Portraits of Christ (Psalm 2)

King of Nations

Hymn: Majesty (74)

Hymn: All Hail the Power of Jesus Name (96)

Portraits of Christ in the Psalms

This semester we seek to see our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ in the Psalms.

NT authors referenced the Psalms a lot and applied their message to the person on Jesus.

Jesus in the Psalms? Jesus in all of Scripture.

Luke 24:44 ESV

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Luke 24:45 ESV

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

Luke 24:46 ESV

46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

Thus (houtos) - in this manner

“it is written” - same root word (graphe) for “ the Scriptures - verse 45).

written in the “perfect tense” in Greek (Past completed action with ongoing effects)

Reword the verse literally.

“In this way Scripture written, the Christ must suffer and third day rise out of death.”

So the main theme of every OT passage of Scripture is about the death and resurrection of the Son of God.

You don’t read him into the text…the text points to His death and resurrection.

We just came through a season of advent where we were reminded of the longing for the appearing of the Messiah, the Anointed One (NT - the Christ).

The New Testament’s gloriously proclaims that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the long-expected “Anointed One” of whom these Scriptures speak.

Peter while preaching his first sermon quotes (Psalm 16 and 110) then declared to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost: “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

Paul, also reasoned from the Scriptures (THE OT) with those in Athens that the Christ had to suffer and rise again, saying, “This Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ” (Acts 17:2–3).

The book of Hebrews is woven together by psalms, showing us that Jesus is the “son of man” of Psalm 8 who was made “for a little while lower than the angels” through the incarnation but now has been crowned “with glory and honor” through his resurrection and ascension (Heb. 2:5–9).

Matthew’s gospel unveils the Psalms as key to Jesus’ own self-understanding. Even Satan quotes Psalm 91 to him in the wilderness (Matt 4:6) and Jesus, upon the cross of agony, sifting his suffering through the sieve of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).

In Matt 21:42 Jesus summarized his suffering and exaltation with the lines of Psalm 118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the  cornerstone”

So we want to look at portraits of our Savior in the Psalms and the first one we will look at this new year is Psalm 2.

Psalm 2 although their is no superscription telling us that is was a Psalm of David, we know it is a Psalm of David because of what Luke records for us in Acts 4.

THE CONTEXT - Peter and John heal a crippled man who had for years been recognized as someone with a debilitating physical condition by everyone entering the temple in Jerusalem. He used to sit at “the Beautiful Gate.”

The one that was right in front…a beggar…everyone would have seen this guy and known this guy.

Peter and John fix there gaze on him and heal him in the name of Jesus Christ. So far so good.

Peter take the opportunity to preach about Jesus and call people to repentance…calling them to turn from their wickedness…chapter 3 then ends.

Chapter 4 begins with.

Acts 4:1–4 ESV

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

Acts 4:5–7 ESV

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Peter and John say...It was Jesus…(the rulers see their boldness and realize they were ordinary men and so they had to silence them…you can’t speak in this name anymore.

We actually can’t do that we have to testify what we have seen and heard…then they threatened them but released them...

Acts 4:23–26 ESV

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

All these mighty rulers and lower case l Lord’s are coming against those who were preaching the wonderful healing power of the Upper Case LORD Jesus Christ…and they are gathered together to put a stop to this preaching.

All this to say…Luke told us that Psalm 2 was written by David!

So let’s sing a few songs and then begin to see Jesus in Psalm 2.

Hymn: Praise, My Soul the King of Heaven (3)

Hymn: Crown Him with Many Crowns (234)

Psalm 2 ESV

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.

kings against the KING (2:1-3)

Psalm 2:1–3 ESV

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.”

This Psalm starts off with a massive question. Why? It is absurd. It sets the initial tone for how crazy what is coming is.

(ILLUSTRATION: when you do something dumb or see someone you love do something dumb… this is what comes up in our minds? Why did you think that? Why did you do that? Sometimes we will phrase it a little differently… “What were you thinking?” (Which really isn’t a question…it more of a declaration… “Clearly you weren’t thinking.”

That is what is happening here I think with David. Why? Why what?

Why nations rage / people plot in vain / kings set themselves, rulers take counsel against GOD and the One God has Anointed. - Doesn’t it make sense that this will end poorly?

Look at what the way they interpret the situation

PLOT = murmuring to oneself…muttering…discontent with the situations to where they want to act out…let’s “burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

Let’s attack…thwart God and His plans for our lives. Let’s get out from underneath God and His anointed ones oppressive thumb. I don’t want to submit to His will and to His way…I will not submit to His will and to His ways.

This will not end well for this gathering of malcontents.

