The World is Coming to and End - But we have a King

I call your attention to something that we were just singing together. It was in the form of a prayer, "Help me to live dependent upon your grace." As born-again people, we are living dependent upon His grace. Well, I want to twist that a little bit by saying that our prayer needs to be, "Lord, help me to live dependent upon your Word." Each time we meet together, we're studying God's Word together, and we should live dependent on His Word, dependent on His grace to take His Word and apply it to who we are and where we are in just the way we need it. You know, the Lord knows how we need His Word, and He can apply it to us.

And that is my prayer with what we're studying this morning, that we will live dependent on His Word. Well, if you would take your Bible and turn back to Psalm 2, I know I threw us all a curveball by going to Psalm 2 instead of our series in Ephesians, but I want us to take the time to study verses 1 to 12. Like I said, this is something that's been on my mind for a while, and I have made it a point of prayer about when the Lord would want me to share this with all of us. Now I think we all know that right before us is Thanksgiving. Are we not all getting ready for Thanksgiving? I hope you are.

I know I am, Thanksgiving and the Thanksgiving holiday is right here on us. And I don't think I have to tell you that Thanksgiving is a big part of our culture. But for us as believers, Thanksgiving is a time where we should be thankful to God for the blessings that God has given us. And that is no matter the circumstances that we may find ourselves in. And that is no matter the time that we may find ourselves in. And you know we learn that we should be thankful and be a thankful people in every time and in all the days that we live.

We study this in Ephesians 5, verse 4, the fact that we should be a very thankful people and we should live with the spirit of Thanksgiving. But for some of you, thankfulness is not what's in your heart. For some of you, a thankful spirit is not what is dominating your heart. Fear and worry and a fretful spirit is what's in your heart. Some of you really struggle with stress and worry when you look at how sinful our culture has become and is becoming. If we look at the political and the moral and the spiritual landscape of our country and the direction things are going, we can allow ourselves to become really worried.

We can look at what's taking place all around the world. You know things like a war in the Ukraine. We can become fretful and we can allow ourselves to fall into the sin of worry and that can rob us. Most of all it can rob us of a spirit of Thanksgiving. But we need to see that we have nothing to fear as God's people. We should not be fretful in any way. We have a king and his name is Jesus. Although the world seems to be falling apart, it is really falling into place because Jesus is king and he is in total absolute control. With those things before us, I want us to look at a message from Psalm 2 that will help keep us from fear and worry.

It might even rescue you from fear and worry. And I think this will help move us into a spirit of trust and into a place of security and into a spirit of Thanksgiving. Not just for the week, no, but for all of the days and the years before us. Now before us we have Psalm 2. And it's interesting if you do a little study, scholars tell us that Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 were one in the Hebrew Bible. But they both have a very different message. The overall message of Psalm 1 focuses on the Word or the Word of God. But the overall message of Psalm 2 focuses on the world. And that is where I believe we need a message from the Lord this morning.

I believe we need to see what God's Word says about the world that we live in. Now I see Psalm 2, the verses here in Psalm 2 is four windows, four windows. We have four windows in these verses which allow us to see four scenes. And we will see that these windows tell us a story. We know here in our sanctuary we have some very beautiful stained glass windows. I don't think I have to tell you that. You look around you in every direction. There's some very beautiful and old stained glass windows. And if you know the history of stained glass windows in the church, you know that the stained glass windows had a very practical purpose.

First of all, let's light in. That's always been one of the purposes. But one of the reasons for stained glass windows in church history was communication. Certain times of church history most people could not even read and write. So stained glass windows in churches told Bible stories for the people to see and understand. And of course that was very educational. It was very worshipful. Well Psalm 2, in Psalm 2 here we're going to look at four windows which tell us four individual stories. All of these windows, all of these stories come together to give us what the Bible commentator J. Vernon McGee calls the drama for the ages.

The drama for the ages. And I'll come back to that phrase at the end of the message. So I want us to look at these four windows and we're going to look at them one at a time. It would be easy for you to follow me. So window number one is man's rebellion. And it comes out of verses 1 to 3. Let's look back at the verses. The psalmist says, "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" That's a question. "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.'" Now mark it down, write it down.

