The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Revelation 22:17opening invitation: let anyone who is thirsty come, drink freely from the water of life
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
1 Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath:
6 “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
7 I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
read alongside Psalm 2 as the same combined psalm, the two ways of the righteous and the wicked
1 Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
quoted to show God's cords of love: I drew them with gentle cords, bands of love, I stooped and fed them
1 “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
2 They called to them, so they went from them. They sacrificed to the Baals, and burned incense to engraved images.
3 Yet I taught Ephraim to walk. I took them by his arms; but they didn’t know that I healed them.
4 I drew them with cords of a man, with ties of love; and I was to them like those who lift up the yoke on their necks; and I bent down to him and I fed him.
5 “They won’t return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian will be their king, because they refused to repent.
6 The sword will fall on their cities, and will destroy the bars of their gates, and will put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, he certainly won’t exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One among you; and I will not come in wrath.
10 They will walk after Yahweh, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their houses,” says Yahweh.
12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit. Judah still strays from God, and is unfaithful to the Holy One.
the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and a voice said you are my beloved son
22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
God fulfilled this for their children in raising up Jesus, quoting Psalm 2: you are my son today I have begotten you
33 that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your father.’
to which of the angels did he say you are my son, cited to show Jesus is better than angels
5 For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son. Today I have become your father?” and again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?”
referenced to show Christ took on the nature of a servant rather than glorifying himself
1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.
17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.
19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;
26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.
27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,
30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Ray preached from Psalms 1 and 2, treating them as a single unit. He looked at why people resist God's authority, what God has done about it through His anointed king, and what it means to trust Him rather than rage against Him.
What was said
Pastor Ray came to the Psalms this week as a detour from his usual walk through the New Testament. He explained that he had been sitting with the Psalms in his own reading and found himself arrested by them, starting with Psalm 1's simple call to listen, meditate, and not be cynical. He noted that Psalms 1 and 2 are treated as a single psalm in Jewish sources, and that they present two ways of living: one rooted in God's word, one that blows away like chaff.
Psalm 2 opens with a question that Pastor Ray said should stop us: why do the nations rage, and why do the peoples plot a vain thing against the Lord and His anointed? The kings and rulers of the earth set themselves against God and say they want to break free from His bonds and cords. Pastor Ray pointed out that this is not just something ancient kings do. Every one of us, since the garden, has done the same thing.
The irony, he said, is that the bonds the nations want to throw off are described in Hosea 11 as cords of human kindness and ties of love. God was not shackling anyone. He was like a parent lifting a child to the cheek, stooping down to feed them. The rules and the law were never meant to crush people but to take the burden off them. Casting away God's cords is not freedom. It is trading love for bondage to sin.
God's response, Pastor Ray noted, is not a maniacal laugh of triumph. He reads it more as a grief. The Lord holds those who rage in derision because it is so hard to believe that standing against the Almighty is simply a vain thing. There is real distress when a person finally recognizes that God was right and they were wrong, but Pastor Ray said the psalm does not leave us there.
God declares His decree: He has set His king on the holy hill of Zion. Pastor Ray walked through the New Testament references to Psalm 2 at length, from the voice at Jesus' baptism to the opening of Mark's Gospel to Hebrews and Acts 13, showing that the "begotten son" the psalm speaks of points to Jesus Christ. The mandate given to the son, that the nations and the ends of the earth would be His inheritance, is the same mandate Jesus gave His followers when He sent them to take the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The psalm closes with an invitation rather than just a warning. Be wise, be instructed, serve the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Pastor Ray said that trembling makes sense because none of us deserves the salvation God offers. He distinguished trusting God for salvation from trusting that what God says is good and true, arguing that the two should go together. Blessed, he said, are those who put their trust in the anointed one. He then played a short clip of Pastor S. M. Lockridge's famous "That's My King" message to close, leaving the congregation with the question God puts to each person: He has set His king on the holy hill. Is that your king?
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Ray read his personal notes on Psalm 1 as 'listen up, meditate, don't be cynical.' Where in your own life do you find cynicism creeping in, and what does it cost you?
