We’re continuing in our summer series on messages from the Psalms.
I greatly enjoyed listening to Josh’s messages as well as those of Allen and Gary.
Today, as we look at, we see the world united in their revolt against God.
One of the images that represents our united world is the International Space Station.
So, Kelly and I decided to make one of our trips to see what all the international unity was about.
It turns out we didn’t carry a lot of weight around there.
Sadly, what Psalm 2 tells us the nations of the world are unified in is in their rebellion against God.
All but a couple of the Psalms progress to a place of joy, resolution, and worship.
We’re going to see Psalm 2 progress from rebellion to the hope that those rebels will find their refuge in Christ -
God’s final anointed king.
First we see where the RAGE comes into play in verses 1-3, and from these verses, we should -
1. EXPECT PEOPLE TO RESIST GOD'S RULE. (1-3)
* 1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
This song of worship opens with a question that flows from astonishment.
David paints a picture of bewilderment, asking “Why are people in rebellion against God?”
He paints a picture of tumultuous situation of rebellion and crafty plotting.
The group-think of the ungodly has led them into outright rebellion.
This psalm is written by David to be read when his kingdom is transitioning between kings.
Traditionally, these transition periods were ripe for rebellion by those lesser nations/rulers who wanted to be freed
from a nation’s control.
To a greater purpose, these words reflect the promise that God made to him that one of his descendants would be
the final ruler - not just of Israel.
ESV - Lying behind this is the promise that the line of David will be sure forever before the Lord (2 Sam. 7:16) and
that the obedience of the peoples will come to the ruler from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), together with
the very purpose for choosing Abraham and his offspring.
He’d be the final ruler of the entire world.
This final ruler wouldn’t just be anointed as king over the region around Jerusalem.
He would be anointed as the final king over the whole earth.
It should tell us something that the term “Messiah” is a transliteration of the Hebrew word “anointed”
And the title, Christ, is the Greek word for anointed.
You see, Jesus Christ is the final descendant of David who is the anointed Savior and King of the world.
But it’s not just me that sees Jesus as being the final anointed one that Psalm 2 is talking about.
While facing intense persecution, Jesus’ followers lifted their voices and prayed.
* Acts 4:24–28 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord,
who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our
father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his
Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you
anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever
your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
So, they modeled for us how we can/should use this Psalm in our own lives - looking to Jesus as God’s rightful king
of the world.
But what is the war cry of the world that rejects God’s anointed king?
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Their call to rally support is one of freedom from bonds and cords.
These terms refer to the parts of a yoke that would be put on an animal by a farmer for plowing or pulling a cart.
They sound harsh, but let’s keep in mind what Jesus told us.
* Matthew 11:29–30 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
His are what one writer calls “cords of compassion.”
This craving to throw off God’s rule isn’t just an ancient impulse.
It’s one of the most common themes we keep telling ourselves stories about.
Tolkien’s Orcs were once Elves, twisted by Melkor into creatures ruled by nothing but appetite and cruelty.
Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga tells almost the same story — a prince transformed into a wolf-like slave of the
tyrant Gnag, forgetting even his own name.
But two stories say it best.
Ted Dekker’s Circle series imagines a good King named Elyon, who invites everyone to wash clean in his lakes.
Those who refuse are called the Horde.
Their skin decays. Their minds turn against the truth.
It’s their own refusal — but Dekker names something else behind it too: a serpent named Teeleh, feeding their
rebellion.
By the time they’re covered in scabs, they don’t even want to be washed anymore.
Then there’s Eustace Scrubb, from C.S. Lewis’s Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
He spends the story sneering at the ship’s authority — until he falls asleep on a dragon’s treasure, thinking, in
Lewis’s words, “greedy, dragonish thoughts.”
He wakes up a dragon.
Nothing from outside changed him. His own greed simply came out where everyone could finally see it.
He claws at his own hide trying to get it off, and can’t. Only Aslan can tear it away.
Here’s what all four stories agree on.
Refusing the rightful king’s rule never makes anyone freer — it makes them slaves, ruled by appetite and rage
instead of ruling anything at all.
And notice this too: in every one of these stories, the rebellion isn’t only self-made.
Someone is doing the corrupting — Melkor, Gnag, Teeleh, a cursed pile of gold.
