And so Psalm 2 is on page 543, in case you haven't got it.
Psalm 2, why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one.
Let us break their chains, they say, and throw off their fetters.
The one enthroned in heaven laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
I have instilled my king on Zion, my holy hill.
I will proclaim the decree of the Lord.
He said to me, you are my son, today I have become your father.
Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance.
The end of the earth your possession.
You will rule them with an iron scepter.
You will dash them to pieces like pottery.
Therefore, you kings, be wise, be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the sun, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way.
For his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Thanks very much, Jez.
So you can keep your Bibles open there at Psalm 2.
And if you want to take notes, you can do.
If there's anything you want to follow up with afterwards, delighted to chat that through with you.
Well, let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at this psalm together.
Amen.
Our Father God, we thank you again for your word.
Thank you for making yourself known to us so that we can not only read about you,
but we can also know you personally, intimately.
And it's our desire that we would experience your work in our life.
And that we would be people who see you as you declare yourself to be.
That we wouldn't put our own slant or we wouldn't put our own particular view on things.
But that we would humbly come before you and let you declare to us who you are.
And how we as your people should respond.
So at the very outset, we bow before you.
We kneel before you.
And humbly ask that you would change us and transform us
to be more and more like your Son, the Lord Jesus.
So that the beauty of Christ is reflected in our lives,
in everything we do and in everything we say.
So help us now and pour out your Spirit generously upon us all.
We ask this in Jesus' name for his honour and for his glory.
Amen.
Well, my kids love to fight me.
That should come as no surprise, I guess, if you've got children.
Putting their differences aside, they combine forces,
gang up on me.
They mock me and they threaten me.
They call me chubby and baldy.
Throw cushions at me.
And whatever other missiles there are to hand.
Sometimes they get very brave.
They even punch me and push me to the ground.
But they know it's a pointless exercise.
Because Dad always wins.
At the moment, anyway.
Whether they like it or not, and whether they accept it or not,
I'm bigger and I'm stronger.
Fighting Dad is a futile exercise.
Well, Psalm 2 is all about a fight.
Not a pretend fight.
But a serious fight between the people of the world
and the creator of the world.
It's a fight.
It's a fight that we have started.
And that we continue to fuel despite God's offer of peace.
More specifically, our fight is against God's chosen king.
And as we will see through this psalm,
we can either fight him and face his wrath,
or we can submit to him and find refuge.
So what is this fight all about?
Well, first of all, our rebellion.
Verses 1 to 3.
The fight against God is seen individually,
within our own lives,
and also nationally.
Look at verse 1.
He says,
Why do the nations conspire?
And the peoples plot in vain.
In fact, there is a worldwide united rebellion against God.
Verse 2.
The kings of the earth take their stand,
and the rulers,
well, they gather together against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
Let us break their chains, they say,
and throw off their fetters,
everything that binds us to him.
The people of the world, that's you and me,
we long to break free from God's rule and authority.
Of course, we may speak a different language,
we may come from different cultures,
but the world is united in a common goal
to plot the downfall of God.
We could say there is an anti-godness in our world.
It's what Adam and Eve sought to do in the Garden of Eden,
and it's what people continue to do today.
Just simply turn on the television,
listen to the radio,
and any influence or any talk of God,
well, it's quickly shut up.
People don't want to know.
We simply do not want God interfering with our lives.
In fact, we react strongly
when we are confronted with God's authority.
In defiance, we say,
this is my life,
and I will not be told how to live.
Of course, the real test
of whether we are fighting against God,
and this is a test for us,
a question that we can put to ourselves.
Am I fighting against God or not?
Well, the real test
to know whether we are fighting against God
is how we treat God's king.
Look at verse 2.
It says,
The anointed one is a title.
It's the Messiah,
God's specially chosen king.
And the identity of this king,
this anointed one,
is revealed to us very clearly
in Acts chapter 4.
So keep your finger in Psalm 2
and jump forward to the New Testament
to Acts chapter 4.
And in Acts chapter 4,
we read here of Peter and John
who've just been released from prison
because they've been preaching
about the rule and authority
of Jesus Christ.
And they were put in prison for doing that.
And now they've been released
and they get together
with the rest of their disciples
and in response to what has happened,
they turn to God in prayer.
And we're going to pick it up
in chapter 4, verse 24.
Acts 4, verse 24.
When they heard this,
they raised their voices together
in prayer to God.
