All right, we will go to Psalm 2, Psalm 2. Give me just a moment here while I grab my notes. And we will turn to Psalm 2. As we have started a series on select Psalms, we looked last week at the first six verses of Psalm 2. And so we'll come back to that here in just a moment. All right, in the prayer list, there should be an outline if you wanna follow along. It's on the back side down at the bottom. There should be the second half of the notes. And if you'd like to follow along there or fill in the blanks, you're welcome to do so. But we've entitled this study of this psalm, Serve the Lord with Fear. And it's a royal psalm. There are many other royal psalms. And again, this is because of the reference to the Messiah as King, the Anointed One. So it's a Royal Psalm, along with Psalm 18, 20 and 21, 45, 72, and then there are several others that are Royal Psalms. We are breaking this down into a four-point outline. Human Rebellion, verses one through three, Divine Reaction, verses four through six, Divine Rule in verses seven through nine, and then Human Responsibility in verses 10 through 12. We looked last week at human rebellion. We see in the first scene, we see why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? This is verse number one. So this word rage, this word rage means, as you see there, to make a tumult. It's quoted in Acts 4, verses 25 and 26 of the religious and civil authorities who are persecuting Peter and John. And Peter and John, in their prayer, they quote from Psalm 2, saying, these civil and religious authorities who are persecuting us for preaching the gospel, they are doing a vain thing. They are raging against you, Lord. So they pray from this very Psalm. It's a root word that means to snore like a horse. It can literally mean to riot, to gather for the purpose of causing turmoil, destruction, violence, And again, those who crucify Jesus raged against him. We are familiar with riots, sadly, all too much in our society today. And we've experienced that even close to where we live. And there have been various riots through the years. But that is, in a sense, the word here. Why do the heathen riot against the Lord? and the people imagine a vain thing. So vain means, as we looked at last week, empty, foolish, wasteful. It is a foolish thing to do. It is a wasteful, vain, empty thing to do, to riot, to rage against the Lord. Psalm 38.12, They also that seek after my life lay snares for me, and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. Proverbs 24, verse 2, For their hearts studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. We even looked last week at Isaiah 59, 1 and 2, actually all the way down to verse 4, we won't quote those tonight. But we see that who is leading this raging, who is leading this imagining a vain thing? It is the kings of the earth. Verse two, this is the leaders. This is the nobility. This is the influencers, so to speak. This is the rulers. And they are leading this rage, they're leading this rioting, this tumult, this rebellion, this defiance against the Lord. And they're trying to gather others with them. And they have set themselves in direct defiance and rebellion and willful disobedience. And they take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. They plan, they plot, they strategize. all in an effort to try to stop the will of God, to stop the work of God, to upset God's redemption plan, to destroy, to take captive people and to take them into their deceits and their destruction, and to cause doubts and discouragement and depression among believers. It's a plot, it's a plan, it's a strategy, and we see the schemes as we read that the devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. We know that there are principalities, powers, that there's spiritual wickedness in high places, all as a part of the ideologies and the false religions and the rebellious thoughts and actions. Behind all that is a satanic inspiration. So as people give themselves over to false religions, as they give themselves over to wrong ideologies, to humanism and naturalism and Marxism and evolution and all the different isms and ideologies, as they give themselves over to those false ways of thinking and worshiping, those wrong views, those sinful thoughts, those false religions, those lies, as they give themselves over, they are actually placing themselves in the influence, under the influence of Satan. Yes, there's the world, and yes, there's the flesh that Satan is using, but Satan is behind. We look at what goes on in some parts of the world right now, particularly the Middle East, and the brutal ways of these terrorists. The people of Canaan and the way they behave, their sins, are very comparable to what we see from Hezbollah, from Hamas, these brutal terrorists and what goes on in Afghanistan and the Taliban. It's inhumane. That is a despicable, perverted, extreme form of raging and imagining a vain thing. But that's what these ideologies, these wrong teachings, these false religions, this is what they can lead to. especially when there's not government that fears God, that punishes the wicked and rewards the good. And it's against the Lord and against His anointed. I had a very good question after the study last week. And so let's touch on that here for a moment. But notice what they say in verse two. They take counsel, they plot, they strategize against the Lord and against His anointed. The Lord being God himself, the Lord God Jehovah, but we also see, and against his anointed. We have to understand that this is God in the person of Jesus Christ, but the psalmist, by the inspiration of God, makes mention of two persons of the Trinity. God the Father and God the Son. Who is the anointed? This is God the Son. So the question was, in verse three, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. A good question, why is there a plural in verse three? Well, because the psalmist is taking and identifying two persons of the Trinity, one God, three persons, one essence, three persons, He is identifying the Lord God, Jehovah, God, the Father, and the anointed one, the Messiah. And he is separating those two persons for emphasis for this point. It's a inspired account, of course. So in verse three, the plurals, their bands, their chords, is a reference to both the Lord God, Jehovah, God the Father, and against His Son, Jesus Christ. Now, specifically, when did the kings, the rulers, mankind rebel and defy against the Anointed One, the Messiah, Jesus Christ? Well, of course, during His earthly ministry at the crucifixion, right? during his time here on earth. So there's a moment of separation for identification, for emphasis, where the defiance and the rebellion is specifically toward Jesus Christ, and that's obviously then a reference to the crucifixion. So what do