Psalm - 2

Psalms - 2

Introduction

In the turbulent days of the French Revolution, a political revolutionary stormed the Bastille in Paris, seeking to remove every vestige of law and order from the eyes of his countrymen. He scaled the Cathedral of Notre Dame and tore down the cross from its spire, dashing it to pieces on the ground below. The cross, representing the authority of God, lay demolished on the ground for the crowd to see. Turning to a poor peasant, the revolter boasted, “We are going to pull down all that reminds you of God!” But from the crowd came the challenging reply, “Citizen, then you might as well pull down the stars themselves!”

Such is impossible, and so are the arrogant attempts of sinful man to overthrow the sovereign rule of God. This cosmic revolt against God is as old as the Garden of Eden.

- Explain what happened with Adam and Eve

Nothing has changed much. People still are in rebellion against the rule and reign of God every single day. God’s views on marriage, gender, life/death (abortion), finances, morals…all are maligned and abandoned by most.

This is what Psalm 2 is all about. Psalm 1 is a contrast between the godly and the ungodly. Psalm 2 is a contrast between the rebellion of the ungodly world, and the sure exaltation of the righteous Son of God. What Psalm 1 does for the individual, Psalm 2 does for the nation. Things are not as they seem. The outcome is already decided. Psalm 1 opened with a blessing statement, Psalm 2 ends with one. These first two psalms are set purposefully as the introduction to the book. And blessing brackets it.

Psalm 2:1-12 - 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.

This is a royal psalm that speaks of kings and rules and reigns. It has a dual fulfillment. OT prophecies, those about Christ, all had a dual fulfillment. There was always an immediate one in context, but also one that looked forward to Jesus.

Think of Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, a son is given…

That is typically used as a Christmas verse, and rightly so. Originally it refers to Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, who was the King of Judah. God is promising a son who will arrive and take over the government, and the Lord will use him mightily. And he does. But ultimately, there is only one Son to come that matters. And he will rule eternally.

Think of Psalm 2 like this. As a royal psalm, it was sung at the coronation of the new King of Israel and in times of national crisis. Any David king who sat on the throne would have this song sung at his coronation, to show that God was blessing him and will use him to reign, and through him will conquer Israel’s enemies. But it is ultimately about the Lord Jesus, the one who sits on David’s throne over God’s people for all eternity.

According to the NT, Psalm 2 looks ahead to Christ’s reign:

Acts 4:25-26; 13:33

Hebrews 1:5; 5:5

Revelation 2:26-27; 12:5; 19:15

Peter and John ascribe authorship of it to King David - Acts 4:25

Perfectly divided into four equal sections. You have the outline in front of you.

THE INSURRECTION AGAINST GOD (V. 1-3)

REBELLIOUS ANARCHY (V. 1)

Posed in the form of a question, it is not a question of asking, of genuine need to know the answer. It is a question of exasperation. Why? Why bother? It’s going to end up in disaster.

Nations - people groups, used mostly in the OT to refer to foreign, pagan nations.

Wicked - Deuteronomy 9:4-5

Detestable - Deuteronomy 18:9

Without understanding - Deuteronomy 32:21

Idolaters - 2 Kings 17:29

Ruthless - Isaiah 25:3

Uncircumcised - Jeremiah 9:26

Rage - word used of the raging sea. The Hebrew word rogsu means restless, worked up, tumultuous. There is a constant activity in the world of rebellion against God. The world never rests in this endeavor. It is constantly and consistently moving away from God.

Peoples - lest we start impersonally labeling nations as rebellious, meaning no one is really to blame, this word refers to the individuals within those nations. What is a nation? It is a group of people. What is a company? A group of people. This is why the phrase “systemic racism” is such a tough thing to define and is used in a nebulous way in our country. Nations cannot be racist. Companies cannot be racist. They are inanimate things. People are racist. That is David’s point here…a faceless, nameless nation is not to blame, but the individuals within it.

Plot - Hebrew word yehgu means to murmur or mutter. It is the same word used of the godly in Psalm 1:2 - …on his law he meditates day and night. This is the negative version of that word. The word can also mean growl. They are gossiping, slandering God. He is always on their lips, but not in a good way. How to rid themselves of him is the topic of conversation. They plot…this rebellion against God is not a crime of passion, but of purpose. It is premeditated.

Vain - all the plotting against the Lord is empty, worthless, amounting to nothing. The word is a ‘poetic replacement.’ You expect it to say they plot in strategy or they plot in conspiracy. Nope. They plot in vain.

