A Life of Blessing in a World of Turmoil

Well, good morning, church. Turn with me, if you have a Bible, to Psalm chapter 1.

Psalms 1 · chapter mention

We'll be looking at Psalms 1 and 2 this morning.

We're starting a new sermon series in the book of Psalms, which we've entitled Songs of Hope in Uncertain Times.

If you go to our website, there's a page called Current Sermon Series.

You can see there which Psalms we'll be preaching from, from now through the end of the year,

as well as a list of resources that can help you to dig deeper into this rich book.

One of the resources I'm particularly enjoying is this book called Psalms by the Day.

So it's the book of Psalms. It's Alec Mottier, M-O-T-Y-E-R.

I'm not quite sure how to pronounce that, but that's his name.

So he's translated the Psalms, and he has a column of sort of notes on particular words or concepts or poetic parts,

and then he has sort of devotional reflections after each psalm or two.

So you can sort of use it as a devotional.

There's other devotionals on the Psalms.

There's other books, scholarly books and just books that can help you dig deeper into the Psalms

if you'd like to take this a step further.

But we'll be preaching through Psalms for the next three months through the end of the year.

The Psalms, if you're not familiar with them, they're a collection of songs and prayers

that were written by many different authors over several hundred years and gradually gathered together,

and they became sort of the song book or prayer book of the ancient Israelites.

So they were used not only privately by individuals but also publicly in corporate worship.

And because the Psalms are intended to be used within a worshiping community,

I want to read Psalms 1 and 2 responsibly this morning.

So I'm going to read the odd-numbered verses starting with verse 1,

and then we all can read together the even-numbered verses starting with verse 2.

If you're in the sanctuary, it'll be on the screen.

Or if you're on the live stream, it'll be on the screen too.

So let's read Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 together responsibly this morning.

Psalm 1.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither, and all that he does he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

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

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.

Amen.

Amen.

So, we're preaching through several of the Psalms this fall for a couple of reasons.

One reason is we haven't preached through Psalms for quite a while at Trinity.

The last time we did a series on Psalms was seven or eight years ago, and most of you weren't here then.

So, we try to get around different parts of the Bible so we can be well-rounded by the different parts of Scripture that God has given us to shape and refine us.

But another reason that we're looking at Psalms this fall is that we felt like the Psalms speak particularly to our present condition.

You know, for many of us, 2020 has been a roller coaster.

And I don't mean so much the fun, exciting, thrill ride.

I mean more the traumatic, stomach-churning, how much longer will this last, why did I ever get on this ride kind of roller coaster.

Right?

On the national level, we started with impeachment, then coronavirus, then protests, then hurricanes and wildfires, now the election, and soon it'll be winter.

Boy, it's been a year.

And on a personal level, many of us have experienced turmoil in our plans, in our jobs, in our health, in our relationships, in all kinds of things.

And many people, both within and outside the church, are feeling all kinds of strong emotions.

Scared, hurting, worried, weary, frustrated, fed up.

And you know, the Psalms speak to that kind of world and those kinds of emotions.

You know, there's a wide variety of Psalms that are written out of a wide diversity of life experiences.

There are Psalms of lament, where people are crying out to God in distress.

There are Psalms of confession, where people are turning to God with their sin and failure.

There are Psalms of trust, where the writer is resting quietly in God's presence.

There are Psalms of history, reflecting back on both good experiences and hard experiences and what we can learn from them.

There are Psalms of praise and thanksgiving that point us toward God's character and God's mercies.

But the Psalms are written out of, the Psalms are written and speak to a world full of turmoil and upheaval.

Even these two Psalms we just read, right?

Psalm 2 talks about the nations raging, being in an uproar, in turmoil.

People banding together to overthrow the boundaries that God has instituted, thinking that by throwing off all restraint, they will find freedom.

But the result is only more chaos.

Right?

Psalm 1 begins by talking about the wicked.

And in many Psalms, the psalmist sort of looks at the world and says,

Man, there are people who are just completely disregarding God's ways and completely not loving their neighbor and they seem to be doing fine.

And then people who are seeking to love God and love their neighbor seem to have it the worst sometimes in this world.

Right?

Many of the Psalms are written asking those kind of questions out of those kinds of situations.

But in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty, the Psalms invite us into a life under God's blessing.

That's the main theme we'll be looking at is what does a life under God's blessing look like in the midst of a world of turmoil and uncertainty?

Did you notice that Psalm 1 begins with that word, blessed?

Blessed is the man who abides in God's word.

