Psalms 2:4-12

4 He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord [a] shall have them in derision.
5 Then will he speak to them in his anger, and in his fierce displeasure will he terrify them:
6 And *I* have anointed [b] my king upon Zion, the hill of my holiness.
7 I will declare the decree: Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; *I* this day have begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I will give thee nations for an inheritance, and for thy possession the ends of the earth: [c]
9 Thou shalt break them with a sceptre [d] of iron, as a potter's vessel thou shalt dash them in pieces.
10 And now, O kings, be ye wise, [e] be admonished, ye judges of the earth.
11 Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, though his anger burn but a little. Blessed are all who have their trust in him.

Psalms 2:4-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 2

This psalm is the second in order, and so it is called in Ac 13:33; which shows that the book of Psalms was in the same form in the apostles' days as now, and as it ever had been; and though it is without a title, yet certain it is that it is a psalm of David, since the twelve apostles of Christ with one voice ascribe it to him, in which no doubt they the generally received sense of the Jewish Ac 4:24,25; and the Messiah is the subject of and that it is a prophecy concerning him, his person, office, and kingdom, appears from the express mention of the Lord's Anointed, or Messiah, in his being set as King over Zion, notwithstanding the opposition made against him; from the person spoken of being called the Son of God, and that in such sense as angels and men are not, and therefore cannot belong to any creature; and from his having so large an inheritance, and such power over the Heathen; and from the reverence, service, and obedience due to him from the kings and judges of the earth; and from the trust and confidence which is to be put in him, which ought not to be placed but in a divine Person; and more especially this appears from several passages cited out of it in the New Testament, and applied to the Messiah, \Ac 4:25-27 13:33 Heb 1:5 5:5\, to which may be added, that the ancient Jewish doctors interpreted this psalm of the Messiah {s}; and some of the modern ones own that it may be understood either of David or of the Messiah, and that some things are clearer of the Messiah than of David {t}; and some particular passages in it are applied to him both by ancient and later writers among the Jews, as Ps 2:1,2, "Why do the Heathen rage" {u}; Ps 2:6, "I have set" {w}; Ps 2:7, "I will declare the decree", &c. {x}, and Ps 2:8, "Ask of me" {y}; and we may very safely interpret the whole of him.

{s} Jarchi in loc. {t} Kimchi in v. 12. & Aben Ezra in v. 6. 12. {u} T. Bab. Avodah Zarah, fol. 3. 2. Pirke Eliezer, c. 19. {w} R. Saadiah Gaon in Dan. vii. 13. {x} Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 90. 2. Zohar in Numb. fol. 82. 2. Maimon in Misn Sanhedrin, c. 11. 1. & Abarbinel Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 37. 4. &. 38. 1. {y} T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 1. & Bereshit Rabba, s. 44. fol. 38. 4.

Footnotes 7

  • [a]. Adonai.
  • [b]. Or 'installed:' see Prov. 8.23.
  • [c]. Erets, 'land,' but the plural 'ends' seems to involve the meaning 'earth:' see 1Sam. 2.8,10; Ps. 72.8; Isa. 49.6; Acts 13.47.
  • [d]. Or 'rod:' see Gen. 49.10.
  • [e]. Or 'consider well.'
  • [f]. Or 'for soon his anger burneth.'
  • [g]. 'Take refuge,' as Ps. 61.4: same root word as 'refuge,' in Ps. 14.6, &c., and 'trust' in 2Sam. 22.3.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.