The title of the sermon this morning is simply kiss the sun. A phrase of course taken from the text this morning song to. And we have certainly been privileged to witness a beautiful living example of what that means as these two young women have done exactly that this morning. Humble themselves before this great king and kiss the sun. Would it be that even the rulers of this country would do the same as Al and Tory have this morning to humble themselves before this great king of kings to kiss the sun will turn with me now to Psalm 2. We've spoken much about the king this morning and we are here to worship him. And in Psalm 2 we have a beautiful exposition of his glory and his majesty and I should say in the foolishness of my youth I as I was preparing this sermon thought that this song could be preached in one sermon and over the last couple of days have quickly realized that this has been a fool's errand and if you'll turn to the back of your bulletins with me to the outline this morning we will be looking at the first two points. The nation's rage and the father laughs and this evening will conclude the exposition of song to looking at the final two points of the outline we have in this sermon. And so now let us turn our attention to the reading of God's word from the book of Psalms and song to why do the nation's 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 burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens 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 the rod of iron. and dash them in 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 son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Turn with me now to Acts chapter four. I'd like to read one New Testament passage before we begin. Acts chapter four and we'll begin in verse twenty three. The context is Peter and John, the apostles, have been preaching Jesus Christ. As God's anointed king, And they are thrown into prison and brought before the judges of Israel. And after they are released, we read these words beginning in verse 23. When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, why did the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. For truly in this city, they 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 plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal. And signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. And when they had prayed, The place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continue to speak the word of God with boldness. Please pray with me. Gracious Father. You have created the mouth and you have created the ear. And so we pray now as we hear your word read. and proclaimed that you would attend to us by the power of the spirit to receive it with joy and gladness to humble ourselves before our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and dedicate ourselves more fully to the service of his kingdom. We pray this now for the glory of his name. Amen. One of the results of sin is that we simply do not perceive reality the way we ought to. I think this is evidenced most simply and profoundly by the fact that the most fundamental reality of all existence, that God is, and that he has created us to worship, love, and give to him glory, is a reality that the majority of men and women on this earth fight against with devoted energy. In our song this morning, we meet with two different interpretations of the state of the world that we live in. We see the way that the fallen nations perceive their relationship to God. And then we see the way in which God, in all the perfection of his truth and omniscience, perceives that same relationship. We will find that there is a great incongruity between the way that Fallen humanity views their relationship to God and the way in which God views his relationship to them. When we looked at someone two weeks ago, we saw that there are two ways laid out for every individual. There's the way of blessedness in Jesus Christ being accounted righteous in the righteous one. And then there is the way of the ungodly. who delight to break God's law. The first way leads to everlasting life and the second way to everlasting death. And now, as we turn to Psalm 2, we will see that there are also two ways laid out for every nation and every people on this earth. There is again the way of blessedness in Jesus Christ, kissing the Son and putting their trust in him. And then there is the way of rage and vanity seeking to cast off his authority. Both Psalms point to Jesus Christ as the way of blessedness and both end with the declaration that if you choose any other path outside of Christ, you will perish. What a magnificent, beautiful and perfect way to introduce the whole book of the Psalms with these two songs. reading about the righteous one, Jesus Christ, and how we are comprehended as righteous through him. And then reading about the exaltation of the righteous one and how all who trust in him are blessed forever. If you look in Psalm two and verse one, there's the same Hebrew verb used in verse two of Psalm one, as is used here in verse one of Psalm two, just as Christ meditates on the law of God. So the fallen nations of this world meditate on vanity and emptiness. You see, the Psalter is Christ's book of praise. They were written by him and look forward to him coming in the flesh to fulfill them. Looking forward to his earthly ministry, these two Psalms were prophetic history of how Christ would live his life here on Earth, accomplishing salvation for his people. and how he would be exalted as