Psalm 2:7 – Thou Art My Son
“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” In a psalm that begins with nations raging against God and His anointed, this declaration stands at the center—the divine decree proclaiming the king as God’s Son. David may have written these words at his coronation, but their full weight could never rest on David alone. “Thou art my Son” finds its complete meaning only in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, declared with power at His resurrection to be all that this psalm proclaims.
The Psalm of the Anointed King
Psalm 2 opens with cosmic conflict. The nations rage, peoples plot, kings and rulers take counsel against the LORD and “his anointed” (Hebrew: mashiach, from which we get “Messiah”). Their aim is rebellion: “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:3). Humanity united in resistance to divine rule—a pattern seen from Babel to the present.
God’s response is not anxiety but amusement. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision” (Psalm 2:4). Then comes judgment: He speaks to them in His wrath, terrifying them in His fury. But His primary response is not destruction of enemies but installation of His king: “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:6). God’s answer to rebellion is enthronement.
The king now speaks, reporting the decree that established his authority. “The LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” This is no ordinary accession. The king is declared God’s son, begotten on a particular day. The decree grants him dominion: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm 2:8).
Traditional royal interpretation sees this as coronation language. Ancient Near Eastern kings were sometimes called sons of their gods. In Israel, the Davidic king held special relationship to Yahweh. “I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (2 Samuel 7:14). The day of “begetting” would be the coronation day when the king officially entered his royal sonship.
Beyond David’s Reach
While Davidic kings could be called God’s sons in a representative sense, Psalm 2’s language strains against that limited application. No Israelite king ever received the nations as inheritance or possessed the earth’s uttermost parts. No Davidic monarch broke rebellious nations with a rod of iron. The psalm’s scope exceeds anything David or his successors achieved.
The New Testament consistently applies Psalm 2 to Jesus Christ. At His baptism, the Father’s voice echoed verse 7: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The declaration was repeated at the Transfiguration. Jesus is the Son to whom this psalm refers—not adopted at coronation but eternally begotten, the Son by nature rather than appointment.
Acts 4 records the early church praying with Psalm 2 in view. When Herod, Pontius Pilate, Gentiles, and Jews gathered against Jesus, they fulfilled the psalm’s opening: “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ” (Acts 4:26). The conspiracy against God’s anointed reached its climax at the cross.
Paul preached in Antioch that God “hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts 13:33). The resurrection was the ultimate declaration of Jesus’ divine sonship—the day when God proclaimed with power what had always been true.
The Eternal Son Declared
Hebrews opens with extensive reflection on Christ’s sonship, quoting Psalm 2:7 as evidence of His superiority to angels. “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?” (Hebrews 1:5). The answer is obvious: none. The Son’s unique relationship to the Father distinguishes Him from all created beings.
The “begetting” language has generated theological reflection throughout church history. Does it imply Christ had a beginning? Orthodox theology answers no—Christ is eternally begotten, the Son from eternity, not a creature who came into existence. The “this day” of Psalm 2:7 refers not to eternal generation but to historical declaration—moments when the eternal truth was publicly proclaimed.
Such moments include the incarnation, when the Son entered time while remaining eternal. They include the baptism, when the Father’s voice declared what had always been. They include the resurrection, when Christ was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). Each “day” manifested the eternal reality.
The resurrection especially functions as the declaration day. Jesus’ claims during His ministry could be disputed; His crucifixion seemed to disprove them. But resurrection vindicated everything. God raised Him, thereby declaring, “Thou art my Son.” The resurrection is heaven’s endorsement of Jesus’ identity, God’s public affirmation that this crucified man is His eternal Son.
Kiss the Son
Psalm 2 concludes with urgent appeal: “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” (Psalm 2:12). The kiss represents homage, submission, allegiance. Kings who rebelled are invited to submit. Those who raged against God’s anointed are offered reconciliation through honoring the Son.
This invitation extends to every person. You stand either with the raging nations or with those who trust the Son. There is no neutral ground. The same psalm that promises inheritance of nations to the Son warns of His wrath against the rebellious. The rod of iron that dashes nations will equally break individuals who refuse submission.
But for those who trust Him, blessing awaits. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” The same Son who judges also saves. The same king who breaks rebellion welcomes refugees from rebellion. The psalm that begins with conflict ends with benediction—for those who come to the Son in faith.
The Father has spoken: “Thou art my Son.” This is not question but declaration, not proposal but decree. Jesus Christ is the Son of God—eternally generated, historically manifested, resurrected and vindicated. The nations may continue raging, but their rage changes nothing. God has set His king on Zion’s hill. The decree stands.
How will you respond? Will you continue in the futile conspiracy of humanity against God and His Christ? Or will you bow before the declared Son, kissing Him in submission and finding in that submission your only safety? The kings of the earth serve Him now or face Him later. The rulers who take counsel against Him will be broken or will be blessed—their choice determines which. Kiss the Son while mercy is offered. Put your trust in Him while trust avails. For His wrath, when kindled, leaves no escape. But His salvation, when received, leaves nothing lacking. Thou art my Son—and all who trust this Son are blessed indeed.