The King of Kings

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

If you are new or visiting with us, welcome. We're glad that you're here.

And we're glad that you're here not because you are filling a seat, but because we're following after Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow after Jesus together, we're convinced that there's no one so good that they don't need God's grace and no one so bad that they can't have it.

Which means that we're glad that you're here to listen to what God has to say to us because God has something to say to everyone.

He has something to say to you, whether you've been a Christian your entire life, whether you've been a Christian for a few years, or whether you're still not sure whether you want to be a Christian.

God has something to say to everyone and everyone needs to hear what God has to say.

You know that we've just started a series in the book of Psalms.

And the book of Psalms is the hymn book, the prayer book of God's people originally in the Old Testament and has now become the same for God's people in the New Testament.

And if you've been with us for a while, you know that I like to give sort of a quick, maybe one-sentence, two-sentence way of summarizing a book.

So, Philippians, we talked about the fact that it was partnership in the gospel together.

And Nehemiah was God's wall in his word and his ways, turning back from sin and repentance back to God.

And I have had a lot of trouble coming up with a short way of summarizing the Psalms for you.

And part of the reason I've had trouble coming up with a short way is because the Psalms, as a hymn book and a prayer book, talk about all sorts of different things.

I would love to tell you that there's one theme that ties it together, except that there's lots and lots of themes.

And I would like to tell you that there's one topic, except the Psalms covers all sorts of situations that we find in the human life.

And so it's hard to summarize it quickly or shortly.

And so what I'm going to do is I'm just going to give you different aspects of it Sunday after Sunday.

So one thing I'll tell you about the Psalms is this.

The Psalms are poetry.

One thing that's helpful about poetry, if you know poetry, if you study it, if you love it, is that poems often make complicated things simple.

Poems make complicated things simple.

Sometimes they take things that seem chaotic and they order them for us.

So we love the fact that there's rhyme or rhythm in a poem.

There's stanzas.

Those stanzas give an order and a rhythm to things that might not otherwise have order or rhythm.

And so part of the joy of the Psalms is these are often very short.

And they're very short passages that make complicated things simple.

So as we come to Psalm 2 this morning, we're going to look at something that's very complicated.

And God's going to tell us that it's very simple.

There's many things that we face in life that seem complex.

One of them is it feels like often when we live in this world that evil is winning.

Maybe it feels like that some of the time.

Maybe it feels like that most of the time.

Sometimes it feels like evil forces are the most powerful forces.

And so it's tempting for us, whether we're Christians or we're not Christians, to be discouraged.

And even more than that, more specifically, we see evil rulers.

People who have power and influence.

Who, instead of loving God, hate God.

And instead of following what he has told us, they come up with their own ways.

And so what is God's answer to evil rulers?

How are we supposed to think about the power of evil in this world, especially when we see it with kings and presidents and princes and CEOs?

That's the complicated question that this psalm asks and answers.

And so we're going to turn to it now.

We're in Psalm chapter 2, starting at verse 1.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

And remember that this is God's word.

And God tells us in another part of the psalms that his word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

In other words, God has not abandoned us.

He's not left us alone to stumble in the dark.

But instead, he's given us our word that we would know the way to walk.

And so it's because of that reason that we read this passage.

And so please read with me Psalm 2, starting at verse 1.

Verse 7.

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.

Verse 10.

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.

Please pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Father in heaven, we thank you that once again you have not left us to walk alone.

Trying to figure out by ourselves how to live in this world that's full of evil and sin.

Sin that we see inside of ourselves and outside of ourselves.

But instead you come and you talk to us clearly.

Day after day after day.

And so we ask that you would send your Holy Spirit this morning.

That he would help us.

That he would help us to see and to know and to understand everything that you have written for us about you in your word.

We ask these things not because we deserve them.

But because Jesus deserves them for us.

And so we ask them in his name.

Amen.

If you remember from last week we looked at Psalm 1 and we saw that there are two ways and only two ways to live life.

One of them is walking in the counsel of the wicked.

And the other would be meditating on God and his law and his ways day and night.

And if you remember you may recall that this word for meditating from Psalm 1 is literally muttering.

That the people who meditate on God's word they know it so well that they speak it under their breath in all kinds of situations.

Now Psalm 1 and 2 are introductions to the psalms and they go together.

And part of the reason we know that they go together is that there's a play on words that happens here at the very beginning of chapter 2.

Verse 1.

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

That word plot is actually the same Hebrew word that showed up in Psalm 1 for meditate, for muttering.

In other words, some people in Psalm 1 are muttering God's words.

They're meditating on God's words.

Other people, these kings in Psalm 2, are muttering in vain.

