This morning our lesson is in Psalm number two. Psalm number two, the second Psalm. Verse one. Psalm number two, why do the heathen or the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. And so we find here the second Psalm, and the first Psalm, Psalm number one, began with a beatitude. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but in his delight is in the law of the Lord. and his law that he meditate day and night. This second psalm ends with a beatitude, blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Him being the one who is the subject of this second psalm. As it says there in verse 12, kiss the son, the son. As it said in verse 7, the Lord has said unto me, thou art my son. And of course, that's the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And so the blessedness of the righteous man that was described in the first Psalm is here further amplified. We find out more about it to the extent that we see he is blessed, all those who are so are blessed because They trust in the Son of God. Now, the subject of this second Psalm is, as we said, the Son, the Son of Jehovah, the Lord. Or Jehovah hath said unto me, the living God, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And then again in verse 12, kiss the Son. lest he be angry and he perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. And so this is the person, this person is the subject of this psalm. He is seen in verse two as the Lord's or Jehovah's anointed. He is God's chosen king in verse six, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. The kings of the earth were mentioned in verse two, but the Lord has his king. The one he said will be king. He shall indeed rule and reign, in other words. No matter what anybody thinks about it, no matter what, whether it's agreed to or not by anyone, the Lord said, I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. It is a settled purpose with God and he shall therefore bring it to pass. In verse seven, he is seen as the son and here he begins to speak for himself. All right. So it's been stated that we have three voices in this psalm. The first six verses, the voice of God supreme. Or we might say in verses one through six, we see God the father speaking, God omnipotent, God the sovereign ruler of all. And then in verses seven, eight, nine, the son speaking for himself, declaring what the father said to him and made known to him. And then in verses 10, 11, 12, the voice of the spirit who urges, instructs, pleads with, with all people, all sinners, that they do what? That they receive and believe on Jesus Christ, that they should honor the Son, because if you don't honor the Son, then you don't honor the Father, Jesus said. And so here, again, in verse 12, Seven, he declares what he knows of the purpose of God and that he is God's son. Verse 12, all are admonished and exhorted, even commanded to not only honor, not only reverence, but to show loving fealty to him and put their faith in the son of God. And so Christ is here seen as the center of all things. He's the sum of all things. The purpose of God from all eternity, here briefly mentioned and made known, begins with and ends with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this second Psalm, just in 12 verses, does what? Declares the purpose of God from all eternity. And it has bearing upon all people. It's not possible to understand anything that has to do with God, except as it has to do with his son, Jesus, the Christ or the anointed of God. That's taught throughout the scriptures, but it is put on a full display here in this second Psalm. It is not possible to please God except through faith. in His Son, Jesus Christ. It is not possible to be at peace with God, to have friendship with God, to avoid the displeasure and the wrath of the one and only true and living God. except by receiving, honoring, loving, and obeying His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. To put it concisely and even bluntly, all things for all people hinge on one person for both time and eternity, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look in John chapter 3. Now, in the minds of the majority of people, Jesus is treated as just kind of like an add-on, we might say. It's like when you have a recipe, you know, you're going to cook something or fix some sort of dish or some sort of food. And in the recipe it tells you the ingredients and the steps to take and and sometimes it'll say next to some of the ingredients It'll say optional That's the way Jesus is treated by the majority of people that he's optional He's just kind of something you can add to make it a little better Well actually The Bible bears out the fact that everything hinges on one person, and that's Jesus Christ. There's nothing optional about him, and there's going to end up being nothing without him. John 3, the last verse, verse 36, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Jesus used that same kind of language to me about seeing when he told the Nicodemus, he said, except a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Not just not, not have it, just not. not only not enter it, not experience it, but not even see it. In other words, not really ever comprehend or know anything about it. Now that flies in the face of what people believe, what they think, and yet God declares that it is so. Now, we learn from the New Testament that the first two or three verses of this psalm, why did the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. These were this was prophetically fulfilled when Christ was delivered to be crucified By the will and the hands of wicked men look in the book of Acts chapter 4 Acts chapter 4 and so you see even this the raging of the of the nations and the Determination and counsel of their rulers focused on Christ. And they focused on Him to do away with Him. So again, we see Christ is at the center of all things. Acts chapter 4, verse 18. And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But when Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them because of the people. For all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old on whom this miracle of healing was shown. And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art God, which has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is, who by the mouth of thy servant David has said, why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things? kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ for of a truth against thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And so you see as they were threatened and and they were commanded by the authorities there not to preach any more about Jesus as they had been doing. And they prayed to God and they quoted even in their prayer, the second Psalm, they said, Lord, this came to pass and it's still happening. Said, now, Lord, behold their threatenings. And so This was fulfilled in regards to the Lord Jesus Christ, the crucifixion of Christ. Now remember, before I finish that thought, remember we're being given here the view of heaven. Here in Psalm number two, it's the view of heaven. That's what God's word gives us, the view of heaven. You know, people, look at things, they see what's going on in life, or maybe in their own life, and they form opinions and conclusions, and they say, oh, and even courses of action, and yet the only thing that's gonna show you what's really going on is the word of God. That's it. A lot of people form a lot of conclusions about things. It's, oh, this is how it's gonna be. or this is the way it's going to go, or this is how things are going to take place. A lot of those conclusions are about as trustworthy as the weather report. But when we have God's report, we know it's