in a place where the Lord has
allowed the gospel to be preached. I am going to ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the second Psalm. Psalm chapter 2. Before we look at these twelve
verses. I just want to look at them for
just a few moments. But let's ask our Lord's blessing. Our Father, truly it's good to
meet together in Your blessed Name and to realize that all
that we are, Lord, we are by the grace of God. We pray that
You'd bless the Word this evening. Help us. Teach us. Show us of
Yourself. We ask these things for Christ's
sake. Amen. This psalm deals with the glorious purpose
of Almighty God to save a people that He has everlastingly loved. in spite of what we are as having
fallen in Adam. The miracle of God's grace is
that the Lord would show mercy. This psalm begins with a question
that has eternally been answered. It starts off, it says, Why do
the heathen rage? and the people imagine a vain
and empty thing. When man fell in the garden,
he lost all sensitivity to the glory of Almighty God. He died
spiritually. He self-centered. Self-worshipping
despises God Almighty and rages against the Lord. Men possess an attitude being
born in Adam of hatred and resentment before God. They hate God's sovereignty. That's what they hate. Men will
speak of loving God, but do you know that the hatred that men
have against the Lord? It's going to prove to be absolutely
that which is gloriously honoring to our God in justice or in mercy. The Lord's will is going to be
accomplished. Look at Acts chapter 2. Remember when Peter was preaching? Acts chapter 2, verse 22. You men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know
Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
Here's the question. Why do the heathen rage? They're mad at God. Why do the people imagine a vain
thing? The heathen. You know, we always
look at that word right there. That's always those bad people.
That's those bad people, you know, in the world. No. By nature, that's me and you. The kings of the earth, verse
2 and 3, set themselves and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord. against His anointed, saying,
Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from
us." Let me ask you this. Do you at
this moment love being yoked to Him? Love the yoke of His
sovereign love to you? Do you desire the bondage of
your own free will? This is what the heathens, this
is what all men by nature, this is what I would say you would
say apart from the glory of God in regenerating grace. This is
what we say. Let's break the bands. I'll not
have this man rule over me. That's what we say by nature. Every man born in Adam possesses
that attitude. The Spirit of God was pleased
to show us that. Psalm 14.3, this is what Scripture
says, there is none good. No, not one. But while we continually
consider those as being born lost, undone as we consider that
that attitude right there was the very attitude that totally
possessed us. The truth of the matter is that
right now, even regenerated, that we find that that indwelling,
remaining corruption still plagues us. We find ourselves, even as we
read those very words, let's break their bands asunder and
cast away their cords from us. That nature right there that
doesn't rule, but it wars against the nature of our new mind. Paul
said, I find in Romans 17, 21, then a law that when I would
do good, evil. is present with me. And it grieves
me to realize that I find myself warring that old nature against
the law of my new man. But you let men oppose as they
will. Let men say what they will. His counsel is going to stand. Now, we know this. Here we are,
all of us, as not a There's not an ounce of difference in any
man born in Adam. Why do the heathen rage? Why
do they resent God Almighty? Why do they imagine an empty
thing? Here's verse 4. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Men, right now, this very nature
that hears the gospel of God's grace and resents it. Now, I'm not going to have that
God reign over me. That's what man by nature, that's
their attitude. I'm not going to bow to that
God. The Scripture says the Lord,
the One that sits in the heavens, Not disturbed. Not frustrated
by man's rebellion. He does as he will. Seated. Executing his purpose. His counsel. His word is not
going to return void. Proverbs 126, I also will laugh
at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh." Men speak
against the Lord of glory. They speak against His Word.
They mock His Word. They hear what God Almighty has
to say and they stand up in rebellion in their heart. If they never
come out and say it openly in their heart, I'm not going to
hear that. I'm not going to support that.
I'm not going to listen to that kind of preaching. I'm not going
to listen to something that speaks to me in such a derogatory way. The Scripture says, He that sits
in the heavens, laugh. Then shall He speak unto them
in His wrath. and vex them in His sore displeasure. We know that God Almighty is
going to deal with sin and judgment. You know that, don't you? All sin is going to be dealt
with in absolute justice, judgment, A few days ago, I got a call
from my son-in-law. He called me. He said, Marvin,
you know so-and-so. He called this person's name.
