Commentary on Psalms 2 to 7

Psalm 2

This chapter is a prophecy pertaining to the second coming of Yeshua, the time of his wrath, and his defeat of his enemies and his installment and rule as King of kings during the millennial age.

Psalm 2:7, You are my Son; this day have I begotten you [or brought you forth]. (See also Acts 13:33, Heb 1:5; 5:5). The word begotten is the Hebrew word yalad meaning “to beget, bare, to be born, bring forth or deliver”and refers to the action of giving birth. In this verse, Elohim is acting as a spiritual midwife delivering his son and then presenting it to the world. This is a prophecy where at some time in the future, YHVH Elohim will officially present his anointed Son, the Messiah, to the world. This prophecy was fulfilled in Luke 3:22 at Yeshua’s baptism and the subsequent announcement from heaven as to who Yeshua was. Yeshua did not become Elohim’s son at his baptism; rather, he was simply presented to the world.

Yalad is the same word used in Isaiah 7:14, “Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear [yalad] a son … ” andusually refers to a literal childbirth but can be used in a figurative sense as well. Its usage occurs 498 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, so its uses are rich and varied. 

We believe Psalm 2:7 is yet another clear reference to the incarnation and virgin birth of the Messiah at the hands of Elohim just as this concept is echoed numerous times in Testimony of Yeshua:

John 1:14, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:18, No man hath seen Elohim at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 3:16, For Elohim so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:18, He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Elohim.

Acts 13:33, Elohim hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Yeshua again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Hebrews 1:5, For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Hebrews 5:5, So also Messiah glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

Hebrews 11:17, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

1 John 4:9, In this was manifested the love of Elohim toward us, because that Elohim sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

In an to divert attention away from Yeshua the Messiah, modern rabbinic scholars have purged this verse of Messianic meaning referring its fulfillment instead to king David (See ArtScroll Schottenstein Edition Tehilim, p. 4, explanatory footnotes). But this has not always been the case in rabbinic circles. According to Santala, the ancient Jewish sages as well as medieval Jewish scholars such as Rashi, Rambam and Ibn Ezra all viewed Psalm 2 in a Messianic light (Santala, pp. 68-69, 117-119). As proof he quotes the Jewish Midrash (commentary on Psalms) stating this (ibid.).

Psalm 2:12, Kiss [nashaq] the son. Or “kiss the feet of the son” as an act of homage and as was the ancient Near Eastern when a subject came before his king (according to The TWOT).

Psalm 4

Psalm 4:4, Meditate/commune. Heb. amar. This verb, primitive root, means “to say” and, beyond its basic definition, has a wide range of meanings including “answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge or charge.” This verse speaks of saying within one’s heart or the act of talking to oneself or, in other words, meditating on or thinking about something. In the process of engaging in this activity, one may receive divine insights or inspiration from Elohim. In another psalm, this is referred to as receiving an oracle within one’s heart (Ps 36:1).

Meditate…on your bed…be still.When we are quiet and relaxed, not anxious or distracted is when we are more likely to hear from Elohim. As the psalmist stated elsewhere quoting Elohim, “Be still and know that I am Elohim” (Ps 46:10). Elijah found this out in the cave. Elohim was not in the wind, earthquake or the fire but in the solitude and silence when he heard the still small voice of his Maker (1 Kgs 19:11–12).

Psalm 4:6, Lift up the light of your countenance upon us.Countenance is Hebrew word paniym. Light is the Hebrew word ohr from which our English word aura ultimately derives. Light is a biblical metaphor meaning “truth” or “the ultimate, divinely revealed Truth (capital T) that comes only from YHVH Elohim as opposed to small T truth derived through natural, human observation.” Here, ohr is spelled non-defectively (rwa instead of ra) with the vav indicating “the full light of YHVH’s face or truth.”

Psalm 4:7–8, Gladness…lie down in peace…safety.When we have stilled our heart, meditated on YHVH and have heart his voice, and he has made the light of his face to shine upon us and has revealed his Truth to us, a sense of joy or gladness (Heb. simchah), peace (Heb. shalom spelled non-defectively as ~wlX meaning “ a full, divinely imparted peace as opposed to ~lX or a peace that is derived from physical or human emotional sources) and we will be able to dwell, rest or sleep with a complete sense of safety and security in him.

Psalm 4:7, More than in the season.The joy or simchah that comes to those who are recipients of YHVH’s favor and the light of his Truth far exceeds that of physical blessings including the joy of a bountiful harvest for the farmer whose life depends on such for his physical survival and flourishing. This reminds us of Yeshua’s command and promise that to those who seek first the kingdom of Elohim and his righteousness, all of the physical blessings of life will automatically accrue to such a person.

Psalm 5

Psalm 5:5, You hate.The idea of Elohim hating is anathema to the sensibilities of most Christians. After all, doesn’t the Bible declare that “Elohim is love” (1 John 4:8,16)? How could he also hate anything, much less people? Yet this is what this verse says, “[YHVH] hates all workers of iniquity.” Let’s explore this concept and try to understand how this could be so.

But first, let’s define the word hate. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, hate means “to have a strong dislike or ill will for; to wish to avoid.” According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word hate in the Tanakh (or Old Testament) means “to hate as an enemy or foe, to be utterly odious.” As used in the Testimony of Yeshua, hate means “to detest.”

