Serve The King Of Kings

Please open up your Bibles this morning to the book of Psalms.

Book of Psalms. Treg mentioned last week, I was not here with you, but Treg mentioned that we are

beginning a new series during the summer through the book of Psalms. We'll pick back up

right where we left off in the book of John, Lord willing, in August.

But we're going to spend some time together in the Psalms this summer.

And you may have noticed that we titled this sermon series through the Psalms,

The Anatomy of the Soul. And I'll tell you why. Because you asked.

John Calvin, in his commentary on the Psalms, he says this. He says,

I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, an anatomy of all the parts of the soul.

For there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.

Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities.

In short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated.

In other words, one of the main reasons why I think we tend to be so drawn to the Psalms

is because they are so human. Do you find that to be true as you read through the Psalms?

They are expressive and real. Oftentimes they're raw.

They're asking questions that we ask. They're dealing with struggles that we deal with.

They explore the depths of the human soul,

but they do so in ways that align our soul with the Word of God,

with the truth of God's Word.

And so I would add a second illustration to Calvin's quote here that,

yes, the Psalms are an anatomy of the human soul,

but they are also an alignment of the human soul.

Just as you drive down Highway 17, you might hit a pothole

and you have to get your tires realigned so that everything works properly.

So it is with us as we go through life,

the difficulties, the trials that we walk through.

Oftentimes we need a soul realignment.

And the Psalms help us to do just that.

They probe the depths of our heart

and they point us to the promises of God.

I think we'll see both of those functions here in our passage this morning on full display.

So let's open up now.

We're in Psalm chapter 2 this morning.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Lay your eyes there on God's Word and follow along with me as I read.

Why do the nations rage in the people's plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together

against the Lord and His anointed,

saying,

Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.

He who sits in the heavens laughs.

The Lord holds them in derision.

Then He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury,

saying,

As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.

I will tell of the decree.

The Lord said to me,

You are my son.

Today I have begotten you.

Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Now, therefore, O kings, be wise.

Be warned, O rulers of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

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 the Word of God.

Let's bow once more and ask Him to bless the reading and the preaching of His Word.

Lord, we thank You again for the privilege of opening up this Word,

and now we ask again that You would move powerfully through the preaching of Your Word.

We pray.

In Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

I made a mistake this week.

In preparation for this sermon, I did something that I don't normally do,

and I looked at the news.

And I forced myself to read some of the headlines.

Now, this is a dangerous thing, I know, for a pastor to do,

because I recognize that each one of you here before me in this room,

you all have your own political leanings, your own political opinions.

Some of you share those.

Some of you disagree on those.

And that's okay.

I've made a promise to you before that I will not preach a political sermon from this pulpit.

But this is a political text, but maybe not in the way that you think.

So I offer these observations without any commentary,

without any agreeing, disagreeing, debating, taking sides whatsoever.

I'll just tell you what I saw when I pulled up the news this week.

You do with it what you will.

I saw one former president indicted on over 30 criminal charges.

I saw another current president facing articles of impeachment.

I saw news of fatal shootings just this week in Tennessee and Texas, California, Maryland, and Ohio.

I saw several articles for Pride Month here in the month of June advocating gender-affirming care for trans youth and children.

And I saw pictures of the Pride Progress flag flying front and center over the entrance of the White House of the United States of America.

And all of that, obviously, is just our country here.

I don't know how anybody keeps up with this stuff.

When you zoom out of our mess and you see the mess that's going on throughout the rest of the world,

there are wars here and there.

There are refugees fleeing their countries.

There is corruption and chaos all over the map.

And it's obvious to me, and it should be to you, that the entire world is in a constant state of turmoil and chaos.

How should Christians navigate the chaos of this fallen world?

Hopefully, you're not surprised what I'm going to tell you.

That Christians should not get their worldview primarily from Fox News or CNN or the newspaper or any political television, political radio, any political outlet that you might prefer.

