Scriptures for Today
Psalm 2:1-3
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.
INTRODUCTION
Walk into any airport. Turn on any news station. Open social media. Watch people drive down the interstate. People are angry. Nations are angry. Families are angry. Politicians are angry. Neighbors are angry. Everybody seems angry. Let me ask you something.
Why? Why does it seem like the whole world is fighting? Why are nations constantly preparing for war? Why do people reject God? Why do people hate His commandments?
Psalm 2 answers all of those questions. But not with politics. Not with psychology. Not with sociology. God tells us exactly why. The problem isn’t politics. The problem is rebellion against God.
I. THE WORLD’S ANGER MAKES NO SENSE
Psalm 2:1
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Notice something. God begins with a question. Why? Not, “When?” Not, “Where?” Why? Because their anger makes no sense. The word rage paints a picture. This isn’t quiet disagreement. This isn’t respectful debate. This is open rebellion.
Picture thousands of people shouting. Crowds marching. Armies gathering. Leaders threatening one another. That’s what happens in this world constantly. I was just thinking about all the fighting that people do in homes, outside of their homes, in businesses, in schools, and in the streets. Just crowds and crowds of people gathering to threaten and to fight.
Now imagine God looking down from heaven and asking, “Why?” Imagine a two-year-old throwing a tantrum because his parents won’t let him play in traffic. He’s angry. He’s screaming. He’s kicking. But is he right? No, he’s not right. The 2-year old is not right.
Imagine teenagers getting angry in rage because their parents that love them won’t let them go to a party, get drunk, and do horrible things. The teenagers are angry. They are kicking and screaming. Are they right to be angry? No, they aren’t right. The angry teenagers are not right.
His anger doesn’t change the truth. That’s the world. People become angry because God says, “No.” No to sin. No to wickedness. No to rebellion. Instead of changing their ways and their attitude, they get angry.
Notice the second part. “The people imagine a vain thing.” What are they imagining? They believe they can build a world without God. God says it’s vain. Empty. Pointless. Impossible. The problem isn’t politics. The problem is rebellion.
Think about that word “imagine.” Where does rebellion begin? In the mind. Before people rebel with their hands, they rebel in their thoughts. Before Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they first imagined life would be better without God’s commandment. It started right there in their own mind.
Before someone commits adultery, they first imagine happiness outside of God’s plan. The lust gets to them. They think it’s going to be better breaking God’s commandment. Before someone becomes a drunkard, they imagine alcohol will solve their problems and make them happier.
Before someone quits church, they think everything will be better. It will not be better. Before someone rejects God, they imagine life will be better without Him. God calls all of those thoughts “vain.” Empty. Worthless. A lie. The world imagines that removing God will create peace.
Has it? When people get rid of God out of their life, does it bring peace?
The world imagines sin brings happiness. Does it? Does alcohol bring happiness? It does not. Does fornication bring happiness? No, it does not. Does cheating on your husband or wife bring happiness? No, it does not. Does looking at a woman with lust bring happiness? No, it does not. True happiness comes from following God’s commandments because they are good.
The world imagines man can fix himself. Many women think they are going to fix men. Can she? She thinks she can. And many men think they are going to fix women. Can he? Many think they can. But a woman can’t fix a man and a man can’t fix a woman.
The problem isn’t just sinful actions. The problem begins with sinful thinking. It’s called imaging a vain thing or imagining a worthless thing. You aren’t the hero. God is the hero.
II. THE WORLD IS UNITED
Psalm 2:2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
This is fascinating. People can’t agree on almost anything. Different languages. Different cultures. Different governments. Different religions. Yet there is one thing that unites the world. Make sure you hear this. There is one thing that unites this entire world: Opposing God.
Think about that. Imagine gathering every political party into one room. Could they agree? No. Imagine gathering every nation into one room. Could they agree? Probably not. But according to Psalm 2, they all agree on one thing.
