Good evening. As I’m getting set up here, I want you to open up your copy of God’s Word to Acts, chapter 4. It should be on page 1,160 of your Pew Bibles. And after reading a portion of this, we’ll turn to Psalm 2. And the preaching of the word tonight will be from Psalm 2. Begin reading in chapter 4, verse 23. Peter and John were before the council. for preaching Christ. Let’s consider and listen to the very Word of God.
When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, why did the Gentiles rage in the people’s plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. For truly in the city they 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 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal.
And signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. And when they had prayed, place in which they were gathered together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Amen. If you turn now to Psalm 2. Let’s once again give attention to the very Word of God. Psalm 2.
Why do the nations rage and the people’s plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens laughs, and the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.
I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Now therefore, O kings, be wise. Be warned, O rulers of the earth, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the sun, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Amen. Word of the Lord. Would you pray with me? Father in heaven.
You’re so good to us. Oh, Father, we read your word, we thank you for it. What a blessing that you have preserved it for us, that you’ve given it to us, and that through it you reveal yourself. Help us now tonight. We’re tired, we’re weak, we’re frail, we’re sinners, saved only by grace. We need your strength, we need your spirit to lead us. And so we ask, Holy Spirit, lead us tonight. Guide us. Guide our hearts. Open them up. Pour your word into them.
Give us understanding, Father, but not mere intellectual knowledge. But Lord, help us to understand more of who you are, more of who Christ is, more of what the Spirit is doing. Guide and direct tonight, all for your glory. We ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen. Do you need refuge?
Think about those who were building the Tower of Babel. The whole earth coming together, that’s what the scripture tells us. The whole earth had one language and the same words. And as the people migrated, they found a plain and they come together and they said, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top to the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves.
They didn’t want the name of the Lord. They wanted their own name. They were sinning against God in such a outward and palpable way. They were raging against God. And these who were seeking to make a name for themselves actually needed refuge from themselves. Do you need refuge?
This Psalm 2 tonight would indicate the answer to that should be yes. And in a sense, Psalm 1 and 2 go together. So I’m glad we spent the last two Sunday nights studying Psalm 1, which kind of, in a sense, brings us here to this Psalm number 2. In a sense, Psalm 2 opens up portions of Psalm 1. Psalm 2 describes the depth and the collective nature of our sins. or high-mindedness. But it also expands the way in which God has chosen to deal with or to redeem a people for himself by and through his anointing of his righteous king. Psalm 2 shows us that we are in a ferocious, a fierce battle. which is in reality is a spiritual battle, a battle for the hearts and minds of the people.
And so we might be asking that question as we read through Psalm 1. How is it that this one described in Psalm 1 came to delight in the law? How is it that the one described in Psalm 1 meditates on the law day and night? How is it the one described in Psalm 1 does not stand with these kings, with these rulers in Psalm 2? And we get the answer. It’s only because of the anointed one. It’s only because of the king who’s been set in place on the mountain of mountains on Mount Zion to rule with all power, the one who would destroy all those who oppose him and who will bless all those who take refuge in him.
This evening I’d like us to see as we go through this psalm very quickly the wicked collectively and continually strive for independence while the children of God are drawn to worship him and seek refuge in his son, the king. The wicked collectively and continually strive for independence, while the children of God are drawn to worship him and seek refuge in his son, the king. We’ll see it in three points this evening.
First, the hard rebel strives against God’s plan. Secondly, the begotten anointed implements God’s plan. And finally, the true servant rejoices in God’s plan. As we’re going through this psalm, once again, be asking yourself that question, do I need refuge? First, the hard rebel strives against God’s plan. There’s actually a confession here in this psalm as it begins. It’s a precursor to actually understanding the psalm. And it’s a foundational truth of the psalm. Look at verse 2.
This is actually a confession of sorts, isn’t it? It’s certainly one thing for a nation to rage against another nation, or for men to war against other men, for countries to battle against each other. But it’s quite another thing for kings and rulers, and thus the peoples of their countries, to rage against the living God.
In order to do this, even to think of this, it must necessarily mean that these recognize and acknowledge and believe that God is. This is not a psalm that denies the existence of God. This is a psalm that begins with the premise that God exists, that he made all things, that he calls them, he calls everyone to be subject to him, and so the psalmist here is just setting the table. He’s not referring to those who would claim there is no God. He’s referring to those who would acknowledge, indeed, that there is a creator God and that, in essence, what makes this psalm, the beginning of this psalm, such an eye-opener is that these kings, these rulers, these nations are recognizing it.