Christians are those who get their view of the world from the Word of God.

Amen?

Amen.

And what a treasure we have in the Word of God that allows us to see from God's own perspective,

God's own view of all of the current events that happen within His own world.

Psalm chapter 2, what we see this morning, Psalm chapter 2 gives us a lens through which to see the world and all the chaos in it from God's own perspective.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention Psalms 2 · chapter mention

And it calls us to understand the political landscape of the world, not in terms of Republican versus Democrat,

not in terms of America versus the rest of the world,

but in terms of the kingdom of this world versus the kingdom of God.

Psalm chapter 2, it shows us that there are ultimately two types of people in the world.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

There are those who, by the grace of God, recognize that God is king,

and there are those who think that they are king.

There are those who are in the kingdom of this world raging against the true king,

and there are those who, by the grace of God, are in the kingdom of God resting in the true king.

And the question for us as we read this passage this morning, Psalm chapter 2, is which one are you?

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Which one do you act like?

How do we respond to the lordship of King Jesus?

We're going to see this psalm in four parts this morning.

We're going to see the nations rage,

the Lord reigns,

God's people remember,

and all people must respond.

I see you writing, so I'm going to slowly say that again.

I'm not going to lose anybody this morning.

The nations rage,

the Lord reigns,

God's people remember,

all people must respond.

First, we see that the nations rage.

Now look there to verse 1 with me,

Psalm chapter 2, verse 1.

Psalms 2:1

David asks this 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 his anointed.

And I want you to take note here, first of all,

before we dive too far in,

the connection between these first two psalms.

Hopefully you can see them both together there in your Bible,

Psalm 1 and Psalm 2.

You're going to hear me say this a lot

as we go through the book of psalms together.

We've got 148 to go,

and so you might hear this again.

It's that we often treat the psalms as a greatest hits album

when really they're more of a concept album.

Do you know the difference?

We often treat them as if they are just individual,

stand-alone, excellent individual works

when really, yes, they stand alone,

but they speak to one another.

They work together.

They play off of each other.

This is one book that communicates one message all throughout.

So we have to take these psalms together.

In Psalms 1 and Psalm 2, taken together,

they serve as an introduction to the entire book of psalms.

Last week you saw that the blessed man,

look up to Psalm 1,

the blessed man walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

but instead he, what?

He meditates on the law of God.

And here in Psalm 2,

we see that the kings of the earth are setting themselves up,

the rulers of the earth are taking counsel together

against the Lord and against His anointed,

literally, the Messiah,

and the nations and the peoples plot in vain.

Literally, the wording here is the exact same.

It says that the people meditate on vanity.

You see the connections there between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2.

You see the contrast that they're drawing out for us.

This is the counsel of the wicked.

This is the counsel that the blessed man will avoid.

And what is the counsel?

What do they say?

Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.

This is the mantra of wickedness.

This is the national anthem of the kingdom of this world.

Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.

And it's amazing, isn't it,

when you begin to see the world through this lens,

how united the entire world actually is.

Now, there is a profound unity

in the rebellion of all the nations of the world

against the Lord and His anointed.

195 countries in the world,

over 17,000 individual people,

groups in the world,

over 7.8 billion people in the world,

different cultures,

different tastes,

different preferences.

But despite this incredible diversity,

they are united, David says,

in one thing.

They want God off of His throne.

They are united in rebellion.

Now, you might hear this and say,

well, that's ridiculous.

North Korea and South Korea are not united.

They hate each other.

Russia and Ukraine are not united.

But you're only seeing things on a horizontal level.

Horizontally, they fight and they kill each other.

They wage war against each other

because at the end of the day,

they want to be king and no one else.

But they all agree,

whether they realize it or not,

they don't want God to be king.

And so the common bond

that unites all the nations of the earth

is a vertical, Godward,

spiritual raging and rebelling

against the Lord and His anointed king.

