Man's Foolish Rebellion Against God's King — Psalms 2

0:00 Thank you, Jacob. Well, I'm gonna ask everybody for five minutes, but we will stop by five after or sooner. I'd like to just make a few introductory remarks and encourage you to get to the tape from last week or the recording from last week. If you haven't listened to Ray's introduction, do that. It'll help you and encourage you.

0:23 Also, I'd like to suggest that you read Bill MacDonald's introduction to the book of Psalms in his Believer's Bible commentary. That's excellent as well. And also, I'd like to lastly recommend this book to you. It'll be back up in the library soon. Scroggy has a nice introduction to the book of Psalms as well.

0:46 Something I didn't have time to mention last time I spoke, I wanted to make available to somebody to listen to a presentation by Louis Giglio on How Great Is Our God, and he uses astronomy to do this. In this piece he examines four stars that literally take his breath away, and he correlates it to divine truth and the Gospel. It's very interesting. If you want more information, see me afterwards, and this is first come first serve. I think Psalm two is the result of individuals in Psalm chapter one who do not choose the right path, and then they congregate into nations, and they lead on a national level, lead each other astray and fight God.

1:34 I'd like to read through Psalm chapter two to get started. Reading from the NIV. I don't usually use the NIV, but I like it for this chapter. Psalm chapter two. Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

1:54 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against His anointed saying, let us break their chains and throw off their shackles. The one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath saying, I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. Verse seven, I will proclaim the Lord's decree.

2:19 He said to me, you are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron. You will dash them to pieces like pottery.

2:35 Therefore, you kings, be wise. Be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate His rule with trembling. Kiss the son or he will be angry and your way will lead you to destruction for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

2:56 I wouldn't call this a soft and cuddly Psalm, but, and you don't see it much on birthday cards, but it's a Messianic Psalm. Ray briefly talked about Messianic Psalms last week. Another, Scroggy, in his book, identifies it as a prophetic Psalm, and it's both. It's talking about the tendency of man to reject God and the fact that there will be consequences, sort of like we saw in chapter one on a personal level. So this Psalm gives the Lord His proper place.

3:31 And we'll just in the next twelve or fourteen minutes look at a couple different sections of this Psalm and then make some app and then make some applications. In the first several verses we see a problem, the problem of man, and I like the words that the spirit chose to put into the scriptures. Why do the nations rage and the people's plot a vain thing? It's from the New King James Version. But they're fighting God.

4:34 Or even at a national level where we try to exercise our stupidity by redefining marriage or other things that just go against God's perfect way and they don't work. And no matter how hard we fight God, no matter how hard people fight God, there's going to be consequences. So, nations of the world have big to dos about how they want to do things, but it's foolishness. God's response to that, secondly, is that He laughs. Not in the sense of being amused, but in the sense of ridicule or disgust.

5:23 A group of kindergartners in a rubber dinghy with Nerf guns could attack the aircraft carrier, and perhaps they'd be successful because the ills on the aircraft carrier might die of laughter, But that's not how it would be with God. It's ridiculous. It's just as ridiculous as that scenario as the nations trying to overthrow God, God is not amused with the wickedness. We read in Genesis six, you don't need to turn there unless you'd like to. Genesis six verse six said, God was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

6:04 We see in the next phrase there in Psalm two, He who sits in the heaven shall laugh, the Lord shall hold him in derision. It's nonsense that mankind can throw off the what verse three talks about the bonds or the cords from us, God's ways, the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments are not just good ideas, they're divine truth that that will protect you. So, God's perspective. He laughs.

6:35 He he he just... He he has a sense of ridicule for the foolishness of man, and he's no more threatened or intimidated by those as he would be by some kindergartners in a rubber dinghy taking on the United States Navy. And then he speaks. And I think verse six corresponds with verse three. As the rulers of the world try to align themselves, and the prophetic element of this is looking forward to, I believe, the end of the Tribulation period where the armies of the world are congregating in the Middle East, all fighting over that tiny strip of land known as Israel, and God's going to say to them, I have set my king on my holy Hill Of Zion.

7:23 There's no debate. There's no contest. And this is a Messianic prophecy of that coming day when Christ will rule the world, and those who oppose God will be defeated. So God speaks not so fast, fellas. I have said my King on my holy hill of Zion.

