Ps 2:6

Ps. 2.5-6

Diagrammed

Then he addresses them  /  in his anger
In his wrath  /  he terrifies them

“I have installed  /  my king
Upon Zion  /  my holy mountain!”


“Then he addresses them in his anger”: One sees here that the laughter of v.4 was but a prelude (or, a procession announcing the coming announcement). Here, we finally have words that will meet the arrogant words of v.s 3. One pictures here a booming voice, full of an extreme anger. It is a voice of violence and terror. From a horrible laughter we now hear a horrible decree.

This pause, or, this introduction, is like the intake of breathe prior to the shout. The reader must, for one verse, experience this lapse in time, this hiatus. It is really the first moment of silence in the Psalm and it prepares the reader for the onslaught of v. 6. One can picture the laughter stopping for a moment. And this pause would be more horrible than the laughter itself. Everyone has been silenced. Everyone has cowered and realized that they are in an entirely unexpected and deep trouble. The laughter has laid waste to all pretensions and one is not at all sure about what is going to follow.

And then a literal earth-shaking voice, much louder than the laugh, exclaims, “I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain!”

These are the only words directly spoken by God in the whole Psalm, and, like a hinge, everything changes. The reader has sensed that the arrogant men’s words, all 15 of them, were unsubstantial. They carried no weight and were in fact humorous. They were not to be taken seriously. These words of the Lord stand in utter contrast. 10 words in all, but they feel like a mountain crashing down. We have been prepared for them. The Psalm has, through its sparse description, built the space necessary for us to hear these words correctly: the Enthroned One, the laughter, the mocking, the anger, the wrath and the terror.

Likewise, the reader has been prepared for it in several other important ways:

We spent a good deal of time talking about how the reader is alienated from these arrogant men, how the reader feels at a complete remove from them. This distance has allowed for the utter contrast. Without these arrogant men preparing the way these words would not work as effectively as they do in their context. Although we are not to identify with the arrogant men, when this voice falls upon them we shake; we lose our breathe and we cower. No matter where you stand, this Enthroned Voice speaks of utter power and control. Notice how the arrogant words, “Let us tear off….” work as a future command. Here, by contrast, “I have installed my king”, works as a simple statement of fact. There is no question, no prospective nature about it. It admits of no compromise or hesitation. It is a direct statement of fact. A word of iron. There is no room for movement or question. It is not a threat (which would point to the future). It is more solid, and hence more terrifying, than that.

“I have installed my king”: The division here between the Lord and his anointed is crucial. Whereas prior to this they have been conjoined, here the source of the anointed’s power/installation is made clear. It is founded upon this voice of terror, command and control. The “Enthroned One” has enthroned. And it is “his” king. Whereas all the other kings are “earthly kings” this anointed will be a ‘heavenly’ king, not grounded upon his own nature, but upon the anointing (or, ‘begetting’) of the Enthroned One. This astonishing source of power has empowered this man to be a king. And he will, as we will see, imbue him with the same aura of as he exemplifies here. But, His words must come first. His words must lay the ground work for the reader to understand both the difference between the Enthroned One and his anointed and their unity. Notice that everything is possessive, “my king, upon Zion, my holy mountain”. This king is like the Enthroned One’s own possession, a thing precious to him.

“Zion, my holy mountain”: The Enthroned One laughs in heaven, but he installs his king upon “Zion, my holy mountain”. Just as we explained before regarding “heaven” and how its geographical reference (“up there”) points to a theological reference (“the source of all power”), so too does Zion represent on earth the source of all power. Throughout the OT everything emerges from Zion, the holy mountain: God’s word goes forth from Zion, God’s kings are rooted in Zion, the sacrificial system is based in Zion, the Temple (the “house of God”) is in Zion. It is the meeting point between heaven and earth and is, in a way, the heavenly reality on earth. It is the center of the world, the ‘navel’ of the world. It represents on earth the unity of the one God in heaven and to be installed upon Zion is to be installed within the same sphere of power that the Enthroned One himself operates.