“Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail? The kings of the earth form a united front; the rulers collaborate against the Lord and his anointed king. They say, “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! Let’s free ourselves from their ropes!” The one enthroned in heaven laughs in disgust; the Lord taunts them. Then he angrily speaks to them and terrifies them in his rage, saying, “I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.” The king says, “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ‘You are my son! This very day I have become your father! Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property. You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! Serve the Lord in fear! Repent in terror! Give sincere homage! Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him!”
— Psalms 2:1-12
Mark Futato, Interpreting the Psalms, is one of my most important “go-to” resources for understanding this book. I know there’s hundreds of fantastic books on Psalms and/or commentaries, but this is a small resource to have handy when working through them.
He was one of the first to point out for me the structure of the book. Psalm 1-2 are introductory, with Psalm 1 giving the “why” (wisdom) and Psalm 2 giving the what (submission to the king). The rest of the book does have the 5 books of the Psalms, showing Israel’s history loosely, ending with the praises/doxologies.
We can visualize a battlefield or a large area where multitudes of people are shaking fists, beating shields, yelling in defiance of the king. They devise schemes to perform a coup against him and want to be free from his reign. There’s only one problem: rebelling against the king is rejecting YHWH’s rule as well. YHWH as established the king over this designated territory.
I would assume this is the all the land promised to David and Solomon in their respective covenants. This was at the height of the Israeli empire. Didn’t last long. Would also need more information on how Israel treated her conquered enemies. At least not as bad as Assyria, and of course, we would need to read all records through ancient eyes.
The point of this Psalm, though, is for God to defend his anointed king. The essential thought here is that “son” “God’s son” “son of God” comes from Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7. It refers to the king of Israel, and was passed down the Messianic line. This is not foreign to the culture, as Egyptian Pharaohs were pretty much divine. Son of God is not a divine title, per se, but it does show that God is with the king, blessing the king, has chosen the king, will defend the king.
“This very day” has hints of this being a coronation psalm. This song was probably sung for every rising king.
I will give you the nations, rule with iron scepter. God’s reign through these kings was to defend justice and righteousness. The king had a serious responsibility to uphold the status of God’s people in the world. The wisdom of Psalm 1 began with the king and worked through the people.
The call for the nations is to submit. By yielding to the king, they would show submission to the true God. Otherwise, their own destruction would come. Rebellion led nowhere quickly.
“Blessing” points back to Ps 1:1, where wisdom is obedience. Here, obedience leads to refuge. Futato does a great job of showing how several Psalms link these ideas in alternating songs.
Yes, of course, Jesus brought an initial form of the kingdom. He is the ultimate king of Israel/Messiah, and the unique Son of God who truly is divine. Blessing and wisdom come from yielding to His reign. But we must work through original meaning to follow the trajectory until He comes in pattern fulfillment.
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