This second Psalm provides us with a wonderfully God centered worldview
for times such as these, when the world is so
topsy turvy, and so disparaging and opposed to the kingdom of
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians are fearful as they consider what
the future might hold, and as they ask, “Why
do the nations do this?”
General Observations
This Psalm was written nearly three
thousand years ago, probably by David the king of Israel. It is a Messianic
Psalm. We know this because this Psalm is directly applied to the Lord
Jesus Christ in Acts 4: 25, 26, Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5.
In the book of Acts 4:25ff the church had only just come into being, and
already she was being persecuted. Two of the leaders of the early church, Peter
and John, had been arrested. They had been examined and condemned by the Jewish authorities. They had
been warned not to preach and teach in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. Then they were set free and they went back to
their church and reported what the chief priests and elders
had said. We are told that the moment that the church heard this, they prayed, and in that prayer they were quoting Psalm 2.
Outline
1. Vv. 1-3: The opposition against the kingdom
of the Messiah
2. Vv 4-6: The divine response and declaration to the madness of
the world
3. Vv. 7 -9: The LORD proclaims the new era of the reign
of the Messiah
4. Vv. 10
-12:
Advice is given to the kings of the earth to fear the Messiah
There is obviously a historical
background to this Psalm. It is not easy to figure out what occasion David was
alluding to. There is also this mysterious references to a king who was greater
than David (see also Psalm 110:1).
The best answer to this intrigue is that
even though David was describing something that was happening in his own day,
he was speaking prophetically. By faith he was speaking of what was going
to happen when the Lord Jesus Christ, the greater Son of David, would come into
this world. The rulers of Jesus’ day truly set themselves against Him, and by implication, against God the
Father. And today the nations, peoples, kings and rulers do the same. The true
church has always found she raged against in the world. The eternal relevance
of the Bible is hereby confirmed. Something that happened 1000 years ago has
relevance and application to the church born at Pentecost. And 3000 years later
it has relevance and application to our own day. A situation that has occurred
in past distant history is used to explain the present.
I.
Vv. 1-3 : The opposition
against the kingdom of the Messiah
The Psalmist starts with a question, “Why
do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 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.” (Vv. 1-3)
This is really MORE than a question.
The Psalmist is expressing his amazement. "Why are the nations doing this“? This is what we ask ourselves
when we look at our present world - when we see a world opposed to biblical Christianity!
We are not talking here about institutional Christianity. We are here talking
about churches and individuals that uphold the gospel and gospel values. We are
talking about those who preach that this Messiah King, the Lord Jesus Christ,
is the ONLY way by which a person will be admitted into the kingdom of God the
Father- the Creator God. We are talking about those who uphold kingdom values
NOW. The law of God is written in their hearts, and they will uphold it.
They
will honour God in setting Him apart as holy.
They will uphold a biblical view
of creation.
They will uphold a biblical view of sin – and they will uphold the
only biblical cure for sin.
They will shun idols- even the idols of the heart.
They shall not use the Name of the Lord in vain.
They shall set aside one day
in seven to worship God.
Parents will be
duly honoured.
They will uphold the biblical view of marriage.
They will uphold
the sanctity of the family.
They will stand for biblical ethics.
They will uphold the biblical view of human
sexuality and of gender identity.
Murder will be called what it is- a shedding
of blood.
They will uphold the rights of the unborn to live.
They will uphold
the sanctity of life.
Adultery will be called what it is – breaking up another
marriage.
Stealing, the giving of false witness and covetous hearts are taken seriously
and dealt with accordingly.
The nations
rage … the peoples plot
against this rule of God and His anointed One, because this world is a fallen
world. It lies in the power of the evil one. This is
what David observes. That is what the early
church was observing and mentioning in prayer to God. This is the truth about the
history of the human race. Mankind is always restless-always tossing, and never
quiet. That is why the Bible sometimes compares the human race to the
restlessness of the sea.
Isa 57:20 says, “The wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot
be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.”
While there are periods
when life seems relatively calm, there are many periods when it is like the
raging of the sea. The 20th century was tumultuous – First World
War; Spanish flu; Second World War. God alone knows what raging the 21st
century may bring!
Covid 19 may be only
the tip of the iceberg.
Our earth is a restless place.