They're muttering against God.

Some people are muttering God's way.

Some people are muttering against God.

And this is highlighting for us what all of us know, which is that we live in a world that is filled with kings.

We have kings.

We have rulers.

We have powerful people.

Maybe they are actual kings of an actual country.

Maybe they're presidents.

Maybe these people are CEOs of large corporations.

Large corporations, by the way, are becoming more and more powerful to the point that sometimes they do rival countries in their abilities and their influence.

We also know not only that they are powerful people, but also often that these powerful people are very selfish.

We have a world that's true.

What's true of Psalm 2 is still true in the world today.

We have kings and nations and powerful people that still rebel against God.

We have kings who take diversity.

And rather than using it as a gift from God, knowing that he is the one who created it.

They use it as a tool to oppress one people over another and set different races against each other.

We have rulers who have decided that it's their job to change the definition of marriage.

We have rulers who don't necessarily change the definition of marriage, but they change its intention.

They take what God meant to be a blessing to the entire world, and instead they make it something that's about us and our self-fulfillment.

We have kings who use their power to become rich while oppressing the poor.

We have kings who use their power to create advantages for the rich and obstacles for the poor.

They're not just oppressing the poor, but they're making it almost impossible for someone who is poor to no longer be poor.

And then we have kings who come specifically after God's people and his church.

We have kings who try to silence God's people when they speak God's truth.

And then we have kings and nations who use their power to kill and destroy life rather than to protect it.

And so while the Psalms are an ancient book, they're also incredibly modern.

Because we have kings and nations that are always setting themselves against God, and that is just part of living in this world.

Part of living in this world is knowing that we're going to have people who are powerful and in authority,

who are going to do exactly what we see in verses 1 and 2.

They're going to set themselves against God.

So our question is this.

How do we respond to evil kings?

How do you respond to evil kings?

Do you respond with fear?

Maybe you respond with discouragement.

Maybe there's anger.

Sometimes appropriately so.

Maybe there's tribalism.

You retreat just to hang out with people who agree with you about everything.

Maybe we circle the wagons, batten down the hatches.

Maybe we decide that we're victims and everyone's out to get us.

Maybe we get on Facebook and let everyone know how victimized we feel.

How do we respond to evil kings?

How does God respond to evil kings?

We've seen in verses 1 and 2 that they exist.

Really verses 1 and 3.

How does God respond in verses 4 through 6?

God doesn't respond with fear or discouragement or tribalism.

God laughs.

Verse 4.

He who sits in the heavens laughs.

The Lord holds them in derision.

When God looks at the kings who are rebelling against him,

all he can do is think,

that is really cute.

Bless their hearts.

I want you to imagine for a second.

So let's say that we,

I mentioned earlier that Grant and Sarah helped start our youth Sunday school.

Now they've mainly been going through the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

But let's say they decided they were going to have another project.

And maybe they recruit all the other Sunday schools in the church.

And they decide what they're going to do

is not just study God's word together,

but they're going to do something a little bigger as a bonding experience.

They're going to take down Fort Carson.

Now don't laugh.

This church has a lot of resources.

I've looked in the nursery.

We have hand puppets.

We also have a fire engine.

We have a Lightning McQueen look-alike car.

We have a dump truck and a school bus.

There's also a farm in one of the nurseries,

so we can take that with us.

It's not just the nursery, okay?

We had some of our youth yesterday were on the riding lawnmower.

So we've got that as well.

So if we pull all our resources together,

we could have, let's say,

it was Phillip and Annabelle who were on the riding lawnmower.

So one of them takes the front,

takes the lead with the riding lawnmower.

And then we can have some other folks behind with some of the trucks.

And we could go to gate three.

Because we're going to take it,

we're going to take Fort Carson by storm.

What would the guards at Fort Carson do

if they saw a riding lawnmower

and a bunch of our kids with their trucks coming behind

to take down the gate?

Would they shake in fear?

Would they be discouraged?

Would they post on Facebook about how oppressed they are?

No, they would laugh.

And if we really decided we were going to take that gate by storm,

it would not end well.

Psalm 2 tells us that God laughs.

And those who want to take him by storm,

for them it will not end well.

If you think that this story that I've told you is silly,

you are correct.

Because it's silly,

because it's not ridiculous enough.

In other words,

people, the nations,

raging against God and his ways

is actually more ridiculous

than our youth deciding

that they are going to take Fort Carson by force.

God sits, verse 4,

and he laughs.

Where is he sitting, by the way?

He's sitting in the heavens.

Where are the nations?

Verse 2,

the kings of the what?

The kings of the earth.

God has a strong tactical advantage.

