[0:00] Please sit down. Now, friends, I want to begin this morning by telling you just briefly about my own experience in ministry. I became a Christian at 18.
[0:13] I entered theological college at 20. I exercised Christian ministry for about 20 years. They were 20 rich years, let me tell you, of speaking to people about God and then I became, for a number of reasons, clinically depressed and I needed to take some time out and to sort myself out and so I took a year off and I began to work in IT.
[0:35] My first job was in 1999. That was the year of Y2K, of course. My first job, and my brother just gave me the job, or got me the job, happens to be sitting in the congregation this morning, involved checking 800 computers for the Y2K bug.
[0:54] And so I went through this whole public organisation, checking computer after computer after computer, and I met many, many people. And they were very different from the people I generally met in ministry.
[1:07] You see, the world I encountered was largely a godless world. Very few people were openly interested in God and those interested in God seemed to want to hide their interest as much as possible, except for a few examples who wanted to put it around their computer screens and so on and proclaim that they were Christians.
[1:24] But nevertheless, most really wanted to hide it. And I began to realise that that is the world that we live in. It is a world that is actively and often openly rebellious against God, a world that simply does not recognise God as someone of significance.
[1:40] So I began to wonder, well, does God have anything to say to this world? And it's about this time that I read Psalm 2 again and realised afresh some new things. You see, I think Psalm 2 is a classic example of God speaking to his world.
[1:55] And it has some sobering and, in fact, I think some wonderful things to say. Now, before we get underway, I need to say that the richness of this psalm is very difficult to measure.
[2:08] It is overwhelmingly loaded with wealth. It's intricately involved and tied up into and bound into the whole book of Psalms. It's richly cited in the New Testament.
[2:19] And I want to tell you today, I could spend weeks preaching on it. But I don't have weeks. So I'm going to try and do what I can in 30 or so minutes, maybe 35. This is, I need to tell you, I'm going to work you harder today than I normally do.
[2:32] This will be a slightly longer sermon, so I warn you up front. And it's going to involve a significant amount of Bible flipping once we get past looking at the detail of Psalm 2. So, you know, you're going to work this morning, so I warn you up front.
[2:45] Now, what we're going to do is I hope that we'll grasp the psalm in its own right. I hope we'll grasp what it means within the psalms as a whole. And then we're going to have a look at what it means for the Bible as a whole.
[2:58] So stick with me. We're going to take a fly through this this morning and I hope and pray that you'll be blown away by the depth and grandeur of this psalm. I hope and pray that you'll also be drawn near to the Lord Jesus as a result.
[3:12] And my prayer has been, as I've been preparing this sermon, that you will bow before the Lord Jesus again today. And I'm praying that you go running to his Father to thank and praise him with loud acclamation and with joy-filled hearts.
[3:25] You see, because our God is a great King and a great God above all gods. And his Son is a mighty Saviour and a glorious Messiah.
[3:36] And this psalm captures so much of that. So let's have a look at it together. Let's get underway. And let me begin by reminding you that of one of the great rich stories of the Bible.
[3:47] I want you to, in your minds, go back in history. Remember, God has chosen his first king of Israel, a man called Saul. And Saul, you might remember, though he has a pretty good start, it doesn't last very long.
[4:02] And he turns out to be a failure fairly quickly. And God announces, look, there's going to be no line of kings that will descend from you, Saul. Instead, I'm looking for someone better than you, a man after my own heart.
[4:13] And we all know the story. Samuel the prophet is sent off to the family of a certain Jesse. And he looks for this tall, handsome young man. Instead, he finds a small, insignificant and even younger shepherd boy.
[4:28] And this ruddy-faced lad turns out to be the Lord's anointed. And we love him from the beginning. You only have to read the one Samuel. And you just love him from the time he walks on the scene.
[4:40] We love him as he takes on that giant Goliath. We love him as he refuses to take the throne from Saul. We love him as he gathers friends around him. And we think, well, maybe, you know, I can imagine myself in their midst.
[4:52] We love him as he waits for the throne to come to him. We love him when he finally becomes king. And then he captures that Jebusite city. And he renames it Jerusalem. And he brings the Ark of the Covenant into that city.
[5:04] And now here he is, king. And in 2 Samuel 7, he takes the initiative. And he proposes to God that he will build a house for God. That is a grand temple.
[5:17] And God sends his prophet to David the next day. And he refuses David's initiative. He says, no, no, you're not going to build a house for me. Rather, I, the king, will build a house for you.
