The World is Stupid

Psalm 2—The Futility of Human Rebellion, Part 1


Introductory Thoughts

* For each scripture, there is only one primary meaning.

** There can be prophetic scriptures which have a sooner and a latter fulfillment.

** There can be applications of the meaning.

** Certainly, there is a prophecy here of the final rebellion of the nations after the Millennium—Rev 20:7-10—that is a later fulfillment.

** An Application—the world system is in rebellion against God now, and always has been.

** But, the Primary meaning here is that the nations raged against the Messiah when He came, and they rose up in rebellion against Him, in the person of Pilate and the others in leadership in Judea at the time.

* We know that is a true interpretation because it is the interpretation that the Bible gives.

Acts 4:23 "And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 "And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."




1. The Rebellion of the nations— Psa 2 "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

a. The Rage of Human Rebellion— Why do the heathen rage…
.

(1) Rage—phruasso, froo-as'-so; to snort (as a spirited horse), i.e. to make a tumult:--rage.

(2) Lost humanity rages against the Truth, rages against God. Lost human civilization hates all that is Godly.

Rom 8:6-8 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

** Jn 15:19-16:3

b. The Vanity of Human Rebellion—and the people imagine a vain thing?

(1) The example of Diocletian—

A medal was struck by Docletian, which still remains, bearing the inscription, “The name of Christians being extinguished.” And in Spain, two monumental pillars were raised, on which were written:--“Diocletian Jovian Maximian Herculeus Caesares Augusti, for having extended the Roman Empire in the east and the west, and for having extinguished the name of Christians, who brought the Republic to ruin.” The second had, “Diocletian Jovian Maximian Herculeus Caesares Augusti…for having everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ, and established the worship of the gods.” (Spurgeon, Treasury of David, 14)

(2) The Vanity of human rebellion—the lost world rebels against God:

* Impotence challenges omnipotence

* Ignorance challenges omniscience

* Subjects challenge their sovereign

* The dying challenge the Eternal

* The shifting sands of human frailty challenge He who changes not.

* Darkness and blindness challenge Light

* Lies challenge Truth

* Hate challenges Love

* What Utter Futility!

There is no point at which lost, rebellious, sinful, weak, pitiful, man has either a legitimate reason or any ability to challenge the Almighty—but challenge Him they do.

c. The Leadership of the Rebellion—2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together

(1) The people rage, they imagine vanities, but they are being stirred up by their leaders.

(2) The leaders “set themselves,” they take a stand against God.

(3) The Rulers take counsel together, they make a plan together.

(4) The real rulers behind the human faces.

Eph 6:11-12 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

d. The Cry of the Rebellion—3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

(1) The heart of human rebellion, hating the Sovereign rule of God.

Luke 19:11-14 "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us."
Luke 19:27 "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."

(2) 3 Let us break their bands asunder

(a) Man does not want to be ruled by God’s restrictions on his behavior!

(b) They want to be rid of restraints

“Let us be free to commit all manner of abominations. Let us be our own gods. Let us rid ourselves of all restraint.” (Spurgeon, page 11).

(3) In this century, especially in the last 35 years, this has been the real cry of our society.

* Anything goes

* There are no standards of morality, ethics, behavior. What a person does is their own business.

* Character does not matter

* The only wrong idea is one that restricts human freedom to do anything at all.

* Live as you choose, “different strokes for different folks…”

* Alternative lifestyles, situational ethics, sexual revolution—

(4) and cast away their cords from us.

“Gaining impudence by the traitorous proposition of rebellion, they add—“let us cast away;” as if it were an easy matter…What! O ye kings, do ye think yourselves Samsons? An are the bands of Omnipotence but as green weeds before you? Do you dream that you shall shap to pieces and destroy the mandates of God—the decrees of the Most High—as if they were but tow?” (Spurgeon, Ibid.)

e. This is what was really going on as Pilate and the Jewish religious leaders plotted and carried out the crucifixion. The rulers of this evil world—Satan’s minions—worked behind the scenes to accomplish their evil purpose.

