Sermon Manuscript

The Lord’s Messiah (Psalm 2) ~ 20230716 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

07/16 The Lord’s Messiah (Psalm 2) Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230716_psalm-2.mp3

Psalm 2 is connected to Psalm 1. Psalm 2 is quoted in Luke 13:33, where this Psalm is quoted as the second Psalm, but there are some manuscripts of Luke with a variant reading that say this quote is from the first Psalm. That’s a strange scribal error, unless at one time what we now know as Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 were not divided, but together served as the introduction to the collection of Psalms. This unity of Psalm 1 and 2 is also supported by Patristic and Rabbinic evidence.

Psalm 1 begins with the word ‘blessed’ or ‘happy’; and Psalm 2 ends with the word ‘blessed’, creating bookends that pair these Psalms together, making them one literary unit. We’ll come back to this connection in a bit.

Psalm 1 contrasts the righteous man and the wicked with metaphors of a fruitful flourishing tree planted by streams of water, and chaff, the empty husk of grain which the wind blows away.

Psalm 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

In light of this, Psalm 2 continues:

Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 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.

David: God’s Anointed King

This is a royal Psalm, likely used at the coronation of a Hebrew king. In 1 Samuel 10, at the people’s request, God had commanded Samuel to anoint Saul as king.

1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. …

After Saul’s refusal to follow the Lord, Samuel was instructed in 1 Samuel 16 to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king.

1 Samuel 16:6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

Conflict between Saul, who had been rejected by God but still clung to the kingship, and David, the Lord’s anointed, consumes the next 15 chapters of 1 Samuel, until Saul’s death in battle around 1010 BC. Even then, it wasn’t until 2 Samuel 5, after Saul’s son Ishbosheth was assassinated by his own captains, seven and a half years later (2Sam.5:5) that Israel joined Judah in recognizing David’s rule.

David knew what it was to be plotted against, conspired against, the recipient of rage, both by his own people and among the nations.

Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed,...

But God made promises to David. In 2 Samuel 7, when David aspired to build a house for God’s name, God spoke through Nathan the prophet.

2 Samuel 7:8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (cf. 1Chr.17)

The Lord made extravagant promises to David and to his offspring. He would plant his people, and give them peace. God promised to act as a father to a son with David’s offspring, and to establish his house and kingdom forever. David’s son Solomon did build a physical house for the Lord, but over time, his heart turned away from the Lord. With few exceptions, the kings of Israel and Judah who followed went from bad to worse, until Israel in 722 BC and Judah in 586 BC fell to their enemies and went into captivity, and the temple was destroyed. What would happen to these promises?

The Lord’s Anointed Christ

We looked at Psalm 1; ‘Blessed is the man... [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.’ The majority of the kings of Israel and Judah were more like chaff, walking ‘in the counsel of the wicked’, standing ‘in the way of sinners,’ sitting ‘in the seat of scoffers’.

Who is this righteous man? Certainly not us! We ought to avoid evil and delight in God’s truth, meditate on his instruction, and so be made wise. But none of us do that perfectly. ‘None is righteous, no not one’ (Rom.3:23). As we saw last time, Jesus is the only truly righteous man.

Who is the LORD’s Anointed?

Matthew 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Kings were anointed with oil. Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. In Hebrew ‘anointed’ is Messiah; in Greek it is ‘Christ’. Whenever Jesus is referred to as the Christ (which means ‘the Anointed one’) it is rooted in the truth of this Psalm.

The New Testament authors make this connection explicit. After Peter and John were arrested for preaching Jesus and the resurrection,

Acts 4:23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 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, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there 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, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

These former prisoners praised the sovereign Lord against whom every plot is in vain, because evil men by their own willful rebellion, carry out ‘whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.’

Cast off the Cords of Love

What is the content of the kings’ and rulers’ rebellion?

Psalm 2:2 ...saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

What do we know of the bonds and cords of the Lord and his Anointed that the nations want to be free from?

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. 4 I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

We demand the freedom to do what we please, not understanding that ‘everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin’ (Jn.8:34). What folly to rebel against God’s good and kind authority!

The Only Begotten Son

Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

The wicked will not stand in the judgment (Ps,1:5). The Lord has wrath and fury for those who walk in the wicked counsel to conspire against him and his Anointed. How does he respond to their callous insubordination? “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” The Anointed King responds: ‘I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’ Remember God’s promise to David? ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.’ (2Sam.7:14) Remember God’s words when he anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit? “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt.3:17).

In Acts 13, Paul connects this to the resurrection.

Acts 13:29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

And again in Romans 1

Romans 1:1 ...the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

The author of Hebrews celebrates Jesus as the unique only begotten:

Hebrews 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

The Inheritance and Wrath of the Son

Psalm 2:8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

In Daniel 7, Daniel saw:

Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

In the Revelation given to John, the woman Israel:

Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

Revelation 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Paul encourages the persecuted suffering saints in Thessalonica:

2 Thessalonians 1:6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

Grace Extended in Wrath

Here is an amazing thing; even in his wrath his grace is extended.

Psalm 2:10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 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.

Even the wicked rulers assembling against the Lord and his Anointed are warned and invited. The fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom. Do not cast off his yoke, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Serve YHWH with fear. Rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son – own the Son as your authority. The Anointed Son is coming in his wrath, executing vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel, but in running from him there is no escape. Instead run to him, throw yourself on his mercy, because he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Take refuge in him and you will find genuine happiness. ‘Blessed are all who take refuge in him.’

We see this scene in Revelation 5:

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

‘All who take refuge in him are blessed.’

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2023.07.16 Sermon Notes

Psalm 2; The Lord and His Anointed

Kings were anointed with oil

1 Samuel 10:1; 16:6-13;

David was the subject of rage and plotting by kings and nations

1 Samuel 17-31, 2 Samuel 1-4

David’s offspring will be treated as God’s son

2 Samuel 7:8-16

Messiah = Christ = Anointed

(Hebrew) (Greek) (English)

Matthew 3:16-17; Acts 4:23-28

Burst bonds and cast off cords of love

Hosea 11:1-4; Matthew 11:28-30

Declared to be the Son by the resurrection

Acts 13:29-33; Romans 1:1-4; Hebrews 1:1-5; 5:5

The nations will be his inheritance

Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 12:5; 19:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

Grace extended even in wrath

Psalm 2:10-12; Revelation 5:9

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org