And the word for this is sin.

You can imagine the United Nations

gathering together,

representatives from almost every organized nation

in the world,

planning and plotting,

assembling resources,

developing strategy.

But from God's perspective,

what are they scheming?

Rebellion against the Lord and His anointed.

Do we realize this is how the Lord sees

all the rebellion in the world?

It's not simply horizontal raging as we see it.

It is a vertical, Godward attempt

to break themselves free

of the reign of God.

I wonder if this is how we see

the chaos of the world.

This is how David understood it.

Clearly, David was no doubt calling to mind

all the many times that Solomon

tried to pin him up against the wall

with a spear.

How Absalom, his son,

tried to take away the kingdom.

How the Philistines,

the Moabites,

the Amorites,

the Ammonites,

the Syrians,

they all raged against him,

different countries,

different nations,

different motives.

All of them united

in one pursuit

to dethrone the reign

of God's appointed king.

He saw it not just horizontally

as man against man,

he understood it vertically

as man against God

and his appointed ruler.

And I'm sad to say

that in the past couple thousand years,

I'm not sure much has changed.

The kings,

the rulers,

the presidents,

the people

of all nations,

including ours,

rage against the Lord

and his anointed,

who we know

is King Jesus.

when nations

such as ours

endorse

the type of

sexual insanity

that has been celebrated

all month long,

we have to understand

it's not just rebellion

on a horizontal

man-to-man level.

It's not just

a political issue.

This is an attempt

to break themselves

free

from the law of God.

And when we see it,

like David,

we ask,

why?

Why do the nations

plot in vain?

Here's the answer.

It's because

unless you have been saved

by the grace of God

and made citizens

of his kingdom,

you belong

to another kingdom.

You belong

to the kingdom

of this world.

And the rallying cry

of the kingdom

of this world

is God

will not

rule over me.

This is the essence

of sin.

And we know

that every one

of us

used to be

a part

of this kingdom.

Every single one

of us

used to be a part

of this same

rebellion

against the Lord

and his anointed.

But Christian,

don't you know

that you have been

plucked out

of belonging

to this chaos?

You're here.

You still live

in the middle of it.

You see it every day.

You're interacting

with it.

You're engaging

with it.

But you no longer

belong to it.

If by the grace

of God

you have been saved

through faith

in Jesus Christ,

if by the grace

of God

you bowed the knee

to King Jesus,

do you know

what that means?

It means you no longer

belong

to the kingdom

of this world.

God has

delivered you

from the kingdom

of darkness

and transferred

you now

to the kingdom

of his beloved

son.

You know what this means?

It means now

you no longer

primarily identify

as an American

citizen.

You now identify

as a citizen

of the kingdom

of God

who happens,

just so happens,

to live in this

rebellious place

called America

as an exile

here

waiting

for the true

king.

Your loyalty

is not ultimately

to any political

party,

your loyalty

is not ultimately

to the Republican

party,

is not to the

Democratic party,

your hope

for an end

to the social

raging in our

nation is not

for any human

political candidate

to come and do

what only Christ

can do.

Your identity

and your hope

are entirely

in a coming

king,

in a coming

kingdom.

You realize

you may be

a citizen

of America

for a hundred

years,

max,

if you have

a good long

life,

but if you

are in Christ

you'll be a

citizen of

God's kingdom

for all

of eternity.

Don't you think

that ought to

impact how we

respond to the

chaos around us?

Don't you think

that ought to

impact how we

think and

engage,

how we vote,

how we react,

how we talk

about all the

raging chaos

in our nation?

The nations

rage against

the Lord,

but when we

see the world

from God's

perspective,

we'll see that

all of this

raging is in

vain.

Why?

Because second,

the Lord

reigns.

The Lord

reigns.

Look there

to verse four.

Here we see

God's response

to the rebellion

of the world.

Look what it

says.

He who sits

in heaven

laughs.

He laughs.