They don’t want God telling them what to do. Notice the wording. “The kings…” “The rulers…” This isn’t just random people without power. This rebellion starts at the top with the kings and the rulers of this earth.
Leaders. Governments. Authorities. They don’t merely ignore God. They deliberately oppose Him. The Bible says, “AGAINST THE LORD” and “AGAINST HIS ANOINTED.” The problem isn’t politics or anything else you can think of. The problem is rebellion against God.
And if you think about that verse right there, it’s pure foolishness. They are setting themselves against the Lord. They don’t have a chance. But they think they do. They hate God. And that hate and that anger makes them foolish.
III. WHAT DO THEY REALLY WANT?
Psalm 2:3
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Now we finally hear the world’s voice. God has been describing them in verses 1 and 2. Now, in verse 3, they begin to speak. Listen carefully to what they say. “Let us break their bands asunder.”
Who is “their”? Verse 2 tells us. The LORD and His Anointed. In other words, the world is saying, “We don’t want God ruling over us. We don’t want Christ telling us how to live. We don’t want His authority.” That’s the real issue. The world doesn’t hate rules. The world hates God’s rule.
This attitude is built into our sinful nature. Children don’t naturally enjoy being told, “No.” Teenagers often don’t like parents setting rules. Adults don’t like bosses, police officers, or judges telling them what they can and cannot do. Our sinful flesh resists authority. The same thing happens with God.
I’ve had people leave this church because I preached against alcohol. Why? They didn’t want anyone telling them that what they loved was destroying them. They weren’t really angry with me. They were angry with God’s Word. They didn’t want God’s authority over their lives.
Imagine driving down the interstate. Someone says, “I don’t like speed limits. They restrict my freedom.” So he tears down every speed-limit sign he can find. For a little while he feels free. Nobody is telling him what to do. He can drive 120 miles an hour if he wants. But what has really changed? Has he removed the danger? No. It’s still there. He’s only removed the warning. The crash still happens. The laws of physics haven’t changed. The consequences haven’t disappeared.
That’s exactly what people do with God’s commandments. They think if they ignore God’s laws, they can also escape God’s consequences. They can’t. You can tear the warning sign down, but you can’t tear down the cliff. You can’t get rid of the fall that will come. Sin leads to damage. The rules are there to protect you.
God’s commandments aren’t chains. They’re guardrails. Imagine standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. A fence keeps you from stepping over the edge. Someone says, “That fence is ruining my freedom!” So they tear it down. Are they safer? No. They’ve only made it easier to fall.
That’s exactly what sin does. The world says, “Let’s get rid of God’s commandments.” God says, “Those commandments are the very things keeping you alive.”
Think about Adam and Eve. God gave them one commandment: don’t eat of that tree. Satan convinced them that God’s rule was holding them back. “God is keeping something good from you.” They believed the lie. They broke God’s commandment. Did they become freer? No. They became slaves to sin, death, sorrow, and suffering.
That’s what rebellion always produces. The world thinks freedom comes from removing God. God says true freedom comes from obeying Him. The problem isn’t God’s authority. The problem is man’s rebellion against the God who loves him enough to warn him before he falls.
CONCLUSION
Let me ask you one final question. Why is the world so angry? “Why do the heathen rage?” Is it because there isn’t enough money? Is it because there isn’t enough education? Is it because there isn’t enough technology? Is it because there aren’t enough laws? Psalm 2 says no.
The problem isn’t outside of man. The problem is inside of man. The human heart doesn’t naturally want God ruling over it. That’s why the world is angry. It isn’t angry because God has failed. It’s angry because God is King.
And sinful man wants the throne for himself. Every one of us has a choice. We can spend our lives saying, “My will be done.” Or we can bow before God and say, “Thy will be done.” One is rebellion. One is submission. Psalm 2 asks us: Which one describes you? Is it MY WILL be done or THY WILL be done? Let’s pray.
Leave a Reply