“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
(Psalm 2:7)
Psalm 2:7 is one of the clearest testimonies of Christ’s eternal Sonship found in Scripture, while bearing a richness that reaches into the incarnation, the resurrection, and every moment when the Father openly manifested the Son before the world.[1]
For centuries, both ancient and later divines have wrestled with the phrase, “This day have I begotten thee.” Many of them applied it to the resurrection of Christ. Their reasoning was simple: by rising from the dead through His own power—through that same divine power which belongs fully to the Father—Christ revealed Himself as the begotten Son of God. The resurrection did not make Him the Son; it manifested Him as the Son. It unveiled what had always been true. It showed Him to be true God in power and true God in essence. And Paul’s use of this text in Acts 13 seemed, at least to many, to point in that direction.
Yet the debates around Acts 13 remind us that the apostle labored to prove two connected truths: first, that God raised up a Savior for Israel; second, that God raised that Savior from the dead. Whether Psalm 2:7 applies more directly to the sending of Christ into the world or to His resurrection from the tomb, one thing is unmistakable: the apostle applies the verse to the Son of God manifested in the flesh. And he ties “this day” to a definite moment when God openly declared His Son. The eternal Son had always been the Son, hidden in the bosom of the Father, but in His incarnation, baptism, miracles, and resurrection, the Father made Him known.
The list of manifestations is long and beautiful. Christ was shown to be the Son of God through Simeon and Anna’s testimony in the temple, through the star that led wise men to Bethlehem, through His twelve-year-old disputations with teachers, through John the Baptist pointing at Him and calling Him the Lamb of God, through the Father’s voice at His baptism, through His mastery over Satan, His ability to search hearts, His divine doctrine, His miracles, His forgiveness of sins, the power He gave to His disciples, His death that shook the earth, His ascension, His gifts given to the Church, and the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King conferred upon Him. These were all evidences of His eternal Sonship breaking into the world. Each moment whispered, “Thou art my Son.”
And if Christ is the eternal Son, revealed in power, manifested in glory, raised in triumph, declared in Scripture, and worshiped by angels, then no praise is equal to Him. Dust and ashes cannot lift themselves high enough to honor infinite majesty. Deadness cannot commend life. Darkness cannot praise light. Vanity cannot exalt truth.
The worship of the creature cannot rise to the Creator unless God supplies the praise Himself. When God delights in what He has wrought, that is true praise. And all of this ties back to Psalm 2:7, because the Father praises the Son, the Son glorifies the Father, and the Spirit makes that glory known to us.
Contemplations:
- Thankful for the Son revealed. I’m grateful that God didn’t leave Christ hidden in eternal glory but revealed Him in ways that humanity could see. I think of Simeon, Anna, the wise men, and even the trembling soldiers—it humbles me that God has shown the world His Son again and again. I’m thankful that He opened my eyes too, because left to myself I never would have recognized Christ for who He truly is.
- Gratitude for Christ’s eternal Sonship. I’m thankful that Christ didn’t become the Son at Bethlehem or at the resurrection, but that He has always been the Son. The gospel didn’t begin in a manger; it began in eternity. I’m grateful that my salvation rests on One who is fully God, and it comforts me to know that the Son who saves me is the same Son who shared glory with the Father before the world began.
- Thankful for the incarnation’s mystery. I don’t understand how the eternal Word took flesh, but I’m thankful that He entered the world through the virgin by the Spirit’s power, because nothing less would have brought salvation. When I think about Him taking my nature so He could redeem my nature, my heart fills with gratitude even though I can’t explain the mystery.
- Thanksgiving for God’s self-supplied praise. I’m unable to praise God as He deserves; my thoughts fade, my words fail, and my heart wanders. But I’m grateful that He supplies the praise He receives, that His own glory declares His worth, and that He accepts my stumbling worship because I offer it in the name of His Son.
Prayer (Thanksgiving)
Lord God, I come with thankfulness as I consider these words: “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” Thank You for revealing Your Son to the world, the eternal, only-begotten Son, heir of all things, the One through whom salvation comes. Thank You for making Him known through Your Word and by Your Spirit.
Thank You, Lord, for every moment in history when You displayed Christ’s sonship. For the testimony of Simeon and Anna. For the star that drew wise men across nations. For the twelve-year-old Christ confounding the scholars of His day. For John the Baptist pointing at Him as the Lamb of God. For the Father’s voice at His baptism and again at the transfiguration. For His power over Satan, His knowledge of hearts, His authority to forgive sins, His miracles that silenced every accusation. Thank You that even in His death, creation trembled, and in His resurrection, His glory broke forth unmistakably.
I thank You that Christ, though eternal God, took upon Himself human nature—flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary. Thank You that by the Holy Ghost He became truly man while remaining truly God. I’m grateful that He became like His brothers in every way except sin, so He might redeem us fully. When I think that the eternal Son took a nature like mine, entered a world of sorrow, and embraced a path of obedience for my salvation, my heart overflows with gratitude.
Thank You for the resurrection, where Christ’s divine Sonship shone so clearly. Thank You that death could not hold Him, because He was the Son who possessed the same power as the Father. I’m thankful that the resurrection was not only victory over the grave but confirmation that the One who died for me is the eternal Son of God.
And, Lord, I thank You that You know the weakness of human praise. You know how limited my mind is, how quickly my thoughts fade, how easily my words fall short. I’m grateful that You do not depend on my strength to lift up the glory of Your name. Thank You that Your praise is eternal—flowing from Your own being, sustained by Your own majesty, declared by Your own works and that You accept my worship because I come through Christ.
Let gratitude fill my heart as I think on the glory of the Son. Let thanksgiving rise whenever I hear His name, remember His work, or consider His eternal place within the Godhead. Let me never grow cold toward the truth that He is the begotten Son, revealed in power, worthy of all honor.
Thank You, Lord, for giving Your Son. Thank You for revealing Him. Thank You for saving me through Him. And thank You that His kingdom shall never end.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for Psalm 2:7:
Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; Heb. 5:5; Matt. 3:17; Psalm 89:
[1] “Christ who promised to David, and was to come out of his loins, linage, and stock, as Mat. 20. 21. and often elsewhere. Christ first promised to come of Adam, then of Abraham, then of Isaac, then of Judah, lastly of David, whose person and Kingdom was a type and figure of Christ and his Kingdom, so Psalm 2. throughout.” Thomas Wilson, A Complete Christian Dictionary (London: E. Cotes and are to be sold by Thomas Williams, 1661), 602.
