THE PSALM OF KING JESUS

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: PSALMS 2:1-12




INTRODUCTION:


  1. Psalm 2 is the first of several Messianic psalms.
  2. The psalm only has twelve verses but much is said in a few words. James Stalker said, "I should question whether there could be produced from either sacred or profane literature a more remarkable instance of the power of putting a great deal into a few words than this Psalm."
  3. J. Vernon McGee entitled this psalm, "The Drama of the Ages -- Man's Rebellion Against God." This psalm describes the ultimate reign of Christ over all his enemies.
  4. The psalm can be divided into three sections. It sets forth the tumult of the people against the Lord's anointed, the determinate purpose of God to exalt his own Son, and the ultimate reign of that Son over all his enemies (CHS, Treasury of David).

  1. THE KING REJECTED
  2. THE KING ESTABLISHED
  3. THE KING REIGNING OVER THE NATIONS (Scofield Bible)

 

I. THE KING REJECTED (2:1-3)

  1. The heathen are raging (2:1), roaring like the tumultuous sea, tossed to and fro with angry waves, as the ocean in a storm.
  2. Isaiah 57:20 and 21 says, "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
  3. The Psalmist (we are told it is David in Acts 4:25) is not describing a temporary rage, but a deep-seated hatred toward God and toward His "anointed" (Messiah, Christ -- 2:2).
  4. The wicked hate God, and they hate the Son of God. Our Lord said in John 15:24, "But now have they...hated both me and my Father."
  5. In Romans 1, the apostle Paul says sinners do not like to retain God in their knowledge, and they are "haters of God" (Rom. 1:28, 30).
  6. In His parable about the certain nobleman who went into a far country, our Lord described the hatred sinners have for Christ.
  7. Luke 19:14 says, "But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us."
  8. The wicked not only hate the Lord, but they are working to dethrone Him (Psalm 2:1-3).
  9. "We will not have this man to reign over us."
  10. Our Lord said to His disciples in John 15:18 and 25, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you... They hated me without a cause."
  11. Matthew Henry said, "One would have expected that so great a blessing to this world would be universally welcomed and embraced...but it proves quite contrary. Never were the notions of any sect of philosophers, though ever so absurd, nor the powers of any prince or state, though ever so tyrannical, opposed with so much violence as the doctrine and government of Christ — a sign that it was from heaven, for the opposition was plainly from hell originally."
  12. Psalm 2:1 describes the heathen raging. The "heathen" refers to the Gentile nations, and "the people" refers to the people of Israel. They are all opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 4:24-28).
  13. According to Acts 4:27, this Messianic prophecy was partially fulfilled at the first coming of Christ. Satan-inspired opposition to Christ will continue throughout this evil age, and will finally culminate at the battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev. 19:11-21).
  14. Opposition "against the LORD, and against his anointed (Messiah)" is widespread. In most public schools, children are not even allowed to carry a Bible, or pray, or sing Christmas carols, etc.
  15. The worldly crowd shouts, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us" (Psalm 2:3). The Humanist Manifesto II was published in 1973. It says, "No deity will save us; we must save ourselves. Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful."
  16. "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us" (Psalm 2:3). The wicked want all restraints removed. This has led to a complete breakdown of modern society -- broken homes, divorce, illegitimate children, abortion, homosexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, pornography, crime, etc.
  17. The other day there was an article in the newspaper about three Massachusetts lesbians who claim they got “married” to each other and are now expecting their first child (cf. Psalm 2:3).
  18. Following are some of the stated goals of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), from its own published Policy Issues:
  • the legalization of prostitution (Policy 211)
  • the defense of all pornography, including child pornography as "free speech" (Policy 4)
  • the decriminalization and legalization of all drugs (Policy 210)
  • the promotion of homosexuality (Policy 264)
  • the opposition of rating of music and movies (Policy 18)
  • opposition against parental consent of minors seeking abortion (Policy 262)
  • opposition of informed consent preceding abortion procedures (Policy 263)
  • opposition of spousal consent preceding abortion (Policy 262)
  • opposition of parental choice in children's education (Policy 80)
  • the defense and promotion of euthanasia, polygamy, government control of church institutions, gun control, tax-funded abortion, birth limitation, etc. (Policies 263, 133, 402, 47, 261, 323, 271, 91, 85).
  1. The founder of the ACLU, Roger Baldwin, said, "We are for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself... We seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and the sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal." (Cf. Psalm 2:3).
  2. Louis Blanc was a 19th century French socialist. Before he died, he said these words, "When I was an infant, I rebelled against my nurse. When I was a child, I rebelled against my teachers. When I was a young man, I rebelled against my mother and father. When I reached a mature age, I rebelled against the state. When I die, if there is a heaven and a God, I'll rebel against them!"
  3. It is too bad that when he died Mr. Blanc discovered too late that there really is a God in heaven, and that rebels go straight to hell.