we see here in Psalm 2, in verse 3, in verses 2 and 3? We're seeing a prophecy of the crucifixion. that would take place, obviously, in the New Testament. So we see their bands and their cords, because there is obviously rebellion against God the Father, but also in a very real and personal sense, as Christ, the God-man, God in human flesh, suffered and died as a man on the cross, shed Real blood for our sins. Died a death. Not that God died. God did not die. But Christ suffered a human death. He did not see corruption, though, we read later in the book of Psalms and repeated in the New Testament. I don't believe that Jesus went to hell and preached to the fallen angels in hell. I don't believe that. I know that there are some good Bible scholars who believe that. Jesus, of course, rose on the third day, ascended back in the glory 40 days later. So we see that for just a brief time here in this inspired account, we see that separation of two persons of the Trinity for emphasis, for identification purposes. And what are the bands and the cords? These are God's word, his law, moral order. Even it's a rebellion against those who follow God. and follow the Messiah. It's even a rebellion against those who follow after. That would mean saved people, genuine believers, Christians. Even they are seen as the enemies of progress, right? They're seen as the prudes. We as believers are seen as enemies because we keep God's law, obviously not perfectly, we're sinners saved by grace, but ultimately it's a rebellion against God, against his word, against his law, against his moral orders, even against God's design biologically, his creative design. We see attacks against God's very creative design. We have a administration running for president right now that is in their platform. They are pushing for, promoting, and celebrating various levels of perversion, including the attempt, they can't obviously do it successfully, but even the attempt to rewrites God's design for creation when it comes to male and female, when it comes to marriage, when it comes to gender, even performing mutilating surgeries. That's how rebellious man can be in trying to break the bands and what they see as bands and cords instead of seeing These as bands of love, as we read in Hosea 11, 4, I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love. And I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. But instead, they should see these bands as bands of love, and they should see the yoke of Jesus Christ. Come unto me, all ye that labor and have ye laid, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. That's a call to salvation. The divine reaction, we see in the next section of verses here, we see the divine reaction. We'll just quickly go through these points. But we look last week at he who sits. This is the enthronement of God in the heavens. This is speaking of his throne, his sovereign rule and reign. He will laugh, there is divine contempt, mocking and scorning, derision against those who rebel against God. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. Verse five, then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. This, of course, is speaking of the judgment of God, the holy wrath of God, his righteous anger, his divine judgment. And God sets Jesus as king on Zion, the hill of God's holiness. Zion can be specifically a reference to the Temple Mount, but obviously to the city, the temple, and the whole city of Jerusalem. And I put last week at the end of our time a picture of the, or a fairly current picture of the Temple Mount, where one day the third temple will replace any mosque. or Muslim holy place. We know that belongs to God, not to the Muslims. So that brings us to divine rule. So we see, yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Jerusalem, even prophetic to the millennial kingdom, But verse 7, 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. This is a fairly difficult passage to interpret just from the standpoint that God is eternal, Jesus Christ is eternal. But we see here that there is a decree. The Lord, capital letters, all capital letters, L-O-R-D, this is Yahweh, Jehovah, has said unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Jehovah's Witnesses say that that means that Jesus was a created being. No. Jesus has been the eternal Son of God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are eternal. Jesus Christ has been the Son of God for eternity. He has been King for eternity. But there had to be a time and place in our time, we think in terms of time. God is not bound by our time. Is it November that we have a time change and we fall back? That's coming up here. God's not bound by our timetable. We live by seconds and minutes and some of us are more schedule freaks than others. Some of us are very schedule oriented and we have everything mapped out. And some of us are just like, whatever happens, what happens. Whenever I show up, I show up. There had to be a time where God decreed that man would know and hear and receive, right? So what was true from eternity past, there was a time where God decreed and man became knowledgeable of this decree. We could begin with Genesis 3 in verse 15. The serpent will have his head crushed, right? The seed of the woman will be crushed. but the serpent's head will be crushed. We can go all the way to Genesis 3.15 and we can see that beginning of the gospel and even in the skins that were used to clothe Adam and Eve. And then we can see in what sacrifice that Cain and Abel were supposed to bring. And Abel brought the right one by faith. We see already this revelation of God's redemption plan, and then we come all the way to the monarchy. Was there a time where David was anointed king? But when did he actually get coronated as king? It was some years later, wasn't it? And I think he spent, what, seven years in Jerusalem without the entire kingdom, and then 33 years, I think it was. as King of all of Israel. So it's as if we're saying there was an anointing. Obviously from eternity past, Jesus Christ has been the Son of God. From eternity past, He has been King of kings and Lord of lords. But there was a decree, there was a time when this was revealed to man, similar to when David was anointed king, but then he was coronated some years later. So there was a coronation day. And that coronation day includes the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. And of course, there is a millennial kingdom when he will rule and reign on the throne of David. So we are seeing the Abrahamic covenant. We're seeing the Davidic covenant. We're seeing that Christ is eternal. But there was a time of coronation where it was, in a sense, revealed to man. through scripture, and obviously in the person of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. I know