Psalm 2:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

NIV: The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

NASB: He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.

CSB: The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them.

NLT: But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.

KJV: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

NKJV: He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.

Those who resist God's rule, His will, and His truth do so in rage, frenzy, plotting, and scheming (Psalm 2:1–3). Scripture reveals the sovereign Lord's response to the unbelieving world's desire to overthrow Him. "The nations" (Psalm 2:1) and "the kings…and the rulers" (Psalm 2:2) think of themselves as the ultimate authority. They plan together to rebel against God's will and His Word.

Even so, God "sits" in the heavens, a reference to His throne (Isaiah 6:1), from which He rules heaven and earth. From that lofty, secure vantage point, He sees the frantic, rebellious nations, and He laughs. The nations' plot is ridiculous—it is laughable. God is not intimidated by tantrums from human beings. All the power of all the nations is no match for God. Isaiah 40:15 declares: "Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust." And Isaiah 40:17 says, "All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness."

When proud mankind wanted to make a name for themselves by building a tower at Babel that reached high into the sky, Scripture says God came down to see it (Genesis 11:5). He then divided their common language into many languages and scattered the builders far from the construction site (Genesis 11:1–9). Similarly, according to the following verse, God will terrify the rebellious nations.

Psalm 2:1–6 portrays nations arrayed in military fashion against the Lord God and His anointed King. They have plotted to throw off the Lord's control. However, their scheme causes the Lord to laugh and to defeat their evil plan. He addresses them in His wrath and terrifies them in a display of His fury. After being released by the Sanhedrin, the Jews' ruling body in the first century, Peter and John returned to a gathering of believers and reported what had transpired. Together, the believers quoted Psalm 2:6 and applied it to the risen Son of God (Acts 4:23–30).

Psalm 2, written by King David (Acts 4:25), begins by questioning the nations' frenzied attempt to overthrow the Lord and His anointed King, Jesus. Godless cultures plot to rid themselves of divine authority. But trying to escape God's will is ridiculous. He will direct His wrath toward them and asserts He has established His King upon Mount Zion. God addresses His Son as His only begotten. This passage predicts the anointed King—the Messiah—will smash the rebellious nations to pieces with an iron rod. The psalmist urges the kings and rulers of the earth to submit to the Son's rule and come to friendly terms with Him. The psalm closes with the declaration that all who take refuge in the Lord's anointed King are blessed.

Psalm 2 is often labelled a royal psalm, because it refers to the King above all kings. This complements several other psalms: Psalms 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, and 144. Acts 13:33 relates Psalm 2:7 to Jesus. Revelation 2:27, spoken by the risen Savior, relates Psalm 2:9 to His victory over the rebellious nations and His reign on earth. Revelation 19:19–21 describes when and how Jesus will defeat the nations that assemble to go to war against God's anointed Son.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.