Ray described God's commands as 'cords of love' and 'ties of love,' drawing from Hosea 11, but said we tend to experience them as bonds we want to throw off. When have you felt that tension personally, and what changed your perspective, if anything did?
All right. Good morning, everybody. How are we doing this morning? It's good to see you, and it's a beautiful, beautiful morning. And and would you stand, and we we'll we'll start by worshiping in song.
Here's a very real invitation, to all of us this morning from Revelation. It says, let anyone who's thirsty come on. Let anyone who desires come. Drink freely from the water of life. Let's start by
singing, God so loved. Come all you sinners. Come find his mercy. Come to the table he will satisfy and let's sing praise God Praise God. Praise God.
From whom all blessings flow. Praise him.
An invitation to bring on.
Jesus is waiting. God's so loving.
Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements. Monday nights at first b. What's happening, Carl?
Yes. We are on tomorrow, Linda Larue will be cooking, and we are in Mark chapter 10 where Jesus heals Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus calls out saying in faith, saying, have mercy on me, and Jesus responds. Also, we're having a little goodbye for Joni Dimarsh. She'll be moving to Washington, but we're going to do that in combination.
So
if you would, join us down the hall. 06:00 tomorrow. Mule, music, message.
That's good. Mike. Mike Demetrius, you want to come forward? So tonight, there I mean, tomorrow night, there is Monday night happening down the hall, but there's no Awana happening in here. Mike's got a mic right here.
He wants to say a word.
Yes. Hi, guys. I just wanted to thank you guys. We had an incredible Awana year this year. Again, and God exceeded expectations.
Yeah. Let's give God some praise. For those of you that don't know, Awana is something that this church has said yes to for a long time. I've been the commander for two years and it's weird how when you say yes to what God is doing, you come and you pour out and you leave filled up. And it's just story after story this year.
It's like we had, I was in the TNT guys for part of the year and we had some of our guys and they were just discouraged. They go, I can't remember verses, my brain doesn't work like that. And by the end of the year, they were some of the best students at Memorize. And I mean, just took hold of it and they ran with it and they left encouraged with God's word hidden in their heart. And all of our leaders just have story after story of that.
So I wanna thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for being a church that cares about the next generation. Awana was a huge success this year. We had kids from all over the valley come and get loved on by. Gosh, we had 38 volunteers show up for twenty eight consecutive Mondays. And I just wanna say that inside this room on Monday nights, there was a lot of good that was done.
So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being a church that cares about the next generation.
Amen. Thank you, Mike. This still looks like a long way off, but there is an event coming to Idaho Falls. The last of our Christian Life of Witness courses offered by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was this past Thursday. But it's in anticipation of an event that's happened in September twenty third and twenty fourth over in Idaho Falls.
Be praying about that. Be praying about that. It's a it is a rally. It's gonna be a presentation of the gospel on a scale that we have not seen around here in quite some time. We hope that we're applying this gospel all around, all the time, but but it takes all kinds to make a world.
So this is coming up September twenty third and twenty fourth. Churches are banding together. My Sisters Closet is coming up June 3. It's a women's clothing exchange. Casey, would you stand up and just wave?
If you wanna ask more questions, that's the lady to ask right there. And we need volunteers for the Friday before that Saturday. Okay. It's this Friday.
Two weeks.
Okay. Two weeks. I was gonna say, wait a second. Two weeks. Alright.
Two weeks. Two weeks. We're looking for volunteers for the Friday to help set up and then on that Saturday. Also, oh my, Pets Unleashed. This is the first of our Vacation Bible School announcements.
First B is having VBS, June twenty six to twenty eight, it's nine a. M. To noon. There's a volunteer sign up. I'm assuming that Liz is probably downstairs, but she'd be the person to ask any questions about that.
But that's it. Pets Unleashed is the theme. That's good. How great thou art. That's it.
Does anybody else have a word, announcement? Is there a word of testimony you just want to stand up and praise God for something? I've got an extra thirty seconds in the sermon. Okay. There was one that just stood up.
Praise God. Wonderful. Y'all stand up with her and let's sing how great thou art.