that's a lot to kind of wrap our minds around on a night when we're probably tired from a busy day at work, and I know that's a lot to try to swallow, but this is the decree of God from eternity past, declaring Messiah, Jesus Christ, as God's Son and King. It's a statement of eternal reality, of God's declaration of Jesus as the Son of God from eternity past, authorizing Him as King and authorizing His rule. Though the Messiah would die on the cross first, He is still King and always has been and always will be. But there was a way in which this was divinely revealed. In the Abrahamic Covenant, and specifically the Davidic Covenant, the Messiah would be a servant, excuse me, the Messiah would be a descendant of David. We could go to 2 Samuel, and verses 8 through 16 of 2 Samuel 7. So the Davidic Covenant required that the Messiah be a descendant of David. And that was through Joseph and through Mary. And so the Davidic covenant is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and again, his kingdom will once for a thousand years be on the earth, and then it will be eternal in the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, the new earth. This is the only place in the Old Testament that the father-son relationship of the Trinity is revealed or referenced, the only time in the Old Testament. In Hebrews 1, 5 and 6, this passage in Psalm 2 is quoted. In Ephesians, excuse me, in Hebrews 1, 5 and 6, the reference, the quote from this Psalm is in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ. In Acts 13, verses 33 and 34, this Psalm is quoted in reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So we've seen in Acts already that the Apostles quote in prayer from this psalm. In Acts 13, this psalm is quoted, is referenced, and then in Hebrews 1, this psalm is quoted. We can see how important this psalm is in the prophecy, in the identification of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, God in the flesh, as the Anointed One, the Messiah. And then, not sure if I have the right place here. I think I went too far, maybe, in the divine rule. But we have also this word begotten, this word begotten. And I'm gonna have to come back next week and have a third part, but that's fine. Verse seven, I will declare the decree the Lord has said unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. So we have begotten. What is this word begotten? We see it in the Hebrew, and then we see it also again in the New Testament, in the original Greek. And in John 3 and verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. We're talking about the same basic meaning here. We're talking about not, and as the Jehovah's Witnesses would say, they would say this word begotten here means that there was a time where Jesus Christ was created. The Mormons, similarly, they would say that there was a time where Jesus was created because he's the spirit brother of Satan. But this word begotten is not a reference to a creative act. It's already been declared that the Anointed One has been always God, always the Son of God. But this word begotten is a reference to the relationship as the unique one and only Son of God, uniquely the Son of God, and it's a reference to the Trinitarian relationship. This day have I begotten thee. This day I have declared, I have revealed, to mankind, whom the anointed one has been sent to pay the penalty for our sins, to save us from our sins, to give us a home in heaven, to experience forgiveness. He says, this has been revealed. This day have I begotten thee. I have revealed Christ. This is prophetic to his death, burial, and resurrection, his ascension into heaven, seated at the right hand of the throne of God, and it is there that he is preeminent. What is this saying? He is the preeminent one. He is first. He is the one whom we should completely orient our lives around. He is first place. He is our first priority. He is by whom we should Order our lives. And of course, we know that the written word of God is the revelation of Jesus Christ, who is the living word of God. We know that there were two other specific times where there was a declaration of Christ as the son of God. What were those two other times? Not sure, I think I'm either behind or ahead. I can't remember where I'm at now. I got mixed up on my outline, sorry about that. I have a set of notes here, and I have an outline that I put in the bulletin. I apologize if those are mixed up. But where were the two other times in the New Testament where it was very specifically that there was a declaration? Sam? His baptism, and where else? Mount of Transfiguration. Where God audibly declared, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. I just think it is extremely fascinating how all of, I love how scripture, obviously one author, God used 40 human authors, but this is a revelation from God, divinely inspired, and it all perfectly fits together. Scripture interprets scripture, scripture does not contradict scripture, because one author, God himself, inspired. So Psalm 2 is prophetic. It's quoted in the New Testament and it also references to these declarations, these decrees from eternity past that are revealed in God's redemption plan and literally, audibly, physically can be heard by man. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. In Hebrews and in Acts, specifically quoted in regards to the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. We'll have to stop there. This psalm is rich. I apologize. I know I got some things mixed up and I didn't get the outline completely done. We'll come back one more time, Lord willing, and finish up the last part, the last scene in this great psalm. But it is such a rich psalm and so deep in Messianic truths and prophetic truths that help us, that encourage us in our walk with the Lord, in our faith, that we serve the one true and living God, the Lord God, Jehovah. We serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and praise God for that. In the midst of great turmoil and wars and everything else that's going on, we need to keep looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word, for this great psalm. I feel like I've only scratched the surface and done Not a very good job, really, in trying to explain, but Lord, we thank you for these truths that are anchors of the soul, that help us, Lord, in times of great turmoil and consternation and when there's wars and fighting and fears, help us, Lord, to remain faithful to your word, strong in the Lord and the power of your might. We thank you for these truths, these principles, these commands, these promises, these prophecies that we can lay hold of. And that, Lord, we rejoice in that you are the author and the finisher, the completer of our faith. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for being here.