If you would turn your Bibles to Psalm 2, 2nd Psalm, that is where our lesson will come from this morning. And before we start reading, we need to understand a bit about Psalms. That Psalms, specifically the first one and the second one, are deliberately placed there. And they give us a foundation to read the rest of the Psalms. Psalm 1 starts by saying, Blessed is the man who And Psalm 2 ends, blessed are all those who take refuge in him. But we also need to understand that Psalms are not just specifically man's words to God. But they are, in fact, God's words to us. That they give us a spectrum, this emotional spectrum of God relating to us in times of repentance, in times of sorrow, in times of anger, frustration, in times of joy and praise and worship. But we need to understand that they're not just man's words to God but God's words to me. So listen and hear the word of the Lord. Psalm 2. Why do the nations rage and the people's plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, let us spurs their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in heaven laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury, saying, As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter's vessel. Now, therefore, O kings, be wise. Be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the sun, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. The word Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Lord. Let you be the foundation of this sermon. Let this sermon be centered around your words. Lord, let my words not be my words, but let them be yours. Lord, I pray that you would open the ears of the hearers of this sermon. That they would not hear the words that they want to hear, but they would hear your words to them, a beloved child of God. Lord, let this sermon be for your glory and for your praise. In Jesus name. Amen. Who rules the world? Modern day philosopher Beyonce asked that same question. Who runs the world? Girls is her answer. And it feels that way sometimes when we're talking about what we're going to watch it on TV and my girls overrate and I end up watching 72 of the world's cutest animals or something like that. But talking about this, this question, who runs the world? Who puts the rulers in their place? The voters? People with money? The man with the strongest army? Who chooses who will rise and who will fall? In a democratic republic, the people. In a communist country, the one with the most power, the one who has the strongest army. In a parliamentary system, the people elect and the party selects. But in a day filled with men and women who misuse their power, who corrects them? In a day filled with media spins and publicity, who disciplines them? And maybe outside of that, you might just turn on the news and you see that. World leaders looking like they're the ones in charge and they're the ones they're going to be accounted for. Maybe more locally, you see that in our country. You ask the question, who is in charge? Maybe a bit more close to home, your boss or your employee. And you feel like injustice is just happening around you. And you have this question, who runs the world? And today, this psalm talks about this, tells us about rulers, kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, warlords and mayors and governors and judges, employees. But it even talks to us. If you have anything from today, understand that the Lord rules and reigns, and we, in our response, need to take refuge in him. Verse one starts by asking the questions, why do the nations rage? Written 2000, 3000 years ago, this question is still very applicable today. Turn on the news. Don't you ask that question? Why do the nations rage? Look at the world, look at the brokenness and the people's plot in vanity. The original Hebrew would just say emptiness. It's meaningless. They plot and it's nothing. Their measure of rule is based on what they see is right. Verse two said, the kings of the earth set themselves. They say, I am king. They put themselves in that place. And the rulers take counsel together. Right and wrong is no longer a central core value. It's what other people see fit. I'm not as bad as this person. Yeah, I know I do that, but you should see what they do. And again, it doesn't take a lot to turn it on. What are the headlines for most of our world leaders? Most of the time you do not see them, these people being upright, noble citizens. serving the poor, giving away their wealth, being an example like Christ is an example. Most of the time they're in the news because their personal character is not upstanding. Their affairs, their scandals. But where is God when this happens? Who runs the world? Verse three introduce verse four says this. He who sits in the heaven laughs and he holds them in derision. This he will hold them in derision literally translated the Lord will decide for them. Proverbs 21 star says that the king's heart is like a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. Water does not decide where to go. Water does not start at the top of the mountain and say, I'm going to go down this way. Water flows where it goes. Water does not decide. This is why it says that God. That is what kings are like in the hands of God, water just being able to move and flow. Then it changes. It becomes very serious in verse five. No longer is the one in heaven laughing. Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury. It becomes very serious for these kings. There's a change from God laughing, thinking, who do you think you are? To now you are going to be held accountable. The Lord reigns. God is sovereign. And verse six says, as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. Compared to the wicked kings and rulers who said in verse 3 let us burst their bonds apart and cast away the cords from us God simply said as for me I have set my king On Zion my holy hill Just like a chessboard in front of them. It seems that the wicked kings and rulers think that they're winning. I Think that they're taking ground, they're getting advantage. But God sits there and he says, as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. And he looks at them and says, checkmate. And time after time, we see this. God still rules. In Egypt, Pharaoh, the largest army, The strongest man. The Egyptians would call Pharaoh God. Against these slaves. And in