Psalm 2:8

To start with we have part of an ongoing declaration that begins in 2:7 with the statement “Thou art My Son” and ends at the end of 2:9. Various versions accomplish recognition of this by using quotation marks which bring the entire statement together (NKJV, ESV, RSV, NASB, and NIV). As was well established in our study of 2:7 the one speaking is none other than Christ Himself for these three verses. That this is a continuation from 2:7 is a fact which most of my commentaries are in agreement with. John Gill does leave room for the idea that this is a new declaration from Jehovah but says, “Jehovah is either here again introduced speaking, or these words are a continuation of the Son's account of what His Father said unto Him.” I will proceed with the understanding that this is still Christ speaking.

“Ask of me”
Note: I think Gill’s comment regarding the superior/inferior relationship of the Father and Son here is good and right but incomplete nonetheless. In order to fully digest the thought we need to look at Matthew Henry who conveys the same idea but completes it, or at the very least fully contemplates it.
• The Father will deny nothing to His Son which relates to the extension of His kingdom to the uttermost ends of the earth. But, in this wonderful matter, Christ is introduced by presenting Himself before the Father with prayers, in order to illustrate the free liberality of God in conferring upon men the honor of constituting His own Son governor over the whole world. As the eternal Word of God, Christ, it is true, has always had in His hands by right sovereign authority and majesty, and as such can receive no accessions thereto; but still He is exalted in human nature, in which He took upon Him the form of a servant. This title, therefore, is not applied to Him only as God, but is extended to the whole person of the Mediator; for after Christ had emptied Himself, there was given to Him a name which is above every name, that before Him every knee shall bow (Php. 2:9). JC
• [This does] not suppose any superiority in the one, or inferiority in the other; but [is] only expressive of the Father's great respect and affection for His Son… and of the great interest the Son had in His Father, who could ask nothing but He had it; and shows the perfect harmony, agreement, and unity between them (1 Kings 3:5). JG
• Jesus hath but to ask and have. CHS
• The Son must ask. This supposes His putting Himself voluntarily into a state of inferiority to the Father, by taking upon Him the human nature; for, as God, He was equal in power and glory with the Father and had nothing to ask. MH
• The office of asking is grounded upon the same authority as the honor of King. Ruling belonged to His royal office, asking to His priestly. After His resurrection, the Father gives Him a power and command of asking. Stephen Charnock

“I will give you the nations (heathen)”
• Christ… alone has subdued the whole world to Himself, and embraced all lands and nations under His dominion. Accordingly, here, as in many other places, the calling of the Gentiles is foretold, to prevent all from imagining that the Redeemer who was to be sent of God was king of one nation only. And if we see His kingdom divided, diminished, and broken down, this proceeds from the wickedness of men, which renders them unworthy of being under a reign so happy and so desirable. But although the ingratitude of men hinders the kingdom of Christ from prospering, it does not render this prediction of none effect, inasmuch as Christ collects the dispersed remnants of His people from all quarters, and in the midst of this wretched desolation, keeps them joined together by the sacred bond of faith, so that not one corner only, but the whole world, is subjected to His authority. JC
• By "the Heathen", and "the uttermost parts of the earth", are meant God's elect among the Gentiles, and who live in the distant parts of the world; which are Christ's other sheep, the Father has given to Him as His portion, and whom He has made His care and charge: as if it was not enough that He should be King of Zion, or have the government over His chosen ones among the Jews, He commits into His hands the Gentiles also (Isa. 49:6); and these are given Him as His inheritance and possession, as His portion, to be enjoyed by Him; and who esteems them as such, and reckons them a goodly heritage… These words respect the calling of the Gentiles under the Gospel dispensation; and the amplitude of Christ's kingdom in all the earth, which shall be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth. JG
• Not only the Jews but the Gentiles also. 1599 GB
• Here He declares that His very enemies are His inheritance. CHS
• A seed is promised to Him, and victory over His enemies, yet for both these He prays. Christ towards us acts as King, but towards His Father as a priest. All He speaks to God is by prayer and intercession. So the Saints, the promise makes them kings over their lusts, conquerors over their enemies; but it makes them priests towards God, by prayer humbly to sue out those great things given in the promise. William Gurnall
• It is here promised Him… that His government shall be universal: He shall have the heathen for His inheritance, not the Jews only, to whose nation the church had been long confined, but the Gentiles also. MH

Having now considered what the promise entails, let us look at Matt. 4:8-9; Luke 4:5-6. For here we see the working of the devil. What does he try and tempt Christ with here? Let us go to the commentaries and see what they say.

