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Why do the nations conspire and the people plot in vain?

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The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers hand together

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against the Lord and against his anointed saying,

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let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.

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The one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.

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He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying,

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I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.

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I will proclaim the Lord's decree. He said to me,

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you are my son. Today I have become your father.

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Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance.

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The ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron

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and you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore ye kings be wise.

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Be warned, ye rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear

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and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son

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or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction

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for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blast to all who take refuge in him.

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Morning again everyone. It's great to be together on this

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lovely warm morning reflecting on the eternal words of our Father in Heaven.

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So before we do that, before we're in Psalm 2, if you want to have that in front of you,

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let's pray to our Father and ask him for his help this morning.

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Father God, we are indeed so thankful to be here. We are so thankful that we're in a nation where

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we can have open windows and praise and worship you so openly and publicly.

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Lord we so thank you for the time that we live in where we can have air conditioning

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and that we can stay rather cool. But this morning we ask for your spirit

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to help us understand these words this morning and that we would see your Son

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ever that much more clearly. We ask for this in your name, amen.

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So if you've been with us for the past couple of weeks you may have noticed

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that we've been in the book of Psalms and we've been in the book of Psalms because

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as the Christmas season is upon us we thought that it would be a great opportunity

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to look at a few different Psalms as a way of getting a deeper understanding of the first

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advent of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the reason for the season as they say.

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So far this month we've reflected on our Lord's life in Psalm 16 and then last week on his suffering

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and death in Psalm 22. This morning we turn our attention to the most frequently recited and quoted

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Psalm in the New Testament, Psalm 2, where we're going to focus in on our Lord's identity

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and mission in this world. And let me say from the get-go, though we do live in a dark world with a

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lot of what-ifs flying around us at the moment with wars and rumors of wars and political unrest

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among the nations and what seems like a real hatred towards the gospel, the hope of this season

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that we are reflecting on is really bought out in this Psalm. Psalm 2 doesn't get us to deny what

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we see around us nor does it urge us to bury our heads in the so-called sand, no far from it. In fact,

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it gives us a framework in which to both understand and face the challenges of living in what seems

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like a hopeless world with an incredible amount of hope. In other words, Psalm 2 is both realistic

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and hopeful at the very same time, bringing glad tidings to us in the chaotic world in which we

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find ourselves. Now, before we jump into the passage that we have before us this morning and

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look at these wonderful things, I just want to mention something about how our Psalm has been

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structured because as many great preachers throughout the history of the church have commented on,

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there's four sections that each feature what seems to be a different speaker giving their voice.

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In verses 1 to 3, we have the voice of the raging world, snarling and sneering at God and His anointed

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one. In verses 4 to 6, we have the voice of God Himself who is laughing at their feeble efforts.

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In verses 7 to 9, we have the voice of the Son of God who declares the decree that has been given

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to Him. And last of all, in verses 10 to 12, we have the psalmist Himself sounding loads like an

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evangelist, if I might say, bringing glad tidings of hope to some and warnings to bear on others.

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So that's the structure in which we're going to explore the passage that we have before us this

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morning. Our psalmist, he's going to bring us four different voices, first from the raging world,

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second from our laughing God, third from the Son of God and fourth from the preacher Himself.

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So if you have your Bibles with you this morning, look with me at the first three verses there.

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We read, why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up

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and the rulers band together against the Lord and against His anointed saying, let's break their chains

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and throw off their shackles. Right, so the first thing that I want you to notice here is that our

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psalmist, he starts with a rhetorical question and he does that because he wants us to be thinking

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the same thing that he is. How ridiculous is it to set yourself up against God Almighty?

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That's what our psalmist wants us to be thinking here. How on earth can people think that they can

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topple the rule of God? It's an absolute absurd thing to think, let alone plan and utter out loud.

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And I want you to see that because so much of the time when we look at the news, when we listen to

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political commentary, when we flick through people's comments on Instagram, we can be tempted to feel

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like it's all so hopeless as we listen to the chorus of the muddled minds that all sing from the

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same hymn book called, Rage Against God. But notice what our psalmist does. He doesn't get down,

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he doesn't fret. No, he's actually astounded because he sees this whole thing from the perspective

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of the one who is ruling all peoples and nations. And from that point of view, he says to himself,

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can you think of anything more ludicrous? People plot, plan and play out their various schemes to

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cast God aside. But it's absolutely laughable. And though the chorus is loud, our psalmist,

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he stays quite calm in the midst of it all. And it's quite simple how he gets to this place.

