Psalm 2 is a royal psalm that affirms the Davidic covenant and looks forward to the reign of the Messiah, the ultimate Davidic king. This Psalm is attributed to David in Acts 4:25.
The psalm begins by picturing vain attempts of the nations to oppose God and his anointed king (opposition to one means opposition to the other). "Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?", verse 1 asks. The word for "plot" is from the same root as "meditate". Psalm 1:2 says that the wise meditate on God's instruction. Psalm 2:1 says that the foolish meditate on how to oppose God.
Such opposition to God is fruitless. God rules the whole universe, and he is also keeping close track of what is happening on earth and dealing with these events through the king of Israel (vv 4-6).
When that king is anointed and installed in office, he is raised in stature, authorized and empowered to act as God's representative. As in Sam 7:14, the Davidic king is considered a son of God.
The Messiah, the ultimate king of Israel, will rule over all nations (vv 7-9). The nations are therefore advised to submit to God and his appointed king (vv 10-12).
This psalm has long been a source of hope to the people of God, and in particular to the first disciples of Jesus. Here are some important examples of the ways Psalm 2 is used in the New Testament:
(1) In the early days of Christianity the apostles Peter and John were arrested by the Sadducees for preaching the Gospel and brought before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4). After giving a powerful witness, they were given a warning and released. The early Christ-followers then prayed Psalm 2:1-2. As they saw it, this psalm predicted that they would face opposition, but that the Kingdom of God under Jesus the Messiah would prevail (vv 23-31).
Today we can continue to pray this way for and with the persecuted church.
(2) When Jesus was baptized, a heavenly voice quoted Psalm 2:7 (Mark 1:9-11). In effect, Jesus was being anointed with the Holy Spirit as King of the Kingdom of God, which was then breaking into the world. A heavenly voice again quoted Psalm 2:7 at the Transfiguration (Lk 9:35).
(3) Hebrews 1:5 identifies Psalm 2:7 as one example of passages in the Hebrew scriptures where God is speaking to Jesus the Messiah and showing that Jesus is superior to the angels:
"For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son' today I have begotten you' ?"
Indeed, angels are referred to in the Bible as sons of God (Gen 6:2; Job 38:7), but Psalm 2:7 singles out the Messiah as a unique son of God.
(4) The book of Revelation pictures Jesus ultimately ruling the earth "with a rod of iron"--Rev 12:5; 19:11-15. He tells the church at Thyatira that those who overcome will rule with him (Rev 2:26-27).
In the MT, Psalm 2:9 says, "You will break them with a rod of iron", while the LXX says, "You will shepherd them with a rod of iron." The rule of the Messiah is both powerful and gentle.
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