And then Psalm 2 ends with that same word, blessed are all who take refuge in him.

What does that word blessed mean?

Well, it means to be a recipient of God's favor and God's goodness.

It means to be in line with God's purposes.

And as a result, it means to have a kind of happiness and contentment that flows out of that.

So this morning we'll see two main themes in these two Psalms.

First, Psalm 1 teaches us to be rooted in God's word.

That's a characteristic of a life under God's blessing is to be rooted in God's word.

And in Psalm 2 we'll see that a life under God's blessing means to take refuge in God's son.

To be rooted in God's word, to take refuge in God's son.

Those are the two major themes we'll be looking at this morning.

Now you might wonder, why am I putting these two Psalms together?

Is it just because I couldn't decide which one to preach on so I decided to take both?

And the answer is no.

These Psalms are meant to be a package deal.

Again, beginning and ending with that key word, blessed.

And even in at least seven ancient Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament,

these Psalms are not separated from one another at all.

Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are seen together.

And so ancient Jewish writers often considered these two Psalms together

as sort of framing the entrance to the rest of the book.

Sort of like the arches over a doorway that is inviting us in to the rest of the book of Psalms.

In fact, if you might notice that there's not a heading at the beginning of either Psalm.

If you look at Psalm, starting at Psalm 3, there's a heading at the beginning of almost every Psalm

that talks about who wrote it or the situation it was written in.

But these two Psalms don't have a heading, right?

Because they're placed here at the entrance to the book,

introducing us and leading us into the rest of the book.

So as we look at these two Psalms as a doorway into life under God's blessing

in the midst of a world of turmoil and uncertainty.

But let's delve into Psalm 1 first and look at the theme of being rooted in God's Word.

Psalm 1 gives us a picture of the righteous person.

Verse 1, we see some things that he avoids.

He doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of scoffers.

In the Bible, the wicked are people who do bad stuff.

That is, who violate God's laws.

The idea of sin in the Bible or a sinner is sort of an internal idea.

It's sort of someone who's internally bent or inclined toward evil.

But the third group, scoffers, are actually in some ways sort of the most spiritually dangerous.

Because scoffers aren't just people who have done bad stuff.

They're not just people who are inclined to do bad stuff, but scoffers are people who completely disregard the idea of right and wrong.

Scoffers are people when somebody tries to challenge or correct them, they just don't even take it seriously.

Brush it off, laugh it off, mock the idea.

Now, verse 1 doesn't say that a righteous person will never have any normal human interactions with people like that.

But it does say that a righteous person won't adopt their ways of thinking, their counsel, or their patterns of behavior, their way, or their sense of belonging, the seat.

In fact, verse 1 is sort of a progression from bad to worse, right?

From thinking to behavior to belonging.

It sort of gets even more deeply rooted as you go along.

But then in verse 2, we see, by contrast, what the righteous person engages in.

Not just what he avoids, but what he engages in.

What does shape his thinking and his behavior and his belonging, and that is the law of the Lord.

Now, when we hear the word law, most of us think rules and regulations.

There's a lot of rules and regulations these days, right?

Some of us like them.

Some of us don't like them.

Some of us think they're justified.

Some of us, you know, right?

But when we think of law, we tend to think of a very narrow set of things.

But this word, it's the Hebrew word Torah, is a much broader word.

It can also be translated teaching or instruction.

Sometimes Torah referred specifically to the first five books of the Bible, which are called the books of Moses.

Sometimes it referred more generally to God's instruction in all of the Old Testament.

But here in this verse, in this psalm, we're especially meant to see that God's teaching, God's Torah, God's law includes the book of Psalms.

In fact, you might notice that the book of Psalms is divided into five books, five sub-books.

The beginning of Psalms says book one.

And then if you go to Psalm 42, it'll say book two.

These are sort of five collections of Psalms that were gradually collected together over time.

And you might think, why are there five books?

Well, I think it's because there were five books of Moses, right?

That was a complete collection of God's revelation, God's teaching, given to the people through Moses.

In Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

And the Psalms are a complete collection of God's teaching, given in the form of songs and prayers,

associated primarily with the person of David, but written by many people over time and gathered together over time.

So the idea is this is a complete collection in this book of Psalms of God's wisdom,

God's teaching for us in the form of poetry and prayer.

So the Psalms are meant to be our companion along the way of life.

And as we pray them, as we read them, as we internalize them,

they're meant to shape our thinking and guide our behavior

and give us a sense of who we belong to at the deepest level.