Oh, God. When I'm an awesome wonder, consider all the world I am. See the stars. Savior How great thou art. How great thou art.
And when I feel I've got his son not sparing sending him to God. I scarce can take him. That on the cross, my burden that he bearing, he bade
Lord, we we sing it, but also we say it. We pray it. God, for your goodness, thank you. Thank you for your greatness. Just looking around this this beautiful time of year, from mountain grandeur.
I mean, we can see that. It's right out our window, and it's because of you. That's your handiwork. And so, God, may we, just as as small as as we are, just look to you as big as you are and give you thanks and give you praise. You deserve it.
Amen.
Daily, I a time when I'm overwhelmed. Strength for today. Right. Hope for tomorrow. I will trust with all my heart and you are good you've always are morning by morning great is your faithfulness to me.
Fear be reminded. No fear be reminded. My future be reminded my future is secure on my father. I've spoken and he keeps his every word. So I will trust I will trust you.
Oh, morning by morning. Morning by morning. I will trust where you lead. And I will trust. And I can't and Morning by morning raise your faithfulness to me.
And I will trust with all my heart and you are good. You've always are. Morning morning, raise your faithfulness to me morning by morning. You are. You are.
The hero of the broken and weak. You are. You are. You ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ.
I was standing on these things. This is my life. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ.
I will stand and won't be saved. This is my life. He's the author of salvation and faith.
Let's sing this together. The great.
And you are the victory that conquered I stand and be saved. And this is my life. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ. I'm standing on the same.
This is my life.
You can have a a seat here for a moment. This is the the worship through giving part of the the service. I'll invite the ushers to come on forward. We're gonna say nothing I hold on to, a familiar proverb, but let's hear it together. It's Proverbs three five and six.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. And before we sing, Ray,
would you pray?
Lord God, we do ask that you'd make our path straight. At at least we'd be able to see it, Lord. We know it's a rocky way, and we know it's a narrow road. But Lord, I'd pray that you would reveal to us the very next step that we are to take, the next right step. Lord, show us your way, and allow us the strength and the power and the perseverance to walk in it.
In Jesus' name, Lord, may we be, doing your will and your way, individually, Lord, but also collectively as a church. We come together collectively at this time, Lord, taking, in resources to be able to advance the gospel. I pray, Lord, that your by the proclamation of your word and by kind and helpful acts of healing, Lord God Almighty, that your good gospel would just advance. Today, Lord, we pray specifically for a few people, individuals, from our congregation, for Joni, who is heading out soon. Joni DeMarsh, original Monday nighter, been around, here for a long time.
And I pray, Lord, that you would bless her on her journey as she goes to Washington. For Steve and Sandy Land, to Steve, an elder here who is ailing in the hospital in Salt Lake City. I pray that you'd heal his body completely. Lord God Almighty, that he would, bring you much more glory, through the process for Catherine Holland, for the pedals, for everyone that was involved in the accident last weekend, Lord. I pray specifically that Your healing hand would be on them and You draw them close to Your heart.
You draw them close into, fellowship with You. In Jesus' name, Lord, may we be comforting those who are hurting and may we be, like I said, Lord, doing your will and your way. Lord, we ask all of this in Jesus Christ's name for the advance of your good gospel. Amen.
I'll lean not on my own understanding. My life is in your hands all the way current day. I'm leaving not on my own understanding. There's nothing I hold on to. There's nothing I hold on to.
There's nothing I hold on to. I lean not on my own understanding. My life is in the hands of the broken roof. Lean not on my own
Amen. And it's time for children's church downstairs. And there they go. The cavalcade. Is it warm out there?
I mean, I'm thankful for it. Don't get me wrong, but it's warm up here. Psalm two. Okay. If you all have been coming to church here for a long time, you see me start off on a Psalm.
It's like, what is happening? Rain is preaching from the Old Testament. That is weird. I've been going through the New Testament for eleven years in sort of a chronological study. And last week, Mother's Day, I I just hit what we hit in the text.
