PSALM 2 (with cross references & topics)
Why do the nations conspire (heathen rage, per KJV; quoted in Acts 4:25b-26, see Acts<1> below) & the people plot in vain (meditate on a vain thing)? The kings of the earth take their stand & the rulers gather together against the LORD (YAHWEH) & against HIS Anointed One [David-- a shadow of things to come; Jesus, per Acts]. 'Let us break Their chains,' they say, '& throw off Their fetters.' The ONE enthroned in Heaven laughs; the LORD (YAHWEH) scoffs at them.
Then HE rebukes them in HIS Anger & terrifies them in HIS Wrath, saying, I have installed MY King (anointed David) on Zion, MY Holy Hill. This hill was the Jebusite fortress that became known as Zion, & was expanded into the City of David, Jerusalem; it was the original location of the ark of the covenant (in a tent-- see 2ndSa 5:6-9; 6:12-17); scattered throughout the O.T. are refs. to holy hill & holy mountain-- see PSALM 9 Psa.
I David will proclaim [declare-- see Acts<2> below] the Decree (Prescription) of the LORD: HE [GOD] said to ME [Jesus yet "up-there"], YOU are MY SON (KING); today, before creation (before time began), I have become YOUR FATHER (begotten YOU).
Distant & Far Distant prophecies Ask of ME, & I will make the nations Your distant inheritance, the ends of the earth YOUR far distant Possession-- we find in Psa 22:29 that All the rich of the earth will feast & worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before HIM. YOU will rule them with an iron scepter (break them with a rod of iron); You will dash them to pieces like pottery-- notice the 1st "quote" in blue ("used" in Reve 12:5) is the Father speaking about the Son, but both (in blue & lavender together) is a verbatim quote by Jesus, speaking to overcomers in Thyatira (just as I have received authority from MY FATHER-- see Reve 2:27). EOP
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear & rejoice with trembling. Kiss the "up there" SON, lest HE be angry-- even in O.T. times people were to be aware of the Trinity, & you be destroyed in your way, for HIS Wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in HIM.
=====
2ndSa <1> 7:10-16 <2> 15:12,14 <3> 16:5-10,12-14 <4> 22:2 <1> Nathan quoting what the Lord told him to tell David: I will provide a place for MY People Israel [they wouldn't need to conquer it, like with the promised land; but similar to his provision in our hearts for the Holy Spirit, the place could be defiled] & will plant Them so that They can have a home of Their own. Wicked people will not oppress Them anymore, as they did at the beginning & have done ever since I appointed leaders (judges) over MY People Israel. I will give You rest from all Your enemies. It was all downhill from here, though; sure David's son, Solomon, inherited riches & peace, began wisely, & built the temple, but then he married 700 wives (& had 300 concubines). Note that this is the Lord declaring to David; it is quite different from the Decree of the LORD that David proclaimed about Jesus in the psalm above: The LORD (YAHWEH) declares to You that the LORD (HE) will establish a house (lasting dynasty, per 1stSa 25:28) for You: Near prophecy When Your days are over & You rest with Your fathers, I will raise up Your offspring [Solomon] to succeed You, who will come from Your own body, & I will establish His kingdom. He is the One who will build a house for MY Name, & I will establish His throne forever. I will be His spiritual father, & He will be MY spiritual son. When He does wrong, I will punish Him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But MY Love will never be taken away from Him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before You. Triple Truth But David, both Your house & Your kingdom will endure forever before ME; also Your throne will be established forever. EOT/EOP This all is recorded also in 1stCh 17:9-14. In PSALM 61 Luke we see that the victorious Jesus inherited David's throne. <2> After king David sinned with Bathsheba (Solomon was her 4th-- David's 10th; see PART II J.1.c.iii.), though he confessed to God, there was a period of unrest (consider Lev 26:3-17); also, the David who had boldly slew Goliath temporarily lost his confidence-- which boldness he had recently found extended to the welfare of God's people. 1 of David's sons contrived to replace his father on the throne. In Hebron (see PART II J.1.c.i.): While Absalom was offering sacrifices for appearance sake, he also sent for David's counselor. And so the conspiracy gained strength, & Absalom's following kept on increasing. Then David said to all His officials who were with Him in Jerusalem, 'Come! We must flee, or none of Us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake Us & bring ruin upon [overwhelm] Us & put the city to the sword.' <3> Near Jerusalem (s.a. PART II J.1.c.i.2.): As king David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei; He cursed as He came out. He pelted David & all the king's officials with stones; He said, 'The LORD (YAHWEH) has handed the kingdom over to Your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because You are a man of blood.' Then Abishai said to the king, 'Let Me go over & cut off His head.' But the king said, 'If He is cursing because the LORD (YAHWEH) said to Him, 'Curse David', who can so much as ask 'Why'? It may be that the LORD (YAHWEH) will see My distress (the tears of My eye-- see 1stSa 1:11; Psa 25:18) & repay Me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.' So David & His men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite Him, cursing as He went & throwing stones at Him & showering Him with dirt. The king & all the people with Him arrived at Their destination exhausted. <4> The LORD (YAHWEH) is My rock (safety), My fortress & My deliverer. This chapter is reportedly the song David sang to the LORD when HE delivered Him from the hand of all His enemies & from the hand of Saul-- it is repeated nearly word-for-word in Psa 18-- see PerspectivesC C.3.a. & PSALM 18 Psa.
