Psalm 2: Four Voices from the Tribulation

David is the author of this psalm—Acts 4:25,26. It actually describes four mental attitudes of the Tribulation, a period of concentrated activity: concentrated evangelism, concentrated judgment, concentrated an unrestrained evil. So in the midst of the activities of the Tribulation we have this eschatological psalm which anticipates and describes these activities.

In the first three verses we have the attitude of the nations—generally those nations that adhere to ecumenical religion. In verses 4-6 we have the attitude of God the Father expressed, in verses 7-9 the attitude of the Son, and in verses 10-12 the attitude of the Holy Spirit. The second psalm is one of the most often quoted psalms in the New Testament. It is quoted in Acts 4, 13; Hebrews 1 & 5.

Verses 1-3, the voice of mankind, unregenerate mankind in the Tribulation. Verse 1 – “Why do the heathen rage.” The heathen refers to Gentile nations and specifically to unbelievers in those nations. The Tribulation will be the most concentrated period of evangelism in the history of the human race and while great numbers of individuals will personally believe in Jesus Christ the general attitude of mankind on the earth is rage. The word for rage is the Hebrew word for forming mobs. These mobs in a sense break down the structure of the national entity and defy all authority. The answer to this question is very simple. The heathen rage because Satan, the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air is kicked out of heaven and confined to the earth, as per Revelation 12:9,10. The heathen rage because Satan’s man, the beast, the dictator of the revived Roman empire and the leader of ecumenical religion, has established his organization on the earth. The heathen rage because God has promised to deliver the regenerate Jews of Jerusalem and Satan wants to destroy them, as per Revelation 16, Matthew 24, Isaiah 63, Zechariah 14. The heathen rage because the greatest period of demonism in the history of the human race will occur in the Tribulation.

Not only do the heathen rage but “the people” – referring to various peoples, unbelievers—“imagine a vain thing” – the vain thing which the people imagine is the fact that you can establish perfect environment on the earth by man’s plans, and that man’s plans will actually solve man’s problems. In reality the only solution to man’s problems is found in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Man’s need of salvation is solved by the cross; man’s needs for this life—in the pressures, the sufferings, the adversities and the tragedies—and the constant changing of the situations is all provided in a very wonderful way by the divine operating assets of phase two. Then there is the problem of death, and this is solved by dying grace. There is the problem of eternity and this, too, is solved by operation phase three in the plan of God. The vain thing is the idea that man can solve man’s problems. The imagination of a vain thing is basically the concept of internationalism—international religion solving man’s problems.

In this connection we also have the rulers of the world expressing themselves through verses 2 & 3. Verse 2 – “The kings of the earth set themselves.” This is a hithpael stem in the Hebrew and it is reflexive, it indicates the volition of the individuals involved. These are rulers and the word means to stand against something, to take opposition to. In this case the rulers of the world oppose the plan of God as delineated in the Tribulation.

“take counsel together, against the Lord” – the niphal stem can also be used as a reflexive stem, and once again this is from their own volition that they do so.

“against the Lord” – Lord here is God the Father; “his anointed” is God the Son. God the Father and God the Son are clearly revealed in the Bible teaching of the Tribulation.

Verse 3 – they declare their plan. “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” The word bands refers to salvation; the word cords refers to the divine institutions. They oppose salvation by faith in Christ; they oppose the principle of regeneration. Not only are they antagonistic to God’s plan which begins at the cross but they are opposed to God’s means of keeping order in the human race. They are opposed to: a) human volition; b) marriage; c) the family; d) nationalism. This is a part of their modus operandi. They are antagonistic to these things and therefore focus their attention on the great international religion which will exist under the beast in the Tribulation. This, very briefly, is an eschatological description of man’s attitudes and opposition to Bible doctrine in the future.

Next is the voice of the Father. In our own day apparently we are at the end of the Church Age and, as it says in the pastoral epistles, at the end of the Church Age there will be a great deal of apostasy, indifference on the one hand to active opposition on the other against Bible doctrine. All of this elicits some sort of a mental attitude from the Father. How does God the Father feel about anyone’s indifference to Bible doctrine?

Verse 4 – “He that sitteth in the heavens” is a reference to God the Father; “shall laugh” – the word laugh has the concept of cackling or laughing vigorously, it means to look at something and to respond to it with great vigour from a sense of humour. In other words, people getting off on the wrong track, thinking that they can outdo God, and in His omnipotence God as a sense of humour. God can laugh at the fact that man thinks that he can come long and by his puny efforts and human ability he can devise a plan that is greater than God’s plan. In this man is encouraged by Satan through pride, pride leads to power lust, and here are those who grab power in the Tribulation and through the activities of power lust they seek to set up a plan, and God laughs at them.