So, verse 2 says that this,

the righteous person delights in and meditates on the law of the Lord.

So before we go further, let me just ask,

have you experienced the Psalms in this way?

Are the Psalms something that you delight in and meditate on?

Think about what it means to delight in something.

It means to savor it, right?

Like a good meal.

The other night, I was sitting around a bonfire with a few guys,

and we were talking about all kinds of food that we like.

Mexican food, Italian food, southern food, seafood.

Somebody was talking about Hawaiian food,

trying to explain to the rest of us what it was and how awesome it was.

We probably talked for half an hour, you know?

Nobody had to, about all kinds of food.

Who cooked it, where we ate it, why it was so good,

when we can get it again.

God has given us the Bible in general,

and the Psalms in particular, to be our spiritual food.

To nourish us, to energize us,

to satisfy our spiritual hunger and quench our spiritual thirst

and leave us wanting more.

Wanting to come back as soon as we can.

And wanting to tell others why it's so good.

And you know, the way we come to delight in God's word

is by meditating on it.

That is, chewing on it.

Savoring it.

Pondering it in our hearts.

Thinking about it.

Letting it, sort of, turning it over in our minds.

Even repeating the words out loud in prayer.

Letting them wash over us like a river.

One of the resources you can find through the church website on that Psalms page

is a letter by the early church father, Athanasius.

He was an Egyptian church leader about 1,500 years ago,

and he wrote this letter to his friend about the Psalms.

And if you read this letter, you can see that he spent years, decades,

delighting in and meditating on these Psalms.

He wrote this,

Within the book of Psalms are represented and portrayed in all their great variety

the movements of the human soul.

It is like a mirror in which you see yourself portrayed.

Moreover, whatever your particular need or trouble,

from this same book you can select a form of words to fit it.

In other words, he's saying if you're angry,

there are Psalms that can help you bring your anger to God.

If you're troubled,

there are Psalms that can help you cry out to God in trouble.

If you've messed up,

the Psalms can help you confess your sin

and be assured of God's forgiveness.

If you've experienced God's goodness,

the Psalms can help you to praise and thank the Lord.

You know, Athanasius had spent decades in the Psalms

and so he could recommend particular Psalms

for people in particular situations with particular needs.

Now, let me say a word to you if you've never read the Psalms

or if the Psalms are largely unfamiliar to you.

It may take some time to appreciate the variety of the Psalms.

It's sort of like if you've never eaten Korean food.

Now, good Korean food, in my humble opinion,

is one of the best things on the planet.

But if you weren't raised with it,

you may find that some of the flavors are initially unfamiliar.

All right, some foods are really spicy.

Others are strongly pickled.

Others are sweet.

They may not all immediately appeal to you

the first time you eat them.

And in the same way, when you start reading the Psalms,

you might find that some of them hit the spot right away.

And others feel like an unfamiliar taste,

harder to relate to.

And you know what?

That's normal because the Psalms are written

out of a great diversity of life experiences and situations.

And maybe you haven't been through

what the Psalmist was going through

when he wrote that Psalm.

You know, or maybe some of the ancient poetry is a little hard,

you know, it takes time to sort of

translate that into today

and understand what it was meaning.

You know, many people come to appreciate the Psalms

more and more the older they get.

I think that's partly

because people go through a greater variety

of life experiences as they get older.

In fact, some Psalms talk about the experience of getting older

and actually address that particularly.

Psalm 71 is a good example.

And also, the more you spend time in them,

right, the more you appreciate them.

It's a little bit like drinking coffee, right?

The first time I drank a cup of coffee,

I was like, why do people drink this?

It's bitter.

It's gross, right?

Now I'm sort of a coffee snob a little bit.

I mean, I can tell you what good coffee is, right?

I appreciate it.

I know how I like it.

I know how I don't like it, right?

Right?

And so, you know, it's an acquired taste, as they say, right?

And so, many of the Psalms are sort of like that.

It's an acquired taste that you come to appreciate

and savor and more and more over time.

The invitation in the words of Psalm 34 is,

taste and see that the Lord is good.

Or in the words of Psalm 81,

God says, open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

So, that's the invitation to take in God's word,

to delight in it and meditate on it.

And verse 3 of Psalm 1 tells us that as we do that,

it'll have an enduring effect on us.

Just like streams of water make a tree to flourish

and bear fruit, God's word will help us to be nourished

and strengthened and energized and stabilized.

