Beloved, I have the joy of sharing with you today the above theme from Ps 2:1-2 et seq. Indeed, serving as an introduction to the whole book, the first two psalms are complementary. They see the two great sins of Israel, which rejected God’s double witness to the nation: Disobedience to His law (Ps 1:1-6) and denial of His Son (Ps. 2). We find in this second Psalm God’s thoughts toward the One who is “his Anointed” – or Messiah – (verse 2), his King (verse 6), his Son (verses 7, 12 quoted in Acts 13:32-35). God will ensure that Jesus is honored on this earth where He has been despised. Once Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the nations and peoples of Israel, banded together against Him (Acts 4:24-28). His cross bore this outrageous inscription: “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews,” as if to say to God: This is what we do with your King. But in a future time, during the open revolt of the nations, the righteous King that God reserves for the earth will appear (Ps 89:21-30). Thus, from the beginning of the book of Psalms, to encourage the faithful in his distresses, God presents Himself (verse 6) as dominating events and leading them to this glorious final goal. Let’s also remember for us the exhortation in verse 11, “Serve the Lord with fear.” “With joy,” also says Ps 100:1-5. “With all your heart” completes 1 Sam 12:20-21.
For the serene atmosphere of the previous psalm, however, does not make its influence felt in it; it is completely changed: because the world enters the scene. It is no longer God’s communion with pious man. The path of this one is, in this psalm, violated by the rough and brutal foot of a perverse and persecuting world. What we find here is “suffering and glory” – man’s rage against the Anointed of Jehovah, but the triumphant intervention of Jehovah that places him on the throne. Jesus, the Christ of God, is presented in his grace and power; it is therefore folly to resist Him, and there is blessing for the one who trusts in Him.
The coalition that is announced here assembled when Jesus was crucified (Acts 4). He will break it when He returns to His kingdom (Luke 19). In principle, this coalition still exists, knowing the train of this world already judged, but which God endures in his long patience. It will reach its full development and take on all forms of evil in the last days, a period to which the Psalms so generally relate. She acts according to the ancient lust, and the lie of the serpent (Gen. 3:5). She would like to dethrone God. For the present, however, the One who dwells in heaven laughs at all these efforts. So did the angel who rolled the stone, and sat on it, while he put a death sentence in the hearts of the guardians of the tomb (Mat 28). What did all this mean, except that God declared to the coalition of men who had crucified Jesus that He was mocking them? Similarly, in Acts 9, the Lord Jesus arrested Saul, the zealot who persecuted the saints, from heaven.
But there is much more than this laughter of the present time; for God’s decree concerning his Christ is the great counter-project, which will obviously prevail. And this decree, as the Lord himself announces here, declares him Son and Heir. Son, he is already through the resurrection (Acts 13); the legacy will soon be his in glory. For to consider these two psalms together, it is Jesus under the law, approved by God and deserving of blessing because of his righteousness that we can find in the first, and in the second, Jesus, the witness, or the Anointed of God, rejected by man but exalted by God, ensuring the blessing of some or carrying out the judgment of others.
For God’s counsel toward the Messiah is the element of God’s ways forming the subject of the Psalms, which is introduced here; but Psalm 2 opens with the uprising of nations who want to escape the authority of this Messiah and that of jehovah who established it; the apostate Jews, as we have seen, being engaged in this great struggle against God: The nations are agitated; the peoples meditate on vanity; the kings and princes of the earth want to break the bonds of Jehovah and his Anointed; but this uprising only brings anger and wrath, against which all resistance is in vain. He who sits in heaven will laugh at them, Adonai will laugh at them; in spite of all, Jehovah anointed his King on Zion, the mountain of his holiness: this is the assured purpose of God, accomplished by his power. For the presumption of the man who resists only brings his ruin.