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In what seems like a hopeless world with hopeless situations with people's anger and hatred towards

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God being rather vocal, our psalmist doesn't become overwhelmed. But he holds onto the stone, cold,

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hard facts of scripture. God is sovereign over all peoples and the nations of the world.

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And thus to think of even setting yourself against him and casting him off is completely futile.

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It's laughable. It's comedic even. That's how our psalmist stays calm in the midst of the storm.

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He approaches what he's hearing around him with what he knows to be the reality of the situation.

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And it causes him to think, why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

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So we might ask, what is he seeing and hearing around him? Well, pretty much what we see in our

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own time and place. Those in great authority over the nations, they're together and they're agreed

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on one thing. Let's cast God off and his anointed from us. Now anointed here is English for the

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Hebrew word, Mashiach, where we get our word Messiah or Christ from. And though we're looking at

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something written thousands of years before Jesus Christ was even born, this scene that our psalmist,

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the one that he puts before us of people enraged by Jesus, well, it's all too familiar.

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Just the other day I was reading an article on ChristianPost.com about Ryan Skiavo,

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an American born evangelist who was recently arrested for preaching the gospel in Canterbury,

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England. In Canterbury, England, Skiavo told CP.com that he and a friend went to Canterbury just to

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share the gospel. And while preaching from Romans one on God, judging society because of wickedness

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and the need for repentance and faith in Jesus, police officers told him to be quiet

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as they were disturbing the peace. I love this reply. Skiavo then said the people he's sharing

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the gospel with, they have no real peace in which the next moment he recalled that he was handcuffed,

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thrown in the back of a paddy wagon and taken away. Why the anger with a couple of guys going out

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to share the gospel of Jesus, you might wonder. Well, some too gives us the answer. The people say

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of God and his anointed one of the Christ of the Messiah, let's break their chains and throw off

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their shackles. Now for Ryan and his mate, this was pretty light persecution compared to what the

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ancient church experienced. For one example, in Acts 4, the evangelist Luke reports that the

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Christians as they were starting to fill the wrath of those who were in authority, that they actually

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of all the passages in the Bible turned to Psalm 2 to help them understand what they were going

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through. And in response to what they were experiencing, they lifted their voices in prayer

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reciting these very first three verses only to say, for truly in this city, they were gathered

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together against your servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the

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nations which is translated Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and

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purpose predestined to occur. Amazing, not only did the early church see Psalm 2 as being fulfilled

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in their very midst, they were also able like our psalmist here to find real hope and comfort in

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their suffering as they understood the age-old battle of kings and peoples and rulers rising

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up against God and his anointed one. And thus they were able to understand their persecution

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within a certain framework. Kings, rulers, nations, peoples, they would do all sorts of things to cast

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God from them, to unshackle themselves from his anointed one. Herod tried to kill Jesus as a

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little baby boy and when he grew up they crucified him. But all their efforts to cast off God and

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his anointed one were absolutely futile. That's still the case today church. Peoples, leaders,

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presidents, prime ministers, they still set themselves up against God and his rule and authority

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through King Jesus. But we have a framework to cling to as we hear the chorus of rage against

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our God. Scripture reveals that it's absolute folly to set yourself up against God Almighty.

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And so though we may go through suffering and persecution and slander on this side of Kingdom

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come, let us be encouraged this morning. Let us turn down the social commentary and let Scripture

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be a lamp unto our feet in this dark world. God rules and he is sovereign over the world

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and all things in it. And at the end of the day when all is said and done, those plans to rebel

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against God and his planned purposes through his anointed one will be shown for what they were.

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Absolute folly and stupidity. 17th century pastor Richard Baxter Puritan in England puts it well.

