King Jesus and the Raging Nations (Psalm 2)

Children's Lesson (click here)

I. In the News and History

I don't need to tell you about raging nations. The news is filled with that topic. In fact, history is filled with far too many examples. Nations seem to excel at raging, including our own. And when the nations rage we usually respond with either fear or justification or indifference or... more raging. But when it comes to the ever-present reality of raging nations, it's critical that we ask... why? Not just 'why' in terms of specific instances, but 'why' in terms of the big picture.

In addition to today's media and yesterday's history, we also find raging nations in the opening words of our main text for this morning, Psalm 2. Please turn there if you haven't already.

II. The Passage: “Blessed are All Who Take Refuge in Him” (2:1-12)

As you can see, Psalm 2 isn't a long psalm. And if we think about how it's put together, it's fairly straightforward. Let me give you a super simple outline of the psalm before I read it. The text breaks easily into four sections, each composed of three verses. So in verses 1-3 we're going to read about godless kings, in verses 4-6 we're going to read about God the King, in verses 7-9 we'll hear from God's king, and in verses 10-12, we return to those godless kings. So... godless kings, God the King, God's king, and back to those godless kings. With that in mind, Psalm 2:1...

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? [2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, [3] “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” [4] He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. [5] Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, [6] “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” [7] I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. [8] Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. [9] You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” [10] Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. [11] Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. [12] Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

There is no authorship information included with this psalm, but according to Acts 4, King David is its author. If that's true, then I believe the language here may indicate this was one of the last psalms he ever composed. Why do I say that? Well, think again about the breakdown of this psalm. Why are we introduced to this godless kings in the opening three verses? Because they and the people they lead are raging about Yahweh the God of Israel and... Israel's anointed king. They are plotting, they are taking counsel together, in order to push back against Israel's power. At what point did Israel rule over other kingdoms? Well, during the reign of David's son. We read in 1 Kings 4:21 that...

Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

The reason I suggested that David wrote this at the end of his life is that the psalm seems to be anticipating Solomon's rule and restlessness from these vassal kingdoms.

When David turns to talk about God the King in verses 4-6, it's no surprise that he describes God as laughing at the futility of these rulers. Though they are raging and plotting against Israel, God has appointed David's line to rule over Israel from Zion (i.e., Jerusalem), and Yahweh will make sure that they fear him and honor his anointed one.

Another reason I believe this psalm is focused on Solomon (and the Davidic kings who will come after him) is the language used in verses 7-9, where we hear God's king speaking about his coronation day. (v. 7) “I will tell of the decree”, that is, the announcement of God's royal appointment. “Yahweh said to me, “You are my Son; today [on this coronation day] I have begotten you.” Why, when he is crowned, is the son of David called God's “Son”? Because of the promise that God made to David in 2 Samuel 7. God promised David that...

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. (7:12-14a)

And what purpose does the divine Father have for his earthly “son”? Verse 8: “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” We find this same purpose at the center of the prayer in Psalm 72...

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!... [8] May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!... [10] May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts![11] May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!... [17] May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! (vs. 1, 8, 10-11, 17)

It is this divine plan, this divine appointment, this divine support that brings the psalmist back to the godless kings first addressed in verses 1-3. The raging nations and the plotting kings must be warned and corrected. (v. 10) “...therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.[11] Serve the LORD with fear, and...” Now please notice how that sentence ends... “rejoice with trembling”. Hmm. Yes, they should “kiss the Son, lest he be angry”, but... look at that closing statement... “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” So without a doubt this psalm wants to strongly warn these raging nations. It wants to check these restless rulers and discourage their plotting. But it also wants to reassure them and every reader that the reign of God's anointed king is a place of refuge and a reason to rejoice.

As clear and as powerful as this psalm must have been in ancient Israel, eventually, it also must have sounded strange. Why? Because Israel was not a nation sent to conquer, and her kings did not reign forever. In fact, right after the reign of Solomon, the kingdom was divided. And most of Yahweh's anointed kings were weak and inconsistent. Eventually, they were conquered, and the throne was left empty as God's people were regularly ruled by other nations, peoples, kings, rulers. Maybe then the nations and peoples and kings and rulers to whom David wrote really had nothing to fear. Could that be true?

What was absolutely must keep in mind here is that the success of Israel and of her king was not a divine right. Instead, it was connected to a divine responsibility; a responsibility to follow God's law. As the people continually resisted Yahweh, and the kings (even from David's family) rejected his ways, the ideal presented in Psalm 2 faded more and more and more.

III. The Son as “Son”

But when we arrive at the beginning of the New Testament (NT), these promises to David are rekindled. In fact, as you discovered in our Reading Plan, Psalm 2 itself reappears and we are encouraged more than ever that the reign of God's anointed king is a place of refuge and a reason to rejoice. Look at how the NT describes the actual fulfillment of Psalm 2. We read in...

Acts 4:25-26 how the hostile nations (i.e., the Gentiles) and peoples (of Israel) and kings (specifically Herod) and rulers (specifically Pontius Pilate) “set themselves... and... were gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah”, Jesus. This, of course, resulted in his suffering and death on the cross. We also read in...

Acts 13:33 how Paul connects the resurrection of Jesus directly to God's words in Psalm 2:7, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” Easter Sunday was Christ's coronation day as the royal Son, the descendant of David. As Paul would go on to write in Romans 1:4, Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God in power...by his resurrection from the dead”. Along with that in...

Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5 we find that this same verse, Psalm 2:7, is once again connected to Jesus and said to find its incomparable fulfillment in him as God's appointed king... and priest! And in...

Revelation 2:27, 12:5, and 19:15 we discover that not only is Jesus the one who fulfills Psalm 2, but that He's the one who will fulfill Psalm 2; who will fulfill it in every single way. One day, God really will make the nations Christ's heritage. One day, God really will make the ends of earth his possession. And he will rule over them as judge with “a rod of iron”, that is, with unstoppable power and unyielding strength. And everyone in opposition to Him, every raging nation and plotting ruler, will truly be dashed into pieces like a potter's vessel.

So let me leave you with three encouragements in light of Christ as the fulfillment of Psalm 2:

First, Jesus will one day rule over every raging nation. If you are concerned today about the state of this nation or any nation, about the choices or destiny of this or that ruler, then please take comfort in the fact that nothing can stop God's anointed king. One day, He will rule. No one and nothing can stop that from happening. And He will break into pieces even the most powerful the most destructive, the most nefarious rulers and nations on the planet.

Second, the ultimate why behind raging nations is us. The conquerors and rebels of history, the geopolitical agitators of today's headlines, all of them rage and plot and rise up against God because they are exactly like you and me. Apart from God's grace, every sinner rages against God and seeks to burst his bonds and cast away his cords. The very heart of sin according to Romans 1 is not to “honor God as God or give thanks to him”. Instead we reject and resist and rebel. Yes, Psalm 2 is a psalm about the Ancient Near East. But it's also a psalm about us and our raging hearts. It's a psalm that should humble us in that way. But it should also give us hope.

Third, “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” How thankful should we be that every raging heart, from the corrupt ruler near or far, all the way down to everyday rebels like you and me, that all of us are invited to take refuge in King Jesus? This morning, ask God to show you the subtle ways, or to help you acknowledge the obvious ways, in which your heart is raging against him; the areas in which you are trying to remove the good and gracious yoke of Christ. But confess these encouraged by the fact that you really can “rejoice with trembling” because of the good news of Christ crucified and raised to life. Brothers and sisters, friends, flee in faith from the raging and the plotting and find refuge this morning in the “Son”... in Jesus Christ, the King.