King of Kings

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

So this morning, as we've been working through the psalms this summer, just different psalms each Sunday,

and this morning we come to one of my favorites.

I love Psalm 2.

It's a short psalm, so I'll read the whole thing all at once, and then we'll talk about it,

and then we'll let it lead us into our remembrance of the Lord Jesus at the Lord's table.

So Psalm 2.

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.

The Lord scoffs at them.

He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.

I will proclaim the Lord's decree.

He said to me,

You are my son.

Today I have become your father.

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.

You will break them with a rod of iron.

You will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Therefore, you kings, be wise.

Be warned, you rulers of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear,

and celebrate his rule with trembling.

Kiss his son,

or he will be angry,

and your way will lead to your destruction.

For his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

So this psalm was written by King David,

and we know that from Acts chapter 4, verse 25,

Acts 4:25

where the apostles are gathered together,

and they quote this psalm in a prayer that they're praying,

and they reference it as something that was spoken by the Holy Spirit

through the mouth of your servant, our father David.

There are four parts to this psalm.

If you can see in your Bible,

this might even be paragraphed just like this.

Verses 1 to 3,

in those verses,

the nations rise up against the Lord and his anointed.

Then in verses 4 to 6,

we get the Lord's response.

He laughs at them and rebukes them.

Then in verses 7 to 9,

David tells us of God's decree,

his royal decree.

And finally, in verses 10 to 12,

David warns the people to cherish

and serve the Lord and his anointed king.

And one of the things I love about this particular psalm

is just how strongly it points to Jesus.

Written a thousand years before Jesus came,

it just speaks loudly about him,

about God's ultimate chosen king,

and how things will go in the long run for our world,

and what we should all do in response.

So let's dig into this,

starting with the first few verses here.

Looking in at verse 1.

The author begins with this rhetorical question.

Why do the nations conspire,

and the peoples plot in vain?

What's his point?

The conspiring,

the raging of the nations and the peoples,

the plotting,

it's pointless.

Now what is he talking about?

Some of us are so used to seeing how this psalm points to Jesus

that maybe we forget that these words meant something to the king,

King David,

who wrote them long before Jesus came.

These words paint us a picture of how things were

in the days of King David.

There were nations at that time

all around Israel

who were conspiring against Israel

and the anointed,

David,

the one who was anointed by Samuel to be king.

And Nathan, the prophet,

he came and he

delivered the Lord's word

that David's kingdom

would be an enduring kingdom,

a kingdom that would last forever.

He would always have a son

on the throne.

There were many battles in those days

between Israel

and the nations

and peoples around Israel.

They fought with the Egyptians.

They fought with the Philistines.

They battled the Edomites

and the Moabites

and the Arameans.

If you've read through the Old Testament,

you probably are familiar

with all these

wars and battles.

And

because the Lord

stood behind

his chosen king,

David,

David had victory,

overwhelming victory

wherever he turned.

He conquered them,

he defeated them,

he brought them

into submission,

and they were required

to pay taxes

and tribute to him.

If you think back

to how the people of Israel

were ruled over

by the Romans

in the days of Jesus,

that's kind of like

how it was

back then.

Each of those nations

had their leaders,

but David was king

over all of them.

suddenly,

verses 1 to 3

here in the psalm

make a little more sense.

Why are these peoples

plotting and scheming

against the Lord's anointed?

Why are they saying,

let's break their chains

and throw off

their shackles?

Well, it's because

these peoples and nations

are not free

and self-governing

like they used to be.

And so,

that's why they're plotting,

that's why they're

conspiring together.

How can we band together

to defeat this

king of Israel

who rules over us now?

And what's the king's

reaction to this

as he sees this happening?

He says,

all your plotting,

all your scheming

against the Lord

and his anointed

is pointless.

It's in vain.

It's for nothing.

Your attempts to rebel

will fail.

Now, how can David

have this kind of confidence?

Well, the reason is

because God himself,

Yahweh, the Lord,

anointed David

and promised David

that he would be king

and that he would rule

in this territory,

in this kind of a way.

And nobody

can stand against the Lord.

In verses 4 to 6,

the next section,

the psalmist tells us

what God's response is

to all this scheming

and plotting

of the nations

and the peoples.

He says,

the one enthroned

in heaven

laughs.

The Lord scoffs

at them.

I love this verse.

God

laughs

at things.

We don't tend

to think of God

as a God

who laughs

or finds things funny.

but here's at least

one thing

that he finds funny.

So ridiculous

is the idea

that these

little kings,

these little rulers

in the nations around

can rise up

against God

and defeat

his chosen king

that he laughs.