[5:29] And he promises him a dynasty. And God's words just come thick and fast in 2 Samuel 7. They come from the prophet's mouth and they go like this. I took you from being a shepherd to be a prince.
[5:40] I've been with you. I'll make your name great. I'll give you rest from your enemies. I'll raise up offspring after you. I'll establish his kingdom. I will be a father to him.
[5:50] He'll be a son to me. They're grand promises, friends. This is God's covenant with his chosen king, David. And God's promise to David and his family.
[6:01] And that, let me tell you, is the background to Psalm 2. This very covenant is what God speaks about in Psalm 2. It is a psalm about David.
[6:12] And it's a psalm about Davidic kingship. It's a psalm about God's relationship with David, God's covenant with David. So with that in background, I wonder if you'll open your Bibles and take a closer look at Psalm 2 with me.
[6:25] Now, as you do, please let me remind you, we are in Psalm 2 at the heart of God's promises to Israel. We are at the heart of God's purposes in his world.
[6:38] Now, let's just start and we'll have a look at the various sections of the psalm. There are four sections here. There are various people speaking. But I want you to start with me in verse 1.
[6:50] So, verse 1 reads like this. Why do the nations conspire and the people's plot in vain? Now, the word for conspire here, let me tell you, is actually the word for growing restless.
[7:04] And the word for plot is actually the same word that's used back in Psalm 1 for meditate. And it means to sort of mutter to yourself something, even to growl something or to read something in an undertone or if you like, to plot something under your breath.
[7:19] The portrait's profound. Can you see it here? Here are the nations. And they're growing a bit restless here. And they're muttering and they're growling to themselves. And verse 2 tells us that they have an object of their restlessness and muttering.
[7:30] And it's the Lord. It's his anointed. And the word anointed, you may know, it could be literally translated, his Messiah. So, here are the nations. Here are the rulers.
[7:42] They're grumbling. They're plotting. They're growing restless. They're forming a united front. And the object of this nation's restlessness is the Lord and his Messiah. The Lord and his anointed king.
[7:54] Friends, let me tell you, this is not some small scale rebellion here. This is not just like a little pocket of a group of guys getting together and saying, well, we don't like what God's doing. This is a banding together of world powers and their representatives.
[8:08] And they're asserting themselves against what they perceive is a threat to their sovereignty and power. And that threat is God himself. And for these nations and these kings, they object to the constraints that this God and king have imposed upon them.
[8:23] They want to break loose. That's what verse 3 says. The words are strong and oppositional. They cry out against God's sovereign power. Let us burst his bonds asunder and cast their cords from upon us.
[8:37] And then with that, we move from the nations and we switch into heaven. And the Lord, we hear, sees the heavings of the nations and their rulers. And he doesn't sit there.
[8:48] You know, it's not to say God's sort of sitting there saying, oh, no, it's getting out of control now. And he's wringing his hands and worrying about what's going to happen. No, the one we hear who is enthroned in the heavens laughs in amusement at them.
[9:01] That is, he holds these rulers and these powers in derision. He entertains himself with mirth at their silliness. And he taunts them for their stupidity.
[9:12] He refuses to take them with any seriousness at all. In other words, if I could summarise it in sort of modern language, he thinks their opposition is laughable. You see, at the same time though, it is deadly serious.
[9:25] Look at verse 5. For the psalmist tells us that after the Lord's laughter and taunting, he will then speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury.
[9:36] In other words, his words are about his anointed king whom they oppose and their firm words and their significant words and their terrifying words. Listen to what God has to say. I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.
[9:52] Can you hear the God of all the earth speaking? He quietens the earth and he quietens the rulers in their upheaval and he utters his declared will. I myself, it's emphatic in the original, I myself have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.
[10:12] And then verses 7 to 9 explain exactly what this incredible statement means. It spells out its content. The Lord, the great king has made a declaration to all the world.
[10:25] You see, can you hear what's being said? When God spoke to David in 2 Samuel, it wasn't sort of a little private conversation, you know. David, come aside here for a moment.
[10:35] We'll have a little chat. No, this is a declaration to all the world. It is not a private promise of God to a temporary transient king. No, that little conversation that God had with David on that day was a declaration to all the world.
[10:52] A decree of the Lord and he says, you are, it's done on my papers, hasn't it? I might as well forget that. He says, you are my son. Today I have begotten you.
[11:04] You see, this human Israelite king is the son of the Lord God of all the earth. That is God's adopted son. The Lord has entered into an eternal and lasting commitment to him.