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Why do the heathen rage? Why do they conspire against God? Well in this way they only show their

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ignorance of the power and the wisdom of God. The kings of the earth and their rulers may plot

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against Christ but in the end it'll all be for their own ruin. For the Lord has set his king on

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the throne and will not allow his purposes to fail. Brothers and sisters as we trust what we are told

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here that instead of being crushed under what feels like the weight of a hopeless scary world

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that we will be emboldened to share the gospel. Strengthen to show the message and share the

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message of peace with those who have no real peace. As we remind ourselves of how God has revealed

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himself in this in his word that instead of burying our heads in the sand that we will face this

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world with realism and honesty about how hard things may really get for us. But we will do it

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with hope and that's because the word of God provides us with a framework in which to understand

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the things that we hear and see. The world will rage but to no avail and our king is still on

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his throne. That's first we live in a raging world but take heart dear ones no matter how

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loud the chorus gets our God is sovereign. He won't be toppled and all his plans and purposes

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through Jesus Christ will come to fruition. Next our psalmist takes us to God's response in all of

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this in verses four to six saying the one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them he rebukes

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them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying I have installed my king on Zion my holy

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mountain. Again what fuel is injected into the psalmist's hope here? What caused the ancient world

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to lift their voice and praise and adoration in the midst of very real persecution? What can help you

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and me not fret and freak out over today's trials and tomorrow's troubles? Well again it is by reminding

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ourselves of exactly who God is and what position he holds and as we see here how not fazed he is

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by the world's screams and shouts of rebellion at him. I have always absolutely hated flying

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absolutely hated it and in my younger days as a traveling musician I would do anything to avoid

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flights because turbulence is one of the most terrifying things that I have ever experienced.

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Now for the experienced flyer turbulence doesn't become something that they might look forward to

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but something that they've learnt to deal with and so as I was on a flight to Norway ages ago and we

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were in the midst of a terrible time of turbulence I asked the guy next to me who was as calm as a

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farm why he wasn't fazed and he simply said in his thick Norwegian accent I just keep my eyes on the

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airline host if they're not freaking out neither am I. It's no secret brothers and sisters the world

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has set itself up in opposition to God and the things of God and much of the time it feels like

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we're going to be in for a bumpy ride and go through some terrifying turbulence and so in light

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of all of that the church we sort of retreat back into ourselves because we don't want to make things

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worse for ourselves than they might already be. Now I'm not saying that we should all go out and be

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an absolute minister society and start picking fights with everyone who doesn't agree with us

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but what I am saying is that we have a calling and that calling is on each and every single one of us

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a commission from the king to take his glad tidings to those around us and so as we go either

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individually or as a church as a whole well when not if when they kick back when they threaten when

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they taunt we must remember that we have a God in heaven who is absolutely amused by their plans

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to cast him off and throw him away and so as we keep our eyes on him through the most worst

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of turbulences whatever they might be we will find enormous reassurance that it's all going to be

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okay in the end. I love that old hymn in which Helene Lemell reminds the church to turn our eyes

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upon Jesus to look full in his wonderful face as the things of earth will grow strangely dim

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in the light of his glory and grace and we have this blessed assurance that it will all be okay

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in the end because of what we see in verse six which is really what we are celebrating this

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Christmas season. Of course Christmas is is about reflecting on the birth of Jesus because he would

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grow up and be crucified for the sin of his people but what we sometimes lose sight of is that with

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the first advent with the coming of the Messiah the world had an answer to its scheming plotting

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and raging. They tried to cast the anointed one off they crucified the Messiah but he raised to life

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and is now seated on his throne reigning over the world that tried to be rid of God and his

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anointed one once and for all and God still laughs at their feeble efforts to break their chains

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and throw off their shackles. That's first a raging world second a laughing God third the

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son who reigns. Read with me verses seven to nine. I'll proclaim the Lord's decree. He said to me

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you're my son and today I've become your father. Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance

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the ends of the earth your possession. You'll break them with a rod of iron you'll dash them to

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pieces like pottery. And so here we hear this third voice and that is the voice of the anointed one

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himself the Messiah who tells us of the royal decree that has been given to him. First in

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verse seven he tells us that he's God's son. This is picked up in Hebrews chapter one where the

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writer says that this was said of Jesus in eternity past which he goes on to clarify for us that the

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son was never created but has always been which is to say there was never a time when he was not.