They think

they can

win

against the creator,

the almighty,

the Lord

of heaven

and earth

and his

chosen king.

They think

they can prevail

and God

finds it funny

because it's

just so impossible.

That's how big

and great

and powerful

God is.

The best laid

plans of kings

and rulers

made against him

make him chuckle.

he responds

with scoffing

it says.

He mocks

their arrogance,

their ignorance,

their foolishness

and I won't go

to some of these passages

but if you want

to hear examples

of how the Lord

would mock

kings

you can read

through some

of the words

of the prophets

in the Old Testament

because God does it

in quite a few places.

He rebukes

them

in his anger

and terrifies

them in his wrath.

These words

speak of how

God has been

dealing with

all of the enemies

who are rising

up against King David.

Time and time again

he's handed the victory

to his chosen king

even when it seems

like the odds

are impossible

he causes

the enemy

to flee

and to melt

with fear.

In verse 6

he says

I have installed

my king

on Zion

my holy mountain

this is the

statement of the

Lord

over every

battle fought

with the Philistines

the Amalekites

the Edomites

etc.

in the days

of King David

they couldn't win

and even now

as they make plans

and talk about

these secret

alliances

this is God's

statement

of how things

are going to

turn out.

I have installed

my king

in other words

he will not

be displaced

or defeated

by any of you

your plans

will fail

you will

find yourself

trembling

fleeing

in fear

my anger

and my wrath

rising up

against you

if you rebel

and rise up

against me

God

stands behind

his chosen

king

100%

in verse 7

this third

section

David says

I will

proclaim

the Lord's

decree

and what

follows here

is the reason

that David

has this

confidence

it's because

of what God

has decreed

about David

and his

kingdom

that David

can say

all this

that he

has this

confidence

that their

plans and

schemes

are pointless

David says

the Lord

said to me

you

are my

son

today

I have

become

your father

probably

it's best

to see

these words

as a

further

explanation

of that

royal

special

covenant

that God

made

with David

about his

kingdom

being established

forever

you are

my son

today

I have

become

your father

this is

something

special

there's a

change in

the relationship

here

a profound

act of

love

from God

to this

king

so now

it's not

just that

he's a

servant

of the

Lord

but now

like a

son

God

places

the full

weight

and care

of his

fatherly

love

and protection

upon this

king

you

are my

son

he says

to David

and if we

think back

to those

ancient times

what do

sons

get

a big

part of

the culture

and tradition

was that

they would

get an

inheritance

from their

fathers

now of course

we still have

some of that

around today

but it

was a big

deal

back then

an inheritance

comes with

being a

son

and so

God

promises

the king

who he

now calls

son

David

an

inheritance

and it's

a large

inheritance

it's a

grand

inheritance

it's almost

as if he's

saying

what do

you want

my son

ask me

I'll give

you the

nations

as your

inheritance

I'll make

the ends

of the

earth

your

possession

ask me

and I

will give

it to

you

that's

quite the

inheritance

isn't it

a kingdom

over all

the nations

in which

all of them

belong to

you

and not

just the

nations

nearby

but I'll

make the

ends

of the

earth

your

possession

I'll make

your dominion

your territory

that belongs

to you

reach to

the ends

of the

earth

this is

no less

than God

promising

David

a global

worldwide

kingdom

how will

it go

in verse

9 he says

you will

break them

with a rod

of iron

you will

dash them

to pieces

like pottery

now there's

some variance

in the

translation

you may

see in

your bible

whether it's

rod

or scepter

whether it's

break

or rule

but probably

the meaning

either way

is exactly

the same

the point

is that

your kingdom

my son

will be

unbreakable

it'll be

undefeatable

your rule

will be as

strong as

iron

it's poetic

your rule

will be so

firm

so secure

so unshakable

and if ever

anyone tries

to rise up

against you

tries to

attack you

to make

war

against you

you will

crush them

and break

them into

pieces

like iron

hitting

pottery

this is the

decree of the

Lord

to David

and it

sounds similar

to some of

those grand

promises that

God made

to Abraham

if you remember

back earlier

in the story

promises that

are global