Jesus talking about hell, of course, Mother's Day. Would have loved for that to land anywhere else, but this week, the very next thing we're gonna hit in the book of Luke is the cost of discipleship. The cost of discipleship. So following up on another day's sermon on hell with Jesus is saying, you must hate your mother and father. Just seem like I can't do that.
I will do it next week. Okay? Please, please, please come in. I actually have been in my own, like, just normal life, have been meditating on and thinking about Psalms. The reason being, I read something recently.
It was Psalm 18 about 29, think. It was just a little blurb somewhere that I saw. And it said, with you Lord, I feel like I could run at the troops against me. I could feel like I could run at them. Like it's David, a Psalm of David.
Sounds just like David, doesn't it? With you Lord, I feel like I could run at the warriors. And then the next line says, I feel like I could jump over a wall. And isn't that just feeling like, with you, God, I'm on top? That's not self confidence.
That's not even cockiness. That's God confidence. And I thought, wow, I hadn't spent enough time in the Psalms. I'm going start on Psalms. I'm reading all of them up to 18, and I had a big plan.
I started with Psalm one, and these are my notes. I'm just going to read them straight through. I'm not going to preach them. Right? It's this is this is just for me sitting at Smitty's Pancake House.
Listen up. Psalms one. This is my notes, not what it says. Listen up. Meditate.
Don't be cynical. Does that does that stab you right there? It is easy to be cynical in the world. It's easy to look around and see what all is wrong with the world. Right?
Don't be cynical. There's no future in anything else but seeking righteousness, by seeking God earnestly and practicing what he says. That's Psalm one. Psalm two. I'll get to Psalm two.
This is what we're talking about. This is Psalm two. Psalm two. Why did the nations rage? Why is it that the nations rage?
Goyim, this is all of the peoples, Gentiles, heathen, everybody that's not of Israel. Right? Everybody that's not Jewish. This question, I'm using the New King James today for for the first part of this. Why do the nations rage and the people or better put the peoples, it's more than one, the Goyim, everybody outside of the nation of Israel, all of the other nations.
Why is it that they rage against and the peoples plot a vain thing? Think about this. Well, let me go to the next verse. The kings of the earth. Kings, peoples, plural.
It is all, not just some. The kings of the earth set themselves. They set themselves. They have decided. And the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed.
Why do the nations rage against his anointed? Why do the peoples plot in vain against his anointed? Against the Lord and his anointed. This is arresting. It's the very first.
It comes out of the box going, why is this? Now, Psalm one, I just said, listen up, meditate, don't be cynical. There's no future in anything else. Seek righteousness by seeking God earnestly. He says, if you seek me, you will be found.
And practicing what he says, putting it into practice. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers. We're not going to do that. Does that make sense? We can look at it at kings and go, yeah, there are boys like that.
We just watched a coronation or some of us watched some of a coronation. It's a long process. Kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. If you listen to the historians, they say this was a coronation psalm. This is at the crowning of a new king.
They would use this. Psalm two. All of the rest of the peoples. But it's in that sense, sort of a nationalistic pride. Why do the rest of the nations rage, and the peoples all plot a vain thing.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. Most Jewish sources, if you read them, will say that the Lord's anointed is Israel. It just will say that that's the case. The king of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord. Everybody is against us.
But I want you to back up and think, do we do that individually? I think that we do. I think that we have since the garden. When when God gave freedom maybe I just let the let me just stay in the text. Kings of the earth set themselves, the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, so it's the king, small k, against the king, the anointed one, Mashiach, Messiah, Christ.
Okay. The anointed. Saying what? Saying, let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. God has just shackled us.
He's shackled us and he's tied us down, and I don't want to be tied down. I think individually, if we're honest, we buck against being tied down, nailed down. Lord, make me pure, chaste and holy, but not yet. All right. Okay.
Let me let me have some fun first. Let's break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. We've been going through in first being the Bible, we've been going through Hosea. That's a painful book to read, isn't it, about Gomer's unfaithfulness and Hosea's pursuing because God is saying this is representative of Israel and my relationship. Okay?
So go after her. Pay full price for her. Redeem her. Love her. Care for her.
