The Messiah’s Reign

It shows us the rebellion of our human hearts, reveals the sovereignty of God, and extends a gracious invitation to bow before the King who both judges and saves.

Today, we begin our summer sermon series on the Psalms.

As you know, there are 150 psalms in The Book of Psalms.

They cover a wide range of topics.

Various authors wrote them, although 73 psalms bear David’s name.

The psalms are divided into various genres.

Study Bibles and scholars have categorized the psalms into different genres.

I want to use the categories suggested by Logos. They suggest seven genres as follows:

• Lament (59 psalms)

• Praise (41 psalms)

• Hymn (17 psalms)

• Royal (10 psalms)

• Wisdom (9 psalms)

• Thanksgiving (8 psalms)

• Trust (6 psalms)

In 2024, we studied all the Trust psalms and most of the Thanksgiving psalms.

In 2025, we studied all the Wisdom psalms.

This summer, I hope to study all the Royal psalms and a few Lament psalms.

Today, we are going to study Psalm 2.

Psalm 2 is a Royal psalm.

A Royal psalm is a psalm celebrating kingship while presenting the king as dependent on God for success.

Pastor Warren Wiersbe compared Psalm 1 and 2 and made further comments on Psalm 2. He writes:

Psalm 1 emphasizes God’s law while Psalm 2 focuses on prophecy. The people in Psalm 1 delight in the law, but the people in Psalm 2 defy the law. Psalm 1 begins with a beatitude, and Psalm 2 ends with a beatitude. Psalm 1 is never quoted in the New Testament, whereas Psalm 2 is quoted or alluded to at least 18 times, more than any other psalm. (See Matt. 3:17; 7:23; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35; John 1:49; Acts 4:25–26; 13:33; Phil. 2:12; Heb. 1:2, 5; 5:5; Rev. 2:26–27; 11:18; 12:5; 19:15)…. According to Acts 4:25, David wrote this psalm. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series [Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004], 16).

With that as an introduction, let us turn to Psalm 2 and learn about the Messiah’s reign.

Scripture

Let’s read Psalm 2:1-12:

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.”

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.”

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.

Lesson

Psalm 2:1-12 teaches us that in a world that rages against God, he enthrones his Son as king and calls every soul to submit to Christ.

Let’s use the following outline:

The World Rebels—So Reject the Lie of Self-Rule (2:1-3)

The Father Responds—So Rest in God’s Unshakable Sovereignty (2:4-6)

The Son Reigns—So Submit to Christ’s Absolute Authority (2:7-9)

The King Invites—So Run to Christ for Eternal Blessing (2:10-12)

I. The World Rebels—So Reject the Lie of Self-Rule (2:1-3)

First, notice that the world rebels—so reject the lie of self-rule.

David begins Psalm 2 with astonishment, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (2:1).

He continues by explaining why the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain.

He says in verses 2-3, “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.’ ”

Throughout history, we have seen the world rebelling against God.

You remember the tower of Babel in Genesis 11.

They wanted to build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and they wanted to make a name for themselves, lest they be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.

You also remember the crucifixion of Jesus.

Luke used these verses in Psalm 2:1-3 to show how the people had plotted against Jesus.

All the people in the entire world are united in one thing—rebellion against God.

I remember hearing that statement before I was a Christian.

A pastor said something like, “All people in the world are in rebellion against God.”

I remember thinking to myself, “I am not in rebellion against God. I have nothing against him. I am not hostile to God.”

But that is not what “rebellion” means.

According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, “rebellion” is “opposition to one in authority” (Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary [Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003], n.p.).

Rebellion is “a deliberate refusal to submit to rightful authority.”

By that understanding of rebellion, I was most definitely in rebellion against God.

God is the rightful authority over every person he has created.

I believed that I had the right to self-rule.

But, friends, that is a lie.

I have no right to self-rule.

Neither do you.

Neither do the kings of the earth.

Neither do the rulers.

Neither do the peoples.

No one has the right to self-rule.

Only God has the right to rule over each one of his creatures.

And those who will not submit to his rightful authority are in rebellion against God.

This is not political; it is spiritual.

Fallen humanity wants autonomy, not accountability.

The Reformer John Calvin (1509 - 1564) once observed that the human heart is “a perpetual factory of idols.”

Our hearts do not merely occasionally produce idols; they constantly do so.

Our hearts are not workshops that sometimes shut down.

Our hearts are factories that run 24 hours a day, always manufacturing substitutes for God.

We want a kingdom—just not God’s kingdom.

We want the freedom to do as we want, not to do what God wants us to do.

The only true freedom comes from submitting to God and doing his will.

I remember my Campus Minister illustrating this when I was a student in South Africa.

He said that we should imagine a train.

The train ran on railway tracks.

It could go anywhere in the country.

One day, the train decided it no longer wanted to run on the railway tracks.

The train jumped the tracks and tried to go on the dirt road.

The train very soon ground to a halt.

Why?

It was not designed to run on the road.

It was designed to run on railway tracks.

In the same way, people are not designed to run outside the will of God.

People are designed to do God’s will.

One reason you may be struggling in life is that you believe the lie of self-rule.

You may be struggling because you are doing your will rather than God’s will.

So, search your heart.

Where are you resisting God’s rule?

In your time?

In your activities?

In your desires?

In your practices?

The default setting of all people is self-rule.

Do not go along with the world’s craving for self-rule.

So, first, notice that the world rebels—so reject the lie of self-rule.

II. The Father Responds—So Rest in God’s Unshakable Sovereignty (2:4-6)

Second, observe that the Father responds—so rest in God’s unshakable sovereignty.