The Lord

holds them

in derision.

I had to

look up that

word just to be

sure I knew

exactly what it

meant.

It means it's

a mockery.

It's a joke.

He laughs it

off as if it

is nothing.

For all the

scheming and

fighting and

raging and

rebelling,

for as much as

we tend to

panic and

freak out

when things

seem to fall

apart in our

world, guess

what it does

to God?

Not a thing.

When our

president candidate

doesn't get

elected, when

our stock market

prices crash,

when our nation

seems to rage

into war,

all the

thrashing about

of our world

cannot move

our God

one inch

off of his

throne.

God

what a

stabilizing

truth, isn't

it?

And when we

see all the

rebellion are

all around us,

when we turn on

the news station

and we see the

mess in the

world around us,

how do we

respond?

With panic?

With anger?

With frustration?

Or do we

respond like

those who know

with confidence

that no matter

what happens

here, that

the Lord

reigns?

We believe

that our

God is in

the heavens,

he does all

that he

pleases,

Psalm 115

tells us.

And we

believe that

the earth

is the

Lord's and

the fullness

thereof,

as Psalm

24 tells

us.

And do you

see the

irony here?

Do you

see the

reason why

God laughs

at the

rebellion of

the world?

It doesn't

seem too

funny to

me, but

do you

see the

reason why

God is

laughing?

It's because

if anyone

has anything

at all,

it is because

God, the

King, has

given it to

him.

All life,

all breath,

everything is

from God.

It is God

who appoints

leaders.

It is God

who appoints

presidents.

It is God

who puts any

earthly ruler

into place.

Anyone who

has any

authority at

all is

given that

authority by

God.

So how do

you think

God responds

when they

then use

that God

given authority

to rebel

upwards against

him?

When they

use their

God given

brains and

God given

ability to

think, to

think and to

plot up

vanity against

him?

To use their

God given

strength, their

God given

wisdom to

then plot and

to turn the

peoples against

him, to lead

them further

and further

and further

into immorality,

how does he

respond?

He laughs.

It's a joke.

It's like

an angry

baby.

Maybe you

remember these

days.

Changing a

baby's diaper,

a baby's upset

at you,

a baby's kicking

and screaming

and crying,

doing everything

he can to let

you know he's

not happy,

and in his

rage he might

kick that diaper

back up at you,

it hits you in

the hand,

what does it

do to you?

Not a thing.

Maybe if he's

lucky he grabs

a wipe,

flutters down,

gets you a

little bit wet.

At the end

of the day,

for all his

raging,

all of his

tantrum,

all of his

anger,

all of his

tears,

as you continue

to care for

him,

provide for

him,

meet his

needs,

give him

everything that

he needs,

all you

can do

is laugh.

But that

time of

laughing,

we see

there in

verse 5,

it will

not last

forever.

Look how

quickly the

tone changes

here from

verse 4

to verse 5.

Verse 4,

God is

laughing at

their rebellion,

but then

verse 5,

he lets us

know that a

time for

laughing will

soon be

done.

Then he

will speak

to them in

his wrath

and terrify

them in

his fury,

saying,

you can

do whatever

you like,

you can

appoint whatever

leader that

you want.

As for me,

I have set

my king on

Zion,

my holy

hill.

You see,

the kingdom

of God is

not a

democracy,

it's a

theocracy.

God says,

I am the

ruler of

the world,

you don't

get a say

in it,

you can't

vote me

out,

you can

kick and

scream all

you want,

you can

rage and

rebel all

you want,

but my

king is

going right

there on

my holy

hill and

he will

reign forever.

And when

the kings

of this

earth lay

eyes on

him,

then they

will know

that all

of their

raging and

rebelling was

in vain.

I watched

a video of

a Mike

Tyson fight

this week.

Y'all ever

seen this

man fight?

I don't

know why

anyone would

want to get

in the ring

with Mike

Tyson.