[11:16] He's adopted him as his son and heir and he's then given him all his wealth, his authority and his rule. He's bestowed upon this human being all rule and authority.
[11:26] That is an extraordinary statement from the God of all the earth, isn't it? And verses 8 and 9 tell us the implications. God spells it out. He says, ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance.
[11:40] The ends of the earth will be your estate, your possession. You'll break them with a rod of iron. You'll dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Can you see now why God laughs and taunts in verse 4?
[11:54] For the nations have set themselves against the Lord and his anointed. But he is the God of all the earth. And at his anointed's request, he will simply hand them over to him.
[12:09] And they will be his inheritance, his estate. The ends of the earth will be his personal property and possession to do with as he sees fit. He can do with them as he likes. He can break them with a rod of iron or he can dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
[12:24] And with this the psalm is wound up in verses 10 to 12. Can you hear friends? This declaration is very serious. It is uttered by the God of all the earth. And the poet directly takes on the powerful of the world and he sternly warns them.
[12:38] Look at him in verses 10 to 12. Follow the words with me. They are sobering and they are strong. For he says, Therefore, O kings, be wise.
[12:49] Be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, with trembling. Kiss his feet or he'll be angry and you'll perish in the way. For his wrath is quickly kindled. Now the NRSV you'll notice in verse 12 explains the Hebrew is fraught with difficulty.
[13:03] And there's lots of ink being spilled over these verses. But I think the tenor is clear. You can't balk it. What he's saying is this. Look, you're mumbling, you're grumbling, you're muttering, you're conspiring.
[13:14] You nations, as you do this, you change your tune. Learn something. Instead of resistance, be wise. Accept instruction. Instead of hard-headedly plotting against the Lord, serve the Lord with fear and wail before him with trembling.
[13:32] Give sincere homage. Otherwise it may be that God's laughter and derision might change its tune. And the end result is you'll perish and pass away under God's quickly kindled anger.
[13:44] And then in the final line, the psalmist sort of turns. And he turns away from the nations to include the whole of the earth. And he addresses us who hear and hear the psalmist well.
[13:56] And he says, Look, in the light of God's kingship and his purposes in his anointed, let all the earth take refuge in him. Given that his purposes are in his son, then don't resist.
[14:09] Stop all resistance. Take refuge in him. Take refuge in my son. For this anointed king has been given to the nations and the ends of the earth by this king to do with as he wills.
[14:22] And so can you see what he's saying? He's saying, how blessed. How happy. How extremely fortunate are those who take refuge in him.
[14:32] Now friends, there is this great psalm. Now I want you to ask yourself, what do you reckon the heart of this psalm is? You know, what makes it tick? Around what centre does this psalm gravitate?
[14:44] Well friends, the centre of this psalm is God. It is on God himself. Look at verses 7 to 9. It makes this clear. What are verses 7 to 9 about? They're about a great king, aren't they?
[14:56] A God who is sovereign. A God who has a purpose for his world. A God who utters promises to his son David. A God who makes declarations about where he's going in the world and through whom he's working.
[15:07] A God who tells his people that he's for them and with them. Friends, the heart of this psalm is a God who is God. And a God who is sovereign. And a God who is willing to back up his word and his promise with action.
[15:22] Now, friends, I know that you've all been listening to me this morning. And you know, and if not, you were not listening to Matt this morning. You know this psalm's full of Jesus, isn't it? This is full of Christ.
[15:35] And I know that you know that the New Testament alludes to this psalm all over the place. But I want to tell you that if you really want to understand this psalm, don't jump too quickly to Jesus.
[15:46] We'll get there. But I want to show you some more about this psalm. To avoid jumping too quickly to Jesus, I want you to come with me for an exploration. And here's the Bible flipping part of the sermon. Through the whole of the book of Psalms.
[15:59] And I want to show you some things about the psalms that help us understand this psalm much better. So, come with me on a lightning tour of the book of Psalms. Now, do you remember how I said the book of Psalms is intricately structured?
[16:10] It's got five books within it. And it's not just one book. It's five shorter books. Let me show you something about those five books. Remember last week we looked at Psalm 1 and I said Psalm 1 is a sort of introduction to the whole of the Psalter.
[16:25] And Psalm 2 probably operates as an introduction to Book 1. So, what have we discovered in Psalm 2? Well, we've discovered that this is a book about God's, that Psalm 2 is about God's covenant with David.
[16:40] It's about God's eternal promise to David. God promises security to David. He promises to his people that the nations of the earth are not to be feared. They're not to be feared because he's a king and he's with his people and they don't need to worry about their enemies.