And as a result, they rage. Why they rage is a deep question. And we might answer that just simply by saying, well, it’s because We’re sinners. But what is rage? My favorite dictionary, Webster’s 1828, describes it this way, violent anger accompanied with furious words, gestures, or agitation.
That’s the idea. We spoke about passions this morning, that God is passionless, so to speak, but man has many passions, and sometimes one of those passions is rage. described further as violent exacerbation of anything painful. Extreme violence. That’s the idea.
The nations, the rulers, the kings, plotting in vain, raging against God. We might define rage this way. and unrighteous anger with much ungodly agitation in which the raging plan and devised schemes that are intended to break free from the creator God.” Seems to be the idea here in this psalm. But the psalmist here adds to that definition by telling us that this rage is common to, oh, why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
Many times we focus on the kings and the rulers. Oh, it’s those guys. No. The psalmist is asking the question about the nations, the peoples. There are two sides in this psalm, and that is God and his created moral creatures. And the psalmist here includes all of the second part there, the created moral creatures in one lump sum, nations, the peoples, kings of the earth, the rulers.
Everyone’s included. Everyone descended from Adam by ordinary generation is included here. No one is accepted. No one is carved out. It’s all inclusive, just like Genesis 6, chapter 6, verse 5, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great. in the earth, and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Moses didn’t carve out certain people who weren’t like that.
Everyone. The same thing here in Psalm 2. The nations, the peoples. This rage is unified. I think that’s the idea that the psalmist is trying to convey to us. It’s unified. It’s not the description of individual rage. It’s a description of collective rage. The nations, the peoples, they plot in vain. It’s a coming together like the Tower of Babel.
We get the sense at Babel that all moral creatures came together to build a tower. The whole earth had one language and the same words. They found a plane. And they said to one another, I’ve got a good idea. Let’s collectively join together. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together. It’s a unified front against God and his anointed.
But the question still stands, why? Why rage against God, individually or collectively? Why do the nations rage, the people’s plot in vain? We could say, simply put, it’s because we hate God. As we are born of Adam, we are born in hatred. We’re born in corruption. We’re just born despising all efforts, all truths that seek to place us under the authority of another.
In Adam, we believe we’re autonomous. That means we’re self-governed. That’s our thought. We believe we have a right to determine how we live our lives, what’s the end or the purpose of our lives. In Adam, we believe that no one, including our Maker, the Creator God, has the right to exercise governance or place just rules over our thoughts, our words, and definitely not over our actions.
That’s the corruption that we inherit from Adam. We’ve concluded that we are the best judges of what is right and wrong, like Eve in the garden as she takes a look at the forbidden fruit. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, the tree was desired to make one wise, she took. You see the analysis she goes through when she sits on the throne and she comes to the conclusion that God is no longer ruling my life.
Therefore, no one, not even the Creator, can tell us anything different than what we believe is right. In our corruption, thus, we hate and rebel against any attempt to be governed. In fact, we stop our ears when we’re being told what is truly right and wrong in the Word of God. But it doesn’t stop there.
Our raging against God is also because we disdain his holiness. The people plot against God in vain because he is holy, recognizing our sin, our unrighteousness, which is what we do. Romans chapter one tells us that we know. We know we transgress the law of God. It’s written upon our hearts. And as we recognize our sin, our unrighteousness, our lack of love and compassion, our bitterness, our self-centeredness, we know that we’re not right in the eyes of God, and yet we rage against him.
Paul puts it this way at the end of chapter one, though they know God’s righteous decrees that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. That’s raging against God. The raging nations, the plotting peoples know they stand condemned before God and therefore do all things to hide from his eyes their sin, which is raging, which is plotting, which is a seeking to destroy or cast off the eyes of God.
Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. Isn’t that the idea? Isn’t that what the psalmist is saying? I don’t want you to see this. No, no. Isn’t that what a criminal does? A thief who seeks to avoid being caught. A criminal will seek to hide his thievery. He will seek to lead the governing authorities, the police, astray. He will seek to cover up his crimes so that it can’t be seen, just like Adam and Eve.
