Psalm2

PSALM 2 is a COSMIC DRAMA describing the present SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

SCENE 1 - The Focus is on THE UNSAVED MASSES of humanity. 

The curtain draws back and we see the Holy Spirit through the Psalmist yearning for the unsaved masses of humanity. He sees them in deception and darkness, in strife and emnity against God, and He asks from a heart of love:

'Why do the nations rage (tumultuously assemble), and the people imagine (meditate) a vain (worthless, empty) thing?' (v1)

Why do they reject God when He loves them so much? 

Why do they think they can save themselves without God's help?

SCENE 2 - The Focus moves up onto the spiritual realm. 

Now we see the answer to the question of v1: 

The people are being controlled by unseen rebellious rulers.

'The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his Anointed (Christ the King).' (v2)

He now opens our eyes to the spiritual realm and we see that these people are under the power of kings and rulers (demonic principalities and powers -satan is called the god and prince of this world). Unlike the people who are blinded  and deceived - these rulers are in determined, organised opposition to the Lord. The scene is set of a great war. between the kings of the earth and the Lord of heaven. The war is over the nations and people of v1 who are in darkness. Every war is over an inheritance and possession (usually it is land) This battle is over the inheritance of the precious souls of men (see v8) and who is to be in the position of authority over them. This battle is for people.   Many give their lives for mere land. How much more should we give our lives for the salvation of souls! God has a plan to win the people to His Kingdom.   In v8 we will see the people come to God.

His weapon is the Anointed One. 

This refers firstly to Jesus Christ who was anointed with God's power to set people free from satan and save them but it also refers to those who are now in Christ. ('the Christ' means 'the anointed one'). This refers to(1) Jesus and also to (2) those now in Christ, one with Christ, part of the body of Christ =Christians. By identification with Christ we now have the same position and anointing as Christ as we stand in his name in the spiritual warfare. We are the mysterythat was hidden in Christ before the Cross. 

Hence we can apply this Psalm to us as 'anointed ones.' So we're now in Psalm 2 because we're in the Anointed One and are anointed with the same anointing as Christ. When we see the anointed mentioned in Psalm 2 - that's us. The power of God is on us to set men free.

So in the warfare on one side are the demonic rulers holding mankind in darkness and on the other side is the Lord and His Anointed (His weapon in the war). Demons hold the unsaved in the yoke of bondage but the anointing breaks the yoke (Isa 10:27). 

In the next verse we see what the demons are saying about the anointed:

'Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.' (v3)

They're in bondage because of the anointed ones!  The anointing binds up the enemy. We see that all is not well in the kingdom of darkness. Once there was just one 'anointed' but now there are millions and increasing all the time! Christians think they're bound by satan but the truth is we bind up satan. We put the demons in bondage when we walk in the Spirit and speak the Word, when we let the anointing flow through us. We carry the presence of Jesus and represent His victory and satan's defeat. The demons can't operate in your presence. You mess up their plans. In their panic they're desperately trying to throw off the bondage.

SCENE 3 - The Focus Moves Up Higher To God In Heaven. 

We now see the Lord and His response.  

What is His reaction to this organised opposition? 

Is He impressed or worried?  Does He think He might lose? :

'He Who sits in the heavens shall laugh: 

the Lord shall have them in derision.' (v4)

He sits on the Throne of the universe. He has all power and authority and sees their attempts to escape their bondage and to defeat Him in this war and laughs. He sees all their plans and rolls around laughing.  He knows the final outcome. He is in heaven, far above the earth and sees everything. 

They look puny. 'Who do they think they are, I created them and they think they can succeed against Me? That's a joke!' 

God never worries.  Heaven is always full of joy. You might be facing difficult circumstances tempting you to fear and worry, causing you to entertain defeated thoughts. If you were to listen to heaven what would you hear? 

'Oh he's really messed it up this time. I don't think I can help him.' 

NO!  You would hear laughter. The Lord Who sits in Heaven far above all principality and power laughs your opposition to scorn. 

'He thinks he's in bondage. He thinks the situation is too hard for Me. Ha, ha, ha!' By this time the angels are falling around laughing. 'If he could see what I will do through this situation he would laugh with us. If he could see how puny satan's power is compared to God's power, he would roar with laughter at satan's futile opposition.'

When you tune into heaven the joy of heaven starts to pour into your soul and you'll laugh with heaven. This is the spirit of victory!  God laughs at His opposition. The devil lays all kinds of traps for 30 years to make a man go to hell and then you come in the anointing and in 10 minites, you destroy all satan's works as salvation comes to that man.   That's funny!

However there's a serious side to this also. The devil has held mankind in cruel bondage for too long. Righteous anger rises up in the Lord and He announces His judgement on the demonic powers:

'Then shall He speak to them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.' (v5)

When God speaks the demons tremble.  He declares their defeat. When God speaks His Word through your mouth they tremble and lose all their confidence and flee in terror.