There is no greater high ground.

He who sits in heaven laughs.

The Lord holds them in derision.

And so what do we do

when we live in a world

that is filled with evil kings?

First of all,

we need some perspective.

And this psalm helps us get it.

It gives us perspective.

It's easy to live in this world

in this moment

and forget that there have been

other nations and other times

and other peoples

that don't exist anymore.

It's tempting to believe

that who's powerful now

is the most powerful

and will always be powerful.

And so this psalm

helps us get some perspective.

First, it tells us

the nations will not reign forever.

It gives us encouragement.

Nations rise and fall.

We don't need to shake and fear

when we read the news

because ultimately

the Lord will reign

over everyone and everything.

The Lord will reign

over everyone and everything.

And so there's great encouragement

in this psalm.

In fact, I would tell you

that is the main application

of Psalm 2

if you are a Christian.

Be encouraged.

God is the great king.

The nations will not reign forever.

However, there's also

great challenge.

And there's great challenge

because the nations

will not reign forever.

And so if you're a king,

if you're a powerful person,

I don't think we have

any actual kings with us today.

I'd be happy to be corrected

if I'm wrong.

But some of you

are powerful people.

All of us are powerful

in one way or another.

And if you are a king,

congratulations.

You're in charge

of a very small part

of a very small planet

for a very small amount of time.

Anyone that's raging and plotting

in verses 1 through 3

is in charge

of a very small place

on a very small planet

for a very small amount of time.

And so no matter

how powerful you are,

you know,

even the most powerful kings,

some people are great kings,

some people are small kings,

some kings have a little power,

some kings have a lot of power.

Compared to God,

they have no power.

Some kings have a lot of power,

some kings have little power.

Compared to God,

they don't have any power.

And so the nations

will not reign forever.

There's encouragement

for God's people

and discouragement

and challenge

for anyone who forgets

that God is the most powerful king.

God laughs in verses 4 through 6

and then we find out

in verses 6 through 9

why it is that he laughs.

Verse 2,

the kings of the earth

set themselves.

Verse 6,

God says,

guess what?

I can set things up too.

You want to set yourselves

against me?

Well,

I have a king too.

I've set that king

on Zion,

my holy hill.

He talks about this king

as his son.

This language

in the ancient Near East

would have talked about

someone who represents

the interests of the father.

So this son

is a representative

of God on the earth.

Originally,

this psalm

would have been sung

in the Old Testament

so it would have been talking

about the king of Israel.

And yet,

these promises

that are talked about

of the king

are things that

were not fulfilled

by any Old Testament king.

So we see

in verses 8 and 9

this king,

the son of God,

the one who represents

God's interests on the earth,

who represents God

to his people

and to the world.

The nations are going

to be his heritage.

Verse 8,

and the ends of the earth

his possession.

Verse 9,

he's going to break them

with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces

like a potter's vessel.

And so as people

in the Old Testament

read this,

their hope

and their confidence

was that one day,

even though they were

just one nation,

God,

through his king,

through David

and the kings

who came after him

in the Old Testament,

would one day

cause Israel

to rule over the nations.

And so that the king

of Israel,

the earthly king

that the Old Testament

people sang about

in Psalm 2,

would look forward

to not just another king,

a king one day,

but would look forward

to the king.

That was the hope

of God's people

in the Old Testament.

They trusted and hoped

that that would happen,

they just didn't know

how it would happen.

But they looked forward

to this king

and this kingship

and while they were

looking and hoping

and knowing

and trusting

and having confidence

that this would happen,

they saw not that happen

but the very opposite,

right?

Rather than being

over the other nations,

this is part of how

they got themselves

into the problem

of Nehemiah,

the other nations

became over them

because they did not

follow after God.

And so there's this vision

over and over

in the Old Testament,

this promise

that one day

all things are going

to be made right

and this king

is going to come

in God's reign.

His promise here,

the word that he's spoken,

this decree of verse 7

is one day

going to become true.

And while the people

in the Old Testament

thought that this would come

through a political liberator,

instead it happened

in a very different way.

This king of David,

this one who is going

to fulfill,

verses 7 through 9,

ended up not being

a political ruler.

However,

it was a descendant

of David

and it was Jesus.

And when I talk

about Jesus,

some of us perhaps

think all kinds

of different things.

This is not

long, flowing,

pale Jesus

from a picture.

This is not

storybook Jesus.

This is Jesus,

a historical person

who lived in real space,

in real time.

He was born in a town.

He was born in a town

called Bethlehem,

which was five or six miles

south of the city

of Jerusalem.

And then he grew up

in a town called Nazareth,

which was 64 or 65 miles

north of Jerusalem.