[16:54] They'll all be looked after by God. And with that in mind, I want you to come to the end of Book 1. That's Psalm 41. Turn with me, could you? Now, this is the hard bit of today's sermon, but stick with me.
[17:06] You'll find it worthwhile if you do. Psalm 41. Remember, this is the end of Book 1. Now, I want you to look at it. This Psalm talks about how God protects his people from their enemies.
[17:21] You can see it in verse 1, verse 2, verse 7, verse 11 and 12. But I want you to look particularly at verses 11 and 12. For David the king, remember, look at the first part of Psalm 1.
[17:35] It says, to the leader a psalm of David. So, this is David speaking. Now, look at verses 11 to 12. This is David speaking again and look at what he says. Can you hear what he's saying?
[17:59] He's saying, God, I've been right before you and you have rewarded me. You have delivered me from my enemies. You've done Psalm 2 for me. Can you hear what he's saying? Now, with that in mind, let's turn to the end of Book 2.
[18:14] So, we're now progressing through to Psalm 72. Now, I want you to notice who wrote this psalm or who it's about.
[18:25] It says, of Solomon. Can you see that at the top of Psalm 72? And then I want you to notice right at the end, in verse 28, sorry, in verse 20 it says, the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
[18:37] Now, let me suggest something to you and you can take it with a pinch of salt and think about it. I think this is David's prayer for his son Solomon. There's something to think about. It's cast in that sort of line.
[18:50] It's a psalm of Solomon but it's about Solomon. It's almost a prayer for Solomon. It almost reads as a prayer for Solomon. Perhaps it is David's prayer for his son. Now, I want you to look at the things he prays for.
[19:02] In verses 1 to 4, the prayer is for a king who rules justly. Can you see it there? Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. And then in verses 8 to 11, the prayer is for the king's rule to be secure from his enemies, just like Psalm 2 said it should be.
[19:20] And then verses 5, 15 and 17, the prayer is that this king will be long-lived and blessed. So, can you see what happens with our books so far? Book 1 begins with a promise.
[19:32] Book 1 ends with God saying, I've done what I've promised. Or David saying, God, you've done what you've promised. Can you see where Book 2 ends? It ends with a prayer that future kings will have as much success as David had.
[19:44] But now let me show you how Book 3 ends. So, turn with me to Psalm 89. So, Psalm 89. And I want you to notice who it's by.
[20:02] This is a masculine of Ethan the Ezraite. This is not a king. This is not David. This is not Solomon. This is someone else. And the psalmist is now not a king.
[20:16] It appears as though kings have gone. And the psalmist reminds God of his promise to David and his covenant with David. Look at verse 38 though. Have a look. Turn in your Bibles to 38.
[20:28] And let me read it to you. But you have spurned and rejected him. You are full of wrath against your anointed, your Messiah. You have renounced the covenant with your servant.
[20:41] You have defiled his crown in the dust. You have broken through all his walls. You have laid his stronghold in ruins. And all who pass by plunder him. And he's become the scorn of his neighbours.
[20:52] Can you hear the grief of the psalmist? Basically, the psalmist is charging God with having forgotten the promise of Psalm 2. Listen to him cry out to God in verse 49. Lord, where is your steadfast love but your faithfulness?
[21:05] Which by your faithfulness you swore to David. You've forgotten God. Where's Psalm 2? And look at verse 46 or listen to it. How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
[21:17] How long will your wrath burn like fire? How long, O Lord? That's the end of book 3. Can you see the progress here? Now let's move to book 4 of the psalms.
[21:29] And it has lots of language about God the King. David as king in book 4 sort of shrinks into the background. Have a look at Psalm 106. So this is the last of the psalms in book 4.
[21:42] Psalm 106. And I want you to look at verse 47. So right toward the end. Save us, O Lord, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
[21:59] Blessed be the God, the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say Amen and praise the Lord. Now friends, where are they? They are scattered among the nations.
[22:10] Where are their kings? They are dead and gone. Friends, can you see where Psalm 106 ends? Another plea to God.
[22:21] Gather us in from the exile. Now look at Psalm 107. So just the next psalm. O give thanks to the Lord for he is good. This is beginning of book 5. For his steadfast love endures forever.
[22:32] Let the redeemed of the Lord say. Now who are being spoken about now? The redeemed. Those who have come back from exile. Now, they are calling to God for deliverance, trusting in God's steadfast love.
