Study notes

Psalms 2

Introducing PsalmsWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

1:1–2:12

The first two psalms serve as an introduction to the whole book of Psalms (called the Psalter). Psalm 1 presents the Lord's guidance in wisdom, while Psalm 2 shows God's rule over a rebellious and sinful world. Together, these psalms invite people to abandon foolishness, which leads to destruction. These psalms invite people to follow God's path instead, which leads to wisdom and salvation. The New Testament confirms that God will govern the nations through Jesus Christ, his chosen representative (Hebrews 1:5; Revelation 12:5; 19:15).

2:1–3

Their useless paths lead to death (Psalm 1:4, 6), but sinful human beings join together to oppose the true God and his Messiah.

2:1–12

This royal psalm describes the Lord choosing a king descended from David. It celebrates the mission of all the kings in David's family line. It also introduces the hope of an ideal ruler. This ruler will accomplish the Lord's goal of bringing all nations into submission (Psalm 2:11) or to destruction (2:9). The New Testament identifies Jesus as this descendant (see Acts 13:33; 1 Corinthians 15:25–27; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5; Revelation 19:15).

2:1–12 Section

Psalm 2 is a poem for nations. It’s about God’s blessings and promises. It’s also about the king God set apart to rule over the nations.

Psalm 2 describes two ways that nations can choose to live. One way is to respect God and to serve him. This is the wise choice and is the way that nations live well. Choosing this way means that nations do what God wants done. Their leaders obey God and recognise that God is the ruler who has complete authority. They recognise that only God has the power to keep their nation safe. God wants all nations and all people groups to follow him. All nations who choose to follow him are blessed.

The other way of living is to refuse to obey God. This leads to nations being judged and destroyed. Choosing this way means that the nations don’t accept God’s authority or follow his commands. Instead, they do evil things. This makes God angry. These nations don’t obey the king that God appointed. God called himself the father of this king. In this way the king was considered to be the son of God. God gave this king authority over all nations.

The Israelites understood that the psalm was talking about God’s covenant with David. It was talking about kings from the family line of David. Psalm 72 described what kind of rulers these kings should be. They should judge fairly and do what was right. They should punish those who did evil. Kings from David’s family line ruled in Jerusalem.

Psalm 2 talks about God’s holy mountain of Zion. Zion was another name for Jerusalem. It was holy because the temple was there. But the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. After that, no more kings from David’s family line ruled.

So the Jews came to understand Psalm 2 as a promise for a future time. They were waiting for God to send a king who would rule as God’s son. They called this king the messiah. New Testament writers understood that Psalm 2 was a prophecy about Jesus. This was talked about in Matthew 3:17, Acts 4:23–26 and Acts 13:32–33.

2:2

The kings hate the Lord's established order in the world, so they want to be independent of him (see Psalm 36:4). They plan to dominate the Lord's people (Psalm 31:13; see 83:1–4). Their goal is to undermine the Lord's rule by overthrowing his Anointed One (or his Messiah).

The Lord chose the kings of David's family line to establish his kingdom on earth. The New Testament confirms that Jesus, the appointed and anointed Son of God (Acts 4:26; 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5), fulfills the role in which these earlier kings failed.

2:4

enthroned in heaven: The Lord's position in the universe is so secure that he laughs at humans who claim they can oppose his power and authority (see Psalms 3 7:13; 59:8).

2:4–6

The Lord sees the human threat as unimportant. He offered a solution long before they rebelled. He will stop their unrest by appointing a human leader, a descendant of David, to rule the nations.

2:6

My King: The Lord himself appoints and establishes his anointed ruler. The word anointed means chosen and set apart by God for a special purpose.

2:7

today I have become Your Father: In the ancient Near East, people often believed in a father-son relationship between gods and kings.

In Israel, the Lord adopted kings as his sons. God set David apart as his most excellent and exalted son (Psalm 89:27). All descendants of David were the Lord’s representatives or agents.

Jesus is an eternal member of the Godhead (the one God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; John 1:1). He is also a descendant of David (Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5). Because he is both eternal and from David's family, Jesus uniquely fulfills God’s plan. He is fully divine and truly human. For this reason, he is rightly called the Son of God.

2:7–9

The Lord adopted the king from David's family to conquer rebellious nations by force (see Psalm 89:26–27).

2:8

  • In the Old Testament, the relationship between the Lord and Israel’s king can be compared to a suzerain-vassal relationship. A suzerain was a great king. A vassal was a smaller king who served him.

    In this picture, the Lord is the great King. Israel’s king rules under his authority (see Deuteronomy Book Introduction, “Literary Form”). The Lord invites his anointed king to ask for what he needs (see Psalm 21:2, 4).

  • All nations will be subject to David's descendant, the Messiah.

2:10

The Lord is pleased when people submit to him and seek his protection. Wise people accept the Lord's correction and want to change.

2:11–12

  • rejoice: Leaders should accept the Son as their true and only King.

  • Kiss the Son: Kissing was an expression of submission (Hosea 13:2).

  • The Lord gives joy to those who fear him. To fear the Lord means to honor him, respect him, and obey him (Psalm 1:1–2). The Psalms also say that the Lord protects those who trust him (18:30; 34:22; 119:1–3).

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources