While Psalm 1 showed us how worship of God means commitment to the Lord's teaching, Psalm 2 shows us that worship of God means commitment to the Lord's king. "Kingship" is an example of biblical typology - this is when a certain "type," usually a person or place or concept or event - get picked up and repeated throughout the Bible, often gaining added layers of meaning and significance as you move through redemptive history towards Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus Christ is the focal point for most of the Old Testament types.
This dynamic is at play in Psalm 2. At one level the psalm is talking about an Israelite king who comes from the line of Israel's most famous king, King David. Back in 2 Sam 7, God had made promises to David that falls along the lines of what we see here, namely that God would be committed to David and that he would establish his throne forever. Psalm 2 picks up on this promise and affirms that God will be committed to the Davidic king. However, there is a deeper layer of meaning to discern concerning who this Davidic king is and what he represents.
At the outset of the psalm there is a strong affirmation of God's power (Ps 2:1-6). The nations plot to defy God and his king, but this is utter madness. The Lord will establish his king and his reign and no one can oppose him. The Davidic king himself is in a special relationship with God. He has the status of God's Son (Ps 2:7). He then is to rule on behalf of God, as his representative in the world. And in being God's Son he is given the whole world as his inheritance (Ps 2:8-9). Quickly we realize here that this is an uncommon king and an uncommon reign. Up to now we have expected that God's promise pertained only to the nations surrounding Israel. However, this promise concerns a worldwide rule over a worldwide kingdom. There is a sense of power and authority with this king and his reign. He will make sure that the world will finally, once and for all, come under the Lord's undisputed rule.
The only right response to the Lord and his king then is submission (Ps 2:10-12). Submission means a true fear and reverence of the Lord. God is not Big Bird or Barney. God is someone who lays claim to all the world, and to go against him means being completely crushed. God is the best in the world when comes to demolishing opposition. So serve the Lord with fear!
Submission though also means delighting in and enjoying God. As v.11 makes clear, we are invited to rejoice! Joy comes when we have fearfully submitted to God and then realized that this Lord we serve is not an evil dictator but rather a good and just ruler who makes space in his kingdom for anyone who wants to take refuge and find security.
We have a choice then - know the Lord's anger by rejecting his rule or know the Lord's blessing by submitting to him with respect and joy. Sadly the natural human tendency is to resist. This is where the Lord's king comes into play. For the Davidic king who fulfills the hope and potential of Psalm 2 is Jesus. He is the one true and full Son of God, the anointed one who accomplishes what was long ago promised by God (cf Acts 4:24-27, Rev 19:15-16). Submitting to the Lord really means submitting to King Jesus. One day Jesus will forever and definitively establish the rule of the Lord on the earth. How we will experience that rule then will depend on how we accept his King now. To live for yourself now is to experience the death of yourself, a death that will last forever under the Lord's punishment. But to die to yourself now, to submit to Jesus as the Lord's Son and King and thus to submit to the Lord's rule, is to come even now under divine blessing, with the promise of seeing it fully realized then.
What are your thoughts as you read through Psalm 2?
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