm. David sustains in it a
twofold character, literal and allegorical. If we read over the
Psalm, first with an eye to the literal David, the meaning is
obvious, and put beyond all dispute by the sacred history. There
is indeed an uncommon glow in the expression and sublimity in
the figures, and the diction is now and then exaggerated, as it
were on purpose to intimate, and lead us to the contemplation of
higher and more important matters concealed within. In
compliance with this admonition, it we take another survey of the
Psalm as relative to the person and concerns of the spiritual
David, a noble series of events immediately rises to view, and the
meaning becomes more evident, as well as more exalted. The
colouring which may perhaps seem too bold and glaring for the

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king of Israel, will no longer appear so when laid upon his great
Antitype. After we have thus attentively considered the subjects
apart, let us look at them together, and we shall behold the full
beauty and majesty of this most charming poem. We shall
perceive the two senses very distinct from each other, yet
conspiring in perfect harmony, and bearing a wonderful
resemblance in every feature and lineament, while the analogy
between them is so exactly preserved, that either may pass for
the original from whence the other was copied. New light is
continually cast upon the phraseology, fresh weight and dignity
are added to the sentiments, till, gradually ascending from things
below to things above, from human affairs to those that are
Divine, they bear the great important theme upwards with them,
and at length place it in the height and brightness of heaven.”
Division - This Psalm will be best understood if it be viewed as a
four-fold picture. (In Psa 2:1, Psa 2:2, Psa 2:3) the Nations are
raging; (Psa 2:4 to Psa 2:6) the Lord in heaven derides them;
(Psa 2:7 to Psa 2:9) the Son proclaims the decree; and (from Psa
2:10 to end) advice is given to the kings to yield obedience to the
Lord's anointed. This division is not only suggested by the sense,
but is warranted by the poetic form of the Psalm, which naturally
falls into four stanzas of three verses each.
Psalms 2
(Psa 2:1-6) Threatenings against the enemies of Christ's
kingdom.
(Psa 2:7-9) Promise to Christ as the Head of this kingdom.
(Psa 2:10-12) Counsel to all, to espouse its interests.
Psalms 2
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 2
This psalm is the second in order, and so it is called in Act 13:33;
which shows that the book of Psalms was in the same form in the
apostles' days as now, and as it ever had been; and though it is
without a title, yet certain it is that it is a psalm of David, since
the twelve apostles of Christ with one voice ascribe it to him, in
which no doubt they the generally received sense of the Jewish

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Act 4:24; and the Messiah is the subject of and that it is a
prophecy concerning him, his person, office, and kingdom,
appears from the express mention of the Lord's Anointed, or
Messiah, in his being set as King over Zion, notwithstanding the
opposition made against him; from the person spoken of being
called the Son of God, and that in such sense as angels and men
are not, and therefore cannot belong to any creature; and from
his having so large an inheritance, and such power over the
Heathen; and from the reverence, service, and obedience due to
him from the kings and judges of the earth; and from the trust
and confidence which is to be put in him, which ought not to be
placed but in a divine Person; and more especially this appears
from several passages cited out of it in the New Testament, and
applied to the Messiah, Act 4:25, to which may be added, that
the ancient Jewish doctors interpreted this psalm of the Messiah
(s); and some of the modern ones own that it may be understood
either of David or of the Messiah, and that some things are clearer
of the Messiah than of David (t); and some particular passages in
it are applied to him both by ancient and later writers among the
Jews, as Psa 2:1, "Why do the Heathen rage", &c.1
Psalms 2
As the foregoing psalm was moral, and showed us our duty, so
this is evangelical, and shows us our Saviour. Under the type of
David's kingdom (which was of divine appointment, met with
much opposition, but prevailed at last) the kingdom of the
Messiah, the Son of David, is prophesied of, which is the primary
intention and scope of the psalm; and I think there is less in it of
the type, and more of the anti-type, than in any of the gospel
psalms, for there is nothing in it but what is applicable to Christ,
but some things that are not at all applicable to David (Psa 2:6,
Psa 2:7): “Thou art my Son” (Psa 2:8), “I will give thee the
1
(u); Psa 2:6, "I have set", &c. (w); Psa 2:7, "I will declare the decree", &c. (x), and Psa 2:8,
"Ask of me", &c. (y); and we may very safely interpret the whole of him. (s) Jarchi in loc. (t)
Kimchi in v. 12. & Aben Ezra in v. 6. 12. (u) T. Bab. Avodah Zarah, fol. 3. 2. Pirke Eliezer, c.
19. (w) R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan. vii. 13. (x) Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 90. 2. Zohar in Numb.
fol. 82. 2. Maimon in Misn Sanhedrin, c. 11. 1. & Abarbinel Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 37. 4. &.
38. 1. (y) T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 1. & Bereshit Rabba, s. 44. fol. 38. 4.

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uttermost parts of the earth,” and (Psa 2:12), “Kiss the Son.” It
is interpreted of Christ Act 4:24; Act 13:33; Heb 1:5. The Holy
Ghost here foretels, I. The opposition that should be given to the
kingdom of the Messiah (Psa 2:1-3). II. The baffling and
chastising of that opposition (Psa 2:4, Psa 2:5). III. The setting
up of the kingdom of Christ, notwithstanding that opposition (Psa
2:6). IV. The confirmation and establishment of it (Psa 2:7). V. A
promise of the enlargement and success of it (Psa 2:8, Psa 2:9).
VI. A call and exhortation to kings and princes to yield themselves
the willing subjects of this kingdom, (Psa 2:10-12). Or thus: We
have here, I. Threatenings denounced against the adversaries of
Christ's kingdom (Psa 2:1-6). II. Promises made to Christ himself,
the head of this kingdom (Psa 2:7-9). III. Counsel given to all to
espouse the interests of this kingdom (Psa 2:10-12). This psalm,
as the former, is very fitly prefixed to this book of devotions,
because, as it is necessary to our acceptance with God that we
should be subject to the precepts of his law, so it is likewise that
we should be subject to the grace of his gospel, and come to him
in the name of a Mediator.
Psalms 2
The Kingdom of God and of His Christ,
to Which Everything Must Bow
The didactic Psa 1:1-6 which began with ‫אׁש‬
‫רי‬ , is now followed by
a prophetic Psalm, which closes with ‫אׁש‬
‫רי‬ . It coincides also in
other respects with Psa 1:1-6, but still more with Psalms of the
earlier time of the kings (Psa 59:9; Psa 83:3-9) and with Isaiah's
prophetic style. The rising of the confederate nations and their
rulers against Jahve and His Anointed will be dashed to pieces
against the imperturbable all-conquering power of dominion,
which Jahve has entrusted to His King set upon Zion, His Son.
This is the fundamental thought, which is worked out with the
vivid directness of dramatic representation. The words of the
singer and seer begin and end the Psalm. The rebels, Jahve, and
His Anointed come forward, and speak for themselves; but the
framework is formed by the composer's discourse, which, like the
chorus of the Greek drama, expresses the reflexions and feelings

