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Psalms for Life Series
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We're in a series called Psalms for Life—a study of how the book of Psalms equips us for all of life: our work, our home, and not just church. Tim started by looking at Psalm 1. Today we're exploring Psalm 2, which form two great pillars in the Psalms.
Imagine entering a temple with two golden pillars. Pillar one is Psalm 1, which teaches us to live God's way well—"Blessed is the man who..." Pillar two is Psalm 2, which teaches us to live under God's leadership—"Blessed are all who take refuge in him."
In a sense, they complement each other:
Today's message is Receive His Rule. Especially when times are hard and life is tough, we should receive God's rule. We'll discover why: because He is good, a ruler, a father, and a judge.
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 'Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.'"
King David wrote this Psalm with revelation from God: nations will rise against him, but God is in charge. His successors won't lose.
But there's something deeper. In the book of Acts, after Peter and John heal a man and preach the gospel, the temple authorities arrest them and command them not to speak in Jesus' name. Upon release, Peter and John gather the believers and pray—and they pray Psalm 2:1–2. They see that this Psalm, written centuries earlier, is also about Jesus. The leaders who killed Him—Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the others—did so according to God's sovereign plan. This revelation gave them courage to keep preaching.
Even today, persecution continues. Nations and rulers still rise up, saying, "Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles." But they fundamentally misunderstand what God's rule is.
Consider the movie Black Hawk Down. Soldiers are told they'll be in and out quickly, so they remove protective armor—metal plates they feel restrict them. They think removing armor will make them agile and fast. But when the mission goes wrong and they're surrounded, that missing armor becomes fatal. One soldier is shot because he abandoned his protection.
Similarly, nations see God's rule as chains, as something harmful that will slow them down. It's ironic. Jesus said, "I came to bring life and life in all its fullness."
We often reject God's authority because we perceive it as bondage rather than as life-giving order and protection. We've forgotten that God is good. We see His boundaries on relationships, finances, and morality as designed to ruin our fun. Yet it's the complete opposite.
God gives us commands in Scripture because He knows us and because He is good. He cares for our wellbeing. We should receive His rule because He is good.
"The one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying, 'I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.'"
These nations think they're in control, but God declares: He is the ruler. Proverbs 21:1 says: "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will."
Consider the Old Testament prophecy that God's people, exiled from their land, will return and rebuild the temple. How could this happen? They had no power, no resources. Yet in Ezra 1:1, God moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia to make a proclamation letting the people return and rebuild. Even more: Cyrus commanded his people to give them silver, gold, and livestock for the project. The Lord turned a pagan king's heart like water in His hand.
When I was young, I built an impressive sand castle at the seaside. I was convinced nothing could stop it—three layers, a moat, absolutely fortress-like. My mom and brother tried to warn me, but I scoffed. Then slowly, surely, the ocean demolished my castle. My brother and mom chuckled as it melted away.
The Lord scoffs at rulers rising up against Him. "We're going to demolish this thing. It's laughable. It's laughable."
We love building our own lives. But when things don't go the way we want, we get disappointed with God. We forget: He is the ruler in our lives. There may be areas where you thought, "I need that breakthrough God promised, and it hasn't come." In these painful places, we need to step back and remember: He is sovereignly over everything.
Yes, we can lovingly petition God and ask Him to change things. But God is the sovereign ruler. Just as He was with David—surrounded by nations rising against him—God said, "I'm in charge." When Jesus died on the cross, the innocent one, God said, "I'm in charge." When the early church was persecuted, people literally killed for their faith, God said, "I'm in charge."
Whatever you're facing, whatever chaos surrounds you—don't worry. He's in charge. He's the ruler. His plan will come to pass.
"I will proclaim the Lord's decree. He said to me, 'You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron and will dash them to pieces like pottery.'"
The king declares that he is God's son. In ancient culture, this was language of royalty—kings would say, "I am the son of God." But with New Testament eyes, our ears should perk up: God's son.
