The gospel in the Old Testament: Psalm 2
The Old Testament contains a multitude of prophecies, allusions, and types of Christ, and His death and resurrection. Many Christians are familiar with the stunning detail of Psalm 22, the melancholy beauty of Isaiah 53, and the obvious typology of the Passover.
But one (literally) messianic passage that doesn’t get the press of those texts is Psalm 2. It should get more attention, because the second psalm is not only confirmed multiple times in the New Testament as fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but its structure illustrates an amazing progression from His death to His resurrection to His second coming. And, it ends with a gospel call.
Let’s look at it section by section:
Crucifixion
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
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 break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
The first two verses are quoted in Acts 4:25-26, as the disciples are praying following the release of Peter and John by the Sanhedrin:
“Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.”
The word “Christ” is the anglicized Greek translation of “Anointed,” the Hebrew word mashiach. The disciples are recognizing that their persecution stems from the world’s opposition to Christ — as Jesus said it would (John 15:18-21). In the next couple of verses of their prayer, they state how “the rulers were gathered together” against Christ:
27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.”
Herod and Pilate, Jews and Gentiles, united to put Christ to death. They took counsel together against Him. The first section of Psalm 2 is explicitly fulfilled in the crucifixion.
Also notice how Acts 4:28 adds a touch of irony to Psalm 2:3. The rulers are rebelling against the Lord’s “bonds” and “cords,” but the culmination of their rebellion was itself predetermined as the Lord’s purpose. Their attempt to cast away the Lord’s sovereign control of them instead fulfilled it.
They celebrated His execution, but even when Jesus was dead in the tomb, the Lord laughed, verse 4 says. Everything was playing out according to His plan and His orchestration. That wasn’t the end, but only the beginning.
Resurrection
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Verse 7 is also quoted in Acts, in chapter 13. Paul is preaching in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, and he quotes a string of Scriptures to his Jewish audience to support his claim that God raised Jesus from the dead. In verse 33 he says, “As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’”
How is Christ’s resurrection a begetting? Wasn’t Jesus already “begotten” (John 3:16)? The answer is in verse 6 of the psalm: “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” The resurrection — which took place in the city of Zion, Jerusalem — was the Father’s vindication and exaltation of the Son as the promised Heir to the throne of David; another Scripture Paul quoted was “I will give you the sure mercies of David” (from Isaiah 55:3). It was God coronating His King and giving Him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18).
The resurrection was also God’s ultimate rebuke of those who crucified the Lord. It was an act of His displeasure and wrath (verse 5). As Jesus foretold in a parable (Mark 12:1-9), Jerusalem’s murder of its royal Heir resulted in its destruction within a generation. The Heir is now ruling from the right hand of the Father, and someday He will return in judgment on the world that still rejects Him, and take fully manifest possession of the earth. That’s what’s foretold in the next two verses of the psalm:
Second coming
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Verse 8 is often quoted today as an evangelistic rallying cry, as if we are asking the Lord to give us the nations. But no, this is the Father speaking to the Son, and it’s not evangelism; it’s wrath. The language of these verses is echoed in the depiction of Christ’s second coming in Revelation 19:15:
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
In both passages, the Son judges the world with a rod of iron. It’s the climax of the psalm and the Lord’s spectacular victory over the raging nations of the earth, whose rebellion against Him was described in the early verses.
But that’s not the end of the Lord’s message to the world. Warnings of judgment have a loving purpose; they’re a call to avoid that judgment. The bad news is followed by good news. The frightening description of the Son’s wrath is followed by a ray of hope and a way of redemption:
Call to salvation
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges 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,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Verse 10 addresses the world leaders who are in rebellion against the Lord. It’s not a final verdict or blanket condemnation; it’s a stunning show of grace and mercy, freely given. Despite their treason against the King of the universe, there’s a way to not be broken with His rod and dashed to pieces. There’s even a path to blessing and rejoicing!
The King who would be their executioner is also their salvation. The Son they gathered against is inviting them into a relationship with Him. Kiss Him, the psalmist urges; love Him, adore Him, worship Him, follow Him. This isn’t a vindictive conquest into a yoke of harsh slavery, or a list of works to pay off a debt; it’s a plea to place your trust in the Son for the blessing of eternal life. That’s what all of the Bible’s calls to believe in Him mean — trust in Him alone. The language of verse 12, as with “begotten,” is echoed in the most famous verse of all: “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 tells us that this call is made out of the Lord’s love for His enemies.
This is the gospel, in Psalm 2. This is what the apostles preached in the book of Acts: Jesus is Lord, you killed Him, He rose from the dead, He is coming in judgment — trust in Him to be saved! That’s what next week’s article will cover.
Don’t you ever tell me to unhitch from the Old Testament.
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