The next chapter, I think we hit 10. Mike did a good job with 10 on Friday. The next one that's coming is Hosea 11. And I saw something in that that hit me, but let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords. The kings and rulers are saying this, their cords, look at Hosea 11, I drew them with gentle cords.
I've given them a law, I've given them good practices, best practices we might call them in the business world today. I've given them what works. Well, I drew them with gentle cords with bands of love. As I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck, I was trying to take the burden off of them. I stooped and I fed them.
New King James is fun. I'm not an Old Testament guy, so as far as I don't know Hebrew. So Greek, I know well enough to feel like I can share. So I use a lot of translations. If you're using a lot of translation and a multiplicity of counselors of much wisdom.
New American Standard says, I pulled them along with the cords of a man, with ropes of love, and I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws. I was trying to take the burden off of them. In the New Testament, it says, his commandments are not burdensome. They're to protect us. I I bent down and I fed them.
God has provided. I like this. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them, I was like one who lifts a little child up to the cheek, like, come on, give me a kiss on the cheek. And I bent down to feed them.
These are the buns that they're throwing off. We want to do it our way. I want to have my way. I don't want anybody to tell me what to do. In the name of freedom, by all means, let me do it my way.
I woke up with a I don't know if I'd use this song. They got canceled a long time ago. The chicks, used to be the Dixie chicks. Said, I need wide open spaces. I need room to make a big mistake.
Right? That's we just let me do it my way. Let us break their bonds in pieces, cast away their cords from us. So once more, why do the nations rage and the people's plot a vain thing? Why is it vain?
Because Almighty God is Almighty. If you're standing against Almighty God, who's gonna lose? I am. If I'm standing against Almighty God, I'm not Almighty Ray. I might think that for a little while.
A cold will knock me down. I mean, really? He's Almighty God. It's a vain thing if we if we say, you know what? I know God says sin is serious, but he doesn't really care.
He's a forgiving God and he loves me. He's going to let me go. It doesn't really matter that much. Everybody's doing it. All of that sort of stuff that I heard in every sermon when I was little.
It's serious. It's like we all, whether it's it's not just the small k kings of the earth. It's all of us want our freedom. Adam and Eve. Oh my goodness.
Everything in this beautiful garden of perfection you may have of all of this. There's one tree in the middle that'll hurt you. Stay away from that. I don't know how long it took, but eventually that looked too good to be true. Did God really say?
There's a lot of doubt out there. And a lot of us have had our beliefs since we were all the way from the cradle. Know, in utero, nine months in church, and then fifty one years in church for me when I was little, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, lots and lots and lots of sermons, and what I believe came from there. We need to believe our beliefs and doubt our doubts and not the other way around. Does that make sense?
In today's world, it's no different than any other time, the perverse generation, all that sort of stuff that you think. In today's world, it seems out of place to say, trust God, he knows what's good for you. You know? Just trust him. He he says so.
Let us break their bonds. The the bonds are cords of love, cords of compassion, of loving human kindness. The next verse after this is, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. And the next verse says, he who sits in the heavens shall laugh. I I don't think this is a maniacal.
I've got them right where I want them. He doesn't have them right where they want. He wants them. He says, I want you to trust me. And when you say, I don't want you.
I don't want you God. I want this apple. I want this thing. I wanna do what I wanna do. I set up against the Almighty and against the Anointed.
He who sits in the heaven shall lap. I see it more like, good grief. What in the world is going on here? I love them. I care so much for them.
Well, does say the Lord shall hold them in derision. Get a load of this. It's so hard. Is it so hard to trust God that he's good? It must be because all of us in this room have done it.
Right? And then he shall speak to him in his wrath. Sad sentence. And distressed them in his deep displeasure. Yeah.
When you hit a place of realizing you knew the truth and you still bucked up against it, and you hit a place of going, wow, I've got a problem that I can't do anything about. I'm stuck. There is great distress in step one, right? I'm going to keep going because I think that there is redemption available. Distress them in his deep displeasure.
It's tough to recognize, wow, he was right and I was wrong. Here's an answer. Yet, I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I have made a way. I have made a way.
