Jesus Christ Will Reign Forever And Ever (Psalm 2)
“Live in confidence, God’s King reigns”
Our world is becoming more and more chaotic, and I think just about everyone sees it. Sometimes it feels as if things are unravelling at the seams. Because of this, few passages of Scripture feel as applicable in our day as Psalm 2. When written it was about David and his rule over the people of Israel, but it wasn’t just about David. The context of the text tells us that there is more going on than David’s reign over Israel and the New Testament’s repeated usage of this text lets us know that it is about Jesus and His reign.
The message for us today is that we should live in confidence because God’s King reigns.
Even when everything feels as if it’s going completely crazy and that the whole world has completely lost its collective mind we can live in confidence because God’s King reigns.
Be Confident, Though The World Is In Rebellion Against God (Psalm 2:1-3)
The psalmist asks “why?” Why would people act the way they are right now? Why are they in rebellion against God and the king that He placed on His throne? And the reason he asks this question is because there is a good bit of weirdness in rebelling against God. Why are they attempting to tear apart their fetters and cords? Why are they seeking to do such a thing?
In David’s time there were countries who were in rebellion against God and His people. All throughout the Old Testament we find Israel having enemies. War after war took place. But there were also factions within Israel that stood against God’s king on a few different occasions. Two that were prominent were Absalom and Sheba son of Bichri (2 Samuel 15:1-12, 2 Samuel 20:1-2). It was foolishness and folly to stand against God’s anointed. And this was not the last time this sort of rebellion would take place.
In Acts 4:24-30 we find that this text was ultimately about the death of Jesus.
“And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who made the Heaven and the Earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘Why did the gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the Earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 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 purpose predestined to occur.”—Acts 4:24-30 NASB
Herod, Pilate, the Pharisees, the crowd were there attempting to take down the Lord’s anointed. And they thought that they had taken Him down. They only thought that they had finished off Jesus, but three days later He rose from the grave and put to shame the “rulers and authorities” Colossians 2:15 NASB).
And here we are, many years later. Our culture has devolved further and further into rebellion and as it does so it is more and more senseless. If we look around we can see one act of defiance after another.
If I were to write in a local newspaper that a man is a man or a woman is a woman, I would be ridiculed. How dare I say such a thing! How dare I simply say that God decided whether you would be a man or a woman when He gave you man parts or woman parts!
When we look around the world that surrounds us we see that marriage is not honored, children are not valued, and life itself is not valued. And as I try to consider what the reason is for all of this I can only say that it is because our society, as a whole, is attempting to tear off the fetters and cords of God.
Now, how do we live in a world like this?
We live in this world confidently because Christ rules over all whether they know that is the case or not. We can live in confidence in this dark world. Our confidence doesn’t come from having the right job or the right politician. Our confidence comes from having the One True King, Jesus Christ. He rules and He reigns and this allows us to rest secure.
This also enables us to live faithfully in a world that we know stands against us. It enables us to take the hard stands and say the hard things. It also gives us the confidence to go and share Jesus with others.
The Great Commission doesn’t begin with what we are to do. It begins with the Lordship of Christ. Read Matthew 28:18-20, turn their and read it. The first word is not “go”. It is “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). The reason for our going is that Christ is King. And this reason for going also gives us confidence in the going.
Be Confident, The King’s Rule Will Not Be Thwarted (Psalm 2:4-6)
Now we get to see God’s response to the rebellion taking place. People and nations stood against David and God’s Kingdom, but God was not the least bit concerned. God’s response is to mock the arrogance of rebelling against Him.
Imagine with me that you could hear ants mocking you as they crawled into your house, that they were in open rebellion against you in your home. What would your response be? You would probably laugh as you went to pick up the stuff that would kill them. Well, God here mocks their arrogance. He laughs at them and scoffs at them. And then He tells them rather authoritatively and terrifyingly that He has installed His King to rule and reign.
Verse 6 is most assuredly about God establishing His king forever. It is the fulfilment of the promise that God gave to David, that He would “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13 NASB). As New Testament believers we know how it is that David’s throne was established forever. The fulfillment of that promise is Jesus Himself. And as we begin to understand that this is about Jesus, and can be applied to our time some things become very clear.
God is not afraid of the rebellion that exists today. If you are in rebellion against God, then you need to know that He is not afraid of you. In fact, He mocks the arrogance of such a thing and your rebellion will one day turn to terror. When applied more broadly we can say that things may look crazy and out of control, but God is in control and Jesus is King.
The arrogance of rebelling against God should astound us. It should not surprise us though. The sinner is still a part of this lost world with Satan as their prince whether they realize it or not. The unbeliever is dead in their trespasses and sins with Satan as the prince of their domain.