Okay, he was a real person.

Jesus had brothers

and sisters.

He was probably

an oldest,

unless Joseph had

children from

a previous marriage.

The Gospels tell us

he had four brothers.

We hear of two sisters.

He may have had

more than that.

And so when I say

Jesus is the fulfillment

of this,

I am talking about

a real man

who lived in real time

and real space,

who had real brothers

and sisters,

a real mother and father.

He walked on the earth.

He lived in this world

for 30 years.

He worked with his hands.

He was a carpenter

or a builder.

And this man,

who as we talked about

before Easter,

came into Jerusalem

on a donkey

rather than a horse,

is the one

that is going to be

the king

that the Lord

has begotten

from verse 7.

Now I told you

last week,

I think,

or maybe I mentioned

it in a Friday email,

that the book of Psalms

is quoted

in the New Testament

more than any other

Old Testament book.

So the New Testament

quotes the Psalms

more than the 38

other books

of the Old Testament.

Not only is the Psalms

the most quoted

Old Testament book

in the New Testament,

but Psalm 2,

this Psalm,

is of all the Psalms,

the one that's most quoted

in the New Testament.

This is the top-hit Psalm.

And the reason

it's the top-hit Psalm

is because author

after author

applies this Psalm

to Jesus.

It happens in Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

It happens in 1 Corinthians.

It happens twice

in the book of Acts.

When people are preaching,

they say,

and this is the fulfillment,

that Jesus is the one

who has come to fulfill

Psalm 2,

Psalms 2:7–9

verses 7 through 9.

It doesn't just happen,

by the way,

in the letters

that people write

in the New Testament.

It also happens

in the Gospels.

And it happens

in the Gospels

when Jesus is baptized

because we hear

a voice of the Father

speaking from heaven

and he says what?

This is my son.

It's an echo

of Psalm 2

and also 2 Samuel 7

when David is anointed.

The Lord said to me,

you are my son.

Verse 7.

In other words,

at Jesus' baptism,

he was anointed

as the Psalm 2 king.

And everyone else

throughout the rest

of the New Testament

saw Jesus

as the Psalm 2 king.

And it's even echoed

more than that

in Matthew chapter 28

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

when Jesus sends out

his disciples.

He says,

go therefore

into all nations.

Right?

Verse 8.

Ask of me

and I will make

the nations

your heritage

and the ends

of the earth

your possession.

When Jesus said

that he almost

certainly had

Psalm 2 in mind.

And so,

what do we do

with evil kings?

God laughs.

And God laughs

because he has

a great king.

He has a king

that's greater

than all the other kings.

And so,

there's a sense

in which

we can laugh

as well.

Now,

I'm not saying

that there aren't

things to be afraid

of in this world.

There aren't things

that we need

to pray for

earnestly.

We're told

to pray for rulers

in 1 Timothy 2.

There aren't things

that we should be

cautious about

and wary of.

But God

is our great king.

And he has sent us

Jesus

as his

great king.

There is no other king

in all the nations

who can challenge him.

In fact,

he is going to,

verse 9,

break them with

a rod of iron

and dash them

in pieces

like a potter's vessel.

And so,

that leaves us

just like we had

last week

with two options

in verses 10-12.

And our two options

are this.

We can either

take refuge

or we can rebel.

It tells us

in verse 12,

blessed are all

who take refuge

in him.

So just like we saw

one path

is following after God

in Psalm 1,

it's the same

in Psalm 2.

There are those

who take refuge

in God.

And then,

there are those

who rebel against God.

We saw that in

verses 1-3.

And then we see

a final warning

in verses 10-11.

This is sort of

the final warning

that someone gives.

Hey, if you don't stop,

we're going to have

to take care of you.

We're going to send

the dogs out.

We're going to open fire.

Whatever analogy you want.

This is the final warning

to the kings

in verses 10-11.

Be warned.

Be wise.

Serve the Lord

with fear

and rejoice

with trembling.

We either perish

or we take refuge

in God.

We either perish

or we take refuge

in God.

We either rebel

against God

or we find

safety in Him.

If we rebel,

we will be destroyed.

If we take refuge

in Him,

we will be saved.

And this is something

that even as people

in the Old Testament

look forward to it,

we look forward

to it as well

because it's partially

fulfilled now

in Jesus' first coming

and will be fully fulfilled

in His second coming.

And so our hope

as Christians

is in Jesus' second coming

that He would come back

and be the King

that rules all the nations.

And so our final question,

our last question

that this psalm poses to us

is are we rebelling

or are we finding refuge?

If we're finding refuge,

that means that we have

faith in Christ.