In verse 4 God the Father speaks through laughter; in verse 5 He speaks through wrath; in verse 6 He speaks through His Son. Wrath is judgment, His Son is grace, and here is a beautiful insight into the character of God. So in verse 4 we have a picture of God’s [the Father’s] character. In verse 5 we have a picture of God’s tremendous holiness, or wrath expressed through holiness. And then we have His marvellous love and grace expressed in the final verse.

“the Lord [God the Father] shall have them in derision” – i.e. He will mock them. He mocks and laughs at the human race in the sense that when anyone thinks that he is as smart as God is the creator has to laugh at the creature. Because God has a sense of humour He doesn’t wipe out the whole human race. Because He has a sense of humour He allows the angelic conflict reach its conclusion. God can eliminate the problems of the human race in two ways. He could wipe out the human race and the angelic race, or He could allow man to have free will. Often when man’s free will is negative instead of wiping him out He just simply expresses His sense of humour. Negative volition in this area is man coming up with human plans, plans based on human good. Often these plans are the basis of great sincerity, the basis of desire to help the human race. But there is no plan on the part of any member of the human race, or any combine in the human race, that will ever solve man’s problems. Therefore God can do one of two things. He can allow man to express his freedom in negative volition or He can destroy him. In this verse the sense of humour of God indicates that He allows man to carry his plans to their own conclusion without hindrance, which indicates why the Holy Spirit is removed as a restrainer at the Rapture, as per the teaching of 2 Thessalonians 2. The reason that the Holy Spirit does not restrain negative volition any longer is because the Tribulation is the time when God laughs as well as judges. Laughter allows the free will of man to run its course in the Tribulation.

Verse 5 – after the seven years of the Tribulation has run its course. “Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath” refers to the seven vial judgments which occur at the end of the Tribulation, Revelation chapters 15 & 16.

“and vex them in his great displeasure” refers to the baptism of fire.

Verse 6 – God is never unfair to any member of the human race. In the history of the human race there never was one person who didn’t have a chance to be saved, and therefore we have in the verse, God the Father speaks through His Son. This is the love of the Father in contrast to His wrath.

“yet have I set my king” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ; “upon my holy hill of Zion” refers to Israel. When Christ returns He will be seated in Zion. He will be crowned David’s greater son; He will be the King; He will reign forever. Zion refers to the rock escarpment on the western side of Jerusalem and comes to actually refer to Jerusalem itself. In the future Jesus Christ will reign where the beast and the false prophet have reigned on the earth. Then the Lord Jesus Christ will be the ruler instead.

The principle is obvious. Before the second advent of Christ the offer is grace, but those unbelievers who reject the Lord Jesus Christ in the Tribulation have their last chance at the point of the Second Advent. Believers only go into the Millennium. Then fact that there are thousands upon thousands of believers to go into the Millennium is indicative of the fact that the gospel is widespread throughout the Tribulation. In fact the world is evangelised completely four different times in the Tribulation.

The third voice is the voice of the Son Himself, and He speaks in verses 7-9. In verse 7 we have something that Jesus Christ said at the beginning of the incarnation, at the point of the virgin birth. “I will declare the decree” – the decree is the Father’s plan in eternity past. The whole centre of the Father’s plan is that Christ must come into the world; Christ must go to the cross and bear the sins of the world; Christ must ascent and be seated at the right hand of the Father, this makes it possible for believers to represent Him on the earth, and this makes it possible for believers to leave the earth and in one second to be absent from the body and to be face to face with the Lord.

The Lord Jesus Christ had something to say the day He came into the world. He said, “I will declare the decree.” The piel stem indicates that this is an intensive declaration, a declaration with great feeling. In Hebrews 10:5-14 and Psalm 2:7 we actually have the statement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“the Lord” – this is Jehovah the Father; “hath said unto me” – Jesus Christ at the Second Advent; “Thou, my Son” – i.e. His deity; “this day have I begotten thee” – i.e. His humanity. So here is the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ. In Acts 13:33 where this is quoted we actually have a verb. Here there is no verb. But in Acts we have present linear aktionsart of the verb e)imi, and absolute status quo verb—always His Son, a reference to the deity of Jesus Christ. The word “begotten” has to do with His humanity. This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament: Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5. An Acts 13:33 we have the baby in the manger is the eternal Son of God. In Hebrews 1:5 we have the humanity of Christ is superior to all angelic beings. In Hebrews 5:5 we have the priesthood of Christ is superior to all priesthoods, including the Levitical priesthood.