Here are some examples of certain things that Elohim hates, and of Elohim commanding his people to hate certain things as well.

Your throne, O Elohim, is for ever and ever…. You love righteousness, and hate wickedness… (Ps 45:6–7) 

Here we see that Elohim loves what is good and detests that which is evil or sinful (or Torahless).

The foolish shall not stand in your sight; you hate all workers of iniquity. (Ps 5:5) 

Workers of iniquity is a biblical expression referring to “those who walk contrary to Torah.”

YHVH tries the righteous, but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates. (Ps 11:5) 

These six things does YHVH hate, yes, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren. (Prov 6:16–19) 

Elohim strongly dislikes or detests those things that are sinful (Torahless) or wicked—those things which hurt people and which cause pain and suffering. Even his hatred is out of a heart of love for the lost and a desire for them to repent and return to Torah.

For I, YHVH, love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. (Isa 61:8) 

YHVH hates religious hypocrisy, and those who plunder his people spiritually for their own personal gain.

Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.”(Jer 44:4) 

When people disobey the Word of Elohim, YHVH hates this and calls it “an abominable thing.”

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live, and so YHVH, the Elohim of Hosts, shall be with you, as you have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate; it may be that YHVH Elohim of Hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:14–15) 

Here Elohim commands his people to hate evil and to love good even as he does. 

The fear of YHVH is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. (Prov 8:13) 

Elsewhere we read that “the fear of Elohim is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 1:7). Therefore, we can conclude that an aspect of godly wisdom is to hate evil even as Elohim hates evil. Wisdom is a biblical Hebraism meaning “Torah.”

These are the things that you shall do: speak you every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates, and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath, for all these are things that I hate, says YHVH. (Zech 8:16–17).

All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them, for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters. (Hos 9:15) 

Elohim hated the house of Israel (Ephraim) because of their rebellion against him and their wickedness (or Torahlessness), because they had turned away from Torah (Hos 8:1,12), and because they had become morally and sexually corrupt (Hos 9:9).

But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (Rev 2:6). 

Here YHVH commends these early first century believers for hating the sinful (Torahless) deeds of the heretics called the Nicolaitans, even as he (YHVH) hated them. Here YHVH teaches us that we are to hate the actions of false teachers who come into the congregation or the spiritual body of Yeshua. We also learn that we’re not to hate the sinner, but to hate the sin. We are also to hate the things that Elohim hates. 

From the above study, hopefully we can learn several things. When studying these verses of the Scriptures in the context of the rest of the Bible, we should see that while Elohim is a God of love, and he loves humans so much that he sent Yeshua, his Son, to die for us, he is, at the same time, an Elohim of justices, righteousness and holiness. He abhors the sinful (Torahless) deeds of wicked and rebellious men, for sin and evil destroy that which he loves. He desires that all men turn from the sin (Torahlessness) that will not only hurt them and others now, but will damn them to the lake of fire for eternity. In brief, he hates those things which destroy or make impossible a loving relationship with him—our Heavenly Father (see 1 John 1:9–2:2).

Should we hate the workers of iniquity as YHVH does? 

There are levels and degrees of sin and sinfulness. We must love the things Yah loves and hates the things he hates. The problem is knowing when and how to hate not only the sin but also the sinner. It’s not that these are to be separated, but how do we separate them in our minds without falling into sin ourself—the sin of pride, the sin of thinking we’re better than the next guy, the sin of hypocritical judgmentalism, the sin of hating someone when we should be loving them? So as not unwittingly to fall into these sin traps, it is safer for us, in most cases, to love the sinner and hate the sin. 

When Yah hates the workers of iniquity, this is a class of people who are so sold out to sin that they have become reprobate. They are hell-bent,and there’s no stopping them. Most people aren’t that far gone spiritually and there is still hope for them the repent. If we hate all sinners, then how are we to have the right perspective and heart attitude to be able to love them into the truth?

John 3:16 says that YHVH so loved the world…. That means, in a general sense, he loves everyone—even the sinners, which is why he sent Yeshua. He loved us while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8). So he loves everyone, but he hates those who, again, are so sold out to sin, like Satan, that they are beyond redemption.

David talks about hating with a perfect hatred (Ps 139:22). This involves hating those who hate YHVH. Most people don’t really hate YHVH, but some do. This is the hatred with which Yah hates. It’s a hatred that is not sinful. I don’t know that we’re capable of that in most cases without ourselves falling into sin. That’s why, in most cases, it’s better to stay on safer ground and to hate the sin and not the sinner.

Psalm 7

Psalm 7:1, Shiggaion. From the verb shagah meaning “to reel about through drink.” The plural form, shigionoth, is found in Hab. 3:1. The word denotes “a lyrical poem composed under strong mental emotion; a song of impassioned imagination accompanied with suitable music; a dithyrambic ode.”

Psalm 7:8, My righteousness. YHVH will judge humans according to their righteousness. Righteousness is based on one obedience to YHVH’s Torah as well as the righteuosness of Yeshua that is imputed to each saint to make up for each person’s own lack of righteousness. Our own righteousness can’t save us, but it will determine our rewards in the afterlife (Matt 5:19).

 

1 thought on “Commentary on Psalms 2 to 7

  1. I think, the NIV and CJB translations give the easiest and best understandings to these scriptures.
    Shalom, John

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