Okay, folks, have we got Sam 2 open in front of us? Yeah.
This is golden.
And this is just what we need at the start of the year
as we set out as a local church.
Because this gives us a wonderful vision of the kingship of Jesus.
And there's nothing else that we need more this morning
than a greater view of who he is.
So here is Jeff Bozos.
Is that how you say his name?
I'm never sure.
The owner of Amazon.
One of the richest men in the world.
And he's actually considered one of the smartest men in the world.
And he did an interview recently with the Harvard Review.
And he said this in the review.
He said, people always ask me,
what I think is going to change most in the next 10 years?
To be honest, I'd probably ask the guy that question I've ever met.
What do you think is going to change most in the next 10 years?
And my wallet would be listening to his answer.
But here's what he went on to say in this interview.
He said, no one ever asks me what's not going to change in the next 10 years.
Because you find that answer to that question, what's not going to change over the next 10 years.
And that's a place to ground your life.
He said this, let me put it to you, that when it comes to building a business,
that the answer to the second question is way more important than the answer to the first.
Fascinating, isn't it?
And it makes complete sense, logical sense when you think about it.
It's not rocket science to build our lives on the things that aren't going to change.
Which takes me right to Psalm chapter 2.
Psalm 2.
This has become one of the most precious texts in the Bible for me.
And my weary soul that so often drifts and doubts.
Because this is all about the one thing this year that's not going to change.
And the invitation here is to come and see what God has done.
And build your life on it.
And it's not so much an invitation, actually it's a declaration to the world about the kingship of Jesus.
Because in a world that seems increasingly chaotic,
day by day it seems to be that, isn't it?
Increasingly chaotic.
And in a culture that seems angry or sometimes just plain indifferent to the Christian faith,
particularly this time of year, my soul needs to know what Psalm chapter 2 has to say to us.
So come and warm yourself by the fire of this psalm.
And take a huge breath.
Huge gulp of air of the thing that it's telling us.
So why don't we read it together and then we'll get into this together.
Here's the one thing that's not going to change in this psalm.
See if you can spot it.
Psalm chapter 2 says this.
Why do the nations conspire?
And the peoples plot in vain.
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed,
saying,
Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.
The one enthroned in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath,
saying,
I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.
I will proclaim the Lord's decree.
He said to me,
You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron.
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 celebrate his rule with trembling.
Kiss his son or he will be angry.
And your way will lead to your destruction.
For his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
And God will bless the reading of his word this morning.
Friends, here's two things that this psalm has for us.
Two big lessons.
Here's number one.
It's that the world's rebellion is not unexpected.
So Acts 5 tells us that this is David writing this psalm
in his role as the king of Israel.
You might not see that.
You might not see any kind of author underneath the psalm,
but that's what Acts 5 tells us.
This is David writing.
And that's not just a throwaway comment.
It's actually really important for understanding the psalm
and everything it's got to teach us.
David's writing this as the king of Israel.
What that means is that in the back of his mind,
he has the promises,
the covenant promises that God made to him
in 2 Samuel chapter 7.
Now that's a massive chapter of the Bible.
Here it is.
It's the promises that God makes to David.
That God will establish one of his kings,
one of his sons rather, as king forever.
This is what God promises David.
And his rule will bring peace.
And it will bring rest.
And God will be to him like a father.
And he will be like a son to God.
And David's mulling on these wonderful promises
that God makes to him.
But you see, if that's what's in the back of his mind
as he writes this,
see what he sees in front of his eyes.
He's looking on at a world
that wants nothing to do with the Lord.
Do you see it?
Verse 3, come and see it.
This world wants nothing to do with God
and it wants nothing to do with following his king.
It's why we get the word against twice there.
Do you see?
It just means downright hostility.
Verse 3, here's what they're saying.
Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.
Do you feel that imagery?
It's a fist shaking in the direction of God.
That's what's going on here.
Let's get rid of God.
Who is this God thinking that he can tell us
how to live our lives?
And here the puzzled pain in David's voice.
What does he say?
Do you see the word that comes up there?
Why?
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
So David looks on what's seen on earth
and the rebellion that's happening against God
and he's saying, what are you doing?
Do you see the vanity?
Do you see the futility of it all?
Oh, that you would see that life lived
in loving submission to this God
is precisely where we'll all find
the very fullness of life that we crave
and that we long for
and the one that we were created to know.
