Intro: [gentle music] Welcome to the Spoken Gospel podcast. This is our attempt to speak the gospel out of every corner of scripture. We believe every part of the Bible, Old Testament and New, is about Jesus, and this podcast is our experiment to publicly test that belief. Let's jump in. [upbeat music]
David: All right. Well, we are in Psalm 2.
Seth: Psalm 2.
David: We did Psalm 1 and looked at the wisdom songs last week.
Seth: Yes.
David: And now we are hopping into Psalm 2 and the royal psalms.
Seth: So royal.
David: What's a royal psalm?
Seth: If you listen to that song by Lorde-
David: Oh, then you'll get it
Seth: ... then you'll get it. [laughs]
David: Yeah, but you'll never be royal.
Seth: You'll never be royal. [laughs]
David: [laughs]
Seth: Have you listened to The Puddles, the clown version of this?
David: No.
Seth: It's a man that's got-
David: Oh, I know who Puddles is
Seth: ... he's, like, 6'5" and 100, 250 pounds, [laughs] dressed as a clown, sings Royal.
David: When I woke up this morning-
Seth: [laughs]
David: ... and I went through the scenario of everything I thought would happen in my day, as one does.
Seth: As one does, with-
David: Puddles the Clown was not on my itinerary.
Seth: Well, as soon as I started reading Psalm 2, I thought about Puddles the Clown. [laughs]
David: [laughs] I'm sure you did. Oh, my goodness. So, but in actuality, a royal psalm is a psalm talking about the Davidic monarchy, like the-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... line of David-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... the King of Israel, the Kingdom of God, all those kinds of themes. And what, I mean, what else would you throw in there about a royal psalm? Is it-
Seth: Um, it's also not just any one particular king.
David: Right.
Seth: But the ultimate king that David wishes he could be.
David: Right.
Seth: The exemplary king.
David: Yes.
Seth: The perfect Messiah king-
David: Right
Seth: ... that will one day rule from Zion.
David: Right. Because, we know that because, um, a, a lot of these psalms were written in exile after, um, 586 BC, with the Babylonian Empire coming in and putting an end to the Davidic king, king.
Seth: Yes.
David: So there was no king on the throne, so-
Seth: Although, I think Psalm 2, you probably could date it before that point.
David: Oh, I would. I would.
Seth: Yeah.
David: But it was still prayed afterwards.
Seth: Yes.
David: And so just-
Seth: As a hope
David: ... as a hope for not, like, oh, this Davidic king that I can see right here is definitely anointed, 'cause there wasn't one.
Seth: Right.
David: So they're looking forward. That's how we know, because they kept praying this prayer.
Seth: Yeah.
David: And so we know that it, it was looking forward.
Seth: And then it's quoted over and over again in the New Testament.
David: Right, which it's actually, Psalm 2 is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament.
Seth: It is? I thought it was Psalm 110.
David: I, I, but all my s- all my sources.
Seth: Oh, man. [laughs]
David: I- if you, like, because if you think about, um, all the times, uh, and I think the most quoted verse in the New Testament from a psalm is, um, where he talks about, "This is my son in whom I'm well pleased."
Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David: Like, that is-
Seth: Yeah, yeah.
David: I mean, Jesus' baptism, it's quoted at the Transfiguration, uh, 1 Peter 1, uh, talks about it. Hebrews mentions it, like, three times.
Seth: Yeah, Hebrews mentions a lot of these verses. [laughs]
David: Yes, yes, yes. Uh, and so this is an extremely important psalm when it comes to understanding Jesus, understanding, um, the New Testament worldview, all these things. It's an extremely important psalm.
Seth: So then, but before we jump to how we understand Jesus-
David: Yep
Seth: ... how does, how does David underst- do you-
David: That's, uh, yeah, that's where we need to go next.
Seth: How does David understand himself, but also, how does this act as, like, introductory, introduction to the psalter in general?
David: Okay. Because, because we, we talked about last week how Psalm 1, um, and 2, most scholars believe, were put at the beginning of the psalter by an, an editor, um, to introduce, uh, the whole Book of Psalms.
Seth: Like-
David: To give us, like, an understanding, um-
Seth: It's kind of like if you think about, like, either, like, hyperlinks or a table of contents.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: It's like it's highlighting for you the things that will come about.
David: Right.
Seth: The blessed life, the wicked life, the good ruler, the bad nations.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: Like, these are the major themes that you're gonna hit by the time you get to the end-
David: Right
Seth: ... of the Book of Psalms.
David: And they pop up all over the place. So yeah, that's really good. Let's talk about that. But yeah, let's, let's talk through the Davidic kingship. So, like, what is, like, why is that important [laughs] in the Old Testament story?
Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
David: So, um, I guess we would, we would wanna start in just the idea that God was making for himself a people, right?
Seth: Yeah.
David: Okay. And so-
Seth: So then we see this in Genesis.
David: Yep.
Seth: It's like God wants to make a relationship-
David: Right
Seth: ... with humanity.
David: It's how it started with Adam and Eve.
Seth: Right.
David: Yep.
Seth: The, Adam and Eve fail.
David: Yep.
Seth: But they have many children.
David: Yep, as was promised.
Seth: As was promised.
David: Yep.
Seth: And eventually, you have Abraham-
David: Yep
Seth: ... as one of their descendants, and God promises him specifically that he'll make a great nation-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... out of Abraham's children, and that h- through them, all the nations of the world will be blessed.
David: Right. And so then, um, they go down into, um, Egypt. Uh, some of, w- Abraham's grandson, Israel-
Seth: Yep
David: ... [laughs] or Jacob, goes down into Egypt. They have 400 years of slavery. God brings them out in the story of the Exodus, uh, through the deliverer Moses. And, um, then they make their way to the Promised Land. Joshua brings them into the Promised Land.
