Raised to Glory and Power - Westminster Confession Chapter 23

God proclaimed Jesus Christ His Son by raising him from the dead (Rom 1:4). Jesus therefore is the king spoken of in Psalm 2. That Psalm lays before the world two paths open to every nation, just as Psalm 1 lays before the world the two paths open to every person. Psalm 2 is in four parts. The first part (vss 1-3) asks why are the nations in rebellion against God’s Anointed King. The leaders of the nations lead the rebellion. That rebellion came to its peak when the Jews and the Romans together condemned Jesus to death (Ac 4:25-28). The second part (vss 4-6)describes God’s laughter at the rebellion and his response, “My Son will still reign.” The third part (vss 7-9) describes God’s promise to his Son. He will give him the nations for his inheritance. The last part (vss 10-12) advises the world’s elites to bow to the Son and serve the Lord. Continued rebellion will bring God’s wrath and their perishing, but blessed are all who trust in Him. This Psalm reveals the most important political fact about civil governments: they reign by God’s power, as Jesus said to Pilate when he was on trial. “You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above. (Jo 19:11). When Jesus said that all authority in heaven and in earth had been given to him (Mt 28:18), he revealed that he reigns even over kings, presidents, judges, and parliaments. Psalm 2 advises these elites, therefore, to bow to King Jesus.