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Sunnyside Baptist Church Dillon Hamilton
Thank you for that. Tonight I'm gonna start with an introduction of a text that I'd like to hit a few times over the next Weeks or months whenever I get an opportunity to teach which is it might come less often now that we have three boys but we are so very thankful for that new one, and I'm very thankful to be able to have time to study and Prepare little things here and there for you guys to think about as well as for me to think about.
But tonight I'm going to introduce the text an overview of the story and its literary qualities.
And.
Then from then on we're going to be hitting different parts Text by text or verse by verse through it and we're going to be in Psalm 2 tonight. So if you would go ahead and turn to there Really quickly and after you guys get set up.
We'll begin with prayer father. We thank you that you have given us This evening to fellowship to eat to sit at a table with brothers and sisters To give us a picture and an image of what we are to inherit and come into when we are present with the Lord that he is Both the bread of life and The cup that we receive.
Is his blood in the new covenant? We know father we look forward to joyous plentiful times in his presence. We thank you that we may Be here now to read your text to consider your text to meditate upon it and to see how it points towards your son Who has all things coming to him and All-glory should be ascribed his name.
So we praise him we ask that You submit our hearts to the text that we are Under your guidance and that your spirit Speak through your word Giving us all that we may know of your son the one To whom we praise.
Amen. Okay, so Psalm 2 I'll be reading out of the New King James Version. Why do the nation's rage and the people plot a vain thing. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from us.
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in his wrath and distress them and his deep displeasure. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree the Lord has said to me. You are my son today I have got I today I have begotten. You ask of me and I will give you the nation's for your inheritance and The ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore be wise O Kings be instructed you judges of the earth Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling kiss the Sun lest he be angry and you perish in the way When his wrath is kindled, but a little blessed are all those who put their trust in him.
So you may have heard this text referenced within the last few months. Who's heard this psalm reference preached or read recently anyone. Okay, why in what context. Joel have you have you heard it referenced preached or read.
Okay, so he did it in the context of eschatology. Okay.
Sometimes we'll We'll go there or we'll go to the beginning of the text whenever we see One of the kings of the earth being a knucklehead on television. Right. Why do the Kings rage? Why do the people's plot in vain?
And we start to kind of pick points here and there from the psalm that we see examples of in real life more if there's a eschatological debate that we're having we'll bring this up because it is quite prevalent in certain schools to To bring up this text and to use it in in a different fashion than maybe your other brothers would.
But we reach for Psalm 2 in the current era for a few few select reasons. We do this because it is rich with character and characters though. It is only 12 verses long. We do this because it gets right to the point with two very simple questions at the beginning Why do the nation nations rage and the people's plot of anything?
We do this to Take comfort when kings and nations do rage against Christ. There is no denying how comforting this psalm is. When we see the lengths to which kings and nations go to rage against the Lord how they attack his truth His church and his image that they bear within themselves.
And we do see these examples on a regular basis. We may reach for this psalm to remind ourselves of God's sovereignty over the events of history and that Christ's incarnation His death his burial his resurrection and ascension are not simply details of historical events.
But are the very center and focus and purpose of history. These are all very good reasons and Might I say right reasons to read sing preach and pray this psalm, but our study of Psalm 2 Will comprise of its literary structure its genre its intertextuality, which means how it's handled And referenced elsewhere in the text of Scripture and its characters.
And tonight I'll be given an introduction and an overview of the overall narrative and I'll be given an assertion about the second psalm that we may affirm deny or refine in. The coming weeks and months as I do have other opportunities to Come up here again.
So my I would like to start with the assertion that Psalm 2 is prophetic.
Comedic and.
Chiastic narrative structured in four separate acts. Simultaneously covering the entire breadth of history and pointing directly to the person or work of Jesus Christ. Now I'm gonna pause here and ask you guys to look back at your Bibles and If you have a heading at the top of the psalm psalm 2 in your particular translation.
What what do you have. Mine says the Messiah's triumph and kingdom. What do you have. Anybody. Is it is anybody. Are we all reading now the King James Version? Okay. Okay. Yes, that's that's another one I saw that came up quite a bit anything else.
Okay, that's another one that I was looking up earlier as well. I got on Bible Hub and tried to find as many different headings as I possibly could and They all do a great job of getting to the climax of the story.