These verses that we've just read verses 1 to 3, they're all about man's rebellion and man's rebellion against God. This all started in the garden. This started when Eve and Adam disobeyed God and since the day that Eve and Adam sinned, rebellion has plagued man and mankind in all of the world. And here we have not just the story of rebellion but a description of that rebellion as well. So we have this window picturing man's rebellion against God. Nations have literally taken up arms. Mankind has fired the first shots against God.

And in these verses we will see the thoughts and the actions of peoples and nations and we will see the details of this rebellion. So first this rebellion, I want us to see that it is assumed. Notice in verse 1 that we have a question but this question declares that we have a rebellion underway. The verse reads, "Why do the nations rage, not are the nations raging?" You see? Notice a few details about the rebellion. The people rage, the English Standard Version says. The New American says that they are in an uproar. Verse means to plot or to growl. One commentator says they are seething in revolt here.

And it goes on to say the kings take their stand. Verse 2 goes from people to their leaders. Instead of stopping the revolt in the people, the kings and the rulers take counsel the text says. They join in an alliance. Together the people and the kings and the nations form this rebellion. And we see this rebellion from peoples and nations and kings. And then second this rebellion is against. Here in the English Standard and the New American they say the same thing. This rebellion is against God and against His anointed. And this word anointed in the Hebrew word here is for His Messiah. It speaks of the Messiah. And this is prophetic.

This is messianic. This speaks of God's anointed, His anointed Messiah. And we know who that is. This was and is Jesus. So we have this rebellion. It's against God but it's more. It's against God's son, His anointed one. And then third this rebellion is acted out. Here in verse 3 we see a quote from the nations, from the peoples. This is an answer to verse 1. Notice that. In verse 1 it says why do the nations rage? The nations rage because they want to break free from God is what the text says. The nations do not want to be submissive to God and His Lordship. They want autonomy. They want freedom from God.

They see God and His commands as bondage. Instead of seeing God's commands as cords of compassion. They see His commands as a yoke of bondage. And just like Eve and Adam in the garden they believe the devils lie and they all want to be like God. So we see this rebellion is acted out by peoples and nations and kings against God. And then fourth we see this rebellion is in vain. Here we go back to verse 1. This word vain simply means empty. They rage. They devise. They form alliances all against God, all against His son. And the text says that it's all in vain. So we see this rebellion is in vain. It is completely and totally empty.

So notice what we have here. We have a window before us and it's portraying the history of men and mankind. This is from God's perspective now not from man's perspective. Peoples and nations and kings have rebelled against God. They have broken the compassionate confines of God's holy word and holy law. They have broken away from God's sovereign rule over them. This is man's rebellion. We need to see the full picture here. Mankind and nations and kings rebelling against God. This is seen all throughout the Old Testament.

The story of the Old Testament is the story of peoples and kings and nations rebelling against God, against God's people, and against God's ways. The Old Testament book of Amos is a great example and that book clearly shows us this fact. But we see this in the New Testament as well. The entire time Jesus was on earth we had peoples and kings and nations and they conspired and rebelled against God's anointed. In Acts chapter 4 verses 25 to 38 shows us that the early church understood Psalm chapter 2 in light of their times. They saw Pilate and the Romans here in verses 1, 2, and 3. They saw the Jewish leaders in verses 1, 2, and 3.

They understood that both the Gentile nations and the Jewish nation rebelled against God and rebelled against his anointed one. For us in our day notice what we must see. This is going on in our day. These verses are taking place in our world and in our nation. This is happening all around us. Now I want to take some time here and ask you some questions. I ask you rhetorical questions at times and I am wanting you to engage in your mind and in your heart. And I want you to think with me about these questions. Why does our culture allow the murder of innocent babies in the womb? It is because the peoples and the rulers rage against God.

