1676. Christ: The Everlasting Ruler

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today's message will be preached by Dr. Sam Salivar, a professor in the School of Theology and Global Leadership at Bob Jones University.

Let's stick our Bibles together and go over to Psalm 2. I was looking up in the news this morning. Top five trending news reports. Number one, activists report dozens of Assyrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS. Number two, Iran is pursuing nukes in underground complex, despite talks with West. Number three, there's a mystery tunnel found near a venue of the 2015 Pan Am Games. Number four, an American missionary was kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria.

Number five, eight dead plus gunmen in Czech restaurant shooting rampage. The Bible constantly asserts God's absolute control over the affairs of humanity. And yet faith in this teaching of God's sovereignty is often challenged by events all around us. There's a constant tension between God's absolute rule and the rule of man. And we see this laid out probably more clearly in Psalm 2 than any other text in the Old Testament at least.

And what we have here in Psalm 2 is an answer from heaven that dispels our doubts, that strengthens our faith, that inspires our devotion. While the Psalm does not give any information as to its background, we discover in Acts 4.25 that David is the author. The Lord had established David as king over all Israel. David as a young shepherd boy rose to leadership in an incredibly powerful and miraculous way as he slew this giant and found an office in the kingdom of Saul.

Saul, in spite of David's protection and service, longed constantly to kill this young man because he recognized God's hand upon him. And David had become more famous than Saul. God judges Saul and gives a kingdom to David. And in 2 Samuel 7, after David's kingdom had been established over all Israel, David has a longing to give God a permanent house in Jerusalem. Nathan the prophet encouraged him to go ahead and build it, but that night God tells him to change the message to David. And instead he says, I'm going to give David a descendant who will have an everlasting kingdom that can never be revoked. And David was astonished at this promise that from his descendants an everlasting ruler would rise to dominate the world.

And it is perhaps with those thoughts in his mind that he penned the words of this Psalm. Why do 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. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree.

The Lord has 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 outermost 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 you 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 he perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. This psalm divides neatly into four parts, each with a different speaker. In verses one through three, we see the speech of the rebels. In verses four through six, we see the speech of the Father. In verses seven through nine, we see the speech of the Son.

And in verses ten through twelve, we see the speech of David, or ultimately the Holy Spirit. The sovereignty of the Messiah demands total submission by all. Though David was king, he often faced rebellions.

The most absurd of which was that of his own son, Absalom. Though his rule was established by God and decreed to be eternal, David recognized the tension that existed. So this psalm instructs us that no matter what is going on in this world, no matter what men think they are doing or can do, God reigns supreme. His kingdom rules over all. So good verses one through three, where we see that mankind is in constant rebellion against the sovereignty of God and his Messiah. These words describe realities that have been in place from the time that Adam and Eve rebelled against God's rule.

Up until David's day, and even today, and will continue into the future until the king returns. Verse one, see the universal antagonism toward sovereignty. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? Why are the nations restless?

Why are they in a tumult? The people are meditating, they're imagining. The word here is the same word that's used in Psalm 1 of the godly man who meditates on the word of God. These nations, these unbelievers, instead of meditating on God's word, they meditate on emptiness. They're thinking about something that will come to nothing.

The emptiness is a figurative word speaking of the results of their rebellion. No matter how much they plot and scheme against God, their efforts are futile, they're worthless. No amount of human rebellion can thwart God's sovereignty. Everybody is in this boat, nations, people, humanity in general.

And the question here, why, is not really asking for information. It's a question, a rhetorical question of astonishment. How can it be that people are so rebellious and dense as to think that they can rebel against God? In verse two we see not just generally people rebelling but specifically their leaders, their representative leaders, mount an attack against Yahweh and against his Messiah. The kings of the earth and the rulers take counsel together, they set themselves, this word is a military term, they take a military stance against God and against his Messiah. It's interesting that humans are often in a battle against each other, but yet here we find them in perfect unity as they come to rebel against God. The third part of this verse is deliberately not parallel in order to make it stand out more. So we have the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together. And then there's this unparalleled statement against the Lord and against his anointed.

The placement of this phrase highlights its audacity. David would have taken this personally. David recognized that when somebody attacks the Lord's anointed, you're attacking the Lord himself.

It's no wonder that he refused to do harm to Saul whom he addressed as the Lord's anointed. But these men will have none of God's rulers or of the rule of God himself. Verse 3, they say, this is their reasoning, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us.

The bands and cords figuratively refer to what they view as God's abusively restrictive laws and requirements of humans. Ironically, as men seek to bring about their own freedom by eliminating God's restrictions, they make themselves greater slaves to more severe masters. In spite of the speech of the rebels of humanity, in spite of the so-called rulers of this earth, we see in verse 4 that there is a ruler that's sitting in the heavens. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. God's reaction to human rebellion is to be humored. And it's kind of unusual to picture God as making fun of someone.