I said, yeah. He said, I don't know how they're doing, but we
got a call. He's a fireman. Got a call. First
responder. I went over there and he said,
we got her to the hospital and don't know how she's doing right
now. the next morning and checked. They told me and said, I'm sorry.
And they passed away. Oh, the first thing that went through
my mind, as far as I knew, gave no confession
of believing in Christ. Just religious. Not openly. I'm not saying that. Not open. Didn't make an open
mockery, but wouldn't bow. The Scripture says, Then the
one that sits in the heavens laughs at those that rage against
him, set themselves, take counsel together against the Lord, against
His anointed, break the bands, He that laughed, He said, I will
speak unto them in wrath. But let me ask you this, knowing
that all sin is going to be dealt with, has He not dealt in absolute
justice with His people, with His elect? You remember this,
Almighty God is going to speak in wrath. And He's either going to speak
in wrath personally to that person, or He's already done so in a
substitute. For all that Almighty God everlastingly
loved. Listen, God Almighty is satisfied
because he has already dealt with the sin of his elect in
Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
made sin, we go back and we read the account of when our Lord,
before He went to the cross, in the contemplation, I believe
this is what it was, perfectly knew what He would be made sin. I don't even know how to describe
it. And He knew the fullness of what He would be made. And
from that cross being made sin, the Scripture says that He cried,
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? He was bearing the absolute totality
of eternal wrath and bore it with one sacrifice. With one sacrifice, He bore the
judgment and justice of God Almighty for His own. Paul said, I'm crucified. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me." Now, I know that Paul was not
bodily on that cross. Neither was any other of God's
elect. But I'll tell you this, when
the Lord Jesus Christ said, I lay down my life for in the place
of as the substitute for the sheep. He was dying for them,
bearing what they in themselves personally deserved. I know that
Paul or none of the others were there, but being his mystical
body represented by the Lord Jesus Christ. All God's sheep
are right there with Him. I want you to turn to Isaiah
54. Isaiah 54. Now, here's the Lord of glory. And here He is speaking. for
those people, starting in verse 6 through verse 8. Here he is
talking of the elect as they are found in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord hath called thee as
a woman, forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth
when thou wast refused, saith thy God, for a small moment have
I forsaken thee. But you say, I thought that the
Lord Jesus Christ said, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me? We were all there with Him in
His body, mystical, glorious body. For a small moment have
I forsaken Thee, but with great mercies will I gather Thee. In a little wrath, I hid My face
from Thee for a moment. Did He not hide from the Lord
Jesus Christ yet? But we were there. But with everlasting kindness
will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For a moment, in a little wrath,
in the glorious substitutionary death of our Redeemer, as we
were found in Him. Glorious thought of all thoughts. Before I was ever born, Almighty
God who everlastingly chose His people before the foundation
of the world and considered them in Christ the substitute and
all that He would do for them To them He did in Christ. Forsook Him? Yes. And us in Him. Turned His back on Him? Yes. And us in Him. But for a moment,
but He said with great mercy, will I gather you all without Christ Eternal judgment. Eternal judgment. Never ending. Never ending. I'm lost. I'm lost in that thought. I just can't imagine. I mean,
my mind just... Eternal judgment. But for all
found in Christ, all that the Father has, in the day of His
power, made willing to come to Him by the Spirit of God, His
judgment, His wrath that was poured out on Christ just for
a moment. Just. He said, I'm a just God
and a Savior. All found in Him peace by the
blood of His cross. And what does the Father have
to say about His will being done? How is this, Lord? The heathen
rages. Men set themselves against the
Lord, take counsel, break His bans. Almighty God says in verse
6, Yet have I set anointed my King upon my holy hill of Zion. There is the Father. speaking,
the Lord Jesus Christ set up as the glorious head and mediator
of the church. I'll have mercy. I've sent my
king, the appointed one, the anointed one. I sent him. He's going to answer. He shall
reign. He shall obey. And then the Lord
Jesus Christ speaks in verse 7. I will declare the decree.