Sovereign Lord, they said,
you made the heaven
and the earth and the sea
and everything in them.
You spoke by the Holy Spirit
through the mouth of your servant,
our father David.
And there he quotes Psalm 2.
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
Who's the anointed one?
Read on.
Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate
met together with the Gentiles
and the people of Israel
in this city
to conspire against your holy servant,
Jesus,
whom you anointed.
Jesus Christ,
very clearly,
is God's anointed one.
And they are taking their stand
against Jesus.
And here with the people
described there in Acts 4,
you have the most unlikely
of alliances.
You have the people of Israel
who were the Jews
and you've also got the Gentiles
and the Jews and the Gentiles
were completely religiously
and culturally pulled apart.
Then you had Herod
and Pontius Pilate
who politically never got on.
But together,
all four of them
have joined forces
in a united attack
on God's King,
Jesus Christ.
The people
and the rulers,
religious
and political,
uniting together
and they're doing
everything in their power
to destroy Him.
In fact,
they had Him put to death
on a cross.
You see,
at the heart of our fight
with God
is a worldwide
active rebellion
against Jesus Christ.
People may cope
with the idea
of a God.
They may even find it
comforting to know
that there is a God.
But as soon as we introduce
and say that
Jesus Christ
is God's King,
His anointed one
and that we should
submit to Him
and obey Him,
well,
that's a step too much.
We do not want
a King over us.
Back to Psalm 2,
verse 3.
Let us break
their chains,
they say,
and throw off
their fetters.
Let us cut
every bind
and every tie.
Let's get rid
of Jesus
and let's live
as we choose.
Well,
second,
God's response.
Verses 4 to 6.
Look how God
responds to this
plot
to dethrone Him.
verse 4.
The one
enthroned in heaven,
ha, ha, ha, ha,
the Lord scoffs
at them.
Rather than God
becoming a joke,
we are the joke
for fighting Him.
I remember
when I used to
try and fight
my dad
when I was small.
Maybe you remember
something like this.
He would simply
put his hand
on my head
and hold me
at a distance.
And there I was,
for all I was worth,
swinging punches,
punching thin air,
and all I could hear
was his great
big laugh.
Couldn't touch him.
Well,
fighting God
is a futile exercise.
It's pointless.
And the very thought
of fighting God
is laughable
because,
look at verse 6,
he says,
I have
installed
my king
on Zion,
my holy hill.
I already
rule over you.
I am your king
whether you
accept it or not.
Every attempt
to get rid of me,
every act of defiance
is like a little child
swinging his powerless fists.
It's a laugh.
But there is also
a very serious side
to this rebellion.
Look at verse 5.
Then he rebukes them
in his anger
and terrifies them
in his wrath,
saying,
I have installed
my king.
This
is no laughing matter.
God
is angry
at our rebellion
and he is angry
that we reject
his king.
Now,
God
and anger,
we don't like
to put those two together,
so
we mustn't
view God
like some
vindictive
tyrant
who picks
on powerless
mortals like ourselves
and bullies us
into submission
as if we are
thrown into the ring
with a heavyweight boxer
and we start saying,
stop,
stop.
It's not like that.
God has lovingly
provided us
with a king
to rule over us.
A loving
and generous
king.
A kind
king
who always
does what is
right and best
for his people.
And it's
under his
rule,
under his
loving and
caring rule,
that we find
our deepest
needs met.
Here we find,
living under him,
we find
satisfaction
and security.
Under this
king,
we find
freedom
and forgiveness.
He's the kind
of king
that we all
long for
and dream of.
A good
king.
So,
when we
rebel against
him,
we're not
only turning
our backs
on him
and walking
away from
him,
we are
actually
breaking
what the
Bible
calls
shalom.
Shalom
is the
harmony,
the beauty,
the order,
the togetherness
of the world.
So,
when we
turn our
backs
on this
king,
we are
actually
fighting
against
his good
and perfect
order.
we are
destroying
and breaking
his good
design.
And the
results
are all
too
common.
Broken
relationships,
family
breakup,
loneliness,
loss of
meaning and
purpose,
violence and
aggression.
Nationally,
we see
wars,
we see
oppression,
injustice.
The shalom,
the harmony,
the beauty
of the world
is being
broken
by our
rebellion.
And God
says,
I will not
allow you
to go on
ruining this
world forever.