Verse 8 – we see the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the incarnation dying for the sins of the world, and we have the Father’s reply to this at the cross. “Ask from me,” literally. “[for an inheritance], and I will give you an inheritance.” We are a party of that inheritance. Jesus Christ is the heir of God the Father—Romans 8:16,17—as the God-Man. Every person in the Church Age who is a believer enters into union with Christ and share His heirship. In the Tribulation Jesus Christ does something that is fantastic, He asks God the Father for an inheritance in the Tribulation. Jesus Christ has a heritage in the Old Testament—Gentiles and Jews. He has a heritage in the Church Age. He will have a heritage in the Millennium. But He asks God the Father for a heritage in the Tribulation. Knowing the nature of the Tribulation, the unrestrained evil, the religion and legalism which would be paramount in the Tribulation, He asks for an heritage. Therefore everything is done in the Tribulation in order to win souls for Jesus Christ. The greatest period of evangelism the world will ever know occurs in the Tribulation.

“the nations for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth” indicates the mass evangelism of the Tribulation, the second advent of Christ and the millennial reign of Christ. The Millennial reign is going to take a mass of people who were saved in the Tribulation and make them the beginning of the new civilisation.

Verse 9 – the Father’s reply at the Second Advent. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.” Judgment on the unbeliever.

“thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” – now we have the Father’s wrath expressed at the end of the Tribulation toward those who reject Christ. Up until then it is sense of humour which allows men freedom of choice, freedom in which to resolve the angelic conflict.

In verses 10-12 we have the voice of the Holy Spirit. The advice of the Holy Spirit to the rulers of the world is very interesting.

Verse 10 – “Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings.” The only thing that can save a national entity is Bible doctrine and there is nothing greater than Bible doctrine in the rulers. “Be wise” is a hiphil imperative, and the hiphil stem is causative. It indicates a positive volition, a desire for doctrine. The greatest thing that ever happens to a nation is when a ruler has a desire for doctrine and has doctrine in his soul. To be wise means to look at life from the doctrinal viewpoint.

“be instructed [permit yourselves to be exhorted], ye judges.” The judges also have an authority responsibility. Theirs is the responsibility of authority over the common law of the land. When judges look at life from the divine viewpoint and from the doctrinal viewpoint this, again, becomes beneficial to the country. So we have the principle of the importance of Bible doctrine in a national entity from the standpoint of those in authority.

In verses 11 and 12 the Holy Spirit has some advice to people in general in the Tribulation.

In verse 11 we have advice to born-again believers: “Serve the Lord with fear” – occupation with Christ. Faith-rest technique perpetuating itself into occupation with Christ. Service as unto the Lord.

“rejoice with trembling” is literally, rejoice with anticipation. So we have two factors for the believers of the Tribulation. Serve and have inner happiness. Some of the believers in the Tribulation will only have inner happiness and great opportunities for service.

Verse 12 – the advice of the Holy Spirit to the unbeliever. “Kiss the Son.” The word kiss in the piel stem [intensive], piel imperative. A kiss is non-meritorious. A kiss involves the lips, the eyes, and the mind. The ability to kiss depends upon having a mind, having eyes, and having lips. All normal members of the human race have mind. So kissing involves mental attitude, positive volition. And everyone has lips, and everyone has eyes. The ability to kiss is non-meritorious. Principle: Kiss the Son is an expression of non-meritorious activity which depends entirely upon the volition of the initiator. It perfectly expresses the concept of faith. To believe is non-meritorious, just like a kiss is non-meritorious. A kiss has a subject; a kiss has an object. The subject in faith—“whosoever,” the unbeliever of the Tribulation; the object is Christ. A kiss expresses desire—positive volition; it means surrender—faith in Christ; it means relationship—God does 36 things for the believer at the point of salvation; it means response—production of the believer in phase two. So the kiss encompasses the whole concept of our relationship with the Lord and become analogous to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“lest he be angry” – the alternative for the unbeliever, the one who rejects Christ.

“and ye perish from the way” – if you do not believe in Christ and He is angry with you; “when his wrath is kindled for a little while.” A kiss connotes recognition. The unbelievers are advised to believe in Christ or to face the alternative which is the wrath of God. Perishing from the way is the baptism of fire which takes the unbeliever of the Tribulation off of the earth and puts him in fire. He has no chance after that for salvation.

The conclusion: “Blessed are they” – inner happiness. This is in the plural. Inner happiness results in outer happiness.

“that put their trust” – this is different from “kiss the Son” which is faith in Christ, eternal salvation. The word trust here is the Hebrew word chasah, the word for phase two, depending on the divine operating assets, depending on the Lord Jesus Christ.