Seth: There's a series of judges that rule over Israel.
David: Right.
Seth: But as the nation-
David: The people... Yep
Seth: ... gets bigger [laughs]
David: [laughs] They want a king.
Seth: They want a king.
David: Like the rest of the nations, right?
Seth: And-
David: Which is in 1 Samuel 7 or 2 Samuel 7? I can never remember.
Seth: 2 Samuel 7.
David: Okay, yep. And, uh, and so they ask for a king, and so God p- appoints Saul over them.
Seth: Oh, so that's 1 Samuel.
David: Yeah, 1 Samuel.
Seth: 2 Samuel 7 is when David.
David: Is David.
Seth: Yeah, yeah.
David: Yeah, yeah. So 1 Samuel 7, or 6, or whatever, uh, they, they anoint Saul as king, or, uh, they ask for a king, and then it's the story of Saul becoming the, the king. And then David becomes this embodiment of the one, like, the exemplary king.
Seth: Yes.
David: Uh, a lot of pomp and circumstance is around this. And then like you said, in 2 Samuel 7, is one of the most critical parts of the whole Bible.
Seth: Yes.
David: Uh, because God speaks to David and, and prophesies to him and tells him that, "I'm going to make a, a covenant with you."
Seth: Right.
David: "Specifically, I'm gonna anoint you."
Seth: And-
David: Yep
Seth: ... specifically that it will last forever.
David: Forever, an everlasting covenant.
Seth: Which is something you can kind of assume about what happens with Abraham, like, this, you assume that this is a- an everlasting and eternal blessing.
David: Right.
Seth: But this idea of an eternal kingship-
David: Yes
Seth: ... feels really signi- it, it is really significant.
David: Right, 'cause it's not just an eternal covenant, it's an eternal kingship, that someone will sit on David's throne forever.
Seth: From his physical family line.
David: Right.Yeah, which is crazy. And so, uh, and the whole idea of that is that this people that God wants to live with and dwell with and, um, form a covenant with, that he will have someone on the throne to rule over them for an eternity.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Which is insane. Kings don't live forever.
Seth: No.
David: Like, if you just read the Bible, [laughs] they die like crazy. [laughs] Like, you just, you cycle through them really quick. And so, but, but the idea here is that ultimately there will be one who embodies this kingship ultimately, and will reign over God's people forever.
Seth: Yes.
David: And that's the hope that this Psalm is looking at.
Seth: Yeah, and if you-
David: And that the Psalter is looking at.
Seth: And if you remember back to last week, too, that this first section, this first book of Psalms, charts David's rise to power-
David: Right
Seth: ... through affliction. And so really, you're all, you're getting like, "Here's the ultimate hope that we're hoping for," and you're gonna read all these Psalms about David running away from Saul, hiding from Saul, awaiting his kingship, being enthroned one day. So it, really it is a hyperlink, a table of contents for what you're about to read.
David: Right.
Seth: This is the hope of the Davidic king, and then you're gonna read all these Psalms about David not being king yet, and then becoming king by the end-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... of the Psalter.
David: And so, when we come upon, um, a ro-
Seth: Upon
David: ... upon, when we, when one happens upon-
Seth: I started watching The Great British Baking Show.
David: Oh, it's good.
Seth: It's [laughs] so good.
David: I know. I lo- especially 'cause we like to bake.
Seth: Yeah.
David: You like to bake more than... I like to cook, you like to bake.
Seth: Yeah.
David: But it's good.
Seth: It's really good.
David: I do like it.
Seth: Anyway, upon. This is-
David: Upon.
Seth: [laughs]
David: When one happens upon a royal Psalm, um, what, what should we, what we should, what should we be thinking? Because you're gonna, as you read through the Psalms, you're going to come upon, upon-
Seth: [laughs]
David: I, man, I'm all, I'm all about it today. You're gonna come on, uh, the, the stuff all the time.
Seth: Come on.
David: You're gonna come on.
Seth: [laughs]
David: As our, as our executive pastor, Matt Palmer, would say. [laughs]
Seth: Come on.
David: You would, you're gonna, you're gonna run into this stuff. So, how should we, um, think about royal Psalms? How should we pray royal Psalms? Like, I think sh- is that a question we wanna answer as we look at Psalm 2?
Seth: Yeah.
David: Okay.
Seth: I think maybe the fir- I think as we get to like, how do we pray?
David: Right.
Seth: How does this relate to the first Psalm-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... and, uh, the blessed life?
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: 'Cause I think that's gonna be helpful for us, too. So, these two Psalms are connected and linked together by a couple important factors, and this is gonna help us, like, understand how we're supposed to use it devotionally.
David: Okay.
Seth: So think about, one, the blessed life that we were told that happened in Psalm 2.
David: Right.
Seth: We're also told that happens i- in Psalm 1. We're told the same thing happens in Psalm 2-
David: Right
Seth: ... in the very last chapter.
David: Yep.
Seth: For, uh, blessed are all who take refuge in him.
David: Right.
Seth: Blessed are all who take refuge in the Davidic king.
David: Right. There's a, there's a little bookend between Psalm 1-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... and Psalm 2, or what we call inclusios.
Seth: "Blessed is the man."
David: Yeah.
Seth: "Blessed are all."
David: "Happy is the man, happy are all who, who-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... uh, take refuge."
Seth: Take refuge.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And in the same way that the, the enemies of God perish in Psalm 1.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: The enemies of God perish in Psalm 2.
David: Right.
Seth: And we have a repetition of the word meditate.
David: Right, hagah.