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That's why the apostle John could clearly articulate in the first chapter of his gospel no one has

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ever seen God but the only one son who is himself God and in the closest relationship with the father

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has made him known. Now time escapes us this morning to go on a massive big tour of our new

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testaments but some too is either quoted or alluded to time and time and time again to

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clarify the identity and mission of Jesus. We see it in his baptism in his transfiguration in

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Peter's confession and at his trial before the high priest. He is God's eternal son. He is the

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anointed one. He is the Christ. He is the one who is spoken of in this psalm and he has been

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appointed and anointed to rule and reign over this world. Second he tells us of the scope there in

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verse eight of his rule. It's universal which is to say there's no place no people group no tribe no

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nation where the son's dominion will not one day be seen and felt in its fullness. I might ask a

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question this morning what is Christmas really all about? Well we're reminded something about

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Christmas in our text this morning. It's about being reminded of our king who came. It's about

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being reminded to lift up our eyes past the tsunami of sludge that comes out of the world

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and to turn down the volume of blasphemous hatred by looking past those who have set themselves up

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as trend setters internet influencers presidents and politicians to the one who is really and truly

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shaping the things to come. This psalm it reminds us to look heavenward to our true king who has come

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and where there's no place no people no ruler no nation that is beyond his power and that will

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escape his dominion. Brothers and sisters let's all be reminded of this this Christmas and rejoice.

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The true king has come. He was crucified by the world but raised victorious by God and is now

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and forever alive and our Lord reigns forevermore. And before we move on quickly third verse 9 the

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reign of the Messiah it is not feeble or fractured in any way but incredibly powerful to the point

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that when he tears something down it will never be built up again. I'm not sure how many of you

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remember the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. Of course you do. But after he fell you could correct me

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if I get this wrong but after he fell off that wall and smashed to pieces whoever tried to put

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him together again no matter how hard they tried no matter who they got in they simply couldn't

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put poor Humpty Dumpty back together again. And that's the idea that sits behind the imagery here

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of verse 9. Once the Messiah dashes and smashes those that have tried to stand up against him

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once those nations have been judged and torn down once people have felt the wrath of the Messiah

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like obliterated pottery there is no possibility of ever rebuilding or putting back together

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again what has been destroyed. And thus in a sober warning our psalmist says in verses 10 to 12

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therefore you kings be wise be warned you rulers of the earth serve the Lord with fear and celebrate

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his rule with trembling kiss the sun or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction

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for his wrath can flare up in a moment but blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

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Maybe you'll hear this morning and you're like thanks Mike Christmas for me is all about little

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baby Jesus with little baby rosy cheeks in a manger surrounded by people with halos and somehow

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there's a little drummer boy there and talking reindeer and though Christmas is indeed been made

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into a holiday with turkey and mistletoe and Neil Diamond's greatest Christmas hits for the

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hallmark experience well maybe we need to be encouraged by the truth of what that little

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king born all those years ago came to do in his first advent he came to die for the sin of his

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people and provide eternal refuge as one day he will come again in his second advent to bring

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judgment and justice on all those who have set themselves up against him and his precious bride

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and he will dash all the horrid torturous wickedness of rotten evil it'll be utterly dashed to

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smithereens the world doesn't need a fairy tale this Christmas season it needs the truth it needs

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salvation and justice and that is exactly what the gospel provides this world it is the good news

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of what God has achieved in his son the anointed one Jesus Christ and so our psalmist he applies the

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text and he says kings rulers nations people while there is still breath in your lungs repent

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turn to the sun and honor and trust and submit to his rule nobody need perish under the judgment

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that is to come there is an offer available to anyone from anywhere if you adjust turn to Jesus

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Christ as blessed are all those who take refuge in him brothers and sisters what will you do with

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Jesus this Christmas season let's pray father god we are so thankful for the gospel we are so thankful

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for the lord Jesus Christ we are so thankful that we are not in this world alone that you love your

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church and that you love us individually and father as we face the various valleys as we face the

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various darknesses of this world we thank you that you are the light of this world and that we have a

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hope like no other we ask father this Christmas season that you would provide us with opportunity

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around those who have no real peace to share the good news and the peace of your beloved son

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father we also ask that you would use this church this congregation this pulpit for the purposes

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of the gospel that we would be a light here in armadale that you would provide us with opportunity

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to continually point to the one who is king of kings and lord of lords and we ask for this for

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the sake of christ and in your name amen