Warning and Invitation Before the Anointed King

Psalm 2
November 28, 2021
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

There are many wonderful truths about the person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But perhaps one of the most basic and most important truths about his is this: Jesus is the king. He is the king of kings. He is the king of the church. He is the king over all creation. He is your king. Jesus is the king.

Dear Highland, we need to hear this truth. This truth should change the way that you think, the way that you talk, and the way that you act before God and before others. This truth should give you comfort as you live in a bad world that is full of bad kings. This truth should strengthen your resolve to evangelize. This truth should prepare you for when you enter the kingdom of the new heavens and new earth and when you meet Jesus face to face.

Psalm 2 is ultimately about Jesus. But it is firstly about David (and according to Acts 4:25 it was also actually written by David). Here’s what we are going to do. We will go through this psalm with David in mind. And then we will go through this psalm with Jesus in mind… and see the wonderful truths about how Jesus is the king.

In verses 1-3, David introduces us to a conflict that is all around him. He writes these words: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’”

This is crazy and insane. David was the king of Israel. But he was under so much attack. The nations raged against him. Various people groups plotted against him. And many kings and rulers of the earth took counsel against him. This really happened. The Philistines, the Moabites, Hadadezer king of Zobah, Hanun king of the Ammonites, the Arameans, the Syrians, the Edomites, the Amalekites, and the Philistines again with Ishbi-benob and again at Gob and again at Gath (2 Samuel 8-21).

But why? David opens this psalm with this question. And the answer is simple but profound. His enemies were ultimately against the Lord. They were ultimately against the one true and living God. When they wanted to burst the bonds and cast away the cords of both God and God’s anointed king David, it wasn’t because David was oppressing them. It was because they were opposing God. They rejected their Creator. They did not want to believe in the one true and living God. Instead, they wanted to worship and bow down to other gods and idols of their own making. And at the end of the day, they did not care for God’s covenant of grace and for God’s promise of salvation from sin and death. They did not want the LORD to be their king. They wanted to be their own kings.

This is so sad on so many levels. This is a very accurate picture of what sin is all about. Sin is rebellion and mutiny and protest and defiance against God. God who does no wrong. God who deserves all honor and thanks. God who has all authority and sovereignty. What creature would dare do such things against the Creator? This treason is obnoxious. This depravity is perverted. This arrogance is stupid. This sin is personal. And all of this continues to this day. This is so sad. This is a very accurate picture of the world that we live in right now. But let us not be like a snug pharisee who looks down on such sin. Instead, we ought to be brokenhearted right now. Because this is a very accurate picture of what we were once all about too. This is a sad thing. All of us in this room who believe in Jesus Christ were once against him, against God. You once raged and plotted. You once spoke like the nations and people and kings of old. “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” That was once us. This ought to send shivers down our spine and cause us to renew our seriousness toward God’s sanctification of us and renew our sensitivity against our sins that we seek to put away now. The sins that you struggle with now are rebellion and mutiny and protest and defiance against Jesus. It’s personal. How can we sin against our king who lived and died and rose again for our salvation? We are now a royal priesthood. We are royalty. May the truth of Psalm 2 change the way that we think, the way that we talk, and the way that we act before God and before others. And may the truth of Psalm 2 prepare us for when we enter the kingdom of the new heavens and new earth and when we meet Jesus face to face. Jesus is the king.

And this is so heartwarming on so many levels. Because we are compelled to remember about Jesus and his humiliation and suffering and death. The Jews, the chief priests, the scribes, the teachers of the law, and the crowds - they raged and plotted against Jesus. The Roman government understood that Jesus was innocent, and yet they ended up crucifying him. This really happened. Think about Herod, Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the crowd that cried out, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas,” and the soldiers who mocked him. But why? This all happened so that you, you who were once an enemy of Christ, would be made into a friend. Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin. He loved you, even though you rebelled and mutinied and protested against him in your old life. And now you belong to him. Now he is your king. Praise the Lord. This is our king.

In verses 4-6, David shows us God’s response to everyone who is against him. He writes these words: “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’”

This is amazing and glorious. The nations and peoples and kings of the earth went against the Lord God. But God just laughed and held them in derision. No one was a threat to him. God was not concerned or worried about them in any way. No one could thwart his purposes or destroy his kingdom. God had absolute power and authority and sovereignty over everyone and everything.

