2-15-05
Title: The Lord’s Ultimate Victory
Text: Psalm 2
Introduction
There are three types of messianic psalms within the book of psalms.
There are the “direct messianic,” which contain the prophesies of Christ’s coming, and relate to Him alone (such as Psalms 22, 45, 72, and 110).
There are the “typically messianic,” which refer to some historical situation concerning an earthly king who is a type of Christ.
And there are the psalms that contain a mixture of the first two.
I’ll read Psalm 2, and then show what type it is.
1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
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 break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Psalm 2 speaks of rebellious mankind, and about Jesus.
It has been called the drama of the ages.
It contains an important announcement concerning the outcome of events and forces at work in the world today.
As we read through it, the first thing we hear is the voices of the masses.
We hear little man speaking his little peace and playing his part—as Shakespeare puts it, “A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage” of life.
Next, God the Father speaks, and then God the Son speaks and God the Holy Spirit has the last word.
This is a psalm about our Savior, and it gives a prophesy concerning the kingdom of God.
There is nothing that is not applicable to Christ.
For instance, "Thou art my Son, I will give thee the uttermost parts of the earth,’’ verses 7 and 8, and verse 12, "Kiss the Son.’’
Therefore, this psalm is classified as “direct messianic.”
Here the Holy Ghost speaks of four things:
Bitter opposition from the Lord’s enemies (vv. 1-3).
Calm assurance in the face of opposition (vv. 4-6).
The divine promise to the Lord’s anointed (vv. 7-9).
An exhortation to submit to the Son of God as Lord (vv. 10-12).
Let’s look at each of these beginning with:
Bitter Opposition from the Lord’s Enemies (vv. 1-3).
The writer of the psalm was David, and in it he expresses both wonder and amazement that nations would dare to defy God.
Right off the bat, he asks the question, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?”
“Rage” means to stir up riots.
“Imagine” means to plot or calculate ways to discredit God and His people.
And a “vain thing” refers to something that is futile and empty of meaning.
So, another way to say verse 1 is, “Why do unbelievers stir up people to riot, and plot ways to discredit God and Christians, since all their efforts are futile?”
The thing that has brought together mankind in a great movement will never be fulfilled, will never be accomplished.
It is an empty futile thing that has brought mankind together.
So, what is it?
It is in verse 2: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed…”
“The kings of the earth” are the political leaders, and “the rulers who take council together” are the religious leaders.
Not only do you have the masses of mankind in this protest movement, but the establishment has joined in with it.
Religious and political leaders are joining together.
Now what is it they are protesting and who is it they are against?
It is “the Lord and His Anointed.”
There is a great world wide movement that is against God and against Christ.
Now when did this movement begin?
The Bible can tell us that too.
Over in verse 24 of the forth chapter of the Book of Acts, when the first persecution of Christians broke out, we’re told that the apostles Peter and John, after they had been threatened, returned back to the church to give their report
The Bible says, “And when they (the other disciples) heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God…” (Acts 4:24).
Today, many people, even in churches, are not sure about God.
They wonder as they listen to unbelievers, atheists, and God hatters.
But the early church had no misgivings and no questions.
Listen as I put verse 25 with verse 24.
“…Lord, thou art God, which hath made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?”
As you can see they were quoting Psalm 2.
The next verse, number 26 says, “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the lord, and against His Christ.”
Now, the Holy Spirit gives us His interpretation with verse 27: “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.”
Here is where the movement begins.
This is a movement against God and Christ.
It has been snowballing as it has come down through the centuries, and it will finally breakout in a world wide revolution against God and against Christ.
Now, some of you may want to ask me if I really believe the world is getting worse.
My answer is, “I believe that in some ways it’s getting worse and in other ways it’s getting better.
Today, the good is growing.
Did you know that there is more Bible teaching going on today than in any period of the history of the world.
All across this land there are many radio stations that are dedicated to broadcasting the Word of God.
The Word is going out in ways it has never gone out before; television, books, the internet, and movies like the Passion of Christ.
Besides that, there are more churches, more missionaries and more professing Christians than ever before.
But brothers and sisters, I want to tell you evil is also growing.
There is opposition to God and Christ today that is unbelievable.
I believe atheism is growing all over the world.
And there has been nothing like that in the past.
No nation of the ancient world, that great pagan world of the past, was atheistic.
Not one.
Someone says, “I thought they were.”
No, they were the opposite.
They were polytheistic.
None were atheistic.
They worshipped many Gods.
