We all have songs that form the soundtrack to our life: songs that bring back significant memories, songs that lift us when we are down, songs that inspire us, songs that move us. And for Jesus, those songs were the Psalms. What can we learn from the soundtrack to Jesus' life?

Songs of Jesus1. The God Who Reigns Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 2 26 June 2022

Not long ago my mom started scanning the old photo albums from when we were kids. If youre under the age of 30, you possibly dont know what a photo album is. In the olden days, photo albums were physical books where you kept printouts of photos you took.

Anyway, my mom has started scanning some of the old photos from when I was a kid. And recently she sent photos from a family trip in 1985. I was 10 years old. We were living in Western Australia at the time, and we took a driving trip up the west coast of Australia starting in Perth and driving almost 1000 miles north to Exmouth better known as the home of Ningaloo Reef, one of the best places in the world to swim with whale sharks.

This was before Instagram, before even a resort was built there. We spent the entire time camping at remote beaches, getting the car stuck in sand, getting the car overheated in the desert, I think we also flipped our camper trailer on a remote highway. But we also spent days swimming and surfing and fishing and snorkeling.

It was an incredible adventure and all through my adult life, I get flashbacks to that trip whenever I smell Reef Suntan Oil the one made with coconut oil. Not sure it protected anything...

I also get flashbacks to that vacation whenever I hear this song that seemed to always be on the radio Life In A Northern Town by The Dream Academy. AKA the heyamamama song. Funny, when Jo and I were first married and traveling through Europe, somebody did a dance remix of it that was on the radio all the time... Maybe its just my song?

That happens with songs, doesnt it? They become the soundtrack to significant periods of your life. The soundtrack to significant memories, and moods. They can transport you back in time, and take you to a different place.

This summer, we are looking at the Psalms as the soundtrack that Jesus listened to. The songs of Jesus. The songs that he would have known and recited, songs that taught him about God, and about himself. Songs that fueled his prayers.

This is our soundtrack for the summer, and a soundtrack that I hope fuels our prayers, as we take them to heart just like Jesus did.

So why dont we pray that God would teach us this summer as we open the Psalms together?

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Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the Psalms, for these songs that your people have been singing for thousands of years. Teach us your songs, and use them to sustain us in all the seasons of life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Well we are starting our new sermon series with Psalm 2 today. I just want to take a brief moment to talk about the Psalms before we open todays passage.

Here at Yountville Community Church, we often work through the Bible chapter by chapter to see a story unfold. But the Psalms doesnt work quite like that. Psalms is more like an anthology of poetry, written by different authors. Within the book of Psalms, we can break down the individual Psalms into 5 different collections, or 5 Books as youll see if you have a paper Bible.

The Psalms, you can see, are written like poetry (theyre even laid out like it on the page). However its worth noting that these were originally written in Hebrew, during Old Testament times which means BC. To give you an idea how old the Psalms are, 73 of the Psalms are attributed to King David, and he was king right around 1000BC, so the Psalms are very old.

Traditionally, the Psalms have played a part in the worship of Gods people. Many of the Psalms were songs originally, but we dont have the tunes anymore. So that aspect is kind of lost to us.

And of course, we lose a some of the original poetic elements when the Psalms are translated from the Hebrew into the English in our Bibles.

Despite all the time and distance and culture that separate us from the original writers, what we have in common is the sentiments that the Psalms portray. The Psalms have sometimes been called the Prayer Book of the Old Testament. They record the words of the saints of old, as they called out to God in every season of life. And their prayers teach us how we also ought to call out to God in every season of life.

So I hope our series in the Psalms helps you to learn to pray, just as I hope it helps me to learn to pray.

But for now, lets jump into Psalm 2.

1. Desire for Freedom

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise upand the rulers band togetheragainst the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their chainsand throw off their shackles.

(Psalm 2:1-3)

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We live in a world of division. A world of conflict. A world where nations conspire, and kings and rulers rise up against others. All throughout history, wars have raged over territory, over power, over politics. Division seems to be our default stance as humans.

But in Psalm 2, there is a great surprise about the divisiveness of humans. Do you see it there in v2?