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which are produced on the spectators and hearers. The poem
before us is not purely lyric. The personality of the poet is kept in
the background. The Lord's Anointed who speaks in the middle of
the Psalm is not the anonymous poet himself. It may, however,
be a king of the time, who is here regarded in the light of the
Messianic promise, or that King of the future, in whom at a future
period the mission of the Davidic kingship in the world shall be
fulfilled: at all events this Lord's Anointed comes forward with the
divine power and glory, with which the Messiah appears in the
prophets.
The Psalm is anonymous. For this very reason we may not assign
it to David (Hofm.) nor to Solomon (Ew.); for nothing is to be
inferred from Act 4:25, since in the New Testament “hymn of
David” and “psalm” are co-ordinate ideas, and it is always far
more hazardous to ascribe an anonymous Psalm to David or
Solomon, than to deny to one inscribed ‫לדוד‬ or ‫לׁש‬
‫למה‬ direct
authorship from David or Solomon. But the subject of the Psalm
is neither David (Kurtz) nor Solomon (Bleek). It might be David,
for in his reign there is at least one coalition of the peoples like
that from which our Psalm takes its rise, vid., 2Sa 10:6 : on the
contrary it cannot be Solomon, because in his reign, though
troubled towards its close (1Ki 11:14.), no such event occurs, but
would then have to be inferred to have happened from this Psalm.
We might rather guess at Uzziah (Meier) or Hezekiah (Maurer),
both of whom inherited the kingdom in a weakened condition and
found the neighbouring peoples alienated from the house of
David. The situation might correspond to these times, for the
rebellious peoples, which are brought before us, have been
hitherto subject to Jahve and His Anointed. But all historical
indications which might support the one supposition or the other
are wanting. If the God-anointed one, who speaks in Psa 2:7,
were the psalmist himself, we should at least know the Psalm was
composed by a king filled with a lofty Messianic consciousness.
But the dramatic movement of the Psalm up to the ‫ועתה‬ (Psa
2:10) which follows, is opposed to such an identification of the
God-anointed one with the poet. But that Alexander Jannaeus
(Hitz.), that blood-thirsty ruler, so justly hated by his people, who

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inaugurated his reign by fratricide, may be both at the same time,
is a supposition which turns the moral and covenant character of
the Psalm into detestable falsehood. The Old Testament knows
no kingship to which is promised the dominion of the world and
to which sonship is ascribed (2Sa 7:14; Psa 89:28), but the
Davidic. The events of his own time, which influenced the mind
of the poet, are no longer clear to us. But from these he is carried
away into those tumults of the peoples which shall end in all
kingdoms becoming the kingdom of God and of His Christ (Rev
11:15; Rev 12:10).
In the New Testament this Psalm is cited more frequently than
any other. According to Act 4:25-28, Act 4:1 and Act 4:2 have
been fulfilled in the confederate hostility of Israel and the Gentiles
against Jesus the holy servant of God and against His confessors.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, Psa 110:1-7 and Psa 2:1-12 stand
side by side, the former as a witness of the eternal priesthood of
Jesus after the order of Melchisedek, the latter as a witness of His
sonship, which is superior to that of the angels. Paul teaches us
in Act 13:33, comp. Rom 1:4, how the “to-day” is to be
understood. The “to-day” according to its proper fulfilment, is the
day of Jesus' resurrection. Born from the dead to the life at the
right hand of God, He entered on this day, which the church
therefore calls dies regalis, upon His eternal kingship.
The New Testament echo of this Psalm however goes still deeper
and further. The two names of the future One in use in the time
of Jesus, ὁ Χριστὸς and ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, Joh 1:50; Mat 26:63 (in
the mouth of Nathanael and of the High Priest) refer back to this
Ps. and Dan 9:25, just as ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου incontrovertibly
refers to Psa 8:5 and Dan 7:13. The view maintained by De Wette
and Hupfeld, that the Psalm is not applicable to the Christian
conceptions of the Messiah, seems almost as though these were
to be gauged according to the authoritative utterances of the
professorial chair and not according to the language of the
Apostles. Even in the Apocalypse, Ps 19:15; Psa 12:5, Jesus
appears exactly as this Psalm represents Him, as ποιμαίνων τὰ
ἔθνη ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ. The office of the Messiah is not only that

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of Saviour but also of Judge. Redemption is the beginning and the
judgment the end of His work. It is to this end that the Psalm
refers. The Lord himself frequently refers in the Gospels to the
fact of His bearing side by side with the sceptre of peace and the
shepherd's staff, the sceptre of iron also, Mat 24:50., Mat 21:44,
Luk 19:27. The day of His coming is indeed a day of judgment-
the great day of the ὀργὴ τοῦ ἀγνίου, Rev 6:17, before which the
ultra-spiritual Messianic creations of enlightened exegetes will
melt away, just as the carnal Messianic hopes of the Jews did
before His first coming.
Psalms 2
Section 1
The author. This psalm, like the one preceding, is without any
title prefixed to it, and, like that, is without anything in the psalm
itself to indicate its authorship. Its authorship must be learned,
therefore, elsewhere, if it can be ascertained at all. There is,
however, every reason to suppose that David was the author;
and by those who admit the authority of the New Testament this
will not be doubted. The reasons for supposing that its authorship
is to be traced to David are the following:
(a) It is expressly ascribed to him in Act 4:25-26 : “Who by the
mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage,
and the people imagine vain things?” etc. There can be no doubt
that this psalm is here referred to, and the quotation in this
manner proves that this was the common understanding among
the Jews. It may be presumed that in a matter of this kind the
general tradition would be likely to be correct; and to those who
admit the inspiration of the apostles as bearing on points like this,
the fact of its being quoted as the production of David is decisive.
(b) This is the common opinion respecting its origin among
Hebrew writers. Kimchi and Aben Ezra expressly ascribe it to
David, and they are supposed in this to express the prevailing
opinion of the Hebrew people.
(c) Its place among the Psalms of David may, perhaps, be

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regarded as a circumstance indicating the same thing. Thus, to
the seventy-second psalm there are none which are ascribed
expressly to any other author than David (except the Ps. 50,
which is ascribed to Asaph, or ‘for Asaph,’ as it is in the margin),
though there are several whose authors are not mentioned; and
the common impression has been that this portion of the Book of
Psalms was arranged in this manner because they were
understood by the collector of the Psalms to have been composed
by him.
(d) The character of the composition accords well with this
supposition. It is true, indeed, that nothing can be certainly
inferred from this consideration respecting its authorship; and
that it must be admitted that there are no such peculiarities in
the style as to prove that David is the author. But the remark now
made is, that there is nothing inconsistent with this supposition,
and that there is nothing in the sentiment, the style, or the
allusions, which might not have flowed from his pen, or which
would not be appropriate on the supposition that he was the
author. The only objection that could be urged to this would be
derived from Psa 2:6, “I have set my King upon my holy hill of
Zion.” But this will be considered in another place.
Section 2
The time when written. As we cannot with absolute certainty
determine who was the author, it is, of course, not possible to
ascertain the exact time when it was composed; nor, if it be
admitted that David was the author, can we now ascertain what
was the occasion on which it was written. There are no names of
the kings and people who are represented as conspiring against
the Anointed One who is the chief subject of the psalm; and there
is no local allusion whatever except in the single phrase the “hill
of Zion,” in Psa 2:6. The probability would seem to be that the
psalm was not designed to refer to anything which had occurred
in the time of the author himself, but, as will be seen in another
part of these introductory remarks (Section 4), that the writer
intended to refer mainly to the Messiah, who was to come in a
distant age, although this may have been suggested by

