Psalm 2

Opposing God is Like Chasing the Wind

Introduction

· Craziness of our world today – particularly our country

· We live in a world who wages war on God and persecutes Christians

o And it seems like they are winning

· Can cause us:

o Fear

o Worry

o Anger

o Frustration

· But does it have to cause these emotions?

· Question we have to ask ourselves: Do we believe that God is in control and sovereign over all creation or not?

Looking at Psalm 2 today

· Last week in Psalm 1, we looked at the contrast between the righteous person and the wicked person

o Specifically that the righteous person guides their path of life by Scripture and the wisdom we receive from God

o Psalm 2 contrasts between nations and rulers who oppose God and His people and God’s Kingdom

Key Question

Why do the nations wage war against God and His people?

· Throughout history, the nation of Israel and the Jews have been persecuted

· O.T.

o Egypt

o Assyria

o Babylon

· N.T.

o Rome ruled over Israel

o Jews persecuted for their faith in Christ

· Modern

o Holocaust

o Antisemitism

o Even now in war with Hamas – Protest against Jews

Along with Psalm 1, Psalm 2 also sets the tone for the entire book of Psalms

· Psalm 2 is both a royal Psalm and a prophetic Psalm

o Royal Psalm because it addresses Israel’s kings

o Prophetic Psalmbecause these human kings point to Jesus, the King of Kings

Memory Phrase

Opposing God is Like Chasing the Wind

Sermon

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations conspire

and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise up

and the rulers band together

against the Lord and against His anointed, saying,

3 “Let us break their chains

and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in His anger

and terrifies them in His wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed My king

on Zion, My holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;

today I have become your father.

8 Ask Me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance

the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron,

you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;

be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear

and celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry

and your way will lead to your destruction,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

We’ll start with studying Psalm in the original context

· God appointed the nation of Israel to be His chosen people

· David was anointed king of Israel by God

· Back then, it was normal for other countries to attack when there was a transfer of power

VS 1-3 - PARAPHRASE

VS 1 - Begins with Rhetorical questions

· Meant to be absurd questions

· Like me asking you:

o Can you fly on your own – defy gravity?

o Can you escape death and live forever on earth?

o Can you just jump and go into space?

· The questions in VS 1 are absurd because any opposition to God and His will is senseless and futile

· There is no way possible for people to disrupt God’s will

· Even if every person in the world came together and aligned themselves to oppose His will – They still can not overcome God’s sovereignty and plan for all of creation

Opposing God is Like Chasing the Wind

VS 2 – Who they conspire and plot against

· These nations are opposing both God and His anointed people

· Anointed = Means God has called a people to be His own – His sons and daughters

· It also means God anoints individuals to be His servant to carry out His will

· In this case, His anointed is referring to David as God’s King

· It’s safe to infer that they are also opposed to all of God’s anointed people

· The phrase “RISE UP” is an image of forming battle lines ready for war

VS 4-6 – PARAPHRASE

Focus shifts from the nations to God’s response

· God laughs at them

· God laughing drives home the point on how futile it is to oppose God

· He rebukes them in His anger

· And terrifies them in His wrath

“I have installed My king

on Zion, My holy mountain.”

· This king He has installed is David

Opposing God is Like Chasing the Wind

VS 7-9 – PARAPHRASE

Turns to David speaking about what God has promised Him

He said to me, “You are my son;

Today I have become your father.

· God promises to make the nations his inheritance and possession.

· David will break them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces

· “Rod of Iron” – Symbol of strength

VS 10-12 – PARAPHRASE

Psalm finishes with God’s warning and commands to the nations waging war against Him

· Because God is full of mercy and patience – He warns the kings and rulers to turn from their ways of opposing God that leads to their destruction

· He commands the kings and rulers to be wise

· And to serve the Lord with fear

· To celebrate his rule with trembling

· He commands them to “Kiss his son”

· “Kiss the Son” – Means to honor and respect David as God’s appointed servant

· Ends with the opposite result for all who:

o Take refuge in God

o Those who put their trust and faith in God

o And all who submit and embrace God and His authority over all creation

Let’s turn to the prophesy part of the Psalm and how it relates to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

· As I said, the immediate context refers to the Kingship of David

· But David’s kingship is only a temporary shadow pointing to Jesus

· God has given Jesus everlasting rule, power, and authority over all creation

· Christ is the true King of Kings

Colossians 2:9-10

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority

· When we read Old Testament Scripture, we must move past the immediate context and see how it points to Jesus

Look at Psalm 2:6-9, 12 and replace the lower case letters referring to David with capitol letters referring to Jesus

Psalm 2:2, 6-9, 12

2 The kings of the earth rise up

and the rulers band together

against the Lord and against His Anointed

6 “I have installed My King

on Zion, My holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to Me, “You are my Son;

today I have become Your father.

8 Ask Me,

and I will make the nations Your inheritance

the ends of the earth Your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron,

You will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

12 Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

How Psalm points to the Gospel

· Because Jesus died, rose, and ascended to Heaven, not only has He defeated sin and death, but also defeated every enemy of God

1 Corinthians 15:26

24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”

· Jesus on earth held a reed before His crucifixion – Now He holds a rod of iron

We can change our memory phrase to:

· Opposing is JESUS is Like Chasing the Wind

How does this affect us?

· Because of Christ’s work on the cross, all believers of every nation are God’s appointed people

· And as believers, we will share in His victory

· And in Heaven, all believers will rule with Christ

2 Timothy 2:11-13

If we died with him,

we will also live with him;

12 if we endure,

we will also reign with him.

Change memory phrase again

· Opposing BELIEVERS is Like Chasing the Wind

Conclusion/Application

At the beginning of the sermon we said:

· That we live in a world who wages war on God and persecutes Christians

o And it seems like they are winning

· Can cause us:

o Fear

o Worry

o Anger

o Frustration

· I asked did it have to cause these emotions?

2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control

· When we fully understand that no one is successful opposing God – That He is victorious over all enemies through Christ, it should give us:

o Comfort and joy that God wins in the end

o It should give us comfort and joy knowing God is our Rock, Redeemer, Shield, and protector against all persecution we will experience

Question we have to ask ourselves:

· Do we believe that God is in control and sovereign over all creation or not?

· Do we have faith in His sovereignty when we are persecuted?

· Do we have full faith and trust in His steadfast love for us?

Here is the reality for all disciples of Jesus

Romans 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord

Challenge: Read this every morning and see what happens

Opposing God, Opposing Jesus, and Opposing Believers is Like Chasing the Wind