Attwood, Michael: N-Workers Conference 2000-05 ~ Wednesday Bible Study

Second Psalm, Psalm two. I'd like to read the Psalm first, and then trust the Lord will give us some understanding of it. It says, Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way. When his wrath is kindled but a little, blessed are all they that put their trust in him. The Lord will bless that reading to us. A couple of suggested titles for this psalm, uh, not original to me, that I've read in various commentaries. One is the answer of the Holy Trinity to the anarchy of man. I really like that title, and as we go through it, you'll see how it fits very clearly what this psalm is all about. The answer of the Holy Trinity to the anarchy of man. Another suggestion is When God Laughs. A good title, it sums up what it's all about. It's one of the messianic psalms that speak to us, as we read yesterday in Luke twenty four and verse forty four, concerning the Lord Jesus. And there are many of these messianic psalms, and sometimes the question is asked, well, how do you know if it is messianic or not? And so often, the reason you know it's messianic is because the New Testament writers tell us it's about the Lord Jesus. Uh, this psalm is an example of that, mentioned seven times in the New Testament, uh, by the New Testament writers referring it directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. That does not apply to all of the Messianic Psalms. There are some that are clearly Messianic, but the New Testament writers don't mention them in that light. Uh, one of them is Psalm twenty four, uh, the Psalm of the King of Glory. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts. Clearly speaking of none other than our Lord Jesus. Psalm seventy two speaks about the extent and the wonder of his millennial reign, very clearly messianic. And Psalm eighty nine speaks about the fact that the Davidic covenant will ultimately be fulfilled in none other than that blessed person, the Lord Jesus. As we think of this Psalm, let's just think of it in its connection with Psalm one. Remember, we said that Psalm one begins with the beatitude, blessed is the man, and Psalm two ends with one, blessed are all they that put their trust in him, and so there's a little connection there. Psalm one deals with this perfect man, the man that doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly and stand in the way of sinners, and it's the obedience of this perfect man that fits him to be the powerful king in Psalm two. Uh, we read that, don't we, in the book of Philippians, that that one that was obedient totally to the Father's will, even to the death of the cross, that because of his obedience, it says that God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. But when's that going to happen? Psalm two tells us that man, with all his rebellion and all his anarchy and his, his statement, we will not have this man to reign over us, ultimately will bow the knee to the Lord Jesus. His obedience in Psalm one qualifies him to be that powerful king in Psalm two. Now, as we look at Psalm two more specifically, just mention a few general things. Again, I mentioned that it's, it's referred to seven times in the New Testament. It's mentioned in Acts chapter four as the Apostle Peter uses that psalm to speak of the Lord Jesus. It's mentioned in Acts thirteen as the Apostle Paul uses that psalm and again refers it to the Lord Jesus. It's mentioned in Hebrews one and Hebrews five. by the writer to that, that, to the Hebrews. And then in Revelation, the Apostle John in chapter two twenty seven, chapter twelve verse five, and chapter nineteen verse fifteen again refers this psalm to the Lord Jesus. And what is, what strikes you as you think about that is, here are some of the key individuals in our New Testament, Paul, Peter, John, and they are excited about this psalm, and they use it in their preaching, and they want us to know that this psalm speaks of no one else but the Lord Jesus. Very, very significant that these men would write so clearly in applying this psalm to him. So what is it all about? Well, there are four main speakers that are found in this psalm. The psalm is twelve verses long, and it divides up into four stanzas. Each stanza is three verses long, and each one has a different speaker. The first three verses, uh, in stanza one is the people speaking. And what is their message? It's a message of rejection. Uh, let's come together, let's, uh, let's set ourselves against the Lord and against his anointed. We don't want them. We will not have this man to reign over us. It's a message of rejection. The people speak. And then in verses four through six, the second stanza, the Father speaks, and his message is very clear. It's a message of return. If, if the first section is one of rejection, the second one is a message of return. This one that you have rejected, he says, yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion. You didn't want him, but he's going to reign. You said we won't have him to reign, he will reign from that holy hill of Zion. And so the Father speaks, and his voice is very authoritative in that section. And then in verse seven through nine, the Son speaks, and he tells us about this eternal decree that gave him the right to reign, that the Father said, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and then he said to him, ask of me, and I'll give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, the innermost parts of the earth for thy possession. And so clearly, the Son speaks and tells us that he has the right to reign. And then finally, we have the Spirit speaking in the final stanza, verses ten through twelve. And as the Spirit speaks, this is a message of remonstrance. It's an evangelistic appeal, if you like. And what he does is he appeals to the kings of the earth, and he says, wise up in the light of the fact that you may have rejected him and say we don't want him to reign. The fact is that the Father says he will reign, and you better get used to that idea. And if I were in your shoes, you know what I would do? I'd kiss the Son. I'd give my allegiance undividedly to the Son. If you've got any sense, you'll do it. That's what he's saying. It's the Spirit of God remonstrating with the people to acknowledge the right of the Lord Jesus to reign. Well, let's look at the, the sections one by one, but, uh, just one other thought that might mention to you is that in each of these stanzas, there is a messianic title. In the first stanza, in verse two, it, it refers to the Lord Jesus as his anointed, and of course, the term anointed, uh, does refer to, uh, the right to reign. Remember when, uh, David was anointed as king, how Samuel sought him out, and he anointed him, set him apart, marking him out, that he would be the one that the Spirit of God would come upon, and he would have the right to reign. The second stanza, verse six, speaks of my king, again, a messianic title. Third stanza, verse seven, my son. Uh, the title of the son is a messianic title. And then finally, verse eleven in the final stanza says, serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling. The term the Lord, again, is a messianic title. Well, let's look at the first section, this section that deals with the, the rejection of the people, the voice of rebellion. Why do the heathen rage, the people imagine a vain thing? Turn with me to Acts chapter four. I want to show you how Peter applies this and tells us who is this speaking about? Who are the heathen that are raging? Who are the people that are imagining a vain thing? Who are the kings of the earth that set themselves? And the rulers, who are the rulers that take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed? Peter tells us in Acts chapter four verse twenty seven and twenty eight, he kind of fills in the principal actors in this psalm, and he says, for of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed. It's clear who the anointed is. It's the Lord Jesus. And then he says, both Herod. Well, Herod was one of the kings of the earth, wasn't he? And then it says, and Pontius Pilate. Well, he's one of the rulers. And then he says, and the Gentiles, the Romans that were there at the crucifixion, they're the heathen that are raging. And then he says, and the people of Israel, they're the people that is referred to in this psalm that are imagining a vain thing. So here are the principal actors, and it's ironic that these principal actors were really not really friends with each other, but in their animosity to the Lord and his anointed, they came together in unison. You see, Herod was really no friend of Pontius Pilate. He wanted to reign over Judea without the interference of Rome. He didn't want to be a puppet king, he wanted to be the king. But of course, he was ultimately answerable, wasn't he, to Pontius Pilate. And so there was no love between them. But you know, the amazing thing is, in their animosity towards the Lord Jesus, those that were previously enemies became friends. They were united in their common hostility to our blessed Savior, to the Lord and his anointed. You think of the, the, the Gentiles and the Jews. Again, there's, there's deep hatred there. We read about that, don't we, in Ephesians two, The amazing thing God has done in the church in bringing Jews and Gentiles together. It's just incredible because, you see, the Jews viewed the Gentiles as dogs, goyim. These Gentile dogs, it was not meant to be a compliment. The uncircumcised. And yet, in their animosity to the Lord Jesus, the Romans and the Jews came together, didn't they? They found common ground in their hatred of the same Lord Jesus, his anointed. Well, do we think that that animosity towards the Lord and his anointed ended at Calvary? No, in fact, Peter, as he writes in Acts chapter four, has just experienced firsthand that animosity. He's been arrested and beaten and warned not to preach anymore in what name? That name, his anointed. And so that animosity continues, and it continues right to the book of Revelation, where this psalm is quoted on three different occasions, and every occasion it's speaking again of that common animosity of the world to the Lord and his anointed. It did not end at Calvary. There is that hatred. Now, why is it that they hate the Lord and his anointed? Why would they hate them? Why would they say, we don't want this man to reign over us? What is it that's behind that, that motivation? Uh, why, why would they take time to set themselves and take counsel together in their common hatred? Well, I believe verse three