Psalm 2:1-12

We're in Psalm 2 today.

So, Psalm 2.

College students, you're going to get some backlash from last semester when we went over this.

!

It's either just an opportunity to pick up where we are or a chance just to be prayerful and mindful

and pick something that you think would really minister to what we know is going on in our congregation,

what's going on in our world, etc.

So, whenever I'm anxious, wherever I'm, my soul is troubled, like the song just said,

I tend to run to the idea of kingly imagery in Scripture

because I need to put my trust in something stronger and more powerful than what I am afraid of around me.

And so, Psalm 2 is where we'll be today, right at the beginning of the book of Psalms.

So, let's read that together, Psalm 2.

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

The kings of the earth set themselves and their 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.

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 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 possessions.

You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them into 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 those who take refuge in Him.

Let's pray with me.

Lord, we offer this time to You,

just as an act of worship in our listening,

with our ears and hearing in our hearts.

We ask that it would just be pleasing to You.

I pray that no matter where we are this morning,

in a state of joy, sorrow, rebellion,

wherever we are today,

that You would meet us and speak to us

as Your Word so powerfully does.

And just ask that in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So I'll give you the outline really quickly

of what we're going to do.

But first will be,

number one will be the theme of the psalm.

Number one is the theme of the psalm.

Number two,

the sinful world rebels.

Number two, the sinful world rebels.

Number three,

God the Father responds.

God the Father responds.

Number four,

God the Son decrees.

God the Son decrees.

And then, fifthly and lastly,

God the Spirit commands.

God the Spirit commands.

So, what is the theme of the psalm?

Well, this is what you would call a royal psalm.

Since God is the King of the universe,

and He is the King of all things,

visible and invisible,

the reality of sovereignty and kingship

is a huge theme in the psalms.

We've read about some of that this morning already.

But,

the King of God's choosing

is celebrated

because He is the channel of blessing

to God's people.

When God's people sang Psalm 2,

they were reminding themselves

of how God

made David

and His descendants

to be kings

over all the earth,

specifically Israel.

But,

also,

that they would eventually

rule,

and that rule was spread

throughout other lands

around them,

and that

blessing

that Israel had

of knowing the true God

would extend

to even the pagan nations

that were around them.

So,

God appointed

a line of kings

beginning with David

to lead His people

in His ways.

And,

God promised

that through that kingly line

would come

His greatest blessing.

So,

faithful saints

inside the nation of Israel

understood

that that blessing,

the hope of that blessing,

was irrevocably tied

to the house of David.

They knew it was going to come

through David's line.

So,

there's only a handful

of places for you to turn.

I'd like to kind of

give you a heads up.

I think there's just three

outside our main text.

But,

flip over to 2 Samuel,

if you'll hold your hand,

Psalm 2.

But,

2 Samuel,

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7,

2 Samuel 7:11

verse 11.

And,

this is where

God

makes this promise

to David.

And so,

verse 11.

It says,

Moreover,

the Lord declares to you,

this is speaking

through the prophet Nathan

to David.

the Lord declares to you

that the Lord

will make a house,

make you a house.

When your days are fulfilled,

you will lie down

with your fathers.

I will raise up

your offspring after you

who shall come

from your body

and I will establish

his kingdom.

He shall build a house

for my name

and I will establish

the throne of his kingdom

forever.

I will be to him

a father

and he shall be

to me as a son.

So you see this idea

that the descendants

of David

forever will be

referred to as sons.

So that's the connection here.

All the descendants

will be referred to

as sons.

When he commits iniquity,

I will discipline him

with the rod of men,

with the stripes

of the sons of men.

But my steadfast love

will not depart from him.

As I took it

from Saul

whom I put away

before you.

And your house

and your kingdom

shall be made sure

forever before me.

Your throne

shall be established

forever.

In accordance

with all these words,

in accordance

with all this vision,

Nathan spoke to David.

So there's this idea

that like the descendants

of David

are going to rule forever.

Like God's steadfast love

will not depart from that.

So back to Psalm 2,

this is your background.

When Psalm 2

was read,

it was read

a coronation

of a new king

in Israel.

So when kings

served God faithfully,

when they were

trustworthy

and honored God,

the people

were blessed.

But ultimately,

as we all know,

all those monarchs,

all those kings

failed.

They failed to be faithful

in the bigger picture.

And so consequently,

when that happened,

all the people suffered.

All the people

suffered around them.