[22:46] We've got two more psalms to look at. Have a look at Psalm 145. There's lots more I could say about the book of Psalms at this point, but we could, like I said, go on all day. But Psalm 145.
[22:58] It is a psalm about God the King. I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever. By the way, do you notice who it's written by? It's written by David.
[23:10] This is the very last psalm of David in the Psalter. And who does he glory in? His own kingship? No, he glories in the kingship of God. And what he's saying is, God is the one to be trusted.
[23:24] God is the one who assures Israel's future. God is the one who reigns forever. And once you've acknowledged this, the future is secure, isn't it? And Psalm 146 verse 3 says, it's not a prince who can secure your future.
[23:37] It's God alone. He alone can assure God's future. He alone can make it happen. And once you've acknowledged this, what do you need to do? Just praise this God. And so the remaining four or five psalms just get full of praise of God.
[23:51] That's what they burst into praise and exaltation of God the King. So friends, there's our survey of Psalm 2 and the book of the Psalms. Now, did you notice the question that hangs over the book of Psalms?
[24:03] If my brief survey is right, what is the question? I told you I was going to work hard with you today. So what is the question that hangs over the Psalms? Go back to Psalm 2.
[24:15] Psalm 2 is clear on two points, isn't it? Point one, God is king. He rules the world. His sovereignty cannot be upset by any human. He laughs at any opposition. And the rest of the book of Psalms agrees and praises God the reigning king.
[24:28] God is king. However, Psalm 2 has a second point, hasn't it? And the second point is this. It's made very clearly in Psalm 2.
[24:38] And that point is that God's rule in his world is exercised through a human king. A king descended from David. A king in store by God. A king who is God's son. Now, by the end of the book of Psalms, no such king exists.
[24:55] There is no human descendant of David set on Mount Zion, God's holy hill. The descendants of David have somewhat disappeared. Can you see the question posed by the book of Psalms?
[25:06] Yes. Yes, God is king. And yes, we can join in with him and the psalmist and rejoice in this. But if he's king, then where is his human king?
[25:18] Where is his promise to David? Where is his son that he has installed on Mount Zion, his holy hill?
[25:29] Where is he? The size of the end of Psalms is striking. Well, friends, we Christians know the answer, don't we? And can you see how it's much grander than we first anticipated?
[25:42] Turn with me, if you can, more Bible flipping to Mark chapter 1. So, Mark chapter 1. And I'm going to read to you just the first verse and then a couple of others as well.
[25:56] Now, listen very carefully to the first verse. The beginning of the good news, in other words, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, Jesus the Anointed, that is, Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
[26:16] Here, Psalm 2, the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. And now, look, go a bit further.
[26:26] Go down to verse 9. For Jesus goes down to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. And as he comes out of the water, the heavens are torn apart, and the Spirit descends on him like a dove.
[26:37] And a voice comes from the heaven, using the language of Psalm 2. And look at what it says in verse 11. It says, And a voice came from heaven and said, But you are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.
[26:52] Now, look at verse 14. Jesus comes into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God. Unless he does, look at what he says in verse 15. He says these things. The time is fulfilled.
[27:03] In other words, everything that you've learned to expect, particularly perhaps from the Psalms. The time is fulfilled. And the kingly rule of God, the kingdom of God, that the Psalmist loved and spoke about, has come near.
[27:19] Repent and believe the gospel. Friends, can you hear the language of Psalm 2? Can you hear the question of the book of Psalms answered?
[27:30] God's kingly rule is worthy of all the praise that the book of Psalms gives it. Why? Because God is a king. Because he's appointed and anointed and consecrated a Davidic son, Jesus the Messiah.
[27:43] And this son is installed at his baptism. And therefore the world and the nation should do what? Repent, for the kingdom of God is now at hand. They should not kick against God's purposes.
[27:54] They should serve the Lord with fear, for his wrath is quickly kindled. And blessed are those who find refuge in him through his son. So friends, there's Psalm 2.
[28:06] Now, let me tell you, the New Testament has many other applications of Psalm 2 beyond what I've spoken about. You can see it quoted in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Philippians, Hebrews, Revelation, alluded to nearly everywhere.
[28:21] I've listed a few of them. If you want to pick up the sermon outline later on, I've put some of the main ones in for you and you can look them up during the week. But let me tie together what we've learnt in the last couple of minutes. And I've got two headings and then I'll give you one point of application.
[28:35] So, two headings. First, the Psalm, Psalm 2 is crystal clear in what it says. He says, God is king. He is the king over all the earth and to oppose him is laughable.