2 The kings of the earth rise upand the rulers band togetheragainst the Lord and against his anointed

Despite all their enmity towards one another, Psalm 2 teaches us that the rulers of this world have an even greater enemy. An enemy they hate so much that they will cease fire against one another to conspire and plot together against this (perceived) common enemy.

And who is the enemy? Its there in v2... The Lord and his anointed.

Bible scholars believe that this Psalm was probably written originally as a coronation Psalm for one of Israels kings. Something they read out at the installation of a king. And so it makes sense to imagine the other kings and rulers of nearby nations seeking to destroy this anointed king of the Lord.

And, of course, an attack against the king is the same as an attack against the Lord. So we could read this line from a very earthly perspective.

But when you look more closely, there is a very global aspect to this attack on the Lord and his anointed. Its the nations (line 1), the people (line 2), the kings of the earth (line 3) and the rulers all conspiring, plotting, rising up and banding together against God and his anointed one.

Anointing was a ritual to mark Gods approval of the kings of Israel. Consecrated oil would be poured from a sacred horn onto the Kings head by a representative of God, usually a prophet. And then that king would be called the anointed. In Hebrew, the word for anointed is mashiach, Messiah in English. The Greek translation is christos, or Christ.

You can see why this Psalm had a special meaning for Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. Certainly in Jesus lifetime, powers and authorities conspired and plotted to have him killed.

And when we read v3, we see the reason why the nations and people rise up against God. Together, they say (v3)

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3 Let us break their chainsand throw off their shackles.

Psalm 2 teaches us a profound truth about humanity. As humans, we have this perception that God wants to put us in chains, and put us in shackles. This verse is an image of slavery, isnt it? An image of incarceration.

The perception is that God wants to control us. That God wants to control our actions, to control our thoughts, that God wants to put limitations on my freedom. That he wants to stop me doing the things that I want to do.

Have you ever had that thought? I was on an Alpha course a few years ago and a young guy in his early 20s said something just like that. Why does God care who I sleep with? Why does God care if I get drunk? I remember him saying: I like the idea of Jesus, but I dont want him to tell me what to do...

He didnt stay in the course long after that.

I want to say that its because hes part of the young generation. But actually the problem goes further back than that, all the way to Adam and Eve who didnt want God to tell them what they could and couldnt eat. What they could or couldnt do.

Turns out its a fundamentally human response to God, to want to break the chains, and throw off his shackles. I understand it in my own experience. We want to be the kings and rulers of our own lives. And we rebel against anyone who wants to take away our rights, even if its God himself! What would God know about what is good for us? [Maybe a thing or twoJ]

So thats the first stanza the Desire for Freedom. 2. Declaration of God

The second stanza Im calling the Declaration of God.For all the plotting and conspiring of the nations and people against God, did you notice the last

two words in v1?1 Why do the nations conspire

and the peoples plot in vain?

This Psalm, which is situated right at the beginning of the book of Psalms, is meant to teach us a fundamental truth about God, a truth that underpins everything else we read in the Psalms, and a truth that underpins every challenge that this world offers to Gods authority.

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4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his angerand terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 I have installed my kingon Zion, my holy mountain.

The foundational truth of these verses is that God is The One enthroned in heaven. God sits on the only throne that matters. There are not many gods on many thrones, each ruling over their own sections of the world, their own constituents. No, this verse makes a truth claim about God as the only one The One it says, in v4 who rules and reigns in creation.

And when challenges to his authority come, they pose absolutely no threat to him.

I had a friend who worked in juvenile justice, in a home for boys with behavioral issues. He told me that he was regularly physically assaulted by the boys. And Im imagining large teenage boys. He laughed when I looked worried. Turns out these were little boys under the age of 12. He said they would come out swinging, and the guards would just wrap them up in a kind of a hug. The guards were never hurt, but they had to have the boys charged with assault so that they would understand the consequences of their actions.

And I think, in a way, God laughs at the puny efforts of the world leaders who conspire against him. Even joined together, the kings of this world are no match for the King that God installs on his holy mountain, on Zion. And ultimately, those kings will understand the consequences of their rebellion.

