CCC Livestream - The Lord Is My Shepherd - Psalm 2
Live Worship Gathering: 4/26/2026
Preaching: Jason Purdy
I invite you to take your copy of God’s word and turn to Psalm 2.
We are continuing in a series called “Jesus in the Psalms.”
You cannot do whatever you want to do and be whoever you want to be.
This final Sunday in April leads me to think about all of our students who are about to wrap up another school year.
We have a few who will be graduating.
While my children are not to the graduating stage yet, my two older ones have had to make significant decisions about what next year will look like based on what path they think they want to go down.
I’m always fascinated to think about ancient times when children would grow up in the home learning the work of the family, and whatever the father did was what the sons most likely ended up doing,
And what the mother did is what the daughters ended up doing.
It’s very different today.
In our day, our culture tells students that they can do whatever they want to do and be whoever they want to be as long as they work hard and pass the right tests.
So, plan, plot, and dream of who you truly are and who you want to be, and you can make it happen for you.
It’s all about what you want to be and what you want to do.
What is so ironic is that the more our culture spreads this message, the more anxious, depressed, and paralyzed many of our young people have become.
You see, the very counter cultural but life giving truth is you cannot do whatever you want to do.
You cannot be whoever you want to be.
I wanted to be a professional basketball player in the NBA.
But no matter how much I wanted it, and how much I worked for it, and no matter how much I dreamed about it,
I ran into limitation after limitation and barrier after barrier that I could not overcome by will, and determination, and dreaming.
You say, Pastor Jason, this is the worst motivational speech I’ve ever heard.
But I would argue, it is better than motivational speeches in our day, because Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
By God’s grace, I’m telling you the truth.
Psalm 2 is coronation Psalm.
It was most likely read at the coronation of every king of Israel and Judah from King David who wrote the Psalm all the way through to when the monarchy of Judah finally fell completely.
You see, Psalm 1 teaches us the way of the blessed and righteous man who delights in the law of the Lord and who prospers in the way of righteousness.
Then, Psalm 2 coronates a king who is to lead God’s people by embodying the truth, the convictions, and the character of the truly blessed man.
Now, I will tell you that Psalm 2 is so jam packed with foundational biblical truth and meaning that it gets mentioned and referred to in other parts of Scripture almost more than any other passage.
Would you please pray a silent prayer from your heart that God would allow me to be his mouthpiece to faithfully present this text to you in these next few moments?
Please follow along as I read:
Psalm 2 ESV
1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
1. We Have All Made Plans Against The Lord In Vain
Verse 1: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
We live in a world filled with hostility.
The thoughts of raging nations and peoples plotting paints the picture of peoples at war plotting destruction.
The original word used for “plot” is the same exact word used in Psalm 1 for meditate.
So, whereas the blessed man takes delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night, the nations meditate day and night on their destructive rage.
But notice, it is phrased as a question signaling to us that all the hostility, the raging, and the plotting is in vain.
It is utterly meaningless and will be completely unsuccessful.
But what are the nations raging and plotting against?
Verse 2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed,
The picture is of the kings lining themselves up for battle.
Notice, the rulers take counsel together, whereas the blessed man in Psalm 1:1 does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, it is as if all these kings and rulers have met as a counsel and have all voted to go to battle against the covenant Creator, and the one true Lord God Yahweh, and against his Anointed.
In the context, the Lord’s anointed would have been the king whom God had chosen to rule over and shepherd His people Israel.
King David, then Solomon, and the other kings after them.
So, we know what is taking place: Rage and hostility of the nations.
We know who it is against: the Lord and his Anointed.
But why? What is the motivation?
Verse 2 to again then verse 3: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Wicked humanity responds to a Creator God who declares what is right and wrong and responds to a God who calls us to submit to Him as a harsh slave master whose bonds and cords must be broken in order for them to have freedom.
Wicked humanity completely rejects the truth, that the bond and cords of the Lord are bonds and cords of great love and great freedom.
Hosea 11:4 ESV
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
Yet, in our wickedness and our sin, we say, “Away with you God! I will be who I want to be and do what I want to do!”
Listen to the words of Christopher Ash from His commentary on this Psalm:
“The goal of this noisy, restless worldwide rebellion is autonomy: “I want to be a king, and having become a king, I want to exercise my power as I choose.
If I have little power, I long for power; if I have power, I want to hold onto it.
The one thing I will not do is bow the knee to God’s anointed King.”
The truth is: every human being left to their own devices is by nature a participant in this great raging and plotting against the one true God and against His anointed.
We see this will be true until Christ comes again.
Consider:
Revelation 19:19 ESV
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.
He who was sitting on the horse is the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s anointed King and Messiah.
You see, in the beginning, the one true God created the heavens and the earth to display His great glory, and He created mankind as image bearers to reflect God’s great glory back to him through worship and submission to God’s rule and God’s ways,
Yet, mankind sinned, desires to choose right and wrong for himself, we as creatures have worshipped created things instead of the Creator God.
In hostility, we have taken the glory that is due the one true God, and we have pursued glory for ourselves through our autonomy.
Like the Frank Sinatra song says, “I did it my way.”
In God’s world that was created to display God’s glory, doing it “my way” is a death sentence and leading to nothing but eternal destruction.
As sinners, we have all taken part in this rebellion and made plans against the Lord in vain.
2. There Is Only One Sovereign Whose Wrath Burns Against The Rebellious
Verse 4: He who sits in heaven laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
We have seen the picture of the raging and plotting on earth, and now the focus shifts to heaven.
What is the Creator God doing in response what is happening on earth?
He is sitting and laughing.
Can you imagine with me for a moment all the great and powerful nations of the earth mustering all their strength and power against the Lord and against His anointed?
When they back the God of the universe in a corner, what does he do? What is his move?
(Laugh)
When Elijah was little, he loved taking red solo cups and stacking them up to make a big wall of defense and then we would play war with that as our defense wall that would inevitably crumble.
Just imagine God the creator who created his creatures with a word, watching those creatures line up in battle formation against him, it looks as ridiculous as Elijah and me building a solo cup wall as a defense against an enemy nation.
Holding someone in derision means mocking them with the goal of making them feel worthless.
Do not be tempted to believe that God’s laughter and mocking is beneath him.
For a perfect and righteous God must do what is right in keeping with reality and truth.
The absurdity of the creatures rebelling against their Creator deserves no other response.
Verse 5: Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
The rebellious nations spoke in verse 3 said, “Let us burst the bonds and cast away the cords.”
Now, it is God’s turn to respond, and He says, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Verses 4 and 5 says God sits, and holds all the people, he speaks to them and terrifies them.
Obviously, they have not been successful in breaking the bonds and casting away the cords.
I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.
Zion was a citadel conquered by David in the early days of his reign and it became known as the city of David.
Robert Alter in his commentary writes, “Although Zion is a modest mountain on the crest of which sits a modest fortified town, the capital of a rather small kingdom surrounded by vast empires, Isaiah prophesied that it would become the queen of nations.”
God’s response to the people’s desire for autonomy is to point to His Anointed King set on Mount Zion as if to say, “You must reckon yourself and your life according to my Anointed King whether you like it or not.”
Back to verse 5 where God speaks in his wrath and terrifies with his fury,
Once again, the picture being painted for us here aligns with the final battle of Revelation.
The beast and the kingdoms of the world have set themselves against the Lord, his anointed, and his army.
Listen to Revelation 19 verses 15 and 21.
Revelation 19:15 ESV
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Revelation 19:21 ESV
21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
How does the Lord’s anointed defeat the beast and the nations who were set before them?
He defeats them by the word of his mouth.
Like the old hymn says:
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
You see, there is only one God, one Creator, one who is truly and ultimately Sovereign.
And He will finally terrify and defeat all who stand against Him and His glory.
Have you surrendered your life to the glory of the only Sovereign God?
3. There Is Only One Son Whose Heritage Is The Nations
Verse 7: I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
A decree is an official declaration; an unchangeable word.
And this unchangeable word is the God whose wrath burns against the rebellious and whose word will defeat evil is the same God who has made himself known to mankind through His unchangeable words and promises.
And this word of promise mentioned here is: “You are my beloved Son; today I have begotten you.”
The whole Bible can be traced by God’s covenant promises that he decrees to His people.
The one mentioned here is connected to God’s covenant given to King David in 2 Samuel 7.
2 Samuel 7:12–16 ESV
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
You see, while the nations set themselves against the Lord and his Anointed, and the Lord sets his King against the nations,
The Lord God decreed to King David that he would establish His throne and His kingdom forever.
The King would be as a son to His God loved and disciplined and never forsaken.
Verse 8: Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
Under the reign of King Solomon, David’s son, the kingdom of Israel experiences its height in terms of amount of land, wealth, and influence.
The story of the Queen of Sheba coming to see and experience the land, wealth, and influence of King Solomon highlights the influence the kingdom of Israel was having on the nations,
But the Old Testament kingdom of Israel fell far short of asking for and inheriting all the nations, and making the ends of the earth its possession.
So, this passage causes us to look forward to the time when a begotten Son of God would come and make the nations his heritage, and the ends of the earth his possession.
Verse 9: You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
The ESV Bible makes a note that the translation “you shall break” could also be rendered “you shall rule.”
You shall rule them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
I believe rule is the correct translation due to a verse in Revelation we have already read once this morning:
Revelation 19:15 ESV
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
So, as God makes the nations of His king his inheritance and his possession to all the ends of the earth,
He will rule with a rod of iron all those who are his.
Remember from Psalm 23, the rod is used to provide safety and keep sheep on the right path.
The rod of iron gives this picture of permanent strength meaning the great king will keep the sheep in perfect safety and righteousness permanently.
But all those who stand against him, he will dash in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Now, I have tried with great difficulty to express to you what this Psalm meant to King David in His context without immediately applying it to Jesus, but I will now do that no longer.
While the King of Israel was the anointed one of God in his time and his place, no Old Testament King of Israel lived up to the standards of the blessed and righteous man of Psalm 1 at all times.
They actually all had serious moral failures.
Which is why we call Psalm 2 a Messianic Psalm, because only Jesus Christ has perfectly fulfilled the truths and the character of Psalms 1 and 2.
Jesus Christ is the truly blessed one who always delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night.
Jesus always walked the way of the righteous.
Jesus is the perfect Son of God to whom God the Father declared at his baptism: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, and he fulfilled all righteousness.
Jesus is the ultimate anointed one of God.
The title “Christ” simply means “anointed one” and “Messiah.”
So, when we say our Lord Jesus Christ, the name Christ is not Jesus’ last name, instead, it is his title.
Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one of God, the Messiah of God.
Jesus is the anointed one against whom the nations raged and plotted in vain to destroy him.
The Jews and Romans together plotted his destruction and carried it out together.
Consider how the believers in Acts 4 use Psalm 2:
Acts 4:24–28 ESV
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, taking all the punishment of our sin, he was laughed at and held in derision, mocking with the goal of making him feel worthless.
At midday, the sky went dark and there was an earthquake showing off the great wrath and terrifying fury of God due our sin falling on Jesus while on the cross.
And when the truly anointed King of Israel cried out, “It is finished” and breathed his last breath,
The nations could not imagine that it would be God himself who would have the last laugh and who would hold the rebellious nations in derision as He rose His Son Jesus from death and the grave three days later.
And Jesus ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father.
Yet, just before He ascended, Jesus told his disciples:
Matthew 28:18–20 ESV
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In other words, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.”
And all who follow Jesus will finally be ruled by King Jesus in safety and righteousness, and all who reject him will be dashed into pieces like a potter’s vessel.
You cannot do whatever you want to do and be whoever you want to be.
Your Creator God is the Lord of your life and He rules over you and us all with complete Sovereignty.
He has died to pay the penalty for your sin and resurrected to defeat your sin and death.
He will return on the mount from which he ascended, and he will ride a white horse, and he will strike down the nations - all people who stand against him - but he will take to himself all who have bowed their knee to King Jesus.
So what must we do and who must we be in light of our Sovereign Lord Jesus?
4. Take Refuge In The Lord Through Fearful Rejoicing In His Son
Verse 10: Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Now therefore, in light of all you have been told of the Lord and His anointed, be wise.
The command to be wise means be sensible, in light of what you now know, be sensible.
The original word for wise does not only speak to the action taken but the reward in the action.
Be wise and sensible in order to have good success.
In order to find yourself on the right side of King Jesus’ great rod of iron.
Be warned, O rulers of the earth.
It gives the idea of being willing to be challenged, to be disciplined, to be admonished.
Proverbs 14:12 ESV
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
Verse 11: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Be a faithful servant of the Sovereign King Jesus who you once rebelled against.
Serve him with fear for:
Proverbs 9:10 ESV
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Rejoice with trembling.
A shallow happiness comes and goes depending on what is happening in your life at the moment.
But, a rejoicing with trembling, is a deep abiding joy with awe and reverence for the one who has made us rebels sons and daughters by the blood of His cross.
It is truth and reality no matter what happened yesterday, what is happening today, or whatever will happen in the future.
Verse 12: Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.
When a person comes into the presence of the King, they often kiss the King’s ring as a way of respectfully paying homage to him for his position.
Kiss the Son means pay homage to the Son of God.
Respect and reverence him as you should.
He is your sovereign. He is your Lord.
As believers, we honor the Lord as sovereign when we rise every morning saying, “Lord, this is your day. Have your way in it. Have your way in me. Lead me. Guide me. Make me faithful to my post.”
The Lord Jesus is not a therapist to which you go to make you feel good about what you want to do and who you want to be.
He is your Lord and master who directs you in the way you should go and who tells you who you truly are.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.
This does not mean that God is not patient with sinners.
He is extremely patient.
But when your time is up, it is up quickly and in a moment.
And all that will matter in that moment is did you Kiss the Son?
Did you pay homage to the one who died and rose and who has been given the name above every other name?
If not, you will experience his anger, you will perish, and you will experience the full wrath of God toward you forever in Hell.
Yet, blessed are those who take refuge in Him.
Have you taken refuge from the wrath of God in His son who has died and risen for you?
Are you honoring King Jesus with your life, your rejoicing with trembling, and your service?
Are you going to make disciples of all nations desiring that God’s glory would spread over all the earth?
Let’s pray.
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