The kings of the earth, the rulers, and each of us individually have our own aspirations of freedom, but that freedom really is bondage to and slavery to sin. And he really does care, and he really does have cords of love for us, cords of compassion. I've set my king on my holy hill of Zion. Christ is who it's referring to, and he walked it out. Right?
He walked out complete surrender. And because of that, he was fulfilling the law that God had given these people. So my king is there. That's my king. I'm going come back to that.
Alright? That's my king. This is one of my favorite sermons I've ever heard of all time. I will declare the decree. I will declare the decree.
Now this is a change of point of view. The first is a kind of rhetorical question. Why is it that the nations rage? This is a quote and the I right there is from the anointed. Now we're hearing from God's anointed one.
I will declare the decree, the Lord God father has said to me, God's son, you are my son and today I have begotten you. Begotten not made. This is God's king on his holy hill. I'd say Christ Jesus. Fast forward.
Now I know that they used this as a coronation psalm. They actually, I believe, well, broke it away from its context to use this as a coronation psalm. It still should have been confusing for them to to read this. Today, you're my son. I have begotten you.
Now, we have the benefit of having the whole New Testament. And so, is this talking about Jesus? Well, this is all of the New Testament record of suddenly a voice came from heaven. This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. God's voice from heaven at Jesus' baptism.
Mark starts off his very first line. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the anointed one, the son of God. Any doubt about that? None. Mark goes on.
That's supposed to be one eleven. Then a voice came from heaven. You are my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Luke and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven which said, you're my beloved son. In you, I am well pleased.
John, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father, he has declared him. I will declare the decree. Today, I've begotten you. I have made you my son.
Right? God has fulfilled this for us. Acts 13. God has fulfilled this for us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it also is written in the second psalm, you are my son today.
I've begotten you. That's quoting this verse. It's quoted a lot in the New Testament actually. It goes, today I've begotten you. Ask of me, father, and I, the father, will give you the son, the nations for your inheritance at the ends of the earth for your possession.
So also Christ, Hebrews says, did not glorify himself to become high priest. He wasn't taking on the role of the highest person in the religious structure, but he took on the nature of a servant as Philippians says. So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, it was the father who said to the son, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. There it is, father and son.
Ask of me and I'll give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. If you are familiar with the New Testament, you know that our mandate from Jesus who said, I'm the light of the world while I was here. And he said, you are the light of world now. Y'all be going. And as you are going, you be taking the gospel to all of the nations.
And I'm with you always, even to the ends of the earth. He's quoting this. Alright? The nations for your inheritance, ends of earth for your possession. Hebrews, to which of the angels did he say?
Jesus is better than angels. That's the point in Hebrews. You're my son today. Begotten you again. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son.
That's from here, the nations and the ends of the earth. Once more, Now this is seven and eight. When you get here and you think, wow, the nations and and the ends of the earth, that's a gospel outlook. That's wonderful because his word is spreading to every tribe, tongue, and nation. And we know in Revelation, there'll be people gathered from every tribe, tongue, and nation singing as in one voice loudly.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. There's no one like him. He's holy other. And that's very, very optimistic, and that is true. But the nations who have set themselves against don't fare so well.
The next verse says, and you shall break them with a rod of iron, and you shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Like the kings of the earth set against the anointed, the rulers who have taken counsel will all one day be overcome. So who is the them? Well, I just told you the nations and the peoples that are plotting a vain thing, standing up against the Lord God Almighty. Believe our beliefs, doubt our doubts.
It looks like the devil is winning a lot of the time to us, does it not? Yeah. I see some heads bobbing. Yeah. But that's not the truth.
All the plots against and all the new ways, inventors of new ways to do evil. Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. He loves you. This is the message.
Eugene Peterson, great pastor. His Bible translation is kind of, woo, all over the place. You you get it in three or four verses at a time because it's a very dynamic paragraph form instead of word for word. But listen to this. This is this is the past three verses I just covered, seven, eight, and nine.
Let me tell you what God said next. I will declare the decree of the Lord. Okay. Let me tell you what God said next. He said, you're my son.
Today is your birthday. What do you want? Name it. Nations as a present, continents as a prize, you can command them all to dance for you or throw them out with tomorrow's trash. It's up to you because you are the Christ.