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something which took place in the time of the writer.
The opposition made to David himself by surrounding nations,
their attempts to overwhelm the Hebrew people and himself as
their king, the fact that God gave him the victory over his foes,
and established him as the king of his people, and the prosperity
and triumph which he had experienced, may have given rise to
the ideas and imagery of the psalm, and may have led him to
compose it with reference to the Messiah, between whose
treatment and his own there would be so strong a resemblance,
that the one might suggest the other. If conjecture may be
allowed where it is impossible to be certain, it may be supposed
that the psalm was composed by David after the termination of
the wars in which he had been engaged with surrounding nations,
and in which he had struggled for the establishment of his throne
and kingdom; and after he had been peacefully and triumphantly
established as ruler over the people of God. Then it would be
natural to compare his own fortunes with those of the Son of God,
the future Messiah, who was to be, in his human nature, his
descendant; against whom the rulers of the earth would also
“rage,” as they had against himself; whom it was the purpose of
God to establish on a permanent throne in spite of all opposition,
as he had established him on his throne; and who was to sway a
scepter over the nations of the earth, of which the scepter that
he swayed might be regarded as an emblem.
Thus understood, it had, in its original composition, no particular
reference to David himself, or to Solomon, as Paulus supposed,
or to any other of the kings of Israel; but it is to be regarded as
having sole reference to the Messiah, in language suggested by
events which had occurred in the history of David, the author. It
is made up of the peaceful and happy reflections of one who had
been engaged, in the face of much opposition, in establishing his
own throne, now looking forward to the similar scenes of conflict
and of triumph through which the Anointed One would pass.
Section 3
The structure and contents of the psalm. The psalm is exceedingly

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regular in its composition, and has in its structure much of a
dramatic character. It naturally falls into four parts, of three
verses each.
I. In the first Psa 2:1-3 the conduct and purposes of the raging
nations are described. They are in the deepest agitation, forming
plans against Yahweh and His Anointed One, and uniting their
counsels to break their bands asunder, and to cast off their
authority, that is, as Psa 2:6 shows, to prevent the establishment
of the Anointed One as King on the holy hill of Zion. The opening
of the psalm is bold and abrupt. The psalmist looks out suddenly
on the nations, and sees them in violent commotion.
II. In the second part Psa 2:4-6 the feelings and purposes of God
are described. It is implied that he had formed the purpose, by a
fixed decree (compare Psa 2:7), to establish his Anointed One as
king, and he now calmly sits in the heavens and looks with
derision on the vain designs of those who are opposed to it. He
smiles upon their impotent rage, and goes steadily forward to the
accomplishment of his plan. He solemnly declares that he had
established his King on his holy hill of Zion, and consequently,
that all their efforts must be vain.
III. In the third part Psa 2:7-9 the King himself, the Anointed
One, speaks, and states the decree which had been formed in
reference to himself, and the promise which had been made to
him. That decree was, that he should be declared to be the Son
of Yahweh himself; the promise was that he should, at his own
request, have the nations of the earth for a possession, and rule
over them with an absolute scepter.
IV. In the fourth part Psa 2:10-12 the psalmist exhorts the rulers
of the nations to yield to the claims of the Anointed One,
threatening divine wrath on those who should reject him, and
promising a blessing on those who should put their trust in him.
The psalm is, therefore, regularly constructed, and the main
thought is pursued through the whole of it - the exalted claims

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and ultimate triumph of him who is here called “the Anointed;”
the vanity of opposition to his decrees; and the duty and
advantage of yielding to his authority. “The several sentences are
also very regular in form, exhibiting parallelisms of great
uniformity.” - Prof. Alexander. The psalm, in its construction, is
one of the most perfect in the Book of Psalms, according to the
special ideal of Hebrew poetry.
Section 4. The question to whom the psalm refers. There can be
but three opinions as to the question to whom the psalm was
designed to refer:
(a) That in which it is supposed that it refers exclusively to David,
or to some other one of the anointed kings of Israel;
(b) that in which it is supposed that it had this original reference,
but has also a secondary reference to the Messiah; and
(c) that in which it is supposed that it has exclusive and sole
reference to the Messiah.
There are few who maintain the first of these opinions. Even
Grotius, in respect to whom it was said, in comparison with
Cocceius, that “Cocceius found Christ everywhere, and Grotius
nowhere,” admits that while, in his view, the psalm had a primary
reference to David, and to the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites,
Idumeans, etc., as his enemies, yet, in a more “mystical and
abstruse sense, it pertained to the Messiah.” The reasons why the
psalm should not be regarded as referring exclusively to any
Hebrew king are conclusive. They are summed up in this one:
that the expressions in the psalm are such as cannot be applied
exclusively to any Hebrew monarch. This will appear in the
exposition of this psalm. For like reasons, the psalm cannot be
regarded as designed to refer primarily to David, and in a
secondary and higher sense to the Messiah. There are no
indications in the psalm of any such double sense; and if it cannot
be applied exclusively to David, cannot be applied to him at all.

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The psalm, I suppose, like Isa 53:1-12, had an original and
exclusive reference to the Messiah. This may be shown by the
following considerations:
(1) It is so applied in the New Testament, and is referred to in no
other way. Thus, in Act 4:24-27, the whole company of the
apostles is represented as quoting the first verses of the psalm,
and referring them to Christ: “They lifted up their voice to God
with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God ... who by the
mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage,
and the people imagine vain things. The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and
against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus,
whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.” If the
authority of the apostles, therefore, is to be admitted in the case,
there can be no doubt that the psalm was intended to refer to the
Messiah. This statement of the apostles may also be adduced as
proof that this was, probably, the prevailing mode of
interpretation in their age.
Again, the psalm is quoted by Paul Act 13:32-33 as applicable to
Christ, and with reference to the fact that it was a doctrine of the
Old Testament that the Messiah was to rise from the dead: “And
we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was
made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their
children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written
in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten
thee. And again, in Heb 1:5, the same passage is quoted by Paul
to establish the exalted rank of the Messiah as being above the
angels: “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou
art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?” These quotations
prove that in the estimation of the writers of the New Testament
the psalm had an original reference to the Messiah; and the
manner in which they make the quotation proves that this was
the current belief of the Jews in their day, as they appear to have
been under no apprehension that the propriety of the application
which they made would be called in question.

