Psalm 2:8

Psalm 2:8

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

a. NLT: Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.

b. NIV: Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

c. Amplified Bible: Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.

d. Septuagint: Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen [for] thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth [for] thy possession.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: Ask of Me and I will make the nations your inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession.

1. “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance…”

a. Ask [Strong: 7592 sha'al shaw-al' or shael {shaw-ale'}; a primitive root; to inquire; by implication, to request; by extension, to demand:--ask (counsel, on), beg, borrow, lay to charge, consult, demand, desire, X earnestly, enquire, + greet, obtain leave, lend, pray, request, require, + salute, X straitly, X surely, wish.]

b. Of me [Strong: 4480 min min or minniy {min-nee'}; or minney (constructive plural) {min-nay'}; (Isaiah 30:11); for 4482; properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses (as follows):--above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.]

c. [and I shall] give [thee] [Strong: 5414 nathan naw-than' a primitive root; to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.):--add, apply, appoint, ascribe, assign, X avenge, X be ((healed)), bestow, bring (forth, hither), cast, cause, charge, come, commit, consider, count, + cry, deliver (up), direct, distribute, do, X doubtless, X without fail, fasten, frame, X get, give (forth, over, up), grant, hang (up), X have, X indeed, lay (unto charge, up), (give) leave, lend, let (out), + lie, lift up, make, + O that, occupy, offer, ordain, pay, perform, place, pour, print, X pull , put (forth), recompense, render, requite, restore, send (out), set (forth), shew, shoot forth (up), + sing, + slander, strike, (sub-)mit, suffer, X surely, X take, thrust, trade, turn, utter, + weep, + willingly, + withdraw, + would (to) God, yield.]

d. [the] heathen [Strong: 1471 gowy go'-ee rarely (shortened) goy {go'-ee}; apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:--Gentile, heathen, nation, people.]

e. [for thine] inheritance [5159 nachalah nakh-al-aw' from 5157 (in its usual sense); properly, something inherited, i.e. (abstractly) occupancy, or (concretely) an heirloom; generally an estate, patrimony or portion:--heritage, to inherit, inheritance, possession.]

1). Hallelujah! He must have asked because we are his inheritance! This is a fascinating verse because tucked inside it and hidden is the New Covenant. In Isaiah 54:3 we find a similar phrase, “thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles”, but to understand it and get a fuller revelation a bigger chunk of the passage must be viewed.

a). Isaiah 54:1-3 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

2). The above passage was quoted by the Apostle Paul in Galatians where he names New Jerusalem as the “mother” in the New Covenant.

a). Galatians 4:21-27 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

4:25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

3). I must say at this time, this Psalm, as well as most if not all Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament purposely leave out other details about the Messiah. In all the prophecies it only mentions a few details of his person and life. It is only after all the pieces of the Scriptural puzzle are put together, including the testimony of the New Testament, that we get a fuller picture of the Messiah. It is exactly that situation here in this verse. The “heathen”, the folks in the first three verses who are trying to break away from the bands and cords of the LORD and His Christ are in this verse Psalm 2:8, declared the “inheritance” of the “Son” of Psalm 2:7, who we know to be Jesus. It also declares the lands they live on to be his “possession”. All of the Old Testament Messianic passages are only made clear by the New Testament, as was shown in the notes on Psalm 2:6. Psalm 2:7 is referring to the Messiah’s ministry and life, then here in Psalm 2:8 it is referring to His dominion over the earth. Psalm 2 does not mention what brought this about, but of course the New Testament does it was His obedience to His death and resurrection.

a). Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

b). Ephesians 1:19-21 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

2:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

2:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

2. “…and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

a. [and] the uttermost parts [Strong: 657 'ephec eh'-fes from 656; cessation, i.e. an end (especially of the earth); often used adverb, no further; also (like 6466) the ankle (in the dual), as being the extremity of the leg or foot:--ankle, but (only), end, howbeit, less than nothing, nevertheless (where), no, none (beside), not (any, -withstanding), thing of nought, save(-ing), there, uttermost part, want, without (cause).]

b. [of the] earth [Strong: 776 'erets eh'-rets from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):--X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X natins, way, + wilderness, world.]

c. [for thy] possession [Strong: 272 'achuzzah akh-ooz-zaw' feminine passive participle from 270; something seized, i.e. a possession (especially of land):--possession.]

1). There are many passages in Scripture that declare all nations of the earth will be under the authority of the Messiah.

a). Daniel 7:13, 14 I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlsasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

b). Psalm 22:27, 28 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations.

2). I can’t help but see in the following verses a spirit that embraces the whole world.

a). Psalm 33:8-12 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

33:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

33:10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

3). The thought of God’s heart is to all generations, not just Israel. What is the thought of God’s heart? John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The nation, any nation that makes the LORD their God is blessed.

a). Psalm 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

b). Micah 5:2-4 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

c). Psalm 22:27, 28 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.

 4). The great message we carry from Him who will be the governor of the nations is.

a). Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

5). I want to interject here another passage of Scripture that sheds some light on what Psalm 2:8 describes as “…the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” The government of Christ Jesus that will begin after His return will be world wide.

a). Isaiah 2:2-4 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.