Psalm 2

Psalm 2 Change Your Course When an obstacle appeared on the radar screen, the captain of the battleship ordered his signalman to flash a message: “Change your course 20 degrees starboard” The obstacle answered back “Change your course 20 degrees starboard” The captain bellowed out, “Does he not know who I am? Tell him to change course and tell him I am the captain of a battleship!” The answer came back “I am seaman first class Jones. You change course.” The captain was angry. He ordered, “I can blow you out of the water! This is a world-class battleship!” The answer came back, “This is a lighthouse. Change your course.” This is the spirit of Psalm 2 – rebellious humanity telling God to move over, and God saying back, “You need to change your course.” Verse 1-4 – Break the chains • It is believed that this psalm was written for occasions when a new king was about the be put on the throne in Israel. • The death of a king brought uncertainty and turmoil and often cause enemy nations to plan attacks or attempt to break free from domination. • In such times, they would say, “Let us throw off their chains” (v.3) • The new king of the lineage of David had the assurance in this psalm that his anointing and empowerment were from God. ◦ God promised David he would always have an heir on the throne (2 Samuel 7:14)/ • Nations and individuals rebel against God at their own peril. ◦ Like the lighthouse in my opening story, God laughs at those who think they can order him. ◦ Our threat of rebellion, while very serious in consequence to us, is no threat to God. ◦ How absurd to think we might change God or get him to alter his eternal and immutable will! Verses 5-12 – The Kiss of Surrender • Rebellion ignites God’s scorn (vv 5-6) ◦ It makes him angry ◦ He is offended by it • Psalm 2 shows us a side of God which is tough and uncompromising ◦ I may feel more comfortable with the broken hearted portrait of the father in Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) ◦ I would rather envision him as my weeping parent rather than as my offended king ◦ He is both! • What should I do when I break away from him and insist on my own will? ◦ V. 12 – Kiss the son ◦ The kiss is that of a formal surrender to a sovereign king, getting on your knees and begging for mercy while kissing his ring. ◦ This is not the kiss of love, or of friendship – the is the kiss of obeisance ◦ That’s why is accompanied by fear and trembling (v.11) • Never press ahead into rebellion so as to slide past his role as loving and yearning Father to risk his censure. ◦ The Lord, enthroned on his holy hill (v.6) seeks to be enthroned as your king on the high places of your heart • Psalm 2 closes with a warning to the disobedient and rebellious (v.10) ◦ I am not the Davidic king pictured in this psalm, but I am the king when I make the decisions about my own life. ◦ Therefore, this psalm applies to me whenever I seek to rule my own life outside of God’s will. • Although we might deserve Gods wrath for violating his sovereignty over our lives, God is pleased when we take refuge in Him (v.12). ◦ Thankfully, we do not have a cold-blooded autocrat general manager in heaven who judges our behavior without blinking an eye ◦ He is the Father, and He cares about the children. If we are wise, we will lay down our arms and surrender to the Lord. We will surrender to him each disobedience. Even in the areas where we want to have our own way, we will say, “Not my will, but thine” Because “blessed are those who take refuge in him” v.12 Do I stand in the way of sinners? • Standing = taking a fixed, steady position • Not just listening to the advice of the world, but adopting its viewpoint as my own. • Justifying my sinful choices Do I sit in the seat of mockers? • Sitting is a final posture – fixed, rooted. • Scorn and ridicule for those who are seeking God’s will and God’s way • I become a critic of God and God’s people. Verse 2-3 • Do I delight in the Law of the Lord? ◦ When I am struggling, I might resent God’s standards ▪ Like when I was a kid – resenting the parents’ rules ◦ Were it not for the grace of God, I could never delight in the Law of God ▪ In choosing to obey Him, joy comes progressively as I see what he is up to in my life. ▪ God’s rules are there for our good! • Do I meditate continually on his law? ◦ Do I spend time thinking about, memorizing, studying, integrating God’s Word into my life? ◦ That’s where I find stability, healing, restoration My answer to these questions determines my destiny. There are only 2 possible outcomes for my future: prosperity and permanence – or lack and impermanence. If I forsake walking, standing, and sitting with the wicked – If I embrace waiting on the Lord, delighting in His word, and meditating on it – Then my life will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, whose leaf does not wither and I will bear fruit in all seasons. Verses 4-5 • On the other hand, I can become life chaff which is threashed and blown away. It is of no real substance and it will eventually be discarded. Verse 6 • There are only 2 ways in life. • The security we have does not come from our obedience and effort. It is from the Lord! • WE chose which word will describe our destiny, now and eternally We don’t want to end up in disaster like Flight 007. By daily choosing to follow Christ, and focusing on the exact path he lays out for us, we have a glorious future! 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV) 7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV) 1  Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.