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(2) But, besides this, there is other evidence that such was the
prevailing interpretation among the ancient Hebrews: “In the
older Jewish writings, as the Sohar, the Talmud, etc., there is a
variety of passages in which the Messianic interpretation is given
to the psalm. See the collections by Raym. Martini, Pug. Fid. ed.
Carpzov., in several places, and by Schottgen, de Messia, pp.
227ff. Even Kimchi and Jarchi confess that it was the prevailing
interpretation among their forefathers; and the latter very
honestly gives his reasons for departing from it, when he says he
prefers to explain it of David, for the refutation of the heretics;
that is, in order to destroy the force of the arguments drawn from
it by the Christians.” (Hengstenberg, Christ., i. 77.)
(3) That it refers to the Messiah is manifest from the psalm itself.
This will be apparent from a few subordinate considerations.
(a) It cannot be applied to David, or to any other earthly king;
that is, there are expressions in it which cannot be applied with
any degree of propriety to any earthly monarch whatever. This
remark is founded particularly on the remarkable use of the word
“Son” in the psalm, and the promise that “the uttermost parts of
the earth” should be placed under the control of him to whom
that word is applied. The word “son” is, indeed, of large
signification, and is, in a certain sense, applied to the righteous
in the plural number, as being the sons or the children of God by
adoption; but it is not so applied in the singular number, and
there is a peculiarity in its use here which shows that it was not
intended to be applied to an earthly monarch, or to any pious
man considered as a child of God. That appellation - the Son of
God - properly denotes a nearer relation to God than can be
applied to a mere mortal of any rank (compare the notes at Joh
5:18), and was so understood by the Jews themselves. It is not
used in the Old Testament, as applied to an earthly monarch, in
the manner in which it is employed here. The remark here made
is entirely irrespective of the doctrine which is sometimes
supposed to be taught in this passage, of “the eternal generation”
of the Son of God, since what is here said is equally true, whether

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that doctrine is well-founded or not.
(b) There is an extent of dominion and a perpetuity of empire
promised here which could not be applied to David or to any other
monarch, but which is entirely applicable to the Messiah (see Psa
2:8, Psa 2:10).
(c) Such, too, is the nature of the promise to those who put their
trust in him, and the threatening on those who do not obey him
Psa 2:12. This is language which will be seen at once to be
entirely applicable to the Messiah, but which cannot be so
regarded in respect of any earthly monarch.
(d) There is a strong probability that the psalm is designed to
refer to the Messiah, from the fact that they who deny this have
not been able to propose any other plausible interpretation, or to
show with any degree of probability to whom it does refer. There
were no Israelite kings or princes to whom it could be regarded
with any show of probability as applicable, unless it were David
or Solomon; and yet there are no recorded circumstances in their
lives to which it can be regarded as adapted, and there is no
substantial agreement among those who maintain that it does
refer to either of them. It is maintained by both Rosenmuller and
DeWette that it cannot relate to David or Solomon. Some of the
modern Jews maintain that it was composed by David respecting
himself when the Philistines came up against him 2Sa 5:17; but
this is manifestly an erroneous opinion, for not only was there
nothing in the occurrence there to correspond with the language
of the psalm, but there was at that time no particular consecration
of the hill of Zion Psa 2:6, nor was that mount regarded as holy
or sacred until after the tabernacle was erected on it, which was
after the Philistine war. The same remark may be made
substantially of the supposition that it refers to the rebellion of
Absalom, or to any of the circumstances in which David was
placed. And there is still less reason for supposing that it refers
to Solomon, for there is no mention of any rebellion against him;
of any general attempt to throw off his yoke; of any solemn
consecration of him as king in consequence of, or in spite of such

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an attempt.
(e) The psalm agrees with the account of the Messiah, or is in its
general structure and details applicable to him. This will be shown
in the exposition, and indeed is manifest on the face of it. The
only plausible objection to this view is, as stated by DeWette,
“According to the doctrine of Christianity, the Messiah is no
conqueror of nations, bearing an iron scepter; his kingdom is not
of this world.” But to this it may be replied, that all that is meant
in Psa 2:9 may be, that he will set up a kingdom over the nations
of the earth; that all his enemies will be subdued under him; and
that the scepter which he will sway will be firm and irresistible.
See, for the applicability of this to the Messiah, the notes at Psa
2:9.
(4) It may be added that the psalm is such as one might expect
to find in the poetic writings of the Hebrews, with the views which
they entertained of the Messiah. The promised Messiah was the
object of deepest interest to their minds. All their hopes centered
in him. To him they looked forward as the Great Deliverer; and
all their anticipations of what the people of God were to be
clustered around him. He was to be a Prince, a Conqueror, a
Deliverer, a Saviour. To him the eyes of the nation were directed;
he was shadowed forth by their pompous religious rites, and their
sacred bards sang his advent. That we should find an entire psalm
composed with reference to him, designed to set forth his
character and the glory of his reign, is no more than what we
should expect to find among a people where poetry is cultivated
at all, and where these high hopes were cherished in reference to
his advent; and especially if to this view of their national poetry,
in itself considered, there be added the idea that the sacred bards
wrote under the influence of inspiration, nothing is more natural
than that we should expect to find a poetic composition having
such a sole and exclusive reference. Nothing would have been
more unnatural than that, with these prevailing views and hopes,
and with the fact before us that so much of the Old Testament is
sacred poetry, we should have found no such production as the
second psalm, on the supposition that it had an original and

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exclusive reference to the Messiah.
Psalms 2
A.M. 2957. — B.C. 1047.
“This Psalm,” says Bishop Patrick, “under the history of David,
contains a most illustrious prophecy of the kingdom of Christ;
whom God raised even from the dead, made the King of glory,
and, notwithstanding all that the scribes and Pharisees, Herod
and other princes, could do to hinder it, enlarged his kingdom to
the uttermost parts of the earth.” That David might here speak
with reference to his own advancement to, and settlement in, the
throne of Judah and Israel, or at least might allude thereto, is
very probable: but that “a greater than David is here,” appears,
not only from the strength of the expressions, which are more
properly applicable to the Messiah than to David; but also from
the citations made from this Psalm in the New Testament, and
from the consent of the ancient Hebrew writers, who unanimously
expounded it of the Messiah, as is confessed by their own
brethren, particularly by Rabbi Solomon Jarchi upon the place;
who has this remarkable passage, “Our doctors expounded this
Psalm of King Messiah; but that we may answer the heretics,
(meaning the Christians,) it is expedient to interpret it of David’s
person.” As we are not influenced by any such unreasonable and
unscriptural prejudices as those which blind the minds of the
modern Jews, we shall find no difficulty therefore in discerning
and acknowledging, that under the emblem of the kingdom of
David, which, although of divine appointment, met with much
opposition, but prevailed at last, the Holy Ghost here foretels the
opposition that should be raised by Jews and Gentiles against the
kingdom of the Messiah, Psa 2:1-3. The defeating and punishing
of that opposition, Psa 2:4, Psa 2:5. The setting up and
confirming of Christ’s kingdom, notwithstanding that opposition,
Psa 2:6, Psa 2:7. Promises the enlargement and success of that
kingdom, Psa 2:8, Psa 2:9. Invites and exhorts kings and princes
to yield themselves the willing subjects of it, Psa 2:10-12. As
David was the author of this Psalm, (see Act 4:25,) so it is evident
he must have written it after the translation of the ark to mount
Sion, because it expressly terms that mount, the hill of God’s