Messages to the Churches To all 7 locations, ref. overcomers In Psa (v. 2) above, we saw that the Anointed One transitioned from David to Jesus in Acts; below we see (text in grape in 4. Thyatira) a transition from Jesus wielding the iron scepter to the overcomer wielding it: To the angel (messenger) of the church at:
- Ephesus- To Him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of GOD (Reve 2:1,7);
- Smyrna- He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the 2nd death (Reve 2:8,11);
- Pergamum- To Him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give Him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to Him that receives it (Reve 2:12,17);
- Thyatira- To Him that overcomes & does MY Will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-- with me He will rule them with an iron scepter; He will dash them to pieces like pottery --just as I have received authority from MY FATHER. I will also give Him the morning star (Reve 2:18,26-29);
- Sardis- He who overcomes will, like Them (a few people in Sardis who have not ever soiled Their clothes-- see v. 4), be dressed in white. I will never blot out His name from the book of life, but will acknowledge His name before MY FATHER (Reve 3:1,5);
- Philadephia- Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the Temple of MY GOD. Never again will He leave it. I will write on Him the Name of MY GOD & the name of the City of MY GOD, the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of Heaven from MY GOD, & I will also write on Him MY New Name (Reve 3:7,12);
- Laodicea- To Him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with ME on MY Throne, just as I overcame & sat down with MY FATHER on HIS Throne (Reve 3:14,21).
===
Acts <1> 4:24-30 <2> 13:16,32-35 In both <1> & <2> are quotes from Psa 2:1-2,7b; 16:10b (noted by grape text); also 1 from Isa 55:3b noted in green text)-- but 1st other passages: <1> Ch. 1 - 7 cover events that took place in Jerusalem. Why was the start of Christianity in Jerusalem? Recall Jesus' death, burial & resurrection took place in Jerusalem; recall Jesus saying (Luke 24:49), I am going to send You what My Father has promised. Stay in the city until You have been clothed with power from on high. John 14:16; 15:26 says, I will ask the FATHER, & HE will give You another Counselor to be with You forever-- the Spirit of Truth. When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to You from the FATHER, He will testify about Me/ME. In Acts 2:33 Peter says, Exalted to the Right Hand of GOD, HE has received from the FATHER the promised Holy Spirit & has poured out what You now see & hear. Now this last took place in Acts 2; ch. 1 - 7 cover events still in Jerusalem-- thence Christianity spread from Samaria to many parts of the Gentile world. 1 of the events was the healing of a crippled beggar, who was over 40 yrs. old (see 3:1-2,6-7; 4:22)-- which increased the # of believers to 5,000 (from 120 before Pentecost it had grown to ~3,000-- see 1:15; 2:41; 4:4) despite Peter & John being jailed by the priests & the captain of the temple guard & the Sadducees (4:1-3). Upon their release (because all the people were praising GOD-- see 4:21), Peter & John (or perh. the entire 5,000) prayed: They raised Their voices together in prayer to GOD, Sovereign LORD, YOU made the heavens & the earth & the sea, & everything in them. YOU spoke by the HOLY SPIRIT through the mouths of YOUR Servant, Our father David: Why do the nations rage & the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand & the rulers gather together against the LORD & against HIS Anointed One-- quoted verbatim, see Psa(vv. 1-2) above. Indeed Herod & Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles & the people of Israel in this city to conspire against YOUR Holy Servant Jesus, whom YOU anointed. They did what YOUR Power & Will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, LORD, consider their threats & enable YOUR Servants to speak YOUR Word with great boldness. Stretch out YOUR Hand to heal & perform miraculous signs & wonders through the Name of YOUR Holy Servant Jesus. <2> Standing up in the synagogue of Perga, Paul motioned with His hand & said: 'We tell You the good news: What GOD promised Our fathers HE has fulfilled for Us, Their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the 2nd psalm-- see Psa(v. 7b) above (s.a. Hebr 1:5): YOU are MY SON yet up-there; today I have become YOUR FATHER. The fact that GOD raised Him from the dead, never to see decay, is stated in these words, I will give YOU the holy & sure blessings promised to David (Isaiah 55:3b says, I will make an everlasting covenant with You, MY faithful love promised to David). So it is stated elsewhere (Psa 16:10b): YOU will not let YOUR Holy One see decay.