The Prevailing King
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1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”
10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11 Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling. 12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
As we gaze upon the rebellion, the savagery, the immorality, the perversion that characterizes this world, we wonder why these things must be.
Why does our God, the Creator of all things, permit evil and suffering in the world?
Why would God, who has the power to consume the world in judgment, in a moment in His anger, tolerate rebellious humanity to stand as enemies of His-to curse and profane His holy name.
Why does it seem that so much injustice goes unpunished?
Why does God permit the wicked to continue to prosper, while the innocent suffer?
Rebellion of Humanity Toward GOD
We are not the only ones who are bewildered by the blatant rebellion of humanity toward God. David was amazed at man’s foolish arrogance and God’s patience.
David asked in this passage of scripture, WHY?
Look at verse 1 once more...
1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
David asked... WHY?
He wanted to know why is it that rebellious nations rage against God when they stand absolutely no chance of prevailing against Him?
David was astonished that the rulers of the earth would come together against God, any such attempt would prove vain and foolish.
The people are angry with God. In their anger, they make all kinds of senseless noise, devising a vain thing.
Why are they angry? Because humanity is rebellious. Anger is their reaction to God’s rule! They are angry because God rules! Man wants to rule, but God rules! It’s all His and He rules it all!
In the ancient Near East, “the kings” considered themselves to be “divine” monarchs, who are here portrayed as bringing together all their sacred powers and forces against the Lord. They attempt to take a stand against the Lord God and his anointed.
David said...
2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
The heathenish people, and even their enemies, has and will set aside their differences and national interests to form alliances against God.
The rulers sit in evil counsel, devising their rebel plans.
Instead of counsel, the word can also mean to “meditate”…It’s a thought-out plan. The have rationalized away eternal truths.
There is an unholy confederacy between Jew and Gentile to oppose the Lord and His anointed. They have put their minds together to do that which is evil.
In the apostles days, they saw the wicked plot unfold with Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. They plotted against the Darling of Heaven and nailed Him to a cross.
We see a wicked coalition which persists in our own day. The world that we hardly recognize, is now filled with the spirit of antichrist.
David says, here is what the kings and rulers are saying against the Lord and His Anointed....
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
This statement is astoundingly bold. Their messaging is unmistakable.
The objective of the people is an unholy objective.
This statement is a call for all who will, to break free from the binding precepts of God.
They wish to explain away the precepts of God or reduce them to suggestive aids.
Let us tear (break away or pull off) their fetters (chains and shackles) And cast away their cords from us.
The People of God see divine restraint as an act of love and care. The yoke of Christ is easy, and His burden light to the penitent and enlightened heart.
But for the worldly, and the power hungry, they want nothing to do with divine restraint.
To the spiritually blind and self-willed, the law of Christ is burdensome.
They demand to break free from what they perceive as the shackles and chains of morality and holiness.
As a christian, people may view you as someone who is restrained from having fun. From doing the things that others find sinfully pleasing.
But listen…The serpent is subtle and his strategy is deceitful.
He whispered in Eve’s ear suggesting to her that God had her bound and enslaved her by commanding her not to eat of the forbidden fruit.
Satan’s temptation enticed her to want to do according to her fleshly desire, without being interfered with or influenced by God. This was sinful, and brought about the curse to the human race.
Oh how unreasonable, how useless, how senseless it is for people or nations to take a stand of opposition against God’s law and God’s will.
As we sit here, there are those in high places, as a force of evil, who are actively trying to overcome God, they are actively trying to erase His name from society.
So the people have said, “we don’t want the Lord. We don’t want His Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One.”
Now, God is about to speak!
David says...
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
He who sits in the heavens is God the Father.
He is seated as one the One who is in authority would be!
He is seated upon His throne. In His perfect and complete power, He sits as Lord of the Universe.
He is not worried, He is not shaken. He is not scurrying to take action, in fact, He does not even rise to deal with them. In complete and perfected peace, the Lord continues to rule. His authority is unchallenged.
He who sits in the heavens laughs.
Aren’t you glad our King is not shaken? Aren’t you glad as we face the terror of our day, that we are reminded that God laughs at His enemies?
The Lord scoffs at them. Not because He thinks its funny. There is no humor here.
With contempt, the Lord laughs at their foolishness.
