We come now to verses 8-10. We need to see that, although the language grows out of the earlier material, the stanza is not really looking to the past but ahead to the future when God shall defeat all armies and establish his eternal reign. In Psalm 2 God in the same way mocks those who take arms against himself and his Anointed. He tells the Son, "I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery" (vv. 8,9).

Yesterday we said that God’s city has two points of reference. The first is to the earthly city of Jerusalem, and the second is to the safety of God’s people throughout history, culminating in the new Jerusalem, which is a symbol of heaven.

Almost everyone associates Martin Luther with the book of Romans, particularly Romans 1:17, "The just shall live by faith" (KJV). However, we forget that Luther was converted not only by his study of Romans, but also by his study of the Psalms. Luther taught the Psalms for years and loved them very much. His favorite was Psalm 46. It is said of Luther that there were times during the dark and dangerous periods of the Reformation when he was terribly discouraged and depressed.