It is because the people and the nations and kings rage against God. They rage against His commands. They rage against God's sovereign rule. And they rage against the innocent human life in the womb. Why does our culture hate God's word? Why does our culture hate the church and God's people and more and more and more? It is because the peoples and the rulers and the nations rage against God. They rage against God's people. They rage against God's ways and God's church. Why do governments like North Korea, China, India, Iran, and many many more, you could list many more. Why do they persecute Christians to death?

It is because the rulers and the nations rage against God. They hate God's people. They hate God's church. It just speaks for our land too. Why does the culture in which we live? Why do our government leaders and why does an entire nation like ours not turn to God during something like a global pandemic? Simply they do not want to repent and turn to God. They rage against God. They rage against God's sovereign control. They refuse to repent and refuse to turn back to God's ways. And look church, listen to your pastor here. The greatest problem in the world isn't a lack of education.

The greatest problem in the world is not a lack of health care. The greatest problem in the world is not an acceptance of different races of people or even taking care of the poor and the disenfranchised. No. The greatest problem in the world is man's rebellion against God. And not truly understanding man's greatest problem is man's greatest problem. You see? You need to understand that. Not truly understanding man's greatest problem is man's greatest problem. That is why man is looking for solutions to man's problems in the wrong place. So what do we have here? Window number one. And there's so much more we could say here.

We see man's rebellion. And then window number two, we see God's reaction. This is out of verses four to six. Window number two is God's reaction. So we'll read the verses, "He who sits in the heavens laughs, scoffs, and the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, 'As from me I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.'" Now here the story just goes on. Ephesians 4, 5, and 6 are all about God's reaction to man's rebellion against him. And again, we're looking into another window.

But instead of a window picturing the activity on earth, here we have a window picturing the activity of God in heaven. We have God himself cracking this window, and he is allowing us to see things going on in eternity. Now explaining God's reaction here, I want us to see three specifics. Sometimes we see that God scoffs. It's right there in verse four. The English standard that I'm reading from uses the word "laugh." One writer says God derides them for their foolishness. But notice the picture here. The one and the only sovereign God is sitting on his throne in majesty, and he observes the foolish rebellion of men and mankind.

And how does he react? He scoffs, the text says. He laughs. One commentator said he is the eternal creator and the transcendent Lord of all things. News from earth, does it dismay him or make him nervous? He doesn't read the daily paper to keep current? No. Now think about the stupidity here. The created is fighting against the creator. And the creator, God, laughs and he scoffs. Oh, but there's one important thing we need to understand here. God's laugh right here is not a laughter of humor. He is not some kind of a jolly old Saint Nick in the sky. He's not the big man upstairs. No. God in his holiness is offended.

The holy and great, most high God is offended at this most sinful of sins, and that most sinful of sins is rebellion against his sovereign rule. So we see that God scoffs. He laughs at the rebellion of men and mankind and people and nations. And then second, we see that God speaks. Here in verse five, we do not see the words of God, but the fact that he will speak. Here we see this window in the heaven. God's interacting. God's intervening in the rebellion of men and mankind. He speaks. So this window here is God's reaction. It is connected to the first window of man's rebellion. And he speaks. But what does he speak?

The text says words of anger, words of fury, words of wrath. Simply this is the wrath of God here. And then third, we see God's son in verse six. Here we see the answer to verse three in verse six. Like how John MacArthur says it. He says verse three is their puny challenge. And it is answered by this powerful pronouncement. And this is loaded in this powerful pronouncement. We see a lot of details. We see that in God's response, he sets up or he installs his king. And here God is speaking of his Messiah. The anointed one is Jesus. This is the anointed one, the Messiah of God spoken of. He is installed on his holy mountain.

This refers to the capital city of Jerusalem, the city of David, which is the capital city of God's nation Israel. So we see a lot here in verse six. God responds to the rebellion of the peoples and the nations and the kings of the earth. And he does so by installing his son as king on the holy mountain. And this refers to the capital kingdom of his kingdom, the city of David. But remember, God is angry. He is in his holy and righteous anger here. He says something like this, and I'm paraphrasing this.

