When we read Psalm Two from this side of the cross, all we can see is the Messianic imagery. We forget that this is a psalm of David (Acts 4:25), written in the first person. It has been suggested that David wrote it for his coronation or his conquering of Jerusalem as his capital. David is the one called the son of God and the one promised rule over the nations. Considering his career as a conqueror, God kept that promise. David is the one referred to as the Lord's Anointed (Messiah) which is correct as he was chosen by God and anointed by God's prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 16). In like manner, David often referred to Saul as the Lord's anointed. As the nations raged against God, His anointed, and His plans, David writes of God laughing in His majesty. The near fulfilment of this psalm is the reign of David over Israel and the establishment of his kingdom.
But like most of the reign of David, this psalm foreshadows the coming Messiah. It is easy to see the begotten Son of God establishing a kingdom which reached the ends of the earth (Dan. 2) and ruling absolutely. What is interesting are the many uses of the psalm in the New Testament.
Mark 1:11 "And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'" The opening of God's statement here quotes nearly verbatim the statement in Ps. 2:7. It seems as if God is not merely acknowledging Jesus as His son audibly from heaven (if "merely" can even be used of such a thing!), but in choosing that phrasing He intentionally calls to mind all the promises to the Son in Psalm 2.
Acts 13:30-33 "But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’" Paul teaches that the Resurrection was the ultimate declaration of the Sonship of Jesus. The "today" in which the Son was inarguably declared to be the only begotten was that Sunday during which the women were shocked to find an empty tomb. Upon that day, then, the fulness of the promises to the Son in Psalm two would begin to be fulfilled: a kingdom established and rule provided, which is exactly what we see in Matt. 28 and Acts 2.
Heb. 1:5 "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'"? In referring to Psalm Two, Jesus is declared better than the angels. Jesus is the better messenger bringing the better message, proved by the prophecy of Psalm 2.
Heb. 5:5-6 "So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'; as he says also in another place, 'You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.'" The one declared to be God's High Priest is the one declared to be Son in Psalm Two. How could we possibly have a better priest than the Son of God?
Acts 4:23-30 "When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” The Apostles, having been arrested and then threatened because they were teaching the Gospel, prayed for boldness while referencing Psalm Two. It is clear from their prayer that they saw the crucifixion of Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of Ps. 2:1-3 and deemed their current problems a continuation of that same attack by worldly forces (Ward, Our Eyes Are On You, pg. 224). If one compares the people mentioned in the prayer to the quotation a surprise awaits. David says it is the "Gentiles, peoples and kings of the earth" opposing the Lord's Anointed. The Apostles equate that to Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles "and the peoples of Israel". Lumping Israelites in with the heathen to fulfil what David called the nations/Gentiles is a clear teaching that "not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel." Instead, only those believing in Jesus were now of the Kingdom of God, a thought originating in Psalm 2. (Rom. 9:6)
Rev. 2:26-27 "The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father." This specifically references Jesus declaration in Psalm two that the conquering Christian will share in His authority and power. The Psalm, long understood to be about the Messiah, the Messiah Himself says is about the glory of the citizens of the kingdom of Heaven!
Rev 11:18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” The opening phrase of the psalm is used to identify the Roman Empire as it stands against the church.
Rev 12:5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. Who was this male child? He was the one who ruled the nations with a rod of iron. According to psalm two, that is the Messiah!
Rev 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. Victory in Jesus!
As we look at the Messianic nature of Psalm two we see not merely a short mention of the Messiah and his kingdom, but also God's divine witness to the Sonship of Jesus, the proclamation of the Resurrection as Jesus' coronation day, the superiority of the Message and the Messenger, and the victory of the Church in Jesus over all tribulation and trial, even that of the great Roman Empire. Psalm two teaches that believers, not members of physical Israel, are the true citizens of the kingdom and that as we overcome for Jesus, He will share the glory promised Him in Psalm two with each and every one of us!
There are few passages referenced more often by New Testament writers than Psalm two, and even fewer whose references carry greater import.
Lucas Ward