Sermon Tone Analysis

The Messianic Psalms: The Glories of the Eternal Son—Psalm 2

For those of you like myself who like good sermonic alliteration, this Psalm breaks up into an easy four-point outline:

* The Apostates

* The Almighty

* The Anointed

* The Advise

!

I. THE APOSTATES (2:1-3)

* /"Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."/ (Psalm 2:1-3, ESV)

#. the Psalmist opens his song with a lyric declaring man's rebellion against the Lord of Hosts

#. the psalmist stands amazed at the plans—vain plans, but plans nonetheless—of the world's nations to overthrow the Lord and His Anointed One

#. the earth's nation-states are conspiring, and the earth's people are plotting to rebel against the Lord's anointed one

#. in one of the most clear applications of the Psalm, the Apostle Peter quotes it shortly after he and the Apostle John have been released from custody for preaching Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem

* /"On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:" 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."/

(Acts 4:23-30, NIV)

#.

Peter clearly tells us that both Jew and Gentile, both worldly rulers and common people have taken a stand against God, and against God's Anointed One

#. the title Anointed One is a clear reference to Messiah

#. it is not some earthly king or potentate that the nations and people of the earth are raging and plotting against

#. it is the Lord Himself, and his Anointed!!

!! A. A MALICIOUS ATTITUDE

#. the psalmist begins with a rhetorical question: "Why"?—Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

"Why"?—Why do the kings and rulers of the earth set themselves against the Lord?

#. the picture of man's rebellion is complete

#. the nations are in a rage

#. the peoples of the earth are plotting

#. the kings of the earth are setting themselves against God's authority

#. the rulers of lesser principalities are counseling together against the Lord

#. in all of this, we see the complete and utter enmity that a fallen race has toward the sovereign Lord of the universe

#. the nations rage can literally be translated as tumultuous agitation as when ocean waves are lashed to fury by the winds

#. in this Psalm, the word implies a conspiracy to be in open defiance of a king

* ILLUS.

Charles H. Spurgeon, the great British Baptist preacher of the 19th century, said of these three verses, "We have, in these first three verses, a description of the hatred of human nature against the Christ of God."

#. the nations of the world—then and now—want no king but Caesar

#. in his fallen condition, man not only is not looking for God, but is in open rebellion against Him

#.

God is God

#. man is not God, but wants to be

#.

here is the core of the great temptation

* /"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."/

(Genesis 3:5-6, ESV)

#. and that's the rub

#. our eyes were opened

#.

we do know the difference between good and evil

#. but we're still not God

#. the nations rage and the peoples plot

#. the word plot in this massage comes from a word that means growl a vain thing

#. in Isaiah 31:4 the word refers to a lion growling over its prey

#. the word came to refer to people speaking in low, hushed sounds as they plotted to take some kind of action

#.

some translate the word as murmur murderously 1) in this Psalm, it implies that lost men open muse, but in low hushed tones, on how they might break free from God

#. man's desire is to be the maker of his own destiny, and lord of his own life

#. the commands of God—which are always for our good—are perceived as shackles and cords that must be loosed and discarded

#. according to the Psalmist, man's rage is "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."

#. the Ten Commandment are cords

#. the Sermon on the Mount is a cord #.

mankind says we don't need such cord—they restrict our freedom, and above all, we would be free—even from God

!! B. A MISGUIDED ANIMUS

#. the psalmist asks a rhetorical question: "Why"?—Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

#. all this animus and angst does not make sense to him

#.

God has poured out his blessing upon all

* /"...

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."/

(Matthew 5:45, NIV)

#. theologians call this common grace

#. it is "common" because its benefits are experienced by, or intended for, the whole human race without distinction between one person and another

#. it is "grace" because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God

#.

God's common grace is witnessed in

#.

His providential care of creation

#. the Bible says, for instance, that God through the Son "upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb.

1:2-3)

#.

God's gracious provision for his creatures is seen in the giving of the seasons, of seedtime and harvest

#. we also see evidence of God's common grace in the establishment of various structures within human society

#. most noteworthy is marriage, and the family—both ordained by God for blessing men—whether sinner or saint

#.

His providential restraint of sin

#. in the Bible, Paul teaches that civil authorities have been "instituted by God" (Rom.

13:1) to maintain order and punish wrong-doing

#. although fallible instruments of his common grace, civil governments are called "ministers of God" (Rom.

13:6) that should not be feared by those who do good

#.

God also sovereignly works through circumstances to limit a person's sinful behavior

* ILLUS.

In Genesis we have the account of Abraham and Sarah journeying into the territory of the Negeb, where Abraham told everyone "this is my sister."

King Abimelech takes a fancy to her and sends for Sarah, apparently to take her as one of his wives, thus cementing a covenant/treaty with Abraham.

But God warns Abimelech in a dream that if he proceeds he is a dead man because Sarah is actually Abraham's wife.

* "Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me.

That is why I did not let you touch her." (Genesis 20:6, NIV)

#. if we think the world is bad now, just wait until God is no longer restraining evil

#.

His providential enlightenment of human conscience

#. the apostle Paul says that when unbelieving Gentiles "who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves,. . .

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them" (Rom.

2:14-15, ESV)

#. by God's common grace fallen mankind retains a conscience indicating the differences between right and wrong

#.

His providential blessings to mankind

#. human advancements that come through the unredeemed are seen as outcomes of God's common grace

#. for example, medical and other technological advancements that improve the lives of both the redeemed and unredeemed are seen as initiated by common grace

#. considering how benevolent God is, Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

!! C. A MALEVOLENT ASSAULT

#. malevolent is a word that means /'// will that wishes evil upon another