Come and kiss the Son

Come and kiss the Son – a sermon on Psalm 2 by Rev. Colin Pretorius.

In the early part of the 20th century, a young Russian peasant boy was dutifully taught the Word of God by his parents and grandparents.[1] This young man later recalled how he was taught to kneel and pray and it was even said that he had memorised all four gospels. But that upbringing had very little positive effect on his life. He would become a fierce atheist who scorned and raged against anything religious. He also became an important man in Russia, and was personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of his countrymen. Those of you who are history buffs or lived in the 1960’s may remember his name: Nikita Khrushchev.  During the height of the Cold War, Khrushchev was the leader of Russia (or the Soviet Union, as it was then known). And it was especially during the early part of the 1960’s that he aggressively fought against all things Christian. It is said that he once boasted that by the end of 1965 he would exhibit on television the last Soviet Christian. But that deadline passed. Khrushchev, who appointed himself as the judge and executioner of Christians in his country, has since gone to appear before the Judge of all mankind. Later leaders would keep persecuting Christians, but everywhere across that huge land followers of Christ kept following their Saviour. Leaders and nations may rage against God, but God laughs at them and at their plans. He remains sovereign and His will will be done. And in psalm 2 the psalmist reminds us of this God’s sovereignty, of His reign over all of creation.

Psalm 2 is a wonderful psalm from a number of perspectives. It is thought that it may initially have been part of psalm 1. It’s one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament, as we’ll see as we go on. Now some scholars suggest that Psalm 2 just refers to an earthly king and doesn’t really point to Christ.[2] But while it certainly also refers to an earthly king, it is undoubtedly one of the most Messianic psalms there is! More than a thousand years after the psalm was written, the New Testament confirms it has been fulfilled in Jesus. But Psalm 2 isn’t just a Messianic psalm. It also gives us some of the clearest teaching about the Trinity in the Old Testament – Father, Son and Holy Spirit: one God.  All-up, it’s a really great psalm!

So let’s start digging into this wonderful Psalm, which is divided into four parts.

  • Verses 1 to 3 speak about man’s rebellion against God.
  • Verses 4 to 6 show us the Father’s ridicule of that rebellion.
  • Verses 7 to 9 speak to us of the Son’s reign.
  • And the last 3 verses, 10-12, talk about the Spirit’s reminder.

Rebellion, Ridicule, Reign and Reminder – the four parts of psalm 2.

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[1] William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (Norton and Company, 2003) 27-28.
[2] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 21.