As they take the forbidden fruit, what happens? Then the eyes of both were opened. See, they see each other. They now are able to recognize and see sin because it’s fully exposed. And they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. They’re trying to cover up that which they now know about themselves. They are transgressors. They are lawbreakers. They are indeed even haters of God, and they try to cover it. But not only from each other. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
That’s exactly what we do as we rage against God. We’re seeking to thwart his plans, to burst his bonds, to cast away his cord from us. And so not only do we actively rage against and oppose it, when we do break his law, then we try to hide. We don’t want our sin to be seen. because we don’t want to be judged for it. You see? See, that’s a picture of our heart. Many times we think, well, he’s, the psalmist is writing about somebody else.
But the hard rebel strives against God’s plan. That brings us to our second point, that the begotten anointed, in parenthesis, Jesus Christ, implements God’s plan. The begotten anointed implements God’s plan. Well, there’s a cosmic battle set forth here in this psalm, isn’t there? As part of the introduction to all Psalms, the unfolding description of what is here set forth in this Psalm, we see a cosmic battle, this war that’s being waged between good and evil, between God and corrupt man. And it’s a description of how we as a sinful people in Adam fight against God, against his anointed, and his response. His response of defeat for many, but also his response of grace for many.
And so we have this picture as if it were a movie scene, the scene of a great congregation coming together, all people’s all nations worldwide and their rulers being gathered together in one large assembly, plotting, planning, devising, scheming against God. That’s the first movie scene, so to speak.
The description seems to portray them thinking through their plan, and that their plan is going on in secret. They’ve covered their rooms. They’ve closed the windows. They’ve closed the doors. They’re doing this secretly, such that God can’t see. and that the divine one, the one who created them, will be surprised when we actually execute our plan of attack.
Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. We’ve got that scene, and now the camera immediately shifts. And if it were a movie, we’d just have a new scene unfolding before our eyes as the camera continues filming. And the image appearing on the screen is not that of this great assembly of nations, of peoples, of rulers, of kings, but of God sitting on his throne in the heaven above heavens.
What is he doing? Has he entered into the, I think it’s called the situation room? Is he sitting down at a desk and Sketching out war plans, seeking to build up an army, consider what weapons to use against these rebels. No. He who sits in the heavens laughs.
That’s his response. That’s the response of an all-powerful, omnipotent, everywhere-present God. He has seen. He sees everything. He’s watching the nations, the peoples, the rulers, the kings as they plan this attack, their attack to break his bonds and cast away his cords, and his response is laughing. That’s a response of a sovereign God, response of a living God who made all things. It’s the response of the living God to the plans of those who rage against him and his anointed.
And he’s laughing not because what the people are doing is funny. Please don’t misunderstand this. This is certainly not a laughable scene. It’s an awful scene of wretched sin, of corruption, of disobedience. And yet the corruptness of the heart of man must be shown and known through the laughing of God.
He laughs because of their corrupt and limited minds, which have occurred because of Adam’s sin. And these minds truly believe that they can do something to oppose the plans of God. God laughs because they are finite creatures, misunderstanding, woefully misunderstanding, corruptly misunderstanding, denying their understanding of their finiteness, of their bounded creatureliness before an infinite creator. He who sits in the heavens laugh, the Lord holds them in derision.” That word helps us a little bit understand God laughing. And that word derision could be translated as mocks. He mocks them.
What a way to describe the way in which God responds to the raging of men against him.” Well, what then is the battle plan of God? As the kings and rulers of the nations are determining which weapons of war they will use against God, as they’re assembling their armies, as they’re putting them in ranks and training them, what does God’s battle plan look like? How will he, the God of creation, defeat these created rebels? Remember, it’s a cosmic battle.
How will the living God deal with this uprising, these sinners, these hateful, ungrateful, these straying peoples? How will the Lord of Lords and King of Kings put down this rebellion and win the day? He not only laughs, but he speaks in wrath. Did you see that? So first, the first part of his battle plan, then he will speak to them in his wrath.
That’s step one of the remedy for this rebellion, the very word of God. Did you notice as we read from Acts chapter four that the apostles were actually following that route as they had been told not to preach Christ? After they were released, And after Luke, as he quotes from this psalm, why do the Gentiles rage at the people’s plot? See, Luke was seeing that that’s exactly what the rulers of the day were doing, raging against God by confining Peter and John as they were speaking about Christ. What’s the end result?
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. That’s the result. Do you get the parallel? The religious, if I can put it that way, the religious rulers of the day seeking to bind their mouths so that they wouldn’t speak of Christ. They are released. They recognize exactly what’s happening in accordance with Psalm 2. And what happens? They go out and continue to preach Christ with boldness.
