God’s Viewpoint of Human History Whereas Psalm 1 is a sharp contrast between the godly man and the wicked, this Psalm is a sharp as a two-edged sword contrast between the rebellious disobedience of the nations against the sure victory of Christ’s eternal Kingdom and the sure exaltation of the Son of God. Whereas the first Psalm deals with the character of the godly man at his foundations, this second Psalm reveals the character of the Messiah, and thus lays this foundational principle: many Psalms point directly to the Person and Work of Messiah the Prince. This Psalm answers a number of important questions: Who is responsible for Christ’s death? What does it mean when God decrees, “This day have I begotten thee?” Or, what about, “Kiss the Son?” How is this Psalm quoted in the New Testament? This is the Second Psalm, and it is even called such in the New Testament. Acts 13:33: 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. It behooves us to keep these Psalms in their order. Psalm 2 gives an overview of the work of the Messiah and prophesies the key points of earth’s history, not from man’s vain and finite perspective, but from God’s eternal, high hill. Let’s consider four mountain peaks of the Messiah’s ministry from this powerful song.
Here we see what the nations of earth have done throughout history: they rage and imagine vanity against God. The kingdoms of man have historically been conspirators against the all wise governance of God. David sees a violent commotion of the nations against God’s rule. They are not meditating upon God’s Word, but they are meditating rebellion against God’s love and grace! Rage! This is the tumult of an angry mob, the snorting of angry horses, the conspiracy and plotting of sinister men against the rule of God. The heathen are raging against God and His Son, tossed to and fro like restless waves, as the ocean in a hurricane. Their rage leads them to vanity and folly in their attempt to utterly break apart His rule and commands, flippantly flinging away His authority! Against whom do they rage? Against the LORD and his anointed, The Messiah. What a sad picture of the historic hatred of the human race against the Christ and His God. This is not temporary hatred but a deep-seated rebellion. This is international insurrection against God. They want freedom to commit all manner of abomination. Man ever looks for a way to be free from God’s rules and restraints. The nations of earth seek to break the bands of God’s love and cast away the cords of God’s holiness! What is the fulfillment of this passage? No doubt, this is culminated in the rejection of the Messiah and His crucifixion. The rebellion of the nations reached its ultimate expression when the Messiah was crucified upon a rough and cruel cross. Acts 4:27,28 quote this passage as being fulfilled during the trial and death of our Lord Jesus when “both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.”
God laughs at the folly of rebellious man, because man is deceived with his strength and is blind to God’s omnipotence. How weak is man to thwart the Almighty! No matter how hard man may try, God’s triumph is sure: “Yet, have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion!” (Psalm 2:6) The word “set” means to be installed, and Proverbs 8:23 says that he is “set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. Here is God’s victory in spite of man’s best efforts. He will rule upon Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the City of the Great King. In verse seven, the Messiah Himself speaks. He speaks as one Risen from the dead, declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. God’s decree is in direct conflict with man’s deceitful devices. This day have I begotten thee! This has nothing to do with Jesus being created in a day of history, for Jesus is the eternal Son of God, but it speaks of Jesus rising from the dead. Paul quotes Psalm 2:7 and gives the divine stamp of interpretation in Acts 13:3. This is speaking not of Jesus’ incarnation but of Jesus’ resurrection. Acts 13:33: “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.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s word against all of man’s insurrection. Because Jesus rose again, He has all authority to give orders, (Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus shall reign, wherever the sun’s beam reaches. The same heathen, those Gentile nations that raged against Him will come to Him and sit under His rule! Yes, Jesus will govern the heathen and the uttermost parts of the earth will be His possession. All the world and all the nations of the world that rebelled against Him will submit to His rule. Here is His rule for a thousand years, and quoted in Revelation 2:26-29. It is prophesied in the following passages:
Jesus, who taught us to pray, “thy kingdom come” asks the Father to give him the nations, or the heathen, for an inheritance. The church will not Christianize the world and bring in the Kingdom, either through social or political efforts. Any attempt for the church to unite with the power of the state to bring Christ to the nations is doomed to failure and disaster. Charles H. Spurgeon wrote the following on the subject of Christ’s Kingdom, from his sermon on Psalm 2:8,9 wrote: “Yes, but that is not God’s way at all, nor the right and effectual way to set up a spiritual kingdom. Bribes and threats are alike unlawful, eloquence and carnal reasoning are out of court, the power of divine love is the one weapon for this campaign. Long ago the prophet wrote, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.’ The fact is that such conversions as could be brought about by physical force, or by mere mental energy, or by the prestige of rank and pomp, are not conversions at all. The kingdom of Christ is not a kingdom of this world, else would his servants fight; it rests on a spiritual basis, and is to be advanced by spiritual means. Yet Christ’s servants gradually slipped down into the notion that his kingdom was of this world, and could be upheld by human power. A Roman emperor professed to be converted, using a deep policy to settle himself upon the throne; then Christianity became the State-patronized religion: it seemed that the world was Christianized, whereas, indeed, the church was heathenized. Hence sprang the monster of a State-church, a conjunction ill-assorted, and fraught with untold ills. This incongruous thing is half human, half divine: as a theory it fascinates, as a fact it betrays; it promises to advance the truth, and is itself a negation of it. Under its influences a system of religion was fashioned, which beyond all false religions, and beyond even Atheism itself, is the greatest hindrance to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Under its influence dark ages lowered over the world; men were not permitted to think; a Bible could scarcely be found, and a preacher of the gospel, if found, was put to death. That was the result of human power coming in with the sword in one hand and the gospel in the other, and developing its pride of ecclesiastical power into a triple crown, an Inquisition, and an infallible Pope. This parasite, this canker, this incubus of the church will be removed by the grace of God, and by his providence in due season. The kings of the earth who have loved this unchaste system will grow weary of it and destroy it. Read Revelation 17:16, and see how terrible her end will be. The death of the system will come from those who gave it life: the powers of earth created the system, and they will in due time destroy it.”
Be wise! See life and the brief earthly power you possess from God’s point of view. Be instructed! Your service must be mingled with reverence: serve the LORD with fear, Your service ought to be with great joy and awe. Rejoice with trembling! Kiss the Son! Maintain love and loyalty, friendship and fellowship with Jesus for all eternity, for He is worthy to receive honor, glory, and praise forever! Psalm 2 tells the great mountain peaks of human history: the Messiah’s crucifixion, resurrection, exaltation, and eternal adoration! |