No matter the plans and the purposes of the nations, no matter the opposition to my rule, God is saying, I have set my king up in my capital city. Now again, step back from these verses and notice what we have here. We have a window before us, and we have God explaining and portraying things here. We see God's reaction to man's rebellion. God scoffs at the plans and the purposes of kings and peoples and nations on the earth. They are no match for him. In his pure and just anger, God says to them, I have installed my king in my capital city. He laughs with a holy anger. He is seething with a righteous anger.

But no matter what the nations do, God reigns because he's king. Now for us today, notice what we need to see. This is a window into eternity into heaven, and looking into this window, there are several lessons that we need to learn here. First I want us to see that this is not some kind of a dualism. The nations and the kings do not have any power against God. Satan is not somehow fighting it out against God through the nations. No, that's not what's taking place here at all. God is all powerful, and he is the most high. He knew all along what the nations and the peoples would do. And look, God allows these things for his purposes.

God allows these things, and he purposes all of these things to happen for his good will and plan. So this isn't some kind of a dualism or a fight between God and the devil. But then second, this is all for judgment. Christ will judge the nations and the peoples who are not his. Christ is the Messiah, yes, but he is also the king on the throne. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. This is all for judgment. And Christ will be and is the judge here. And then third, this is for his glory. God will get glory from judging the nations. Yes, he will get glory.

He allows these things, and he purposes these things to happen for his good will and pleasure. And his will and his plan, they are always just and right. His will and his plans always bring him glory. But then fourth, and this one might surprise somebody. There are no Christian nations. There are Christian people, and there is a Christian church. But there's no such thing as a Christian nation. A nation or a kingdom may be founded on biblical principles. Many nations and many kingdoms have been founded on biblical principles to a degree. But we must see that there are not Christian nations. And look, that includes the United States.

They're not some kind of a second Israel. And look, we must see that God's reaction of judgment against man's rebellion, look, it's right, it's just, it's fair, it's according to his will, it is according to his purposes and plans. All of this is for God's glory. So window number two is God's reaction against window number one, which is man's rebellion. And again, I could say a lot more here. Then notice number three, we have God's reign in verses seven to nine. And window number three, we have God's reign in verses seven to nine. Let's read those verses. Psalm says, "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 in 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 here we see this drama continuing to unfold. Just like in verses four to six, in verses seven to nine, we see God's activity. And just like in verses four to six, here we see God cracking open this window, which is allowing us to see what's taking place in eternity. And notice an important detail here. God is still speaking. Verses seven to nine are all in quotations, you'll see.

I said before that verse six was God's response to the question of verse three. Verse three is man's puny challenge. Isn't that right? And verse six is God's powerful pronouncement. So here in verses seven to nine, we see God is still speaking. We could say that verses seven to nine are still a part of God's powerful pronouncement. Here I want us to see a few specifics here as well. First we see the identity of the king. In verse seven, really verse seven is a continuation of what we see in verse six. In verse six we see the introduction of God's king. In verse seven we see the identification of God's king.

But here we see some important details which help us see the identification of the king. Notice that we see a decree. This speaks to what God had previously said of King David's heir. In second Samuel seven, eighteen to sixteen, it describes the basis for King David's kingdom. This speaks of the promised Messiah coming from David's line. Actually this is Messianic, it speaks of Jesus. And then notice we see the son. The title of the son speaks of three important facts concerning the son. As the son, he does have an intimate relationship to the father. But also as the son, he is subordinate to the father. But remember he is king.

As the son, the kingship and rule is divinely prescribed by God to him. And as the son, the king represents God the father and therefore is the mediator of his authority and reign. Simply this is the unique relationship between God the father and God the son. And then notice we see the begotten of God. Again this is prophetic in nature. This verse is quoted all throughout the New Testament in relation to Jesus as the Messiah. Especially concerning Jesus' birth, we know that. So we see that this king is the begotten of God and we see that the begotten of God was made known when? Through the incarnation of Christ's birth.

