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Scripture Reading: Psa. 2
I. In our study of the Psalms, we need to realize that the spirit of the Bible is to exalt Christ — Col. 1:15-19:
А. The spirit of the Bible exalts the Christ ordained by God to have the first place in the old creation, in the new creation, in the Body of Christ, and in everything — Matt. 17:5; Col. 1:18.
B. Since Christ has the first place in all things, we must give Him the first place in our being and in all that we do — v. 18; Rev. 2:4.
C. Psalm 2 is according to the divine concept of exalting Christ; in Psalm 2 Christ is exalted as the center of the economy of God.
II. Psalm 2 is God’s speaking, God’s declaration, God’s proclamation, concerning Christ as the center of His economy — vv. 6, 8:
А. The word economy is not in Psalm 2, but the revelation and reality of God’s economy are there.
B. The King and the kingdom in Psalm 2 show us the economy of God — vv. 6, 8-9:
1. For God to have a King is for the fulfilling of His economy — v. 6.
2. Christ’s kingdom will be a great kingdom of all the nations, covering the entire earth; His kingdom will be everywhere to include everyone — vv. 8-9; 22:28; Dan. 7:14.
C. Psalm 2 reveals the steps of Christ in God’s economy, beginning from His being anointed in eternity in His divinity (v. 2) and continuing with His resurrection (implying His death also — v. 7; cf. Acts 13:33), His ascension (Psa. 2:6), His setting up His universal kingdom (Rev. 11:15) with the nations as His inheritance and the ends of the earth as His possession (Psa. 2:8), and His ruling the nations with an iron rod (v. 9).
III. We need to see the divine revelation of Christ in God’s economy in Psalm 2:
А. Verses 1 through 3 predict the opposition of the world rulers to Christ; the fulfillment of these verses began with Herod and Pontius Pilate and will conclude with Antichrist — Acts 4:25-28; Rev. 19:19.
B. In Psalm 2:2 God came in to declare that Christ was His Anointed:
1. In His divinity Christ was anointed by God in eternity to be the Messiah — Christ — the anointed One — Dan. 9:26; John 1:41.
2. Christ came in His incarnation as the anointed One to accomplish God’s eternal plan — Luke 2:11; Matt. 1:16; 16:16.
3. In His humanity Christ was anointed again in time at His baptism for His ministry, mainly on the earth — 3:16-17; Luke 4:18-19; Heb. 1:9; Acts 10:38.
4. In His resurrection Christ became the life-giving Spirit for the purpose of being God’s Anointed, and in His ascension He was made both Lord and Christ, becoming God’s Anointed in an official way to carry out God’s commission, mainly in His heavenly ministry — 1 Cor. 15:45b; Acts 2:36.
C. Psalm 2:4-6 is God’s declaration concerning Christ:
1. In His ascension Christ was installed as God’s King for God’s kingdom — v. 6; Acts 5:31; Rev. 1:5a.
2. God proclaimed that He had installed Christ upon Mount Zion, not upon Mount Sinai — Heb. 12:18-22; Gal. 4:25-26:
a. Mount Sinai was the place where the law was given; Mount Zion in the heavens is the place where Christ is today in His ascension — Rev. 14:1; Psa. 68:15-16; Eph. 4:8.
b. The New Testament believers have come not to Mount Sinai but to Mount Zion, where we have the church, the Body of Christ, and God’s economy for God’s testimony — Heb. 12:18-24.
c. Mount Sinai produces children of slavery under the law, but our mother, the Jerusalem above, which is in the heavens at Mount Zion, produces children of promise who inherit the promised blessing — the all-inclusive Spirit — Gal. 4:24-26, 28; 3:14.
D. Psalm 2:7-9 is the declaration of Christ Himself:
1. Verse 7 is quoted by the apostle Paul in Acts 13:33, indicating that Psalm 2:7 refers to Christ’s resurrection.
2. After being cut off, crucified (Dan. 9:26), Christ, God’s anointed One, was resurrected to be begotten in His humanity as the firstborn Son of God — Psa. 2:7; Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:3-4; 8:29; Heb. 1:5-6:
a. Today in Psalm 2:7 is the day of Christ’s resurrection.
b. By resurrection Christ brought His humanity into the divine sonship and was designated the Son of God with His humanity; His resurrection was His birth as God’s firstborn Son — Rom. 1:3-4; 8:29; Acts 13:33:
1) Before His incarnation Christ already was the Son of God, the only begotten Son — John 1:18; Rom. 8:3.
2) By incarnation Christ put on an element, the human flesh, which had nothing to do with divinity; that part of Him needed to be sanctified and uplifted by passing through death and resurrection — John 1:14; Rom. 1:3-4.
3) By resurrection His human nature was sanctified, uplifted, and transformed; hence, by resurrection He was designated the Son of God with His humanity, and now, as the Son of God, He possesses humanity as well as divinity — Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5.
4) God is using such a Christ, the firstborn Son, as the producer and as the prototype, the model, to produce His many sons — Rom. 8:29.
a. Through the same resurrection all His believers were born with Him to be His many brothers, the many sons of God — John 20:17; 1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10.
3. Christ has been given the nations as His inheritance and the limits of the earth as His possession — Psa. 2:8; 72:8, 11; Rev. 11:15.
4. Christ will rule the nations in His kingdom with an iron rod — Psa. 2:9; Rev. 2:26-27; 19:15.
E. Psalm 2:10-12 is the preaching of the gospel:
1. These verses are a warning concerning the coming wrath of God and Christ upon the world:
a. One day Christ will come to execute His judgment in His wrath — v. 12; Rev. 6:15-17; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; 3:14; 1 Cor. 4:3-5.
b. In the New Testament the period in which Christ will come to execute His judgment in His wrath upon the world is called “the day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Thes. 5:2; 2 Thes. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10), which is also the day of God (v. 12; Joel 1:15).
2. We all need to realize that we are nothing and vanity (Psa. 39:4-5); our realizing that we are nothing, that our condition is sinful, and that our situation is one of vanity opens the way for Christ to crucify us and enter into us to replace us by living Himself through us and causing us to live together with Him in an organic union — Gal. 2:20.
3. To take refuge in the Son is to believe into the Son, Christ, taking Him as our refuge, protection, and hiding place, and to kiss the Son is to love the Son and thereby to enjoy Him — Psa. 2:12; John 3:16, 36:
a. To believe in the Lord is to receive Him, and to love the Lord is to enjoy Him — 1 Tim. 1:14.
b. The Gospel of John presents faith and love as the two requirements for us to participate in the Lord — 3:16; 14:23.
c. Through faith we receive the Lord, and through love we enjoy the Lord whom we have received — 1:12; 14:21, 23; 21:15-17; Eph. 6:23.