He was

fighting Mitch

Green.

Mitch Green

came out

swinging with

both fists,

just running

wild around

the ring,

trying his

best.

And you

can,

if you

slow it

down,

see Mike

Tyson

smile.

He smirks,

dodges beneath

another punch,

dodges beneath

another punch.

He's toying

with them,

laughs.

He can't

catch them.

But then the

moment comes

when Mike

Tyson stops

smiling,

and he

decides he's

going to put

an end to

the fight.

I don't

have to

tell you

how that

fight

ended.

I don't

have to

tell you

how this

fight will

end.

It's not

a fight.

The raging

and the

rebelling of

all the

world,

all the

world is

engaged in

a pointless,

vain,

empty fight

against the

almighty king

of kings,

and when he

decides that

he's had

enough,

he will put

an end to

it.

our

confidence,

Christian,

in the

face of

all the

wild

rebellion

of this

present

age,

is that

no matter

what

happens,

our God

is on

his throne.

And the

day will

come when

he will

return and

will address

every attempt

to dethrone

him.

But what

do we do

as we

wait?

What do

Christians do

as we

wait for

that day?

We do as

David does

here in

verses 7

through 9.

We

remember.

We

remember

the promises

of God.

The nations

rage,

the Lord

reigns,

and third,

God's

people

remember

God's

promises.

Look there

to verse

7.

Where does

David turn

when he's

faced with

the wickedness

of his

day?

He recites

the promises

of God.

He says,

I will tell

of the decree.

the Lord

said to me,

you are

my son.

Today I

have

begotten

you.

Ask of

me and

I will

make the

nations

your

heritage

and the

ends

of the

earth

your

possession.

You

shall

break

them

with a

rod

of

iron

and

dash

them

in

pieces

like a

potter's

vessel.

He's

remembering

the promises

that God

has made

him.

This

decree,

this

covenant

God

had promised

David

in 2

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

Samuel

chapter 7.

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7.

That a

king would

come from

his line.

And that

God would

single-handedly

make it so

that he

would establish

the throne

of this

kingdom

forever.

This was

David's

hope.

It was the

hope of all

of Israel.

They were

longing for

this ruling

king and

ultimately

it's all

of our

hope.

This was

a promise

of a

forever

king from

the line

of David

who will

come to

reign and

to rule.

This was

David's

confidence.

This is

what rooted

him when

all the

world around

him was

tossing and

turning and

raging.

And so it

is with

us,

Christian,

the only

way to

persevere

through the

chaos of

this world

is to

cling to

the promises

of God.

And as

David looked

forward with

wonder,

wondering,

believing,

trusting,

but wondering

about these

promises of

God, who

will this

king be?

We look

backwards,

believing and

trusting with

confidence that

all the

promises of

God are

fulfilled in

Jesus Christ,

the son of

David.

Don't you

love living on

this side of

the cross?

With a

finished Bible

in hand that

helps us

understand these

psalms in

light of the

Messiah,

Jesus Christ.

Christ, I

want you to

see two

places in

the book

of Acts.

Two places

where the

apostles, they

show us

Christ in

Psalm chapter

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

2.

First, Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, and

then Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13.

Acts chapter

Acts 4 · chapter mention

4.

The passage that

was read for us

earlier this

morning, he

says,

The sovereign

Lord who

made the

heaven and

the earth and

the sea and

everything in

them, who

through the

mouth of our

father David,

your servant,

said by the

Holy Spirit,

why did the

nations rage

and the

peoples plot

in vain?

The kings of

the earth set

themselves and

the rulers were

gathered together

against the

Lord and his

anointed.

For truly in

this city,

they were

gathered together

against your

holy servant

Jesus, whom

you appointed,

both Herod and

Pontius Pilate,

along with the

Gentiles and

the peoples of

Israel, to do

whatever your

hand and your

plan had

predestined to

take place.