in their

reach

promises that

are greatly

exalting

and like

Abraham's

covenant

promises

some of

these things

will happen

immediately

here in the

present day

for King

David

he will

God will

continue to

give him

victory

over all

enemies

all around

but then at

the same time

in a similar

way to

Abraham's

promises

it seems

to point

to a

greater

and ultimate

future

a generational

fulfillment

an enduring

dynasty

or kingdom

something

coming

the psalm

then ends

with a

warning

therefore you

kings

be wise

be warned

you rulers

of the earth

serve the

Lord with

fear

and celebrate

his rule

with trembling

kiss his

son

or he will

be angry

and your way

will lead to

your destruction

for his wrath

can flare up

in a moment

blessed are

all who

take refuge

in him

so notice

who this

warning is

directed at

specifically

to the kings

and rulers

of earth

so David

kind of comes

full circle

the kings

and rulers

around

they're the

ones that

have been

plotting

and scheming

about how

they can

rebel

and rise

up against

David

and now

David speaks

to them

and gives

them this

warning

and this

is quite

the thing

to say

to them

isn't it

I mean

I was thinking

like can you

imagine if

somebody stood

up in the

UN council

and said

something like

this

people would

be

livid

but he

basically says

there is

a wise

path

and there is

a foolish

path

implied

there is

a foolish

path

when it

comes to

God's

son

his

anointed

king

if you

are wise

he says

you will

serve

Yahweh

the Lord

the God

of Israel

you will

celebrate

his rule

with

trembling

so the

king

straight up

calls the

other kings

and rulers

of the

nations

around

to serve

the one

true God

the Lord

of heaven

and earth

he calls

him to

celebrate

his

dominion

and I

love the

juxtaposition

of these

words here

in verse

11

celebrate

his rule

with

trembling

celebrate

with

trembling

there

ought to

be a

mixture

of

emotions

deep

awe

reverence

respect

for God

holy

fear

but at

the same

time

joy

celebration

God's

rule

and reign

his

chosen

king's

kingdom

is not

like the

evil

empires

of earth's

history

it's not

some kind

of

corrupt

totalitarian

rule

like

Hitler

and the

Nazis

it's not

like

Stalin

and the

Soviet

Union

or

Nebuchadnezzar's

Babylon

or Alexander

the Great's

Grecian

Empire

it's not

like the

empire

from

Star Wars

God is

a good

and gracious

loving

God

and his

son

the ultimate

son

that this

points to

is radiant

just

perfect

incorruptible

righteous

and so

there's

much

cause

amidst

that

fear

and that

reverence

that we

should have

for celebration

and joy

that he is

the king

that he

rules

if we

are wise

we will

pay

homage

to God's

son

God's

king

we will

honor him

and show

our love

to him

kiss

his son

he says

and this

warning ends

with two

ultimate

fates

if we

choose the

wise path

and serve

and love

and honor

God's

king

and take

refuge

in him

we will

be blessed

blessed

are all

who take

refuge

in him

there's an

invitation

there

come

take

refuge

in him

be in

his

kingdom

his

good

kingdom

but if

we do

not

if we

persist

in rebellion

against

God

and against

his king

the psalmist

says he

will be

angry

and your

way will

lead to

your destruction

for his

wrath can

flare up

in a

moment

so this

psalm is all

about the

nations

conspiring

against God

and God's

chosen king

and the

message we

hear from

it is that

God is

absolutely

unthreatened

by the

kings of

the nations

we hear that

his chosen

king his

son will

reign supreme

over all

the kings

of the

earth

and so we

would be

wise to

serve him

celebrate

him

cherish

him

love him

take refuge

in him

or else

face God's

wrath

as we

read the

historical books

of the Old

Testament

the story

of King

David

we get

glimpses

of how

this held

true

in David's

story

even as we

move forward

to David's

son King

Solomon

we get

glimpses of

how all of

this was

holding true

in his

kingdom as

well

but then

some of you

who are reading

through the

Bible this

year we've

probably all

got to that

spot where

things start

to unravel

and things

are spiraling

downward and

the kingdom

the kings

are doing

wicked things

and things

are not

going well

the kingdom

of Israel

just kind

of spirals

down

until finally

the birth of

a special

son of

David

descendant

of David

a thousand

years later

listen to

the words

of the

angel sent

from the

Lord to

Jesus'