We've heard this before. At Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:17), a voice from heaven said: "This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased." At the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), the voice said again: "This is my son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Listen to him."
The Father spoke these words to David. Now Jesus is the ultimate Messiah, the ultimate deliverer. This is my Son.
But there's more. Revelation 2:26 quotes Psalm 2 and says God will bring true followers to share the same authority Jesus received from His Father. If you are a follower of Jesus here today, you too are a son. God wants us to rule with Him in a father-son relationship—just as David ruled with his Father God, just as Jesus ruled with His Father.
The movie King Richard tells the story of Richard Williams training his young daughters in tennis. From birth, he put a tennis racket and book in their hands. He knew his plan. He taught himself, his wife, and then his girls. There's a scene where he's training them in rain, and social services show up uncertain about this dynamic. He tells them, "Isn't it better that I instill discipline in them so they may live good lives?"
Those two girls—Venus and Serena Williams—went on to amazing tennis careers. Serena said, "Our father doesn't get enough credit."
Hebrews 12:9–11 says:
"Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live? They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, but God disciplines for our good in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who've been trained by it."
Think of Serena and Venus in the rain hitting those balls: no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but later it produces a harvest of righteousness.
We should receive His rule because He's good, He's the ruler, and He's a father. Especially when times are tough, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to soak in Psalm 2 and see that we are God's sons. If we've been adopted by Him, if we follow Jesus, we are sons. If we're sons, He's our Father. If He's our Father, He will discipline us—not as a question of if, but when and how.
He will sovereignly use opposition, your struggle against sin, your efforts to live a good life, and any hardship you go through to discipline you. When you're going through hard times, it's easy to shake an angry fist at God. But take a step back and remember: He has sovereignly allowed this in your life. He will use it as discipline for your good.
David, surrounded by nations rising up, could have quit. But he saw: "Ah, I'm Your son, Father. I see You'll use this for my good and for Your glory."
"Therefore, you kings, be wise. Be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry, and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."
Based on everything said—that He's good, a ruling father—the Psalm declares: Kings, be wise. You have a choice. Serve Him or be destroyed. A warning is given. Mercy is offered. You can kiss Him—coming before a mighty king, kissing the ring or hand, submitting to Him. Or await His wrath.
A couple of weeks ago, Paul Quinn received judgment for viciously attacking a woman 23 years earlier. He thought he'd gotten away with it. Meanwhile, Andrew Malkinson had spent 17 years in a high-security prison for a crime he didn't commit. When Quinn was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years, the judge said, "I do consider your conduct to both of them...evil."
Weightiness. Seriousness. We should receive His rule because He is the judge.
However hard life gets, He's the judge. He's not a consultant—He's a king. What He says should go. We have a choice: live our way or live His way. Kiss the Son or await His wrath.
God is a good ruler who wants to be our Father. But He's also the judge who will exercise His wrath one day. God is incredibly patient, but there will be a moment—sudden, like a thief in the night—when He returns. There's weightiness to that. We should receive His rule because He is our judge.
Recall the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Weather specialists would fly into the storm to find the eye and predict its path. John Gordon, one of these pilots, said: "The eye of the storm—the center of it—is one of the most beautiful things on the face of the earth. Complete peace. Complete quiet and silence. But then you got to go back through the eye wall, which is very angry."
You might ask: "He exercises wrath and anger. Why would I take refuge in that?"
The amazing answer: God so loved the world that He sent His Son to go through the hurricane, through the storm, so He could bring us into the eye. Like John Gordon, we can experience the serenity and peace of the eye of the storm. Around it is God's wrath, but right in the center—right in the middle—is all peace, all beauty, all goodness because of what Jesus did on the cross.
We serve Him both with fear—He's a holy, awesome God—and with celebration. We sing and declare: "Come into the eye. Come through the storm. Jesus has made a way."
When we mess up and make mistakes, we know He's not just the judge who will exercise wrath—He's the judge who laid down His life for us and has made a way into the eye of the storm for us.