the end, God still ruled. Or Jericho, as they cross into this promised land. This group of sojourners against this well built city. And in the end, God still rules. Or even after when they're in the promised land. And these nations come and attack them. This newly established nation. They won because God still rules. And finally, in Babylon, even this large nation coming in, taking over, having victory, making them exiles, taking them out of their homeland. And in the end, God still rules. He said that he had a plan for them. Not to harm them. But one filled with hope, future. And time after time. And I'm not sure what your story is. Maybe you're sitting here and going, that's great for them, but I don't feel that. If you knew my situation, God is not ruling, God is not reigning. My situation at work or the world, I've had the most difficult year ever, and you're still asking that question, where is God? Who rules and reigns? God has set his king. And we go into verse seven. And I tell you of the decree, the Lord said to me, you are my son, and today I have begotten you. He has set his king, Jesus. To rule and reign. He did not come in royal robes. And on a throne made of gold, He did not come to defeat one particular king, but the king that rules all man, sin. They wanted to make him king. They wanted to make him king. But he came to humbly die with arms stretched out, not with a crown of gold, but a crown of thorns. not clothed in finely crafted robes, but naked, bruised, beaten, and bloody. His death was not like a warrior at the front of battle, covered in armor, but on a cross in the midst of criminals. The king of kings came to earth crucified under an earthly king and ruler, Pontius Pilate. The only ever man who was righteous bore the sin and penalty that we cannot bear ourselves. Paul in Philippians says this, in Philippians 2, have this mind among yourself, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Been born in the likeness of men and been found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and Under the earth and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Jesus came and he broke The one bad ruler the one bad king sin He dashed it into pieces with a rod of iron, like a potter's vessel, smashed. The contrast is here in Psalm 1, where it says it is like chaff that just blows away. No longer is it just blown away. There is a big, drastic difference. To reassemble potter's clay, it became very serious. Jesus came, Isaiah says, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The Lord reigns. The Lord rules and reigns. And he will rule and reign in the end. In Revelation, it says that he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And this passage reflects the gospel. The first stanza is that man is sinful. Man is corrupt. The second stanza says that God is sovereign. God is in control. Third stanza said that Jesus is savior. The gospel needs a response. And our response is to take refuge in Him. The truth about this passage is that you and I are the kings. You and I are the kings that set ourselves. We seek the counsel we want to hear. We rule our own lives. We go against him. We think we make better kings of our lives than God does. We wear our crown of pride. You and I, we put on the robes of self-righteousness. You and I rule our lives thinking that we know what's best. You and I think that we are better kings than the king of kings. It's like an apprentice going to the master craftsman saying, hey, you've been doing this wrong the whole time. Let me help you. We think that we sit on our own throne and we rule our lives and we say, this is what we do. This is my job, my work, my house, my life, my money. Let me rule it. Let me rule and reign over my life. But we need to go take refuge in him. Refugees are people that cannot live in their own country. It is life-threatening. They need to come out of that country and come to somewhere where it's safe. And they recognize they would much rather be out of their homeland and a foreigner in a different country than to stay under this tyranny. And we need to do that. We need to realize that we are ruling and reigning our own lives and we are destroying our lives. Through sin, we decide what is best for us. But we need to go and have refuge in him and say, no longer do I want to be king of my life. No longer do I want to rule over finances, money, house, family. God, you be the king. I'll hop off my throne and seek refuge under yours. You be the Lord of my life, the king of my life. Everything that I have is yours. Because there is a point where it becomes very serious. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry with you and you perish in the way. There's a time and a point where it becomes very serious. Where the king will punish. the unjust. John three says this. And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world and the people love the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light. Lest his work should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to light so that they may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out by God. Person we love the darkness. We love to rule. We love to reign Even as Christians for a long time. We always slip back into this We always forget that God is King God is ruler and We sit on that throne We need to come under his kingship his lordship Fear God, serve the Lord with fear. Spurgeon says that fear of God is the death of every other fear. Like a mighty lion, it chases all fears away. The Lord rules and reigns. And our response is to take refuge in him. To kiss the sun. Psalm 1 starts by saying, blessed is the man. Psalm 2 concludes by saying, blessed are all who take refuge in him. Let us take refuge. Let us turn to God. In a mix of all these troubles, all this chaos, all this craziness that surrounds us, Turn to God, come under his kingship, come under his lordship. Let us pray. God, you are our refuge and strength. You are our very present help in time of trouble. Therefore, we do not fear that the earth should change and the mountains should slip into the heart of the sea. Though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake, it is swelling pride. Lord, you are our refuge, and you are our strength. Lord, help us to turn to you in our very present troubles, in our times of need. In Jesus' name, amen.