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holiness, Psa 2:6; which name could not belong to it till God had
chosen it for the residence of the ark. And it is probable it was
also composed after the message he received from God by
Nathan, of the perpetual establishment of his house, his throne,
and kingdom, (2Sa 7:1, &c.,) because he makes particular
mention of God’s determined purpose with respect to this, Psa
2:7.
Psalms 2
The circumstances which called forth this Psalm stand out clearly.
A king of Israel, recently placed upon the throne, and consecrated
by the solemn rite of anointing to be Jehovah’s representative in
the government of His people, is menaced by a confederacy of
subject nations, threatening to revolt and cast off their allegiance.
The moment is critical: but his cause is Jehovah’s; their
endeavour is futile. He asserts his high claims; and the nations
are exhorted to yield a willing submission, and avoid the
destruction which awaits rebels against the authority of Jehovah.
Who then was the king? and what was the occasion referred to?
The king’s consciousness of his high calling, and the confidence
with which he appeals to the divine promise, point to a time when
that promise was still recent, and the lofty ideal of the theocratic
kingdom had not been blurred and defaced by failure and defeat.
For such a time we must go back to the reigns of David and
Solomon.
(1) The language of Act 4:25 does not decide the question, for
‘David’ in the N.T. may mean no more than ‘the Psalter’ (Heb 4:7)
or ‘a Psalmist.’ The older commentators however attribute the
Psalm to David, and suppose the occasion to have been the attack
of the Philistines shortly after he was anointed king over all Israel
(2Sa 5:17 ff.), or of the confederacy of Ammonites and Syrians
described in 2 Samuel 10. But the Psalm speaks plainly (Psa 2:3)
of subject nations, while the Philistines certainly were not David’s
subjects at the time, and it is doubtful if the Syrians were. See
note on 2 Samuel 10.

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(2) On the other hand there is good reason for supposing that
Solomon was the king referred to. He was anointed at Gihon, and
solemnly enthroned on Zion (1Ki 1:45). Zion was already
‘Jehovah’s holy mountain’ in virtue of the presence of the Ark
there. So strongly was the theocratic character of the kingdom
then realised that he is said to have sat ‘on the throne of Jehovah’
(1Ch 29:23; cp. Psa 28:5). The Psalm is based upon the great
promise in 2Sa 7:12 ff., which, although not limited to Solomon,
would naturally be claimed by him with special confidence.
Solomon succeeded to the great kingdom which his father had
built up. But he was young. The succession was disputed. What
more likely than that some of the subject nations should threaten
to revolt upon his accession? Hadad’s request (1Ki 11:21) shews
that his enemies thought that their opportunity was come. It is
true that we have no account of any such revolt in the Historical
Books. But their records are incomplete and fragmentary; and the
language of the Psalm implies that the revolt was only
threatened, and had not as yet broken out into open war. There
was still hope that wiser counsels might prevail (Psa 2:10 ff.);
and if they did, we should hardly expect to find any reference in
Kings and Chron. to a mere threat of rebellion. Moreover, though
Solomon’s reign was on the whole peaceful, there are incidental
notices which make it plain that it was not uniformly and
universally so. He made great military preparations (1Ki 4:26;
1Ki 9:15 ff; 1Ki 11:27, 2Ch 8:5 ff.), and engaged in wars (2Ch
8:3); and Hadad and Rezon succeeded in ‘doing him mischief’
(1Ki 11:21-25).
(3) The conjectures which refer the Psalm to a later occasion have
but little probability. The confederacy of Pekah and Rezin against
Ahaz (Isaiah 7); and the invasion of Judah by the Moabites and
their allies (2 Chronicles 20) have been suggested: but neither of
these was a revolt of subject nations.
The question still remains whether Solomon was himself the
writer. The king and the poet appear to be identified in Psa 2:7
ff.; but in such a highly dramatic Psalm, it is at least possible that
the poet might introduce the king as a speaker, as he introduces

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the nations (Psa 2:3), and Jehovah (Psa 2:6).
The particular historical reference is however of relatively small
moment compared with the typical application of the Psalm to the
Kingdom of Christ. To understand this, it is necessary to realise
the peculiar position of the Israelite king. Israel was Jehovah’s
son, His firstborn (Exo 4:22; Deu 32:6); and Israel’s king, as the
ruler and representative of the people, was adopted by Jehovah
as His son, His firstborn (2Sa 7:13 ff.; Psa 89:26-27). It was a
moral relationship, sharply distinguished from the supposed
descent of kings and heroes from gods in the heathen world in
virtue of which they styled themselves Zeus-born, sons of Zeus,
and the like. It involved on the one side fatherly love and
protection, on the other filial obedience and devotion.
The king moreover was not an absolute monarch in his own right.
He was the Anointed of Jehovah, His viceroy and earthly
representative. To him therefore was given not only the
sovereignty over Israel, but the sovereignty over the nations.
Rebellion against him was rebellion against Jehovah.
Thus, as the adopted son of Jehovah and His Anointed King, he
was the type of the eternal Son of God, the ‘Lord’s Christ.’ Then,
as successive kings of David’s line failed to realise their high
destiny, men were taught to look for the coming of One who
should fulfil the Divine words of promise, giving them a meaning
and a reality beyond hope and imagination. See Introd. p. lxxvi
ff.
This Psalm then is typical and prophetic of the rebellion of the
kingdoms of the world against the kingdom of Christ, and of the
final triumph of the kingdom of Christ. To Him all nations are
given for an inheritance; if they will not submit He must judge
them. This typical meaning does not however exclude (as some
commentators think), but rather requires, a historic foundation
for the Psalm.
In connexion with this Psalm should be studied 2 Samuel 7;