You are the anointed one. And what Christ has said he wants to do is make the offer to every tribe, tongue, and nation, and whoever responds to it will come into the kingdom. Now there's a sad end for the rest who don't. Right? Why is it that they rage against someone who loves and cares for them so much?
Now therefore, because of all that, therefore, be wise o kings. This is the call. This is an invitation basically. Be wise o kings. Think about this.
Be wise considering everything if you stand against almighty God. And and you can you can doubt him. You can turn against him. It's not gonna go well for you, but you can do that. He's given you, already given you the freedom.
He didn't put a fence around that tree in the garden. He just told them don't do it. They still did it. Right? Now therefore be wise o kings, pay attention, listen to me.
Be instructed all of you judges of the earth. I think that hits all of us. Are we judgmental? Oh my goodness. Be instructed you judges of the earth.
Be wise. Be instructed. Listen to this. Pay attention. Serve the Lord with fear.
Serve the Lord with reverence. Serve him with reverence. Consider what he said. Think about it. Is it really that bad?
Is it really that cumbersome to say, you know what, Lord? I trust you. I trust that you love me and you care for me, and the things that seem onerous right now will, in the end, prove to be good for me. Serve the Lord with reverence. Trust him.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. We don't deserve it. We don't deserve the salvation that God offers. And when we accept it, I think it should lead to a little bit of trembling. Woah.
I missed getting what I deserve from my rebellion. I have been saved by God Almighty. That's amazing. That's wonderful. Now Psalm two.
We call it Psalm two. If you've ever read any Jewish literature that is talking about the Psalms, it's always one number off. Have you ever looked up something from a source and you go, it says Psalm one eighteen. I look up one eighteen, and when I have to get there, I go, that's not what that verse says. It's off by one number.
It's off because one and two in Jewish sources are the same Psalm. Kiss the son. Kiss the son. Lean in and kiss the son, Jesus, lest he, the father, be angry and you perish in the way. He has made a way.
He's made a way for you to be saved. When his wrath is kindled but a little, he's almighty. Take the way he's offering. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. We used to talk a lot about it's not just fire insurance.
Salvation is not just fire insurance and then live however you want to. I think that trusting in him goes beyond just trusting in him for salvation and trusting that what he says is good and true and right. And if we will walk in the way that he has given, it will go well for us. Now, we might meet a martyr's death. That's possible.
But that's a blip. That's a blip in the grand scope of eternity. Blessed, happy are those who put their trust in him. Now that is the son pointing to Jesus Christ. They had had this Psalm a long time before we got to the age of Messiah Jesus.
God has fulfilled this for us, their children, and that he raised up Jesus. It's written in the second Psalm. Now the the split between the second I'm gonna run through Psalm one. I already told you mine. Listen up.
Meditate. Don't be cynical. There's no future in anything else. Seek righteousness by seeking God's plan earnestly and practice what he says. So Psalm one gives a picture of the two ways.
These are the two ways. Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Since we just said, and I know we're going out of order, Psalm one, Psalm two, this is the same Psalm. Okay? They're together.
Since we just said that the kings of the earth set themselves up against, every movement and ruler counsels against Lord and his anointed. The times that we are in should not determine the way we feel about God. Blessed is a person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. There's plenty of counsel out there that is wicked. Nor stand in the path of sinners.
This is not standing in the way of sinners blocking them. Okay? It is just living out a sinful lifestyle that you know better. God's already instructed and said, you know better. Sometimes you hear the counsel of the wicked and it says, it's really not that big a deal.
Come on. That's antiquated. Good grief. Religion? Really?
Nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. Oh, don't be cynical. Yes. Come on. Now that can go either way.
That can go scoffing like, Are you telling me, what in the world? You're a preacher? That's ridiculous. I can't believe you're still doing that in 2023. That's a scoffer's mentality from someone that's outside.
And then we have scoffers inside. We have scoffers inside that go, they're going to bust hell wide open if they keep acting like that, right? That's a scoffer's view from the inside. God can't save them. God can save anybody who turns to him in humility and says, please Lord, save me.