With contempt, the Lord laughs at those who think they will prevail against Him.
There will be no laughing for the rebellious, for God will have the last laugh.
Those who think their kingdom or their nation is secure will find out someday, that it was only temporary. Christ will rule and reign over it all! That has already been established by God. Look at this...
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
God the Father breaks His silence, the voice of the Father comes forth!
In His holy anger, God will astonish the nations, the masses will tremble!
The nations will be completely terror struck, when God speaks in His fury.
He will say, But as for Me,(notice this now…He will say, “But as for Me,” {God has a made up mind} do you see it? {Despite the evil thoughts of man, and his endeavors to rule the world accompanied by Satan.} Despite man’s rebellion, God says, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.
Remember...Zion is the city of Jerusalem, the place where Jesus was once tried and falsely accused and condemned by a wicked bunch who nailed Him to a cross on Golgotha’s hill.
It is in that very city, that God the Father has purposed and established that His Son will be crowned. The world can laugh and scoff all they want to, but be sure…IT WILL HAPPEN! And all the demon’s of earth and hell can’t stop it!
As we have studied in the Book of Revelation, as well as have been revealed in the books of the prophets, God has promised a King.
And all of those who presently rule the nations, will be permanently removed.
John gives testimony of this in...
15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
From Jerusalem the King of kings will rule over His entire creation. He is already crowned in heaven but one day, His coronation will take place on earth right there in Jerusalem.
Here in verse 7, we hear the eternal voice of the King. King Jesus shares with us a conversation between the Father and Himself that occurred before the foundation of the world. The Son is declaring the decree of God’s will - officially adopted and enacted in heaven - that appointed Him as King. Here’s what He says....
7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
The Son left His exalted place of splendor, took on flesh for the purpose of redeeming both humanity and earth, because of the effects of sin.
Because the precious Lamb of God laid down His life, as the Son of God, He will inherit the earth that He died to redeem.
The Father has handed it to His Son in whom He is well pleased.
God the Son is here, quoting God the Father, as saying....
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”
The rule of Christ brings power to stabilize things. The Lord’s King has power to smash all opposition to His rule. Rebels are crushed like fragile clay vessels.
He shall break … with a rod of iron those who rise up against Him, shattering them like a potter’s vessel.
After the devastating effects of Great Tribulation, the King of kings will exercise this authority both when He returns to earth and throughout His thousand-year reign.
Prior to His inauguration as King, He will destroy those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel. Then, in the Millennium, Christ will rule with a rod of iron, punishing rebellion wherever it raises its ugly head.
Now the Holy Spirit begins to speak to the reader of this psalm...
10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11 Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
In a word of exhortation, the Holy Spirit is bidding the kings and judges of the earth, and all who live in rebellion to God and His Son, to love and serve the King of Glory.
In Revelation, God has revealed the future, how this world will end, who will prevail throughout eternity.
The refusal to serve Him means destruction, it means hopelessness, the outcome is eternally grievous, to those who refuse Him.
The wise man builds his house on a rock. Likewise, the wise will obey Him, come to Him, surrender to Him, yield to Him and place their trust in Him to bring security and true happiness.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
In this final verse, the Holy Spirit of God instructs all to Do homage (give the highest honor and submission) to the Son lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled.
Christ Jesus came the first time, as Savior, gentle as a Lamb, but when He returns to this earth, He will come as Judge and with wrath. Those who refuse to repent and continue to rebel against the Lord will inevitably be judged, and will be found guilty, and as a result will perish, eternally separated from God.
While we witness the most grotesque acts of immorality of our lifetimes. While we behold the works of the forces of darkness, we must remain steadfast in the One in whom we have believed. We must not be discouraged. God has not forgotten us. He is fully informed of the ways of this old world. As we look upon the depravity of man, in astonishment, we see insanity! We see depravity! And we are seeing the results of open rebellion. While the nations are in an uproar and people are devising vain things, let us take refuge in Him! Rather than joining the uproar of the world, rather than becoming part of the chaos, the Holy Spirit says, “How blessed are all who take refuge in Him”
For man to trust his Creator is the most sane, logical, reasonable thing he can do. On the other hand, to disbelieve and defy the Almighty is the most irrational thing that a person can do.