Seth: Which, hagah. Um, and, um, you don't get that in the English, but it's there. So it says, uh, his, "The light is in the law of the Lord" in 1:2, and, "On his law he meditates day and night."
David: "On his law he meditates," hagah. Right.
Seth: But in 2:1-
David: Right
Seth: ... "Why do the nations rage and the people hagah?"
David: Hagah.
Seth: Hagah.
David: In vain.
Seth: In vain. They medi-
David: Why do they plot?
Seth: Plot.
David: Yeah, they think through-
Seth: Meditate
David: ... how they're going to devise a scheme to, like, come against God's people.
Seth: Right.
David: Right.
Seth: So this pe- so instead of starting with, "The blessed man"-
David: Right
Seth: ... Psalm 2 starts with-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... the nations meditating on a false law.
David: Right.
Seth: The anti-Torah.
David: The anti-Torah. Yes.
Seth: They're meditating on all the ways in which they dislike God's rule and God's reign, and they set themselves up, and they take counsel together. They have big meetings.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: They form, you know, coalitions, and have their own schools and their own universities, and they, a- their whole agenda is being against the Lord and his agenda. And they say, "Let us burst their bonds apart. Let us cast off the slavery and the restriction that comes with meditating on God's law and his precepts."
David: Mm.
Seth: "And let us create our own standards for ourselves."
David: Oh, good. Yeah.
Seth: Does that make sense?
David: That does.
Seth: Like-
David: Yeah, I didn't, I didn't read it like that.
Seth: Yeah.
David: But I think that makes perfect sense when you read it in Psalm, when in context with Psalm 1.
Seth: Right.
David: Where he's setting these nations up as the opposite of the blessed man who's planted by a stream of water.
Seth: Reading his Torah-
David: Yeah, read-
Seth: ... loving the Torah, delighting in the Torah.
David: Right.
Seth: But you, meditating on the Torah, then you have this false group of people-
David: Right
Seth: ... who's meditating on their own law.
David: Right.
Seth: Meditating on their own-
David: Their own schemes
Seth: ... on their own schemes.
David: And what's interesting is the, um, you could, you could put those next to each other again, and the blessed man who's meditating on the Torah is planted by streams of water, and whatever he does prospers. These people, we're told that their meditation is in vain.
Seth: Yes.
David: So whatever they does, whatever they do fails. [laughs] It's the opposite.
Seth: Yes.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And you can also take it back to the Garden of Eden again.
David: Of course you can. [laughs]
Seth: It all goes back to the garden.
David: It all... [laughs]
Seth: Well, so the man planted by streams of water, meditating, loving God's word, is back in the Garden of Eden, and the people who reject God's law define what's good and evil for themselves-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... are cast out of the Garden of Eden, and they perish.
David: Right.
Seth: Just like we're told-
David: Just like we're told the fall happened with Eve. Yep.
Seth: Yes. That's exactly right.
David: Wow.
Seth: So this is a picture of what happens when the nations fall away from God's plan to follow his word. [gentle music]
David: All right. So we've basically gotten up to verse 4 now. Uh, so this says, uh, "He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord Yahweh holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury saying, 'As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.'"
Seth: Yeah. So I think it's f- so just like the wind blew away the chaff of the people who don't-
David: Right
Seth: ... uh, follow God's word, meditate on his law, God doesn't really take these people seriously.
David: [laughs]
Seth: He's like, "They're nothing."
David: Right.
Seth: He laughs at them.
David: Yep.
Seth: He's like, "Uh, you're stupid." [laughs]
David: [laughs]
Seth: Like, he holds them in derision. I, I wonder what a better, more modern-
David: A, yeah, more modern translation would be for that
Seth: ... but like-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... he's, like, you're nothing. Your understanding's futile. It doesn't
David: Makes sense. It's not worth engaging with
Seth: It's vain.
David: It's vain.
Seth: It's not gonna amount to anything. It blows away like chaff.
David: Exactly right.
Seth: Right, yeah, at the end of the day. Yeah, it's really, it's really interesting. Um, it, it's like, uh, w- I, I was reading this one commentator talk about how, what's God's response to people, um, plotting their own way against his will? Is it like, uh, like, does he, does he change his mind, or does he, like, accommodate them? No, he doesn't even take account of it.
David: Yeah. [laughs]
Seth: Like, that's what, that's what I love.
David: Yeah.
Seth: It's like, it's just like, "Uh, what are, what are you doing? I'm just gonna laugh 'cause-
David: Right
Seth: ... what is this?" Yeah, it's, so it's really interesting and, and, and I love this verse. It's often a comfort to me when, you know, I'm, especially when I'm around, like, family or-
David: Yeah. [laughs]
Seth: ... or, uh, or just people who are ultra political, which my family's not ultra political or anything.
David: Yeah.
Seth: But it's, it always comes up, you know?
David: Yeah, it always does.
Seth: And people are like, "Oh, the state of the world, and this and that."
David: Right.
Seth: "And this, this, this politician and that." And I'm like, God's just laughing.
David: [laughs] Laughing.
Seth: He's just like, "Uh, I got plans." [laughs] Like-
David: Yeah, I know. I like, I always wanna say, like, this is, like, the better way to-
Seth: Right
David: ... view the world, just with a sense of humor.
Seth: Yeah. [laughs]
David: Like, this is... [laughs]
Seth: What's, what's your political stance?
David: Uh, it's just with a sense of humor. [laughs]
Seth: With a sense of humor, but at the same time-
David: Right
Seth: ... he's also angry-
David: Yes
Seth: ... with the way the world's structuring it-
David: That's right
Seth: ... itself. He will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them with his fury.
David: Right.
