Commentary - Psalm 2:1-3

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 2 is the quintessential political psalm. It sets the stage for the entire drama of redemption by depicting the fundamental conflict of all history: the united, global, and yet utterly futile rebellion of mankind against the authority of God and His Messiah. The psalm opens with a question born of divine astonishment at the sheer folly of this rebellion. It then identifies the conspirators, the kings and rulers of the earth, and their target, Yahweh and His Anointed. Their stated goal is to achieve absolute autonomy by throwing off the moral restraints of God's law, which they perceive as bondage. This psalm is a foundational text for a Christian understanding of history and politics, revealing that all human endeavors apart from Christ are ultimately a conspiracy against Him. The New Testament identifies the cross as the central fulfillment of this rebellion, yet the principle extends to every generation that refuses to bow the knee to King Jesus.

In short, this psalm is God's response to the perennial human declaration of independence. It frames the raging of the nations not as a legitimate threat, but as a pathetic tantrum. The question "Why?" that opens the psalm is not a request for information but a rhetorical expression of derision. The answer, which unfolds in the rest of the psalm, is that God laughs at them, has already installed His King, and will ultimately smash their rebellion with a rod of iron. This is the overture to the symphony of Christ's victorious reign.

Outline

Context In Psalms

The placement of Psalm 2 is profoundly significant. It immediately follows Psalm 1, and some ancient traditions even considered them a single unit. This pairing creates a stark and intentional contrast. Psalm 1 describes the blessed man, the individual who delights in the law of Yahweh, meditating on it day and night. He is like a tree planted by rivers of water, fruitful and stable. Psalm 2 then immediately pivots from this picture of individual righteousness to the global picture of corporate rebellion. The kings of the earth do not delight in God's law; they see it as fetters and cords. The blessed man meditates on God's law for life; the peoples meditate on a vain thing for their own destruction. Thus, the Psalter opens by presenting two ways: the way of submission to God's Word, which leads to life, and the way of rebellion against God's rule, which leads to ruin. Psalm 2, as a Royal Psalm, introduces the central character who will resolve this conflict: the Messiah, God's anointed King, who is Himself the ultimate blessed man of Psalm 1 and the one who will subdue the nations of Psalm 2.

Key Issues

The Great Global Tantrum

Before we dive into the particulars, we must recognize what this psalm is. This is the definitive statement on the politics of rebellion. All of human history outside of Christ is simply a series of footnotes to this passage. Every godless political philosophy, every secular revolution, every piece of legislation that defies the created order, is simply another iteration of the conspiracy described here. The United Nations General Assembly is, in its essence, a meeting of the men described in verse two. This is not hyperbole; it is the biblical diagnosis of the human condition. Man is in revolt against his Maker, and his politics are the primary expression of that revolt. But the central theme, which we must never forget, is the absolute futility of it all. It is a rebellion of toddlers in a playpen, shaking their fists at the sun. It is a great global tantrum, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Why do the nations rage And the peoples meditate on a vain thing?

The psalm opens with a question that drips with divine irony. The "Why" is not a request for a rational explanation, because there is no rational explanation for such cosmic treason. It is an expression of incredulity at the sheer absurdity of the enterprise. The word for nations is goyim, the Gentiles, the heathen. This is a global phenomenon. And what are they doing? They rage. The word suggests a tumultuous, noisy assembly, a chaotic uproar. They are making a lot of noise. And the peoples meditate on a vain thing. This is the same word for meditation used in Psalm 1, but the object is tragically different. The righteous man meditates on the life-giving law of God. These people apply their intellect, their strategic thinking, their political philosophy, to an object that is utterly vain, empty, and worthless. All their white papers, their five-year plans, their revolutionary manifestos, amount to a whole lot of intellectual effort expended on achieving precisely nothing.

2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against Yahweh and against His Anointed, saying,

This rebellion is not a grassroots movement of the disaffected. It is a conspiracy led from the top down. The kings of the earth and the rulers are the ones orchestrating it. This is the political and cultural establishment, setting themselves in battle array. They take counsel together. This is a deliberate, coordinated effort. Sinful humanity is not atomized; they are capable of uniting, but their unity is always found in a shared hostility to God. And the object of their hostility is explicit: it is Against Yahweh and against His Anointed. You cannot have one without the other. To reject the Son is to reject the Father who sent Him. The term "Anointed" is, in Hebrew, Mashiach, or Messiah. In Greek, it is Christos, or Christ. This is a direct reference to the Lord Jesus. The early church, filled with the Holy Spirit, understood this with perfect clarity. In Acts 4, they quote this very passage and apply it to the conspiracy of Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel in the crucifixion of Jesus. That event was the epicenter of this rebellion, the moment when the kings of the earth did their absolute worst. But the principle applies to all who reject the crown rights of King Jesus.

3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”

Here we have the rebel yell, the manifesto of fallen man. This is what the rage is all about. They see the moral government of God, His law, His commandments, His created order, as fetters and cords. They see divine rule as slavery. This is the primordial lie of the serpent in the Garden, now being broadcast from the halls of government, the lecture halls of universities, and the studios of Hollywood. The essence of sin is the ravenous desire for autonomy. Man wants to be his own god, determining for himself what is right and wrong. He does not want to be constrained by a transcendent moral law. He sees the liberty offered by Christ as bondage and the bondage of sin as liberty. So he resolves to "cast away their cords." This is a declaration of war on reality itself, and it is a war that the rebels are destined to lose in the most spectacular fashion.

Application

First, we must understand that this psalm is not describing a bygone era. It is describing this morning's news cycle. Every attempt to build a society without reference to Christ as King is an outworking of this rebellion. Every law that redefines marriage, every court ruling that denies the sanctity of life, every educational curriculum that teaches our children they are autonomous bags of protoplasm is another voice shouting, "Let us cast away their cords from us!"

Second, the manifest futility of this rebellion ought to be a source of immense confidence and joy for the believer. Our secularist opponents, for all their bluster and temporary power, are engaged in a "vain thing." Their rage is impotent. Their councils are a joke. God is not pacing nervously in heaven, wondering how He will deal with the latest resolution from the European Union. As the next verses tell us, He laughs at them. This should cure us of all political anxiety. Our King is already enthroned.

Finally, this psalm defines the central issue for us. The world sees God's law as bondage. The Christian, the blessed man of Psalm 1, delights in that same law and finds it to be the path of true freedom. The only solution to the global tantrum is the gospel of grace. The good news is that the Anointed One, whom the rulers of the earth conspired to kill, was raised from the dead and has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He now offers a full pardon to all rebels who will lay down their arms, abandon their vain imaginations, and bow the knee to Him in faith. Our task as the church is to be the embassy of this great King, proclaiming His victory and announcing His terms of peace to a raging but defeated world. We must call everyone, from the common man to the civil magistrate, to abandon their futile rebellion and "kiss the Son."