So even songs

like this one

of rejoicing

about a king

leads us to conclude

that despite

all those royal failures,

people still

had a hope

deep down

of a perfect ruler

who was to come one day.

There was still that

in their hearts,

still echoing.

And God never fails

to keep His promise,

right?

He will fulfill

His promise.

And later in the New Testament,

Peter,

preaching at Pentecost,

he quotes this psalm,

he quotes Psalm 2,

and he says that David

was actually a prophet

foretelling of the perfect king

who was to come

through his line.

In Acts 2,

Acts 2:30

verse 30,

Peter says,

being therefore a prophet,

David that is,

knowing that God

has sworn with an oath

to him

that he would set

one of his descendants

on the throne,

he foresaw and spoke

about the resurrection

of Christ.

It's amazing.

So David knew somehow

that God had sworn

that he was going

to install

one of his descendants

forever to rule.

He didn't know

how it was going

to come about,

but he just knew

that God had promised.

And Jesus,

as we know,

was the direct,

direct descendant

of King David.

He was the Messiah

who would one day

rule eternally,

and Christ was raised

from the power

of the dead,

right?

So now,

Jesus is seated

at the right hand of God,

ruling and reigning,

and David recognizes

God's good

and sovereign supremacy

over all things

in this psalm.

If you're back in Psalm 2,

just go back there.

But he also penned

this psalm

probably during a time

of much political

and national unrest

when the nation,

much like ours,

is sort of morally bankrupt

in so many ways.

Political corruption,

unrest.

So this psalm

has a great undertone

of strong confidence

in God

despite of what's

going on

around you.

And so,

today,

especially just here

in the West,

we've kind of grown accustomed

to not having kings,

not having rulers,

at least for now,

right?

And we've kind of

marginalized that.

But there remains

this idea

that

we can't escape

that we were made

to be ruled

by the perfect ruler.

There's something in us

that kind of echoes

we were made

to be ruled

by something.

And the problem

is we

choose poor kings

in our lives.

We try to give it

to people.

We try to give it

to a cause

that's going to

eventually,

you know,

dwindle.

But there's something

deep down in our souls

that's telling us

that when the right king

comes,

we will prosper

under his rule.

Where no good

and righteous kings

will ever reign

forever on this earth.

But this is why

so many of us

like people

like C.S. Lewis

and J.R. Tolkien

because they captured

that kingly imagery

so well.

Kind of drawn to that.

One guy who was

speaking about Tolkien's,

you know,

Lord of the Rings

and The Hobbit

and the kingly imagery

that you see

in those stories,

he said this,

Though we do not

have kings in America

or want them,

our unconscious mind

both has them

and wants them.

We all know

what a true king is,

a real king,

an ideal king.

He is not

a mere politician

or soldier.

Something in us

longs to give

our loyalty

and fealty

and service

to this king.

He is lost

but longed for

and will someday

return like Arthur.

Some of you

know King Arthur.

So that this idea

that like

we have democracy

though because

sinful,

because mankind

is sinful.

No one man

has ever been

or woman,

whatever,

has not found

themselves fit

to rule over

all mankind.

Many have tried,

right?

But we need

a king.

We were built

for a king.

So all the old myths

and all the old legends

are drawing that

out of us

and echoing

that we

were meant

to be ruled

by this perfect king.

It's sort of

a memory trace

in our souls.

It's there.

But again,

the problem is

we give it

to so many things

that are not worthy.

But we want a king

who will rule

with power,

wisdom,

compassion,

justice,

and love us,

protect us.

And we know

that we were built

to submit to that king

and to stand before him.

And the Bible says

that there is a king

above all the kings

of the earth.

So in this psalm,

there is a king

behind the king

we're talking about.

There is something

beneath these legends

and tales

who are made

by a king

and to be ruled

by him.

And when the rightful

king reigns,

peace and joy

will once again

reign over the world.

So that's reflected

in this psalm.

But we get to

the second part

of this.

look at verses

1-3.

Psalm 2.

This sinful world

rebels.

Why do the nations

rage and the people's

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 off

their cords from us.

So,

this is a picture

of human rebellion.

So,

in the context,

Gentile,

pagan kings

would plot a revolt.

Many times,

these other kingdoms

that were around Israel

would be subdued

and conquered

by Israel

and would have to

sort of be

like a vassal state

of Israel.

And there would be

a time when

they would get together

to try to rebel

against God's

anointed king

in Israel.

Like,

let's come together

and throw off

their rule.

Why do the nations

rage?

In other words,

why are they

in turmoil

in the peoples?