While the world rebels against God the Father, David says, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (v. 4).

I love the way one commentator pictures what is happening.

Warren Wiersbe writes,

The peaceful scene in heaven is quite a contrast to the noisy scene on earth, for God is neither worried nor afraid as puny man rages against him (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series [Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004], 18).

The Father merely laughs in derision.

What an astonishing picture David paints for us.

I think people in the world today think that God is capable of being toppled from his throne in glory.

But he cannot.

God’s sovereignty is unshakable.

God is not at all threatened by puny people who rebel against him.

In fact, despite the world’s rebellion against him, the Father has already enthroned his Son by Christ’s resurrection and ascension.

David puts it this way in verses 5-6, “Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ ”

For thousands of years, the people of the world rebelled against God.

They even crucified his Son.

But, despite the world’s best efforts, Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven—a sign that God had established Christ’s kingship in Zion.

Bishop J. C. Ryle once said, “Of all the doctrines of the Bible, none is so offensive to human nature as the doctrine of God’s sovereignty” (John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians [Webster, New York; Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2006], 253).

The world hates that God is sovereign.

They hate that they lack ultimate power and self-rule.

But for the Christian, there is a sweet delight in the glorious truth that God is absolutely sovereign.

So, my dear Christian brother and sister, rest in God’s unshakable sovereignty.

Don’t let the daily news shake you.

Don’t let the troubles in this world—and I don’t deny there are many, sometimes daunting ones—terrify you.

Rest in God’s unshakable sovereignty.

And if suffering comes your way, take courage.

Persecution does not mean that Christ is losing—it means that his kingdom is actually advancing.

Satan would have no interest in persecuting Christians if Christ’s kingdom were failing or declining.

So, live confidently.

You belong to God the Father, who is unshakably sovereign.

III. The Son Reigns—So Submit to Christ’s Absolute Authority (2:7-9)

Third, acknowledge that the Son reigns—so submit to Christ’s absolute authority.

The Father declares his Son’s identity and inheritance.

In verse 7, the Father says, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”

In verse 8, the Father says, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”

And in verse 9, the Father says, “You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Christ did not only come to save sinners.

Christ is the Second Person of the Godhead.

He, too, is absolutely sovereign.

Christ’s rule is universal, irresistible, and eternal.

In 800 AD, on Christmas morning, Charlemagne entered St. Peter’s Basilica expecting a simple worship service.

Instead, as he knelt in prayer, Pope Leo III placed a crown upon his head and proclaimed him Emperor of the Romans.

The congregation erupted, and messengers raced across Europe announcing that a new sovereign had arisen.

Yet even at the height of his power, Charlemagne knew his authority was fragile—dependent on armies, alliances, and the shifting loyalties of men.

Psalm 2:7–9 speaks of a coronation infinitely greater.

When the Father declares, “You are my Son; today I have begotten You,” he is not granting borrowed authority but revealing universal, irresistible, and eternal kingship.

Christ is not crowned by human hands but enthroned by divine decree.

Nations may rage, rulers may resist, but the Son’s inheritance cannot be contested.

His reign is not maintained by force—God himself guarantees it.

So, because the Son reigns, submit to Christ’s absolute authority.

Christ is not a consultant.

He is not your political representative.

He is not your advisor.

He is your King.

Obey him joyfully.

Recognize that Christ’s commands are not chains; they are freedom.

My favorite Bible commentator, John R. W. Stott, once said, “Christian obedience is unlike every other kind of obedience. It is not the obedience of enslaved people or soldiers, but essentially the obedience of lovers who know, love, and trust the person who issues the commands.”

IV. The King Invites—So Run to Christ for Eternal Blessing (2:10-12)

And finally, believe that the king invites—so run to Christ for eternal blessing.

This beautiful psalm ends with mercy.

The King extends a gracious invitation.

In verse 10, he says, “Be wise.”

In verse 11, he says, “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”

In verse 12a, he says, “Kiss the Son.”

And in verse 12b, he says, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

This is a call to trust, surrender, and worship the Son.

In 1215, the barons of England rose against King John, forcing him to negotiate at Runnymede.

Tension filled the air as armed nobles surrounded the king.

Yet when the final terms of Magna Carta were presented, the barons did something striking: they approached the very monarch they had resisted and offered the traditional kiss of fealty.

It was a public act of submission—an acknowledgment that peace could be found only by yielding to the rightful king.

Refusing that gesture would have meant open war.

Psalm 2:12 calls the nations to a far greater act of allegiance: “Kiss the Son.”

This is not a mere ceremony but a wholehearted surrender to the Messiah’s reign.

To refuse him is to choose conflict with the One whose wrath is righteous and whose rule is unshakable.

But blessed—deeply, securely blessed—are all who take refuge in Christ.

If you have never done so, I urge you to run to Christ for eternal blessing.

If you do not submit to Christ, your eternal destiny in hell is assured.

But if you do submit to Christ, your eternal destiny in heaven is assured.

And if you are a Christian, run to Christ daily.

When temptation surfaces—run to Christ.

When guilt accuses—run to Christ.

When fear rises—run to Christ.

When anger boils—run to Christ.

Whatever confronts you—run to Christ.

Always run to Christ.

Conclusion

Psalm 2 presents each of us with a choice:

Rebellion or refuge.

Self-rule or Christ’s rule.

Perishing or blessing.

The world rages, but Christ reigns.

The nations plot, but Christ prevails.

The kings tremble, but Christ invites.

The final word of the psalm is not wrath, but blessing: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

So come.

Bow.

Kiss the Son.

And find in him the joy, safety, and rest your soul was made for. Amen.

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