Psalm 2: Yahweh Reigns

     My sister kindly agreed to share her structure of Psalm 2. I am so thankful for her quick insight into poetry and for her skills in seeing the Gospel no matter what passage she teaches from. I gleaned so much from her study of this passage and found it so helpful in how to break it down for my children (and let's be honest - for myself too). Thanks, Alyssa!

This is a longer Psalm, so try to discipline yourself to do two verses a day. Don't worry, we will have Psalm 23 soon to use as a catch up week.

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations rage 
and the peoples plot in vain?
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 burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us."

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 "As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill."

7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 you shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Though it doesn’t seem like it upon first glance, Psalm 2 really is a great companion Psalm to Psalm 1.  It builds on the first Psalm, showing two ways to live.  We see two types of rulers in this Psalm, each demonstrating either the way of the wicked or the way of the righteous.  

The Psalmist uses the poetic device of parallelism in this Psalm, meaning that the verses are generally arranged in couplets (two lines) and the second line reinforces or intensifies the first.  To find how to divide the Psalm in a logical and helpful way, we use location and subject matter.  A form I found helpful is as follows:

Vs 1-3  The Folly of Rulers on Earth

Vs 4-6 The Wrath of God in Heave

Vs 7-9 The Favor from God to His Son

Vs 10-12 The Warning from God to His Subjects

In verses 1-3, we see that the rulers on earth want nothing to do with God.  We see images of bursting bonds and casting away cords.  4-6 The image of the Lord sitting in heaven shows us we have moved locations from earth to the Sovereign Lord’s throne room and viewpoint.  Verses 7-9 give a promise and use vivid imagery to show the strength of the Son as King.  In verses 10-12 we have returned to the rulers on earth and hear the warning given to them.  If they do not show submission to the Son as Ruler (instruction given by that memorable phrase “Kiss the Son”) then they will perish in God’s wrath.  

This Psalm brings up questions—who are the rulers?  Who is the Son?  We look to the context to provide answers to these questions.  As part of the first book of Psalms, this Psalm is linked with Genesis.  All throughout Genesis we see individuals and nations plotting to try to be the ultimate authority and not put themselves under God’s rule: Adam & Eve, Cain, those in Noah’s day, those building the Tower of Babel, Sodom & Gomorrah.  God, however, continues to unveil his plan of sending the perfect Ruler.  Verse 8 continues the promise made to Abraham of all nations being blessed through him.   This Psalm also has immediate context with David.  He was God’s anointed King and others plotted against his life.  The next Psalm (Psalm 3) is a prayer of David as he is being plotted against by other rulers and people.  So. . .is this Son David?  Are the rulers those against him?  Well, yes and no.  It certainly is David, but It isn’t ONLY David.  

The key word in this Psalm is in verse 2.  “Anointed.”  We must always pay close attention to this word in the Old Testament as it is the same word as “Messiah” or “Christ”.  In fact, this Psalm is the first of a group of Psalms that we call “Messianic Psalms.”  While this Psalm certainly describes David’s life, it can only find its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the only one who can give blessing if you take refuge in Him (vs 12).  God did give David the ends of the earth as his possession and set him in Zion forever, but only through his great-great-great, etc. grandson Jesus Christ.  

So through this structure and context we find the main idea of the entire Psalm.  Yahweh reigns and will set His Son as King over all nations, and those who rebel will receive His wrath.  As we memorize and explain this (if applicable) to those we are helping we need to keep this idea in our mind.  We also must remember to find our way to the Gospel.  Jesus Christ came to Zion as king, though not as the Jews were expecting.  Verse 7 was quoted at Jesus’ baptism (Luke 3:22), which was part of Jesus fulfilling all righteousness as Abraham’s Seed.  Verses 7 & 9 are quoted by Paul in preaching the gospel (Acts 13:33 & Rom 1:4&5).  Rulers plotted against Christ, with the ultimate plot being that of the cross.  When Christ died, He bought back as His possession those from all nations who will believe.  Those who don’t show their allegiance to Christ will perish under God’s wrath over their rebellion against the true King, BUT we who do take refuge can rejoice because Jesus Christ Himself bore God’s wrath that we ourselves deserved.

   

Tips, Tricks and Songs

• Google Psalms coloring pages. (Pinterest would also be helpful). I am going to have a piece of art or something for my children to color for each Psalm. This will use another sense to help them remember, and it will also help Scripture to be tangible for them

• If you are the artistic sort (I envy you), try drawing each Psalm or writing it out in calligraphy to help you remember and understand it

• hymnary.org will be your friend. Search for Psalm 1, and you will find several texts to sing

• Consider buying The Book of Psalms for Worship. I believe you can purchase a version that is downloadable for an iPad (2B or 2D is my preferred tunes for this week since they are in minor key) -this just helps get the words/emphasis of the Psalm in your brain using music. This will help you retain the meaning better. 
• Handel's set this text to music in his Messiah. 
• Most things on youtube ... not so great. I would encourage you to make up melodies as you go to sing with your children. I will be singing many spontaneously as we go over the next few years ... remember you aren't trying to compose but simply to help you internalize and remember the Law of the YAHWEH. 
• Use technology to help you memorize (if that does help you) - I am using the Bible memory app and have a group Committed to 150 that you can join. This app sets up review and uses different ways to help you remember the verses. I am still figuring it out, because I tend to just memorize as I work on it with the children. This is a good way to keep track of what you have done and to set up review.