That name means

like nation-states.

Why do they plot

in vain?

Why do they

ponder

empty schemes?

The kings of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers,

this actually,

the ruler actually

means potentate,

those who

parade around

and pomp,

putting themselves

on display

for other people

to see.

they take

counsel together.

So several of these

pagan kings

have come together,

their officials,

their military,

their people,

their economies,

they all come together

to make a common cause.

So what is that cause?

Who are they

revolting against?

Well,

verse 2,

against the Lord,

that's Yahweh,

and against

His anointed one.

God had the prophet

Samuel anoint

with oil

both Saul

and David,

setting them apart

as the ones

who were going

to rule

over the nation

of Israel

and embody

covenant faithfulness.

But to summarize,

these wicked pagan kings

and their nations

desire to cast off

the rule

of David

and his descendants.

But there's a danger

in that.

The problem is

to rebel against David

or his descendants

is ultimately

to rebel

against Yahweh

Himself.

That's the danger.

And so,

such a rebellion

would be

to cut themselves

off of their

only hope

of knowing

the only true God,

the God that Israel

was meant to put

on display

to them.

So,

the purpose

of this rebellion,

you see it in verse 3.

Here's the goal,

the purpose.

Let us burst

their bonds apart.

That means

the restraints.

Cast away

their cords

from us.

Let's throw off

the bondage

that they put

on us.

So,

they hate Israel.

They hate David

and his descendants.

And they want

to be rid of them.

And sadly,

sinful,

wicked men

and women

see God's person,

God's rule,

God's character.

They look at Him

and they only see

bondage.

And that's so sad.

God.

So,

instead of recognizing

that having peace

with David

and with the people

of Israel

could lead to

the blessing

of knowing

the only true God,

instead,

they say,

let's come together,

combine all our

earthly power

we can muster

so that we might

free ourselves

from God

so that we may

commit all manner

of abominations

and sinful pleasure.

Let us be

our own gods.

So,

to cut themselves

off from David

and his people

was cutting themselves

off from their

only hope

of knowing

the true God.

That was the danger

in all of this.

Yet,

David says

when these kings

consulted together

and they poured

forth their utmost

fury

is still not really

going to be enough.

So,

today,

do you feel like

evil is winning

in your own life

and all around us

in our country,

in the U.S.,

in the world?

Do you feel like

evil ideologies

are prevailing

in our government,

in our schools,

our universities,

teaching we are

what the color

of our skin is

and no more?

Teaching boys

to be girls

and girls

to be boys?

Do we see

wicked men

and women

acting upon

sinful inclinations

without any shame,

without any kind

of restraint

at all?

Does it seem like

the church is losing

the cultural battle

that we've enjoyed

so long

here in America?

And you see evil

from atheistic

communist countries

kind of on the march

now

in different places

in the world.

And even that rebellion

in our own souls,

something that just

longs to cast off

God's law.

I want to do

what feels good

to me

and forget about God.

So on the surface

it may feel

like the church

and like the gospel

is losing ground.

No one

throughout history

of the church

has ever said

it looks like

capitalism is losing

and communism

is winning

so therefore

the church is losing.

No one in church history

would have ever thought that.

That's something

that we're tempted

to think.

They only knew

that the church grew

and would persevere

through persecution,

through suffering.

The church

has never grown

through political

or state power

as much as you may think.

It has not.

It's only grown

through persecution

and those willing

to go and proclaim

Christ to the nations.

So that's the purpose

and goal

of this rebellion

is to cast off

the law of God.

We hate God.

We hate his character

and we're going to do

what we want to do.

So let's cut ourselves off

and rebel

against God's chosen

anointed king.

So,

again,

in this psalm,

there's a king,

capital K,

behind the king,

small k.

The context here

is these pagan nations

desire to cast off

the divinic rule.

But,

however,

as David saw,

beyond his own time

to our time,

again,

look at verse 2.

It says,

who are they rebelling against?

Against the Lord,

against Yahweh,

against His anointed.

The word Messiah

translated Hebrew,

right,

for the anointed.

The Greek translation

is Christ.

Right?

So,

sorry to disappoint

some people

who think Jesus Christ,

Christ is His last name.

Like,

who are you?

I'm Jesus Christ.

Christ is actually

His title.

That's His identity.

He is the deliverer,

the Messiah,

the one who will rescue.

In a larger way,

from this psalm,

this revolt is still going on

all around the world.

It continues.