And he
will judge
us,
as verse
five
describes.
But we
mustn't
think that
God's
anger is
in some
kind of
way like
a temper,
as if we
just push
the wrong
button and
he just
flips and
he blows
his fuse.
And he
acts like
an out-of-control
madman.
No,
God's
wrath is
his just,
fair,
settled,
and controlled
response to
sinners like
you and me
who have
destroyed and
ruined his
good and
beautiful world.
The problem
is not that
Jesus Christ
is king.
Here's the
problem.
When we
fight the
king,
we face
the king's
anger.
And that
is no
laughing matter.
So what
has God
done about
all of
this?
Well,
third,
God's
decision.
If we
are in
any doubt
as to
God's
rule,
look what
he has
said and
look what
he has
done.
Verse
seven,
I will
proclaim
the decree
of the
Lord.
He said
to me,
you are
my son.
Today I
have become
your father.
Well,
what's that
talking about?
Who's the
son?
What's
this
decree?
What's
this
statement?
Well,
again,
this decree
is picked
up and
it's
helpfully
explained
for us
again in
the book
of Acts.
Go to
Acts
chapter
13.
Acts
chapter
13,
verse
32.
Here it's
been Paul
who's been
preaching
and he
makes a
direct link
between
verse
seven of
Psalms
and what
he is
saying
here.
Acts
chapter
13,
verse
32.
He says,
we tell
you the
good news.
What's
the good
news?
what God
promised
our fathers,
he has
fulfilled for
us their
children by
raising up
Jesus.
As it is
written in the
second Psalm,
you are my
son.
Today I have
become your
father.
son is
not just
Jesus,
but the
risen
Jesus.
Remember,
the world
thought they
had got
rid of
Jesus when
they killed
him and
hung him
on the
cross.
But the
good news,
as Paul
describes,
is now that
this king,
who you
thought you
had killed,
is the
risen
king.
And the
decree,
the
proclamation
upon him
is to
say,
you are
my son,
and I
am your
father.
His
victory over
death,
his conquering
of the
grave,
proves his
right to
rule.
You cannot
defeat him,
and you
cannot destroy
him.
He has
broken
death,
and he
lives and
reigns
forever.
And look
what God
says about
this risen
king.
back to
Psalm
chapter 2.
Two things.
First,
that this
risen Jesus,
he owns
the nations,
verse 8.
Ask of me
and I will
make the
nations
your
inheritance,
the ends
of the
earth your
possession.
nation.
You know,
every nation,
including our
own,
has their
own flag and
national anthem.
We sing it
proudly, we
wave our
flags with
pride.
It's a
reflection of
independence,
a statement
of sovereignty.
And every
nation gets to
make up their
own rules and
they decide
who's allowed to
come into their
country and who
has to go.
But you
know what?
In reality,
our flags and
our anthems are
just like a
kid waving a
banner and
blowing a
trumpet.
To God,
our attempt to
own our
nation is
just a
game.
No nation
has true
independence.
no nation
has absolute
sovereignty
because Jesus,
verse 8,
is the
rightful owner.
He has
possession upon
every nation.
He owns
Ireland,
he owns
America,
China belongs
to Jesus,
and Brazil
belongs to
Jesus.
It all
belongs to
him.
But not
only does he
own the
nations,
nations.
Jesus also
rules the
nations as
the risen
Lord,
verse 9.
You will
rule them
with an
iron scepter.
You will
dash them
to pieces
like pottery.
Before the
days of
Xbox and
PS3,
we used to
play board
games.
Do you
remember what
they looked
like?
They came
in boxes
and you
kept them
in cupboards.
And one
of those
board games
that we
used to
play was
a game
called
Risk.
Maybe
some of
you played
it.
It was a
game about
world
domination.
And the
way it
was, you
were all
assigned
different
countries
or parts
of the
globe.
You were
all given
certain
armies of
value and
strength.
And the
object was
to fight
each other
by the
throw of
dice and
to control
the whole
world.
And whoever
controlled the
whole world,
well, they
were the
winner and it
could go on
for days
and weeks
this game.
But at
the end,
what happened
to the
board game?
It got
simply closed
up and
the armies
got put
back into
their box
and the
countries
got put
away.
It was
just a
game.
The
most
same
power
games
happen
in reality.
One
side
calls it
the war
on terror.
Another
side
calls it
jihad.
we see
it played
out on
our TV
screens as
North Korea
threatens to
nuke South
Korea.
