Among the psalms, the second one is unique in three ways:
It is the first of the Messianic Psalms. This psalm speaks of the coming Messiah, declaring His deity and sovereignty.
It is the first of the Judgment Psalms. It is said that Revelation is but a fuller exposition of this psalm, which speaks of God’s judgment on a rebellious mankind associated with the coming of Messiah.
It is the first of the Prophetic Psalms. It tells how the Messiah will reign on the earth, despite the opposition of an unbelieving world.
Here, the utter futility of opposing God is set forth in dramatic poetic form. The psalm falls into four stanzas of three verses each.
1. The Voice Of The Nations - vs. 1-3
Note what we are told about the nature of man’s rebellion against God:
A. It is determined - v. 2a "The kings of the earth take their stand."
B. It is unified - v. 2b "The rulers gather together against the Lord."
C. It is willful - vs. 2c-3 "Let us break their chains."
Unbelieving mankind is unified in a determined effort to say to God, "Not thy will, but mine be done!" But notice the fourth thing we are told about the rebellion of a sinful mankind:
D. It is futile - v. 1 "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot IN VAIN?"
The psalmist tells us that try as hard as they might, the unbeliever’s rebellion against God will get him nowhere. In fact, in the end, it will be his undoing!
There is an ancient Greek legend that tells of how a certain athlete placed second in a race. The crowd applauded the winner and in time a statue was erected in his honor. It irritated the athlete who had come in second so much, that he was obsessed by it. He wanted to be number one! In anger, he decided to destroy the statue.
A plan took shape in his mind, which he cautiously began to implement. Late each night, when everyone was sleeping, he went to the statue and chiseled at the base hoping to so weaken the foundation that eventually it would topple. One night, as he was chiseling away at the sculpture in violent anger, he went too far. The heavy marble statue teetered on its fragile base and crashed down on top of him. He died beneath the crushing weight of the marble replica of the one he had grown to hate.
In the same way, unbelieving mankind is unified in a determined, willful effort to be free from God. They wish God did not exist, deny that God exists, and shape their lives as though God did not exist.
Determined that they want to be free from God’s rule in their lives, they fight against the very One who can truly set them free! One day, they will go too far, just as did the Greek athlete, and they will find that their rebellion will result in their destruction! Make no mistake against about it. It is futile to fight against God!
Nikita Khrushchev once boasted that he would exhibit the last Soviet Christian on television by 1965. Khrushchev has since gone to give account of himself to the Judge of all mankind, and his deadline for the extinction of Christianity in Russia has also passed. Throughout history, so-called big men and little men have strutted across the stages of life defying God. But in the end, every one has discovered the same thing: it is futile to rebel against God!
Yes, here in verses 1-3, we hear the voice of the nations, as they cry out in their unified, determined, willful, yet futile effort to rebel against God. In the next stanza, we are told of God’s response.
2. The Voice Of The Father - vs. 4-6
In these verses we hear the voice of the Father, and we notice that He responds to mankind’s rebellion with . . .
A. Derision - v. 4 "The One enthroned in heaven laughs."
B. Displeasure - v. 5 "He rebukes them in His anger."
C. A Declaration - v. 6 "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."
It’s as if God says to a rebellious mankind, "Ha! Rebel against me all you want. No matter what you do, what I’ve determined will come to pass will come to pass! Look! It’s as good as done. I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill"
A man once met Horace Greely, the famous newspaper editor, on the street and said, "Mr. Greely, I have stopped your paper." "Have you?" Mr. Greely said, "that’s too bad," and went on his way. The next morning, Mr. Greely met the man again, and said, "I thought you had stopped the Tribune?" "So I did," was the reply. "Then there must be some mistake," said Mr. Greely, "for I just came from the office and the presses were running, the clerks were as busy as ever, the compositors were hard at work, and the business was going on as yesterday and the day before." "Oh," said the man, "I didn’t mean I had stopped the entire newspaper. I meant that I had stopped my copy of it because I didn’t like your editorials."
In the same way, individuals who rebel against God are like the man who proudly announced to Horace Greely that he had stopped his newspaper. They think that if they reject God’s rule in their life that they will stop God’s rule in the earth. But that’s not so. Whether a person rebels against God’s rule in his life or submits to God’s rule in his life, God is going to do what He has declared. God has declared that one day, despite mankind’s rebellion; Jesus Christ will reign upon the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
As we look to the third stanza, we hear the voice of the Son.
3. The Voice Of The Son - vs. 7-9
Notice that there are three things that the Son declares about Himself:
A. He speaks of His divine nature - v. 7
The phrase, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father," or "Today I have begotten you," refers to the incarnation of Christ.
Different times in Scripture, Jesus is referred to as "the only begotten son" (John 3:16). The phrase, "only begotten" refers to the fact that Jesus Christ is the unique person of the universe. He is the God-man! Jesus was God in the flesh, as John tells us in John 1:14.
