This is Part One of the sermon that I preached last Sunday.  I have the awesome opportunity to give a lesson each week, but rarely do I get to preach, so I am thankful for the opportunity.  In order to keep me on task (and not pick “whatever I want to talk about”, I am preaching through the book of Psalms.  I went over Psalm One back in March, so I should be completed with Psalms by about 2085.

This text is over Psalm Two.  Psalm Two is commonly referred to as a “Royal Psalm” because it refers to David’s reign, but it also referred to as a “Messianic Psalm” because it describe Jesus.  We will focus on the Messianic meaning OF the Psalm here.

The Psalm itself is very evangelistic.  It is essentially a description of humanity, what God does in response, and a warning-with instructions- of what to do.  I am going to use the following Four points in my discussion:

• Humanity’s Condition
• God’s Response
• God’s Conversation
• Human Submission

I will focus on two important things as I go through this, two things that I don’t think are dwelt upon nearly enough, but are of great importance in understanding our Christian walk.  I will dwell on those two things, depravity and discernment, as we come to them.

Let’s Examine the Text:

Psalm 2

(1)  Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
(2)  The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
(3)  “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
(4)  He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
(5)  Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,
(6)  “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
(7)  “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
(8)  ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
(9)  ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
(10)  Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.
(11)  Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
(12)  Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

Humanity’s Condition

So we begin, in Verses one through three, with Humanity’s Condition.  Notice that we start with a question.  Why are the nations in an uproar?  Why are the peoples devising a vain thing?  With these questions David, the Psalm writer, is building suspense.  We ask, “What are you talking about, David?  The nations are in an uproar?  What could possibly be so important that the nations are in an uproar?  What is this vain thing that the people are devising?  Okay, David, you have our attention.”

This isn’t some minor thought that the rulers and kings have been thinking about.  He gives us the answer to the questions Verse two: The kings take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His Anointed, saying “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast their cords from us!”  This is why they are in an uproar.  So we have some important dialog that David uses to describe.  This is not a minor event, this is a large-scale coordinated effort to “tear their fetters apart.”

Notice first WHO is taking part in this:

• The Kings of the Earth
• The Rulers

Notice next WHAT they are doing:

• The Kings are TAKING A STAND.  Not a passing thought.  They are “digging in”.  When we say people are “taking a stand,” they have no intention of backing down.
• The Rulers are taking counsel together.  They are discussing among themselves, trying to determine how they can get away from Him.  “How are we going to go against the Lord and His anointed?”  It is concerning them, and they are seeking among one another.  The most brilliant minds coming together to get away from Him.

Now Notice what is NOT SAID, that is, what is already assumed by the reading of the text:

• They are in fetters.  They are in bondage to the LORD and His Anointed.  They must flee from God and His Anointed.  Fetters are shackles;  they are put on prisoners so that they may not run very far, or at least, not very fast.

Now we know, of course, that when the LORD and His Anointed puts us in bondage- and for those of us in that bondage, it is wonderful.  It is much better to be a slave of Christ than a slave to sin, but these kings and rulers just don’t see it that way.  They don’t see their fetters and freedom, only bondage.  Freedom is not the ability to do “whatever you want.”  If that were the case, then we would be far more free than God, who cannot sin.  But we can, so we have more options than Him.  No, God is more free because he cannot sin.  But the kings and rulers and their people only see their side, and therefore, they must break away from Him.

But listen to their plan.  What is it they come up with?  They devise-they strategize, they coordinate, they from a brain-trust.  But it is a VAIN THING.  What is a vain thing?  Something that is worthless, something that is ineffectual.  So the things they are doing have nothing worthwhile in them.  They are in an uproar, make plans to go against the LORD, and their solution is described as WORTHLESS.  Whatever they come up with simply won’t work.  Consider this passage from 1 Corinthians:

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”;  (20)  and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.

I want to make this point VERY CLEAR.

It is important for us to note this.

It is often not taught, or if it is taught it is taught poorly.

We always assume this passage, verse 1-3, refers to SOMEONE ELSE.  But it does not.

It refers to you, and to me.

This is our DEFAULT condition.

This is the camp into which we fall, unless we are brought over to the other side.  When God is describing these things to David, he is referring to everyone not a part of the promise.  Now, you may argue, but I am part of the Promise.  I have been adopted as a son by the work of Christ, as Paul describes in Ephesians One.  I won’t argue that, but the point is that in order for you to be a part of the Promise, YOU HAD TO BE ADOPTED.  This is described brilliantly in Ephesians Two.

So we want to usurp God from His place, kick Him out of his place of authority and put ourselves in His place.

Every problem that you have is caused by you or someone around you trying to put you or themselves in the place of God.   Every sin we commit is against whom?  David cries out in Psalm 51, which is his repentance prayer after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah.  He says, “Against you, and you alone have I sinned!”  Why does he not say against You and Bathsheba?  Or You and Uriah?  Or You and Israel?  Or You and my wife?  Because sin is an offense against God.

We commit sin when we try to glorify ourselves and not God, when we try to worship anything that is not God.

As John Piper said, “If God directed our attention at anything other than Himself, it would be proof that he hated us.”  These things are sin because God ALONE is worthy.

Now, we don’t literally say, “Let us tear their fetters from us…”  No, sin is far more deceptive than that.  But we will do things for our own glory, to serve our own purposes.  John calls it “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” (1 Jo 1:16).  Paul calls it “living in the passions  of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.” (Eph 2:3)

But we have mankind against God, and the Vanity of Men’s plans.  That brings us to our second point, which I will post tomorrow.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.