The allied
forces threaten
to invade
Syria.
And that's
not to
mention every
border skirmish
and every
revolution taking
place across
the globe.
But to
Jesus, as he
looks down on
all our
acts of
power and
control,
to Jesus,
it's as if
we're playing
risk.
It's like a
board game
to him.
Our
attempts to
rule are
just a
game and
one day
the board
is going
to close
over and
every army
and every
nation will
be crumpled
up.
We may
ignore the
risen Jesus.
We may
even reject
the risen
Jesus.
But that
does not
mean he
is not
king.
So what
is our
response to
this awesome,
mighty and
great king?
Well, God's
rule expressed
through his
son Jesus
Christ requires
our very
careful and
wise response,
verse 10.
Therefore,
you kings,
be wise,
be warned,
you rulers
of the
earth.
Because
fighting God
is a
futile
exercise.
So how
are we to
respond?
Verse 11.
Serve the
Lord with
fear and
rejoice with
trembling.
Kiss the
son,
lest he be
angry and
you be
destroyed in
your way for
his wrath can
flare up in
a moment.
You know,
in the
days of
kings,
there were
two ways
you could
come and
approach the
king.
First,
you could
simply come
in and
you would
make a
bow at
your service,
your majesty.
It was an
act of
submission to
one greater
than you.
Second,
you could
also come
in and
not just
bow,
but you
would actually
kneel and
kiss the
feet of
the king.
Oh,
great and
mighty king.
It was an
act of
honour.
So to
serve the
Lord,
verse 11,
and to
kiss the
son,
verse 12,
describes how
we should
come to
the risen
Lord Jesus.
He deserves
nothing less
than our
full submission
of bowing
down and
our complete
honour.
And we
declare to
him,
at your
service,
Lord Jesus,
for you
are a
great and
mighty
king.
We can
point the
finger at
the rebellious
world,
but I
think we
all know
that we
still live
in defiance.
Every
sin,
every
thought,
every word
that we
say out
of temper,
every action
that is
unloving,
is an
attempt on
our part
to simply
dethrone
Jesus.
In
defiance,
we say,
this is my
life,
and I will
not be told
how I should
live.
love,
and so we
regularly need
to come
back,
and we
need to
bow in
humility,
and kiss
the feet
of the
sun,
at your
service,
Lord Jesus,
for you are
the great
and mighty
king.
And should
you ever
question why?
Well,
because of
this,
because this
king died
for you.
This very
king,
who rules
over all,
came into
this world
for us,
and stood
in our
place,
and exchanged
places with
us,
and suffered
God's
wrath for
us.
He is the
one who
deserves to
be served,
but he is
the one who
came to
serve us,
and to
give his
life for
us.
He is the
one who
deserves to
be kissed,
but he is
the one who
kissed us,
and embraced
us,
and welcomed
us into
his family,
treating us,
as his
own son.
This king
has reached
out,
and has
made peace
with us.
Jesus is
the perfect
king,
wise,
good,
kind,
the kind
of king
we all
dream of,
and so he
deserves our
full submission,
and our
complete honor.
to defy
this king,
well,
remember,
his wrath
can flare up
in a moment.
It simply
means that we
do not know
the day or
the hour when
Christ will
return,
and your
life will
have to be
given an
account for.
But,
to rest in
him,
look at the
end of
verse 12,
look how
the psalm
finishes,
blessed
are all
who take
refuge
in him.
Do not
ignore the
king's
command
to
continually
bow down
and kiss
the sun.
Let's pray
together.
let's just
take a
moment
in
personal
reflection,
perhaps for
the first
time,
but maybe
we come
back again
and in
our hearts
and in
our minds
we
simply
bow
before the
risen
king
Jesus.
Jesus
we kiss
the feet
of the
sun
at your
service,
your
majesty,
for you
are the
only
great and
mighty
and awesome
king.
Thank you
for serving
us.
Thank you
for dying
for us.
Thank you
for giving
your life
for us
so that
we might
have life
in all
its
fullness
so that
we may
no longer
fear
your
wrath
but
enjoy
you
forever.
We
thank you
in Jesus
name.
Amen.
Well our
song that
we're going
to
conclude
with
before we
gather
around to
continue
our
worship
of the
Lord
around
his
table
around
the
Lord's
supper.
Could you
flick on to
the chorus
there for
me?