the righteous servant of God and given the name that is above every name. Brothers and sisters, Psalm 2 is written for us, upon whom the end of the ages has come, who live in the period between the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the second coming of the Lord Jesus. And I say this because the psalm explicitly speaks about the heavenly arrangement of government that the Lord would not set up until Christ had come in the flesh, accomplish salvation, and then be exalted to the right hand of God and given authority over all things. Think of David's reign in Solomon's reign. At best, they ruled the nations in the immediate vicinity of Israel. But a universal reign over all nations that Psalm 2 looks forward to. David and Solomon could only look forward to the one who would come to fulfill this great image. None of David's earthly sons fulfilled it. Only the eternal son incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ, born of a woman and conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, would bring to life this great picture that we see in Psalm 2. And yet for the Old Testament saints, Psalm 2 created the anticipation of when, when would this Messiah come to establish the eternal throne of God's kingdom. And so Psalm 2 directed the heart of every pious Israelite to yearn for the day of Messiah. And for us who now live in the fulfillment of these glorious realities of Christ's kingship. This song is essential for us to take upon our lips to sing with joy and confidence in our conquering Redeemer for the church living between the two comings of Christ song to is essential fuel for our faith in him. We need song to because of the apparent frailty of the church in this age and the apparent power of the nations who rule over the people of this earth. The nations of the world and the rulers thereof seem to exercise great power over Christ's Church, even to persecute and to harm the Church of God. With our finite perception, we see the apparent reality of things. But in Psalm 2, God lifts us to a higher reality, the heavenly reality of Christ's kingship over all nations. that our faith might be infused with a boldness as we seek to testify about this great king before all the peoples of this earth. And if you look at your outline again with me before we enter into the first point I want to say something about the structure of this song. There are four sections from the outline I've concluded simply follows each section of this song. And each of these four sections is delineated by four different speakers. As David composes the psalm and narrates this divinely inspired conversation, we meet with four distinct voices. In verses one through three, the nations are speaking. In verses four through six, the father is speaking. In verses seven through nine, the son is speaking. And as the psalm closes in verses 10 through 12, David offers his own inspired meditation on the dialogue that we have just heard. Again, what an extraordinary psalm we have before us. The nations of this fallen world directing their collective voice to the father and to the son. And then the father and the son raising their collective voice in unanimous reply to the nations. It is no wonder, then, that we find Psalm 2 foundational to the New Testament's theology of Christ's kingship. Psalm 2 is quoted no less than seven times in the New Testament with numerous other allusions. The apostles viewed this psalm as absolutely foundational to the way that we understand Christ's kingship and its relationship to the nations around us. In short, as David marvels at this divine dialogue, between father and son. He comes to this glorious conclusion that all nations all men and women on this earth are commanded to kiss the sun and to give their allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. We will come at length to what this act of kissing both signifies and entails. Now let's enter into the Solomon and look at the first speaker in verses one through three the nations. As we turn to these first verses, it's obvious that we are entering into a conflict. And it is a conflict that encompasses all people on this earth, a conflict wherein there is no neutrality. Every one of you present here this morning is part of this conflict and has a place to play in it. Think of the way in which these first three verses of Psalm 2 are echoed by Jesus' words. He who is not for me is against me. And as David steps back and contemplates the state of this world and sees the nations and the peoples of the earth in continual rebellion against the Lord, the picture that God paints for us is one of continued and concentrated conspiracy against the Lord. He sees the nations of the world, though they may be separated geographically, and culturally, nevertheless, having one unified voice in rebellion against the Lord. Verse three, let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. This voice is directed both to the Lord and to his anointed. The word anointed in Hebrew is simply Messiah. And when it's translated into the Greek version of the Old Testament, it is simply Christ. We could very easily read this verse. The Lord and his Messiah or the Lord and his Christ. And so as the nations look at the father and the son, the Lord and his Christ, they're saying to them, we want nothing to do with you and we want you completely out of our existence. The bonds and the courts that the nations wish to break to pieces and cast away symbolizes the authority that God exercises over all nations and all people through