So I know this is a lot but we see the identity of the king and this is none other than Jesus' God's son. And then second we see the destiny of the king. We see the destiny of the king. The anointed king is installed in the capital city of Zion, verse 6 says. He is God's son who is bearing God's kingdom. This is what we see here in verses 8-9. God's kingdom, God's rule is through his son and he is the king. Now we need to ask a couple of questions here. What does this destiny to rule look like? In verse 8 God promises to give the nations to his son. All the nations, all their possessions, all their lands.

And we need to see how does this work out. Verse 9 says that the nations will be judged with a rod of iron. That means he will have the power to exercise judgment over the nations as the true king. And verse 9 shows us that the nations will be like mere common clay pots smashed with the righteous judgment of God's king. And this is prophetic in nature. We see all of these things played out in the future in Revelation chapter 19. So we see the destiny of the king and that is to judge the nations. So in summary notice what we see here. This is a lot. Going back to verse 6 we see God installed his king in Zion the capital city of God.

And then God continues by identifying his king as his son, the only begotten of God. We also see the divine destiny of the king. He will judge all of the nations. His judgment will be thorough because he will judge every corner of the earth. His judgment will be final in that he will smash these rebellious nations like simple clay pots. And just imagine this. God the son judging all of the nations with his rod of perfect justice bashing them like simple common clay pots. And why? Because of their rebellion. Because of their rebellion and more as we will see. Now at this point I want to ask us to take a step back here as well.

And we can have a tendency to see Jesus only on earth. We can have a tendency to only see Jesus in his earthly ministry. Yes he was the begotten of God while he was on earth. He was the suffering servant who went to the cross. We know the story. Mankind and nations reviled him. They abused him. Ultimately men and mankind murdered him. And we know the Easter story. He has ascended back to heaven and he is seated at the right hand of God the Father. We know that picture of Jesus we do. But here we see King Jesus in future glory. For us these events are in the future.

We see all peoples, nations and kings who have rebelled against him being judged and destroyed. This is the righteous judgment of God against the unrepentant peoples, nations and kings of the world. And for us today right here this morning we may see that this truly is the Jesus of the Bible. These peoples, nations and kings are his. They are his. He reigns and these events will surely take place. And I want us to see that there are two words that describe two different people here this morning and these two people react in two different ways to these facts. First fear, the word fear. This strikes fear in some of you this morning.

Look you should be fearful. You should be fearful because you do not want to stand before this Jesus having not repented of your sins and trusted in Christ. So if you are unrepentant and not born of God you should be fearful this is the Jesus you will stand before. But then second the word comfort. This brings comfort to some of us here this morning. We are comforted because we have confessed Christ and believed in Christ and we have been born of God and this is the Christ that we serve so this either brings fear in your heart or this brings comfort to your heart. So window number three is that God reigns.

And then the last window, window number four we see man's responsibility. In verses 10 to 12 we see man's responsibility. Let's read the verses. Now therefore O kings be wise and 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. Now here we see things shift back to man but not totally. Verses 1 to 3 are all about man's great rebellion. Remember that window? And verses 4 to 9 are about God's reaction and God's reign. Remember that window?

Well here in verses 10 to 12 we have another window which is man's responsibility to all of these things. Some commentator called verses 10 to 12 the concluding call. I like that because that's what we have here. Here we have a call to the kings and the peoples and the nations who have rebelled against God. We have a great responsibility and notice how this unfolds. First we have a call in verse 10 to be wise. Here in verse 10 God is calling the kings and the peoples of the earth to wisdom. The New American uses the word discernment. But this call is a very serious and a very sober call. The psalmist goes on to issue a warning in the text.

So God is calling the nations and the people to wisdom and to heed this warning. And then second we have a call to serve in verse 11. In the English Standard Version the verse reads, "Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." This word serve speaks of the surrender of one's will and the submission of one's heart. Here is a call for the peoples, kings and nations to come under the true king's authority. That would be Jesus. The picture here is of a slave willingly surrendering to his master. But a very important question. How should the kings and the nations and peoples surrender? Just with true joy and fear.