8:35 Ask of me, and I'll give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Let's back up just a little bit. I want to make a remark about verse five.

8:58 Speaking to them in His wrath, the Lord cannot tolerate sin. His righteousness demands that He speaks, That's what leads us to verse six when He says to the rebellious nations, have said, yet I have said my King on my holy Hill Of Zion. Then that King, the Lord Jesus, is reiterating in verses seven to nine what the Father had said to Him. We don't have time to explore all these portions that these could lead us to, but as I was thinking too of the Father's testimony at the baptism that Jacob referred to and also at the transfiguration where Jesus said the voice from heaven came forth and said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased in Matthew chapter three. And those same words are spoken in Matthew 17 with the addition of hear him.

9:53 This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased to hear him. Just as Jacob reminded us of the invitation that exists for all to turn to the Lord until it's too late. It graciously still exists. But to get back to some of these verses verses seven to nine, some of these richly Christological verses, We know from Acts chapter four, I believe it is, that David wrote this Psalm. It's attributed to him after Peter and some of his peers were in trouble for healing a man in Acts chapter three, and there was a lot of commotion.

10:31 They were chastised, and in chapter four of Acts, the ruler said, hey, don't you be talking about this fellow anymore, this Jesus. But they said, you know, let me let me turn there real quick. It's a great section. Acts chapter four verse 25. So they were told to stop talking about Jesus, and I'm having trouble getting there.

11:15 Okay. Yeah. Know the address, just... My vehicle's not taking me there. Okay.

11:24 They said to them, and being let go, this was actually part of a prayer that they prayed, and being let go they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that they raised their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, You are God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. So this group of Christians was united in submission to the Lord not fighting Him. And all that is in them who by the mouth of your servant David have said, why do the nations rage and the peoples plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord the Lord and against His Christ.

12:07 They are living out a thousand years later that prophecy of when Jesus was rejected by His own people. Remember there during the betrayal when the people said we will not have this man rule over us. Actually, they didn't say that. They said, we have no king but Caesar. There's only one true king, the lord Jesus, and those who crucify Jesus said in John 19, We will have no king but Caesar.

12:42 So these are not pleasant thoughts that the son is speaking of in verses eight and nine, and they foreshadow some of the truths of scripture in Revelation where where the final battle will be fought and and the lord will will conquer without contest evil. Let's look at Psalm two... Revelation 19 for for a minute or two. Verse 11. Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

13:46 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen and white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron.

14:13 He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of almighty god. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, king of kings and lord of lords. There is no contest. There is only one there's only one king of this world, king that will rule this world, and it's it's the lord Jesus Christ. But yet, we see toward the end of this chapter a threat and a promise, depending how you respond to it.

15:21 We recently had a famous atheist make a determination about a world leader who was very tragic. He said that no matter what that world leader says, he doesn't believe in God, And that's really telling for a world leader to be evaluated by another unbeliever of their own state of heart and mind. But there's an invitation that remains for those who do submit. If you don't submit, the rulers of the world don't submit. They will be part of the forces that are destroyed and cast and we see in Revelation 20 that their their doom will be sealed there in the lake of fire.

16:08 Like to close with the verse in Romans and not Romans. Matthew chapter 11. An invitation for all of us. A familiar familiar portion. The words of Jesus, Matthew eleven twenty eight.

16:34 Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So the application, I want to make one application before we close for this chapter is we have the truth of scripture, and we have many of us, if not all of us have placed our faith in the Lord. We know what's going to happen.

17:04 We can see the reality of it, and there will be, as Jacob was making application in his time, there will be things that we decide about our own life of how we're going to live them that will impact our relationship with the world, and also our relationship with the Lord for for our own good, but also for the good of the people. We're out of time. Let's let's pray. Father, thank you for your word for these two chapters that tell very clear stories of those who choose to follow your ways or those who reject them. And those who reject can only face destruction and fruitlessness and eventual complete doom.

17:47 And we pray that you just help us to be witnesses of your your gospel, the grace of your gospel. We know that we struggle in many ways, but by your help, we can be more than conquerors. We just again pray that you help us each day, each of us in our own decisions, that we'll make the right decisions, that we'll flee youthful lusts, and that we will meditate on your word day and night, the love of Lord day and night. And we just give you our thanks and our praise in our Lord Jesus name. Amen.