Seth: So I, I was not-
David: He's not passive. He's not, like, laughing it off like, [laughs] "Oh, what you do doesn't matter." What we do does matter, right?
Seth: Yeah.
David: And, and, like, how it coincides with God's Torah, his law, his commands, his character matters.
Seth: Yeah.
David: So we don't just laugh everything off.
Seth: Right.
David: It's, it's the fact that, like, are we planted by the stream of water, or are we building our own tower up to God-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... like, trying to, like, scheme our way to him.
Seth: There is a sense that the schemes of this world are futile-
David: Right
Seth: ... but at the same time, like, justice takes a side.
David: Yep.
Seth: And it's angry-
David: Yes
Seth: ... when injustice is being done.
David: And let's look at, what's God's response to, like, the people trying to cast off God's bonds and trying to break free from his kingdom and his rule. His response is he laughs, but then what does he do? He says, "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill." So I have put a king in Israel. That's his response.
Seth: Right.
David: Is that, like, I've got a king. Like, you're gonna try to get your own authority and usurp other people and work your way up the ladder of geopolitical power or whatever.
Seth: Right.
David: But I've already, I've already got my guy. Like, I've already set my king in Zion. Like, that's his response. Why, why is that God's response to people plotting against him, that he's like, "Oh, I've got a king"?
Seth: I thought that was interesting too, and specifically here, at least, I don't, I don't know Hebrew-
David: [laughs]
Seth: ... so I'm trusting my English translation here.
David: Right.
Seth: But, "And terrify them in his fury, saying-"
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... the expression of his, like, anger-
David: Mm
Seth: ... is to establish a king over them.
David: Oh, interesting.
Seth: Which I thought was-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... such a interesting re- I would've thought, "In, and in my fury-"
David: I'll say, "You're dead." [laughs]
Seth: "You're dead," yeah. [laughs]
David: Right.
Seth: But, like, I will, I've established my king in Zion on my holy hill.
David: Right.
Seth: I was like, oh, that's-
David: God's, God's fury, wrathful, furious, wrathful response is to establish a new monarch. [laughs]
Seth: And I think this probably makes he- what makes sense here-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... is, um, well, one, is he quoting scripture?
David: Is who quoting scripture?
Seth: God. [laughs]
David: Is God quoting scripture? [laughs]
Seth: I was like-
David: I mean, he's saying scripture right now. [laughs]
Seth: Yeah, as it, as it comes out of his mouth. I didn't know if, like, this had appeared in, like, a prophet or like-
David: Oh, I gotcha
Seth: ... if it was like, it was a prophet or whatever.
David: I don't know.
Seth: Anyway, I think what may helps us make sense of it is also the fact that this is a messianic, a royal-
David: Right
Seth: ... psalm.
David: Yes.
Seth: So the writer is saying, what is the hope of a world going wrong? What is the hope for a world plotting and meditating-
David: Mm
Seth: ... on evil intentions?
David: Yeah.
Seth: It's that God would establish a nation to do justice and that meditates on God's law-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... and spreads his glory and his wisdom throughout the world. The hope for a world gone wrong is a nation that does right.
David: Right.
Seth: And a king who rules it well-
David: Yes
Seth: ... will ultimately destroy and blow away all chaff-like philosophies and people and moralities.
David: Right. Yeah, absolutely.
Seth: I think that's what it means.
David: No, I think it's, it's good. It's the, uh, y- it's the, it's the opposite of the king that these people are trying to contrive. He's going to create a king that upholds justice, that meditates on God's law perfectly, that whatever he does prospers, that perfectly coincides with God's will. Uh, no, I think that's really good. Um, and so then in verse 7, um, we-
Seth: Does it switch to David speaking?
David: I, I think it... That's what I was about to say. I think, yes, I think it does because he says, "I will tell of the decree." So I think this is, and we don't know if it's David, but, uh, most people think it is. Some people think it's an exilic king or, like, an exilic writer or psalmist. It doesn't matter. Um, "I will tell of the decree the Lord said to me." So this is something that God said to, let's just say David.
Seth: David.
David: Okay, so here's what he said: "You are my son. Today I have begotten you." Okay, let's stop there-
Seth: Right
David: ... because so many things to talk about. First off, was David the son of God, right? [laughs]
Seth: Well-
David: Was he born of God? And, right, there's all those kinds of questions we have to ask. What do we, what does, what, what does he mean by this?
Seth: Well, if you go back to the, the covenant that God makes with David in 2 Samuel 7, in verse 14, he says, "I will be to him a father-"
David: A father
Seth: "... and he shall be to me a son."
David: Right.
Seth: And so I think here in Psalm 2-
David: Uh-huh
Seth: ... if this is David, he's probably picking up on the language that God spoke to him-
David: Oh, definitely
Seth: ... in 2 Samuel 7.
David: Right, yeah. He's saying, like, "The Lord told me this," and then we get almost verbatim stuff.
Seth: Right, yeah. [laughs]
David: Like, yeah, absolutely, yeah. I definitely think that. So, but what, but what does he mean by a son? What does he mean by, "I've begotten you"? Um, I think, like-So I think that is, this is a metaphor here, right? These, these are word pictures. This is imagery, right? You will be... You are my son, right, um, is like a- an adoption language. Like-
Seth: Mm-hmm
David: ... because in, in that context, kings and pharaohs-
Seth: They were considered sons of God
David: ... they actually thought they were deity.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Right? But we know that the psalmist did not consider himself deity. You know, he was like, "Who is man that you are mindful of him? We are but dust," you know? Like, he knew. He, he was like, you know, like, he would put himself in the dirt first. You know?
Seth: Right.
David: So he knows he's not God.
Seth: But he's not afraid to appropriate this idea that he is a-
David: Of sonship
Seth: ... son-
David: No, he's not
Seth: ... of God.