[28:48] It is futile and it cannot succeed. After all, he's a king and he is working out his purpose in his world. Second, God's way of ruling his world is through a human king descended from an obscure king of a tiny nation.
[29:03] His way of ruling the world is through a Davidic descendant and that Davidic king is Jesus Christ. He is God's son. He is God's beloved.
[29:15] And if you bow before this son, then you bow before the God of all the earth. And if you resist this son, I should say, then you resist the God of all the earth. And such resistance cannot hope to succeed.
[29:29] Finally, let me show you just a wonderful two little bits and pieces from Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 when they're put together. See, I think they form a package introduction to the whole lot. Go back to the book of Psalms.
[29:40] Sorry, here's the flipping again. Back to Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. I want you to remember. Do you remember how Psalm 1 began? It says, happy or blessed or how fortunate are those who take refuge in him.
[29:54] Sorry, that's how Psalm 2 ends. Do you remember how Psalm 1 begins? Happy or blessed or how fortunate are those who do not walk in, do not sit in, do not stand in.
[30:06] So, friends, can you see what the two psalms, when you put them together, are saying? Happy at the beginning, happy at the end. What sits in between them? How do you avoid following the advice of the wicked?
[30:17] How do you avoid taking the path that sinners tread? How do you avoid sitting in the seat of scoffers? Well, Psalm 1 says you evade it by finding your delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on that law day and night.
[30:32] But Psalm 2 just does a little tweaking of this. It expresses it in a fuller way. Psalm 2 says that it's by taking refuge in God and in his Son.
[30:43] There's one more little bit in this Psalm. Let me show it to you. Psalm 1. Have a look at Psalm 1. It talks of the godly and the righteous and it says, the godly are those who meditate on God's law.
[30:57] Here's the intriguing bit. The word meditate is the same word that we found in Psalm 2 of the muttering and the growling of the nations. It's the very same word used in Psalm 2 verse 1.
[31:09] The nations of the world mutter to themselves or plot in vain. Can you hear what's being said here? What is the way of success in the world? What is the godly way of living in the world?
[31:21] Well, Psalm 1 and 2 lay it out for us. It's not muttering against God. It's not mumbling and complaining and groaning and plotting. No, it's muttering about God and his law.
[31:34] And that is found in muttering about the fulfilment of God's law. God's Son. True blessing, friends. True fulfilment. True godliness.
[31:47] True righteousness. True righteousness is found in meditating, muttering about, thinking about God's Son, Jesus Christ. Friends, I wonder if this is your attitude.
[32:01] Is life for you muttering about the Lord Jesus Christ, the fulfilment of the law, the fulfilment of the prophets, the fulfilment of the wise books? Is it muttering, thinking about, meditating upon, imbibing Jesus?
[32:16] If not, then you are opposing God. And such opposition is, frankly, if I might say in the language of Psalm 2, laughable. It will be met with God's wrath.
[32:28] However, if it is your attitude, if you hang on, believe in, trust in, have confidence in, let Jesus saturate your whole existence, then you are safe in the arms of God the King.
[32:45] And you can praise him for eternity, for he is your shield and your refuge and your very great reward. And in him you are truly blessed, for blessed are those who find refuge in him.
[33:01] Let's pray together. Father, we thank you that you have installed your King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[33:16] Thank you that he is your Son. Thank you that through him you will rule the world.
[33:29] Thank you that through him you do rule the world. Father, we praise you, Lord God, for you are the Lord, the King. We praise you and extol you and bless your name forever and ever.
[33:45] Every day we bless you. We praise your name forever and ever, for we say to you, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. For you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
[33:59] You are good to all. You have compassion over all you have made. And all your works, including us, Father, give thanks to you. And all your faithful bless you.
[34:11] They speak of the glory of your kingdom and your King, Jesus. They tell of your power and they make known to all people your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
[34:23] For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And your dominion endures throughout all generations. And you are faithful to all your words, including the ones of Psalm 2, and gracious in all your deeds.
[34:38] And you uphold all who are falling and raise up all who are bowed down. And so our eyes, O Lord, look to you. And you give us all we need in due season.
[34:49] You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. You are just in all your ways and kind in all your doings. You are near to all who call upon you through your Son, who call upon you in truth.
[35:04] Thank you, Lord God, that you watch over those who love you, but that the wicked you will destroy. And so our mouths will speak of your praise. And we will join all flesh to bless your holy name forever and ever.
[35:18] Amen. Amen.