A Blessed People
Psalms • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we looked at what it looks like for an individual to have a blessed life from God.
The great theologian and writer A.W. Tozer describes the blessed person this way:
The ideal Christian is one who knows he is free to do as he will and wills to be a servant. This is the path Christ took; blessed is the man who follows Him.
A. W. Tozer
Today, we are are looking at Psalm 2. Here, the writer (most likely King David) calls all people back to corporate worship and obedience to God.
So if Tozer is right and the ideal follower of Jesus is the person who knows he is free to do as he will and wills to be a servant, then the ideal nation is one that knows they are free to do as it wills and wills to follow Christ.
This is what Psalm 2 is all about. So if you have your Bibles, I want to challenge you to turn with me to Psalm chapter 2 and we’ll begin with verse 1.
The Great Conspiracy
The Great Conspiracy
The Conspiracy
The Conspiracy
David begins this Psalm with a question to the nations that surround Israel.
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
Why do the nations conspire? The Hebrew word “conspire” can be translated: act violently, rebel, rage, create a commotion (v. 1a).
Why do the people plot in vain? Another way to translate this passage is: “Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?” NET (v. 1b).
Now the conspiracy
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
The kings of the earth rise up in defiance against Yahweh (v. 2a).
The rulers band together against Yahweh (v. 2b).
And they all rise up and band together against the one anointed by Yahweh (v. 2c).
The Lord’s anointed can refer to two different entities:
(1) The current king of Israel;
(2) The Messiah that is to come. In the context it seems to be referring to the king of Israel).
“Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
The rulers who conspire say:
— Let us break their chains (v. 3a).
— Let us throw off their shackles (v. 3b).
This is open rebellion against God and God’s plan!
God’s Response to the Conspiracy
God’s Response to the Conspiracy
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
The One on the throne of heaven laughs (v. 4a).
Yahweh “scoffs” at them (v. 4b). “Scoffs” in the Hebrew can mean: mock, jeer, ridicule.
He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
Yahweh rebukes them in anger (v. 5a).
While the wrath of Yahweh terrifies them (v. 5b).
“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
Yahweh says, “I have installed my king on Zion, My holy mountain” (a reference to the king reigning in Jerusalem) (v. 6).
David’s Response
David’s Response
I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
I will proclaim Yahweh’s decree (v. 7a).
The Hebrew “decree) has the idea of covenant. In this case it is a reference to the Davidic Covenant.
God’s Response to David’s Heart
God’s Response to David’s Heart
Yahweh said to David, “You are my son; today I have become your father” (v. 7b).
We know this verse refers to the coming Messiah because of the references to this verse in Acts 13:33 (cf. Matt. 3:17; Heb. 1:5, 5:5).
Acts 13:33 (NIV)
As it is written in the second Psalm: “ ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’
Yet in the context, it refers to the king’s adoption as part of God’s eternal family.
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
As part of this recognition of David being an adopted son of God, God wants David to ask Him to make the nations David’s inheritance (v. 8a).
And God tells David to ask for the entire earth to be his possession (v. 8b).
You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
God says that the anointed king will break the nations with an iron rod (v. 9a). Presumably David will break the nations with an iron rod.
But this is also a reference to the coming Messiah. Revelations 12:5 uses the same kind of language.
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
And the anointed one will dash the nations like pieces of pottery (v. 9b).
Again, David will do this!
But also God’s Messiah (Jesus) will also dash the nations like pieces of pottery. Look at Revelations 2:27.
that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father.
The Desired Response of the Nations
The Desired Response of the Nations
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
First, there is a call for the kings to be wise (v. 10a).
They should be wise because they have been warned (v. 10b).
Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.
Ultimately, all the rulers of the earth should serve Yahweh with fear. In the Hebrew “fear” can mean: fear, reverence, terror, worship, or a feeling of profound respect (v. 11a).
The kings should accept their fate—by celebrating the rule of Yahweh’s anointed (v. 11b).
They should do this with “trembling.” The Hebrew means: trembling, quaking, a shaky motion, shudder) (cf 1 Ch. 16:30).
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.
The leaders of the nations should come before Yahweh’s anointed and kiss Him.
In the Hebrews kiss can be translated: to join, to attach, to be subservient, to kiss.
To kiss in this context would be a sign of respect or subjection.
Failure to pay this kind of respect could make the Anointed One angry (v. 12a).
If the Anointed One was angry with one of the nations he would lead that people to destruction (v. 12b).
The warning is that the Anointed One’s anger could flare up at any moment— unpredictable (v. 12c).
And the Psalm closes with a blessing: Everyone who takes refuge in the Anointed One is blessed (cf. Ps. 5:11; 34:8; 64:10) (v. 12d)!
This blessing reminds me of Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In this Psalm is a strong warning against any nation revolting against the Lord.
We know that the reference to the Yahweh’s Anointed One is a reference to the Messiah, Jesus. We know this because the New Testament connects this Psalm to Jesus.
But we also know that it had a meaning for King David in day!
Today, our nation would do well to heed the teachings of this Psalm. It seems like the culture of our day has taken stand after stand against the Word of God.
God says there are two genders:
Male
And Female
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
Today, our culture says there 107 different ways to identify someone’s gender.
God said the marriage should be defined as one man and one woman united together for life.
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’
‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
God determines when life begins. And it is before the baby is born—in the womb.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
God determines when life ends. And life is short.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
These are a few of the topics that the culture says they can determine and define.
Here’s the thing. Since God is the Creator of everything in this world, He and He alone is the one who defines our sexes or genders.
Since God was the one who initiated marriage, He is the one who defines what it looks like.
And since God is the Creator, He alone gets to define when life begins.
But as the Creator of all, He also is the only one that can say when our life ends.
I know that some people will struggle with this message. You see, it is so easy to become entrenched in the culture around us. And when that happens, it is easy for us to adopt some of the culture’s ideologies.
And when we accept the culture’s ideologies we can negate the gospel message altogether, or at minimum force the gospel of Jesus Christ to conform to culture rather than culture conforming to the gospel.