But God’s ultimate response was words. The LORD spoke. He spoke words of judgment against the nations and the kings who were against them. And his words were words of wrath and fury and terror. “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” These words may not sound scary. But they are. Because these are words of real rejection and real consequence. God’s words, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill,” are a devastating repudiation and cancellation of their words, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” They were going to get what they deserved for their vain foolishness. They were going to face the consequences for their sins. It was over for them. God was going to wage war against them. And God was going to destroy them.

This is very comforting for us to hear. We can easily be perplexed because of other people in this world who go against us and against God and ask “Why?” And we may sometimes be afflicted and persecuted and struck down because of our kingdom and our king. But our God laughs. We know the kingdom that wins. We know how the history of this world goes. And so we ought to be confident and encouraged, for we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. May the truth of Psalm 2 give us comfort as we live in a bad world that is full of bad kings. Jesus is the king.

And this is very heartwarming for us to hear. Because we are compelled to think about Jesus. The Father did not hold you in derision. And the Father did not pour out his wrath and fury and terror upon you. He poured all of it out upon his Son Jesus on the cross. You did not get what you deserved for your vain foolishness. You did not face the consequences for your sins. You did not receive words of repudiation and cancellation. Instead, you received words of good news. You received words of grace. God has spoken. In these last days, he has spoken to you by his Son Jesus. And in these last days, as you wait as people in this world but not of it, you laugh at death and you are not threatened by anyone or anything. Because you know that in Christ you have won the war. Praise the Lord. This is our king.

In verses 7-9, David reveals God’s blessing upon him and God’s promise to him. He writes these words: “I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

This is a huge blessing and promise. The Lord blessed David with sonship. It was a like a coronation. David was shown favor and love from God as God made David the king of Israel. This was God’s blessing to David. But God also made a promise to David. The Lord promised David a kingdom that included all the nations and the ends of the earth. David was promised a mind-blowing victory and glory.

But this psalm is not ultimately about David. This psalm is ultimately about Jesus. You see, David was just a dude. He was special in many ways. But he was not the promised messiah. He was not the one that saves sinners from sin and death. He was not the eschatological Son of God. He was just another human being like you and me. But he was a very important king of Israel, because his kingship was designed to be a template or a blueprint that foreshadows the kingship of Christ Jesus. So when we read Psalm 2, we are ultimately growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and his kingship.

Jesus is the anointed king of Psalm 2. He is the Christ, the Messiah, and the Chosen One. He is the eschatological king who rose from the dead and is right now sitting on his throne in the heavenly Mount Zion at the right hand of God the Father. The risen king of kings has been set, installed, coronated, and exalted. The king is the Son of the Father, the only begotten Son of the Father. God made a promise of victory and glory to David. And with Jesus Christ, God fulfilled his promised to David. The nations are now Jesus’ heritage. The ends of the earth are all Jesus’ possession. And when Jesus comes back, he will break all the kingdoms of the earth with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. And he will bring forth his new and eternal kingdom in the new heavens and new earth. Praise the Lord. Psalm 2 was never ultimately about David. Psalm 2 was always ultimately about Jesus. May the truth of Psalm 2 strengthen our resolve to evangelize. May you be energized by the words of our king in Matthew 28:18-20. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus is the king.

And so this brings us to the last part of Psalm 2. In verses 10-12, David - and ultimately Jesus himself - gives to all the nations and peoples and kings and sinners… a warning and an invitation. For it is written, “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 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.”

The warning is this. If you do not kiss the Son, if you do not bow down before Christ Jesus with repentance for your sin and with faith in who he is and what he has done, if you do not take refuge in him, then you will perish. There will be eternal death for you in hell. This is the warning. He who has ears, let him hear.

The invitation is this. If you do kiss the Son, if you do bow down before Christ Jesus with repentance for your sin and with faith in who he is and what he has done, if you do take refuge in him, then you will be blessed. There will be eternal resurrection life for you in the kingdom of the new heavens and new earth. This is the invitation. He who has ears, let him hear.

Dear Highland, I am so thankful that all of you who are members of our church have heeded the warning and taken the invitation and done what is wise. Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). For Jesus is your king. And if you are not a Christian, I hope that you would heed today’s warning and receive today’s invitation with repentance and faith in Jesus. For Jesus is the king.

Soli Deo Gloria