between the perfect man and that
perfect man being the Lord Jesus Christ and the ungodly. The Savior is himself the only
perfect man who ever lived and walked on this earth. The only
one without the guilt of sin. He had no sin. He did no sin. There was no sin in him. There
was no guile in his mouth. The perfect man. And by His sacrifice
upon the cross of Calvary, He established righteousness for
us. Think about that. Those of us
who are worms of the dust have been made the righteousness of
God in our Lord Jesus Christ. We were ungodly, lost, without
God, without hope, and without Christ. But this perfect man,
this God man, he came. And he came to save us. He said
himself, I'm come to seek and to save that which was lost. I was one of the lost ones. He
sought and found me. I was one of the ones who were
deathly sick. And by his great grace and salvation
he has made me whole. And that's true of all of us
who are his people. So in the first Psalm, the writer
draws a contrast between the Lord Jesus and the ungodly. And the amazing thing about this
is I think about the fact that we were ungodly. We have been
made the righteousness of God in Christ. And our God views
us as delightfully as He views His Son, His only begotten Son. For we are in Him and He is in
us. The second psalm presents a contrast
between the raging defiance of the enemies and the sure exaltation
of Christ. When our Lord came into this
world, he was opposed right from the beginning. And Herod sought
his life. And all through his ministry,
through his youth and through his public ministry, the enemies
of hell ganged up against him. But our Lord Jesus died not according
to their will, but according to the will of God. He died by
divine appointment. He died because he had purposed
in the covenant of grace to lay down his life for the sheep. For he was and is and ever shall
be our shepherd. the shepherd of the sheep. And though men did their worst
to him, yet God has exalted him and given him a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory
of God the Father. In the first Psalm, the wicked are driven away like chaff. In
the second psalm, they're broken in pieces like a potter's vessel. In the first psalm, the righteous
one is like a tree planted by the rivers of water. And in the
second psalm, he is the universal king. In the second Psalm, especially
at the beginning, we find that every man, every woman, every
boy, every girl, left to themselves, left to their own will, left
to their own way, left to their own thoughts, either consciously
or unconsciously, is an enemy of God. In fact, a couple of
references I want you to look at in the New Testament. First
of all, in Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Look what God
did for us when we were His enemies. Romans chapter 5. Beginning at verse 6. Romans
5, 6. We read in verse 6, chapter 5,
for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly, for people who opposed Him, for people who
were against true godliness. Verse 7, for scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, lost and undone, Christ
died for us. Much more then, being now justified
by His blood, made righteous by His blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through Him who ever lives for us. For if, verse 10,
when we were enemies, when we were enemies, Don't you know
that when we were born, there was in our very bosom, in our
nature, enmity toward God? We were enemies against God.
But even when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. And then one other reference,
if you would, just a page or two over to chapter 8 of Romans. Romans chapter 8, verse 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity,
hostility against God. For it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be, so that they that are in
the flesh cannot please God. We're enemies against God by
nature and by birth. No question about that. The natural
man is altogether carnal. That which is born of the flesh,
the Savior said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, is flesh.
And flesh cannot possibly rise from that state of sinfulness. The nature with which we were
all born cannot and will not submit to God. We will not submit
to the authority of God. We will not willingly and lovingly
bend the knee to Christ Jesus the Savior. We were opposed to
the God of the Bible. I know men and women today, they
don't hate the God that they profess to believe, but that's
because the God that they profess to believe is really an idol. But everybody is an enemy of
the God of the Word, the God of eternity, the God of creation. All men truly hate the God of
the Bible. That's just a fact. whether consciously
or unconsciously, whether we realize that or we don't realize
that, there's enmity within our very bosom against God, His authority,
His power, His government, His sovereignty. These words here
in verse seven, not subject to, it's really a military term.
For subjection, subjection to orders. We will not subject ourselves
to the orders of God. People defy God, you and me and
everybody else by nature. There's insubordination among
all of the creatures, that is of all men and women. in this
world. We're rebellious against God. Like I said, it's a military
term. It's like we've all lifted up our fist against God. We've
raged against Him. We did in our father, Adam. And
we continue to do so down through the generations. That was Adam's
attitude toward God in Genesis chapter three. God's not going to tell me what
to do anymore. I'll be my own God. And that's
the attitude of everybody today. That's why men praise free will. They bow down at the altar of
free willism. I'll do as I please. You show them something in the
scriptures about the authority of God, and they'll say something
like this. Well, you're taking that out of context, or you're
misapplying that. You're misinterpreting that.
