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.” 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.” 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.” 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.
There is
not a moment in human history where conflict is not to be found, whether it be
at an individual level, or a nation striving against nation. War is
ever-present, always around the corner, always in everyone’s thoughts. War, in
fact, is the child of the thoughts and motives of men, generated by hatred,
anger, envy, murder, greed and other such things.
In this Psalm we see the plotting of man, the pronouncement of God, the proposal for submission, and the product of reliance upon God.
1. The Plotting of man is futile and foolish against the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:24-30 says:
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
David wrote this Psalm under the direction of the Holy Spirit
prophesying about the actions of the kings of the earth and religious leaders
against the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. The plotting spoken of in this Psalm may have indirectly referred to the
nations against David in his day, but it primarily referred to the plotting of
Herod and Pilate, the Gentiles and the Jewish people and leaders against Jesus.
There two a few things to note about this plotting.
A. It is futile for men to plot against God, because God makes all the plans and has ordained what will comes to pass.
Those who plot against Christ are laboring without benefit or result.
Why? Because the great omnipotent, the potentate of time, the master and maker
of the universe scheduled it, and planned it, and it would surely come to pass.
The rulers plotted, but the Maker had planned.
B. Through their plotting they think they will throw off bondage, but really what they throw off is their freedom, and they plunge to true bondage.
These
wicked men who are plotting against God believe that the freedom offered to
them in Christ, freedom from the curse of the law, freedom from the eternal
prison of hell, where the worm does not die, and the fire forever burns,
freedom from living like an animal is actually bondage.
2. The Pronouncement of God concerning the divine rights of Jesus Christ and his reward for the work on the cross.
Man plots, but what is God's reaction?
God sits, laughs and mocks in the heavens on his throne. God sees
and hears the plotting of the wicked, and he is utterly unconcerned with what
they can do. God laughs at those who plot and conspire to throw his kingdom and
king down.
God judges those who try to throw off his yoke. He
addresses them, and it comes with terror, wrath and fury. They have assaulted
and insulted his king, Jesus Christ, one time to many.
The pronouncement is:
A. God has put Jesus Christ, His Son, on the throne in the holy city.
B. Yahweh, the covenant faithful God speaks to Jesus Christ, and tells him the reward that he will be given for the work he did in the world on the cross.
C. Jesus Christ will bring justice to those who rebelled against his coronation as king of the universe.
This justice against the wicked will take the form of a blow to them and
separate them into pieces. He will do it with his rod or scepter, with
authority and a symbol of conquest to break them to pieces. This is
significant, because he has actually been given this authority.
This is
the pronouncement of the Lord, and it is terrible. There is the receiving end
of God's mercy which is wonderful place to be and a receiving end of his wrath
which is a most terrible place to be.
Yes,
Jesus is kind and loving and gracious, but only to those he names his friends.
To those who rebel and set themselves up against him he is a most terrible
enemy.
Jesus is
not tame. He is a consuming fire, the bright morning star. Anger him and be
prepared for his wrath, do not submit to him, and be prepared for his justice
and judgment. Accept his grace and mercy and be put under his protection.
3. The Proposal of submission or the free offer of the gospel found in Christ Jesus.
God does
not just leave the people of the earth to perish in their sins and their hatred
of him. Rather, he is a gracious God, giving mercy to any who come to seek the
forgiveness found in His Son. This mercy is found in a proposal.
A. They are to serve Yahweh with fear.
They are
to submit to God and perform all the duties he has required.
What are
these duties? This question is answered in Micah 6:8:
He has told you, O man, what is good; and
what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with your God?
Also,
Jesus, the very subject of this Psalm also tells us in Matthew 22:37-40:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment.”
B. They are to serve Yahweh with joy.
It is
not enough to have a healthy fear of God, to respect him for his power and be
afraid to offend him, but they must serve him with great excitement, with
vigorous and enthusiastic expressions of joy. Serve him in a heart-felt way
that their whole being is excited and enthusiastic about it. God is not ok with
hypocrisy. This is a tall order, which is why we are told that they must kiss
the son or perish.
We must
submit and pay homage to Christ. We must openly, publicly acknowledge our
feudal allegiance to the king. Just as a vanquished foe, who promises fidelity
and submission to the conqueror, so they must submit and acknowledge their
absolute rebellion, realize their failure to conform to the standard, and then
run to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for forgiveness of sin and reconciliation
with God.
So the proposal is that they run to the Son of God, Jesus Christ the
very one that they tried to overthrow, and he will give them mercy, otherwise,
God's wrath will suddenly come upon them, and they will be consumed by him and
perish in everlasting fire.
4. The Product of reliance upon this wonderful Savior is peace and happiness.
Happiness
and joy in life is not based upon how things are going, how good our job is,
our family life is, our health is, or any other thing in this earth. No, the
product of knowing and believing that Jesus Christ has been coronated, and is
on the throne is peace, joy and happiness.
The
product of knowing Christ in a salvific way is happiness. Yet, as the text
says, this happiness does not come from simply acknowledging and believing
that Christ is on the throne and is reigning, but resting in the fact that he is on the throne, that nothing
can withstand the mighty and awesome power of God, and no one will be able to
stand against his fury and his plan.
Jesus Christ is our shelter and our refuge from the storm of the wrath of
God because of our plotting. Jesus Christ is one whom we can rest in and
under to find peace and happiness.
Application for life under the sun:
1. Have we really kissed the Son? Do we serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling? Do we truly trust and treasure Christ?
2. Christ really IS on the throne, the world is not out of control.
The one who shed his blood for you is the one who rules the universe.
His plan cannot be thwarted, even by the ruler of the most powerful nation in
the world. Herod and Pilate played into his hands, and the result was our
salvation. He is the great I AM the one true God. No one can oppose him and
live. He has planned every atom, every molecule, every bit of dust. His power
cannot be controlled, he cannot be manipulated.
Don't
worry! Jesus is on the throne! He is ruling, and no power will own or control
him. The world is not out of control, nor ever will be. Jesus rules the
nations.
3. Christ really IS on the throne, your life is not out of control.
But
Jesus speaks to us! In the book of Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus tells us not to
worry, because the Father loves us, and will take care of us. He tells us not to worry or fret, because of the fact that Jesus is on the throne. He
rules, governs and directs all people, their actions and all things.
I end with a poem from John Bowring:
There is a land where everlasting suns shed everlasting brightness; where the soul drinks from the living streams of love that roll by God’s high throne! Myriads of glorious ones bring their accepted offerings there. Oh! how blest to look from this dark prison to that shrine, to inhale one breath of Paradise divine, and enter into that eternal rest which unites the sons of God.
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