That’s God’s battle plan. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury. The remedy for this rebellion. Remember God speaking on top of Mount Sinai as the people heard him. The people cry out to Moses, you speak to us and we’ll listen but do not let God speak to us lest we die. Hearing the very word of God is terrifying. The voice of God is fearful. Consider what the Lord says.
The second part of God’s battle plan. Yes he speaks. As for me, I’ve set my king on Zion, my holy hill. The only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is set as king. Who is raging against God? Well, certainly the nations and the peoples, but kings of the earth, rulers taking counsel But who’s the real king? Who’s the true king? It’s only Christ.
I will tell of the decree. God is speaking. God has decreed. God has determined who will be king. And he now sets him in place. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. That’s the solution. That’s the battle plan.
Ask of me and I will make the ends Oh, make the nations your heritage, the ends of the earth your possession. He not only sets him forth as king, now he gives him an inheritance. For every beast of the field is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. Everything is now granted to Christ. Daniel describes it this way. We heard this this morning. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people’s nations and languages should serve him. Do you see Babel there? Do you see Psalm 2 there? Yes, of course. All peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. In his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. An inheritance, a kingship, and a kingdom over which to rule, and most particularly, a people, the people of God.
From John 17, as Jesus is praying that high priestly prayer, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me. Do you see? The battle plan of God, setting him forth as king, giving him an inheritance, and then giving him all power and authority.
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Seemingly a reference to defeating those rebels who would remain in eternal unrepentant rebellion, but also seemingly a reference to dashing to pieces the hardness of our hearts in Adam. She’ll break them with a rod of iron. Oh, that’s the battle plan, isn’t it? breaking apart the stony hearts of the children of God and granting new fleshly hearts.
No tanks, no bombs, no battleships, no fast flying jet aircraft, no drones, just the anointed one on the throne, the holy hill of God. That’s it. That’s God’s battle plan to address this rebellion and to restore his kingdom, which was overrun by sin, so to speak. God’s will will prevail. And the psalmist is telling us that. Yes, there’s a cosmic battle going on, but we know who will prevail.
Isaiah 46. Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. God, there’s none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient times, things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand. I will accomplish all my purpose.
Yes, he frustrates the plans of the peoples, Psalm 33. And as the great creator of all things, he upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest even to the least. Westminster Confession 5. Isn’t that what Psalm 2 is telling us? That God’s battle plan has already prevailed and will continue to prevail until Jesus returns. Praise God. The rebellion has been put down and will continue to be put down and his people will be saved by grace as he has placed his anointed one on his holy hill, given him an inheritance and all power and authority.
Brings us to our third point. The true servant rejoices in God’s plan. Now we come to the exact opposite of the beginning. Why do the nations rage? The psalm ends with this, that the true servant does rejoice God’s plan. That’s the solution, isn’t it?
How are you to live before a holy God when your heart is inclined to rebellion and you know and continue to in such will result not in mere defeat but in eternal and everlasting wrath and terror and turmoil? Kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled. How are you to live?
There must be a cataclysmic, a cosmic, complete and comprehensive change to your heart in order to live before a holy God and his anointed one who will not relinquish his kingship. One must be changed from having an attitude, a heart and mind of disdain and hatred and rebellion against the creator to a heart of submission and love and humility and praise and adoration and rejoicing. for and in the Lord Jesus Christ. That kind of heart is described, look at verse 10.
Now therefore, oh kings, be wise, be warned. There’s no wisdom in rebellion. There’s no wisdom in raging and vain plotting. In order to receive this warning, and that’s exactly what it is, One must be wise, and the only way you can be wise in the eyes of God is to have that truly softened heart. He’s got to break your heart with a rod of iron. He must give you a new heart.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. We see here that bringing together of opposites, don’t we? Serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling. How do you do that? How does one come to this complete change from raging to serving the Lord with fear? How does a sinner go from hating God and his son and plotting vainly against God and his son to serving in fear, rejoicing and with trembling? And you have to say with me, only by being born again. That’s the only way. And then, serve with fear. We usually think of fear as that bad thing which is driven by a distinct possibility of coming hurt and pain. But that’s not what the psalmist means here. Serve, that call to be submissive, to be one with a humble heart. Jesus speaks of that, the meek one. Exactly the opposite of seeking to cast away his cords from you.