So who is the king that God installs on Zion? That becomes clear in v7. The Psalmist says:

7 I will proclaim the Lords decree: He said to me, You are my son;

today I have become your father. 8 Ask me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron;

you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Historically, King David was the first great King over Israel. (Technically he was the second after King Saul, but Saul turned out to be kind of a dud.) But when David was King, God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan, and he made an incredible promise to David that sounds a lot like the worlds above. God promised David that his offspring would be on the throne of Gods

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kingdom forever, that they would be Gods sons, and that he would be their father. Sounds a lot like Psalm 2.

But historically, Davids offspring were not great kings. They didnt make the nations their inheritance instead in the centuries before Jesus birth, they were conquered and spread out to the ends of the earth. The Assyrians, and Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and eventually the Romans subjugated Gods people. And they must have wondered, how was the prophecy of Psalm 2 being fulfilled?

Until the Messiah was born... The anointed one Gods people had been waiting on for centuries. Jesus. Thats why it was so significant at Jesus baptism, that the voice of the Father would be heard saying:

This is my Son, whom I love... (Matthew 3:17)

And in that same ceremony, Jesus was anointed, not by a human prophet, but instead by the Holy Spirit which descended on him like a dove, confirming Gods choice of his holy and anointed King. I imagine this Psalm was the Psalm that soundtrack that was playing in Jesus mind on that day. And probably in the minds of his disciples, too.

Which is why it must have been so shocking for the disciple to see Jesus crucified. The gospels are very clear about the conspiracy of the religious leaders and the Roman governor to have Jesus killed. It must have looked like all was lost, and that God wasnt in control, that his anointed was unable to match the power of the kings of this world. The cross looks like the defeat of God.

But do you remember the last two words of v1? In vain...

Any attempt to rebel against God is ultimately in vain. You can try, but it is laughable to God. For all their ability to terrify us, the powers of this world are puny and pathetic and pitiful before the sovereign rule of God.

Not even death can stop God.

And he showed that when Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day.

And from that day to this, Jesus has been expanding his kingdom to the ends of the earth, making the nations his inheritance.1

1 Echoes of Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19

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And the Bible tells us that one day Jesus will return. In power, in the guise of a king. And the Bible says that on that day many of the people of this world will rise up and band together to take on the Lord and his Anointed.2

But their efforts will be in vain. Their power will be removed. They will be destroyed. And Jesus will establish his throne forever and ever.

You see, Psalm 2 finds its ultimate fulfilment at a time that is yet to come.

And thats a good thing, because it means we can decide which side of history we want to end up on.

3. Decision

Which brings us to the final stanza and our third big idea decision. The Psalm ends with a decision that each of us needs to make (v10):

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fearand celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angryand your way will lead to your destruction,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:10-12)

Verse 10 teaches us to be wise, and to be warned. Because rebellion against God is not just for world leaders. It is an attitude that goes right back to our first parents, to Adam and Eve.

Each of us needs to decide who will be sovereign in our life. Will we serve the Lord (v11), or will we serve our own interests? Will we celebrate his rule, or will we celebrate our own independence?

You see v12 reminds us what the destiny is for everyone who does not honor the Son.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angryand your way will lead to your destruction,

I agonized over what to say about Gods anger in this Psalm. It comes up in v5, and again here in v12, same with his wrath. I agonized because so many of us want to believe that God is this

2 Revelation 19:11-21

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loving grandfather figure who would never get angry with anyone. Or a labrador who just wags his tail and loves everyone.

But the problem with a God like is that heaven would be just like the earth is now a place full of tyrants and rulers who conspire and plot and do whatever they want and get away with murder. And I dont want to go to a heaven like that it would be anarchy, literally. And God wouldnt be a good God, because he would allow injustice to continue.

And so the anger of God that the Bible speaks about is not capricious, or vindictive, or disproportionate. It is Gods measured and justifiable response to everything that would ruin the kingdom he is building.

And even though the passage warns us in v12 that Gods wrath might flare up in a moment, the reality is that God has yet to enact his final judgment. He has been patient for more than 2000 years, giving people time to wise up and be warned. Giving his church time to take the hope of Jesus to the ends of the earth, so that many might be saved. Its what were doing here at Yountville Community Church pleading with people to kiss Gods son, to honor Jesus and to find life in him.

Because thats how the Psalm ends.Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)

A life with Jesus is a life of blessing. Not a life of being shackles and chains. Actually its a life where we find true freedom. But thats a sermon for another Psalm...

Shall we pray?

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