For the Christian, this moves us to live more independently of the rebellion. We live in a sea of transgression. Wherever we go, we see rebellion against God. Understanding that God is in control allows us to live confidently in this world. It prepares us to live here. This means that we must teach our children to know and love God’s Word. We must be strong in the Lord ourselves, to face such a situation. And we can do all of this confidently because Jesus is King.
The Church exists as a refuge from the folly and an outpost of the King. We prepare people for life in the world. And we declare to the world the victory of Christ our King over sin, death, and Satan.
Be Confident, God Installed His King And Raised Him From The Dead (Psalm 2:7-9)
In a continuation of what began happening in the above paragraph/strophe, God now gives His decree. And His decree is the installation of His King. In a phrase that echoes 2 Samuel 7:8-16, God installed David to his throne. The Davidic Kingship is now instituted and God’s King is on His throne. And David would rule in might over Israel and do many marvelous and wonderful things. But it was not under David’s time as ruler that all the nations were brought into God’s Kingdom. It is God the Son who was the ultimate fulfillment of this wonderful song.
We are told in Acts 13:33 that at Jesus’s resurrection that this passage was fulfilled.
“But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are my Son today I have begotten You.’” (Acts 13:30-33 NASB)
And when we start to ponder this reality we see that it is Jesus who receives the nations as His inheritance. Philippians 2:9-11 outlines this plainly for us.
“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”—Philippians 2:9-11 NASB
Jesus Christ is King and He will rule over all the Earth.
Those in rebellion should know that their rebellion against God will not last forever. He will not tolerate it forever. Everyone will bow the knee to Christ. The Christian has done so willingly by the power of the Holy Spirit. The unbeliever one day bow to Christ but not because he wants to. He will bow when the wrath of the King comes upon Him.
And so, our message is that God is holy and righteous. And it is He who created the world and all things in it, and He created it good. Man rebelled against God and the stain of that rebellion is still with us today. And not only is that stain with us but we actively participate in the rebellion ourselves. But God did not leave us in that situation. He did not leave us to face Him without a Savior. He sent us God the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life, doing everything we should have done and not sinning throughout His entire life. And even though He was completely righteous and sinless He died on the cross in our place. He took God’s justice in our place. Then He rose from the grave three days later for our justification, conquering the power of sin and death. And those who turn from ruling their own lives and trust in Christ are brought into fellowship with Him. And this message is to be taken to the ends of the Earth for He is King and the nations are His inheritance.
For the time being we are to go forth and subjugate the Earth to the rule and reign of Christ, not by force, but through the declaration of Jesus’s victory over sin, death, and Satan. Until Christ returns we are to do this. The King has been installed upon His throne. We are to go as ambassadors and messengers telling the world of His victory and the salvation that He offers.
A Dire Warning (Psalm 2:10-13)
The passage ends with a dire warning. It is a warning addressed specifically to the rulers and authorities. When we consider that it was mostly rulers and authorities who stood against David and his kingship, this makes complete sense. But it also makes sense in our day.
Throughout history nation after nation has tried to stop the spread of the gospel by destroying the church. But God has always been victorious. Intense persecutions did not stop the Early Church from spreading the gospel far and wide. Nor do persecutions in our day. The mighty have tended to desire the eradication of God’s ways and God’s people throughout history. And in our day and place, we don’t see a lot of open hostility in the way of outright persecution. But we do see a lot of people in power who are trying to cast off the cords and fetters in rebellion against God. We also see people everywhere in our society throwing off their own personal cords and fetters in rebellion against God. And the warning falls upon them as well.
The warning is to be wise and not to be stupid. The opening of the Psalm questions the ignorant activities of the kings of the Earth. This passage ends with a striking warning that states that to defy this king will end in destruction.
Christ is King. He is ruling upon His throne and will not always tolerate the rebelliousness that is taking place. Jesus will rule and reign forever and one day He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
We are the people of God, the people of the conquering King. We call people to repentance. We call people to live a life of godliness. We want to please the King because of His great love and kindness toward us.
The last line of this psalm is just so wonderful!
“How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Psalm 2:12 NASB)
Those who turn from ruling their own lives and trust the Son are truly blessed. We are God’s People. He has given us the richest of blessings. We have sought refuge in the Conquering King. And so, we can live confidently when the warning is given.
Concluding Thoughts
We can live confidently in a world that is increasingly hostile to Christ and His people because Christ is King and He is ruling and reigning over the whole world. Let us be a light to the community that surrounds us and even beyond as we tell of our Great King and the salvation He brings.