Men,

kings,

nations,

governments,

they persist,

even to this very day,

to try to cast off

the rule of God

from their lives.

And so,

the other place

you need to turn,

Acts 4.

Go to Acts 4

really quickly.

New Testament,

Acts 4.

Hold your hand

in Psalm 2.

But,

this is when Peter and John

were arrested

and they were released

from,

eventually,

released by the authorities.

But again,

he quotes Psalm 2.

Acts 4,

Acts 4:23

verse 23.

It says,

when they were released

from the authorities,

they went to their friends

and reported

what the chief priests

and the elders

had said to them.

And when they heard it,

they lifted their voices

together to God

and said,

Sovereign Lord,

who made the heavens

and the earth,

the sea,

and everything

that is in them,

who through the mouth

of our father David,

here it is,

your servant,

you said by the Holy Spirit,

why did the Gentiles

rage in the people's

plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves against

and the rulers

were gathered together

against the Lord

and against His anointed.

For truly in this city,

so he's about to tell you

what that projected,

what was David talking about

ultimately,

for in this city,

Jerusalem,

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.

So early Christians

saw verse 2

from Psalm 2,

the Lord and His anointed

being the persecution

that they faced

at that time.

They saw this

as a fulfillment

of Christ

no matter what

they tried to do to Him.

They thought it was

the end of the Son of God,

but in fact,

it wasn't the end

of the Son of God.

What they designed

and plotted for evil,

God meant

for the greatest good.

God turned evil up

on its head

at the cross,

but all these people

came together

to stop it.

They raged against

the one

that the Lord

had appointed.

So even though

even today

dangers loom

over God's people

and evil leaders

are on the rise,

growing more powerful

it seems,

we live in a world

that's just wrecked

by sin

and the evil one

is really at work

all around us.

David's kingship,

his earthly kingdom

was a mere shadow

of a greater king

to come.

His eternal kingdom,

that is Jesus.

So let's turn from

the chamber council

of the wicked,

so to speak,

to heaven.

Like, what's going on

in heaven now?

That's on the earth.

Like, what is heaven's response

to what the earth is doing?

That's number three.

God the Father responds.

Back in Psalm 2,

it says,

He who sits in the heavens

laughs.

The Lord holds them

in derision

and 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 heel.

So here's

heaven's perspective

on the human revolt.

Luther once told Erasmus

during the Reformation,

Your thoughts about God

are way too human.

You think like God

is like us.

You think that He

is just like a man.

And that's your problem.

We think we can wage war

against Him and win

because we think

that He's just like

another puny,

earthly leader.

Like God said

in Psalm 50,

He's like,

You thought that I was

all together like you.

Right?

But notice

what God is not doing.

He is not fretting.

He is not worrying.

He's not shaking

in His boots

at this sinful rebellion.

First,

there's four things here.

First,

it says that He,

Yahweh,

sits enthroned.

That's a contrast

to verse 1.

Just look at verse 1.

The nations and the kings

are in turmoil.

They're in chaos.

They're all over the place.

And what is God doing?

He's sitting.

It doesn't bother Him,

in other words.

He is calm.

He is poised.

It's a picture

of His sovereign,

divine power.

He is not nervous at all.

He is calm.

That's where they are in chaos.

Secondly,

not only is He sitting

on His throne in heaven,

that is to say,

kind of this idea

above the earth,

at ease,

He actually laughs at them.

He mocks them.

He goes,

and actually,

I think the actual word

is goes on laughing.

That's like what,

so you can just see Him

just sort of

cutting up,

like,

are y'all serious?

Like,

just sort of laughing

at the revolt

that the earth

is staging against Him.

So,

but then,

that laugh

intensifies.

Okay?

I love the play

on words there.

It's just,

He just laughs.

He feels no threat

from sinful man

who is mortal

and will soon perish

like the grass of the field.

He doesn't fear them

at all.

So,

thirdly,

not only does He

just kind of sit there

and watch them,

their puny threats,

laughing,

it says,

the Lord,

the Sovereign One,

Adonai,

He holds them

in derision.

It means He mocks them

and ridicules them.

Picture Elijah

with the prophets of Baal.

Like,

does your God hear you?

Is that all you got?

Is He there?

That's sort of the same idea

that God is doing to them.

Is that all you can do?

To these wicked,

pagan kings and people?

It says,

then,

verse 5,

in other words,

that then is important

in verse 5.

Then,

meaning,

when His patience

and forbearance ends.

He will speak to them

in His wrath

and terrify them

in His fury.