To serve. to do so with a desire, a longing to that which pleases God, and yet combining that with an attitude of fear, bringing these two things together, so that we might come to the conclusion that you can’t really serve well if you’re not doing it in fear. You can’t serve with a heart of gratitude if you’re not doing it in fear. You can’t serve with a heart of thankfulness if you’re not doing it fearfully. You can’t serve in joy with a joyful spirit if you’re not doing it in fear. We have the wrong idea about what it is to fear God.
They go together. The psalmist brings them together and he’ll work that out. The psalmist, those who wrote the Psalms, will work that out to the rest 148 Psalms. He brings these two seemingly contrastive ideas together, so we must read them in a complementary way.
We must understand that it’s impossible to rightly and fully and truly serve God with your whole heart, mind, and soul if you don’t do it with a fearful attitude. See, the new heart trusts in the goodness of Jesus Christ, doesn’t it? That as you serve in fear, you serve with the knowledge and belief and trust that the Lord is good, and you know, you know, As he rules and reigns over all things that he is bringing to you his goodness in everything because he’s good and loving and compassionate and kind and gentle and caring and master who seeks and desires your salvation. And so to serve in fear means that you know he’s bringing his promises to completion. And that you will indeed spend eternity with him in bliss and eternal joy, sitting at his feet in the beauty of his radiance and light. That’s what serving in fear means. That you know and believe and trust that he will use all things for your salvation, especially your service, especially your labors.
They will not be burdensome, but he will carry your load and give you his light burden. Indeed, if you’re trusting in Christ today, he has already carried the heavy load for you. Meaning that he took on the eternal wrath of God that you deserved. And in exchange, he’s given you an abundant life.
That’s what serving in fear means. That you recognize, as we spoke this morning, the power of the resurrection. That you’re looking forward to that day when you’ll be resurrected with him to continue serving him in glory as you’re bathed in his glory. This is how you can rejoice with trembling. For you see, these two clauses are in parallel, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. In essence, they mean the same thing.
And this leads you to taking refuge in him, doesn’t it? That was the question. Do you need refuge? Are you taking refuge? Kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Kissing the son is submitting to him, isn’t it? Willingly, lovingly, and joyfully. While it may appear that your problem is the anger of the son, the coming wrath of God, The root of your problem is your sin, and thus you need refuge from your sin. And the only place to find true refuge from your sin is in Christ.
For he, he’s the only begotten. He’s the powerful king who can do and does all things. Nothing’s impossible for him. This conversion from raging to serving in joy seems to be an impossibility, but that’s the battle plan of the Lord. It’s the work of redemption.
Do you believe that? Do you believe that tonight we’re all in the category of those who rage against God or once were, and do you believe that now that God has taken you from being one of those who was raging against him to now one who serves him in fear, trembling with joy, Has He moved you? Has He transported you? Has He converted you? It’s only in the Lord Jesus Christ that you can truly have refuge from your sin. If you’re here tonight or if you’re watching and you’re saying, I haven’t taken refuge in Christ. I don’t know what that looks like. But I know what my sin looks like.
So he’s calling you today, even now. Listen diligently to me. Eat what is good. Delight yourselves in rich food. That’s Jesus Christ calling out to those who are yet in rebellion. Incline your ear. Come to me. The offer is open to all. And so he calls. If you haven’t taken refuge in Christ, he’s still calling.
Cry out to him. But if you have, are you praising him? For he is now your shelter, your shelter from this rebellion, from this raging. And he has changed you. He’s changed you into a servant, a submissive servant who is able to kiss him. You see that?
Those who rage against God are unable to come that close to Christ. But as he’s changed your heart, now you’re able, you’re enabled to get so close to your Savior and express your heartfelt love for Him, your desire to be with Him with a kiss. What a way the psalmist puts it. Come, Christ has opened the door and He welcomes you.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Yes, the wicked collectively and continually strive for independence while the children of God are drawn to worship him, and I might add, kiss him, and seek refuge in his son, the king. Those at the Tower of Babel didn’t know it, but they needed refuge from themselves. Friends, we do too.
And what a blessing it is to know Christ in such a way that you’re able to kiss him. Praise be to the Lord. Amen. Father and our God, we thank you for this psalm. We thank you for these two psalms, this opening up of this beautiful book of prayers, a book of songs, a book of praise for you. Oh Lord, we pray that you’d use both of them together for us as we seek to study your word and open more, more of these Psalms, the rest 148. Father, pour out your grace on us, make us those humble, loving servants that serve in fear and tremble with joy at the feet of Christ. We ask these things all in his name. Amen.