This post is from, God Is Our Refuge and Strength: 150 Devotionals Through the Psalms, by Bill Boekestein and Rob Ventura, Published by The Banner of Truth, October 2026. We wish to thank the Banner for allowing us to publish a selection.

God’s Son Is Victorious (Psalm 2)

Some ‘why’ questions seek answers. Others, like the opening cry of Psalm 2,express stunned disbelief: ‘Why do the nations rage?’ (1) This isn’t a request for information—it’s a lament over the madness of human rebellion. The psalm doesn’t answer the question. Instead, it addresses a problem we face in our day too: unsaved people are bent against God’s wise authority. And yet, for all its noise and arrogance, godless defiance is nothing more than a fleeting illusion of power.

The psalm counters with several vigorous divine responses to human mutiny. The first is unexpected—but exactly what we need. God laughs. He sees the absurd futility of creatures shaking their fist at their creator. It’s like a Chihuahua challenging a Pitt Bull—utterly ridiculous! But while the mismatch is comical, the rebellion itself is not. The psalm reveals a shift in God’s response: ‘At first he’s amused at their presumption; then he gets good and angry.’^[1] ‘He will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury’ (5). God has installed his King on his ‘holy hill’ (6). He cannot be overthrown. The Father promised and then gave to his Son Jesus the nations for an inheritance (Matt. 28:18-20). He will break resisters with his iron rod, shattering them like clay pots cast to the ground.

Yet there is another way. Christ rules with gentleness over those who willingly lay down their weapons and swear allegiance to him. Psalm 2 is a warning, a call to a wise response to God’s supremacy. Sinners can fear Christ now—honoring his glory, respecting his wrath—and find joy and peace in his rule. Or they will face the full weight of their deserved punishment. The way the psalm phrases the offer of surrender is powerful: ‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way’ (12). God’s patience for rebels will expire. But he blesses those who flee to him through Jesus (Heb. 7:25).

No wonder the early church cherished Psalm 2. They treasured how it previewed the treachery and defeat of Jesus’ foes (Acts 4:23-31). God’s Son is always the victor. His suffering and return to glory give struggling believers just the comfort they need in a broken and hostile world (Acts 13:33). The nations may rage and plot, but Christ is enthroned. And if angels are merely ministering spirits, how much greater is Christ, our perfect protector (Heb. 1:14, 4)? He alone is the only source of ‘eternal salvation’ (Heb. 5:9). ‘Blessed are all who take refuge in him’ (12).

[1] Eugene Peterson, The Message Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2012), Psalm 2:4-6.

What others are saying about God is Our Refuge and Strength:

Packing exegetical insights with experiential devotion into a few brief pages for each of the 150 psalms, Pastors Boekestein and Ventura open up not only the sense of each psalm but also the thinking of our Lord. This is a wonderful book that will help you read, pray, sing, or preach the Psalms!

—Barry York, President and Professor of Pastoral Theology and Homiletics, Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary