Psalm 2: The World in Rebellion

Psalm 2 is the first Messianic Psalm in the book of Psalms, meaning that it contains a prophecy about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It prophesies the coming kingdom, with Christ as King, and warns that those who do not bow to Him will be judged. No author for this Psalm is mentioned in the book of Psalms, but Peter ascribes this Psalm to David when he cites it in Acts 4.
This Psalm is organized into the following four sections:
1. The rebellion against the Messiah's kingdom by the rulers of the earth (v. 1-3);
2. God the Father's reply in word and deed (v. 4-6);
3. The coming King and Kingdom described by the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Himself (v. 7-9);
4. An exhortation to submission to the coming King by the Holy Spirit (v. 10-12).

The Rebellion

The Psalmist begins with the question "Why?", concerning the reason that the people and the nations rebel against the Lord. Note that no answer to this question is given. In fact, there is no logical reason or explanation as to why people knowingly rebel against the God of the universe, their Creator, and even their Savior. These questions can be asked of multitudes in history. Before, during and after the time of Christ, people have united against the Lord.
Many who would not unite on other grounds, unite against the Lord. For instance, during Christ's life, the Sadducees and the Pharisees were often united in their opposition to Christ. Though doctrinally they could not agree on very much, they often tried to turn the crowds against Christ with their questions on doctrine. Herod and Pilate are another unlikely pair of allies against Christ. Concerning the day of Christ's trial, Luke informs us: "That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been enemies" (Luke 23:12). According to Peter, the prophecy in this Psalm is partially fulfilled by Herod and Pilate's opposition to Christ. In a prayer, after citing the first two verses of this Psalm, Peter points out: "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed" (Acts 4:27).
Peter cited this Psalm in Acts 4 in order to comfort Christ's disciples. He was making the point that the opposition to Christ and His disciples was prophesied by God. Peter went on to say in his prayer that Herod and Pilate"did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen" (Acts 4:28). So also, we should realize that God is in control, even when we face opposition.
The ultimate fulfillment of the prophesied rebellion in this Psalm is, of course, the rebellion of the earth during the end times. In the book of Revelation speaks about the spirits of demons that "go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty...Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon" (Rev. 16:14,16).
In verse 3, the rebels state the motive for their opposition. They view God's law as "chains" and "fetters" that they want to "break off" and "throw away". In this, they show their ignorance. God's law is just, holy, righteous, fair and, for those who keep it, profitable , edifying and life-giving. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple" (Ps. 19:7). "So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good" (Rom. 7:12). "We know that the law is good if a man uses it properly" (I Tim. 1:8). Nevertheless, the rebels see it as "chains" and"fetters".

The Father's Response

Interestingly, there is a section of this Psalm devoted to each person of the Trinity. In this section, we have God the Father's response to the rebellion. The Father here is depicted as the One in control. First, He shows contempt for the rebellion, then He shows His wrath, then He states His sovereignty over the situation.
Conspiracies against the God of the universe are ridiculous and foolish. Thus, the Father shows His contempt for the rebellion by laughing and scoffing. In a similar passage in Psalm 37, the reason for God's mocking is given:"But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming" (Ps. 37:13). God knows His own power and ability to quash any rebellion. However, He refrains from judging the rebellious because He is patient and long suffering, giving the rebels a chance to repent. Nevertheless, at the appointed time, God will judge those conspiring against Him when He "rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath".
His judgment will be a confirmation of His anointing of Christ, for during the judgment He says: "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill". Note that the Father says "I have installed". Jesus Christ came to earth with the full backing and authority of the Father. Note also, Christ is described by the Father as "my King", for Christ was anointed by God and will be sent by God to rule the earth.

The Coming King

In this section, the Son, Jesus Christ, relates the commission that the Father gave Him to reign as King over the earth. It is interesting that Christ, as the "Word" (cf. John 1:1), reveals the secret counsel between Him and His Father.
The Father said to Him: "You are my Son; today I have become your Father". The "today" that is referred to is, I believe, the day of Christ's baptism. On that day, Christ was revealed to the world as the Son of God: "And a voice from heaven said, `This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17).
The Father says to His Son: "Ask of me". God's promises are appropriated through prayer, even the promises made to the Son. So also, in order for us to appropriate God's promises to us, we are to ask of Him.
Significantly, Christ needed only to ask in order to establish His kingdom. The promise stood at least from the time of Christ's baptism (the "today"). Thus, if He asked, Christ did not have to endure the cross in order to reign, but, by His love, He chose to endure the cross for our salvation.
Christ will "rule with an iron scepter". His rule will be just. God's commandments will be the law of the land. Injustice will not be tolerated; immorality will not be permitted. The rebellious, He will dash "to pieces like pottery".
Interestingly, "pottery" is a symbol for God's creatures. Isaiah says: "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand" (Isa. 64:8). And Paul asks: "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" (Rom. 9:21). Yes, and if the pottery rebels, the potter certainly has the right to dash it to pieces.

The Spirit's Warning

In this last section, the Holy Spirit, through David, warns the rebels to repent, warning them of the judgment. This is in line with one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit. He is to "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8).
He exhorts the kings to "be wise". Again, rebellion against the God of the universe is foolish and will lead to death. Also, the kings and the rulers will have no excuse for what they are doing because they have been"warned".
Significantly, God gives the rebels a chance to repent. He offers mercy even to those in open rebellion against Him. Moreover, He also tells them how to obtain it. First, they are to "serve the Lord with fear". It is the clear indication of scripture that we are to "fear" the Lord. "The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread" (Isa. 8:13); "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecces. 12:13); "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear" (I Pet. 1:17); etc. Our lives should reflect that we fear the Lord. If we truly fear the Lord, if we truly understand His power and sovereignty, if we truly understand His wrath, we will do what He says. Here, the Psalmist says to "serve" the Lord with fear. We should understand that it is our privilege to serve the Lord. Too many people think that they are doing God a favor by serving Him.

Take note! "Serve the Lord with fear".

Second, in order to receive mercy, the rebels are to "rejoice with trembling". Even in our rejoicing, we are to, having the awareness of the holiness of God, tremble with fear. To "rejoice with trembling" is to recognize God's mercy on one side (thus, the rejoicing) and His wrath on the other (thus, the trembling). While in the midst of the blessings of God, we may forget that we are being blessed by a God that demands righteousness and reverence. Remember to "rejoice with trembling".

Third, the rebels are to "kiss the Son". The kiss is a symbol of affection, homage and subjection. Thus, we are to love Jesus, worship Jesus, and serve Jesus. It is no disgrace, even for a king, to "kiss the Son"; it is no disgrace, even for the rulers of the earth, to submit to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
If these solicitations to receive His mercy are ignored, the Lord will "be angry" and the rebels will "be destroyed". Rejected grace brings God's anger and the greater penalty. To reject God's free gift of salvation is to insult God and to denigrate the sacrifice Christ made. Indeed, God's anger is just.
Note that "his wrath can flare up in a moment". Be ready! The end can come at any time. The day of God's wrath is near. "While people are saying, `Peace and safety', destruction will come on them suddenly" (I Thess. 5:3).
But don't worry, as long as you "take refuge in Him", you will be "blessed", even through the day of God's wrath. The Psalm ends with a blessing. God always emphasizes His grace and mercy over His wrath and judgment. God's wrath is called "his strange work" (Isa. 28:21). When God describes Himself to Moses, again His mercy and grace are emphasized: "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished" (Ex. 34:6,7).

---

Psalm 1: The Righteous Man Contrasted with the Wicked

The First Psalm contrasts a righteous man and a wicked man. As true poetry, in its six short verses, this Psalm contains a wealth of information about the righteous and the wicked. The Psalmist describes them literally and figuratively; he portrays their attitudes and actions; he relates their respective destinies. The first and last words of the Psalm, in themselves, point out the differing destinies of the righteous and the wicked: the righteous will be"Blessed", the wicked will "perish".
As for the structure of this Psalm: verses 1-3 describe the righteous man; verses 4-5 describe the wicked man; verse 6 offers a summarizing contrast between the righteous and the wicked.

Verse 1

"Blessed" denotes complete happiness. The Psalmist goes on to state that complete happiness can be found by refraining from certain unrighteous activities, namely,
1) Walking "in the counsel of the wicked",
2) Standing "in the way of sinners",
3)Sitting "in the seat of mockers".

The extent to which we refrain from these activities determines the extent to which we are truly happy. None of us completely refrain from doing these things; thus, none of us experience complete happiness.
Note the actions associated with these unrighteous activities: "walking", "standing", then "sitting". Collectively, they completely describe the three postures of man as he carries on his day-to-day business. He is either walking, standing or sitting. Thus, if all of these actions are performed in an unrighteous manner, the regimen of one's entire life is affected. Moreover, note the progression of the actions. One "walks" least frequent; one"stands" a little more often; one "sits" most often. Thus, the three activities seem to form a progression in the participant's life from infrequent to often engagement in unrighteous activity.
Note the location of the unrighteous activities: "in the counsel", "in the way", and "in the seat". Again, we find a progression. "In the counsel" suggests occasional participation; "in the way" suggests habitual involvement; "in the seat" suggests permanent association with the unrighteous activities.
Finally, note the accomplices in the unrighteous activities: "the wicked", "the sinners", and "the mockers". Once again, we see a progression. "The wicked" are those who knowingly violate the command of God. Although they knowingly violate the command, they have enough familiarity with the commands to know them. "Sinners" are those whose way of life falls short of the Godly standard. Many "sinners" do not even know they violate God's command. This does not excuse them, for they should be familiar with God's law. "Mockers" are those who openly show contempt for God's law. They not only stumble in the law, they also despise it.
Thus, by way of application: Be alert! The path to unrighteousness is progressive. One does not fall into unrighteousness over night; one "walks" then "stands" then "sits"; one participates then habituates then dwells; one stumbles then sins then mocks. Do not progress toward ungodliness! Turn back! Repent!

Verse 2

"But his delight is the law of the Lord". The word "But" is to denote contrast to the "mockers" of the previous verse. The "mockers" show contempt for God's law; the righteous "delight" in it. Note, the righteous do not merely obey God's law, nor do they merely respect it, trust in it and fear it (all of which are commendable); but they "delight" in it. It is their joy and pleasure.
This "delight" is demonstrated by their "meditation" on the law. They do not merely study the law for duty's sake, but they "meditate" on the law because it is their delight. They do not pigeonhole their consideration of the law to a short, daily quiet time; but they "meditate" on it "day and night". It is the subject to which their thoughts naturally turn; it is the favorite resting place for their wandering mind.
Now, in the time when the Psalmist was writing, the righteous could only meditate on the unfinished revelation of God. They had the Law, but not the Gospel (nor even the Prophets, at the time of Psalm 1). How much more should we delight in God's completed revelation!

Verse 3

 The Psalmist describes the righteous man figuratively. In drawing this picture, the Psalmist describes many aspects the righteous man's character and situation.
"He is like a tree planted by streams of water." Notice, that he is not a tree growing wild, but a "planted tree". Furthermore, the tree is "planted" with care "by streams of water". The planter, of course, is the Lord. The Lord is described as a "planter" of His people in other places, most notably,
Isaiah 5: "My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines" (Isa. 5:1,2). Later, Isaiah states, "The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel" (Isa. 5:7). When God plants His people, He does so in the choicest spot. For the vineyard in Isaiah, it was the "fertile hillside". For the tree in Psalm 1 (representing the righteous man), it is "by streams of water". The placement of the tree is chosen so that it would yield the most fruit.
And, indeed, it "yields its fruit in season". "Fruit", of course, in the Bible represents good works in one's life that bring glory to God. Notice that the fruit appears "in season". This signifies that the fruit was produced under the guidance and in the timing of God.
Its "leaf does not wither". Therefore, it keeps its beauty and health. So, the tree remains fruitful, beautiful and healthy. The Psalmist sums this up by saying, "Whatever he does prospers."

