Psalm 2 also reveals that Christ was installed as God's King in the heavens in His ascension (v. 6; Acts 2:36; 5:31; Rev. 1:5a). In verse 6, God declared, "I have installed My King/Upon Zion, My holy mountain." This was in Christ's ascension. In His ascension He was made the King in the heavens for God's kingdom.
According to Psalm 2:8, Christ has been given the nations as His inheritance and the limits of the earth as His possession for His kingdom. When the Lord came back to the disciples in His resurrection, He told them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). The Lord's word here covers what is mentioned in Psalm 2:8. God has given all the nations on this earth to Christ as His inheritance. Furthermore, God has given the limits of the earth to Christ as His possession. Today if you own even a small portion of land in Taiwan, you are a rich man. But the entire earth will be possessed by Christ. This is His land. How rich He is! We cannot see such wonderful things about Christ in Psalm 1. Psalm 1 says, according to the human concept, that the man who meditates in the law will prosper in everything, but Psalm 2 reveals, according to the divine concept, that God has given the limits of the earth to Christ.
Eventually, Christ will rule the nations in His kingdom with an iron rod (Psa. 2:9; Rev. 2:26-27). There is a marvelous sequence in Psalm 2 revealing the steps of Christ in God's economy beginning from His being anointed in eternity in His divinity. We may wonder where Christ's death is spoken of in Psalm 2, but we need to realize that Christ's resurrection implies His death. Without death, how could there be resurrection? Thus, in Psalm 2 we see His being anointed in His divinity and humanity, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension with His enthronement. God installed Him as King, enthroning Him to give Him all the nations with the limits of the earth. This is to set up a universal kingdom for Christ. Then Christ will rule the nations with an iron rod.
Psalm 2 says that Christ is opposed by the rulers of the world. Verses 1-3 say, "Why are the nations in an uproar, / And why do the peoples contemplate a vain thing? / The kings of the earth take their stand, / And the rulers take counsel together, / Against Jehovah and against His Anointed: / Let us break apart their bonds / And cast their ropes away from us." Soon after Christ's ascension, on the earth at Peter's time, Herod and Pilate took their stand against Christ. Acts 4:25-29a records the prayer of the early church, in which they quote from Psalm 2. Acts 4:27 says, "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel." They all were opposing Christ.