That is how it was at the time before
Noah’s flood!
That is how it was before sinful and restless Israel was carried
away by the Assyrians.
That is what it was like before sinful and restless Judah
was carried into captivity in Babylon.
That is how it was before Christ was
born, and that is how it was before and in AD 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed!
That is how it was before the time of
the Reformation.
That is how it is today, in our time. The nations rage. The
people plot. They take their stand against God and His Messiah.
This restless human sea is committed
to tear apart the safety cords designed by God for our respective societies.
Hardly anything that the Bible holds as sacred is sacred any longer. We have
already observed that everything designed by God for our good is being raged
at. It is plotted against by substituting the good order and the boundaries
that the gospel creates, with cheap and deadly substitutes for the satisfaction
that we should find in our relationship with God and God ordained human
relationships.
But, …“the peoples plot in vain“ - the kings
- the rulers - the wise men
of this world - the leaders of
society - the politicians, the educationalists, the philosophers, the
newspapers, the social media and
other opinion makers. You are aware of all
these - what are they doing?
They are mostly devising futile and empty schemes
to cure this world’s ills.
They don’t like gospel solutions!
They tell Bible
believing Christians that their religion promotes hate-speech, stifles freedom
of choice and stands against scientific thinking. This is absolutely not true. Biblical
Christianity commands us to speak the truth in love. Biblical Christianity has
freed many peoples from dark oppression. Many Christians have been at the
forefront of scientific discoveries. This
idea that we can live a happy and a good and a full life without God, and in
defiance of His teaching, it is sheer madness. It is vanity! (Ecclesiastes)
II.
Vv. 4-6 : The question: What
does God think of this?
He who sits
in the heavens laughs! The Lord looks down upon this defiant world
with derision, and not only derision, but with a great declaration of His
almighty power: 5 Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in His
fury 6 as for me I have set my king
upon Zion my holy hill.”
He will speak in His wrath and terrify
them in his fury. All it takes is a little virus for us to understand that we
are not almighty. We are not God. Every war, every pestilence, every famine, every
disaster is a reminder that we can easily be shaken.
But that is nothing, when compared
with the coming wrath that will take place when the Lord’s Messiah shall
appear.
Who is this King set upon God’s holy
hill?
It is a reference to the Messiah.
He is the One of whom the world in his day said, "He says that He is the Son of God - let's get rid of Him."
And they joined together - they took counsel together, and they condemned Him and
they nailed Him to a cross.
They killed
Him.
They took down His body.
They buried it in a grave.
They rolled a stone
over it and sealed it.
They put soldiers to guard it.
They said, "That's the end of Him, we've finished Him
off!"
But on the morning of the third day, God raised Him from the
dead, and after 40 days He ascended into His glorious place from where He
presently rules and from where He shall come to judge the living and the
dead. God says, “I have set my king on Zion my holy hill. This is
the God that the world is defying! 5
Then shall he speak to them in his wrath…
- this arrogant world is under the fearful wrath of God! The Psalmist has shown
us God’s reaction to all this madness. And God laughs at these little men that come with
their ‘peashooters’ Him.
III.
Vv. 7 -9:
The LORD proclaims the new era
of the reign of the Messiah
- The resurrection of Jesus ushers in a new era (v.7).
The resurrection of Christ ushers in the new kingdom of
- He is the
ascended ruling king who has been given the nations as a heritage (V.8).
In Revelation 5 & 7 we see the
elect from every nation assembled before the throne.
- As for the faithless
among the nations, a fearful judgement awaits them (v.9) He has planned a new kingdom in
which there is no place for power brokers and self-driven men. The true King of this world is the
coming Judge who will deal with corrupt politicians and leaders.
IV. Vv. 10 -12: This requires
a proper response. Advice is given to the kings of the earth to fear the Messiah
- Kings, rulers of the earth: be wise; serve the Lord with fear;
rejoice with trembling. Rulers are the key to how a nation is led. Let the
nations learn to fear God by the example of their rulers.
- Kiss the Son: Rulers and people of the world bow down to Him; own Him now,
while He calls you to repent. If
you don’t do this you will perish!
- Blessed are
all who take refuge in Him: Here is the gospel
invitation and proper response. This is how we are called to live in this
world. Under Christ’s rule and at peace with Him and with one another.
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