The laughter here is not something's funny, ha ha ha, but nah nah nah nah nah. Look at you, how foolish you look. And it might seem almost irreverent or blasphemous to think of God in this way, but the point here is that the efforts of man to rebel against God are utterly ridiculous. So that God is amused, or maybe he's not amused. The one sitting in the heavens is a reference to his place as the king. He sits enthroned in the heavens. The name given to him here is Adonai, the Lord, the sovereign, the ruler of all, is unimpressed. When men take their stand against God, God sits enthroned, unmoved, unfazed.

Men think they rule from earth, but God rules supremely, and he will have the last laugh. Verse 5, God terrifies rebels with his anger. Then he shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. We have a startling contrast from the laughter of verse 4 to the anger of verse 5. God is not amused, he is angry. The words of anger are often associated with heat, with burning, and the idea here seems to be something like, when you get angry, your nostrils start to flare as you try to hold back your rage, and here is God, angry at the efforts of men's rebellion.

The word vex is the concept of terror. God will terrify them. Same reaction that we see in the brothers of Joseph, when they came to Egypt and Joseph revealed his true identity to them, they were terrified that they had sold their brother into slavery. Now he has the authority to kill them. God will make these rebels feel terrified through his anger. Verse 6, God installs his king. Even though men think they are in control, God has already set his king. His king sits on Zion, his holy hill. God is aggressive in his assertion of sovereignty. Literally the text says, I myself have set my king upon my holy hill.

This is one of the but God moments of scripture, when things in humanity seem totally out of control, it seems like God is not there, he intervenes. I myself have set my king upon my holy hill. The word set is used of pouring out and probably has reference to anointing. I have anointed my king.

Anointing was something that was done as a ruler would step into office, there was this formal anointing of this ruler indicating God's choice of him, and blessing of him and empowering of his kingdom and rule. Even though it mentions the city Zion here, Zion can be viewed as a synecdoche for the whole earth. It's not just that God rules in one city, but the city represents the entire creation.

God rules over all through his king. In verses 7 through 9 we see the Messiah himself proclaiming his sonship and sovereignty. Verse 7, I would declare the decree, the Lord has said unto me, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

The second person of the Trinity speaks. God the Son, he recognizes that his father has anointed him, has chosen him to be a son. Now this concept of sonship is not something that was true only when Christ became human and somehow he started to be a son. It speaks of an eternal relationship, speaks of the eternal sonship that has existed before time.

The son and the father have had this perfect relationship. It's descriptive of the specialness and the unity existent between the father and the son. So the son rejoices in his father and the father is pleased with his son. Verse 8, as for me, ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth as thy possession.

The son here is commanded by the father to ask for an inheritance. Most earthly rulers inherited lands and treasures. The heavenly ruler is going to inherit people and nations from all over the planet. This is prophesied in Psalm 72 that his kingdom will be from sea to sea to the ends of the earth. The further we get into the Psalm, the more we realize what David must have realized. That this Psalm is not talking about David's rule or Solomon's rule, but that it's pointing to this greater rule that is in place at all times.

It's pointing to the real king. Verse 9, thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. The rebels who take their stance against God will be smashed by an iron rod or an iron scepter. The iron scepter speaks of the unbreakable symbol of authority, his irresistible rule.

God is in control and his rule cannot be thwarted. Anybody who opposes him will be smashed. The second part of the verse says they will be dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel. It was customary of Egyptians rulers, especially when they would take office, to take clay jars and write the names of enemy cities or opponents who would threaten the kingship of that ruler. They would write the names on these jars and they would symbolically smash these pots, saying that no ruler is going to be able to conquer us, smash.

There's probably some allusion to this. The fact that the destruction is compared to that of a clay jar speaks of the total destruction that is here. This is irreparable when they face the judgment of God.

There is no putting them back together again. Verse 10, you have the Holy Spirit speak. Be wise now, O ye kings.

Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. The Spirit demands submission to the sovereignty of God and his Messiah. God commands the rebellious rulers mentioned at the beginning of the psalm to change their rebellious perspective.

There's a focus on the command to be wise, to take advice. These are patient warnings which demand humility from rulers. The rulers are to be wise, to choose skillfully, to be instructed, indicating that they are ignorant and in need of a teacher. Verse 11, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. God commands not only a change of perspective by the rulers, but he demands fearful yet joyful service. Those that were used to being served are now commanded to become servants of the true king.

And they are to do this in reverence, in fear. And yet, somewhat paradoxically, the service is not somehow oppressive. The service, while it does have an element of fear to it, is to be done with rejoicing. Service to God does not involve oppressive shackles.