I don't deserve it. Humility will end our scoffing on both sides. A little bit of humility, we could be wrong, right? Just our own opinion about things should not be nearly as important as God's word. Don't walk in the counsel of the wicked.
Don't stand in the path of sinners. Don't sit in the seat of scoffers. It's another thing. Standing in the path of sinners is an active looking thing. You're on the path, right?
You're sitting actively. And then sitting in the seat of scoffers. It's really easy. You can sit down and do that. It's a spectator sport.
I wouldn't have done it that way. Don't sit in the seat of his cock. But his delight his delight is in the law of the Lord. He recognizes that those cords that God has given are cords of compassion. That the ties that he has put out there are ties of love.
And on his law, he meditates day and night. I called the pastor of the little church that I grew up in when I told him that we were going to the mission field. And he quoted Psalm 100 and this. He said, take God's word and meditate on it day and night. I thought, well I just said I was moving to the mission field.
He said, Take God's word and meditate on it day and night. Don't care what you're going to do. You can do anything else that you have that God has set before you, but meditate on his word so that it'll be in there. The reason Iwana is so great because it's about getting God's word into the heads and hearts of kids. They'll have it in there forever.
They can meditate on it day and night. This is future looking. He will be. He will be like a tree that's planted by streams of water. That's just a good image.
He will be like a tree that's planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season. And oh, I love that we have an example of what the fruit of meditating on the word day and night and allowing the Holy Spirit to be leading us. The fruit that it will yield is this, love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness, faithfulness and gentleness and self control. And he adds, Against such thing there's no law. Right?
Nobody's going to fuss about these. If this is what is the fruit that is being produced because we've been planted by that stream of water, that's a good thing. The leaf doesn't wither, and then whatever he does, he prospers. Amen. So that's up to three.
But the wicked are not so. This is the two ways. So the first one is the first option, and that's the good option. The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff, which the wind blows away. That's not a tree that's planted with roots by the water.
This just blows away. The wicked will not stand in the judgment. It's a fair warning right there. Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. That's not the assembly of the righteous is not church.
Okay? The assembly of the righteous is in that great mighty day. They will be together with their Lord. That's the assembly said, don't be fooled. God is not mocked.
Right? What you sow, you're gonna reap. Don't just keep on presuming upon God's grace. Lean into it and go for it. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
And that's the last verse. So I said I'd come back that that's my king. I I like to take get to the takeoff and the landing are the hard parts for me. I like the middle part. Okay?
I wouldn't be a great pilot. I like the middle part. Usually, just say that's the last slide. I'm gonna let pastor Lockridge close the sermon out today. Think I have about a three minute clip.
God says, that's my king, that I have set my king on the Holy Hill. I'm gonna ask you, is it your king? And I'm gonna let let him preach the closing little bit.
The Bible says my king is the king of the Jews. He's the king of Israel. He's the king of righteousness. He's the king of the ages. He's the king of heaven.
He's the king of glory. He's the king of kings, and he's the Lord of lords. That's my king. I wonder, do you know him? My king is a sovereign king.
No means of measure can define his limitless love. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon horizon of of this this world. World.
He's He's God's God's son. Son. He's He's the a
sinner's savior. He's the
centerpiece of civilization. He's He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He is the lostest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy.
He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient savior. I wonder if you know him today. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and he saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and he guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captive. He defends the evil. He
think the music got away from him right there. But I I promise you from experience that God's way is good. It's really, really, really good. If you believe that's true, can you just say amen? Amen.
Amen. Alright. Can I get the band back up here? Would you stand with us? We're gonna sing Christ be all around us.
As I rise, strengthen God. Roll before, lift me up. As I wait. Eyes of God. Look upon being my side.
As I wait, the heart of God is satisfied and sustained as I hear voice of God. And
as a as a benediction today, would you just take the Aaronic blessing from all the way back in the Old Testament? May the Lord make his face to shine upon you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you. May he make his face to shine upon you, and may he give you peace. That peace that passes understanding, that peace that only God can give.
May we be falling in line with the anointed. Amen.