Right the triumph of Christ the his reign His coronation and these things are all a great focus on the climax in the center the chiasm of this structured text but as a whole we should be treating this a little bit differently and I find in the New King James Version heading its its scope is narrow and It deals like the rest of them only with the climax of the psalm and not what the psalm might rightly be described as a whole.
The heading I would like to replace it with is the comedy of the Sun. Dealing with the beginning text all the way to the end. This may seem awkward as an assertion given the past 50 years of comedic entertainment.
But those familiar with the classics can read this psalm and say oh look a classical comedy. Our modern notions about comedic about the comedic are shaped by a very narrow and lowbrow content now. Don't get me wrong.
I Am a fan of slapstick comedy of the Looney Tunes and so are my sons. But Looney Tunes is a far cry from the type of high comedy found in classical literature. Though God does laugh in the text. This is not why we consider the narrative to be one of high comedy.
High comedy is defined as a narrative employing sophisticated wit and often Saturizing the upper classes. This is what the Greeks and Romans would would use in some of their plays their comedic plays.
And we may consider this psalm story high comedy. But it is far far richer than anything the ancient Greeks and Romans could muster, but they had no character. So great as Christ. In the first verse we are introduced to raging kings nations and people.
Since this is a comedy being played out by the Lord. His focus is not merely kings or the upper classes. He cares not that his enemies are powerful or powerless. He cares that they have plotted against himself and his anointed his Messiah.
But he does specifically address the kings and rulers setting themselves. Taking counsel together and saying let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. Now, have you ever heard?
The act of setting oneself down somewhere described as rebellious or antagonistic. Sometimes my sons they'll seat themselves to pout. But given the language of the psalm the kings have yet to begin to pout.
Some of your translations may translate the word yesab Found in verse 2 as to take their stand or even stand against. Does anybody have that you have that ESV? In ASB. Yes, they do that as well. Okay, and the ESV does that the ESV does that as well and the word does have a wide semantic range that you can use that with but My New King James version I prefer the translation of the word as set or to place.
I believe this translation fits best with the main tension and wordplay within the poem. In This comedy there is a seat being fought over. The posture of Kings is a seated posture even today. You may not be aware of this but in the English-speaking world.
There has been a recent coronation. The comic artists of many publications whether they be royalists or Republicans Have drawn King Charles the third of that name in a seated position. May God save his soul.
This is the proper place for Kings Seated from their thrones. They make judgments decrees and may at times show mercy. In verse 4 we are told that he who sits in the heavens shall laugh and in verse 6 It says yet I have set my king upon Zion further enforcing this image being built up and frankly hammered into our minds of kings upon their thrones and Being placed there set there sit set the same word being used over and over again.
And threefold actually within there's a lot of threes within this text and we'll figure that out later as we we go along and study different portions of it. Thrones are seats of power that we generally think of as difficult to uproot.
Displace or better yet be brought to order in righteous rule. That's the toughest thing to do. We have numerous examples from our Bibles post-canonical history and recent history of rulers diving headfirst into rebellion against the Lord and his anointment and It seems like it we get more examples every day doesn't it and the Lord has the proper response to this rebellion.
Laughter.
It is a comedy after all. They have gone to great pains like villains and most comedies to seat themselves in advantageous positions. Where they may rebel against the king of kings. Thus far the kings of the earth have plotted them.
They plotted they've set themselves and counsel together. The Lord's response is also threefold and laughter holding them in derision or scoffing and speaking to them in his wrath, which we see in verses four or five.
And four and five if you'll notice all the Lord's initial responses are corrective. The Lord is patient. Is he not? Even to these kings and rebellion very very patient. This leads to the question. When will judgment come?
Right. We have a confrontation of the Most High God and the kings of the earth. When Lord when and we get examples of the Lord's people asking that same question before judgment comes. When will judgment come and who has been given the authority to judge in?
This comedic narrative the Lord allows tension to build even to the point to where the Kings openly say. Let us break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from us. The rulers who as God's servants in the civil realm are prescribed in Romans 13 to punish the evildoer and reward the righteous Desire to throw off this very prescription.
They wish to be set loose from the bonds. Set upon them a set upon their seats of power by the king of kings. Foolishly and in their jealous jealousy. They plot with the power that the Lord has given them as His deacons to overthrow his righteous constraints.