The Lord has said unto me, Thou art my son. This day have I begotten
thee. I'm going to declare it. The
Father said, I've set my King, anointed him. I'll declare the decree. What
decree is that? That's that everlasting covenant of grace. I'll set forth
the truth, the decree that the Father has chosen a people from
before the foundation of the world. I'll set forth the decree
that He alone is worthy to set forth. You remember how many
times that we looked at that? John said, I saw one set upon
the throne. A strong angel said concerning
him on the throne who had a book. He said, the book. The book of
God's everlasting decree to show mercy. The book. The setting forth. The truth of God's purpose to
show mercy. How Almighty God is going to
be just and justify a sinner. Here's the book. Sealed with
seven seals. Complete. Nothing else is going
to be added to it. Nothing's going to be taken.
Sealed. And here was the question, who's worthy? Who's worthy to
open the book? Who's worthy to loose the seals?
Who's worthy to set forth this decree? John said, no man was
found in heaven, earth, under the earth. I wept bitterly. A
strong angel says, weep not. the line of the tribe of Judah.
The Lord said, I'll declare it. I'll set it forth. That decree
that sets forth that the Lord Jesus Christ has been given a
bride, a church by Jehovah, and that the Father has given His
Son to the church as her husband. The decree that says He's going
to take their nature And He's going to come into this world
as their nature, made like unto His brethren. And He's going
to represent them before the throne of glory. What a decree. And God Almighty is going to
answer all that needs to be answered for in the person of His Son.
And His Son is going to answer for them, for their disobedience. He's going to be made what they
are. And He's going to put away their guilt. And God, the Scripture
says, He'll cast their sins as far as east as from the west,
cast them behind His back. And this is what He said, I'm
not going to remember their sins anymore. I'm not going to charge
them with iniquity. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute, won't charge him with it. But I'm guilty personally. I know that. I am personally
guilty. And God Almighty charged the
guilt of it to His Son. Put away. Who shall declare?
I will declare the decree. The Lord said unto me, Thou art
my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, the Father says. I shall give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance. You mean the heathen The first
one that raged in the people that imagined, yeah, that was
me. Yeah, that was me. Yeah, the Saul of Tarsus. Those kind of people. Yeah, kind
of just like me. Just like you. Ask of me. I'll give you. I'll give you
the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Oh, being God the Son, He owned
all things, but is the Son of Man, the Mediator. This promise
from the Father was given to the Son who He set upon that
holy hill in Zion. A kingdom given Him as the reward
of His suffering, obedience, And those elect heathen. Now,
die without a substitute? God's just. But you remember,
there was no difference in me or you or anybody else. And we
are what we are by the grace of God. Thou shalt break them, verse
9, with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel. One day, one day, it's going
to be proven. Every man is going to have been
shown to be broken. Christ is going to be honored.
Every knee is going to bow. Every tongue is going to confess.
You stand before God in judgment without the Lord Jesus Christ
as a substitute and the Scripture sets forth, you will be broken
with a rod of iron and dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel. But if in mercy, if in grace,
our old stubborn hearts have been broken by God's will and
purpose, we've been conquered by the Holy Spirit and been made
willing in the day of His power. We are blessed people. Thou shalt
break them. Either break them themselves
in judgment or break them in mercy. Why is a heathen of rage? Why do you imagine the vain thing?
God Almighty's on the throne. God's going to do what He's pleased
to do. Be wise now, therefore, O ye
kings. Be wise. Man's warfare against God's not
going to succeed. Be wise. Be wise now, O ye kings, be instructed,
ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and
respect, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish
from the way when His wrath is kindled. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in Him." Kiss the Son. Oh, how gracious Almighty
God would be to show mercy to one. I pray God shows mercy to
someone tonight. I pray He shows mercy to me. Lord, I would desire to be reverent
before You. By nature, I got a hard heart. Thanks be unto You that You would
bring this wretched sinner down. Show me what I am. And have a
heart that would rejoice in bowing and serving You. Let me kiss
the apple of Your eye. Lord, that I might kiss the sun.
and kiss the Son, that I might be made to come afresh to Him
and look upon Him with thankfulness, the One that has looked upon
me in mercy. Lord, forgive me for I have acted
so disrespectfully. God Almighty rules. God Almighty
reigns. God Almighty is going to deal
with men in absolute justice. If He's dealt with you and His
Son, He's a just God and a Savior. Kiss the Son. Isn't that the
sweetest exhortation? Lord, thank You that You give
me a heart to kiss Your Son, for Christ's sake. Amen.