To answer the question we must carefully consider
the text of the psalm itself on the one hand and note how its
quotations in the NT are employed on the other.
Psalm 2 is a prophecy of the Kingdom when the
Christ will assert His authority and reign as King over the whole
earth in the world to come. In this prophetic setting we read “And
I have anointed my king
upon Zion, the hill of my holiness. I will declare the decree:
Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
I this day have begotten
thee” (vs 6, 7). Now Biblical prophecies generally have a twofold
aspect: a partial one that is applicable to the time when written
and a complete fulfilment in the future. Appreciation of this
principle is vital to a correct interpretation of v7. That Christ
will fulfil this psalm in the future is beyond doubt, but what was
the immediate application? According to Acts 4: 25, David wrote the
psalm. Now v7 is in the first person (I and me). It is not in
the abstract third person (he
and him) that is used for
many prophetic Scriptures such as Isaiah 53. This verse was spoken
by David
personally: “I will
declare the decree: Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; I
this day have begotten thee” (Ps. 2: 7). Hence in the first
instance, the details
must apply to him.
When did Jehovah speak to David? In eternity before he was born? Of
course not! When he was born as a babe? No! When a child? Hardly!
The decree and the words were surely spoken to David when he was a
man, possibly at his anointing by Samuel (see 1 Sam. 16: 13). This
suggests that the
fulfilment of the
words of v7 in Christ,
do not refer to His birth
but when He was a man.
The next thing to be considered is the word
begotten and whether it
always refers to birth. Yes, the Hebrew word is certainly used for
birth on both the male side (see
begot in Gen. 4: 18) and
the female (see bear in
Gen. 3: 16). However it is also employed in a figurative sense when
it is translated bring forth
in such Scriptures as Job 15: 35, Prov. 27: 1 and Zeph. 2: 2. The
latter Scripture reads “before the decree bring forth, [before] the
day pass away as chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon
you, before the day of Jehovah’s anger come upon you”. Dr Robert
Young in his literal translation also translates the Hebrew word as
brought thee forth in Ps.
2: 7. Now the decree of Ps. 2: 7 was given to the Lord at His
baptism for it is then that we hear the words from heaven “Thou art my beloved son, in thee I have found my delight” (Mark 1:
11, see also Matt. 3: 17; Luke 3: 22). It was
then that the Lord was
brought forth into the
sphere of public testimony in view of the Kingdom being offered to
Israel—hence John the Baptist’s statement “I knew him not; but that
he might be manifested to Israel, therefore have I come baptising
with water” (John 1: 31).
Psalm 2: 7 is quoted three times in the NT—each
time by Paul and always to a Jewish audience. The first is his
address in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia where he says “And
we declare unto you the
glad tidings of the promise made to the fathers, that God has
fulfilled this to us their children, having raised up Jesus; as it
is also written in the second psalm,
Thou art my Son: this day
have I begotten thee”
(Acts 13: 32–33). While the expression
raised up is used of seed
(see Gen. 38: 8 etc.), it is more often used of prophets, judges
etc. (see Deut. 18: 15; Judges 2: 18; etc.). When Peter addressed
the Jewish nation in Acts 3: 22, he applied Deut. 18: 15 to the
raising up of the Lord Jesus as a prophet. Paul uses Ps. 2: 7
to the same end in
connection with the Lord’s kingship in Acts 13: 33.
The psalm is quoted by Paul in Heb: 1: 5 and 5:
5 but as Heb. 5: 5 refers back to Heb. 1: 5, we need only consider
Heb. 1: 5. Now the thrust of Paul’s argument in Heb. 1 is to show
the greatness of the Son in comparison to angels, which he does by
quoting three Scriptures, the first of which is Ps. 2: 7. His
readers would know that angels are sometimes referred to as sons of
God (see Job 1: 6; 2: 1; 38: 7). If the word
begotten in the psalm
referred to the Lord’s birth, what is the point of the comparison
with angels who have no birth, no childhood and are always presented
as mature? However, while angels are called sons of God, no angel is
ever addressed as
My Son. They are never
more than “ministering spirits” (Heb. 1: 14). Christ alone is
the Son.
One final point: the word
begotten in Ps. 2: 7 is
often wrongly identified with the Lord as the “only begotten Son”
(John 1: 14 etc.)—a description peculiar to John’s ministry. The
phrase only begotten
(monogenhς)
is a term of supreme affection as shown by Paul’s application to
Isaac over against Ishmael in Heb. 11: 17. For Isaac was not
Abraham’s first–born son, let alone his only one.