All of us are rebellious against the God of the Bible. Notice, go back to Psalm 2. It's interesting as you look
through this psalm, and I was kind of analyzing it again today. The first three verses, hear
the heathen raging. The first three verses. Verses
4, 5, and 6, here's Jehovah's response to that. He laughs. Then when we get to verse 7,
Here we have Messiah speaking. I will declare the decree, the
Lord has said unto me. And that goes down through verse
nine. And then in the last three verses of the psalm, we have
the psalmist giving a serious admonition and counsel to all
people. He mentions specifically kings
and judges, but I think by mentioning kings and judges, He's talking
about all the people over which these rule. In verse 1, what of the heathen
rage? This raging company that raged
against our Lord Jesus Christ, who cried out for His crucifixion. You remember Pilate said to the
people, what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?
They said, let Him be crucified. Just a few days before that,
they were praising the name of the Messiah, of David's son. Now they're calling for His death.
A raging company. Why such anger toward the Lord
Jesus Christ? It's because of the things that
he said. It's because of his preaching.
As he said in John chapter 10, he even asked him, he said, why
do you pick up stones to stone me? They said, for a good work
we stone thee not. But you being a mere man, you
make out that you're God. That's why the heathen raged.
It's his Godhead that they hate. And in the judgment, this one
who is God incarnate is the one before whom all men must bow.
And he will be the judge. Opposition to the Christ of Calvary. No wonder our Lord said in John
chapter 5 and verse 40, and you will not come to me that you
might have a life. In verse 3, the bands and the
cords represent the government of God. You see, all mankind,
we're like animals, wild animals who refuse to be bound. We don't want to be governed
by anybody. In fact, if we're honest, If
we're honest, we'd have to say, you know, I really don't like
anybody telling me what to do. I'm my own boss. And I know when
you work for a company, okay, you have to do what they say.
And you're thinking all along, well, I'll only submit to you
because I've got to. But we don't want God telling
us what to do either. And I'll tell you this, the authority
of everybody who has authority over us, be it president, senator,
house representative, husband, father, name it, governor, we
don't want anybody telling us what to do. And mainly we don't
want God telling us what to do. And that's why the sovereignty,
the absolute sovereignty of God is a pill too big for people
to swallow. They choke on it. And yet he rules and reigns,
even though we may rage about it. Even though we may fuss about
it. He does his will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say, what doest thou? The Lord says, I will do all
my pleasure. Note what he says in verse five.
After in verse four, he who sits in the heavens shall laugh, The
scripture sometimes attributes to God human emotions, even though
God doesn't have emotions like we do, but this is to accommodate
our feeble minds. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. Do you think the enmity against
God, do you think the raging of man against God, do you think
that troubles him? You think that moves Him? You
think He's so disappointed? He continues to sit in the heavens,
unmoved. And He laughs. And He shall have
them in derision. And in verse 5, then shall He
speak unto them in His wrath. That's all it's got to do is
speak. It's His Word. Mr. Spurgeon said, God doesn't
use a sword that's got an edge on it. God doesn't use a javelin. His weapon is His Word. His Word will cut down the enemies
and His Word will also cut to the heart of His elect. And in that surgery, He will
put within us spiritual life. His Word. After all, He spoke
and creation came into existence. Turn over to chapter, what is
it? Psalm 33, I believe it is. Psalm
33, just a few pages over. I almost called it Psalm chapter
33, but really that's improper to call Psalms by chapters because
each one is a psalm in and of itself. Psalm 33, look at verse
6. By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made. He only had to speak and the
heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath, the
breath of His mouth. He gathereth the waters of the
sea together as an heap. He layeth up the depth and storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for
he spake." That's all he had to do was just spake. He spake
and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. And when it came to our salvation,
He used his word then, the incarnate word, who dwelt among us, who lived
a life of perfection, and who died for our sins according to
the scriptures, laying down his life, the good shepherd for the
sheep. And as in creation, it was by
his word, so it will be in the judgment. I'll just read this to you, Revelation
19.15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp two-edged sword, that
with it he should smite the nations. He shall rule them with a rod
of iron, and he treaded them with a rod of iron. and in the
same context it is written, and His name is called the Word of
God. His Word. His Word. There's life
in His Word and there's death in His Word. There's salvation
in His Word and there's damnation in His Word. And this incarnate
Word who is God over all, blessed forever, the Son of God. He is
the Word of God, and He is the one by whom our sins were put
away. God need not use any other weapon. He has everything in His arsenal,
but He only has to use His Word. And when we preach And when we set forth the truths
of God, we only use his word. That's our weapon. When Satan
tempted our Savior 30 days and 30 nights, what weapon did he
use? The word of God. By his word, he wounds our hearts. being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. The one who sits in the heaven
shall laugh. He's enthroned in quiet dignity. And he laughs. He laughs His
enemies to scorn. He holds them in derision. Look what He says in verse 6,
Yet though men rage, though men rage against the Lord Jesus Christ,
yet, yet God says, I have set my King upon my holy hill of
Zion. And of course, this is talking,
first of all, the church. Zion is the church. God has set
him there. He's in a fixed position. Remember Peter, when he preached
there in Acts the second chapter, he told those people who crucified
the Lord Jesus, he said, God hath made that same Jesus whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. That's who He is. He's the King. He's the King
over all creation. It's as if the Lord says to these
raging multitudes, you go ahead and pursue your course, and I'll
pursue mine. You rage against all that I do,
but I have set my King upon the holy hill of Zion. Let fools howl and oppose the
purpose of God. Yet God's sovereign will shall
be accomplished. Oh, how men despised the Son
of God. Isaiah says, despised and rejected
him. Yet he finished the work of redemption
assigned to him from old eternity. and he has been exalted for his
accomplishments. Redemption was not a work that
he attempted to do. Redemption is finished. Nobody
else is being redeemed today. He redeemed one time. He reconciled
his people to God one time. He made atonement for our sins
one time. Once, once, he died. laying down his life. God has
sent him. I'll tell you another good word
for that, sent. It's kind of like on inauguration
day. Inauguration day is when a president
is installed into the office. And this is what God is saying.
