This Psalm is commonly labeled a ‘royal psalm’, implying it was written about the Israelite monarchy. But as we’ll see, it clearly speaks as well of the ultimate monarch - our King Jesus! Let’s work our way through it.
Verse 1. nations - this is actually the word for Gentile. peoples - the masses. plot - meditate. There is that word, meditate, again, just like from Psalm 1. While the righteous one meditates on God’s Word, the enemies of God meditate on or plot rebellion. The tone of this Psalm is one of astonishment. We could read it like, ‘What in the world are they thinking? Why do they even bother?‘
Verse 2. Rulers - people with authority, but below the rank of kings. Anointed One - the Hebrew for Messiah. There is always warfare between the world and the church, between Jesus and his enemies. The believers quote this verse in Acts 4:26, after being released from prison for preaching about Jesus. They were living the fulfillment of this verse - speaking of Herod and Pilate.
Verse 3. chains or fetters - These refer to the manner the yoke of a cart or plow was placed on the necks of animals. Violently the people reject the ‘yoke‘ of God’s kingship. The wicked feel his kingship to be a restraint, and want to be free of it. But we, his sheep, know his yoke to be easy and his burden light.
Verse 4. It is futile to try to escape the rule of God, and he laughs at the attempts. We will all obey him - either willingly or unwillingly.
Verses 5 - 6. God tolerates no competition, opposition, or apathy. He has set his King on Zion, the place where the Davidic king ruled, God’s chosen dwelling place. The Psalmist speaks here of the Israelite king, but clearly points to the ultimate king.
Verse 7. Here the Messiah speaks. In terms of the earthly, Davidic king, the phrase used here may have been a part of a coronation rite, to mark the day when the new sovereign took up his titles. In reference to the true King, the Messiah, the ‘day’ probably means the moment that he started his redemptive work.
Verses 8-9. The new king will rule all things. Verse 9 may seem severe, and like words that could not describe the kind and mild rule of Christ. But as the Pulpit Commentary tells us, “the objectors forget that there is a severe, as well as mild, side to the dealings of God with his human creatures. As the appointed Judge of men, he takes vengeance on the wicked, while he rewards the righteous.”
Verses 10-11. The wise king submits to God’s ultimate ruler.
Verse 12. kiss the son - pay him homage. It may sound here like a touchy tryant, but the wrath of Jesus was quick against wrongs like the turning of the temple into a marketplace. As the commentator writes, “God’s patience is not placidity, any more than his fierce anger is loss of control, His laughter cruelty or His pity sentimentality. When His moment comes for judgment, in any given case, it will be by definition beyond appeasing or postponing.”
Blessed - This is the same word that was used at the beginning of Psalm 1 - ‘happy’. The only true happiness, in the midst of this powerful and unrelenting King, is to take refuge in him. What the wicked interpret as bondage at the beginning of this Psalm - the king’s yoke - is actually security and happiness.
Imagine the power of this God. He laughs at rebellion, places his own king exactly where he wants him, gives him rule and dominion over all things, and allows him to utterly destroy anyone or anything that rebels. And yet there is a refuge from his terrible power, in his love and in submission to his rule. THIS is the true picture of Jesus - not just the soft, European - looking unworked man holding a sheep, but a king of immeasurable power, strong, alive, put in place by God himself, fiercely loving and compassionate. He is beautiful, honorable, worthy.
Food for thought:
- How do you react to the power exerted by the king/Messiah in this Psalm? Are you awed? Annoyed? Scared?
- How would holding this picture in your mind affect the way you worship this week, pray this week, use your words this week?
Sources: See 'Intro' and add: hebrew4christians.com and Rabbi Benjamin J. Segal, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies at psalms.schechter.edu
Things that struck my heart:
ReplyDeleteI found verses 4-6 comforting, for the exact reason you spoke of that God is not passive or weak. These verses are a window into His mind (I love that He laughs) about how He will use His wrath to judge all the awful things that take place, as well as a clear picture that Jesus' place as the Son of God will not be taken away or removed. That Jesus, the One we hide in, God sets on His "holy hill" and puts "all things under His feet" Eph. 1: 22. This is a strange comfort, or a comfort only because I am hidden from that wrath.
Verse 11 is where my heart is praying and wanting to understand. I want to know what it looks like to serve Him "in fear" (the healthy kind) and to "rejoice with trembling". These things seem opposite to me. So I am praying for understanding.
There seem to be several paradoxes in this chapter. I know God is God and what He is like is nothing like what we are like, but it's hard for me to grasp such seemingly different attributes of Him: wrathful, fearful, terrifying God, yet gentle with the Son; giving the nations as a heritage, yet destroying them; kiss the Son (indicating close proximity) yet serve the Lord with fear (indicating distance), take refuge in him, yet know that his wrath is quickly kindled.
ReplyDeleteSome of those still don't make sense to me, but a few make more sense after studying it more. God is wrathful and terrifying in his fury towards those who plot against him, or like you said, who are in competition, opposition, or apathetic towards him. Jesus obviously is not.
Kissing the son didn't make sense to me. It seemed in-authentic. Pay him homage just so he doesn't destroy me? That sounds like living a life of fear, scared that he's going to destroy me at any second, so I do whatever I can to try and avoid that. I didn't like that. I knew I wasn't understanding it right. When I looked at other passages that have that same root word, it seems authentic and more an indication of loyalty than closeness or sucking up: Jacob kissing Rachel in thankfulness that he found a wife, Laban kissing his daughters before they left home, Joseph kissing his father when he finally sees him again, 7000 in Israel who hadn't kissed Baal (1 Kings 19), and Orpah kissing her mother-in-law Ruth. The one that helped me understand the most was Hosea 13:2. "And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the world of craftsmen. It is said of them,'Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!'" Those people were loyal to idols - they kissed calves. So going back to Ps 2, then, that makes a lot more sense. Be wise, the psalmist is saying. Make sure you are loyal to the right side from the beginning. Don't wait to decide your loyalties, because God is a just and righteous God, and he doesn't overlook his enemies. And really, ultimately, He is the one who calls us to himself, who decides our loyalty for us, in a way: "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." June 24-25
Rachel - very helpful, the whole 'kissing' study you did. And about the paradoxes, I feel like the latter 20th century church failed in a lot of ways, especially in the last 20 years, to present the whole picture of God. I mean, no one ever really presents an accurate picture, as we are finite people using language. BUT, it seems like, at least since I've been a Christian, there is a slant towards teaching on the tender mercies of God (which are wonderful) without teaching much about the wrath and power of God. The two stand in stark contrast to each other and it seems like heavily leaning on one side while neglecting the other presents an incomplete picture of who God is. The Bible certainly isn't quiet about God's anger and power.
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