mother

Mary

one more

time

Luke

chapter

one

verse

thirty

one

the angel

says to

her

you will

conceive

and give

birth to

a son

and you

are to

call him

Jesus

he will

be great

and will

be called

the son

of the

most high

the Lord

God will

give him

the throne

of his

father

David

and he

will reign

over

Jacob's

descendants

forever

his

kingdom

will

never

end

so

this

decree

made

by

God

long

ago

a thousand

years

earlier

in

Psalm

2

to

David

it was

also

made

in

anticipation

of

this

coming

descendant

of

David

this

coming

son

of

David

who

would

be

king

who

would

be

the

son

of

God

the

author

of

Hebrews

in the

New

Testament

also

looked

back

on

this

psalm

and

by

the

Holy

Spirit

he

tells

us

that

this

psalm

was

not

just

spoken

to

David

amazingly

it

was

spoken

to

Jesus

to

God's

own

son

listen

to

these

words

of

the

author

of

Hebrews

chapter

one

he

says

in

the

past

God

spoke

to

our

ancestors

through

the

prophets

at

many

times

and in

various

ways

but

in

these

last

days

he

has

spoken

to

us

by

his

son

whom

he

appointed

heir

of

all

things

there's

that idea

of

inheritance

again

and

through

whom

also

he

made

the

universe

the

son

is

the

radiance

of

God's

glory

and

the

exact

representation

of

his

being

sustaining

all

things

by

his

powerful

word

after

he

that's

the

son

had

provided

purification

for

sins

he

sat

down

at

the

right

hand

of

the

majesty

in

heaven

so

he

that's

the

son

became

as

much

superior

to

the

angels

as

the

name

he

has

inherited

is

superior

to

theirs

for

to

which

of

the

angels

did

God

ever

say

you

are

my

son

today

I

have

become

your

father

so

do

you

see

what

the

author

of

hebrews

says

here

he

says

that

back

in

psalm

2

God

was

speaking

to

who

Jesus

to

his

son

his

point

is

that

his

son

Jesus

even

though

he

is

a

man

is

superior

to

the

angels

but

look

how

he

does

this

he

says

these

words

speak

of

him

you

are

my

son

today

I

have

become

your

father

God

never

said

that

to

any

of

the

angels

but

he

said

it

to

his

son

and

so

we

are

right

to

look

at

psalm

2

and

to

read

it

as

speaking

not

just

of

David

but

of

the

son

of

David

Jesus

Jesus

Jesus

will

be

the

one

who

will

inherit

the

fullness

of

all

that

God

promised

in

psalm

2

a

global

worldwide

kingdom

that

reaches

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

he

will

be

the

one

that

rules

the

nations

with

a

rod

of

iron

an

enduring

unbreakable

kingdom

let's

look

ahead

to

the

very

end

Jesus

gave

a

special

revelation

to

John

his

apostle

a

vision

pertaining

to

the

future

and

this

was

what

John

saw

towards

the

end

of

his

vision

revelation

Revelation 19:11

chapter

19

verse

11

John

describes

what

he's

seeing

he

says

I

saw

heaven

standing

open

and

there

before

me

was

a

white

horse

whose

rider

is

called

faithful

and

true

with

justice

he

judges

and

wages

war

his

eyes

are

like

blazing

fire

and

on

his

head

are

many

crowns

he

has

a

name

written

on

him

that

no

one

knows

but

he

himself

he

is

dressed

in

a

robe

dipped

in

blood

and

his

name

is

the

word

of

God

the

armies

of

heaven

were

following

him

riding

on

white

horses

and

dressed

in

fine

linen

white

and

clean

coming

out

of

his

mouth

is

a

sharp

sword

with

which

to

strike

down

the

nations

he

will

rule

them

with

an

iron

scepter

he

treads

the

wine

press

of

the

fury

of

the

wrath

of

God

almighty

on

his

robe

and

on

his

thigh

he

has

this

name

written

king

of

kings

and

lord

of

lords

what

is

this

it's

a

vision

describing

the

coming

of

jesus

god's

chosen

king

it

describes

his

coming

down

from

heaven

to

earth

to

bring

justice

and

to

make

just

war

against

his

enemies

to

rule

as

king

over

all

the

nations

all

their

kings

and

rulers

and

in

this

vision

look at

what

john

says

about

his

rule

he

quotes

psalm

2

it

says

he

will

rule

them

with

an

iron

scepter

so

all

of

this

psalm

psalm

2

is

pointing

to

jesus

and

his

coming

kingdom

he

is

that

ultimate

king

of

god's

choosing

and

someday

he

will

come

back

he

will

return

he

will

rule

and

reign

in

justice

and

righteousness

over

all

the

ends

of

the

earth

and

so

the

warning

given

here

in

verses

10

and

11

is

not

just

for

king

david's

day

it's

also

for

us

today

as

well

it's

not

just

for

kings

and

rulers

of

the

earth

but

also

for

the

ordinary

citizens

of

earth

as

well

you

and

me

we

have

two

paths

before

us

the

path

of

wisdom

or

the

path

of

foolishness

will

you

serve

the

lord

with

fear

will

you

celebrate

his

rule

with

trembling

will

you

love

and

honor

and

cherish

his

son

will

you

take

refuge

in

him

or

will

you

play

the

fool

and

live

in

rebellion

defiance

or

even

just

apathy

towards

this

king

that

way

will

lead

to

your

destruction

king

jesus

will

come

and

when

he

does

there

will

be

anger

there

will

be

wrath

towards

the

wicked

towards