There's a very similar verse to verse 3

in Jeremiah chapter 17, verses 7 and 8,

Jeremiah 17:7

and where it says,

blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water

that sends out its roots by the stream

and it doesn't fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green.

And it's not anxious in the year of drought,

for it doesn't cease to bear fruit.

In other words, even when we find ourselves

in spiritually or physically oppressive circumstances

or in spiritually or physically dry places,

God's word is still a source of ongoing nourishment

and sustenance for us.

Now, verse 4 gives a contrasting image.

It says,

the wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Chaff was sort of like the dust,

the worthless grass that was mixed in with the actual wheat.

And when they'd sort of toss it up,

the wheat would fall down,

the chaff would blow away in the wind

because it was weightless, it was rootless,

it had no substance to it.

You know, just this year,

there are a lot of things that have dried up

and blown away in the world.

Businesses have closed,

some of them are not coming back,

many people's savings of economic prospects have dried up,

relationships have come under stress,

sometimes painful fractures have been exposed

and brought to the surface.

But brothers and sisters,

whatever else in this world may decay

or wither or change,

God has promised that if we're planted in his word

and drawing upon the nourishment of his word,

our lives will become enduring

and fruitful and stable

and stable even through years and seasons of drought

or hardship.

And verse 6 reminds us that this isn't just our own doing.

You know, verse 3 indicates

the Lord has planted us in his garden.

He's the master gardener

and he knows our way.

Verse 6,

the Lord knows the way of the righteous.

And that doesn't just mean God sees us from far away

and knows about us from a distance,

but it means he's committed to us.

He knows us from the inside out

and he's promised himself to us

and he's going to walk with us

every step along the way

and continue to sustain and nourish us

through his word and by his grace.

So, brothers and sisters,

let's keep our roots firmly planted in God's word.

That's the first point from Psalm 1.

But the second point from Psalm 2

is not just to be rooted in God's word,

it's to take refuge in God's Son.

You know, if you think about the Old Testament as a whole,

there are sort of two great gifts

that God gives to his people Israel.

The first gift is his word through Moses.

on Mount Sinai.

And the second gift is a king

in the person of David on Mount Zion.

And again, these two Psalms are highlighting

these two great gifts that God gave to his people Israel,

his word and his king.

And when you turn to the New Testament,

if you go to the book of Hebrews,

Hebrews begins by saying,

in the past God spoke to our forefathers

in many times and in various ways,

but now in these last days,

he has spoken to us through the person of his son.

God's word, God's son.

We see these two great gifts in the Old and New Testaments

encapsulated in these two Psalms.

Now, if Psalm 1 begins by talking about wicked individuals,

Psalm 2 begins by talking about wicked rulers.

The nation's rage, the people's plot,

and interestingly, that word plot

is the same word that was translated meditate

in chapter 1.

Lots of connections between these two Psalms.

But the wicked rulers aren't meditating

on the word of the Lord.

They're plotting emptiness,

vanity, foolishness.

Their vain hope is to get rid of the Lord

and get rid of his anointed king.

In verse 3, they say,

serving God is slavery.

Serving ourselves is freedom.

Now, many rulers throughout history

have said things like that.

They've said things like,

let's throw off the shackles of religion

and usher in a new age of freedom and enlightenment.

The French Revolution began that way

with cries for liberty, equality, and brotherhood.

But it ended in a bloody dictatorship.

You know, the results have not always been liberating

or life-giving when human beings set themselves up

as an authority over others

and then claim ourselves as the ultimate standard.

You could look at Stalin's Russia,

Mao's China, North Korea,

or many other examples.

You know, the United States has perhaps survived so long

in part because we have a system of checks and balances

that limits the power of any one individual

or branch of government.

And many of the American founders

set up the system that way

because they were keenly conscious

of the fallibility,

even the depravity of human beings.

How easily power corrupts us.

They weren't all Christians,

but many of them understood some implications

of the biblical teaching about human sinfulness

and even built that into a system of government.

You see, the paradox is

it's only by accepting our creaturely limitations

that we can truly enjoy the freedom

that God has intended for us to enjoy.

But in verses 4 to 6,

we see that God is not threatened

by these wicked rulers

who are rising up against him

and wanting to throw off all restraint.

It says he who sits in the heavens laughs.

The Lord holds them in derision.

You know, imagine how you would respond

if you saw an ant crawling around on the floor

and the ant spoke to you and said,

I am declaring a revolt against you

and the entire human race.

You would look at the ant and say,

I can stomp on you anytime I want.

Right?

I don't even, I can't,

I don't even,

you are no obstacle to me.