David: He's not afraid.
Seth: Yeah.
David: But what, what, what's interesting about this language, especially when we understand that, I think, I do think David w- was aware of a future messianic line or something.
Seth: Right.
David: I, uh, and then the exilic-
Seth: He probably thought it was his own son, Solomon.
David: He did. Yeah, I definitely think so.
Seth: Yeah.
David: I think he thought it would be more immediate.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Um, but then the exilic people definitely were looking forward to something. And so when they read this, they were thinking of a son of David, right, who would be a son of God, right? And we, and, and so what was, um, what's cool about, like, how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, um, in, like in types.
Seth: Yeah.
David: We talk about types-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... of fulfillment, um, is it's not only, like, is it allegorical, right?
Seth: Right.
David: Is it a one for one? But there's escalation.
Seth: Yeah.
David: And so what, what David thought of as a metaphor, "Oh, I'm like a son of God."
Seth: Right.
David: Right?
Seth: Right, right, right.
David: Becomes true in Jesus, that he is a son of God, that he's the-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... only begotten son of God, the... Or a better translation of John 3:16 is that he's the unique son of God.
Seth: Yeah.
David: There's no other son like him, because he is God himself. And so what was a shadow in David becomes substance in Christ, and it's escalated to be like, "Oh, David was like a son of God, but Jesus is the son of God."
Seth: And he ascends to his throne in Zion as well.
David: Right.
Seth: But his ascension isn't onto a throne, it's onto a cross.
David: Right.
Seth: He's a-
David: Before, and then it's a throne.
Seth: And then it's a throne.
David: Yeah. [laughs]
Seth: He ascends to, like, but it's-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... the cross is pictured like an enthronement thing.
David: Right.
Seth: He has a crown going.
David: He has a crown, and he's draped-
Seth: Purple
David: ... in purple robes.
Seth: And the cross is lifted up.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And we're told, like, you have to l- a- as the son of man is lifted up.
David: Lifted up.
Seth: Like, this language of, like-
David: John 3
Seth: ... ascendancy.
David: Yep.
Seth: He reigns.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Absorbing the fury and wrath of God.
David: Which is, we talked about.
Seth: Which is exactly what you wrote here.
David: Yeah. [laughs]
Seth: It's like, it's such a cool-
David: This is, it's very cool
Seth: ... it's how Jesus-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... becomes the reigning king.
David: Mm.
Seth: Who abolishes fury-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... for those that trust in him-
David: Mm
Seth: ... and meditate on his word.
David: So good. Creating a new people group to live out that mercy that he extended to us.
Seth: Who will extend his glory-
David: Oh
Seth: ... his wisdom-
David: So good
Seth: ... through all the nations of the earth.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And everyone who opposes God's resurrection power-
David: Mm
Seth: ... what does God do? I laugh. [laughs]
David: [laughs]
Seth: That's funny.
David: Yeah. That's good. And so, so that's son, and he says, "Today I've begotten you," um, which is actually, that's, um, coronation language.
Seth: Oh.
David: So when a new king is enthroned, and, like, a crown's put on him, that was language of the day for, like, you are born of the sun god, Ra, or whatever. You know?
Seth: Right, right, right, right, right.
David: Like, I, y- today, that's why it's like, "I, I begot you 30 years ago when you were born," that's not what he's saying. He's like, "Today I have anointed you as king. I've begotten you as a son of God over my people." Right?
Seth: Right.
David: And so it's, it's coronation language. Um, so then we have, "Ask of me," this is verse 8, "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." So we've already talked about-
Seth: Right
David: ... where, the, what, what is this fulfilling earlier when we walked through the Biblical storyline.
Seth: Yes.
David: So do you wanna take that?
Seth: Yeah, I think the easiest way to say it, again, even just within the context of Psalm 1-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... the blessed man and the blessed king thrives as he sits in the Garden of Eden.
David: Mm.
Seth: The evil people, evil men, plot and meditate on the anti-Torah, their own version of what's good and evil, and they are like chaff, and they will be blown away. The Lord laughs at them. He has anger towards them. A king is seated on the throne, and all the king has to do is ask.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And the enemies of God will be wiped out.
David: Mm.
Seth: They will, they'll be blown away. They'll be proven for the vanity their philosophies really are. It's, they're nothing.
David: Yeah.
Seth: They have no hope to stand in the presence of the messianic Davidic king.
David: Right.
Seth: Which is why the last few verses are directed towards the kings.
David: Right.
Seth: "Now there- therefore, O kings, be wise."
David: [laughs]
Seth: "Be warned, O rulers of the world."
David: Right.
Seth: "Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son." Which is such a powerful phrase.
David: Yeah, it really is.
Seth: So, "Kiss the Son."
David: Yeah.
Seth: "Lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."
David: Yeah. So l- l- I wanna look, before we move on to that last stanza, I wanna look at, um, "I'll make the ends of the earth your possession and the nations your heritage," because we talked about, as we walked through the storyline of why is there a Davidic king, we talked about Abraham and the promise God made to him, that the nations, that he, you know, that he would give birth to nations-
Seth: That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah
David: ... even a blessing to all nations, and how is that going to happen? How are all nations gonna be blessed? It's by this, this king-
Seth: Right
David: ... sitting on the throne and blessing all nations with his grace, his rule, his mercy, his dominion, right?
Seth: His justice.
David: His, his justice, right.