(1) Christ came preaching the Kingdom of God, but His enemies wanted only the kingdom of man.

(2) Christ came as a Lamb, the enemies of God wanted their kind of king.

(3) God had sent prophets and messengers, and they had been killed, but when He sent His son, they did Him worse than all.

***Mat 21:33-44



2. God’s Reaction to the Rebellion— 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion

a. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

(1) God is saying, “you have to be kidding me!”

(2) God doesn’t really find what the people are doing to be funny, but to be tragically, insanely, pathetically, stupid.

(3) There is genuine absurdity here—for weak, pitiful man to challenge God.

“Sinners’ follies are the just sport of God’s infinite wisdom and power; and those attempts of the kingdom of Satan, which in our eyes are formidable, in His are despicable.” (Matthew Henry)

b. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,

(1) First, God speaks in His wrath, He warns them. Christ twice cleansed the temple, once at the start of His ministry, once at the end. The first was a warning, the second was a sign of the impending rejection of Israel as she rejected her Messiah.

(2) So in the OT, the prophets would warn, then God would bring a small judgment, then more warnings, etc., but it took the captivity of Babylon to burn idolatry from Israel.

(3) In the end times, God’s wrath is preceded by warning after warning, it is heralded by disaster after disaster, and calamity after calamity, yet sinful men will ignore all of these and will not repent.

c. and vex them in his sore displeasure.

(1) When God’s patience comes to an end, when the appointed time of judgment arrives, He will vex his enemies, punish them, change their attitude by his mighty power.

(2) His anger will be extreme, “sore,” His wrath a fearful thing. Truly, when judgment falls, the enemies of our Lord will be “sinners in the hands of an Angry God,” and there will be no remedy from that predicament, not for eternity.

d. So, in the rebellion of Pilate and the religious leaders, which was merely the surface rebellion behind the rebellion of Satan and his demonic forces, they accomplished nothing. In fact, the very thing by which they thought to win was the very thing by which they lost.


3. God’s Statement on the Futility of the Rebellion 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion

a. Yet—in spite of all man can do, in spite of man’s rebellion, in spite of man’s attacks on Truth and upon God’s saints, there is no stopping God.

(1) Like the skillful King who lets the rebels rant and rave, even while he marshalls his forces to wipe them out, yet God will triumph.

(2) Even today, sinful men proclaim God’s non-existence or death, and they proclaim this to be a post-Christian or anti-Christian age, yet God will win.

(3) To the kings and princes of the earth, the shouts and the opinions and the philosophy of the world sound so secure, so wonderfully true, so high and mighty, but to God, they are the pitiful bleatings of the Goats who will perish.

b. I have~ Man may do whatever he wants, but God has done the all-consuming deed.

c. I have set—While man’s rebellion fumed and raged, God acted and God completed His work—“It is finished…”

(1) God’s purpose is set

(2) God’s kingdom is sure

(3) God’s Will is being done and will be done.

(4) He is the God who works all things after His counsel, His plan, His will.

d. My King—man has his candidate for King, but there is only one candidate which will win, which indeed, has won.

(1) Christ is His King.

(2) Christ is King.

(3) As Cecil B DeMille’s Pharaoh said in The Ten Commandments—“His God is God.”

e. Upon Zion’s Hill

(1) This action has not yet taken place in time, but what God proposes will be done.

(2) The King will be set upon Zion’s Hill, He will establish His throne—He will conquer.

(3) But on the Cross—He did conquer—


Application

1. This evil, wicked world in which we live has rejected God’s way and lives in rebellion against God’s way. Upon whose side do you stand?

2. The leaders of this world have conducted and are conducting rebellion against the God of the Universe. Are you in rebellion against God?

3. God has made the strongest statements against the futility and folly of this war—where is your heart?