Psalm 2 - Kiss the Son
Summer in the Psalms • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 37:06
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· 129 viewsAs we continue our series, Summer in the Psalms, we are confronted with a question of eternal importance from Psalm 2: What will you do with the appointed Son who reigns as world-wide king?! Come Sunday as we consider the irrational worldwide conspiracy against God's anointed king as well as the only logical response to a full understanding of the universal authority that has been given to the resurrected messiah-king about whom Psalm 2 prophesied.
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Turn to Psalm 2
A repetitive word of introduction - enjoyed video Allen sent youth - introduces messiah, torah, wisdom, kingdom, temple...
repetition is called for because Psalm 1 & 2 are twin gates into the entire psalter...(funerals, devotionals, songs, emotions, covid-19, justice, always timely, 15 years, TRANSLATION)
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 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.
pray
Title - Kiss the Son. Could have called it...
“Kings and Kingdoms...”
“The futility of irreligion”
"When God Laughs”
But in the end, the question this psalm raises is
What will you do with the appointed Son who reigns as world-wide king?!
We’re going to let that question be our guide at the end of the message, but for now let’s walk through the psalm.
Four Sections - Four Part Outline
An Irrational Conspiracy
A Heavenly Laughter
A Universal Ruler
A Necessary Worship
So let’s consider this irrational conspiracy
An Irrational Conspiracy
An Irrational Conspiracy
What do we mean by that? Well, I’m drawing from the language of verse 1
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The word plot is the same Hebrew word as “meditates” in 1:2, only in this case it is used negatively to describe contemplation of plans to be free of God’s dominion.
The plot to overthrow God is of course utter vanity.
And yet, as Charles Spurgeon put it, However crazy the resolution to revolt from God, it is one in which man has persevered ever since his creation, and he continues in it to this very day!
What the conspiracy entails - Despising God and the Messiah
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
The New Testament authors would explain the crucifixion of Jesus by the rulers Herod and Pontious Pilate, the Nations and Israel as a grand conspiracy against Messiah.
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for 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 peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
What the conspiracy aims at - Freedom from the restraint of godliness
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
In this phrase we can see the heart of all mankind exposed for what it is - rebelliously desiring our own way and not God’s ways.
Reminds me of John -
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
So the Psalm begins with a declaration of the insanity of our worldwide rebellion against the rule of God and his Messiah.
But then it takes a turn to consider how God reacts to this rebellion.
Is God in heaven wringing his hands in fear of what these rebellious creatures are attempting to do? Does God fret the uprising of nations and rulers, dictators and heathen?
Quite the contrary, what we see (secondly) is
A Heavenly Laughter
A Heavenly Laughter
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
This is the only time in all the Bible where it is said that God laughs. As the creature shakes his fist at the creator, God sits back and chuckles in ridicule at the thought.
Some of us need to hear this today - God is not concerned with the political machinery of our nation or any other nation. He does not writhe his hands when a Republican or a Democrat is elected as president. He does not get anxious about dictators or communist rulers or atheistic/oppressive regimes. He is completely and utterly SOVEREIGN and POWERFUL.
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;
No matter how well-thought out the conspiracy may be, the world-wide alliance of sinners will not cause God to even have to lift a finger to squash our rebellion. Look at God in verse 4 - he takes all this rebellion SITTING DOWN. Then look what he does in response in verse 5
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
HE SIMPLY SPEAKS HIS POWERFUL WORD and his terrible wrath is unleashed on the world. What is the Word spoken?
6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
This language in verse 6 is absolutely EMPHATIC. AS for ME, God says, I MYSELF have set my King on Zion. There is one King who will rule and reign on earth - the King enthroned on Zion’s Hill, and any and all attempts to overthrow God’s anointed King are met with deriding laughter.
But as we move from verse 6 to verse 7, the speaking voice shifts. Back in verse three we heard the voice of the irrational conspirators. In verse six we heard the voice of the God who laughs at humanity’s insurrection. But here in verses 7-9 we hear the Son himself speak. He says:
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
James Johnston writes, “When a [military] officer arrives to take a new command, he brings his orders with him to show that he has the right to be in charge. If a man takes over without orders, he is breaking the chain of command and is acting on his own. Christ repeats God’s decree to prove that he has the legitimate right to rule the world. In verses 7–9 the King announces his identity, his destiny, and his authority.”
Indeed, the Son of God declares that he is
A Universal Ruler
A Universal Ruler
Look at verses 8-9
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
It’s at this point that we must stop and consider the original context of this psalm and the context of the psalm in the unfolding of all of Scripture.
There are some commentators who feel as though perhaps this was a ritual coronation psalm that would have been recited of all of those in the Davidic line. While that could be true, by the time of the compilation of the Psalms there is no mistaking that the Davidic line had failed to live up to the expectation of world-wide rule. Solomon was perhaps the closest Davidic King to achieving that universal rule, but his kingdom was only a foretaste of the blessings that a theocratic kingship could bring. Because as you well know, although Solomon prayed for universal rulership and peace, the kingdom was divided in the next generation because of Solomon’s sinful relationships with foreign wives.
The psalms display for us over and over again the failures of the Davidic kingship (especially in the psalms of lament). In particular Psalm 89 helps us see the simultaneous failure of David’s rulership and the hope in God’s unconditional covenant to David’s offspring.
34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.