How ridiculous.

And in a similar way,

God says to these wicked rulers

who are rising up against him,

as for me,

I've set my king on my holy hill,

on Zion.

In other words,

God is saying,

I don't need you

to be on my side.

I can accomplish my plans

perfectly well with or without you.

I'll do exactly what I want to do

and you can't stop me.

I mean, look at what God did

for the people of Israel

in the Old Testament.

The people of Israel

are enslaved in Egypt.

They're threatened,

right,

that one of the most powerful rulers

in the ancient world

wants to exterminate them.

And God says,

I'm going to rescue you.

I'm going to bring you out

from under Pharaoh's nose.

I'm going to take you

under my wing,

under my protection,

and you'll be mine.

And nothing Pharaoh says or does

is going to get in the way

of me rescuing you.

So he brings them

into their own land

and plants them there

and gives them a king

to rule in Zion.

Zion's just another name

for Jerusalem.

To rule over them

with justice

and defeat anyone

who came against them.

All right, God says,

wicked rulers

who rise up against me

and band together against me,

they're no threat

to my ultimate purposes.

They don't make me

feel insecure.

Some scholars have suggested

that Psalm 2

was originally written

as a coronation psalm.

to celebrate the installation

of King David

or one of his descendants.

And there's a reference

to that in verse 7.

Likely,

we hear God's word

to the king.

The Lord said to me,

you are my son.

Today I have begotten you.

Now,

that in the ancient context,

that is adoption language.

So, you know,

in the book of Exodus,

one of the first things

God says to Pharaoh

about the people of Israel

is he says,

Israel is my firstborn son.

Let my son go

that he may serve me.

In other words,

God's saying,

I am adopting

the nation of Israel

as my own child.

And I will protect them

and I will care for them

just as any good parent

is utterly committed

to caring for their own son

or daughter.

And then when God

installs the king in Israel,

he says to the king,

in fact,

you can read this

in 2 Samuel 7.14,

God promises to David,

I will be a father to him

and he will be my son.

In other words,

the king is sort of embodying,

like all the fortunes

of the people of Israel

are wrapped up in the king.

Right?

The king is sort of

the representative

of the whole people

as God's adopted son.

But if you read Psalm 2

as a whole,

it doesn't actually sound

like it was written

simply for a coronation ceremony.

It sounds more like

it was written

remembering a coronation ceremony

but facing a crisis.

Right?

Why do the first three verses

start with nations rising up?

It's probably because

it was written at a time

when the nation of Israel

is being attacked

and threatened

by some big superpowers

of the day.

But Psalm 2 reminded the king

and reminded God's people

of God's power

and of God's promise.

And even pointed ahead

in verses 8 and 9

to what God would do

in the future

when all the nations

of the world

to the ends of the earth

would come under the rule

of the king,

of the Lord's appointed king.

So the point is

is Psalm 2 is written

facing a crisis

but remembering God's power

and God's promise.

Now, here is the fascinating thing

about this.

When you go to the New Testament,

the early church

reads Psalm 2

and turns to Psalm 2

when they are in the middle

of crises

and facing opposition

and turmoil.

So if you look at Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

the apostles Peter and John

have been preaching

about Jesus.

They get arrested,

thrown in jail,

released the next day.

They go back

to the believers.

They all say,

we need to pray.

And they begin their prayer

by quoting verses 1 and 2

of this psalm.

Why did the Gentiles rage

and the people's plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers

are gathered together

against the Lord

and against his anointed.

And then they go on

to explain,

then listen to what

they say next.

For truly in this city,

there in Jerusalem,

they're speaking right

there in Jerusalem,

truly in this city

there were gathered together

against your holy servant

Jesus,

whom you anointed,

both Herod and Pontius Pilate,

along with the Gentiles

and the people of Israel.

Now, what are they saying?

Here's the point.

In verses 1 to 3

of Psalm 2,

the early church

saw a picture

of Jesus' crucifixion.

You see,

the early Christians

were reading Psalm 2

and they were Jewish Christians

so they would have known

this psalm very well already.

And they said,

you know what?

That's describing something

that happened way back

in ancient Israel,

but it's not only that,

that's also describing

exactly what we just saw

happen to Jesus.

What happened to Jesus?

The rulers of the world

all turned against him.

Herod,

Pontius Pilate,

the Roman government,

the Jewish authorities,

they banded together

to get rid of him.

They condemned him to death

and they hung him on a tree

and nailed him there

to die.

