King Jesus Will Prevail

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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.

Opening Prayer

The Context

Many times we read the psalms devotionally…

And, in order to truly do so, we need to view it in the light of the historical context.

So, before we look at the structure of Psalm 2...

I want to give a little historical context...

As well as NT context.

Psalm 2 reflects the Abrahamic covenant.

Psalm 2 reflects the Davidic covenant. (both are tied to one another)

A promise from God, through the covenant made with David, that God would be a Father to David and David would be a son to God.

2 Samuel 7:14 (ESV)

14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

The promises of the Davidic covenant were not fulfilled in any Davidic king of the Old Testament.

Their history was a history of rebellion against God, which led to:

the end of the monarchy

the destruction of the temple

and the Babylonian exile.

With the destruction of the monarchy and the exile to Babylon, the fulfillment of those promises looked bleak.

However, the hope of those promises was kept alive and they are clearly applied to Jesus Christ, who is the true Davidic king...

And, the true Divine Son, through whom God will rule the world.

Matthew 3:17 (ESV)

17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

And the opposition to Jesus, the divinely anointed Son of God, by the rulers and the nations in...

Acts 4:25–28 (ESV)

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’—

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

And we move from the gospels which teach the enthronement of God’s true and only begotten Son as King...

Through Acts where the proclamation of King Jesus produces kingdom citizens throughout the world...

And dispersed among the nations...

All the way to the Book of Revelation that teaches that Jesus will rule all things...

His enemies will be made His footstool...

And, his people will be with Him in blissful, sinless joy and enjoyment.

This Psalm finds its fulfillment in Christ...

And, in the Kingdom of Christ...

And, blessedness for all those who find refuge in Him.

Psalm 2 is quoted more than a few times in the NT...

And alluded to even more.

So, with that background, let’s work our way through Psalm 2.

A Perplexing Observation

v.1-3 …Read

The psalmist is perplexed as to why the Nations would rage against God.

Why would people plot against God?

A truth we see throughout Scripture and the history of mankind.

A truth we see explicitly revealed and defined in Romans 1.

Why do the Kings and rulers scheme with one another against God?

They plan to reject God and His King’s authority.

To cut off all connection with them.

Now, let’s ask this question...

Why is the psalmist perplexed?

Genesis 22:17–18 (ESV)

17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,...”

Why would you rage against God and His King when He has promised to bless the Nations?

Why would you scheme against Him rather than rejoice in Him?

Why are you resisting God when He has promised to bless you?

We can ask that same question do those around us can we not?

And, when we sin, can we not ask our self this same question?

A Divine Response to the Schemes of Men

v.4-6 …Read

God laughs at any attempt to spoil His plans

Job 42:2 (ESV)

2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

—>Rejecting the King Doesn’t Change What Is Due the King

The utter lunacy to think that because you don’t honor God...

Because you don’t acknowledge God...

Somehow releases you from His God-ship...

And from what is due unto Him.

It’s like a criminal that doesn’t like the governmental authority...

Doesn’t like those who enforce the laws of that governmental authority...

And, do not acknowledge either with respect when they trangress those laws...

When you are delivered into the courtroom...

Whether you submitted or acknowledged will not release you from what is due the Law…

And, it’s punishments.

Whether you acknowledged the Law or the Law-giver is not what will matter.

What will matter is whether or not the Law finds you righteous or not.

—>God’s response highlights this truth.

He will have His day in the courtroom of God.

We know that when God speaks silence is the response.

Romans 3:19 (ESV)

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

And, it shall all take place by and through

The Enthronement of the Son

And, this v.6-7 …Read

This is the climax of the psalm.

And, God’s ultimate response, here, to the Nations raging...

Is the Enthronement of His Son.

His Son is the King.

His Son sits on the eternal throne of an eternal kingdom.

No one will unseat Him.

No one will escape facing Him.

He is the Father’s anointed King...

He is the King of those who submit to Him and love Him.

And, He is the King of His enemies whether they like it or not.

Colossians 1:16 (ESV)

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

The Son Speaks of His Enthronement and Inheritance

v.7-9 …Read

Christ is the King.

Anointed and ordained by His Father to an eternal Kingship.

A Kingship that has no end, nor does it have bounds.

All will submit to Him.

All will confess Him as Lord, in the end.

He has accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do.

The ends of the earth is His possession.

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And, those, who in the end, do not find refuge in Him...

Will be cast into eternal punishment...

Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And, so in light of this...

Notice how the psalmist ends...

In light of the Kingship of Christ...

In light of the sovereignty of God and His ordained plan...

The psalmist makes a plea.

And the plea is a response to what he notices about the nations...

And what he says in v.1-3.

Counsel to the Nations

v.10-12 …Read

The gospel call through a plea with commands.

—>Commands to Be Obeyed & the Reward

v.10-12

Each verse has two commands, with the second one in v.12 being implied...

v.10

Be wise (not foolish)

Be warned (your chance will end)

v.11

Serve the Lord (don’t try to battle Him)

Rejoice with trembling (rather than

v.12

Kiss the Son (Kiss the Son means submit to Him)

Take refuge in Him and be blessed (rather than seeking to rid yourself of God)

Here’s a Historical King Who Learned the Lesson Before It Was Too Late, And, By the Grace of God

Daniel 4:34–35 (ESV)

34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth;

and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Closing Appeal

Submit to King Jesus.

Take refuge in King Jesus.

Philippians 2:9–11 (ESV)

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.

It is the Kingdom of Christ and only the Kingdom of Christ that endures forever.

He is the only eternal King of an eternal Kingdom.

Submit to Him before it is everlastingly too late.

And, if you have submitted to Him.

Put your faith in Him.

Then rest in the infinite refuge He provides.

NT Scriptures for further Study

(Acts 2:36; Acts 4:25-28; Acts 13:32-33; Matt. 28:18-20; Hebrews 1:4-5; Hebrews 5:8-9; Hebrews 1:8; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 19:15,19; Rev. 6:15-17)

Closing Prayer