The next verse tells us what He says as His final answer to satan which is also what we should declare:

'Yet have I set (installed) my king upon my holy hill of Zion.' (v6)

He declares that He has already dealt the crushing blow to the enemy. This is His answer to all the tactics of the enemy. God sent forth His anointed weapon, Jesus, to the earth who destroyed the power of the devil on the cross. He rose victorious and ascended far above all principality and power. 

Now he's seated in heavenly places with all authority and the devil is under His feet. His sitting down on the Throne indicates His work of devil-defeating is complete. So God's answer to satan is that He has set His King on the Throne. This is the secret of spiritual warfare. God refers to the completed victory of Jesus Christ. The battle has already been won.  Satan is already defeated. He's fighting a battle he has already lost! That's why God laughs at their futile efforts. Likewise we must declare that all dominion belongs to God's King, we confess that Jesus is risen from the dead and He is Lord; that He has died for us and has defeated all evil power once and for all and that we now have the victory in Christ.

SCENE 4 -The Focus moves to the Anointed King Jesus. 

Exalted to God's right hand He says:

'I will declare the decree the Lord has said to me: 

'You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.' (v7)

God spoke this to Jesus at his resurrection. (Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5, 5:5)   This is His coronation as King of Kings. Jesus declares his position, He confesses what the Father said about him. In Christ we have been given authority in his name over all the power of the enemy. 

We need to confess with Jesus: 'I am God's son. 

I am anointed with the Holy Spirit. 

I have ruling power over satan's forces in Jesus Name. 

I am more than a conqueror.' 

This positions us in victory in the spiritual warfare. 

As we do this, the demons are bound in our presence.

We now come to the key verse of the Psalm which gives our role in the present warfare. God is speaking to his anointed (us) and says:

'ASK OF ME and I shall give you the nations - your inheritance, 

and the uttermost parts of the earth - your possession.' (v8)

The nations don't become our inheritance when we pray, they belonged to Christ (and us) when Jesus paid for them with his blood. They are now our possession, but they're under the power of satan. God is telling His anointed to GO and CLAIM their inheritance as He told Joshua to go and claim the Promised land. Though it was under enemy control, God said He had given it to Joshua. But he had to go and possess (put his foot upon) the land and it would be converted to him. When Jesus rose again he told his anointed to GO to all nations (our inheritance) and preach the gospel by the power of the Spirit and they'd be converted (turned over) to him (Luke 24:46-49, Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:8).

Psalm 2:8 is a Divine mandate to go preach to every creature and gives us the right to pray for any help we need from God to get the job done. 

 This is how we claim our inheritance- we go witness to them of the truth that they now belong to Jesus because he died for them and the Spirit convicts them of the truth. But we must not try to win them in our own power for they are held by a supernatural power and it needs God's power and anointing to release them. That's why He tells us that when we go to claim our inheritance (the precious fruit of the earth) we must: 'ASK OF GOD.'  We ask for God to turn up as we share Jesus. We ask for the Divine Presence, boldness, and anointing to be manifest in and through us and for God to move power and even miracles. It's the gospel and the anointing that will win the people. Witnessing must be supported by prayer. This verse guarantees God's power if you ask for it as you go forth with the gospel to be a blessing.

The effect of this anointing on satan's power and strongholds is now described: 'You (we) shall break them (demons) with a rod of iron (the name of Jesus and the anointing); you shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.' (v9)  (Rev 2:26,27; 12:5;19:15). 

Satan has no defence before God's power that's released through prayer and preaching! His strongholds are smashed to pieces.

SCENE 5 - The Focus moves to the preaching of the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

After asking for God's anointing we go forth to all people with the gospel message: 'Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 

Kiss (submit to) the Son (King Jesus v7), 

lest he be angry, and you perish... 

Blessed are all who put their trust in him.' (v10-12)

Jesus trained his disciples how to move in the face of spiritual warfare from Psalm 2 (in the 40 days after his resurrection).

In ACTS 4:24-28 they put it into practice. Satan had stirred up opposition to them preaching in Jesus Name. They responded in prayer quoting Psalm2, as fulfilled in Christ and pointing out that they now stood in his Name in the same warfare. They were saying: 'we're in Psalm2, we're the Lord's appointed and anointed, and so we claim the promise of v8 ('ASK OF ME-of My Spirit and anointing')'

So based on Psalm2 they prayed: 'Grant us that with ALL BOLDNESS we may speak your word, by stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of Jesus.' 

This is a prayer that is sure to be answered, a prayer that we should pray: 

'when they prayed, the place was shaken 

and they were all FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT, 

and spoke the word of God with boldness.' (v29-31)

As a result there was a continued harvest of souls (4:33; 5:12-16)

To be effective in spiritual warfare we must 

(1) know our position in Christ 

(2) call upon God for the anointing and 

(3) go forth with the gospel. (Ephesians 6).