It is a pleasant and satisfying service. Verse 12, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. God demands complete submission.

The phrase kiss the son, although this phrase is debated in the literature, probably speaks of paying homage to a ruler by kissing his feet. This is something that was done in 1 Samuel 10.1, and the idea is complete obeisance, bowing down before the son. The rulers of the earth are implored to submit to the rule of the sovereign Messiah, the sovereign son. If they do not submit, there is a warning, lest he be angry and he perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Submit or die.

Submit or perish. Failure to bow the knee results in perishing because of their rebellious way. The anger being kindled but a little probably has allusion to the Lord may soon break out in judgment. Speaks of impending judgment that comes unexpectedly. Those who will not bow the knee will perish, but blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Seek shelter in the Messiah from the wrath of God and you will find the blessing of God. Now David must have had this understanding of his rule and what God is doing in the world, but there's a lot more going on here. See, in the beginning, when God created mankind, he made them in his image so that man could have dominion over the earth. God wanted his rule over all creation to be represented on the earth by people. So he made Adam and Eve to be the first king and queen of the world. Ironically, Adam and Eve rebelled against God's rule, they rebelled against their king and creator, and when they did that, they did not become kings as God, but they became slaves to Satan, to a different ruler, to a ruler of this age. And so this started the battle and the tension that we experience to this very day between man's rebellion and God's rule on this earth. Man found himself struggling to exercise his dominion over a kingdom that was rebellious against his rule, but God had already devised a plan. God had already set a king on a throne and he gave the promise to the serpent that there would be a seed coming from humanity who would conquer the God of this age and reassert God's rule in this world.

Man still did not get it. He rebelled so much that God destroyed almost everybody in a flood. After the flood, man rebelled again in a futile attempt to make a name for himself at Babel.

They're still rebelling against God's rule and God confuses the languages. And he says, I'm going to choose Abraham, and from Abraham kings will come, and specifically from the line of Judah, Genesis 49, 10, there's going to come a ruler and unto him the people will gather. In the period of the judges, every man does that which is right in his own eyes.

Why? Because there was no king in Israel. It's pointing to the need of a perfect king to come and rule, because without the rule of God on the earth there is chaos. And so we have the choice of the people, Saul. Well, Saul was not a man after God's own heart. Saul was a rebel and God put David in his place and he gives him the Davidic promise, the covenant, that from David would come an ultimate ruler. Fast forward to the birth of Jesus. He is announced to be the son of God, the king.

The long awaited king has finally taken on human form. He was declared to be the son of God at his baptism. And again, remember that the concept of sonship speaks of he is equal with God.

He is supreme. He is of the same essence as the father. He was declared to be the son of God who surpassed all the Old Testament prophets at his transfiguration. During his ministry, even the demons recognize this is the son of God. His sonship is synonymous with his deity, John 5.18. The Jews sought the more to kill him because he not only break the Sabbath, but he also called God his own father, making himself equal with God. John 10.33, you being a man, make yourself God by using that designation son of God.

Men still did not get it. Men were commanded to kiss the son in submission. Instead, Judas Iscariot kisses the son in betrayal. When the fullness of time came, God gave the greatest illustration of his supremacy, of his sovereignty, in the crucifixion of his son.

While Herod and Pilate, who beforehand had become enemies, were enemies, had now become friends, they were conspiring together against the Lord and his Messiah. The Jews and the Gentiles cried, crucify him. When Jesus was about to be crucified, Pilate asked him, are you the king of the Jews? Do you not realize that I have authority to crucify you or to let you go? Jesus said, you don't have any authority unless it's given to you from God.

You might be ruling, but God is ruling. The Roman soldier was among the first to recognize that the crucified Jesus was the son of God. Acts 13.32-33, and we bring you the good news that God promised to the fathers. This he has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus. As also is written in the second Psalm, you are my son, today I have begotten you. The sonship of Jesus is manifested to humanity in the most dramatic way, in that when men think they have triumphed and killed Jesus, they've killed the Messiah. He conquers death, and he shows himself to be the son of God in power.

Hebrews 1 describes him as the radiance of the glory of God, after he made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to the angels, as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. And then it quotes, you are my son, today have I begotten you. Revelation 2, let's turn there in conclusion, Revelation 2 verses 26 and 27.

This is somewhat staggering. The dominion of man was lost after the fall. Believers today are facing persecution, and it seems like the wicked are winning oftentimes. It was no different in the time of Revelation when this was written. Hang in there, he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end. To him I will give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter they shall be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father. In other words, if you submit to the rule of Christ, you will have the privilege one day of ruling and reigning with him. The image of God to exercise dominion will be restored forever. You've been listening to a sermon preached at Bob Jones University by Dr. Sam Salvador. Join us again tomorrow as we continue the series here on The Daily Platform.