gives us the answer. It says, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. Two key words here, bands and cords. I like to memorize scripture, and I like to use three by five cards. I'm not quite technologically up to things as far as computers are concerned, so I'm still use a lot of antiquated methods, and I like three by five cards and writing memory verses, and I get a kind of stack after a while, and I use a band to hold it all together. And the idea of bands is, is holding things together. Same as cords. Remember, during the time when Samson was wreaking havoc amongst the Philistines, and one of the things that Delilah said was, well, h- how can we restrain your power? What, what is it that, that makes you so powerful? And he said, well, i- if you wrap me in withen cords, I'd be as weak as any man. Of course, he was not telling the truth, but the idea of cords is that, again, which binds up. And so what does it mean? Let's break their bands asunder, let's cast away their cords from us. The reason they hate the Lord and they hate his anointed is that God and Christ bring restraint in the way we live. And these people hate the Lord and hate his anointed because they want to live lives of unrestrained passion. And God is a big spoil spot when it comes to living lives of unrestrained passion. You see, you can't do that if there's a God in heaven who ultimately we're accountable to. You just can't live the way you want. Why is evolution so popular when scientifically it is such a weak theory? Because you know why it's popular? Because, you see, if I'm just the product of a series of accidents, and really I'm just a, a kind of souped up animal, then it's okay to live like an animal. But when I'm a direct creation of a supreme being, there comes accountability with it. I've got to answer to the one that made me and that gave me life, and so if I can get rid of him, I want to get rid of him so that I can live a life of unbridled passion. And that's the idea. This is why they hate the Lord and his Christ. It's so that they can live the way they want. They can live lives of unrestrained passion. Just turn with me for a moment to Psalm fourteen. I want to just, uh, make a statement here that I have become increasingly convinced of over the years, and that is that atheism is not based on intellectualism, but it's based on immorality. Psalm fourteen verse one says this, the fool have said in his heart, no God. Why, why did the fool say in his heart, no God? Well, it tells us they are corrupt. They have done abominable. There's none that doeth good. Why would I want to say no God? It's because I want to live a life of sin, and God spoils it all for me. I can't do what I want to do whenever he's there. And so if I can get rid of him. I remember hearing Josh McDowell, who's an apologist, some of you will have heard of him, talking about going around the university campuses of this world and, and debating anybody that would debate him about the evidences for Christianity. And it was amazing, he said they would throw up a red herring, what about this? And he'd answer it, and then they'd throw up another one, and he'd answer that, and they'd throw up another, and he'd answer that. And they kept on throwing up these objections, and eventually he said, now let me ask you a question. Is there any immorality in your life? And the person had looked at him and said, how did you know that? And the reason he knows that is because, you see, every time he answers a question that deals with their doubts, they come up with another one, because they don't want the answer to be that there is a God in heaven, that there is a Lord Jesus Christ who came here and lived here and died on the cross and rose from the grave, and the evidence is overwhelming, and they don't want that, because it's going to change the way they live. It's going to cramp their style. Remember, we read in second Thessalonians that there's coming a time when the restrainer will be removed. That's what this world wants, you see. Wherever there are Christians around, we're spoiling the party. They can't just go and murder their babies and live with other men, men with men and women with women, wherever we're around, because we spoil it all for them. And so when the church is removed, the Spirit of God living within us, that restraint will be removed from this world, and literally man's passions will be unleashed like never before. We see it, don't we, in our society at every level. We see it starting in infancy, no restraint. When we were in Ireland, there was a, there was a campaign on billboards all across the country, and it said this: It's a crime to punish a child. A crime to punish a child. You know what? It's a crime not to punish a child when that child is disobedient. That's child abuse, uh, and you see it increasingly. You go to a, a shopping mall in Ireland, and there'll be kids there, can't get what they want. You know, Dad, I want this. No, you can't have it. And so the kid throws himself on the floor, kicks dust up in the air, and just screams, and the father's bright, he don't know what to do with himself. But he knows he can't touch him because he'll be arrested. No restraint starts in infancy, and it just continues, isn't it, through our society. I read an article