Look at verse 11 and notice this is out of joy. This is out of fear. This is out of respect. This is out of reverence. This is out of all. So he is calling the nations and peoples and kings to surrender and to serve the one true king. And then third we have in verse 12 a call to worship. Now we go to the next step. From a heart of service now we move to a heart of worship. The new American standard reads "do homage to the sun." The English standard version reads "kiss the sun." For the Psalmist to call the nations to kiss the sun it is a call of worship. And this kiss is symbolic. This speaks of submission.

One commentator called this "the concrete sign of surrender." We see this kind of kiss all throughout the Old Testament and in the Old Testament culture a couple of examples. In 1 Samuel 10 after Samuel anointed Saul as king he kissed Saul as a sign of submission. Not worship but submission to the king. In 1 Kings 19 we see that there were 7,000 in Israel who had now bowed down to Baal. Verse 18 says that they had not kissed Baal. Meaning they had not worshiped the false god of Baal. So here we see this call to kiss the true king, to surrender to and to worship the true king. So notice what we have here. This is man's responsibility.

The responsibility of kings, nations and peoples to be wise. God is calling the peoples and the nations and the kings to serve and to worship the one true king who is God's install king. He is installed on his throne. Now I want us to take a step back here as well. I want us to see what else is going on here. We must see this warning and this call. God gives a warning here in verse 10. The English standard says be warned. God is giving a serious warning to peoples and nations and kings. Also God gives this call. Verse 11 says that there is a call, a call to worship God's king Jesus. But there is more consequences, ramifications.

There are consequences to their actions because if they refuse the nations will experience God's anger and God's wrath. We see that in verse 12. If they surrender they will experience blessing and security and we see that in verse 12. But there is more, there is a broader observation. We must see that Psalm 2 is evangelistic. Yes, evangelistic. This is addressed to nations who are in rebellion against God. Psalm 2 points the nations to the king, the one true king and warns them of judgment if they do not come to the king. Psalm 2 points the nations to the king who promises to bless them if they will obey the call.

One commentator says Psalm 2 beats with a missionary heart. Beats with a missionary heart. I'll add to that. Psalm 2 beats with the missionary heart of God folks because it's God who wrote these words and with this call from the heart of God the peoples and the nations and the kings have a responsibility to come to God. So in summary notice what we have here. It's a lot. We see the evangelistic heart of God calling peoples and nations and kings of the earth to the sun for blessing and for security or they will experience his judgment and anger and wrath. And for us in our day I want us to see how this applies to us in our day and time.

You cannot, we cannot, I cannot be held accountable for the rebellion of government leaders and kings and nations. But you will be held accountable for your personal rebellion. You won't be held accountable for the sin and the rebellion of government officials and kings and nations. No but you will be held accountable for your personal rebellion against God. And listen friend, Psalm 2 reveals the problem of our rebellion against God. Psalm 2 shares the solution which is found in God's son. Psalm 2 warns you of God's judgment unless you kiss the son and surrender and worship and serve the son. So with this window we have man's responsibility.

Now notice what we have before us and I go back to that phrase from J. Vernon McGee. He describes Psalm 2 as the drama for the ages. The drama for the ages, I add to that, the eternal ages. We have seen that this is God's drama which describes in great detail how God will deal with rebellious people, nations and kings, all those in the world. And although we live in the time of the first window, notice we live in the time of man's rebellion, it may seem that the world around us is falling apart and it is falling apart. It is falling apart in the more sin and chaos and anarchy. It is falling apart but it is not falling apart.

It is because we have seen into eternity and we know one fact, God reigns. Now notice how this should affect us, not just thanksgiving but every day. We don't have to live in fear. We should not be worried. We do not have to look at the headlines and become fretful and wring our hands. Yes, the world is coming to an end but we have a king and his name is Jesus. Now notice the title of the message. The world is coming to an end but we have a king. If you are like me, if you are like me, all that is before us in Psalm 2 will help us be secure, trusting in God, serving the Lord and not fretful.

And it will make you have a more and more and more thankful heart and spirit as you live for the Lord. Now let's pray, let's commit these things to the Lord and then we will close out and worship.