See, the

apostles read

Psalm 2, and

they understood

that the raging

of the nations

against the

Lord and

against his

Messiah was

most clearly

seen in the

crucifixion of

the king,

Jesus Christ.

They raged

against the

Lord's

anointed.

They fought

against him.

His words

went over

them like

ropes, like

cords, and

they tried and

tried and

tried to

burst themselves

free, and

when they

finally had

enough, they

killed him.

But Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

tells us that

all of it

was in vain.

All of it

was in vain.

Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

and though they

found in him

no guilt

worthy of

death, they

asked Pilate to

have him

executed.

and when

they had

carried out

all that

was written

of him,

they took

him down

from the

tree and

laid him

in a

tomb.

But God

raised him

from the

dead.

And for

many days he

appeared to

those who

had come up

with him from

Galilee to

Jerusalem, who

are now witnesses

to the people.

And we bring

you the good

news that what

God promised

to the

fathers, 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.

Let's put it

all together

here.

Jesus endured

the raging

of the

nations.

He took

their best

shot, but

all of it

was in

vain.

He rose to

prove that

all of God's

promises are

true in

him.

We read

these promises

in Psalm

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 in

light of

Jesus Christ.

God decrees

Jesus, you

are my son,

today I have

begotten you.

Adam was the

son of God, but

he failed.

Israel was

called the

son of God, but

they failed.

King Jesus

is the true

and better

Adam.

King Jesus

is the true

and better

Israel.

King Jesus

is the true

and perfect

son of

God.

And in

him, under

his reign, you

and I can be

called sons and

daughters of

God.

That's the

promise to us

in Christ.

God decrees the

nations are the

heritage of

Christ.

The ends of the

earth are his

possession.

All of it is

his.

Jesus has

universal sovereignty

over all the

nations of the

earth.

earth.

So where we

see wickedness

in our own

heart, where

we see wickedness

in our own

nation, where

we see wickedness

and rebellion

in any place in

all of creation,

we pray that he

would replace our

rebellion with

his reign.

Church, you

know, this is

why we go to

the uttermost

ends of the

earth to

proclaim the

name of

Jesus.

It's because we

believe all of

it belongs to

him.

All of it is

for him, and

all of it must

be subjected to

his reign.

God decrees

Jesus is the

judge of all.

There is no

doubt as to

how this will

end for those

who rebel against

him, is there?

Like a piece

of pottery

rebelling against

an iron rod,

the judgment

that awaits

the nations

is certain

and it is

imminent.

You shall

break them

with a rod

of iron and

dash them in

pieces like a

potter's vessel.

And so we

pray, we

pray, we

pray, we

pray that the

nations would

repent, that

we would

repent, and

that Christ

would return

quickly to

set all

things right.

Church, do

you see how

these promises

align our

souls?

In the midst

of chaos, do

you see how

unlike all of

the many broken

campaign promises

that we hear

every several

years from

politicians, from

men and women

who promise big

things and they

never come

through, the

word of God

has promised

you unshakable

certainty in

the reign and

rule of King

Jesus.

God's promises

are anchors for

us when we're

tossed about in

the wickedness of

this present

evil age.

God's people

remember God's

promises and

finally,

ultimately,

all people must

respond.

all people

must respond

to the

lordship of

Christ.

And this is

what David

calls us to

do here in

verse 10.

Look there

with me.

It's very

clear.

Now, therefore,

in light of all

we've heard, in

light of the

universal reign of

Christ, in

light of the

vanity of your

rebellion,

therefore, O

kings, be

wise, be

warned, O

rulers of the

earth, serve

the Lord with

fear, rejoice

with trembling,

kiss the

sun, lest he

be angry and

you perish in

the way, for

his wrath is

quickly kindled.

So let's close

here with this

call for all of

us to respond.

If you are not

a believer, if

you're part of

the rebellion, if

you do not know

the Lord, if you

have not yet

bowed the knee

to him, then

your response to

the passage like

this is to

repent.