Who are these nations and peoples that plot and rage against God? Well, Acts 4 includes the Jews who oppose Jesus. It is anyone who resists or rebels against the sovereign rule of God over their life.

REBELLIOUS ARROGANCE (V. 2)

Who is it that is running this rebellion? The kings and the rulers. It begins with the political leaders who lead their people astray. And the people decide they like it better. We see this in Daniel with King Nebuchadnezzar leading Babylon in arrogance away from God. This crescendos at the crucifixion of Jesus…as the leaders finally take their chance to kill God. It will happen one more definitive time at the return of Jesus. Revelation 19:11-21 as the kings of the Earth march against the rider on the white horse and are destroyed, and the birds of the air gorge on their flesh.

Set themselves - meaning they take their stand, they hold their ground. Same word used in Psalm 1:1 to refer to “stands in the way of sinners.” What is sinful mankind doing? They are firmly planted in the way of sinners, against the Lord.

Take counsel together - they take counsel (used in Psalm 31:13 as scheme) together as one. They are totally unified in this. There is much talk now about unity in our country. Why? Because our nation’s leaders want you to think they can now bring healing and unity to your torn up life and nation.

ILL - look up Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl commercial by Jeep. It was a hot mess. Why? Because the world is already united.

Against the Lord - this of this from the Israelite nation point of view…they could be confident when other nations attacked them. Why? They weren’t just fighting against the Israelite King…they were fighting against God himself, who promised them victory.

Anointed - Hebrews word messiah. The word was used of different positions in the OT that were anointed with oil, used over 40x in OT. The High Priest (Lev. 4:3), Prophets (1 Kings 19:16), Kings (Psalm 105:15). Any Davidic King that sat on Israel’s throne was referred to as Messiah. He was God’s anointed. Remember when David has the chance to kill King Saul in a cave, but doesn’t? Remember why? How dare he harm God’s anointed. Obviously this is the title that is used in the NT to refer to Jesus, the ultimate Prophet/Priest/King. Christ is the Greek equivalent of Messiah. Any rebellion against God is a revolt against Christ.

REBELLIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT (V. 3)

Now we hear them speak for the first time. There are four voices that speak in this Psalm. Lost mankind is the first one, crying out in their rebellion.

Burst apart - lit. Tear away from. Used in Psalm 107 to refer to what God did by rescuing his people out of slavery.

Bonds - fetters (Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee). These are shackles or handcuffs, used for prisoners. What are the rebels complaining about? God keeps us enslaved. He is keeping us down. We long for freedom from him.

Cast away their cords - we just want to get away from his oversight. We want to be free from his law, from his restrictions. This is the cry of the world. This right here is the heart of sin. Despising God’s rule and replacing it with our own.

Luke 19:14 in Parable of the Ten Mines, the delegation comes to the owner…14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

THE INDIGNATION OF GOD (V. 4-6)

HIS AMUSEMENT (V. 4)

And what is God’s response to all this? He laughs. He who sits in the heavens, as opposed to the kings of the Earth…the one who is above, the one who rules all…laughs. Not in a sense of hilarity or comedy, but of mocking. The next phrase clarifies:

Holds them in derision - means to treat with contempt verbally. To mock. It is translated elsewhere as jeer or scorn. So God isn’t laughing at how funny it is, but at how ridiculous it is.

John Phillips - As though man, who has successfully orbited some hardware in space, using material God has supplied, and who has put a feeble footprint on the moon - as though man can compete with a God who has orbited a hundred million galaxies! As though man, who has solved some of the subtleties of the atom, and managed to scare himself half to death in the process, can compete with a God who stokes the nuclear fires of a billion stars! No wonder He that sits in the heavens simply laughs. Man - for all his technology and talents, for all his science and skill, for all his inventions - is still man - mere mortal man. And God is God - eternal, uncreated, self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, infinite, infallible, holy, high, and lifted up, worshiped by countless angel throngs. God laughs at men for being such fools.

In Exodus, Pharaoh’s answer to the size of the Israelite nation within his borders was simple…drown all the Hebrew babies in the river. Yet it was Pharaoh’s own daughter who found one of those Hebrews boys in the river, and raised him in Pharaoh’s own court, giving him his princely education and all the necessary skills and knowledge to become Israel’s deliverer. Did God not laugh at that?

If God says that those who believe there is no God are fools, then what of those who do believe in God yet attempt to dethrone him? It is the height of man’s arrogance and stupidity. As we witness this continual rebellion against God in our world, as we watch it spiral away from Him, we can easily get bent out of shape and concerned. The Lord does no such thing. His response today is laughter.