And I've said

faith in Christ

many times.

I've never given you

a full definition

so I'm going to give you

that now.

Faith,

this comes from Charles Spurgeon,

has three components to it.

It is knowledge,

belief,

and trust.

Faith is knowledge,

belief,

and trust.

And so faith is,

first of all,

knowing what is true

about Jesus,

that He was a real man

in real space

in real time

who came

and He died.

And the reason He had to die

is because of our sins,

that God was pouring out

His wrath on the earth,

bringing full and final justice

to everyone

who rebels against Him.

But that for anyone

who has faith

and trust

and hope in Jesus,

Jesus' death

as a perfect man

pays the penalty

for our sins.

And so faith is,

first of all,

that knowledge,

what is true about Jesus.

Second of all,

it's actually belief.

Many people know

the facts about Jesus.

There are people

who are not Christians

who could have told you

what I just told you.

They would say,

Christians,

believe this.

And so faith is not just knowledge,

it's also belief.

It's believing that those things

are true.

Actually believing

that we are so sinful

that we have no hope

outside of Jesus.

Believing that He is the one

who can save us.

So knowledge and belief

and then trust.

Trust is knowing,

not just saying these things

are true and believing them,

but then living our lives

as if they are true.

We can say we believe something,

but if our lives

don't reflect it,

it shows everyone

that we don't actually believe it.

And so faith in Christ

is knowledge,

it's belief,

and it's trust.

It's knowing what's true

and then living out

of that truth.

If you ever want to talk more

about any of those things,

I'm happy to talk to anyone

after the service

to talk more about

faith in Christ

if that's something

you have questions about,

if that's something

you're confused about.

But that is what it means

to take refuge.

That's what's being talked about

in verse 12.

Blessed are all

who take refuge in Him.

And so there's those

who take refuge

and then there are those

who rebel.

We're told that those

who do not take refuge

will face God's full

and final justice

when His King returns.

When Jesus comes back

to the earth,

He is going to bring

God's justice on everyone

who does not have faith

in Christ.

Christ.

This is something

that's challenging

for many people

in this particular country

and this part of the world

to think of a God

of judgment.

And yet this is what

would be true

of any great king.

If someone tried

to attack Fort Carson

right now,

not with a riding lawnmower

but with something

that's actually powerful

enough to take down gates,

we would not complain

about them being destroyed

by Fort Carson.

We would not say,

how could a loving fort,

how would a loving fort,

how could they judge

and destroy

these people attacking them?

Right?

No.

That is what great kings do.

How much more

the great king?

How much more

the great king?

And so if we

have objections

and problems

with God's judgment,

it means two things.

First, we underestimate

how much,

how great our sin is.

We don't actually believe

verses one and two

that when we sin,

we are setting ourselves

against God,

that we're raging

against him

and plotting against him.

And second,

we're underestimating

what a great king

God is.

And so there's two options.

We either take refuge

and are saved

or we rebel

and we are destroyed.

If we take refuge

in God,

then when we look

at the kings,

we can laugh

with God.

When we take refuge

in God,

we can laugh

with God.

And so that's our hope

and our confidence

and our trust.

The final passage

that I didn't mention,

which alludes to Psalm 2,

is from our reading

from Revelation,

our New Testament reading

this morning,

which almost quotes

verses 8 and 9.

talks about him ruling

with a rod of iron

and dashing them

in pieces like a potter's vessel.

That this picture

of Revelation 19

is of Jesus' second coming.

That he is coming back,

not in his first coming

to bring salvation

through his death,

but in his second coming

to bring salvation

through his judgment.

That he's going to save

his world

from all the sin

that has destroyed him.

So I promised you

at the beginning,

this psalm was going

to make complex things simple.

Evil rulers

are complicated.

And the question

of what to do with them

and how to respond

to them is complicated

as well.

And God,

in this psalm,

makes it simple for us.

We either take refuge

and are saved,

or we rebel

and are destroyed.

And if we take refuge

in God,

then when we look

at the nations

and evil rulers,

we can laugh with God.

That's our hope

and our confidence

and our trust.

Please pray with me.

Dear Father in heaven,

we thank you

for your word

that guides us

and nurtures us

and nourishes us.

Ask for anyone

who does not have faith

in you,

that you would be at work

calling them to yourself,

that they would understand

the great salvation

that you offer

and also the great judgment

that is to come.

I ask that you'd give us

the encouragement

that comes

from knowing

that you are the great king

and you rule over everyone

and everything.

And we ask that you'd drive

this deep into our hearts

so that we'd have

the confidence

and the hope

that comes from knowing it.

And we ask all these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I invite you to stand

for our closing.