Psalm 2 English Standard Version

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

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.

Communication resides between speaker and listener, transference of understanding with purpose. Matthew Henry said this of Psalm 2: “the primary intention and scope of the psalm; and I think there is less in it of the type, and more of the anti-type, than in any of the gospel psalms, for there is nothing in it but what is applicable to Christ, but some things that are not at all applicable to David.” 

This Matthew Henry quote is given for one and only one purpose, to hi-lite two words “I think”.

The intent and purpose of this Psalm was given by God the author with purpose.

During the time between its writing and the birth of Christ there have been many teachers of the law that have given their opinions on the meaning of this Psalm. It is only what they think.

At the time of Christ and assuming that the people were being told about the possibility of the coming Messiah it is no wonder that they might have been taught and expected a Messiah that fit verse 5 i.e. wrath.

We may have conversations with others about this Psalm and what we think. How we communicate our opinion has three issues to consider. The first is what we have been taught, the second is history, be it fact or fiction, and the third is the most important, what do the scriptures tell us by faith?

Psalm 1 English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

This is very old school but it is still as true today as it was then. So what changed?

We did.

Old Testament dependency was based on doing right. Obedience was a blessing and failure resulted in consequences. They still do but the consequences changed after Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. The consequence of disobedience is no longer eternal death.

The biggest change has happened since Christ sent the Holy Spirit to us to tell us the meaning behind everything that is the Word of God. That is not what is taught by man’s understanding but rather by the Spirit of Truth who does no lie to us.

This is not to say that teachers lie to us even though some do. It is about reliance on the Holy Spirit to affirm truth when we hear it from others. Do we hear our teachers correctly all the time? If their style of communication is unclear we might not receive a confirmation from the Spirit. That does not give us the right to say “Teacher you are wrong!”

Clarity in communication is our responsibility to ask for clarification. “What does that mean?”

Clear communication is essential in all relationships.