Seth: It's not just that the enemies are destroyed, it's that God kingdom is expanded.The whole world is covered with the glory of God as the ocean, the waters cover the ocean
David: Yes, and then that's the, and then so the fulfillment of that promise that we s- that we don't, we, we don't see in full here, is that when Jesus comes, over and over and over again in Revelation, this same language is used to talk about the type of rule Jesus has, that he, that the nations come against him, like the dragon and the beast and the nations, they, they quarrel and rage against the, the, the anointed one of God, and he sits above them enthroned, and he rules over the whole world, and he covers the world with his glory. Like, it's, like this is-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... the fulfillment. That, that's the fulfillment of this. Also, how did we not talk about this in-
Seth: Right
David: ... in verse two? I just, I just skipped over it. I just wanna make sure we say this on the episode. When it says that they take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed-
Seth: Ha
David: ... I just wanna make sure everyone knows, that's the word Messiah. [laughs] That's the word Christ.
Seth: Against-
David: So-
Seth: ... Christ and his, uh-
David: Yeah, so the Hebrew-
Seth: ... and, and his Christ
David: Right, and his Christ
Seth: Against the Lord, against Christ.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Yeah.
David: So, yeah, they, they take counsel together against the Lord and Christ.
Seth: Did you know that's what my name means?
David: What?
Seth: The anointed one, Seth.
David: Seth? Oh, yeah.
Seth: The chosen one, the anointed one.
David: The ch- oh, look at you. Aren't you fancy?
Seth: You could read this, the Lord is [laughs]
David: Don't you dare. Don't you even say it. [laughs] Oh my gosh. Anyway, so, like-
Seth: I gotta-
David: ... we are talking, this is a Messianic Psalm in its purest sense, because the word Messiah is in it.
Seth: Yeah.
David: So I just wanna make sure we say that. Okay, um, and then before, before we get to the last stanza, um, the last, the last verse of this one is, "You shall break them," which is the nations, "with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." Um, it's this image, it's this metaphor of, like, taking a big pot and throwing it down on the ground, and the shards go everywhere, and it could never be put back together again.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Um, that's a pretty harsh picture for what he's going to do to the Gentile nations, the unbelieving nations, the nations that plot against him.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Why is this here? It's just, it's pretty intense. Is it the parallel to the, the chaff, where I'm just gonna blow you away, and those-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... little, little flakes of chaff float with the wind, and you'll never put them back together? Like that whole idea?
Seth: Yeah, I think that's part of it. I think there's, like, a cheapness in a potter's vessel too, potentially.
David: Mm.
Seth: Maybe, like, there's, like, this, it's, it's, you know, it's clay.
David: Yeah, right.
Seth: It's like, it's replaceable.
David: It's not a precious metal or anything.
Seth: It's not precious.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Um, it's quoted a lot, like, this idea of a rot, like-
David: A rod of iron, yeah
Seth: ... a rod of iron.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: Ruling with a rod of iron.
David: Which Jesus is, we're, we're prophesied later in, like, Isaiah that he'll rule with a rod.
Seth: Mm.
David: Yep.
Seth: And, uh, Revelation 2, "And he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earth and pots are broken in pieces."
David: Oh.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Well, thank you. [laughs]
Seth: So, yeah. [laughs]
David: That's cool.
Seth: Uh-
David: So how does Jesus do that? Like, how is, how does Jesus... I don't think a lot of people see Jesus with a huge metal rod breaking things into pieces. Like-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... so in, in, like, in... How are we supposed to understand that? How are we supposed to see Jesus breaking things to pieces with a big rod of iron? 'Cause isn't a rod of iron a symbol of justice?
Seth: It is.
David: Okay.
Seth: Yeah. It's like the scepter that he holds in his hand.
David: Right.
Seth: And, like, it's a symbol of power.
David: Power.
Seth: So you can imagine just it being heavy, and when it lands on the ground... Like, I, I imagine, like, a king sitting on a throne, he has a scepter in one hand.
David: Yep.
Seth: And when he wants something done, he, like, bangs it on the ground.
David: And it rings through the hall.
Seth: Right.
David: Yeah.
Seth: So you just hear a decree going out and the iron striking the stone.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: [imitates explosion]
David: Yeah.
Seth: Like-
David: Right
Seth: ... he, and he smashes-
David: So-
Seth: ... with his justice
David: ... right. And so is that kind of the idea that we get in Revelation, when this, this wor- the Word of God comes out of the mouth of Christ like a sword?
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: And it pierces, and it judges-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... and it, and it condemns.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Right? I mean, it does. We, we don't talk a lot about that in some circles, about Jesus being the one who actually brings justice and-
Seth: Right
David: ... smashes sin and s-
Seth: Yeah, and remember-
David: Even tears your heart-
Seth: ... it's, to how, like, how the chaff is blown away-
David: Right
Seth: ... in Psalm 1, it's by their meditation on the anti-Torah-
David: Right
Seth: ... the falseness of their own system of morality and belief, and the way that you're planted and grounded is by meditating on God's law.
David: Mm.
Seth: And what is the king's job? To enact God's law in the land.
David: Right.
Seth: So as he does that, all plans and laws that are against it are automatically crushed. God's law, the Messiah's law, this king's law, has God standing behind it. What does the na- what do the nations of the world have standing behind their law? Their own desires?
David: Yeah.
Seth: Their own wishes? What they hope might happen? What they most like today? Like, what, like, you have God standing behind your moral code. What?
David: What other groun- no wonder God's laughing.
Seth: No wonder God's laughing.
David: [laughs]
Seth: No wonder when his iron scepter drops on the stone, everything else shatters.
David: Yeah.
Seth: Like-
David: No, it's good. A- and the next verse is, the, the closing here brings good news, even to the Gentile nations, even to the nations that plot in vain. So let's take a look at that.
Seth: [gentle music] "Now therefore, O kings, be wise. Be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."
David: Yeah. So there's, there's hope here.
Seth: There's good news.