You see, they were to close to the times when God revealed Himself.
Noah knew a man who knew Adam.
When you are that close to it, you do not deny God.
In Noah’s day the world was filled with violence, but there wasn’t an atheist in the crowd.
When God gave the Ten Commandments, He didn’t give any one of them against atheism.
But He gave two against polytheism: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Ex. 20”3-4).
He gave these two commandments against polytheism, none were against atheism.
Why?
There were no atheists.
Now when you get to the time of David, you meet atheist, and there were a great many atheists by that time.
David labels them though.
He says, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God…” (Ps. 14:1).
The word fool in the Hebrew means “Insane.”
The insane, the nutty individual, is the one who is the atheist.
Of course, he may be a professor in a university.
But the Bible says he is insane.
It is insane for any man or woman to say there is no God.
Folks, there is a great build up of opposition against God and against Christ in this day in which we live.
And, who is the one in charge of the opposition.
It is Satan, and he is committed to opposing God, and His servants, and His work on earth.
He leads an organized opposition composed of rulers and nations that are hostile to God and righteousness.
They “council together,” and then take their stand against God.
Historically, verse 3 reflects the attitude of David’s enemies towards his subjection of them.
They said, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”
They rebelled in an attempt to shake off the unwelcome yoke of Israel from their necks, even though David had not dealt more harshly with his opponents than necessary.
His wars were defensive, designed to protect the land God had given to Israel through Abraham.
This is a picture of an unbeliever’s resistance to God, who desires to be “Lord” of his or her life.
They resist to the point that they break the bands or cords that God places on human-kind.
Marriage is one.
God has made marriage for the welfare of mankind.
Whether you are a Christian or not, God has given marriage to mankind.
Today they not only want to get rid of it; they are getting rid of it
God gave marriage, and God intends for it to be followed.
But they say, “Let’s break their bands asunder.”
The Ten Commandments are another one of the bands God has placed around us.
When someone says that we no longer need to keep the Ten Commandments, they are wrong.
We are not saved by keeping them—you may have tried it, and found that it doesn’t work—but I’ll say this: God gave them, and He gave them to protect mankind.
They are thrown out the door today, and right now we are experiencing lawlessness in this country, because crime is not being punished.
There has been a terrible toll of lives that would not have been sacrificed if the laws were enforced.
You see, we are living in a day when the prevailing philosophy is, “Let us break their bands asunder, let’s cast away their cords from us. We want to be free and do as we please.”
God says we can’t make it that way.
It won’t work.
We’ve got old evil natures that need to be restrained.
But mankind is moving toward getting rid of all restraints today.
It is disturbing as we look at the world in which we are living.
In politics there is confusion.
In the moral realm there is corruption and scandal.
In the spiritual sphere there is compromise and indifference.
And in the social sphere there is comfort.
This affluent society has never had it so easy, and their goal is to make it easier.
We are living in that kind of day.
It is disturbing, and I have to admit to you, I do worry about it a little.
Next, I Want to Talk About the Calm Assurance in the Face of Opposition (vv. 4-6)
In the forth verse, David presents the Lord as being “amused” at the foolish actions of his enemies, but it is the amusement of contempt.
He said, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”
What kind of laughter is this?
Let me say at the outset that it is not the laughter of humor.
He is not being funny.
You can find humor in the Bible, but not here.
Folks, it’s going to be thrilling to be with Him some day.
We’re going to have a wonderful time with Him.
It’s going to be fun, and I am looking forward to that.
I believe God does have a sense of humor, and there is humor in His Word.
We are told, “He that settith in the heavens shall laugh…”
Since this is not the laughter of humor, what is it?
Well, look at it from God’s viewpoint—little man down there parading up and down, shaking his midget fist in heaven’s face and saying, “Come on out and fight with me! I am against You.”
God looks down at the puny little creature.
It’s utterly preposterous.
It is so ridiculous!
He looks down and laughs.
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”
It is so utterly ridiculous, folks.
Little men putting themselves in opposition to God won’t be around very long.
Mussolini did a lot of talking, and we haven’t heard from him lately.
Stalin did the same thing, and he is gone.
So are Hitler and the other God-haters.
Little man plays his brief role here on the stage of life, and then his part is over.
How ridiculous and preposterous for him to oppose God!
I am certain that when God’s hour comes (the Bible calls it “the Day of the Lord”), He will blaze forth in righteous anger.
Verse 5 says, “Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.”
This is the judgment that is coming upon this earth.
What effect will man’s opposition have on God’s program?