But before we are super critical of the nations and the peoples and the kings and the rulers, let’s make sure that we are not guilty of the same type of foolery.

Every time you disobey…you set yourself up against the Lord’s Anointed.

Every time you murmur or complain about what God in His sovereign purposes for you life have laid on your doorstep and that leads you to want to get out from underneath His oppressive thumb…we do the same.

I’m done with you God. We think that there is freedom in not follow God or embracing His plans for our lives. And that is natural for us because we aren’t all knowing and all powerful and we don’t know the beginning from the end. All we have is what we can see in front of us and what is in front of us doesn’t seem good.

But that is not what Jesus did with His Fathers commands that left him lonely in a garden and on the cusp of being crucified…so what does He do in that moment? He essentially walks by faith and not by sight in that moment.

Hebrews 12:1–3 ESV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Jesus said my yoke is easy and my burden light. They yoke was meant to help carry the weight of the load you are bearing…they yoke of Jesus isn’t heavy…what makes it heavy is our resitence to it.

Greek Proverb that Paul quotes - it is hard to kick against the goads. (Ox goad pointy stick that will encourage the ox to finish plowing the field. If they kick against that pointy stick…it will hurt.

Application: what do you know that you should do, but haven’t done. Start trusting, walk by faith, not by your sight and then do it. like Jesus.

Hymn: All the Way My Savior Leads Me (460)

Hymn: Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us (462)

Hymn: His Way (54)

Hymn: (SOLO) - God Moves in a Mysterious Way

No Laughing Matter He is the King of kings(2:4-6)

Psalm 2:4–6 ESV

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.”

What is our God doing? sitting!

nations were raging, people plotting, kings setting themselves against God, rulers taking counsel together…all very active stuff.

God is sitting…not only sitting, but laughing.

This is not laughter based off of hilarity. This isn’t funny...

The next phrases describes what is meant by God laughing. He holds them in derision.

What does that mean?

Divine mockery.

God is holding them in contempt. Men are boldly shaking their fists against heaven, but such an attempted takeover is so bizarre, even insane, that the Lord scoffs at them, ridiculing and mocking their puny efforts.

This is the tower of babel played out.

This is Elijah encouraging the prophets of Baal to shout louder because maybe Baal is asleep or maybe he is “releaving” himself. On the toilet.

People that live apart from God cannot actually do so because everything and every person is God’s.

People who try to get out from underneath the authority of God and His plans…will find themselves under His authoritative wrath.

It is a bad thing to be mocked by God…but it gets worse…then he will terrify them in his fury. How so...

Well there is King that is truly a King that is is “set” on a “holy hill.”

Who can ascend the holy hill of the Lord (Ps. 24:3). Clean hands and pure heart. THIS IS JESUS and HE RIGHTFULLY EARNED THE ABILITY TO JUDGE ALL MANKIND.

Acts 17:31 ESV

31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Hymn: His Name is Wonderful (101)

Hymn: He is Lord (105)

The Decree of God is the Messiahs command (2:7-9)

Psalm 2:7–9 ESV

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.”

In verse 7 the “Messiah” speaks.

All that the Father has planned and purposed in eternity past, the Son will proclaim and perform within time and history.

What does it mean that the Son is begotten? Does it mean that Jesus was created?

NO - It points to His incarnation into time and space and then to His resurrection to be the “firstborn of the new creation.”

This verse is directly quoted twice in the NT and alluded to 4 more times.

Paul in Acts 13:32-34

Acts 13:32–34 ESV

32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ 34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

and then the author Hebrews who argues that Jesus is superior to angels says.

Hebrews 1:5 ESV

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

We also hear echos of this at his baptism when the Father says, this is my son.

Verse 8 - The Father will give the Son the ends of the earth as his inheritance (Rev. 11:15

Revelation 11:15 ESV

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall reign forever and ever.”

verse 9 the unprecedented authority of Christ.

Iron scepter vrs. clay potter. Who will win?

Power to crush or power to heal is His.

The Invitation (Psalm 2:10-12)

Psalm 2:10–12 ESV

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.

Those who are at war with heaven have been warned.

Those at war will heaven are given a chance to exercise wisdom.

Instead of plotting against him…serve Him with fear…(revere and respect him)

Instead of raging against Him, rejoice with trembling before him.

verse 12 - Kiss him - a sign of humble submission.

The choice is clear. It is better to bend than be broken. God urgently calls sinners to pay homage to the Son, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are those who take refuge in Him!!! Express saving faith in who He is and what He has done.

John 5:24 ESV

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Take refuge in him and be rescued by Him or rail against him and be refused by Him.

Matthew 7:23 ESV

23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Hymn: Praise Him, Praise Him (106)

Hymn: Victory in Jesus (473)