Psalm 2:4-9

"He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.  Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury: 'But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.'
'I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give you the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.  Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.'" ~NASB

Today's reading was a long one, and a bit difficult for me to understand.  There was one point where I was unsure of who exactly was speaking or being quoted, but I think I worked it out.

I thought the beginning of this was fairly self explanatory, and to be honest quite amusing.  The beginning of this chapter tells of men trying to escape what they view as the "bondage" of God.  They try to throw off His rule and judgment.  God's response is twofold.  First He laughs.  He mocks them, and then responds by saying that they can attempt to throw off His authority all they want, but He's already put His own King on the throne of Jerusalem.  Indeed, His ruler will rule over the whole world (which is shown in the next few verses).

This is the section that confused me at first.  I originally thought it was David quoting God, but as I looked at the words, especially "Thou art My Son..." I realized that the quote was coming from God's King, who is Jesus.  Jesus says that He is the official messenger of God (I will surely tell the decree of the Lord!).  God Himself declared this King to be His Son, and them tells Him that He will give the whole world to Him as His inheritance.  God gives Him the power to break the nations with His rulership.

This is all a warning from God.  He is telling everyone who will listen what the consequences are for defying Him.  He loves us first and foremost, but He cannot just allow us to do as we please with no consequences.  That is where His anger, wrath and punishment enter into the picture.  I did a bit of looking ahead again, and I think this warning is made clearer in the next few verses.