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Psalms 89; and Psalms 21, 45, 72, 110.
The references to this Psalm in the N.T. should be carefully
examined.
(1) In Act 4:25-28, Psa 2:1-2 are applied to the confederate
hostility of Jews and Gentiles against Christ.
(2) Psa 2:7 was quoted by St Paul at Antioch (Act 13:33) as
fulfilled in the Resurrection of Christ (cp. Rom 1:4): and in the
Epistle to the Hebrews the words are cited (the Messianic
reference of the Psalm being evidently generally admitted) to
describe the superiority of the Son to angels (Psa 1:5): and as a
declaration of the Divine sonship of Christ, in connexion with the
proof of the Divine origin of His high-priesthood (Psa 5:5).2
(3) It contains the titles ‘my Son’ (Mat 3:17), and ‘the Lord’s
Christ’ (Luk 2:26), which describe the nature and office of the
Messiah. Comp. Mat 16:16 : Joh 20:31.
(4) Its language is repeatedly borrowed in the Revelation, the
great epic of the conflict and triumph of Christ’s kingdom. He
‘rules the nations with a rod of iron’ (Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15); and
delegates the same power to His servants (Rev 2:26-27). ‘Kings
of the earth’ occurs no less than nine times in this book (Psa 1:5,
&c). ‘He that sitteth in the heavens’ is the central figure there
(Psa 4:2 and frequently).
These quotations sufficiently explain the choice of the Psalm as
one of the Proper Psalms for Easter Day.
In a few Heb. MSS. the Second Psalm is reckoned as the First,
the First being treated as an independent prologue to the whole
book; in a few other MSS. the two are united. Origen says that
2
In D and cognate authorities the words, “Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee” are
substituted for “Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased,” in Luk 3:22. This was
also the reading of the Ebionite Gospel.

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this was the case in one of two copies he had seen (Op. ii. 537):
and there was an ancient Jewish saying, “The first Psalm begins
with blessing (Psa 1:1), and ends with blessing” (Psa 2:12). Some
recensions of the LXX appear to have followed this arrangement,
though Origen speaks as if all the Greek copies with which he was
acquainted divided the two Psalms. Justin Martyr in his Apology
(i. 40) cites Psalms 1, 2 as a continuous prophecy, and in Act
13:33 D and cognate authorities representing the ‘Western’ text,
read, ‘in the first Psalm.’
But though there are points of contact in phraseology (blessed,
Psa 1:1, Psa 2:12; meditate, Psa 1:2, Psa 2:1; perish connected
with way, Psa 1:6; Psa 2:12); they are clearly distinct in style
and character. Psalms 1 is the calm expression of a general truth;
Psalms 2 springs out of a special occasion; it is full of movement,
and has a correspondingly vigorous rhythm. Probably the absence
of a title to Psalms 2 (contrary to the usual practice of Book I)
accounts for its having been joined to Psalms 1.
The Psalm is dramatic in form. The scene changes. Different
persons are introduced as speakers. Its structure is definite and
artistic. It consists of four stanzas, each (except the second) of
seven lines.
i. The poet contemplates with astonishment the tumult of the
nations, mustering with the vain idea of revolt from their
allegiance (Psa 2:1-3).
ii. But looking from earth to heaven he beholds Jehovah
enthroned in majesty. He mocks their puny efforts. He has but to
speak, and they are paralysed (Psa 2:4-6).
iii. The king speaks, and recites the solemn decree by which
Jehovah has adopted him for His son, and given him the nations
for is inheritance, with authority to subdue all opposition (Psa
2:7-9).
iv. The poet concludes with an exhortation to the nations to yield

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willing submission, instead of resisting to their own destruction
(Psa 2:10-12).
Psalms 2
This Psalm treats of the opposition raised, both by Jew and
Gentile, against the kingdom of Christ, Psa 2:1-3. Christ’s victory,
and the confusion of his enemies, Psa 2:4-6. The promulgation of
the Gospel after his resurrection, Psa 2:7-9. A call to all the
potentates and judges of the earth to accept it, because of the
destruction that shall fall on those who reject it, Psa 2:10-12.
Psalms 2
The Messiah’s Ultimate Victory
A messianic psalm of David (see Acts 4:25–26)
In Psalm 2 the “anointed one” is the King in the Davidic line. He
is the Son of God in the sense of 2 Samuel 7:14, “I will be his
father, and he will be my son.” This reference to the Son of God
and Son of David found its fulfillment in the only begotten Son of
God and greatest Son of David, Jesus, the anointed King of kings.
Psalm 1 begins with joy (1:1), and Psalm 2 ends with joy (2:12).
These first two psalms form the introduction to all the rest of the
psalms and set the context of blessing and judgment, involving
loving obedience (1:2), rebellion (1:4; 2:2), and devoted worship
of God and his Son (2:11–12). The king of Israel was anointed
with oil as part of a religious consecration (2:2), and he became
known as “God’s Anointed.” The Hebrew word translated
“anointed” literally means “Messiah.” David’s experience
described in this psalm would be ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Jesus, the Messiah, will reign as King in Jerusalem during the
Millennium (2:6; Isa. 2:3). The New Testament links the words
“Today I have become your Father” (2:7) with Christ’s
resurrection (cf. Acts 13:33–34; Rom. 1:4; Heb. 1:5; 5:5).3
Psalms 2
3
Robert B. Hughes, J. Carl Laney and Robert B. Hughes, Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, Rev. Ed. of: New Bible
Companion. 1990.; Includes Index., The Tyndale reference library (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001),
208.

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Composed very probably for a royal coronation at Jerusalem,
perhaps for one of the last kings such as Josiah (640-609 B.C.),
who pledged himself, as Psalm 1 would enjoin, to obey the
ancient laws and traditions (2 Kings 22-23), Psalm 2 moves with
skillful balance: vv. 1-3, earthly kings, who speak in their own
voice, in revolt, (v. 3); vv. 4-6, a heavenly setting of peace for
ratifying the choice of a new Davidic king, concluding with an
oracle from Yahweh; vv. 7-9, the words of consecration (2 Sam.
7:14; Isa. 9:6-7; Pss. 89:27-28; 110:3) and other ritual actions;
2:10-12, advice to princes and, indirectly, to the new king.
In v. 2, the term “anointed” indicated a special relationship with
Yahweh, as it does elsewhere for altars (Exod. 29:36), priests
(Exod. 28:41), prophets (1 Kings 19:16; Isa. 61:1), and
especially kings (1 Sam. 10:1; 16:3). Ps. 2:4, “The Lord laughs”
denotes his supreme control (Ps. 37:13), not necessarily a laugh
of ridicule or disdain (Ps. 59:9). God paralyzes the efforts of all
opponents (2:5) and with a decree fixes the limits of chaos (v.
7). Israel’s land is created anew in peace (Jer. 5:22; Job 28:26).
Beginning with v. 9, the text does not appear to be in its original
form, perhaps by disuse after the end of the dynasty. As a result,
one may say that the text here is disturbed or “corrupt.” “Shatter
the clay vessels,” like the symbolic actions of the prophets (Jer.
19:10-11; 28:10), announced the end of all opposition. The
action has some overtones of ancient magical practices (Num.
5:11-31), yet here Yahweh clearly determines the outcome by
obedience to the divine will. Despite a tone of fierceness within
the psalm and its exclusive concern for the king, Psalm 2
modulates into a statement of calm protection for all who take
refuge in the Lord.
Through this psalm, especially v. 7, the early church proclaimed
its faith in Jesus’ messiahship and divine enthronement at his
vv. verses
v. verse