Oh, that you would see that the cords
that you are trying to throw off
are cords of grace and of love.
And that's the scene that David sees on earth.
And then we get the response from heaven.
Do you see it?
And this is the second big lesson
that this psalm has to teach us.
The world's rebellion is not unexpected.
But friends, the throne of heaven is not unoccupied.
Have a look at verse four.
Come with me.
Do you see it?
Now, here's a question for you.
Have you ever wondered what makes God laugh?
Probably didn't come up around the Christmas table conversation, did it?
But have you ever wondered it?
What makes God laugh?
And this is your answer.
And it's not a ha-ha kind of laugh
like Peter Kay's just rocked up at heaven's gates
and told a few funnies.
This is more like a parent
staring down at a tantruming child
who's hitting their fists in anger into their stomach
and they're smirking at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
That's what God makes of this scene on earth.
Do you see verse six?
God thunders his response to the arrogance of man.
What does he say?
He says,
I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.
So God's reaction,
what God's going to do
in response to the scene on earth
is to vindicate and establish his king
in front of the watching world.
And in so doing,
he's going to confirm once and for all
that his plans and purposes
since from all eternity
will never be stopped.
In other words,
God's going to make a statement to the world
and his statement will come
when he establishes,
do you see the language here?
You've got to see it.
He establishes his king
on his holy hill.
So God's response to the rebellion on earth
is to establish his king on his holy hill.
You with me so far?
This is about to really heat up.
So you've got to get with me, yeah?
This is what God's going to do.
But the thing is,
David's saying this
and I probably imagine he's thinking to himself,
this is way too big for me.
Way too big for me.
And it's Jesus Christ
who steps into all the promises
and all the potential
that's tied up in the true king
of this psalm.
He is the king from the line of David.
At his baptism,
and we're going to see this in a few weeks time
as we get into Matthew,
at his baptism,
God the Father uttered the very words
of verse seven there.
Do you see it?
Here is my son.
Again at the transfiguration,
here is my son.
Listen to him.
King Jesus.
Four things we need to know about King Jesus.
Four quick headlines.
Number one,
heaven's king lived.
Jesus is the perfect king
that Israel never had.
Perfect in his faithfulness.
Perfect in his obedience.
Perfect in his righteousness.
If you scan your eye back
to Psalm chapter one,
he is the Psalm one man.
Number two,
heaven's king crucified.
Jesus the king
who went into battle
for his people
against their biggest enemy,
sin and death,
sharing his triumph with them.
Number three,
heaven's king rose.
Paul would write this,
and we're doing it this morning
at the beginning of Romans,
that Jesus was declared to be
the eternal son of God in power.
And number four,
heaven's king ascended
to the right hand of the Father in heaven.
That's where he is right now.
And so when God says
that he will set his king,
what it means is
he will fix him there.
That's the language of something solid,
something unchangeable.
So heaven's answer
to the scene on earth
is the risen and ruling
King Jesus.
And he is the one
who will usher in
the age of God's promise
to Abraham
to bless the peoples
of the world.
Do you see the overtones
of that in verse eight?
Ask me,
and I will make
the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth
your possession.
See,
if you're a Christian
here this morning,
have you ever thought
about the fact
that you are part
of the inheritance?
People of the world
coming to know Christ
for themselves,
finding life in his name,
forgiveness in life.
You are part
of this inheritance.
We are part
of this inheritance.
to be declared
right with this God,
to be welcomed
into his family
through the person
and work of heaven's
all-conquering king.
Do you see the scene
on earth?
The world's rebellion
is not unexpected,
but the throne of heaven
is not unoccupied.
And so see,
as we just make our way
through these last
couple of verses,
let me just
change the angle
a little bit
and just throw out
to us two questions
for us to think about.
Here's the first one.
Friends,
do some of us
need to bow down?
Have a look
at verse 10.
You see,
we are living
in a day
when we're not
short on information.
You know,
I read a stat
the other day
that 500 hours
of video
are uploaded
to YouTube
every single minute.
we're not
short on information
in our world.
You can Google
anything
and it will
give you
an answer
to anything.
But we are
short on our world,
in our world,
on wisdom.
With the facts
that we have
making the correct
decision.
And of course,
what are Psalms 1 and 2?
They're often called
the gateway
to the Psalms.