HIS ANGER (V. 5)

His amusement quickly turns to rage. The word for wrath is the Hebrew word for nose or nostril. It’s the huff that comes out of the nose when angry. Literally: flaring nostrils. The word for fury means burning rage. Yes, the nations rage…vainly. God’s rage terrifies.

The word order in verse 5 is peculiar. It is SPEAK/WRATH // FURY/TERRIFY. The emphasis is placed on the middle two words…wrath and fury. This is God rejecting. God punishing. God bringing justice. This is wrath.

Psalm 5:5 - 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

you hate all evildoers.

Psalm 7:11 - 11 God is a righteous judge,

and a God who feels indignation every day.

This is hard for some people to hear. We like to think of God as the loving grandpa who never gets mad and who is just glad we came to visit. Nope. God is also holy. And his holiness demands he act with wrath.

Love/Holiness - sin - grace/wrath

HIS ANNOUNCEMENT (V. 6)

Now we have voice #2 - God the Father.

Set my king - installed, placed…this is why it was read on coronation day. God has set his king on his holy hill. Zion, the city of Jerusalem. From an earthly perspective, what confidence this gives the king. God is not concerned with the rebellion of the world, nor should the king be. He has all of Heaven behind him. But ultimately, God has set Jesus on the eternal throne and he will reign forever.

Daniel 7:9-14 - 9 “As I looked,

thrones were placed,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat;

his clothing was white as snow,

and the hair of his head like pure wool;

his throne was fiery flames;

its wheels were burning fire.

10 A stream of fire issued

and came out from before him;

a thousand thousands served him,

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;

the court sat in judgment,

and the books were opened.

11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed.

Not a care or concern in the world. Jesus reigns over all. I have set ‘my king’ as opposed to the kings of the Earth. They may have power here but they do not have God’s endorsement.

THE INTENTION OF GOD (V. 7-9)

MY SON WILL RULE THE NATIONS - HIS POSITION (V. 7)

Now we have voice #3 - God the Son. These would have been the words cited by the king on coronation day, but these are eternally the words of Jesus. Now the Son declares the decree to the world:

You are my Son - how could this apply to a king? This goes back to the covenant God made with King David. God promises him an eternal throne (occupied by Jesus). Here is how he describes the relationship between God and the king:

2 Samuel 7:14-16 - 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

As a father is to a son, so God will be to the king. And that explains the next phrase as well. Begotten - sadly, people have used this idea to say that Jesus was the first created being. In fact, around 75% of “Christians” say they believe that Jesus is God’s chief part of creation. No, no, no! This is merely the implied comparison to a king. The coronation of a king is like begetting a son. “Today” I have begotten you. Today, on the coronation day, that king now becomes like God’s son.

John 1 uses this idea in a literal sense…of a child who shares the nature of the Father to refer to Jesus. The ESV puts it as God’s one and only Son. He is not made or created. He is begotten. It refers to his nature, not his beginning. This concept is applied in Hebrews 1 to Jesus’ ascending to rule. As ruler of all things, as King Eternal, he is God’s Son.

Verses 6-7 are the centerpiece of the Psalm. They are the answer that is awaited in v. 1-5 and these verses are expounded and applied in v. 8-12.

MY SON WILL INHERIT THE NATIONS - HIS POSSESSION (V. 8)

Heritage and possession - parallelism. As the Son, he inherits all things from the Father.

By his work on the cross, the world belongs to Christ. This is what it means to be redeemed. It means paid for.

1 Corinthians 6 - you are not your own, you were bought with a price.

MY SON WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS - HIS POWER (V. 9)

So supreme is his reign, his judgement is like an iron scepter against pottery. There was an Egyptian tradition where all cities under Pharaoh’s dominion had their name put on a votive clay jar and placed in the temple of his false god. If people in that city rebelled, he would go into the temple, in the presence of his god, and smash their city. It had a huge intimidation factor. The “gods” were with Pharaoh in his judgment on them.

Yet another indication to the surrounding nations of Israel…Israel’s king has Heaven behind him. As does Jesus. He will crush them. Yet another reason for confidence in the Lord. No matter what happens in this world, Jesus reigns supreme. He wins. He simply doesn’t lose.

A small issue here in the language. The word for ‘break’ is the same word as ‘shepherd.’ You will shepherd them with a rod of iron? Doesn’t sound pleasant. Shepherds used two items to effectively shepherd the sheep…the staff and the rod. The staff is the shepherd’s crook used to pick up lambs and guide wayward sheep. The rod was used as a weapon against enemies. So the end result in the text is the same…yes he will shepherd them with a rod of iron…he uses it to defend his people against the enemy. Psalm 23 - as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, your rod and your staff they comfort me.