So,

He goes from sitting

to laughing

to coming after them

in His fury.

And then,

fourthly,

God reasserts

His promise,

I have set

my king on Zion,

my holy hill.

So,

in declaring that,

God,

here's what's crazy,

God asserts

that He's already done.

He's already accomplished

what they're seeking to stop.

It's already done.

You're trying to stop it?

It's already done.

I've already accomplished

my purpose.

So,

the conclusion,

though,

is when wicked men,

evil leaders,

they may strut around

the earth for a while

with delusions

of control

and power,

but no scheme

devised against Yahweh

will ultimately succeed.

God is not

wetting His pants.

Or as the Highlanders

used to say,

God is not peeing

His kilt

before the battle.

He's just

taking it easy.

He's not afraid

of what is to come.

He laughs at them

at their puny

attempts to get rid of Him.

The Lord is not dismayed.

And so,

because He's not afraid,

we don't have to be afraid.

If we are His people

and we belong to Him,

we don't have to be afraid.

God laughs at them.

On a great commentary

written in the 1500s

on this psalm,

John Calvin wrote,

the other consolation,

the other consolation

which follows is,

that when the ungodly

have mustered

all their forces,

when depending

on their vast numbers,

their riches

as the means

of their defense,

they not only

pour forth

their proud blasphemies,

but ferociously

assault heaven itself.

When that happens,

we,

God's people,

may safely laugh

them to scorn,

relying on this

one consideration,

that He whom

they are assailing

is the God

who is in heaven.

Wicked men

may now conduct

themselves

as wickedly

as they please,

but they shall

at length feel

what it is

to make war

against heaven.

God signifies

that He is so far

exalted above

the men of this world

that the whole mass

of them could not

possibly

obscure His glory

in the least degree.

As often then

as the power of man

appears formidable

to us,

let us remember

how much

it is transcended

by the great power

of God.

That's good stuff.

Four.

Number four.

God the Son decrees.

That's in verse 7

through 9

of Psalm 2.

I will tell 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,

the ends of the earth

your possession.

You shall break them

with a rod of iron

and dash them

into pieces

like a potter's vessel.

So this is the

picture of the Son of God.

The Davidic king speaks.

I will tell the decree.

That's a divine oracle

that was spoken

by the prophet

over the king

at his coronation.

It was a foretelling.

So David referred to,

again,

these sons

whom God appointed.

It was customary

to give the new king

a gift

at his coronation.

So what is this gift?

He said,

Ask of me

and I will make

the nations

your own heritage.

Not just a little gift.

I will give you

the nations.

They will be yours.

So it looked forward,

I guess,

beyond David's time.

How do we know

this time has been fulfilled yet?

Because for nearly 400 years,

Israel didn't even have a king.

They were ruled by other people

and they still

are very much threatened,

you know,

even today.

So that king

has not come yet.

It looks forward

to the day

when the true king

descended from David

would come.

So it's a messianic picture.

An heir of David

who will lead

his people

bringing light

to not just Israel

but the nations

by making them subjects.

By making them

his subjects.

And that's how

the nations of the earth

will find blessing.

By coming to that king.

This king, again,

recalls what God

said at his,

you know,

the coronation.

The promise that

the line of David

will be sure forever.

The purpose of Abraham

to make

all the nations blessed

of coming through him.

This is a symbolic

of that promise.

It wraps up

at the end of that.

He shall break them

with a rod of iron

and dash them

into pieces

like a potter's vessel.

That's actually

not a symbol

of oppression

but of firmness

and strength.

That means he's not shaky.

He's calm.

And when he does this,

he'll bring it

to complete fulfillment.

God has the power

to bring all the nations

to this one king

which is Jesus Christ.

Christ.

And then lastly,

number five,

God the Spirit commands.

And why do we say

God the Spirit?

Because this is sort of

like a,

when we preach

the gospel message

to people

and plea with them

to be reconciled

to God

or perish

because of their sin,

whose job is that?

It's the Holy Spirit's job.

It doesn't give us

warm feelings.

He says,

Jesus says

he's going to come

to convict the world

of sin,

righteousness,

and of judgment.

That's what Jesus said.

So,

verse 10,

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

where his wrath

is quickly kindled

and blessed are those

who take refuge

in him.

So,

David gives advice

to these pagan kings

and their people.

Be wise,

be warned.

Be wise,

be warned.

Some of you need

to hear that today.

You're foolishly

walking in rebellion.

You think it's fun.

