PSALMS 2


                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                           Chapter 2

verse 1 "Why do heathen nations rage? Why vain things do people mind?
         Kings of earth in plots engage, Rulers are in league
         combined."
verse 2 "Thus against the Lord they speak, Thus against His Christ
         they say, "Let us join their bands to break, Let us cast
         their cords away."
verse 3 "He shall laugh who sits above, God Most High shall scorn them
         all; Them in anger fierce reprove; Burning wrath shall on
         them fall."
verse 4 "Yet according to my will, Have I set my King to reign;
         Him on Zion's holy hill, My Anointed, I'll mantain."
verse 5 "Thus hath said the Lord Most High, I will publish the decree;
         Thee I own my Son, for I Have this day begotten thee."
verse 6 "Ask, for heritage I'll make All the heathen nations thine;
         Thou shalt in possession take Earth to its remotest line."
verse 7 "Let thy rod of iron fall; Break them with thy sceptre's sway;
         Dash them into pieces small, Like the potter's brittle clay."
verse 8 "Therefore, kings, be wise, give ear;Hearken, judges of the
         earth; Learn to serve the Lord with fear, Mingle trembling
         with your mirth."
verse 9 "Fear His wrath, and kiss the Son, Lest ye perish from the
         way, When his wrath is but begun. Blest are all that on him
         stay.

     Now, we will begin this lesson in Psalms 2:1 "Why do the heathen
rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?"

     All who were not followers of God were thought of as heathen. At
the time this was written, if you were not an Israelite, you were
thought of as a heathen. Today it is according to who is speaking. The
Arabs believe all people besides them are heathen. The Christians
believe that those who have totally rejected Jesus as their Saviour
and Lord are heathen. The list could go on and on. In all of the
lessons we have done, the idea is to apply these Scriptures to our
present circumstance. I believe that, even though the penman of this
Psalm was speaking of some local problem, he was, also, speaking of
all down through the ages when the heathen would rage. Ungodly men and
women have never had peace within them. Rage, in the Scripture above,
means to be tumultuous. Ungodly people believe to settle anything
should be through fighting. Most of the things imagined never come
about. This Scripture brings to mind the way it will be just before
the return of the Lord. Men's hearts failing them, for fear of things
that are coming upon the earth. Heathens are really those who have
rejected Jesus Christ as Saviour. We will see this very thing in the
next few verses.

     Psalms 2:2 "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed,
[saying]," Psalms 2:3 "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away
their cords from us."

     Not only did Herod and Pilate try to do away with Jesus, but even
many rulers in our day have gone totally against the teachings of
Jesus in the Bible. So many decisions made in the courts of our land
are directly opposed to the teachings in the Bible. We can look back
and point a finger at the people involved in the crucifixion and total
rejection of Jesus nearly 2000 years ago, but I say, where are our
leaders who will stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ today? Are we a
nation of God fearing people, or have we compromised, too? This
chapter of Psalms is a prophetic chapter. This is all about Jesus
Christ the Lord {Messiah}. To look back to verse one and connect it to
this; The entire world who do not know God, are raging and imagining
bad things about God. Verse 3 above says it all. Worldly people do not
want to serve a holy God. One more very important thing to notice is
that, these rulers and counsel [set themselves] against the Lord. God
has given us a free will to serve Him or to turn against Him. They
have chosen to turn against Him. Ungodly leaders have a tendency to
have ungodly subjects. When people are not subject to God, they have
no morals, and the whole society turns to evil. This seems to me to be
what this above Scripture is saying. Pornography, filthy books and
movies, homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, drugs, and alcohol are all
products of a society out of fellowship with God. Who will stand up
and say, it is enough? We must repent and serve God.

     Psalms 2:4 "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord
shall have them in derision."

     All of man's power is as nothing with Almighty God. Even the next
breath that we take, is by permission from Almighty God. The Father
has given this power to Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:10 "That at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and
[things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;" Philippians 2:11
" And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."  For a mere human being to come
against the Father or His Son is absurd. God does not even bother to
try to straighten them out, He just laughs that they would be so
foolish. To have them in derision, means He would laugh them to scorn.
To reject Jesus {God's Son} seals your doom. This is one thing God
will not forgive.

     Psalms 2:5 "Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex
them in his sore displeasure."

     There is a time when God's wrath will come into His face. Then it
is too late. God is patient, as we read above, but there is a time,
when He will speak in His wrath. What a terrible thing to feel the
wrath of God. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved from
the wrath to come. Romans 5:9 "Much more then, being now justified by
his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."  The word vex,
in this instance, means to tremble. It would certainly be the time to
tremble, if the wrath of God was vented against you. We know that the
soldiers which came to get Jesus fell backwards just at Jesus
answering them. The power in the voice of God is beyond our
understanding. The voice of God, speaking to the children of Israel
from the mountain, frightened them so that they begged Moses to talk
to God for them. God was not even angry then. Think how unbelievably
frightening the voice of God would be, if He were angry.

     Psalms 2:6 "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."