 

II. THE KING ESTABLISHED (2:4-7)

  1. God looks down from heaven and laughs at man's attempt to dethrone Him (2:4; cf. Proverbs 1:26).
  2. In this age of grace, God is merciful and longsuffering. But soon God will pour out His wrath upon this wicked, sin-loving world (2:5).
  3. Sinners will be terrified and confounded when the LORD vexes them in His sore displeasure.
  4. Revelation 6:16 says they will say to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb."
  5. William Shakespeare said,
  6. Heaven is above all yet; there sits a judge

    That no king can corrupt.   (from King Henry VIII)

  7. The Bible speaks of a future day when the Lord Jesus Christ will establish His throne in Jerusalem, and from there He shall rule over all the earth (Psalm 2:6; cf. Zechariah 14:1-9).
  8. In Psalm 2:6, God the Father is speaking.
  9. In Psalm 2:7, God the Son is speaking.
  10. The word "begotten" (2:7) here does not refer to natural birth, but rather to the incarnation of Christ.
  11. In the apostle Paul's sermon at Antioch in Pisidia, he explains Psalm 2:7 in reference to our Lord's resurrection from the dead.
  12. "He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee" (Acts 13:33).
  13. God the Father made the "decree" (2:7), and God the Son "declared" it. Jesus Christ is the "Word of God" -- He reveals God's will to us.
  14. This Messianic prophecy is also cited in Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5.

 

III. THE KING REIGNING OVER THE NATIONS (2:8-12)

  1. God the Father will give God the Son the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession (2:8).
  2. When? When the Lord Jesus Christ returns with great power and glory.
  3. There are hundreds of references to the second coming of Christ in the Bible. Students of Bible prophecy should give special attention to the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 & 25), and the book of Revelation (cf. 19:11-21).
  4. Psalm 2:9 is referred to three times in the book of Revelation.
  • "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father" (Rev. 2:26, 27).
  • "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron" (Rev. 12:5).
  • "And he shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 19:15).
  1. Only God knows how much time is left before these prophecies will be fulfilled. Today sinners are laughing and mocking God, but Psalm 2:9 says the Lord shall "break them with a rod of iron," and shall "dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
  2. The last three verses of Psalm 2 are an exhortation, a warning, and an invitation.
  3. It has been pointed out that this is an appeal to the mind, the heart, and the will.
  4. An appeal to the mind -- an exhortation (2:10). There is still time to get right with God. It would be unwise to ignore this exhortation.
  5. John Lambert was a Protestant martyr burnt to death on November 22, 1538 at Smithfield, London, England. He was accused of heresy and was put on trial for denying the doctrine of transubstantiation.
  6. Before he was condemned to death, he testified before King Henry VIII, and quoted Psalm 2:10.
  7. Next there is an appeal to the heart -- "Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (2:11). There is little fear of God today.
  8. A liberal (not saved) professor at Harvard Divinity School named Karen King claims she has a scrap of papyrus which refers to Jesus having a wife.
  9. This ridiculous claim prompted crude and blasphemous jokes from television comedians. Psalm 2:12 says, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little..."
  10. This is an appeal to the will!

 

CONCLUSION:


Dwight L. Moody said,

Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment.

Trust in your friends and they will die and leave you.

Trust in money and you may have it taken from you.

Trust in your reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it.

But trust in God and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity.

 

"Blessed are all they that put their trust in him" (2:12b).



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