THE INVITATION OF GOD (V. 10-12)

WISDOM (V. 10)

In these final verses, he have the fourth and final voice - God the Holy Spirit. He is the narrator on the text. And this is his counsel, his commands to the nations. Be wise. Be warned.

Be wise - understand, comprehend. He has just presented reality. Don’t be a fool any longer. Change your mind. Change your course of action before it is too late.

Be warned - means rebuked or disciplined.

WORSHIP (V. 11-12a)

Serve - has implications of worship and obedience. Not just do things for, but devote life to. LORD - YHWH. In this stanza, this is the only word not paralleled in the poetic language. Puts this in the place of emphasis…God cannot be paralleled. He is unique. He alone is sovereign.

With fear - profound respect or reverence. Otherwise, they will have need to actually fear for real.

Rejoice with trembling - you can come to God and find joy, happiness, contentment. But you can never forget who God is and in whose presence you stand.

Kiss the Son - this is the best phrase in the Psalm. For the king, this is the call for the surrounding nations to bow and surrender to Israel’s rule and reign. Kissing the ring or kissing the feet was the physical sign of surrender and submission. For the world, this is God’s demand to bow before the Lord Jesus and surrender our lives. Every time God speaks during life of Jesus he begins with “this is my Son” a direct link to this verse.

No one struts into Heaven. Only one way to get it…bowed in surrender.

1 Peter 5:5b - Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Philippians 2:1-11 - So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lest he be angry…there is some debate here on who the “he” is. Is it surrender to Jesus or he will get upset? Most likely the “he” is the Father. You surrender to my holy, installed king or God is going to ensure you perish. You will perish in the way…what way is that? Back to Psalm 1:1 - standing in the way of sinners. If you go that route by your rejection of Jesus, you will die.

Wrath is quickly kindled - does this mean God has a short fuse? No.

2 Peter 3:8-9 - 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Romans 2:4-5 - 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

It’s not that you have to walk on eggshells around God worried you might upset him. It is that there is a day coming when the age of grace will end and his wrath will turn on immediately. It will feel sudden. But it isn’t sudden at all. God has been warning and wooing people since the Garden of Eden.

WELCOME (V. 12b)

And here is that wooing. This is the blessing bracket on the introduction to Psalms. He is our refuge, a common statement in Psalms:

5:11; 7:1; 17:7; 18:2, 30; 25:20; 31:1,19; 34:8,22: 36:7; 37:40; 57:1; 61:4; 64:10; 71:1; 91:4; 118:8,9; 141:8; 144:2

What an offer! After this rebuke and warning, there is a welcome. This is the love and mercy and grace of God on display. Who is it that God welcomes? Sinners. Rebels. Plotters.

Again, this is the final voice, the voice of God the Holy Spirit. Harry Ironside said this voice is “a very gentle, a very loving, a very tender voice.” How could we reject the offer, especially now knowing what we know about Jesus. The hands held forth to kiss in surrender were pierced by nails.

The message is simple…bend or be broken. You can surrender or you can die. But the Lord promises refuge to those willing to enter. There is no refuge from him, only in him.

Here is the message of the Psalm in one sentence: submit to Jesus because God has decreed for Him to put down all rebellion and rule the world.

Application

what fear or pride call bondage is actually security and freedom. ILL - incredible freedom in driving the speed limit.Where do you resist his rule and reign? That is cosmic treason against the Sovereign Son of God.Hope - God is absolutely in control.Kiss the Son lest God be angry - implications for world religions, especially Judaism and Islam.

1 John 2:23 - 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

Conclusion

Diocletian was the Roman Emperor from 284-305AD. He had a medal struck, which still can be viewed in a museum that reads: The name of Christians being extinguished.

In Spain he had two pillars raised, still there, on which are written:

Diocletian Jovian Maximian Hercules Caesares Augusti, for having extended the Roman Empire in the east and the west, and for having extinguished the name of the Christians who brought the Republic to ruin.Diocleitan Jovian Maximian Hercules Caesares Augusti, for having adopted Galerius in the east, for having everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ, for having extended the worship of the gods.

Ironically, he is lauded for doing something he never actually did. Christianity did not get stamped out of Rome. It became the official religion of the Empire in 313, a mere 8 years after his death. Why? Because God laughs at human rebellion.