Psalm
2 is a celebration of the coronation of a king.
As such, it mirrors the crowning of Christ the King. David also focuses on God’s ultimate
authority over earthly kings. In verse 4
he writes, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.” The notes on this passage suggest that God is
laughing at nations in the same way a father laughs when his child boasts that
he or she can out run dad or wrestle him to the ground. I really have to disagree with this
view. A father does not scoff at his
offspring when they boast. He does
laugh, and the laughter comes from the fact that he knows how empty the boast
really is, but he still lets the child win the race or pin him to the ground. To be honest, even the child realizes that he
or she can’t really beat dad, but it is fun anyway.
To
me, this particular section suggests that God is laughing at earthly kings who
think they actually have true power, when, in fact, they don’t. These earthly kings actually think they have
it all under control and God scoffs at them because he knows how little they
really control. God doesn’t laugh and
then let them win the way a father does.
Unlike the child, the kings of earth think they are on top of the world
and no one is taking them down. Pick
your tyrant from history and think about their boasts. Since I am a history guy who is fascinated by
World War II, Hitler quickly comes to mind.
Hitler’s boasts are not anywhere close to the same thing as the boasts
of a small child. It wasn’t a fun little
game for Hitler. No, he was deadly
serious. And he’s not the only one – the
Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Byzantine Empire – they all had leaders
who thought they ruled the world and they all fell.
Verses
5 and 6 seem to further illustrate my point.
“Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath,
saying, ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’” When my brother and I boasted about beating
dad in a race or wrestling him to the ground, we were not rebuked in anger or
terrified by our father’s wrath. Dad
laughed and let us win. It was fun. David writes about God establishing his
chosen to rule over all the other kings and rebuking those rulers who would
dare to challenge God’s chosen king.
In
the second half of the psalm, David writes,
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with
trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be
angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
(Psalm 2: 10-12)
David is pointing out that the kings of this earth must
recognize that there is one greater than them who is the final authority on all
things. Even though earthly rulers are
powerful, they must submit to God’s final authority. The phrase “Kiss the Son” apparently means to
fully submit to God’s will and allow him to lead us. Psalm 2 calls me to submit to God’s
leadership and let him guide my steps.
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