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resurrection from the dead (Acts 4:25-26; 13:33; Heb. 1:5;
5:5).4
Psalms 2
The Coming Messianic King
Human society rebels against God’s anointed Messiah (2:1–3),
provoking God’s scorn and sure judgment (vv. 4–6). God has
decreed that His Son will rule the Earth (vv. 7–9). How essential
then that we submit now and by taking refuge in the Son find
blessing rather than destruction (vv. 10–12).5
Psalms 2
The didactic Ps. 1 which began with ‫אׁשרי‬, is now followed by a
prophetic Psalm, which closes with ‫אׁשרי‬. It coincides also in other
respects with Ps. 1, but still more with Psalms of the earlier time
of the kings (Ps. 59:9; 83:3–9) and with Isaiah’s prophetic style.
The rising of the confederate nations and their rulers against
Jahve and His Anointed will be dashed to pieces against the
imperturbable all-conquering power of dominion, which Jahve has
entrusted to His King set upon Zion, His Son. This is the
fundamental thought, which is worked out with the vivid
directness of dramatic representation. The words of the singer
and seer begin and end the Psalm. The rebels, Jahve, and His
Anointed come forward, and speak for themselves; but the
framework is formed by the composer’s discourse, which, like the
chorus of the Greek drama, expresses the reflexions and feelings
which are produced on the spectators and hearers. The poem
before us is not purely lyric. The personality of the poet is kept in
the background. The Lord’s Anointed who speaks in the middle of
the Psalm is not the anonymous poet himself. It may, however,
be a king of the time, who is here regarded in the light of the
Messianic promise, or that King of the future, in whom at a future
Heb. Hebrew
4
James Luther Mays, Publishers Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature, Harper's Bible Commentary (San
Francisco: Harper & Row, 1996, c1988), Ps 2:1.
5
Larry Richards, The Bible Reader's Companion, Includes Index. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1991), 350.

Psalms 2
25 wanderean ©2024
period the mission of the Davidic kingship in the world shall be
fulfilled: at all events this Lord’s Anointed comes forward with the
divine power and glory, with which the Messiah appears in the
prophets.
The Psalm is anonymous. For this very reason we may not assign
it to David (Hofm.) nor to Solomon (Ew.); for nothing is to be
inferred from Acts 4:25, since in the New Testament “hymn of
David” and “psalm” are co-ordinate ideas, and it is always far
more hazardous to ascribe an anonymous Psalm to David or
Solomon, than to deny to one inscribed ‫לדוד‬ or ‫לׁשלמה‬ direct
authorship from David or Solomon. But the subject of the Psalm
is neither David (Kurtz) nor Solomon (Bleek). It might be David,
for in his reign there is at least one coalition of the peoples like
that from which our Psalm takes its rise, vid., 2 Sam. 10:6: on
the contrary it cannot be Solomon, because in his reign, though
troubled towards its close (1 Kings 11:14ff.), no such event
occurs, but would then have to be inferred to have happened from
this Psalm. We might rather guess at Uzziah (Meier) or Hezekiah
(Maurer), both of whom inherited the kingdom in a weakened
condition and found the neighbouring peoples alienated from the
house of David. The situation might correspond to these times,
for the rebellious peoples, which are brought before us, have been
hitherto subject to Jahve and His Anointed. But all historical
indications which might support the one supposition or the other
are wanting. If the God-anointed one, who speaks in v. 7, were
the psalmist himself, we should at least know the Psalm was
composed by a king filled with a lofty Messianic consciousness.
But the dramatic movement of the Psalm up to the ‫ועתה‬ (v. 10)
which follows, is opposed to such an identification of the God-
anointed one with the poet. But that Alexander Jannaeus (Hitz.),
that blood-thirsty ruler, so justly hated by his people, who
inaugurated his reign by fratricide, may be both at the same time,
is a supposition which turns the moral and covenant character of
the Psalm into detestable falsehood. The Old Testament knows
no kingship to which is promised the dominion of the world and
to which sonship is ascribed (2 Sam. 7:14, Ps. 89:28), but the
Davidic. The events of his own time, which influenced the mind

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of the poet, are no longer clear to us. But from these he is carried
away into those tumults of the peoples which shall end in all
kingdoms becoming the kingdom of God and of His Christ (Apoc.
11:15; 12:10).
In the New Testament this Psalm is cited more frequently than
any other. According to Acts 4:25–28, vv. 1 and 2 have been
fulfilled in the confederate hostility of Israel and the Gentiles
against Jesus the holy servant of God and against His confessors.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, Ps. 110 and 2 stand side by side,
the former as a witness of the eternal priesthood of Jesus after
the order of Melchisedek, the latter as a witness of His sonship,
which is superior to that of the angels. Paul teaches us in Acts
13:33, comp. Rom. 1:4, how the “to-day” is to be understood.
The “to-day” according to its proper fulfilment, is the day of Jesus’
resurrection. Born from the dead to the life at the right hand of
God, He entered on this day, which the church therefore calls dies
regalis, upon His eternal kingship.
The New Testament echo of this Psalm however goes still deeper
and further. The two names of the future One in use in the time
of Jesus, ὁ Χριστός and ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, John 1:50, Matt. 26:63
(in the mouth of Nathanael and of the High Priest) refer back to
this Ps. and Dan. 9:25, just as ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
incontrovertibly refers to Ps. 8:5 and Dan. 7:13. The view
maintained by De Wette and Hupfeld, that the Psalm is not
applicable to the Christian conceptions of the Messiah, seems
almost as though these were to be gauged according to the
authoritative utterances of the professorial chair and not
according to the language of the Apostles. Even in the
Apocalypse, Ps. 19:15; 12:5, Jesus appears exactly as this Psalm
represents Him, as ποιμαίνων τὰ ἔθνη ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ. The office
of the Messiah is not only that of Saviour but also of Judge.
Redemption is the beginning and the judgment the end of His
work. It is to this end that the Psalm refers. The Lord himself
frequently refers in the Gospels to the fact of His bearing side by
side with the sceptre of peace and the shepherd’s staff, the
sceptre of iron also, Matt. 24:50f., 21:44, Luke 19:27. The day

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of His coming is indeed a day of judgment—the great day of the
ὀργὴ τοῦ ἀγνίου, Apoc. 6:17, before which the ultra-spiritual
Messianic creations of enlightened exegetes will melt away, just
as the carnal Messianic hopes of the Jews did before His first
coming.6
Psalms 2
Another of God’s gifts to Israel was the person of its king. We
read in 2 Sam. 7 how the young King David discovered through
his court chaplain Nathan that God had specially chosen him to
guide and shepherd his covenant people. David had wanted to
build a “house” for God, that is to say, a temple-building, even as
all the kings of the nations round about had temples for their
gods. But Nathan goes on to use this word in another sense. For
one thing, he wanted David to see that God does not need
temples to dwell in. Solomon, who did build one when he took
over the kingship, declares in his prayer of dedication: “Behold,
heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee, how much
less this house which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). Israel’s
understanding of God was meant to be quite different from that
of all the surrounding nations. Israel was destined to discover the
abiding presence of God, not in a building, but in a human being.
So Nathan explains: “The Lord declares to you that the Lord will
make you a house” (verse 11). That “house” was to be the
dynasty of kings from David onwards. Nathan was punning here.
For the verb “to build” can also mean “to have children”. In this
way, each “son” of the Davidic line would become God’s “son” in
a special way (verse 14).
So here we have still another of God’s covenants (see Ps. 89:3),
one now made with the line of David. God promised to be
eternally faithful to that line. “I will not take my steadfast love
from him…and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure
before me…for ever” (verse 15).
6
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 5:52-
54.