That’s not just good storytelling. That’s Genesis 3.
Adam and Eve chose their rebellion — and they were led into it, by a serpent who’s still whispering the same old
line.
Burst the bonds. Cast away the cords.
That’s the world David is describing in verse three. It’s the world we still live in.
We might not see nations gathering their armies for war against God.
But we certainly see leaders all over the world who encourage their people to disobey in the most foundational
ways.
People are told that there’s no god that defined their gender, or shapes their sexuality, or established marriage.
People are told that these are just cultural institutions that need to be torn down.
In reality, they’re the order in which all creation was made to work by.
For 50 years of murderous rebellion, women have been told that bearing a child is a bond that should be loosened
rather than their God-given superpower.
It was all to follow people like Margaret Sanger who cared nothing for human life arguing,
“We need more children from the fit and fewer from the unfit.”
Sadly, what Francis Schaeffer foresaw is coming to pass.
We live in an age of the designer baby - couples creating multiple embryos and choosing the one that has the
characteristics they most desire, while discarding the rest.
Schaffer spoke of this coming evil as being the most basic moral rebellion, when we, the creature, try to take on the
role of the creator - and it’s where we are.
The world isn’t just lost.
It’s in open rebellion.
And we need to make sure that this rebellious world isn’t being allowed to shape our beliefs by what we watch or
the conspiracy theories we listen to.
Do you find yourself worrying about the rebellion against God in our world today?
Are you allowing the culture around you to reshape what you believe God says is right and wrong?
Where are you tempted to go along with the world's rejection of God's authority?
There’s certainly a lot of turmoil in our world today.
It seems like the only idea that anyone can agree on is that they want to be autonomous - in total control.
This was definitely hammered home to me on one of my sabbatical trips.
I thought we were getting somewhere, but then it would just all fall apart again.
OK, back to Psalm 2.
So, as we move on in our psalm, we will see who is the only source of peace and unity.
And we’ll see that there’s only one approach to Him that is acceptable - worship.
On the path from rage to refuge, people need to recognize that Jesus reigns, and so I challenge you to -
2. ELEVATE JESUS AS EVERYONE’S SOVEREIGN LORD. (4-9)
* 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
What’s God’s response in heaven to mankind’s rebellion?
Is it worry?
Are the angels running around in a panic as God wonders where He went wrong that unsaved people don’t want His
anointed one as their king?
No, it’s laughter.
What matters most of all here is what matters in all situations - What does God think or have to say?
In this situation of rebellion against His anointed king, He is condescendingly mocking the rebels.
Keep in mind that this Psalm is both about the coronation of a descendant of David.
And it’s also looking ahead to the ultimate coronation of the last king.
For David’s descendant, like Solomon, his becoming king would symbolically make him a son of God.
This was in fulfillment of what was promised to him in 2 Samuel 7:14, ‘I will be his father and he shall be my son.’
Similar to adoption, it was understood that the human ruler wasn’t one with God as a true son would be.
David is looking ahead in faith as He banks on God’s fulfillment of His promise to David’s heir.
But Jesus Christ is the final fulfillment of this prophesy - the Son of God, God of very God.
The term “begotten” refers to the completely unique relationship which Jesus has with God the Father.
It doesn’t mean that He was born from the Father like He was born of Mary.
It points to how He is the only man to have walked this earth who is eternally one essence with God the Father.
And in the same way He is the final anointed King of the earth.
Verse 7 should bolster us as we look back in faith at Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation as king.
We do so just as His early followers did in -
* Acts 13:32–33 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled
to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have
begotten you.’
This is a tall promise to a descendant of David who would be just a human and a son of God in name only.
But for Jesus Christ, the final anointed king, it only makes sense that His reign would be over the whole earth, just
as He reigns over the whole universe.
We have a degree of added safety when traveling as Americans.
As I’ve experienced in different places, there’s a bit of fear people have of doing something to an American.
There’s a fear that the American Government might come down on the people or nation that harms its citizens.
There’s very few places on this globe that our nation can’t reach and influence in at least a limited way.
The Lord Jesus Christ has no limitation in enforcing His rule in the entirety of our universe.
If he wanted to snuff out our sun like a candle, He could do that with a word.
I agree with Ben Sasse when he speaks of his confident trust in God even as he suffers with cancer.