     God will put whoever He wants to in authority, anytime He wants
to. No power in earth can keep Him from doing what He wishes.  This
is, possibly, looking forward to Jesus Christ who will be Lord of
lords and King of kings. Zion is symbolic of the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only King, but Lord as well. Of course,
there is a literal Zion, but I believe this is speaking of His church.

     Psalms 2:7 "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto
me, Thou [art] my Son; this day have I begotten thee."

     This leaves absolutely no doubt at all that this is speaking of
the Lord Jesus. Just as the voice came from the heavens at Jesus'
baptism, and said, This is my beloved Son, we see Jesus here as King.
Matthew 3:17 "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased."  We can, also, look at the voice from
the heavens at the transfiguration. Matthew 17:5 "While he yet spake,
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of
the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased; hear ye him."

     Psalms 2:8 "Ask of me, and I shall give [thee] the heathen [for]
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth [for] thy
possession."

     We see, in this, the power and authority that Jesus has. All of
the inhabitants of the earth have been bought and paid for by the
precious blood of Jesus Christ {God's Anointed}. The Scripture from
Philippians chapter 2 verse 10 leaves no doubt how far reaching this
power and authority of Jesus is. What Adam and Eve lost in the garden
of Eden, Jesus purchased back on the cross. Whether we know Jesus as
our Saviour and Lord or not, we are His property. He can either save
us, or condemn us to an eternity in hell when we stand before him on
judgement day. Jesus is the Judge. We are His creation and He, also,
purchased us with His blood at Calvary.  I Timothy 4:10 "For therefore
we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living
God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
Jesus made salvation available to all mankind. Not all will accept the
salvation He offered. I Corinthians 10:26 "For the earth [is] the
Lord's, and the fulness thereof."

     Psalms 2:9 "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt
dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

     One of the reasons the Jews did not accept Jesus as Messiah, was
because they were expecting a mighty warrior, such as David who would
conquer their enemies for them. Jesus, when He comes back to the earth
this time to reign for the 1000 years, will be that Lord and Master
that they were looking for then. His rule will be absolute. Those who
do not do the will of God will be destroyed.  The Potter has power to
destroy His creation, if it is not pleasing unto Him. I believe this
Scripture above just shows His absolute rule.

     Psalms 2:10 "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye
judges of the earth."  Psalms 2:11 "Serve the LORD with fear, and
rejoice with trembling."

     We see from this that, to fear the Lord is the beginning of
Wisdom. The kings and judges of this world are subject to a higher
Power. They may rule over the little people on the earth, but there is
someone higher than they are. All mankind, whether kings or judges, or
presidents, or any other holders of high office in the earth, must
answer to Almighty God. To fear God, is the only fear we are to have.
This fear is more of a reverence. When we fear Him enough to serve
Him, there will be a rejoicing that will come with knowing we are
saved. Even though we rejoice at knowing we are saved, there is a
fearful awareness of His power and greatness.

     Psalms 2:12 "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."

     To kiss the Son, is an acceptance of Him for who He is. Abraham
had faith, and his faith was counted to him as righteousness. We,
also, find that without faith, it is impossible to please God. There
is only one Way to everlasting life, and that is through faith in
Jesus Christ. We read in Jesus' own words: John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me."  We must, also, note that in the verse above, it
speaks of trust. I believe that a mature Christian, who has been
acting in faith, will get to the point of resting in Jesus, that can
only be attained by trusting the lord in every aspect of their lives.
To trust means, I have absolute confidence in the actions of God in my
behalf.

                             Notes














                             Questions 2

1.  Who does verse 1 say rages?
2.  What else do they do?
3.  Who do the Arabs believe are heathen?
4.  Who did the Israelites {when this was written} believe were
    heathen?
5.  Who do the Christians believe are heathen?
6.  What does rage, in the Scripture, mean?
7.  What is the state of mind of the worldly, just before the Lord
    comes back?
8.  The kings of the earth set themselves against whom?
9.  Who were 2 specific people who tried to do away with Jesus?
10. How do those in authority today come against Jesus?
11. What question does the author ask rulers of our day?
12. What one word describes the message in chapter 2?
13. Ungodly leaders have a tendency to have ________ subjects.
14. Name a few things that are products of a society out of fellowship
    with God.
15. What does verse 4 say God is doing?
16. What makes it possible for us to take our next breath?
17. Quote Philippians chapter 2 verse 10.
18. What does {have them in derision} mean?
19. Who will not feel the wrath of God?
20. What happened to the soldiers who came for Jesus, when He answered
    their question?
21. Who can God put in authority?
22. What is Zion symbolic of?
23. Name 2 times when a voice came from heaven and said; This is my
    beloved Son.
24. Who did Jesus buy and pay for at Calvary?
25. What does 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10 mean?
26. What was one of the reasons the Jews did not accept Jesus as their
    Messiah?
27. How are we to serve the Lord?
28. Who must earthly judges and kings answer to?
29. What is meant by {kiss the Son}?
30. Who is the Way?