Psalms 2
28 wanderean ©2024
Both of these double words in italics are “covenantal” terms.
Steadfast love is the one Hebrew word hesed, a word we shall
find recurring throughout the Psalms, being used to describe the
loyalty and reliability of God’s love, in fact, a “love that wilt not
let me go”. In the old AV or KJV this word was translated by many
different English words, such as mercy, kindness, loving-
kindness, goodness, to name only a few. But the RSV, by using
the two words steadfast love that it regularly employs, is trying
to bring out the kind of love that it meant for Israel within the
Covenant. It is not just a general kindness or mercy, nor is it like
the natural love of a mother for her baby. It is the loyal love of
the partner in the covenant-agreement which God has bestowed
upon his people. Then, made sure is the word we know in English
as Amen. God himself is the Amen; he is the answer “yes” to all
the doubts and questions and problems of humanity. God is I AM
(Exod. 3:14), therefore nothing can be stronger than his
promised love. Amen means sure, solid, immovable. We
recognize that a stone temple could have a sure, solid, immovable
foundation, provided it were built upon a rock. Similarly the
dynastic house of David was to have a sure and certain
foundation, for it was to be built upon God, the Rock himself (Ps.
18:2).
From David in 1000 B.C. till the destruction of Jerusalem in 587
B.C. each son of David ascended the throne on the occasion of his
enthronement with a great ceremony at which “all the people”
were present—that is, as many as could find it possible to leave
their homes in their villages and go on the long climb to their
capital city of Jerusalem upon its high hill. The important moment
of what must have been a colourful ceremony, however, was
when the court chaplain hailed the new monarch, not just as son
of David, but, in accordance with 2 Sam. 7, actually as son of
God!
AV Authorized, or King James, Version of the Bible.
RSV Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Psalms 2
29 wanderean ©2024
This poem may have been used again and again for each of
Israel’s kings in turn. Moreover, in all probability, there took place
some kind of acted drama at the time of the coronation. Notice
how each of the verses we have before us could be both spoken
and acted by the temple choir and various groups of priests—the
kings of the earth in conclave (verse 2), the snapping of a rope
(verse 3), God laughing in heaven (verse 4), then a shout as a
priest says “Then…” and points to the new king on the throne of
Zion standing on its temple hill (verse 6), the recital of verses
from 2 Sam. 7 by another priest (verses 7–9), with God saying
“It is I who have set my king on Zion”; and then the drama of
people dressed as foreign kings kissing the feet of the new
monarch on his throne (verses 10–11). This last act would be
introduced by the dramatic shout of “And now…!” with the action
recorded at 2 Kings 11:12. What an exciting moment it must have
been for the whole People of God to experience!7
Psalms 2
The world’s king
The theme is developed in four balancing sections: the kings who
oppose the LORD and his Anointed One (1–3) are invited to take
refuge, serving the LORD and paying homage to the Son (10–12).
In between two voices are heard: the Lord speaks of the
appointment of his Son to reign (4–6), and the Son speaks of the
divine promise of world rule (7–9). The psalm is rooted in 2
Samuel 7, the promise to David of a supreme name, a relationship
of sonship to the Lord, and an enduring line. Possibly the psalm
was used to greet each succeeding Davidic king on his accession
as a reminder of the ideal, but its fulfilment came in ‘great David’s
greater Son’ (Lk. 1:31–33), just as the ever-pervasive refusal of
the world to have ‘this man reign over them’ (Lk. 19:14) reached
its climax at Calvary (Acts 4:25–26; 1 Cor. 2:8). The age in which
we live, however bland and accommodating it may at times
appear, essentially hates, opposes and rebels against God in
Christ. Historically, the Davidic king was always under threat from
7
George Angus Fulton Knight, Psalms : Volume 1, The Daily study Bible series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox
Press, 2001, c1982), 19.

Psalms 2
30 wanderean ©2024
the surrounding world; essentially, this reflects the world’s
rebellion against God; prophetically, the psalm speaks of the
rejection of Jesus.8
Psalms 2
SECTION OUTLINE TWO
This messianic psalm describes the nations’ rebellion against
God’s chosen kings and warns against such foolish thinking.
I. THE APOSTATES (2:1–3): The earth’s rulers plan to rebel
against the Lord’s anointed one.
II. THE ALMIGHTY (2:4–6)
A. The Lord’s response (2:4) : He laughs at this pitiful
attempt to rebel against his anointed king.
B. The Lord’s rebuke (2:5–6): “I have placed my chosen king
on the throne in Jerusalem.”
III. THE ANOINTED (2:7–9): The chosen king repeats the Lord’s
promises to him, asserting that the Lord will help him subdue all
his enemies.
IV. THE ADVICE (2:10–12): “Serve the LORD with reverent
fear.”9
Psalms 2
There is an interesting contrast between the first two psalms.
Psalm 1 is personal and focuses on the Law, while Ps. 2 is national
and focuses on prophecy. In Ps. 1, we see Christ the Perfect Man;
in Ps. 2, He is the King of kings. Psalm 1 deals with the blessing
of the Jew (although it certainly applies to the Christian today),
while Ps. 2 presents the judgment of the Gentile nations. Both
psalms use the word perish (1:6 applies it to the individual sinner;
8
D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary : 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. /
Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press,
1994), Ps 2:1.
9
H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ps 2:10-12.

Psalms 2
31 wanderean ©2024
2:12 to the rebellious nations), and both psalms use the word
meditate (translated “imagine” in 2:1). We have the right kind of
meditation in 1:2 and the wrong kind in 2:1. The twelve verses
of Ps. 2 may be divided into four sections of three verses each,
and in each section we can hear a different voice.10
Psalms 2
Rebels unite, but the Son will reign. National leaders throughout
history have rebelled against God and promoted ungodliness, but
God merely laughs at their feeble attempts to defeat him (2:1–
4). Meanwhile, he has set in motion his plan to give all kingdoms
of the earth to his Son (2:5–9; see Heb. 1:5–9, which applies it
to Christ). Those kings who choose to honor the Son will be
blessed; those who reject him will perish (2:10–12; see Joel 3:9–
11; Zech. 14:2; Rev. 6:15–17; 17:14).11
10
Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Ps 2:1.
11
H. L. Willmington, Willmington's Bible Handbook (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 307.

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