Offering us
that worldview,
offering us
that perspective,
that pair of glasses
that we can
take,
put on,
and walk through
the rest of life
that the Psalms
present us with
with them on.
The Psalmist says,
in light of what
God will do,
in light of the fact
that he's seated
as king on his holy hill,
be wise.
Respond rightly
to what he has done.
Do you know
it was in 1882
that Nietzsche
famously
heralded
the fact
that God
is dead?
Right?
1882,
because he believed
that there would
inevitably come a time
when there'd be
no place
for Christian belief
in a post-enlightenment
world.
But if my maths is right,
forgive me if I'm not,
but 143 years on,
it's a good time
to ask how that
prediction is going.
Is it not?
And to ask it
in the same year
that Bible sales
in the UK
went up 14%,
did you know that?
Contrasted with the
wider non-fiction market
which is said
to be faltering,
got to ask how
that prediction
is going.
And it's
Psalm 2
that tells us
that Jesus
is not just
some kind of
skittle in a
bowling alley
and it's just
a matter of time
before the right
person with the
right baubles,
the right thing
and strike
and game's over.
What Psalm 2
is telling us
is that because
this king lives,
God will not be
thwarted in
accomplishing his
purposes.
He's not
Do you see
how that's the
thing that's
not going to
change this
year?
Because our
king is
enthroned,
nothing is going
to stop him
accomplishing this
purpose of making
the nations his
inheritance.
Does that not
encourage you in
evangelism?
And encourage you
to keep going and
witnessing to your
friends and family?
And the invitation
verse 11,
friends, if this is
you this morning,
if you think I
don't know this
king, would not
be a great thing
this year to
explore.
Have a look at
verse 11.
Here's the
invitation, the
wisdom.
Serve the Lord
with fear and
celebrate his
rule with
trembling.
And it's a
strange painting
of words if you
think about that,
isn't it?
celebrate with
trembling.
And yet it is
the joyous
confession of
every Christian
who has found
life and joy
in knowing
Christ.
He is my
Lord.
And I take it
we should put the
stress on both of
those words.
He is my
Lord, my
master, my
saviour.
He is my
Lord.
He is my
personal saviour.
These are
personal saviour.
And the
image there of
bowing before
the king,
kissing his
ring is just
one of pledging
your total
allegiance to
him.
You know, a
number of years
ago we used to
go on a church
weekend, some of
you will remember
this, to a place
called Barony
Castle down in
Peebles.
And there was
something above
the entrance of
the door to
Barony Castle that
always made me
laugh.
just above the
castle door, if
you remember
this, it just
said, prepare to
meet thy
maker.
As I really
relieved, I
didn't have a
clue what it
meant, I went
on Google and
tried to find
out, I was
delighted that I
had nothing to
do with the
foods from
somebody on
TripAdvisor
would tell you
that.
But that's the
warning of this
psalm, isn't it?
Prepare to
meet thy
maker.
one day we
will have to
answer to
heaven's reigning
king.
And for God to
be angry is
not for him to
fly off the
handles.
That's what I
do, that's what
we do, isn't
it?
And we have to
remember that
God isn't like
us.
God is the
all-wise, God
is the all-knowing,
God is the all-
eternal one, God
is the all-just
one, God is
not like us.
So for God to
be angry is his
settled opposition
because of who he
is to all the
evil in the
world.
And I don't
know how that
sits in you this
morning, maybe
for some of us
that makes us
quite uncomfortable,
but can I
suggest that the
idea of God's
wrath is really
good news.
I take it in our
world where we
are so often
rightly angry
at another
airstrike going
on in Ukraine
and at people
in news stories
like Jeffrey
Epstein, that
God, and that's
just the ones we
know about, right?
That God is
right to be
angry, he is
right to be
against all the
evil and the
proud rebellion
against him and
his ways in the
world.
Flip it around,
what kind of
God would he
be if he
wasn't?
But what the
psalm tells us,
friends, is at
the end of the
day we will
have to give an
answer to
heaven's reigning
king.
And the
question really
simply that
Jesus will ask
will be something
like, what did
you make of me?
The decision is
either Jesus has
taken that penalty
for our sin,
he has incurred
God's wrath on
himself in our
place on the
cross, either
Christ has
died for our
sins and
given us
life, or we
will have to
pay for our
sins at the
end of the
day in answer
to him, our
king.