You think it's cool

to rebel against

God and his laws,

his person,

to spit upon

everything good

he's given you

and say that it's yours.

Be wise

and be warned.

Lasting security

comes not

from your own health.

It doesn't come

from the government

or political might

or strength

or the economy

or even powerful leadership

or even a morally

upright society.

That's not

what brings security.

It only comes,

according to the scripture,

it only comes

by taking refuge

in Yahweh's

anointed king,

which is his son.

We need not fear

anyone

sitting on

this earth

on a puny

earthly throne

because Jesus Christ

sits enthroned

in heaven

forever.

So he gives them

an option.

Do this

or face this.

Option one,

kiss the son.

It's a gesture

of peace,

homage,

submission

to God's

appointed king

who is worthy

and deserving.

And Jesus said,

he who honors

not the son

honors not

the father

who sent him.

Kiss the son.

If you refuse

to make peace

with God's son,

his appointed king,

it says,

he will be angry

and you will perish

in the way

for his wrath

is quickly kindled.

He will perish

like wax

before the sun.

That's like

what's going on.

So make peace

with this king.

He is a good king.

He is a worthy king.

He will love you,

save you,

protect you,

give you eternal life.

You can trust him

or you can trust yourself

or trust some other

earthly thing

and fail.

Jesus will be

the instrument

by which God

carries out

this judgment.

He will send back

his appointed king,

his anointed son,

not to

bring peace

but to bring

the sword of judgment

but also to destroy

all evil out there.

and it's the last place

you've got to look

and we're done.

Turn to Revelation

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19

and we're done.

This is a picture

of this.

We know

that Psalm 2

is not fulfilled

in David's lifetime.

We also know

that this wasn't

in the power

of any earthly successor

he had.

The son

that Yahweh

has appointed

will be

his instrument

of judgment.

The son

will come back.

Yeah,

so Revelation

Revelation 19:11

19

verse 11,

right?

The apostle

John

on the island

of Patmos

given these

visions

of things

to come.

It says,

Then I saw

heaven open

and behold

a white horse.

So Jesus

isn't coming

on a donkey

this time.

Humble and meek,

he's coming back

on a war horse.

The one

sitting on it

is called

faithful and

true.

And in

righteousness

he judges

and makes

war.

His eyes

are like a flame

of fire

and on his

head are

many diadems.

And he has a name

written that no one

knows but himself.

He is clothed

in a robe

dipped in blood

and has a name

by which he is

called,

it's called

the word of God.

And the armies

of heaven

arrayed in fine

linen,

white and pure,

were following

him on the

white horses.

And from his

mouth comes a

sharp sword

with which he

will strike down

the nations.

You saw that in

Psalm 2,

didn't you?

And he will

rule them

with a rod

of iron.

That's a picture

of stability,

calmness,

order.

He will tread

the winepress

of the fury

of the wrath

of God Almighty.

And on his

robe and on

his thigh,

he has a name

written,

King of kings,

Lord of lords.

So this is the

king we all

long for.

He's not,

if you have

peace with this

king,

you're okay.

He's not coming

to make war

against you.

He's coming

to make the

enemies,

his enemies,

perish before

his eyes.

He's coming

to save us.

He's coming

to deliver us

from this

broken,

horrible world.

So that's it.

You can either

love and

serve that

king,

or you can

despise that

king.

It's your

choice.

Be enemies

with God

on your

terms,

or be friends

with him

on his

terms.

So the

scope of

such an

accomplishment

calls for a

ruler that

is not just

a man.

It calls for

someone who

is actually

divine.

The kings

and rulers

of the earth

must understand

the ruler

that we

reject is not

just another

human being,

but is God's

own chosen

anointed

king.

For the

sake of

this world.

He's coming

to bring

blessing.

So we

must embrace

him.

So love

this invincible

king,

trust him,

submit to

him,

and then

there's that

promise,

all those

who take

refuge in

him,

they will

be blessed.

They will

be blessed.

And so,

so much in

this psalm

can go on

and on,

but I

pray that

in the midst

of your

own life

and what

you see

around us

in our

own day

that this

brings some

calm to

you.

It does

to me.

To know

that our

king,

Jesus Christ,

is ruling

and reigning

even now

and his

kingdom is

advancing

despite of

what we

see.

Hearts are

being won

to Christ

from every

nation.

And even

here in

Dahlonega,

it's happening.

So let's

give him

praise and

let's just

take confidence

in him that

no matter

what we see

around us,

he is our

refuge.

Let's pray

together.