When asked if God was involved in his cancer, he replied, “there is not one maverick molecule in this universe.”
Similarly, there is not one rebel heart that Jesus is not the Lord over even as they’re in rebellion.
He is everyone’s Lord whether they recognize it or not.
Jesus’ lordship is why we, His followers, have been given the responsibility to take His gospel to the ends of the earth
as well.
He said as much in -
* Matthew 28:19–20 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
He’s also given us the authority to storm whatever spiritual strongholds might keep people in darkness.
This is another blessing of His having conquered by His death, resurrection, and exaltation as we read in -
* Colossians 2:15 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over
them in him.
And so how we fight for His kingdom is by spiritual means against spiritual forces and doctrinal lies.
* 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We
destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought
captive to obey Christ,
Do you let Jesus reign in your life as your Lord?
Do you live your life out of the understanding that the whole world is under the sovereign reign of Jesus and that
one day everyone will bow their knee to Him?
What area of your life are you still trying to rule?
If you don’t know Christ as your Savior and Lord, recognize that He is your Lord whether you admit it or not.
You will stand before him just as I will.
But I will stand in the righteousness of Christ… [GOSPEL]
So, what’s the response of this psalm after Jesus is proclaimed as Lord?
Is it to tell the nations of the world, “Stinks to be you”?
Are these truths here just so we can DUNK on those who don’t know Christ?
Speaking of dunking, I was able to improve my basketball game while on sabbatical.
OK, back to my question.
Are we to take verses 4-9 and just wave them before the world thinking,
“You’re gonna get yours one day!”
No, we’re called to share the gospel that Jesus is Savior and Lord and to invite others to follow Him.
As rebels move from rage to recognizing Jesus’ reign as Lord, we must -
3. EXTEND THE INVITATION TO TAKE REFUGE IN JESUS. (10-12)
* 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
This may seem to us like God is dunking on the unbelievers who refuse to worship Him.
Actually, this is an invitation far more than it’s an ultimatum.
This is an invitation for repentance which would be a person’s response if the are wise when warned.
Jesus is not just another earthly ruler.
Nor is He just another self-proclaimed messiah.
He is God’s appointed King of the whole world and is able to reign for eternity because He is eternal God.
We’ve seen instances of someone showing their submission by kissing a ruler’s ring.
The kiss points to religious devotion to a person’s authority.
*12 b Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
What fear and pride see as a trap—giving up control and submitting to God—is actually the safest, happiest place you
could be.
And here's the thing: There’s no refuge from God, but there is ultimate refuge in God.
There's no backup shelter, no plan B hiding spot.
The only real protection there is, is found in Jesus—so trying to escape him doesn't lead to freedom, it leaves you
vulnerable to eternal judgment.
I think of salvation as being like people who were being swept down an fast moving river but found a solid rock to
climb onto.
It doesn’t make us any smarter or better than those who are still being swept along with the current.
As others pass by on their pieces of debris or floating makeshift rafts, we beg them to grab hold of the rock as well.
And we’re heartbroken as they refuse because knowing there’s a deadly waterfall around one of the next bends.
One of our 3 purposes for existing as a church is to extend God’s kingdom
This means sharing the gospel with others and partnering with organizations that are doing so.
This means sharing the bad news that Jesus Christ is everyone’s judge for everything that falls short of giving Him
the glory He deserves.
But the good news is that the same Jesus did all that needed to be done to purchase our forgiveness.
And it was at His great expense.
We should be grieved by those who continue to shake their fists at God even as His judgment is hanging over them.
Who in your life needs an opportunity to hear about Jesus and take refuge in Him?
Have you decided that someone is too far from God for Him to change them?
I want to close describing the simples conversation that we can have with the little ones in our lives.
It’s a way that we can turn every moment of disobedience into an opportunity to shepherd their hearts.
When they disobey, we can point out that they do so because their hearts are sinful and want their own way.
And we should also share with them that we know this from experience because our hearts are sinful too.
We can struggle to let Jesus be Lord of our lives too.
This opens the door to share how grateful we are for the Christ’s sacrifice and the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts.
With people big and small, we can Elevate Jesus as Sovereign Lord
and also Extend the Invitation for Anyone to take Refuge in Jesus.