his anointed son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The nations are saying to God and to Christ, we deny your authority and we refuse to be bound by your law. The conspiracy that the nations are involved in is the rejection of God's rule through his Messiah. We read in our New Testament passage from Acts chapter 4 how the words of Psalm 2 were supremely fulfilled in that time when Christ came and fulfilled his earthly ministry in the flesh and how Herod and Pilate, two enemies, how the Gentiles and the Israels two sworn enemies, though they were at enmity with one another, yet came together in unified conspiracy to see Jesus Christ rejected and put to death, united in the common cause of rebellion against the Lord and his anointed. And then when the apostles begin to preach this Jesus Christ, what happens to them? Persecution, imprisonment, beatings and even stonings. And how then do the apostles respond to this treatment from the nations? Basically, they say, yeah, that makes sense as they read song to. They are not surprised by the reaction that they are receiving because the nations are raging against the Lord and his anointed. They understand the dynamic of song to. That if they are preaching the same Jesus Christ who was rejected and crucified by the conspiracy of the nations, they can expect to receive the same treatment. And so in the face of this persecution, they pray to God to enable them to speak boldly about this Lord Jesus Christ without the fear of men. Well, this psalm was written more than a millennia before the apostles' time, and yet again several millennia before our time in this present day. And yet, just as it came to climactic fulfillment in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, so does it not exactly describe the position that the church is in today? Is this not today the posture of the nations towards God and his anointed? All fallen humanity is united again in this common purpose to throw off the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people would claim to know God and to love him, and yet they reject his servant Jesus. Psalm 2 leaves no option for such a position. It is against the Lord and his anointed that the nation's rage and the people's plot a vain thing. You cannot have the father without the son. Think again of Jesus' words in John chapter 5. The father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the son that all should honor the son just as they honor the father. He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. In our government, in our universities and throughout the public arena, the son is being rejected, denied and excluded. This last week at Horn Creek I had the opportunity to have conversations with a couple of Brits about the state of religion in Scotland. And they said that religious education is required in Scotland. But there are many teachers in fact the majority of teachers who will teach what they think Christianity to teach and then explicitly teach in the classroom why Christianity is wrong. And even in our own country You can go to almost any public societal gathering and you can speak about Islam. You can speak about Buddhism or Darwinism or whatever type of philosophy you would like. But bring up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll instantly know that you have brought up the one name that is absolutely excluded from public talk. You have spoken the name that no one wants to hear and no one wants to confront. Maybe many of you have experienced this. How many people just at the name of the Lord Jesus Christ have a visceral response to hearing about this great king of kings. How tragically ironic that the name that is above every name at which one day every knee will bow is the very name that is being excluded and shunned from the public from all areas of public life. You see, the nations are raging and it's not just off there somewhere in some foreign land, but it's right here in our own nation. We are increasingly bent on throwing off God's law and his authority in the name of liberty, personal dignity and autonomy. As David looks at the nations, he sees a raging tumult against the authority of God and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees the mass of fallen humanity shaking their collective fists at the Father in heaven. But as David looks to heaven, what is the condition of the response of God to this tumult on earth? We'll just look now at verses four through six. As David looks to heaven, is heaven in an upheaval? Is there a clamoring on the part of the angels as to how to deal with this rebellion that's taking place on Earth? Is God at a loss as to what course to take? Absolutely not. There is a calm and absolute resolution on the throne of heaven. Let us now look at the second speaker in Psalm 2, God the Father. Read with me in verse four. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall hold them in derision. God is not at a loss as to how to deal with this rebellion, but the eternal counsel of his will stands firm. The book of Revelation, John describes a sea of glass before the throne of heaven. This sea of glass is a picture of God's constancy. of the unchangeable character of his being, even in reaction to the raging of war and rebellion that is taking place on earth. And so it is in Psalm 2, verse 4 tells us that he who sits in the heavens shall laugh. Well, first of all, God's sitting does not refer to inactivity or idleness. Rather, God's sitting is his enthronement. We could easily read this verse, he who sits enthroned in the heavens shall laugh. In other words, God's kingship and his absolute authority over all flesh is by no means disturbed by the petty clamoring of his rebellious creatures. And secondly, when God laughs, his laughter is not the laughter of amusement. Rather, if I can put it this way, it's the laughter of of Michael Jordan were I to challenge him to a game of one-on-one basketball. Now, Michael is no god, and I would not wish the hyperbole of language given to him on anyone, but the point of the illustration is the great disparity that lies between Michael Jordan's ability at basketball and my ability at basketball. Think of the vanity and the arrogance it would be for me to face off against Michael Jordan, thinking that somehow I could overcome him on the court of basketball. What a fool I would have to be. And this is the image painted for us in this verse. God's laughter is directed towards the ridiculous bravado of man's unbelief and the utter futility of man's attempts to cast off his authority. The nations have challenged God to a game of one-on-one. And to add to the insanity of the situation, the stakes of that game are eternal. The vanity of such a situation is evident even in human to human situations. How much more when the discrepancy of power and majesty is the infinite gap that lies between the creator blessed forever and the creature. What a strange picture we have in these verses. The clay shaking its fist at the potter. The creatures thinking themselves more powerful than the one by whom they have their existence. Going back to verse one. This is why David calls the conspiracy and the plotting of the nation's vanity. This is why he cries out why with such indignation. What under utter vanity it is for God's creatures. to rage against the one in whom they live and move and have their being. Probably my favorite scene from any movie is from Chariots of Fire and please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 40 to properly get across this illustration. If you're familiar with the movie the Olympic athlete Eric Little and Christian missionary Well, he's preaching at a church in Paris on the day that he's supposed to be running the preliminaries for the 100-yard dash in the Olympics. And as Eric Little is reading his text, which is from Isaiah chapter 40, the director plays scene after scene of representative athletes from all the nations of the world, striving and striving after Olympic glory. And as you watch these nations toiling after athletic victory and glory. These are the words echoing in the background. Read with me from Isaiah chapter 40 in verse 15. Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the scales. All nations before him are is nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless. Have you not known Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth useless. To quote the King James from the movie, he maketh the judges of the earth vanity. The scene portrait portrays well the vanity of all of our self-described glory and strength. We are so prone to think ourselves deserving of such honor and privilege. How easily we can fall prey to Satan's lie. But again from Isaiah 66 this is the one to whom I will look to him who is humble and contrite in spirit. and who trembles at my word. Are you protecting yourself from the rage and the vanity of the nations? Governments, education, business, entertainment, all working together to exclude, to reject, and to deny God's anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ, and in so doing make war on God himself. Are you discerning about what is influencing your desires, the thoughts of your heart and the motives of your religion? Be wise, for we live in a world that is bent on war against God and his anointed, a world that would gladly see your devotion to Christ and your zeal for the advancement of his kingdom extinguished. A world that would gladly see you shut your mouth concerning this exalted King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, brothers and sisters, let us not fear men, for he who sits in the heavens laughs. Most assuredly, this world can put on a pretty good show of power and influence, but all the strength of the nations is but smoke and mirrors compared to the one who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Again, from Isaiah, the nations are counted by him as less than nothing and worthless. And so, Church of Christ, as you bear the testimony of your great king and concerning your savior, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. And as we face the rage of the nations, let us lift our eyes higher and see the peace on the throne of God and take strength in the fact that God is bringing all things to pass for the good of those who love him. Look with me now in verses five and six God's laughter at the futility of man's rebellion turns to wrath and displeasure and in response to man's frontal assault on the kingdom of God God speaks to them one sentence one sentence that if understood correctly is designed to shake the courage of the nations to its core, and expose all of their scheming as the epitome of futility. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. God does not broker a deal with these warring nations. He does not make any compromises or cede any territory. Rather, he declares to them that Jesus Christ reigns The reason this statement ought to be so terrifying to the nations is that it is God's declaration that he is going to meet their rebellion head on. The rage of the nations will not be indefinite. Rather, God has given all authority to one who will put an end to the vanity of the nations. This is the coronation declaration of God concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet I have set my team on my holy hill of Zion. And it is a declaration that concerns all men and women on this earth in all places and in all nations. God has chosen to exercise his authority and to accomplish his purposes through this Jesus Christ whom he has placed at his right hand. Have you reckoned with this reality is vitally important to realize that this is an objective declaration that does not rest in any way upon our subjective either approbation of it or denial of it. It is objective reality. Jesus Christ reigns over all nations at the right hand of God. Recently, there's been a phrase popular in much of American Christianity. Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life. Only one has made Jesus Lord, and that is God the Father. And our position is but to deal with the reality of his Lordship. Think of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost and how he preaches to the crowds. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Psalm 2 does not call you to cast a vote for the Lord Jesus. It calls you to face up to the reality of God's declaration that Christ has forever been set in the heavens as king over God's creation. Jesus Christ reigns from the right hand of God's throne in heaven and every man and woman, boy and girl, nation and people must reckon with this divine declaration. Earlier in the service, Pastor Reese mentioned that perhaps in America we have become lazy with our proclamation of Christ's kingship. And with a heavy heart, I must agree with him. I'm afraid that in America, broadly speaking, the gospel has become largely subjectivized so that the emphasis is more on our response and the emotions that we bring to it than it is about the objective declaration of what Christ has done and who Christ is. The gospel is certainly concerned with our response, but that is not at all where we must begin. We must start with the objective facts about who Christ is and what he has done, and it is only when these realities have been proclaimed that we can legitimately press for a response. Without the reality of Christ's kingship, without embracing the one who has been made king at God's right hand. Our devotion is without substance. But a sovereign King Jesus who demands allegiance from all men and all women is perhaps too threatening to the status quo as it exists in our country. But like it or not, a sovereign King Jesus who demands allegiance from all men and all institutions of men is exactly what we have. So let us examine ourselves as a church. Are we concerned about accurately representing the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ to the nation into which we have been called to minister the gospel? Are we seeking to proclaim to our friends and to our neighbors and even to the governments over us the declaration of the father asked for me I have set my king to reign on Zion, my holy hill." We must reclaim the divine message that the true seat of power in this country is not on Capitol Hill, but it is on Zion, the holy hill of God, where Jesus Christ reigns over all the affairs of men. Without a doubt, when we proclaim the glorious message of the Christ of Psalm 2, both as a church And as individual believers, the nations will rage in response. And that may mean hardship. It may mean loss and sacrifice. But remember that the same king who has called you to confess him before men has also promised to restore to you a hundredfold all that we may give up in this life for the sake of his name. And he is the one who promises to you life eternal. And so when the seeming frailty of the church seems overwhelming, and the scarcity of believers seems to be the ultimate reality, that we are weak in the eyes of the nations, let us take Psalm 2 upon our lips and lift our eyes above the rage of the nations to the throne room of heaven, where we hear that blessed declaration of the Father. Yet as for me, I have set my king to reign. on my holy hill of Zion. He who sits in the heavens laughs. And so let us not be overcome by the fear of men, but fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and find in him strength to proclaim him to the nations and to see the discipleship of the nations to his name as we proclaim his glory to all who are given years to hear. Let us pray together. Gracious Lord, we praise you for our great king of kings. We confess to you that too often we are lazy in reckoning with his kingship. With the fact that it is no subjective reality, but it is objective reality that he reigns over all people. And as his church, we are given the divine commission to call all men and all nations to faith and to repentance. We praise you, Lord, that when the church is weak in the eyes of the nations, yet our heavenly King is invincible. And that whatever persecution we may undergo, yet he reigns from your right hand. And there will be a day when all nations will be brought to account. The rage will be quieted. The vanity will be ended. and every knee and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to your glory. Let us take strength in this age as we seek to proclaim the gospel from the invincible nature of our Lord Jesus Christ and his reign. And when the kingdom is advanced by your grace, may we praise your name and may all the glory be yours. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.