I have installed him. I have set him in the office
of the king. You go ahead and rage against
him if you will. You will find that one day he
is king indeed when he cast you into hell. In verse seven, The speaker here
is Messiah. We've heard what the purpose
of the heathen was, and we've heard what the purpose
of our God is. Now the Savior, he declares the
decree. He says, the Lord hath said unto
me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Thou art
my son. The father spoke at his baptism,
right? Spoke at his baptism. This is
my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. This is my son. This
was the testimony of the apostles. Our Lord said, who do men say
that I the son of man am? They said, well, some say you're
Jeremias, or some say you're John the Baptist, or one of the
other prophets. He said, who do you say that
I am? And Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. That's what he said. In Luke chapter 4, our Lord had
healed Peter's mother-in-law, and He cast demons out of many
people. The demons, knowing who He was,
said, Thou art the Christ. And they said, The Son of God.
You're the Son of God. This was the confession of a
new believer, the Ethiopian eunuch. Peter preached to him, excuse
me, Philip preached to him from the book of Isaiah, chapter 53.
He preached Jesus to him. And they
came to some water, and the Ethiopian eunuch said, see, here's water.
What doth hinder me to be baptized? Philip said, if thou believest,
thou mayest. He said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. And to back up just a little
bit, when our Lord Jesus had cried and given up the ghost,
the centurion The centurion said, surely this man, he's a son of
God. He's God's eternal son. And after quoting the father who
said, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. The father says to Christ, ask
of me. I'll give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance and for the uttermost parts of the earth
for thy possession. Ask it yours. Why? He earned the right to be king
over all. And the Father says in verse
9, thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. I shall dash them
in pieces like a potter's vessel." No wonder then David begins to
speak, the sweet psalmist of Israel, giving wise counsel. He says in verse 10, be wise
now therefore, be wise, O ye kings. Be instructed, ye judges
of the earth and all you folks who are subject to kings and
judges. Verse 11, serve the Lord with
fear. Worship Him. Worship God. How
can I worship God? Only through Christ Jesus the
Lord. You can't draw near to God any
other way. And rejoice in Him and do so
with trembling. And he says in verse 12, kiss
the son. Kiss the son. Not like Judas did. Somebody
said, Judas kissed the door to heaven and went to hell. His was a kiss of betrayal. And
I'll tell you something, every false preacher every time they
open their mouths preaching their false gospel. It's a kiss of
betrayal. It's exactly what it is. It's
a kiss of denying who Christ is and what Christ has accomplished. Not that kind of kiss, but a
kiss of homage, a kiss of worship, a kiss of adoration, a kiss of
love. When the father welcomed the
prodigal back home, He kissed him. He kissed him. A kiss of affection. Kiss the son, lest he be angry. You mean the Lord Jesus will
show anger? This generation, they've only
heard He's sweet little Jesus. He wouldn't hurt anybody. You have no idea of the anger
of our Lord Jesus Christ toward those who are His enemies. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
and you perish from the way. He is the way. and watch it, you'll perish from
the way even if his wrath is kindled just a little, just a
little. The least amount, the very smallest
amount of the wrath of the Lamb will be devastating to rebels. As much as he loves his elect,
So He despises those who refuse to bow to Him and who will not
come to Him that they might have life. Anger. What must the anger of
the Son of God be toward the rebellious? And David finishes the psalm
by saying, blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Are you among the blessed? By the enabling grace of God,
I have put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. This one of whom
God said, I have set my king upon the holy hill of Zion. He's the one I trust. Nobody
else can help me but the king. Nobody else can bless me but
the King. Nobody else can save me but the
King. Nobody else can take me under
into His arms and carry me all the way to glory except the King. And so I give to Him the kiss of
worship and reverence. And I trust Him. I trust Him. May the Lord enable you to trust
Him too. He's the King.