Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against Yahweh and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
“But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”“I will surely tell of Yahweh’s decree:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship Yahweh with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
In the first Psalm we got a broad-stroke contrast between the righteous and the wicked, and we learned the necessity of being counted among the congregation of the righteous. In the second Psalm we step back from the pictures of individuals, and even assemblies, to view the cosmic reality that undergirds the urgent lesson of the first. God has promised to give the whole world to His Anointed One, His Messiah.
In this Psalm, we hear three different speakers and the Psalmist’s commentary on what they say. His comments begin and end the Psalm, and he begins with the futility of the nations’ resistance to God’s reign. “Why are the nations in an uproar?” Why do the kings of the earth plot and scheme together, as though they could overthrow the reign of the Creator God and His chosen Instrument? It’s a rhetorical question with an obvious implication: the earth’s rulers are impotent in the face of Yahweh and His Anointed. Nevertheless, in spiritual blindness they continue their plotting: “Let’s throw off their cords and break their shackles! We will do what we please.” The thought is the same as what we find in Jesus’ parable about the man who went to receive a kingdom for himself and then return; while he was gone, the people sent a delegation after him saying, “We will not have this man to rule over us” (Luke 19:14).
The next speaker we hear is Yahweh Himself, and we are told that as He reflects upon the indignant rebellion of the kings of the earth, He laughs them to scorn. Yahweh does not fear men, whom He made from the dust of the ground. Sadly, this story doesn’t end in laughter, but in fright and terror: “He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury.” His word to the kings of the earth is that He has installed His King (the Hebrew is emphatic there) at Zion. Similarly, the implication is that the nations are “a drop in the bucket” when compared with the great King whom Yahweh has appointed.
We then hear the third speaker – the Anointed Himself, whom we understand now to be Jesus Christ – claiming the relation of Sonship to Yahweh and relating what He was told by His Father. The nations are to be given to the Messiah for ownership, for judgment, for breaking and shattering. The Son will possess what the Father possesses, and the plans of the nations will fail at the end to deliver them from His everlasting reign.
The final word given by the Psalmist is a caution: “Get your world view straight! Yahweh reigns now, and His Anointed has been promised the nations as a gift.” They will not be able to throw off His chains in the end. If they are discerning, they will worship with reverence, rejoice with trembling, and give over entirely to the Son before His wrath is kindled.
And so ought we to do. Do we see Yahweh as presently reigning King, subduing enemies under His feet and handing over the nations to His Son? Do we have a proper vision of His majestic glory, his terrible wrath and fury, and his kind patience in turning people to Himself and His ways? Does our vision of the triune God, remarkably described in this Psalm, draw us to reverent and joyful worship?
If these things are true of us, we may be confident of the blessing promised at the conclusion for “all who take refuge in Him”! Do not be surprised that the rulers of the earth will not suffer Yahweh’s Messiah to rule over them. Do not fear them! In their resistance, they will fail; in His swift judgment, they will fall. See the big picture: Kiss the Son; be among the congregation of the righteous; and be there because the nations have been promised to Him who reigns over all and blesses His own.