David: There's good n- good, good, good, good news here. You have these, these horrible nations plotting in vain, living the exact opposite way that Psalm 1 instructed us to. Like, if anyone is completely doomed, it's these people. And yet, an olive branch is held out to them.
Seth: Yep.
David: Right? And it's ser-
Seth: They-
David: ... serve the Lord with fear.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Right? Like, kiss the Son, which, kiss the Son is, is also, like, um, royal language. It's like-
Seth: I always think of, like, a king holding out his hand-
David: It, it's exactly what it is
Seth: ... with the rings on it.
David: Yeah.
Seth: And he's like, "Kiss-"
David: Yeah
Seth: ... "kiss my fingers."
David: It's exa-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... it's a, it's a symbol of fealty, like, of loyalty, that you would come and kiss the ring of the king, and so what he's saying is like, "Don't come to Israel and give David a kiss on the cheek." Like, that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about, like-Put God in his proper place-
Seth: Right
David: ... and his anointed king, his rule and reign, his Torah, everything, like pledge fealty to it, right? And ultimately, I think the best way to talk about it is the very last verse, which is, "Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Like, blessed are all. And that word all literally is talking about the nations, the pagan Gentile nations, because what's interesting in, is this word son here, kiss the son, the first time it's mentioned in verse seven, uh, you are my son, today I have begotten you, is in Hebrew. It's in s- it's son. But in verse 12, kiss the Son is in Aramaic.
Seth: Oh.
David: And so which, which people around them spoke. And so this is literally saying, "Kiss the Son, you Aramaic speakers."
Seth: Oh.
David: "I'm talking to you." This is literally a promise and a blessing to the nations around us, which was a promise to Abraham that that would be what happened. Like, come from the other nations and, like take refuge in Yahweh. He wants to be your king. Like, come and be f- folded in with him. I'm literally going to speak your language, and he is a son to you as well. Like, he, he's translated into your language. He is for you, this son, this Messiah, which I think is super cool. [laughs]
Seth: That is cool.
David: Yeah.
Seth: So the picture here is of the Messianic King exercising perfect justice in the world, and the nations of the world flocking to him-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... um, as the perfect judge of what is right and wrong, as the perfect ruler who will give them peace in their land. And this person is Jesus.
David: Yeah.
Seth: This person is Jesus. Um, uh, in John 5, uh, it says, "For the Father judges no one, but he's given all judgment to the Son-
David: Hmm
Seth: ... so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. And whoever does not honor the Father does not, uh, uh, or does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." So I think this, I think John's picking up on this language of Jesus is the son of this passage.
David: Yes.
Seth: He is the one who rules and reigns, who holds the iron scepter like-
David: Yep
Seth: ... Revelation 2 ha- says.
David: Yep.
Seth: And when you do not honor the Son of God-
David: Hmm
Seth: ... you do not follow-
David: Follow
Seth: ... the Torah.
David: Oh, yeah. You're right.
Seth: You do not bec- you are not the one who's planted by streams of water. You do not take refuge in him.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: You do not flourish and grow. If you do not see Jesus-
David: Right
Seth: ... you do not follow the Torah.
David: Right.
Seth: Which is what Jesus was saying to the-
David: Yeah, you can't just-
Seth: ... Pharisees
David: ... yeah, you can't just do the Torah and follow the Father and skip over the Son.
Seth: Right.
David: Like, that is im- impossible. You can't have the Father without the Son, and you can't have the Son without the Father. Like, kiss the Son. [laughs]
Seth: Yes.
David: Like, that's what he's talking about. Yeah.
Seth: Yeah.
David: That's cool. So wh- why, um, is, is this verse, verse seven, as we're kind of tying everything back to Jesus here in the, this last section, why is this verse, in verse seven, talked about so much in the New Testament? "You are my son. Today I have begotten you." And then often it's tied into, i- it's, it's like, uh, punctuation mark's put on it with, "And with you I'm well pleased." Like-
Seth: Yes
David: ... like, what's going on there? We get that in the baptism of Jesus in every account, the transfiguration in every account, and then when, when Peter in 1 Peter recalls the transfiguration that he beheld, um, it's, he, uh, he quotes the same thing.
Seth: When, uh, Paul preaches the gospel in Acts 13-
David: Yep
Seth: ... he uses this description. In Hebrews, it uses it twice.
David: Yep.
Seth: Once just to explain how Jesus is preeminent over all things.
David: Over angels and all things.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Yep.
Seth: And then specifically angels in-
David: Yep
Seth: ... chapter five.
David: Right.
Seth: So I, I don't know. Why? [laughs]
David: Yeah.
Seth: Why is the... I mean, I don't know.
David: Yeah. Well, I mean, I th- I mean, I think the, the obvious thing is to say Jesus is the long-awaited king. You've been praying these prayers for generations. Like-
Seth: Right
David: ... the anointed king is coming. He's going to blow away all nations. He's going to call people to himself. He's going to rule and reign with power and authority, perfection, and that person is Jesus.
Seth: Yeah.
David: So I think at the very least, we have to say, like, the reason why this is brought up so often is to evoke everything that's supposed to come with Psalm 1 and 2, and that Jesus is the new Davidic king, and then also that he is the Son of God.
Seth: Yeah.
David: Like, I think those are two things.
Seth: And I think probably how surprising it was that he was actually begotten.
David: Oh.
Seth: Like, so sup-
David: Yeah.
Seth: As-
David: Talk about escalation
Seth: ... like, he was actually born.
David: Right, unlike David, who was, begotten was a coronation language. Like, oh, yeah, today you become king.
Seth: Right.
David: And it's like, no, like, Jesus was born.
Seth: Everyw- whenever everybody-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... heard this verse, they had a category for it.
