God's wrath in Psalms is His response to the world's rejection of His Messiah — a coming period of wrath and vexation, not something He is pouring out today.
Psalm 2 moves from the nations' rebellion against the Lord and His anointed to God's derision, then to His speaking in wrath and vexation. Les Feldick teaches that this wrath is the Tribulation, the seven-year period that follows the end of the age of grace. After that wrath, Psalm 2 declares God's King set on Zion, showing the wrath leads into Messiah's kingdom.
Psalm 2:5 — This is the clearest verse on God's wrath in Psalms: after rebellion, God speaks in wrath and vexes in sore displeasure.
Psalm 2:1-2 — It identifies the rejection of the Lord and His anointed by the heathen and worldly rulers that precedes the wrath.
Psalm 2 opens with a picture of rebellion: 'Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed.' The psalmist records their determination: 'Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.' God's first response is derision — 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.' Then, in verse 5, the psalm moves to wrath: 'Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.' Immediately after this, God declares, 'Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.' Thus Scripture presents a sequence: rebellion against God and His anointed, God's derision, His wrath and vexation, and the establishment of His King.
Les Feldick explains that Psalm 2 is a prophetic outline. In verse 2, the rejection of the Messiah was fulfilled when the high priest and Pilate 'took counsel together' to put Christ to death. The world's rebellion was met by God's derision, and then, without a break, verse 5 shows God speaking 'in his wrath' and vexing the nations in His sore displeasure. Les identifies this wrath as the Tribulation — a seven-year period of wrath and vexation that follows the end of the age of grace. He emphasizes that God is not pouring out His wrath today; during this age God is a God of grace, and His grace abounds even more where sin abounds. But when grace ends with the out-calling of the Church, God's wrath begins. After the wrath, verse 6 pictures the Kingdom: 'Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.'
Psalm 2 opens with the heathen raging and the kings/rulers taking counsel against the Lord and His anointed. Les points out this was fulfilled when the high priest and Pilate consorted to put Christ to death. The psalm then moves from rejection to derision, then to wrath. Scripture itself places the wrath after the rejection; Les's teaching connects that rejection to the crucifixion so that the wrath follows the rejection of the King.
Les identifies the wrath and vexation of Psalm 2:5 with the Tribulation. He says these events take us into the seven-year period, and in his teaching the events up to the midpoint of the seven years include the Antichrist and Israel's temple worship. He states plainly that this is the tribulation, after which verse 6 brings in the Kingdom.
Les stresses that tonight God is a God of grace; He is not in the business of pouring out wrath. He has poured out His love on the human race, but humanity has walked it underfoot. In Les's teaching, when this day comes, His grace ends and He becomes a God of judgment; the wrath of Psalm 2 waits until the end of the age of grace.
Verse 6 immediately follows the wrath: 'Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.' Les calls this the Kingdom, centered in Jerusalem. In the Old Testament prophetic program, the sequence is rejection of the Messiah, ascension to the Father's right hand, an indeterminate period, a period of wrath/vexation (seven-year tribulation), then the King set on Zion. So the significance of God's wrath in Psalms is that it leads to Messiah's kingdom.
The Rejection of the Messiah
Les shows that Psalm 2's heathen rage and rulers taking counsel were fulfilled when the high priest and Pilate conspired to put Christ to death.
No Wrath During the Age of Grace
Les explains that God is not pouring out His wrath tonight; He is a God of grace, and the Psalm 2 wrath belongs to the time after grace ends.
God Becomes a God of Judgment
Les uses Psalm 2 to show that when the day comes, God withdraws His grace and acts in judgment and wrath, despite His love.
Wrath and Vexation in the Tribulation
Les directly teaches that Psalm 2:5 takes us into the tribulation: God speaks in His wrath and vexes people with sore displeasure because they rejected His patient love.
The Wrath Leading to the Midpoint
Les shows that after mankind rejects the King and nations are in derision, God pours out vexation and wrath, carrying events to the midpoint of the seven-year period.
Psalm 2's Prophetic Sequence
Les uses Psalm 2's rejection, wrath, and then the King on Zion to outline prophecy: rejection of Messiah, tribulation wrath, then the Kingdom.
Wrath Instead of Grace
Les emphasizes that Psalm 2:5 says God speaks in His wrath, not in His grace, and vexes the nations in His sore displeasure.
Seven Years of Tribulation and the Kingdom
Les explains that after the Messiah's rejection and ascension, the Psalm 2 wrath and vexation period is the seven-year tribulation, after which God sets His King on Zion.
Psalm 2:1: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
This verse sets up the rebellion that leads to God's wrath.
Psalm 2:2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
This describes the specific rejection of God's anointed King that precedes the wrath.
Psalm 2:3: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
It reveals the rebels' intention to throw off God's authority.
Psalm 2:4: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
God's first response is derision, preceding His declared wrath.
Psalm 2:5: Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
This is the key verse about God's wrath in Psalm 2.
Psalm 2:6: Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
It shows the outcome of the wrath: God's King is established on Zion.
Psalm 2 presents a prophetic sequence: the nations and rulers reject God's Son, God laughs in derision, then He speaks in wrath and vexes in sore displeasure. Les Feldick identifies this wrath as the Tribulation, the seven-year period that follows the rejection of God's love and grace. The wrath leads to the establishment of God's King on Zion.
No. Les teaches that tonight God is not pouring out His wrath; He is a God of grace, and His grace abounds even more where sin abounds. The wrath of Psalm 2 belongs to a future time when grace has ended, after the Church is taken out.
Les explains that vex means God will literally torment the people of the world with sore displeasure. He says God will do it righteously, because He has patiently poured out His love and humanity has continued in unbelief.
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