Ps 2:4 -12 “4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

Psalm 2 is a Messianic psalm. By this we mean that it refers not only to events that took place when the Psalm was written, but it spoke of a person who would come. This person would be anointed by God to rule as king. The word “anointed” is the Hebrew word “Messiah.” The Greek word for “anointed one” is “Christ.” Jesus is the Christ, he is the Messiah. He is the one God has anointed in a very special way.

The world around us sees Jesus as the destroyer of their dreams. His teachings are chains and fetters. So the world plots together to bring down Jesus and his teachings.

The Bible values human life. This world values choices that allows the abortion of human life. The Bible values truth. This world values lies if they help you make money or receive recognition. The Bible values marriage. The world around values individualism that sets no boundaries on how people express their sexual passions.

The world around us have people who are deliberately trying to replace Judeo-Christian values with something else. That “something else” is not clearly defined, except as in opposition to what used to be.

This morning we do not what to rehash all we have talked about before. What we want to ask is, “How does God feel and how should we respond to this world in which we live?”

First, lets look at how God views the world that bands against him.

“4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

First, God has utter contempt for the intellectuals and world leaders who think they know more about running the universe than God does.

This is poetic language. In Hebrew poetry, the two lines are used to emphasize or compliment each other. The “laughter” in verse 4 is a synonym for the word “scoffs.” Both phrases are saying the same thing, but using different words.

God is not impressed with the thinkers in this world. We study Plato and Aristotle as they seek to understand the depths of philosophy. God is not impressed with their intellect. Think of it this way. We spend hundreds of years, billions of dollars and countless research to find out what God already knows. When the interior of the atom was first discovered, did God say, “Wow, I didn’t know that!” When the Hubble telescope started bringing in pictures deep from outer space, did God say, “Amazing. I didn’t know that was there!” No he did not.

Do you trust God? Without faith it is impossible to please God. Do you trust God? When you hear the world around you telling you that what the Bible says is right is really wrong and that what the Bible says is wrong is really right, do you find yourself swayed by their arguments? I will tell you that God is not swayed by human arguments and he wants you to trust Him.

God not only has utter contempt for much of what he hears from the world, but second, he also is angry about it. He rebukes these people and he terrifies them in his wrath.

God is upset by what he sees and hears in our world. Why doesn’t he change it, you might ask? He does want to change our world through us. One reason America is the way she is today is because we as Christians have been unwilling to speak up, to get involved, to do what God wants us to do. The world has no problem finding advocates, raising money and volunteers to speak up and speak out. But many of us just don’t want to make life awkward for us or for others. God is upset by what he sees and hears in our world.

So what is he going to do? God is going to do what he wants to do. If the world conspires against him, if people want to throw off their chains, then he is going to do what he wants to do. Which is what?

In this Psalm God wants to put his King in Mount Zion. Mount Zion is another word for Jerusalem. He will install his King. He won’t take a vote. He won’t try to win the approval of the world. God is going to do what he wants to do. If the rulers will be terrified, so be it. If they will feel rebuked, so be it. God is going to do what God wants to do. He is God.

Prophetically, God is waiting in the future to install his King. But some day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is the king in mind here. Jesus refers to this passage in Luke when he says, Lu 20:41 -44 “41 Then Jesus said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ 44 David calls him ‘Lord’. How then can he be his son?”” Jesus says that David is not the Son, he is the Son. It couldn’t be David because David called the Christ Lord.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Someday Jesus will rule. Those who oppose him will be defeated.

So what is our response?

First, we have been warned. 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.

God is good. He is against sin, but he wants people to work with him, not against him. So he warns us in his love. God is not required to do this, but he does. It’s like the sign that says, “High voltage.” If you touch the cable, it’s not because you haven’t been warned. The people who put up the sign did not want anyone to be hurt. But those who reject the warning suffer the consequences.

Second, serve the Lord. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.

The fear of the Lord is like your fear of getting in an accident. If you do not respect the road, the other drivers, and use safety precautions, you will be hurt. But out of respect for the dangers of travel, you put on your seat belt, you put away your cell phone, you stay on your own side of the road and you pay attention to your driving.

So we understand what God can do. We understand that God is angry with those who conspire against him. We know the power of God. But when we are on God’s side, that power is used for us, not against us. We are safe in his arms, but outside the arms of God we are in real trouble. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

What does God want from us? He wants us to serve him. He wants us to take the teachings of Jesus seriously. He wants us to follow the instructions of Peter, Paul, James, John and the other writers of the Bible. He wants us to love Him, to love others, and to live for Jesus. Serve the Lord.

Third, we all need to practice submission. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Kissing the ring of a royal monarch was a sign of submission, a sign of recognition to his position and power. Enemies did not do this.

In the Psalm the nations around are plotting against the king. But in verse 12, God tells us to kiss the Son. Come on his side. Trust Him. Follow Him. Live for Him. Again the warning is given and it is real. If we are not for Jesus, we are against him. If we do not trust Jesus we abide under the wrath of God.

Fourth, take refuge in the Lord. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

We talk about service for the king. We talk about the king’s anger and wrath. But we need to understand the benefit for us. “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”

A refuge is a place where you will be safe. You will never be safer than when you are following Jesus. I don’t have all the answers to our societies questions about why God did this and why things are the way they are. But I do know that I am blessed when I take refute in Him. And you will be also.