From Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his book, For Times of Trouble:
Psalm 2
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, . . .
Yet I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. . . .
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
This is the first of the many Messianic psalms included in the Old Testament collection. Linked with Psalm 1, which was discussed earlier in this book, Psalm 2 has generally been considered an introduction to the Psalms that follow. Of course it is significant that any introduction to these supplications would also introduce the idea of the Messiah, inasmuch as so many of the psalms touch on that theme.
In terms of troubles we face—the theme of this book—it should be noted that the first line of this psalm poses trouble for God and His Son. The heathen (and they could be defined as everyone who does not have faith) “rage”and the people (a term broad enough to include everyone) “imagine a vain thing.” Yes early in psalms we are to learn that we are not the only ones who have troubles, but that members of the Godhead and angels who assist them have troubles of their own—us! Everything in the universe seems to obey the divine order of things but us—God’s children, the family born of Him spiritually and destined to become like Him in eternity if we will but resist raging against His plan and imagining vain things that divert us.
Note that vain has at least two meanings in the scriptures and both are applicable here— “vain” meaning self-centered, conceited, and excessively proud, and “vain” meaning without effect, futile, without success. Both meanings are applicable to the “heathen” and “the people” who do not embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, who “take counsel together against the Lord [the Father] and his anointed [the Son].” As Christ moved Gethsemane and Calvary, His enemies—the kings and rulers of His day, as it were—“took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk,”204 took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.”205 and in the end “took counsel and bought with [Judas’s blood money] the potter’s field to bury strangers in.” 206 How “vain”—conceited, and futile—such rebellion was in attempting to withstand the salvation of the Almighty. Knowing all this would happen, yet God the Father of us all set the King of us all, His Only Begotten Son, on the throne in Zion and declared to all the world His divinity. “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” So the Apostle Paul would quote to the rulers of the synagogue at Antioch in declaring that this “Son” was Jesus Christ, not David, as many of the Israelites believed and taught. 207
These are simple, straightforward declarations of truth. This is the way it is. We might rage and insist it to be otherwise, but it is not. God has a plan for our exaltation, and His Only Begotten Son is central to it. So rather than rebellion and vanity, raging and conceit, the call is for wisdom and humility, for understanding and obedience. “Be wise therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son [out of loyalty, as one kisses the emblem of a King]. . . .blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” ~Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012) 159-61