going to be just exactly as he said. We find here that the crucifixion of Christ was a deliberate act of the governments of this world, the nations, and their representative leaders. Isn't that what we read here in the word of God? They all came together to condemn and put to death the Lord Jesus Christ. And every witness, every true witness that they had was that he was exactly who the scripture said he was, the anointed of the Lord. The powers that be took a stand against him who has all power in heaven and in earth. They who hated each other, right? Because who was involved here says Herod, Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. There weren't any of them that liked each other. There weren't any of them that got along. There wasn't any of them that had respect for each other, were thankful for each other. but they who hated each other and were at odds with each other prior to the appearance of Christ in the world as the Son of Man to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, they stood together and they joined together in friendship to crucify Him, full well knowing Him to be innocent of any wrongdoing." In fact, He went about doing what? Doing good. Look in the Gospel of Luke chapter 22 and let's notice what the scriptures record concerning this at some detail. Luke chapter 23, or 22 rather, Luke chapter 22, verse 63, So here Jesus is being held by the Jewish leaders, their council, and he's having his first trial in front of them. And verse 63 in Luke 22, and the men that held Jesus mocked him and smote him, And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him saying, prophesy, who is it that smote thee? Many other things blasphemously spake they against him. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together and led him into their council saying, art thou the Christ, tell us. And he said unto them, if I tell you, you will not believe. And if I also ask you, you will not answer me nor let me go. Hereafter shall the son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, art thou then the son of God? And he said unto them, ye say that I am. And they said, what need we any further witness? For we ourselves have heard of his own mouth. And the whole multitude of them arose and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce. saying, he stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilean, and as soon as he knew that he belonged under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words, but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod, with his men of war, set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day, Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were at enmity between themselves. And when Pilate And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said unto them, ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverted the people. And behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man, touching those things wherever ye accuse him, known or yet hered. For I sent you to him, and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him. For of necessity, he must release one unto them at the feast. And they cried out all at once, saying, away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas. who for a certain sedition made in the city and for murder was cast into prison. Pilate, therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them, but they cried, saying, crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him. I will, therefore, chastise him and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required, and he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired, but he delivered Jesus to their will. Then turn to the gospel of John chapter 18. And so you see how that they were gathered together and in a tumultuous fashion, insisting that Christ be crucified and the rulers, Those in authority who, you know, they often refused what was requested of them. Well, not this time. You know, you think about even the rulers that we have today, and if you were to, you know, go and speak to one about something and say, oh, I have this urgent cause that deserves attention, and more likely than not, you probably wouldn't even get in to see them, let alone would they do anything about it. But notice here in John chapter 18, verse 28, then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment. And it was early and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. You see, they didn't want to go into the Roman judgment hall to see Pilate because, you know, then they'd be ceremonially defiled and they wouldn't get to eat the Passover. But yet they weren't worried about being guilty of murdering someone that had done nothing wrong. Pilate then went out unto them and said, what accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, if he were not a male factor, a criminal, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, take ye him and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, it is not lawful for us to put any man to death. that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? When he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all, but ye have a custom that I should release unto you one at the Passover. Will ye therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head. And they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews. And they smote him with their hands. Pilate, therefore, went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. When the chief priests, therefore, and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover and about the sixth hour, and he saith unto the Jews, behold your king. But they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar. then delivered he therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. And he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other with him on either side, one in Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews for the place where Jesus was crucified was night of the city and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. And so we find here that which was done under the Lord Jesus Christ, how that they raged and they were in a tumult, and how that they did crucify Him, and they had arrayed themselves against the counsel of God. And yet all was exactly as the Lord had foretold and determined should be done. And so we find here that the nations, even now, are more concerned with the friendship of Caesar than the friendship of God. They're more concerned with not being constrained or restrained by the law and the authority of God. As they said, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. But they bow to the rule and the law of sin and death, the authority of Satan, who's the god and prince of this world. They will not, as the Gospels tell us, have this man, the Lord's anointed to rule over them. One writer has said, these verses show that all trust in man in the service of God is vain. inasmuch as men oppose Christ. It is not good to hang our trust upon the multitude for their number, the earnest for their zeal, the mighty for their countenance, the wise for their counsel, since all these are far oftener against Christ than for him. Look in Jeremiah chapter 17. Jeremiah chapter 17, verse five. Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, and a salt land, and not inhabit it. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when he cometh. But her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Look in Jeremiah chapter 9. Verse 23 and 24, thus saith the Lord. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this. That he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, saith the Lord. In these verses here before us, as we noted earlier in the first six verses, we see the voice of God the Father who bears witness of the Son. These verses we'll note primarily in the time that we have remaining. And we find here again in verse one, why did the heathen rage? And the people imagine a vain thing, the raging or the tumultuous assembly is another way that it's rendered of the nations. They came together against Christ. How often do the nations come together? There's always a variance with each other. And yet they were able to come together against the Lord and against Christ, their foolish confederacy against God and God's purpose, culminating in their despising and rejecting of his son, Jesus Christ. Here, the Lord puts it forth as a rhetorical question. He doesn't ask why because he doesn't know the answer. He's pointing out the folly of it. They crucified Christ and yet God raised him from the dead and has set him high above all things and given him the heathen and the uttermost parts of the earth for his inheritance and his possession. Why they should think to do such a vain thing as fight against God and the purpose of God. Think to overthrow his counsel determined before the world was. The imagination of the thoughts of their hearts conceive and contemplate such a futile and foolish course of action. Well, it's first of all because they are far from God in all their thoughts. They're deceived by the devil. They're blind and cannot see afar off. They're full of and puffed up with devilish fleshly and worldly pride. They're like people today. They think that because they are temporarily allowed to get away with something they think or to do something, that's the end. And that decides the matter. God decided it before the foundation of the world. Verses two and three, the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. From Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who ignorantly and impudently declared, who's the Lord, that I should obey his voice, I know not the Lord. To Herod the Great, who murderously sought to destroy the young Christ child, to Herod and Pilate, who we read of there in the Gospels, who in political conspiracy with the Jewish rulers crucified Jesus, to the Caesars, who sought to stamp out Christianity from the Roman Empire to the Popes and the Reformers, who persecuted the true churches and disciples of the Lord, to the Antichrist who shall rise up and deceive the nations and ultimately demand to be worshiped and say that he's God. The kings and the rulers of this world have set themselves against the living God and his Christ. And yet the response of heaven is, in verse four, he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. He that sitteth on the throne of the ages, undisturbed by the raging confederacies and conspiracies of wicked and demon-influenced men, whether they are kings or governors, princes or judges, councils or leagues of nations, generals, Well, the Lord will have the last laugh, so to speak. He holds them in contempt. Says he will have them in derision. How foolish they will finally appear to be. Their raging and being in an uproar, their plotting and planning is all known to him. He observes it from heaven. and cannot upset the least of his plans. What a calm composure and steadfastness under all circumstances this should give to those who know and trust in the living God who rules over heaven and earth. It reminded me as I read over and studied these verses, of Daniel chapter 3, where Daniel's three friends refused to bow to the idol that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian emperor, had set up. for all the people under his authority. He ruled over all different nations and languages of people. And he'd organized a big worship service and commanded all people and nations and languages to fall down and worship. The image that he had set up, and if they refused, they'd be cast into the fiery furnace. People would say, well, we had no choice. And yet what calm composure and steadfastness was displayed on the part of these. Now notice, when it was told Nebuchadnezzar about these, that they wouldn't bow, Verse 12, there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded thee. They serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now, if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackcloth, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made well. But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. And of course, you're familiar with what took place. And so, the Bible says, you know, now people say, oh, they were saved out of a fiery furnace. Well, God doesn't always deliver in that manner. In Romans chapter eight, in verse 35, when it says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. What if we're slaughtered? Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Won't separate us from the love of God. If we're killed, he'll raise us up. Notice in our song, but a word from God is all that's required to vex the nations. He said, then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them. in his sore displeasure. That's all God has to do is speak and they'll be vexed. The day is coming when his voice will shake the earth and the heavens. God will ultimately trouble those who trouble him and his people. Who will be able to comfort those whom God vexes in his wrath? Who will be able to deliver them from his displeasure? Now they currently hold the living God, and he whose name is the word of God, in contempt, but nothing more than a word from God's lips, and they will be unable to escape his wrathful contempt. The Bible compares the voice of the Lord to thunder in Psalm 29, And when John saw that seven-sealed scroll or book that was given unto the Lamb from the hand of Him that sat on the throne there, and when the first seal was opened in Revelation chapter 6, John said, they heard a sound of thunder. Says, I saw the lamb opened one of the seals and I heard as it were the noise of thunder. Oh, God's going to speak. That's what they thought, you know, when the father spoke to the son during his earthly ministry and they said it thundered. Oh, the father spake unto the son. In contrast with the kings of this world and their kingdoms, all of which fail, and come to nothing, the kingdom of God will stand forever. He said, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. His chosen king will have everlasting dominion over all things. Remember what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar there in Daniel chapter two and towards the end of that chapter when he revealed and explained Nebuchadnezzar's dream unto him. He said, in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. What a contrast between God's kingdom and the kingdoms and the governments of this world. His kingdom, he said, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. There's nothing holy about the kingdoms of this world, is there? They're established in corruptness, deceit, oppression. God not only names the king, but the seat of his government as well. He says, I've set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. He says, that's where his throne will be. It's already determined. And the unalterable, unavoidable, unconquerable, predeterminate knowledge and decree of God. That's why when the son begins to speak in verse 70, he said, I will declare the decree. Who decreed it? God, the Lord, the living God, creator of heaven and earth, savior of all men. And so may the Lord help us. So much attention is paid to, you know, Everything that's going on in the world, people say, oh, this, look at what happened over here, look at this, what happened over there, all go to the current events. God's been saying these things from the foundation of the world. That's what we need to pay attention to. May the Lord bless you.