• What was intended to appeal to [Christ] was the rule over the kingdoms, and this… is not ipso facto sinful; on the contrary, it is something explicitly promised to the Messiah. The plan of temptation followed by Satan evinces, though not equal subtlety in all its parts, nevertheless a certain profundity into the issues at stake, and a certain strategic eagerness to conquer Jesus, not at some subordinate point, but at the central, pivotal position, on which the successful outcome of the plan of redemption depended. It gave him, no doubt, a sinister satisfaction to attempt to overthrow the work of God and Christ at its very center. Geerhardus Vos, “Biblical Theology”, pgs. 341-342
• The kind of temptation here described was, that Christ should seek, in another manner than from God, the inheritance which He has promised to his children. And here the daring insolence of the devil is manifested, in robbing God of the government of the world, and claiming it for himself. All these things, says he, are mine, and it is only through me that they are obtained. JC
• All this wealth is by Satan offered to Christ, all for the price of just one [bowing of the knee in worship]! If Jesus will but cast Himself to the ground and worship the devil, He can have it all. He can have it in His possession and under His authority. The question [is] whether Satan was really the possessor of all these things, and whether he was actually in control of all them, to such an extent that he could offer them to anyone he wished. [But] as to Satan’s boast, it is too absurd to merit an answer. But if an answer of sort be demanded, let it be Jn. 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Jesus knew the devil was lying; that is, that the prince of evil had no enchanting kingdoms to give away. No doubt the Lord also knew that even if Satan had possessed them, he would not have fulfilled his promise. Nevertheless, the implied suggestion [was] to try to obtain the crown without enduring the cross. William Hendriksen, NT Commentary on Matthew
• As Mediator, the glorious Head of His Church, the kingdom is given to Him as the reward for His sufferings, obedience, and death (Ps. 2:8). RH

So we see some common ploys of the devil exercised against our Lord in two ways. (1) He offers to Christ what wasn’t his to give and what was already given to Christ to begin with. It was Christ’s! How can the devil give to Him what belongs to Him already? Yet Satan assumes that he can tempt our Lord into believing that He needs him in order to get what is already promised Him from the Father. (2) Satan attempts to use what Christ will have to bear in order to fulfill His purpose against Him. In other words he says to Him, “I can save you the pain you must endure if you will but come to me and bow your knee in worship.” He attempts to use against Him the coming pain which caused our Lord to say in Mt. 26:39, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”

And does not Satan do the same thing with us? The promise is not just to Christ, it is to us as well, just as William Gurnall has already testified to in this study. And we too must be willing to resist him for he cannot offer what only comes from the Lord. Calvin speaking of what a great sin we commit when we fall into this trap says, “True, indeed, with the mouth they ask that God will give them daily bread, but it is only with the mouth; for they make Satan the distributor of all the riches in the world.” And this we do through lack of trust in God and because our sinful natures are apt to believe the lie. And oh how many sins we have committed in search of ease! Satan would have us believe that we must lie, cheat, steal, murder, rob, belittle and crush those around us in order to get ahead; in order to alleviate some pain or difficulty in our lives. Yet it is not so! Neither of these lies is so. We must trust and persevere to see the promise fulfilled, this is clear. And when we face troubles we must trust in the Lord and allow His will to be fulfilled in our lives. Beware! If the devil is brazen enough to try and use this against our sovereign and holy Lord, he is doubly so against us.

Personal Summary:

One of the most invaluable tools we have at our disposal in our walk with God is prayer. Christ Himself prayed to the Father as we have discussed. It is also one of the things most neglected in many Christians lives. I can myself attest to the fact that at times it is a most difficult thing to spend time in prayer. I don’t know even why this is. I love the Lord and I gobble up His word and I devour book after book teaching me about Him. But I have to be disciplined and purposeful in my prayer or I tend to neglect it. For far too many it is the same. Let us learn from our Lord and be steadfast in prayer. It is a gift from God. And it is a beautiful thing! Think of how this works: Christ died on the cross and brought salvation to His elect, this allows us the right to pray; we pray imperfect prayers and the Spirit sanctifies them as they reach the throne and makes them acceptable, He in effect cleans them, takes the taint of sin off of them; Christ sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us continuously according to the will of God, not our faulty will, but according to His perfect will (Rom. 8:26-27). Be diligent to take advantage of the opportunity to pray and to make good use of the communion with God that was restored to you in Christ. For that was lost in the fall and for much of history mankind needed mediators between them and God and could not do what we take for granted.

Rejoice! The promise that our Lord will conquer the earth is before us. And you and I are a part of the promise. Christ, out of love for you and I, asked that we be given to Him as an inheritance. Robert Hawker says, “[He asked for] the heathen for His inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for His possession.” Amen! You are a reward for Christ! You are the gift He requested! What privilege and splendor are ours! Please don’t take this lightly either. Christ went to great lengths to secure His reward, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor. 6:20)

Live securely in the promise of God to His children, pray diligently in your daily walk, and live lives that glorify God and stand as an example to the rest of the world as to what has been accomplished in you by God.