Verse 8, we
like to think
we're invincible,
but in that
day, bowing
before King
Jesus, if you
don't know
him, do you
see the
warning, verse
8?
To this evil
rebellion that
exists, it
will all be
dashed to
pieces like
pottery.
So folks, do
some of us
need to bow
down before
heaven's king?
Second
question, do
some of us
need to look
up?
And here's
my hope,
this strengthens
many of us
this morning,
perhaps who
are walking
faithfully with
this king.
king.
What I mean
by that
question is,
do some of
us need to
recalibrate
ourselves and
take stock of
where our
king is?
The king who
loves us.
The king who
shed his
blood and is
for us in
heaven.
The king who
is there,
who's praying
for us.
Nothing will
happen to us
this year out
with his
sovereign
say so.
Along with
his father,
he has given
the Holy
Spirit and
Christ is
there praying
for us.
Do you
see where
your king
is this
morning?
We stumble,
we get weary,
we fall, but
he's on his
holy hill
interceding for
us, praying
for us,
holding our
lives.
We don't
have the
mental resolve
to face
another day
at work or
at home.
But he's
on his
holy hill.
When your
day is at
work and
at home,
they just
feel mundane,
they feel
pointless,
you think,
what's the
point in
going on?
He's on
his holy
hill.
When we're
facing our
darkest hour,
he's on his
holy hill.
When we feel
like we can't
go on another
day, he's
on his holy
hill.
When opposition
comes against
us because we
follow Christ
and we don't
know what's
going on,
it feels like
the world's
against us,
he's on his
holy hill.
When that
friend and
family member
feels indifferent
to the things
of the Christian
faith, he's
on his holy
hill.
And when there's
wars and chaos
in the world,
he's on his
holy hill.
Friends, you
see the one
thing that's not
going to change
this year
is that he's
never going to
be toppled from
his place in
the holy
hill.
does that
not give you
great encouragement
and strength
to know that
it's not about
me, it's
not about our
ability to
navigate our
way through
life, it's
about who
Christ is and
his love for
me and that
nothing will
separate me from
his love.
You know,
this psalm is
often quoted,
one of the
places in the
New Testament
is Acts
chapter 4.
In the
context, Peter
and John
have just been
beaten up and
as they feel the
blows, they
recognise that
what they are
experiencing on
account of
their association
with Jesus is
everything that's
outlined in
Psalm chapter 2.
They make that
connection.
It's amazing
actually when you
read it that
they recognise
that they are
living this,
they are
experiencing the
opposition that
Psalm 2 is
talking about
and they pray
not, Lord
protect us,
they pray,
Lord give us
more boldness
to keep on
speaking and
you read it
and you think
how on earth
did you get
there?
Because I
would be
praying,
Lord protect
me,
Lord make
this stop.
They pray
for more
power to
keep speaking
and going.
How did
you get
there?
The answer
is that they
realise that
there's a
man who's
risen from
the dead
and nothing
will topple
him from
that throne.
That's our
confidence in
evangelism.
Friends,
do you see
how that's
the reason
we keep
speaking?
Do you
see why
it's the
reason we've
got any
confidence this
year of
people coming
to know
Christ in
our community,
our friends,
our neighbours,
our family
members,
the people
that you go
to uni with
every day,
that you rub
shoulders with
every day at
work,
any confidence
that God
will bring
some to
faith.
nothing to
do with
us,
we've just
been faithful
and doing
the job
that Christ
has asked
us to
do.
It's not
in our
ability to
put on a
good show,
it's not
in our
ability to
find out the
tricks of the
trade.
Listen,
Netflix will
do that way
better than
we can.
What's the
one thing
that we hold
out to the
world?
is that
God has
seated his
king on
his holy
hill and
nothing will
stop him
accomplishing
his purposes
and we
minister,
we witness
for him in
the slipstream
of his
victory.
So do you
see,
friends,
how that's
the one
thing that's
not going
to change
this year?
Whatever
comes our
way this
year as a
community,
whatever comes
our way
individually
this year,
what's not
going to
change is
he is
never going
to be
toppled
from his
holy hill.
And God's
plan to
gather the
nations into
one people
under the
lordship of
Christ,
that plan
is bang
on track.
And just
to be
close,
let me
tell you
about a
book that
was massive
when I was
at uni.
