Inheriting the nations

“Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.” Psalm 2:8
This verse has been misunderstood and, I believe, misused – often with good intentions. You see, many people think it applies to the church. In 1999 Hillsong church wrote a song based on this, with the repeated lyric, ‘O Lord, we ask for the nations’.
So what is the problem with this? As always, we need to consider the context. The preceding verse tells us who this promise of the nations is given to: “I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father’” (Ps. 2:7). There is only one person this can be referring to, and that is Jesus Christ. Also the following verse: “You will rule them with an iron sceptre” (Ps. 2:9), is also a reference to Jesus (see Rev. 19:15).
Yes, it is true that the saints will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). But they inherit it because they are in Christ, and He is the one who is given the nations by God (Rev. 2:26-27).