Fast Forward to the New Testament, and you can see that the disciples and the Jewish Nation were still waiting in expectation for the fulfillment of this covenant and the restoration of the Kingdom to a Davidic Ruler who would bring universal peace.
Then consider how the words of this psalm appear at Jesus’ baptism and his transfiguration. God himself speaking audibly from heaven - affirming his pleasure in his Son. Then Acts 13:33 tells us that the resurrection of Jesus fulfills Psalm 2:7.
33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’
To borrow from the language of Colossians, Jesus was the firstborn from the dead! Or to put it as Paul did in Romans, the gospel of God is the good news of his Son:
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
So to pull all of this together, in light of what we read in Acts 13 and in Romans 1, we come to understand that at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he was declared to be the long-awaited authoritative, universal ruler of Psalm 2.
And speaking of Christ’s authority, do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples before he ascended into heaven?
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
And then he proceeded to commission them to spread the good news to all nations!
This of course brings us full circle back to Psalm 2, because the nations are exactly what this messiah king will receive as his inheritance.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
This is the great missionary challenge of the church. It is for us, the grateful subjects of Jesus’ divine kingdom, to make his name known among the nations, until every ear shall hear and every knee shall bow. Harry Ironside wrote, “I never come to a missionary meeting but I feel as though there ought to be written right across the entire platform, ‘Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession.’ ” He continued, “It is the will of God that his Son should have a great heritage out of the nations of the world.” Our assignment is to carry the message of God’s decree and Christ’s rule to them. It is to proclaim the rule of King Jesus. – Boice
Let us pause to consider the spread of this kingdom, because verse 9 seems to indicate the kind of king who will completely obliterate his enemies. It paints the picture of a world free from oppression and strife and completely at peace because of the crushing power of this universal authority.
Here again is where a biblical theology helps us comprehend the nature of Christ’s reign as king.
There is a sense in which all authority HAS BEEN GIVEN to Christ. He sits at the right hand of God right now in the position of authority on his throne, ruling and reigning from heaven.
Psalm 110:1 says
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
So right now, from heaven, we believe by faith that Jesus is subduing his enemies and bringing all things into submission.
But the author of Hebrews helps us understand that at present...
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
So there is a sense in which Christ is already in the position of authority...
but that he has not yet subjected everything with the kind of full and final authority pictured in Psalm 2:9
And that’s where the book of Revelation speaks to a coming day when truly EVERYTHING will be under subjection to King Jesus.
Revelation 1:5 calls him the ruler of the kings of the earth, and then Revelation 2:27 and 12:5 quote Psalm 2:9 directly - speaking of the ultimate triumph of the child-born-of-a-woman… turned-king-with-an-iron-scepter.
Listen friends, at his second coming, Jesus Christ will unleash the fury of his wrath on every wicked conspirator who has not found refuge in the good news of his kingdom. Rebellion will be impossible. Not one inch of the cosmos will dare rise up against the awesome power of his might. And peace will reign from sea to sea and his glory will be more glorious than the light of the sun itself.
This leads us to consider our final point today:
A Necessary Worship
A Necessary Worship
The voice shifts one last time in the final three verses of the psalms. Some commentators call it the voice of the Holy Spirit with beckoning arms inviting the only proper and necessary response to this type of Sovereign Majesty.
The call is tender and gracious during these already, but not-yet times.
He says
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 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.
Be wise!
Be warned!
WORSHIP the LORD with fear
Rejoice with trembling at his awesome majesty.
Most importantly, KISS THE SON (in loving submission)
AVOID his sure and coming wrath upon his enemies
TAKE REFUGE in HIM and find the way to live a life of happiness and blessing.
James Johnston writes The words “Now therefore” (v. 10) mean that this is not a knee-jerk, emotional response. We need to make a logical conclusion from what we have just read. We need to come to our senses. God’s Spirit is patiently reasoning with us.
IT’s ONLY logical to worship this universal king and not join the mounting insurrection of the irrational nations.
Consider his immense power and crushing authority. His authority has been granted to him by the Father who spoke the worlds into existence and laughs at the contemptuous uprising of rulers.
Every single knee will bow to this king - so why not get on the right side of history?
You say, well it sounds like I don’t have much of an option - you’re making the rule and reign of Christ sound terrifying.
It WILL be terrifying if you are his enemy!
OH, but friends! We must never forget that the hand you are being asked to kiss is scarred from the nail holes that were driven through his flesh for your sake! This king is not merely a dictatorial brut with only his own interests in mind! He is the ONLY KING whose absolute power will never absolutely corrupt him - he is incorruptible! He is a loving, servant king!
As I close, I want to read for you the first several verses of John 19 and I want you to listen for every word you hear that reminds you of a king.
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.
2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.
3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.
4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”
7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.
9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”
13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.
14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,
17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.
21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
Tonight, I simply ask - how can you not bow to that kind of king?! The kind of king who would die a criminal’s death on a cross so that you and I could live forever - free from sin and death and enjoying the peace and prosperity of his universal rule!
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 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.
There is no refuge from him - only in him. Bringing things full circle, that word blessed at the end of psalm 2 is the same word from the beginning of Psalm 1. Refuge in Christ for righteousness is the entire goal of the law upon which the blessed man of psalm 1 meditates.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
If you don’t walk away from your meditation on God’s law and find Christ as the only refuge, you have missed the goal. But if Christ is your only hope of righteousness and his death, burial and resurrection is your refuge, you will live forever in the peace of His eternal reign. That’s what Psalm 1 and 2 are all about.