What does the wrath and sore displeasure in Psalm 2:5 refer to?
Psalm 2:5’s wrath and sore displeasure point to the tribulation. After Israel and the Romans rejected and crucified the Messiah, God speaks in wrath and vexes them in sore displeasure, which is the tribulation. That period could have followed the ascension, leading to Christ’s return and kingdom.
Les teaches that Psalm 2:5 follows the scene where God sits in heaven and laughs, then invites the Son back to His right hand after Israel and the Romans rejected and crucified the Messiah. The wrath and sore displeasure are not love, mercy, or grace; they are the tribulation. He explains that this tribulation could have followed immediately after the ascension, so Christ could have returned and set up His kingdom. After that vexation and sore displeasure, verse 6 says God has set His king on the holy hill of Zion. Verse 8 then promises the Messiah the heathen or Gentiles as His inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth as His possession—that is the kingdom, not the church or the age of grace.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.