God is going forward to accomplish His purpose.
What little man does down here will not deter Him at all.
God did not read something in the morning paper that He didn’t already know about.
There is nothing that has surprised Him at all.
He is moving according to His program.
I believe He has a two-fold purpose in this world.
I think He has a heavenly purpose and an earthly purpose.
Right now He is working on His heavenly purpose.
The writer to the Hebrews expressed this in Hebrews 2:10; it is “…bringing many sons unto glory…”
God today is calling out of this world a people to His name.
That is His present purpose.
However, God has another purpose and it is stated in verse 6.
“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
God is moving forward today undeviatingly, unhesitatingly, and uncompromisingly to establish the throne on which Jesus Christ will set on this earth.
I hear folks say, “If the Lord delay His coming.”
Where in the world did that idea come from?
He is not delaying anything.
He is going to come on schedule—His schedule, not mine, because I don’t know when He is coming.
He is running on schedule and nothing will stop Him.
Nothing can cause Him to change His plans.
Next, let’s consider the divine promise to the Lord’s anointed (vv 7-9).
Look at verse 7 again: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
If you’ve studied the Bible, then you know that the Lord Jesus executes all the decries of God.
This is a verse that the Jehovah Witnesses use a lot.
I wish they would listen long enough to find out what it means.
It would help them a great deal to find out that it has no reference to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ—which they would see if only they would turn to the New Testament and let the Holy Spirit interpret.
This verse was quoted by the apostle Paul when he preached in Antioch.
This was, I believe, one of his greatest sermons; and he was talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Acts 13:33 he said, “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that 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.”
The reference in the second psalm is not to the birth of Jesus.
He never was begotten in the sense of having a beginning.
Rather, this is in reference to His resurrection.
Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and God is the eternal Father.
You cannot have an eternal Father without having an eternal Son.
They were this through out eternity.
This is their position in the Trinity.
It hasn’t anything to do with someone being born, but it does have something to do with someone being begotten from the dead.
It has to do with resurrection.
I’m afraid the Jehovah’s Witnesses have not heard this, but they could find, with a little honest searching, that the New Testament makes it very clear Jesus Christ is not a creature.
He is the God-man.
Psalm 2:7 maintains this doctrine.
And, God the Father continues in verse 8:
“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”
This is God’s promise to David that the heathen nations that surrounded Israel would be subservient to him.
In verse 9 we see the ease in which the Savior will shatter His opposition at the end of time.
“Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Martin Luther made this observation in regard to our “wills” at the time we receive Jesus as Savior.
He said, “For He slays our will in order to establish His own will in us. He puts to death the flesh and its lust in order to make alive in us the Spirit and the things He desires.”
No one ever comes to faith in Jesus Christ on their own.
The Holy Spirit comes first to prepare their heart for the call to salvation.
It’s when we respond in faith to the pull of the Holy Spirit that we are saved.
Finally, Consider the Appeal to Submit to the Son of God as Savior (vv. 10-12).
In verses 10 and 11, David expresses his own feelings.
“Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
Have you ever noticed that God in the history of this world has always gotten a message to the rulers of this world?
There are no exceptions.
Down yonder in the land of ancient Egypt, there was a Pharaoh on the throne, and there was a boy named Joseph in prison.
God kept him in prison so that at the right moment he could bring him out to make him the prime minister of Pharaoh at one of the most crucial periods in the history of the world.
That is the way God does it.
Down yonder when the first great world power, Babylon, came into existence, God put the man Daniel at the side of Nebuchadnezzar.
He not only became his prime minister, but also he brought him to a saving knowledge of the living God.
And God kept him there until Cyrus, the Persian, came to the throne.
And Cyrus even made his decree in the name of the living God.
Napoleon said that he was a man of destiny, and that he was told that God had raised him up.
It is interesting how God has gotten His Word to the rulers of the earth and to those who are in high places.
God the Holy Spirit says to the rulers: “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
And he also says, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
Folks, The Spirit of God is in the world today saying to mankind, “Kiss the Son before it’s too late. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ before it’s too late.”
He is coming some day, and He is going to establish His kingdom here on this earth.
He is going to rule and He will put down all rebellion.
He will bring peace and harmony to this little earth.
Conclusion
“Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
One’s faith may be as slender as a spider’s web or as small as a grain of mustard seed; but if it’s real, one is blessed by God.
He honors any genuine faith expressed toward Him.
If you will have faith in Him, then He will give you the greatest gift there is; the gift of eternal life.