B. He speaks of His defeat of death - v. 7
The phrase, "Today I have become your Father," or "Today I have begotten you," also refers to the resurrection of Christ. The writer of Hebrews quotes this verse in Hebrews l:3-5a, and uses it to refer not only to Christ’s divine nature, but to His defeat of sin and death. While "only begotten Son," refers to the uniqueness of Christ in this life (His being the God-man), the phrase "first begotten Son," refers to His uniqueness in the next (His being the first to have a glorified, resurrection body), for "He is the first born among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). In Colossians 1:15, Paul calls Him, "the firstborn over all creation," and in verse 18, says He is "the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy,"
C. He speaks of His dominion over the earth - vs. 8-9
Note that in the day when the Son comes to take dominion over the earth, there will be those who He will receive as His inheritance and those He will "dash to pieces like pottery." The picture is much like that given by Christ himself in Matthew 21:44, where Jesus said, "He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed," Those who receive Christ as Savior will experience brokenness as they recognize their sinfulness and need for a Savior - "He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces." But those who refuse to admit their sin and rebellion, rejecting the Son, who has come to reveal God’s love to us and to conquer sin and death for us, are left with nothing but the promise of God’s coming judgment - "He on whom it falls will be crushed."
Rebellious mankind thinks they have gotten rid of Jesus, but they are wrong! The same One who came to reveal the Father’s love for us, who was rejected and nailed to a cross, is coming again some day; and those who have submitted to His Lordship by trusting Him as their personal Savior, will be received as His
inheritance in that day when He reigns upon the earth!
But those who have refused to submit to His Lordship by rejecting Him their person Savior will be crushed by His power!
They nailed Him to an ugly cross that bleak and dreadful day;
And thought forever from their midst they’d driven Him away.
But three days passed and He arose, triumphant o’er the grave.
With Hell’s keys in His mighty hands and wondrous power to save.
He’s coming back some golden day and victory shall He bring,
For He’ll be conqueror when He comes, our Lord, our coming King!
But notice how the psalm ends. In verses 1-3, we hear the voice of the nations, in verses 4-6, the voice of the Father, in verses 7-9, the voice of the Son, and now in verses 10-12, we hear the voice of the Spirit.
4. The Voice Of The Spirit - vs. 10-12
In the first three stanzas of this psalm, the emphasis is upon the judgment of God, but in the final stanza, the emphasis is upon the grace of God. As Peter explains, there is coming a "day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men . . . (but) . . . God is patient. . . not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:7b, 9b).
In this final stanza, it’s a though the Spirit of God says to the unbeliever . . .
"In view of the futility of your rebellion against God, listen to the One who has come to reveal God’s love to you" (v. 10).
"In view of the Father’s decree, choose to serve the One who has conquered sin and death for you" (v. 11).
"In view of the Son’s soon return, submit to Him who will exercise His dominion over you" (v. 12)!
In verse 12, those who rebel against God are told to "kiss the Son." The picture here is of a subject demonstrating his submission to the authority of his king by kissing his ring. Even so, those who rebel against God are told to submit to the Lordship of Christ in their life by receiving Him as their personal Savior before it’s too late. For, as the psalmist explains, "His wrath can flare up in a moment."
God is patiently waiting, giving all men opportunity to be saved from the wrath to come, but if one persists in his rebellion against God, there is coming a day wherein God’s patience will have run out, Christ will come, judgment will be meted out, and it will be too late!
The Spirit’s warning to the unbeliever is, "You have been given plenty of warning, you are receiving plenty of opportunity, submit to the Son before it’s too late!"
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV)
What will he say when he shouts?" The question took me by surprise. I had already found that West African Bible College students can ask some of the most penetrating questions about minute details of Scripture.
"Reverend, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that Christ will descend from heaven with a loud command. I would like to know what that command will be."
I wanted to leave the question unanswered, to tell him that we must not go past what Scripture has revealed, but my mind wandered to an encounter I had earlier in the day with a refugee from the Liberian civil war.
The man, a high school principal, told me how he was apprehended by a two-man death squad. After several hours of terror, as the men described how they would torture and kill him, he narrowly escaped. After hiding in the bush for two days, he was able to find his family and escape to a neighboring country. The escape cost him dearly: two of his children lost their lives. The stark cruelty unleashed on an unsus¬pecting, undeserving population had touched me deeply.
I also saw flashbacks of the beggars that I pass each morning on my way to the office. Every day I see how poverty destroys dignity, robs men of the best of what it means to be human, and sometimes substitutes the worst of what it means to be an animal. I am haunted by the vacant eyes of people who have lost all hope.
"Reverend, you have not given me an answer. What will he say?"
The question hadn’t gone away. " ’Enough" I said. "He will shout, ’Enough!’ when he returns."
A look of surprise opened the face of the student. "What do you mean, enough?"
"Enough suffering. Enough starvation. Enough ter¬ror. Enough death. Enough indignity. Enough lives trapped in hopelessness. Enough sickness and disease. Enough time. Enough!"
— Gregory L. Fisher Los Angeles, California
The Night Before Jesus Came
’Twas the night before Jesus came, and all through the house
No one thought about God, neither I, nor my spouse.
We just went about our business each day,
Never giving a thought to what God had to say.
The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing their head;
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the late show while I took a nap.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,
I knew in a moment, it was judgment day!
The light of His face made me cover my head.
It was Jesus, returning! Just like He had said;
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him, in spite of myself.
In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
And when He said, "It’s not here," my head hung in
shame.
I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and had thus sealed my fate.
I cried out in anguish, as I realized my plight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight!
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear,
The coming of Jesus is drawing very near;
And though they deny it, when comes the last call,
Men will find that the Bible was true after all!
Jesus is coming again! While rebellious mankind denies it, the Father has decreed it, the Spirit declares it, and the Son will do it! He is coming again, and when He does, He will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Are you ready for His coming?