Even though

he was the anointed one of God.

That word in verse 2,

the anointed,

is the word that's also

translated Messiah.

That's what Messiah means,

anointed one of God.

But it doesn't stop there.

The early church kept on

reading the psalm

and they said,

look at verses 4 through 7.

That's what happened

in the resurrection.

God didn't leave Jesus

dead in the grave.

God raised him up.

Right?

God wasn't threatened

by the rulers of the world

and everybody who banded together

and put Jesus to death.

No, God was going to

work out his plan

despite and even through that.

So in Acts 13, 33,

Paul quotes verse 7

of Psalm 2

and he specifically refers it

to Jesus' resurrection.

He says,

what God promised

to our fathers,

this he has fulfilled

to us, their children,

by raising Jesus.

Resurrecting Jesus.

As it is written

in the second psalm,

you are my son.

Today I have begotten you.

And in Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:4

verse 4,

Paul wrote that Jesus

was declared to be

the son of God with power

by his resurrection

from the dead.

In other words,

when God raised Jesus

from the dead,

it was his public statement

to the whole world

that this is my son.

He is and ever will be

the true anointed one of God,

the rightful king of glory.

So the early church

read this psalm

and they saw Jesus' crucifixion,

Jesus' resurrection,

and it doesn't even stop there.

They read verses 8 and 9

and saw a prophecy

of Jesus' return in glory.

If you read the book of Revelation,

three times Revelation quotes

or alludes to verses 8 and 9

of Psalm 2.

And Revelation is written

to Christians

who are in the midst of crisis,

facing all kinds of opposition

and all kinds of turmoil

in the world.

And those verses,

verses 8 and 9,

they understand them

as looking forward

to the day

when Jesus will return in glory

and judge the world

and all the nations

will be gathered before him.

So what's the point of all this?

When the kings of ancient Israel

were threatened by enemies,

they turned to this psalm

to remember God's power

and to remember the promise

that he had made to King David.

When the early church

faced opposition and turmoil,

they turned to this psalm

to remember God's power

and remember God's promise

and how it had been fulfilled

in the death

and resurrection

of Jesus,

the Messiah.

And so we too,

in times of national turmoil

and upheaval,

in times of personal turmoil

and upheaval,

can turn to this psalm

and remember God's power

and remember God's promise.

You know, God is not fazed

by all the turmoil

in the world today.

He is not wringing his hands

and anxiously wondering,

can I bring my plan to pass

or not?

No, he is still on his throne

and he is working out

his purposes

and he promises

that for those who love him,

they will be for our ultimate good

and for his ultimate glory.

And you know,

his promise to us

still holds true.

Just like God promised

in the Old Testament,

I, you are my son,

I've taken you under my wing

as my own.

In the New Testament,

we see that same promise

that we are included

as sons and daughters of God

in Jesus,

in the true son.

We are now included

in that promise.

We are children of God

through faith in Jesus

and his promises to us as well.

The psalm concludes,

verse 10 to 12,

with a warning and a promise,

a warning to the wicked rulers.

Wise up.

Serve the Lord with fear.

Rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the son.

Now that last phrase

is a little awkward

and hard to translate,

but the meaning is very clear

in the ancient world.

You would kiss the feet

of a king

as a way of surrendering,

expressing loyalty.

The idea is very clear

no matter how you translate it.

Surrender to the rightful king.

If you haven't yet surrendered

to Jesus,

let me ask you,

what is holding you back

from doing so?

Consider that.

What is holding you back

from surrendering completely

to him as your king?

But the last word of the psalm

is a promise.

Blessed are all

who take refuge in him.

Have you found your refuge

in him?

Derek Kidner wrote,

there is no refuge from him,

but there is refuge in him.

Jesus invites us to come to him

and take refuge in him

and hold to him.

Brothers and sisters,

plant your roots in God's word,

find your refuge in God's son.

That is what it means

to live under God's blessing

in a world of turmoil.

Let's pray.

Father God,

we thank you

for these psalms

that were written so long ago.

We thank you, Lord,

for how they testify

to your great gifts,

the gift of your word,

the gift of your word

and the scriptures.

We pray that we would

be rooted in the scriptures

and draw upon their truth

and wisdom for our lives.

And in the person of your son,

our King Jesus,

we pray,

Lord,

that we might take refuge in him,

that we might know

the blessing it is

to belong to you.

and that our thinking

and our lives

might be increasingly shaped

by that reality,

by our belonging to you.

Pray this all in Jesus' name.

Amen.