David: Right.
Seth: And it was like, oh, that's, that's the coronation ceremony. That's the coronation ceremony. That's the coronation ceremony.
David: Oh.
Seth: And then all of a sudden-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... Jesus is born in a manger.
David: But, but check this out. I- i- but i- i- that's not spoken over him at his birth.
Seth: No.
David: It's spoke- which, but sure. Like, yes.
Seth: Yeah.
David: The incarnation and the birth of Jesus is amazing, so I don't wanna belittle that.
Seth: The greatest miracle [laughs] of all.
David: In my excitement, I don't wanna just jump over that. But think about this. When a new king is anointed, right, when David was anointed, what happened? And what does the word anoint mean? What did, what did they do?
Seth: They poured oil on his head.
David: Yes. Right. And so when do we see this happening with Jesus? It's at his baptism when-
Seth: Oh, yeah
David: ... water is-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... is poured over. He's dunked-
Seth: Right, right, right, right
David: ... in water, right? So don't get, I don't want any-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... mad emails. I believe in immersion.
Seth: Mm.
David: Okay, whatever. Right? Jesus is baptized under this anointing water of God, and then the s- and then the Spirit of God descends on him, anointing him like oil coming over, spiritual oil-
Seth: Mm
David: ... coming over him, and then it's escalated where it's not just water and it's not just the Spirit of God. In the transfiguration, what comes upon him? The glory of God. He's dressed in the vestments of God's light and, like, holiness and purity-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... and splendor, and that's w- the other time it's said is whenever he's anointed with God's beauty. And like, he's like, "You are God himself." Like-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... I don't, it was-
Seth: There's like-
David: That's amazing
Seth: ... there's an escalation of what it means to be begotten.
David: Yeah, and what it means to be the king.
Seth: So in one sense, it would be a great honor to be coronated a king.
David: Right.
Seth: It is a surprising honor that the Son of God is born of a woman-
David: Right
Seth: ... and is incarnated in flesh. It's a even greater honor that he's anointed and begotten in his baptism-
David: Right
Seth: Is the inauguration, the beginning of his ministry. It's an even greater honor that he's transfigured on the mountain.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: And I'm trying to think-
David: And then he, and then ultimately he sits down on his throne.
Seth: Yes.
David: Like, takes his place. What's amazing here then, like, you wanna talk about good news for us, like, think about this. What does Jesus say after his baptism? He's like, or right before, he's like, "Let us do this to fulfill all righteousness," right?
Seth: Right.
David: So we partake in Jesus' baptism, we get to be anointed with the same, like, anointing that he underwent.
Seth: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
David: Like, we, and we're called sons and daughters of God. We get the same pronouncement spoken over us. Just as the dove, Holy Spirit, came on him, we get the Holy Spirit filled with us. And then 1 John 3:2 tells us that when we see him in heaven clothed in glory, we will too be clothed in glory. We'll become, we'll be made just like him. So it's like all this glory, all this anointing, all this sonship and daughtership, and like-
Seth: Right
David: ... adoption and power is put on us-
Seth: Yeah
David: ... too, because of what Jesus has done. Like, that's too good news. Like, that's, that's too much.
Seth: And maybe it, it redeems for me, and even a, a really Christian word, is you're born again.
David: Right.
Seth: You are begotten again.
David: Oh.
Seth: You're anointed-
David: It's good
Seth: ... again-
David: Yeah
Seth: ... for a new mission and a new plan to be Jesus' ambassadors in this world.
David: Yeah.
Seth: To bring the kingdom, that the messianic king has begun in Jesus and continues through you.
David: Yeah. So let, let's, let's end with, um, a word to, even if they're not listening, you can take this to, um, your own non-believing friends, but, like, this ends with a message to non-believers, right?
Seth: Yeah.
David: To those outside. And what is, what is the message to them? It's like, take refuge in God. And, like, I love, uh, I read one commentator talk about how refuge in God is, like, the best metaphor for talking about faith.
Seth: Mm-hmm.
David: That what does it mean when we say that we have faith in Jesus? We're saying that we, like, trust him to be our safety, to be the one who protects us from outside forces-
Seth: Right
David: ... and evil and injustice, and the wrath that we deserve, all this stuff. So, like, to our unbelieving friends, like, there's a word-
Seth: Right
David: ... for them here, and it's like-
Seth: Take refuge
David: ... come take refuge. Like-
Seth: And you might not see your need for refuge-
David: Right
Seth: ... because you say, "No, no, no, my, my, I'm not doing anything wrong."
David: I'm not doing anything wrong, yeah.
Seth: But I think you probably have a desire for justice in this world.
David: Yes.
Seth: You wanna see the right thing done-
David: Mm-hmm
Seth: ... for the most amount of people. And that can't be done by your moral standards.
David: No.
Seth: You won't make a good king for all people.
David: Hmm.
Seth: Your laws won't actually bring justice. As much as you think they do, I don't think they will. I don't th- A- and if you say that your laws and your morality is best for all people for all times, I think that's just hubris talking.
David: Right.
Seth: And I would encourage you to humble yourself before a God who sits with a law of iron, and has been speaking from the foundation of the world a wisdom that you can take refuge in. Like, his wisdom will one day overpower your own.
David: Mm-hmm.
Seth: His law will one day overtake your own, and he will be proved to be righteous and just, more just and better than you are. And if you do- if you want to escape the futility of your own moral code and the futility of your own justice, you must take refuge in his. [upbeat music]
Outro: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel is a nonprofit dedicated to creating free gospel-centered media that speaks the gospel out of every corner of scripture. So to join us in our mission and view our resources, we invite you to visit spokengospel.com. [upbeat music]
