Do Not Trifle with God – Psalm 2
Tony Sargent went to India to teach the Bible at a large Christian conference. Adverts and fliers went out but a spelling mistake was made,
“Tony Sargent will give the evening massages”
He was thrilled however with this mistake in spelling because it enabled him to point out that Bible teaching is not just an interesting academic exercise – it is to mobilise and rejuvenate Christians in their walk with Jesus Christ. What does Psalm 2 have to say to massage our spiritual lives?
Imagine a crowd of people in defiant rebellion against the authorities. Distorted angry faces are screaming hatred. Fists are raised, repetitive chants are sung in unison. The leaders give inflammatory speeches. This scene could be anywhere - Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Rwanda or Israel. There is no balanced reason, just hatred and rebellion. The leader could be Yasser Arafat shouting,
“The Palestinian state is coming and its flag will fly over Jerusalem whether they like it or not.”
You can feel the tension.
Defiance against God (v. 1-3)
This is the opening scene of Psalm 2. The setting is that the sovereign ruler has put in a new king and the city-states want to rebel and claim their independence. So they plot and conspire together. The psalm begins:
1. Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
2. The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.
3. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."
This psalm refers to the kings of Israel and was probably read at their coronations. It is clear however that this defiance is not simply a political rebellion. The kingdom referred to is the Kingdom of God. The people have taken their stand against the Lord, Jehovah, and the defiance is against this Lord’s son. The Hebrew for ‘Anointed One’ in verse 2 gives us our word ‘Messiah’.
This passage reminds us that to rebel against the Lord’s Anointed One is to rebel against the Lord who anointed him.
So who is this ‘Anointed One’ or ‘Messiah’? Who is it that the Lord Jehovah is addressing when he says in verse 6?
“You are my Son – I am your Father.”
Jesus clearly taught his apostles that this psalm is all about him. It is the most frequently quoted psalm in the New Testament, being referred to 16 times. On one occasion, shortly after Pentecost, Peter and John healed a paralysed beggar who was lying by the Gate Beautiful in the Temple in Jerusalem. They were arrested after Peter gave a sermon about Jesus to the people. At their trial before the Sanhedrin they were far from apologetic saying,
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given amongst men, by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
The apostles were threatened not to teach any more about Jesus but they were released. Immediately they returned to the gathered church and there was a time of thanksgiving to God. During this time they remembered the beginning of 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.” Acts 4:25-26
They recognised that this Psalm was about Jesus. They saw Herod as one of the kings and Pontius Pilate as one of the rulers who combined with the Gentiles and the Jewish people to conspire against Jesus.
“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.” Acts 4:27
History has repeated itself ever since. None of us naturally wants the Lord’s Messiah to be our Lord. We want to rebel and remain independent. Often this defiance is quiet and polite,
“No thank you”, or “I’m rather busy”.
However increasingly this defiance is now becoming strident and forceful. In our local paper this week was a letter about the place for religious activities in our hospitals.
“As an atheist who hates religion in all its forms I think that there should be no religious facilities of any kind. A hospital is a place to cure the sick, not to dispense religion.”
Another person was similarly defiant publicly,
“How dare God proscribe how I am to use my sexuality. I want to seduce who I want when I want.”
Such people have willfully forgotten that all we have, even our sexuality is a gift from our heavenly Father. Such infantile petulance, like a primary school child stamping his foot and getting cross with his teacher, is ridiculous. It is particularly laughable because it is against God, the creator and sustainer of the universe.
Derision of God (v. 4-6)
4. The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
5. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6. "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."
God is described as ‘laughing’ three times in the Psalms. All three concern the rebellion of nations against God. In this passage his laughter quickly turns to anger as the rebellion continues. God is rightfully angry, very angry. He demands to know why the people will not recognise who He is and that His Son is in charge.
A very one-sided battle of the wills is occurring. God says,
“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.” v. 6
The wording here is interesting. Zion is another word for Jerusalem, which literally means ‘fortress’. The ‘holy hill’ was the site of the temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the city of God in Old Testament times was to become the city of God’s Messiah’s triumph in the New Testament. It suggests that God’s ‘Anointed One’, his Messiah, is not assailable. No one can successfully attack him or his reputation because he is God’s king. So today any rebellion against the Lord Jesus will fail, it makes God very angry and in due course will bring a terrible penalty. At the end of John’s gospel, chapter 3 this same idea is repeated,
“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:35-36
It is in this tense situation that God makes a solemn announcement.
Declaration of God v. 7-9
7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
Who is this speaking to the newly crowned king; who is the ‘he’ in verse 7?
“He said to me, “You are my Son”. v. 7
The adjoining verses make this clear. It is,
“The one enthroned in heaven.” v. 4
“This is the decree of the Lord Jehovah.” v. 7
Who was God addressing? Was it David or Solomon or was it someone else?
At Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan a supernatural voice was heard.
“A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.” Matt 3:17
Later when Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter and John, his appearance changed temporarily to having divine qualities. Again a supernatural voice was heard,
“A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.” Matt 17:5
How we all need to take heed of this word from God and listen to God’s Son. If you have not done so recently why not read one chapter of John’s gospel a day. As there are 21 chapters so it will take three weeks. This is the way we can listen to God’s Son today.