Verses 4 & 5

The wicked, however, do not prosper, thus: "Not so the wicked." The wicked are figuratively represented, not as a fruitful tree, but as chaff that is good for nothing. In contrast to the carefully chosen placement of the tree, the chaff is blown by the wind. So, while the righteous man (depicted by the tree) has a well-planned, fruitful and prosperous existence, the wicked man's existence (depicted by the chaff) is useless, purposeless and haphazard.
The wicked are often spoken of as chaff in the Bible. Notably, when John the Baptist describes Christ's coming judgment, he says that Christ will "clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:12).
"Therefore" (because they have a meaningless existence) "the wicked will not stand in the judgment." God will judge the wicked. Many fault God because, many times, the wicked seem to prosper. God is merciful, even to the detriment of His name. It is God's will that the wicked repent, so He is patient in dealing with the wicked. All who would fault God for not doling out instantaneous judgment on the wicked, should look at their own lives. God has been merciful to us all. Rather than calling down judgment from heaven, pray that the wicked would turn from their ways and glorify God.
Also, sinners will not stand "in the assembly of the righteous". Currently, the righteous and the wicked reside together. As one commentator states: "Albeit now the ungodly and godly do live together, mixed in one kingdom, city, incorporation, visible church, family, and bed possibly." There will come a time when the righteous and the wicked are separated. This is described in many ways in the Bible: separation of the wheat from the chaff, the tares from the wheat, the good fish from the bad fish, etc. The wicked will be judged and thrown into hell, the righteous (that is, those clothed with the righteousness of Christ, for none are truly righteous on their own) will gather in the great assembly and praise the Lord. This great assembly is described in the Book of Revelation: "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: `To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!'" (Rev. 5:13).

In conclusion, the Psalmist summarizes the contrast between the righteous and the wicked: "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish". This Psalm is appropriate to begin the Book of Psalms because its theme and final statement is one of the major themes of the Book of Psalms: God's guidance and blessing of the righteous versus the eventual destruction of the wicked.

Jesus wept - why did Jesus weep?

Two passages in Scripture teach that Jesus wept. In both instances our Lord was looking on man's misery, and both demonstrate our Lord's (loving) human nature, His compassion for people and the life He offers to those who believe. When Jesus wept, He showed all these things.

The first passage,John 11:1-45, concerns the death and resurrection of Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha and a friend of our Lord. Jesus wept (John 11:35) when He gathered with the sisters and others mourning Lazarus' death. Jesus did not weep over the death itself since He knew Lazarus would soon be raised and ultimately spend eternity with Him in heaven. Yet He could not help but weep when confronted with the wailing and sobbing of Mary, Martha, and the other mourners (John 11:33). The original language indicates that our Lord wept 'silent tears' or tears of compassion for His friends (Romans 12:15).

If Jesus had been present when Lazarus was dying, His compassion would have caused Him to heal His friend (John 11:14-15). But preventing a death might be considered by some to be a chance circumstance or (just) a minor miracle, and this was not a time for any doubt. So Lazarus spent four days in death's grave before Jesus publicly called him back to life. The Father wanted these witnesses to know that Jesus was the Son of God, that Jesus was sent by God, and that Jesus and the Father had the same will in everything (John 11:4,40-42). Only the one true God could have performed such an awesome and breathtaking miracle, and through this miracle the Father and the Son were glorified, and many believed (John 11:4,45).

The second passage,Luke 19:41-44, took place during the Lord's last trip to Jerusalem, shortly before He was crucified at the insistence of His own people, the people He came to save. Earlier the Lord had said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it” (Luke 13:34). So now as our Lord approached Jerusalem and thought of all those lost souls, "He saw the city and wept over it" (Luke 19:41). Here, "wept" is the same word used to describe the weeping of Mary and the others inJohn 11:33, so we know that Jesus cried aloud in anguish over the future of the city. That future was less than 40 years distant; in 70 AD more than 1,000,000 residents of Jerusalem died in one of the most gruesome sieges in recorded history.

Our Lord wept differently in these two instances because the eternal outcomes were entirely different. Martha, Mary and Lazarus have eternal life because they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but most in Jerusalem did not believe and therefore do not have life. The same is true today: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies'” (John 11:25)