Christ, therefore, born on earth, is recognized as the Son of God by Jehovah, and vast consequences flow from this title. Christ only has to ask Jehovah and the nations will be given to him as inheritance and the ends of the earth for possession. He will rule them with an iron scepter and tear them to pieces like a potter’s vase; with irresistible power he will dominate in judgment over all the impiety and powerlessness that have risen against his throne. This judgment, however, is not yet accomplished, and the Psalm invites the kings and judges of the earth to submit by recognizing the Son, lest they perish if his wrath ignites at all. One can and must trust in Him, and who can claim this trust, if not Jehovah? This appeal to the kings of the earth is based, it should be noted, on the claim of christ’s title to royal judgment and power over the earth.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The King of the Lord:
· Pagan nations, non-Jewish nations, general references
2 Kings 16:3 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel; and even he made his son pass through fire, following the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had cast out before the children of Israel. Ps 2.1 Why this tumult among the nations, these vain thoughts among the peoples? Ps 9:6 You chastise the nations, you destroy the wicked, You erase their name forever and in perpetuity. Ez 39:21 I will manifest my glory among the nations; And all nations will see the judgments I will exercise, and the punishments that my hand will strike at them. Mt 6:7 In praying, do not multiply empty words, like the Pagans, who imagine that by dint of words they will be answered.
· Bad imagination
Gen 6:5 Jehovah saw that the wickedness of men was great on earth, and that all thoughts of their hearts were directed every day only toward evil. Ps 38:13 Those who resent my life set their traps; Those who seek my misfortune say wickedness, and meditate all day on deceptions. Pr 6:18 The heart that meditates on iniquitous plans, The feet that hasten to run to evil, Ez 8:12 And he said to me: Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the darkness, each in his room full of figures? For they say: The Lord does not see us, the Lord has abandoned the land. Rom 1:21 since they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor did they give thanks to Him; but they lost their minds, and their mindsless hearts were plunged into darkness.
· Prophecies about Christ, messianic
Ps 2:2 Why do the kings of the earth rise up and the princes join forces with them against the Lord and against his anointed one? Ps 110:1 of David. Psalm. Word of the Lord to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your stepping stone. Ps 132:11 The Lord swore the truth to David, He will not return; I will put on your throne a fruit of your bowels. Isa 11:10 On this day, the offspring of Isai will be there as a banner for the peoples; The nations will turn to him, and glory will be his home. Isaiah 61:1 The spirit of the Lord, the Lord, is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the unfortunate; He sent me to heal the heartbroken, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and to the prisoners deliverance; Ez 17:22 Thus saith the Lord, the Lord: I will remove the crown of a great cedar, and place it; I will tear a tender branch from the top of its branches, and plant it on a high and high mountain.
· True wisdom, general references
The fear of God constitutes Job 28:28 And then He said to man, Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom; Moving away from evil is intelligence. Job 32:7 I said in myself: The days will speak, the many years will teach wisdom.
-The Supreme Acquisition Pr 4:7 This is the beginning of wisdom: Acquire wisdom, And with all that you possess acquire intelligence.
-Perceives the divine truth Hos 14:10(Thompson) Who is wise? He will have the intelligence of these things. He who is intelligent will understand them. For the ways of the Lord are straight: the righteous will walk there, but the transgressors will stumble there.
-Establishes a solid foundation Mt 7:24 Therefore, whoever hears these words that I say and puts them into practice, will be like a prudent man who built his house on the rock.
-The Scriptures, source of 2 Tim 3:15 from your childhood, you know the holy letters, which can make you wise to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
-Rich in spiritual fruits James 3:17 Wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, moderate, conciliatory, full of mercy and good fruit, free from duplicity, hypocrisy.
From all the above, we note thatwe have had before us, in these first two Psalms, the great events of the last days: a Jewish residue awaiting judgment, the wicked always on the scene, the nations mutinying against the Lord and his Anointed; He who sits in heaven laughing at their vain rage, jehovah establishing Christ king on Zion and, at his request, giving him all the nations for his inheritance: submission being imposed on all by a judgment that nothing can resist. No suffering in all this, not even as to the residue of Ps. 1, but simply the advice and decrees of God and a power that no one can resist. In fact, the kings of the earth rose up and the princes consulted together and, as far as power and the earthly scene were concerned, succeeded. Christ was rejected and did not resist. And now, if we look for where the residue is and what its condition is in the midst of the Jewish scene in the history of this world, we will see that the great principles characteristic of its position are presented to us in Ps. 3 to 7. It is now easy to understand how the first two Psalms form the basis of the whole book, although the following Psalms are the expression of the exercises produced in the soul by the non-fulfillment, for a time, of the advice revealed in the first two; and in this respect it can be said that the order of the whole book resembles that of many of the Psalms themselves. The thesis is established in the first verse or verses; then come the circumstances, often entirely opposite, through which the faithful pass, and which lead him to what was expressed at the beginning of the Psalm. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and for centuries of ages. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “thanksgiving after a series of deliverances.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.