If at this point you are reminded of descriptions of the fools from the Proverbs. Then you are headed in the right direction and you may accurately say that the king who works to throw off the Lord's prescriptions Rightly finds himself a fool and description.
So the king who works to throw off the king's purse or the Lord's prescriptions rightly finds himself a fool and description. How are they made foolish, how are they how are they made out to be foolish.
They counsel together as the rulers of the world. Surely they would know how to best direct the events of the world and show themselves to be on the right side of history. Surely entire peoples and nations coming to a consensus cannot be wrong.
And surely as they have proven themselves liberators of oppressed peoples and the dispensers of freedom around the world the annals of history Will venerate them. Surely as keepers of the law and the temple they are destined to rule over the earth when the Messiah comes.
But professing themselves to be wise they have become fools. It is this turning point in the narrative that solidifies the second psalm as a poetic and prophetic rendering of the comedy of the Sun. In most classical comedies, it was the most least it was the least likely to become the hero who became the hero.
Flip-flopping roles and flip-flopping classes, but here the Lord takes the kings of the earth and subjects them to his son. The gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has turned the world upside down has it not.
Everyone that has fancied themselves to be the main character in the story of creation Has been confronted with the fact that Jesus ruling from the heavenly Zion is in fact the main character. It all belongs to him and is for his glory.
How might we say this? Well, we can we can return to verses 6 through 9. If you'll look there with me Says and this is the Lord speaking. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. And now we have the perspective of the Sun and verses 7 8 and 9.
I Will declare the decree the Lord has said to me. You are my son today. I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Interestingly. The Lord's answer to rebellious kings and rulers is not to pronounce immediate judgment from his heavenly seat.
But he confronts their rebellion in a more direct way. He sends his son into their midst. The incarnation of the Sun highlights the foolishness of rebellion against the trium God. The kings of the earth have become prideful and they believe this realm belongs to them.
They believe they cannot be Unseated as it were. Enter the one who is to inherit all things and their jealousy is kindled. Yet they can do nothing to inherit even in their jealousy. They crucify the Messiah.
Thinking they may inherit now that the heir is dead. They forget that nothing they do or they can do. Changes the Lord's decree in verses 7 through 9. The resurrection proves their foolishness yet again.
Christ then ascends and takes the highest seat at the Lord's right hand as a king of kings. Inheriting the nations that king that these kings thought were theirs and even to the ends of the earth that these kings have yet to see.
Classic comedies were usually written as political critiques and at the expense of the rulers about them. They rarely if ever offered instruction encouragement or a solution to turning away from their oppressive ways of ruling.
But here at the end of the comedic narrative when we turn to Verses 10 through 12 at the end of the narrative. The Lord graciously instructs the kings of the earth and wisdom which may establish their thrones on the earth.
He does not immediately unseat them but places them in their proper seat under. And order beneath that of the sons who in turn is given the rod and authority to do as he pleases. With these nations that he has inherited.
They are to serve and fear him. We'll go ahead and read verses 10 through 12 to see this instruction. Verse 10 now therefore be wise. O kings be instructed you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way.
When his wrath is kindled, but a little blessed are all those who put their trust in him. They don't only receive a gracious instruction on how to receive the Messiah and his rule. But are given a further warning and then a blessing if their trust if they put their trust in the Messiah how great and gracious is our God and Patient yet again showing himself to be patient.
This concludes the overview of the narrative that I wanted to have in the second Psalm tonight as a comedy. We have touched briefly on its prophetic elements as well looking forward toward Christ and we'll also look backward toward David who Who wrote this psalm and the troubles that he had as well with?
Raging nations about him and how the Lord preserved him. How the Lord established his kingdom on Zion. But I'd also I would like to continue next time as well Exploring its poetic and what's known as this chiastic structure how it's formed and shaped.
Revealing and it it reveals yet another layer of beauty to this song about Jesus. So from here on out we will be looking at structure and then going through Section by section or act by act of each part of this song and I know that was short tonight.
But that's okay. We get more time to pray. But if you have any questions or if you would like clarifications about something I said because I do say things differently. We you can go ahead and ask now.
Well Brian do you mind coming and taking prayer requests.