12/14/2011 10:30:44 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 2 Pt-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 2:1-3
Message of the verses: “1 ¶ Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’”
Psalm 1 is never quoted in the NT, while Psalm 2 is either quoted or referred to at least eighteen times. Psalm 2 is what is called a Messianic psalm. Warren Wiersbe writes, “The test of a Messianic psalm is that it is quoted in the New Testament as referring to Jesus (Luke 24:27, 44). But this is also a royal psalm, referring to the coronation of a Jewish king and the rebellion of some vassal nations that hoped to gain their freedom.”
This is a psalm written by David and could have been written this psalm out of the events that are found in 2Samuel 5:17-25, 8:1-14, 10:1-19.
As we look back at the history of Israel we see that when they first came out of Egypt and conquered the Promised Land that the nation was ruled by the Lord, but when we get to the book of 1Samuel we see that the leaders of the nation wanted a king to rule over them. This broke the heart of Samuel, but the Lord told him to anoint Saul as their king. There are places in the OT before this even took place that show that God knew that this was going to happen and it was actually part of His plan, but as we read the events that happened that surrounded the life of Saul we see that Saul was a man that the people wanted, for he was tall and he was strong, but God wanted a man from the tribe of Judah and a man that was after His own heart, and that man was David. Later in David’s life he desired to build a temple for the Lord, but the Lord told him that he was going to build a dynasty through the line of David all the way to the coming Messiah whose humanity would come from the line of David and this is seen when we look at the genealogies of both Matthew and Luke. Genesis 3:15 is the first prophecy about the coming of Messiah and we can see from that verse that the Father of the Messiah will be none other than God and this is seen in the Gospel of Luke. Luke 1:35 “The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes: “Some psalms you see, some psalms you feel, but this one you hear, because it is a record of four voices.” We will look at the first voice in today’s “Spiritual Diary.”
Conspiracy—The Voice of the Nations (vv. 1-3): “1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!’” (NASB)
David did not expect an answer to his question that he presents in verse one, but it is a great question to think about and wonder about for God created the earth and all that we see in the heavens, and He created it to bring honor and glory to Himself, but He also created it for man and as we look through the first days of creation it as if we are looking at an Artist who is painting a masterpiece and waits until the last moment to put the finishing touches on the painting to make it complete. The last day of creation God made the animals and then He made man, the finishing touch to His wonderful creation. Man chose to sin against God and was thrown out of the beautiful garden that God had made for him, and so sin began to take on its ugly consequences on not only mankind but also the entire creation. As mentioned above God at once spoke of a coming Redeemer who would be born of the seed of woman in order to provide salvation.
I want to quote a verse from the Gospel of John that is spoken of by John the Baptist that sums up the division between those who belong to God and those who don’t, and it is those who don’t belong to God that David is speaking about in this section: “John 3:36 “"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’” What will be the wrath that comes upon them? Well the answer is found in the first chapter of Romans and verses eighteen and following: “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
This is a very ugly picture of what happened to mankind and the worst thing that God could do to them is highlighted in this section “God gave them over.” God just let them go and continue to slide down the slippery slope of sin and the result was the consequences of what they desired to get from their sinfulness.
I just want to make one more point from this section of this Psalm and that is that nations were rebelling against the Holy One of God, the Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ. It is as if they were all saying what the Jews said about Jesus Christ, “"But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ’We do not want this man to reign over us.’” (Luke 19:14) The Psalm is speaking of the Messiah as seen in verse two when is says “His Anointed.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am so thankful to the Lord for the salvation that He has given to me and that I am one of those that is spoken of on the redeemed side of John 3:36. I do not want to ever be ungrateful for the wonderful gifts that the Lord has given to me, gifts that are given to all mankind such as air to breathe, food to eat, things like that for they are all gifts from God, but some do not see it that way.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Have a thankful heart for the gifts that the Lord has provided for me.
2. Remember to worship the Giver of the gifts and not the gifts that are given to me.
3. Continue to learn contentment.
12/14/2011 11:32:39 AM
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