A number
of years
ago,
I'll give
you that.
But when
I was at
uni back
in the
day,
this book,
this 2003
New York
Times best
seller that
sold a
million copies
all around
the world,
millions of
copies all
around the
world called
The Da Vinci
Code.
Why it was
so big is
that people
always,
I remember
they used
to come
up to me
and say,
here's the
book that's
going to blow
the hole
on the side
of Christianity,
exposing the
cover-ups,
exposing the
myths.
And here's my
favourite article
that I read on
the BBC News
a few years
ago.
It was
about an
Oxfam
bookshop
in 2007
in a place
called
Swansea,
who put a
notice in
their window
that said,
and if you've
got good
enough eyes
you can see
this,
we're all
trying to do
that,
aren't we,
in our
phones,
but we can
do it.
It says
this,
you could
give us
another
Da Vinci
Code,
surrendered
by a pile
of Da Vinci
Codes,
but we'd
rather have
your vinyl.
And that
sign sparked
an idea
in the mind
of a local
artist called
David Shrigley.
What he did
is he thought,
I'm going to
get a hold
of as many
copies of
Da Vinci
Code that
I can get.
So what he
does is he
finds out
where the
Oxfam
bookshop
keep all
the reserves
and he
phones up
this recycling
centre where
all the
unwanted
books go
and he
asks them,
how many
copies of
Da Vinci
Code do
you have?
They respond
to him and
say we've
got an
almost unlimited
number.
So he
says I'll
take the
lot.
What he
does is he
gets the
whole lot
together and
he pulps
them and
he turns
it into
a piece
of art.
So do you
see what's
going on
there?
Do you
not love
that?
This
book that
was meant
to take
God down
is now
pulp.
Friends,
God has
done it
before.
The
Babylonian
empire,
the
Roman
empire.
Do you
think anyone
living in
those days
thought that
God would
outlive those
empires?
Probably
not.
God has
done it
before and
God will
keep on
doing it
throughout
history.
Why?
Because he
seated his
king on
his holy
hill.
The
opposition on
earth is
not unexpected.
the throne
of heaven
is not
unoccupied.
The end
of history
is not
uncertain.
Here's the
last thing I
want to say
if you look
right at the
end of the
psalm.
I hadn't
noticed it
until this
morning so
I've not
scripted this
we'll just
run with
this.
See the
word at
the end
there?
It's
actually the
word that
you get
at the
beginning
of psalm
one and
at the
end of
psalm
two.
Do you
see the
word?
What's
the word?
Blessed.
Now roughly
translated that
word means
happy.
Now you
know how we
talk in our
age about
our happy
places.
Yeah?
Happy places.
The wisdom
that psalm
one and
psalm two
are offering
us this
morning is
that your
happy place
make it
at the
feet of
your king.
So tomorrow
as you open
your Bible
cup of warm
coffee, warm
coffee in your
hands, is
as you
open your
Bible, as
you read
about who
we are in
Christ, as
we think
about his
victory, as
we bask
ourselves in
that, despite
the chaos
that's going
on in the
world and
perhaps in
our lives,
the invitation
of this psalm
is to make
that our
happy place.
You see
it?
Blessed are
all who
take refuge
in him.
Let me
pray.
Amen.
Father, we
just want to
take stock
this morning
of the
fact that
you are
God in
heaven and
we are
on earth.
Lord, would
you forgive
us for
the small
pictures we
have of
who you
are.
Lord, that
you are not
just like a
bigger version
of us.
you are
our creator.
You are
our savior.
You are the
one who is
eternal.
You are the
one who knows
all things.
Father, would
you forgive
us when we
have small
thoughts of
you?
And so,
Lord, it's
our prayer
that this
year would
be one
where we
leave it
at the
end with
a greater
view of
who Jesus
is than
when we
came into
it.
Lord, would
you increase
the horizons
of our
minds as
we grasp
something more
of the
greatness of
his victory.
So, Father, I
pray that
wherever this
has landed
on our
lives this
morning, I
pray that
your spirit
would be at
work teaching
us wonderful
things about
who Jesus
is.
And so,
Father, as we
turn our
attention now to
communion as
well, Lord,
may we savor
something more
of the sweetness
of the victory
that he's
purchased for
us on the
cross.
So be with
us, Lord, as
we finish our
time together.
In Jesus'
name we pray.
Amen.