There is some other interesting wording in this section of Psalm 2.
“Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” v. 8
In Psalm 72, another great Messianic Psalm, these phrases are repeated,
“He will rule . . . . to the ends of the earth.” Ps 72:8
“All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him.” Ps 72:11
We meet these phrases again in the final commission that Jesus gave to the church after his resurrection,
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
The Kingdom of God, Christ’s church, is still extending to the ends of the earth. The story of this growth is first recorded in the book of Acts but has continued ever since.
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he reminds them of the covenant God established with Abraham.
“The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham, “All nations will be blessed through you.”” Gal 3:8
The universality of God’s gospel has always been God’s plan and consequently we must be involved with this.
Suddenly in verse 9 there is a change in tone. It sounds very harsh.
“You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
This doesn’t sound like the Jesus people learn about in Sunday school. But let us beware of having a sweet and sugary view of God. He is awesome. The ‘iron sceptre’ is symbolic of the strength of his coming rule. In the book of revelation this phrase is used three times to describe how Jesus will be ruthless about any rebellion when he returns in glory.
“Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron sceptre. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God.” Revelation 19:15
May no one trifle with God. The soft Lamb of God is immensely attractive to those who are under his Lordship, but beware of the ‘wrath of the Lamb”.
“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Revelation 6:16
Prestige, riches or status in society will give no protection. Oh that this was clearly taught today. Our pulpits should be crying out with this message. Jonathan Edwards was an eighteenth century preacher in the United States who understood this. He wrote,
“All genuine preaching is rooted in a feeling of desperation. You wake upon a Sunday morning and you can smell the smoke of hell on one side and feel the crisp breezes of heaven on the other. You go to your study and look at your pitiful manuscript and you kneel down and cry. “God, this is so weak. Who do you think I am? What audacity to think that in three hours my words will be the odour of death to death and the fragrance of life to life. My God, who is sufficient for these things.”
Decision for God needed
10. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
12. Kiss the Son, 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.
Therefore – that is, in view of the previous declaration of God, let us all be warned.
Have you wondered why God gives a warning? It is because there is still a last chance to return to him. He loves all the nations and all people and keeps reminding everyone about this.
The temple in Jerusalem had an outer court that was called the ‘Court of Gentiles’. It was the place set aside for people from other nations to come and pray to the one God. In Jesus’ time this had been taken over by moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals - at considerable profit. It was a scam. Significantly it was in this court of Gentiles that Jesus used to teach all who would listen. Later his apostles also used this area to teach the people. In the book of Isaiah there is a section that explains how foreigners will commit themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord and to worship him. The section finishes,
“For my house will be call a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:7
This is the will of God. Let us Christians be active in supporting gospel work both at home and overseas. We must use our money, our time and our homes to find ways to share the gospel with others. If you are a Christian do you share this concern to both warn and give the solution to people of other nationalities as well as our own and is it a major part of your life?
If you are not yet a Christian perhaps this Psalm is the message from God that you need. It is a final warning that we must bend our knee before him and revere him. This is the meaning of verse 12,
“Kiss the Son.”
The picture is of some foreign leader or ambassador entering the sovereign’s presence, kneeling and kissing his hand in recognition of his supremacy and lordship.
So the warning is to Christians and no-Christians alike. Let us not trifle with God or his ‘anointed one’.
“Serve the Lord with fear.” v. 11
This is the apex of wisdom – to recognise and then worship God’s Son with all my life.
There is a wonderful final line that is addressed to those of us who are doing this.
“Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” v. 12
It really is a great thing to be blessed by God. Some who hear the Christian message react by wanting to run away, the last thing they want to hear is about the sovereignty of God’s Son. They stop coming to a church where these things are taught. But there is no refuge from him, only in him.
God promises to bless his people, even in hard times, such as when we are seriously ill. The great Christian teacher and evangelist, D.L.Moody, was on his deathbed. Yet he could still say,
“This is my triumph, this is my coronation day. It is glorious.”
Dr Effie Jane Wheeler was an exceedingly good school teacher. She had not felt well and one day wrote the following letter to her headmaster, fellow teachers and students to be read out in school.
“I greatly appreciate the moment in chapel that may be given to reading this, for before you leave for the summer I should like you to know the truth about me as I learned it myself only last Friday. My doctor has given me what has been his real diagnosis of my illness for weeks – an inoperable case of cancer.
Now if he had been a Christian he wouldn’t have been so dilatory or shaken, for he would have known, as you and I do, that life or death is equally welcome when we live in the will and presence of the Lord. If the Lord has chosen me to go to Him soon, I go gladly. Please do not give a moment’s grief for me. I do not say a cold goodbye but rather a warm ‘Auf Wiedersehn’ till I see you again – in the blessed land where I may be allowed to draw aside a curtain when you enter. With a full heart full of love for every individual of you,
Signed, Effie Jane Wheeler
Just two weeks after writing this letter Dr. Wheeler entered the presence of her Lord. She experienced just one of the blessings God promises to his people – to take the sting out of death.
Such blessings are promised, not just to the select few superspiritual people, but to every person, who takes their refuge in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
BVP
Aug 03