Jesus Christ

alone is owed

all honor and

all respect and

all service and

all submission and

all worship.

And the fact is,

if you will not

honor the

son, then you

will honor

something or

someone else.

We are never

neutral.

we are all

honoring someone.

All of us are

kissing someone.

We're kissing the

son or we're

bowing the knee

honoring someone

else, either to

the creator or to

the creation.

And Jesus will not

stand to let the

honor that is due

to him and him

alone be given to

anyone or anything

else.

Isaiah 42, verse

Isaiah 42:8

8, he says,

I am the

Lord, that is

my name.

My glory I give

to no other, nor

my praise to

carved idols.

This is why it

calls us to

serve him with

fear and to

rejoice with

trembling.

It's because all

of us, every one

of us, is prone

to wonder and

prone to give

our honor, to

give our love, to

give our service

to lesser things

when King Jesus

is the one who

demands it all.

But the time is

coming when the

wrath of the

Lord will be

quickly kindled

and that time of

laughing will stop

and the time of

his wrath will

begin.

Now this is,

for all of us,

a sobering

warning.

Do not take

too light a

view of your

sin.

Do not take

too light a

view of his

holiness.

Examine

yourselves this

day.

See if you're

walking in any

unrepentant sin.

Examine yourselves

and see if there's

any corner of

your heart that

remains in

rebellion against

the reign of

the Lord.

Serve him with

fear and rejoice

with trembling.

You know, the

most terrible

force in all the

universe against

a sinner is the

holiness of the

Lord.

But for the

believer, there's

hope.

Not in our

goodness, not in

our strength, not

in our ability, but

in the goodness of

King Jesus.

Listen to me here

because this is the

good news of the

gospel.

We know that God

in all of his

holiness is the

most dangerous

force in all the

universe for any

who rebel against

him, but we

praise God that

God and his

holiness is also

the safest place in

the universe for

all who take

refuge in him.

The good news of

the gospel is that

God himself brings

us into the

blessing of God by

putting all of the

force of his

holiness and power

and his glory in

us and for us

instead of against

us.

Because he has

judged your

rebellion in

Christ on the

cross, there is

no judgment left

for you to bear,

for you who take

refuge in him.

And so we look

forward to the

day of his

return, not with

fear, not with

anxiety, but with

eagerness because

we know by the

grace of God we

could never be more

safe than in the

presence of our

king.

This is where the

psalm ends, isn't

it?

It concludes with

this line of hope

and blessing.

Blessed are all

those who take

refuge in the

king.

Are you taking

refuge in him?

Right now?

There are two

types of people in

the world, church.

There are those

who belong to the

kingdom of this

world and those

who belong to the

kingdom of God.

Those who try to

cast off his

authority and those

who crave it, who

long for it.

There are those who

seek life and

freedom from God

and those who seek

life and peace and

freedom in God

himself.

Those who fear his

coming and those who

say with eagerness,

come Lord Jesus.

Those who rebel

against him and

those who take

refuge in him.

Which one are you?

For the believer,

our response now and

always, the words of

Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and

strength, a very

present help in

trouble.

Therefore, we will

not fear, though the

earth gives way.

Though the mountains

be moved into the

heart of the sea,

though those waters

roar and foam,

though the mountains

tremble at its

swelling, we rest in

the reign of the

king.

Let's pray.

Amen.

God, we thank you

for this unshakable

certainty that despite

the chaos all around

us, Lord, this is our

hope that the Lord

Jesus reigns and rules

over all.

And that if we know

him by faith, if you

brought us into his

kingdom, Lord, we have

nothing to fear.

There's nothing but

goodness and mercy that

follows us all the

day of our life and we

will dwell in the

house of our Lord

forever.

That's our hope.

And we pray that you

would deepen our

trust, deepen our

confidence in the

reign of King Jesus,

we ask in Christ's

name.

Amen.