recently about the AIDS crisis in Africa, and all these plans and policies and throwing money at the AIDS crisis, and you know there's a simple solution to the AIDS crisis. It's called restraint. It's called a man marrying one wife and making vows and staying with that woman for his whole life. That'll solve it. But you know, they won't allow that. That's not part of their answer. You know why? Because it requires restraint. You see it in the school system, don't you? There's no restraint in the classroom anymore. Teachers, I, I pray for teachers, I feel for teachers because their, it's, their hands are tied. They got these kids, they have no interest in learning, and, and they want to disrupt every single day, and the teacher is no restraint, no restraint in the system. And it's moving to the legal system in this country, isn't it? This desire to get rid of capital punishment. Why do they want to do it? Removing restraint. And I believe ultimately they'll succeed. Ultimately, at every level of society, they will remove restraint, and there'll be only one restraint left, and that is there is a God in heaven, and there are those that believe in the Lord Jesus. And the ultimate answer will be we've got to get rid of them too. Let's just silence them, and then we can live lives of unbridled passion and do exactly what we want to do. Now, how does God feel about that? I mean, how is he affected by it? As Christians, we look around and we see these things, and we get really bent out of shape, don't we? Well, I want to remind you that God's not bent out of shape by it. Now, he's... I'm sure his heart is broken to see the creation that he has made living in such unbridled passion, but their threats to overthrow him and his anointed don't faze him a bit, because he says here, he that sits in the he- heavens, what's he gonna do? He's laughing. I- it's like man with all his intelligence and all his technology, and here he's got this great idea. I'm going to get rid of God, and God looks and just laughs. Oh, foolish man, you think you're going to get rid of me? Think again. It's not going to happen. John Lennon, who was the, one of the songwriters from the group called The Beatles, I remember this because I used to listen to them before I was saved, but he penned one song, he says, imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. Imagine all the people living life as one. You know what his basic thesis is this? If we can get rid of God in heaven, then the world can live together in unity, a world of unison without God. And that's their ultimate objective. That's what they want. One world, the the the fatherhood of God. Get rid of it all. Get rid of all that stuff. Let's just have ourselves together without him. They want to throw him off. But God, the one that sits in the heavens, it says, shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then in verse five, it says, shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. One of the things that disturbs me somewhat is that although I daily bask in the thought that God is a God of love, and I've never gotten over the fact that God could love someone like me. It just amazes me. He actually loves me. He gave the best of heaven, his son, for the worst of earth. I've never gotten over that. But as well as being a God of love, God is a God of wrath. And we don't hear that from our pulpits like we ought to. We need balance. We need to preach the love of God, but we also need to preach the wrath of God. That God is the God of wrath, that, that the wrath of God, as it says in Romans one eighteen, is being continuously revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of man. That God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 7, verse 11. God is a God of wrath, and how we need to remind people of that, that you cannot live as you please and get away with it. There are consequences to sin. God is a God of wrath, and he will deal with sin. We need to preach that message, but when ultimately will this be displayed? Well, it is being displayed on an ongoing basis. I have no question in my mind that AIDS is a manifestation of the wrath of God. It seems like every time they fix some venereal disease, another one comes out. God's wrath is continually being revealed from heaven. But you know that wrath of our God is going to reach a climax. And as we look at Revelation, just for a moment, please, in chapter six and verse seventeen, we're going to realize that there's coming a climax of God's wrath, and it's going to build up to a climax that's going to have a powerful effect on mankind. And it says in Revelation six and verse seventeen, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? All the big shots of earth will suddenly realize that they're not as big as they thought, that there is a God in heaven who laughs at their claims and laughs at their proud boasts, who ultimately will pour out his wrath on the human race that says we don't want the Lord and we don't want his anointed. If you won't respond to the anointed one, the grace of God displayed in the Lord Jesus, the al- the alternative is to face the wrath of God, and that wrath will be poured out. But then he makes a statement in verse six, and what a beautiful statement it is. I want you to notice the tense of it. He says, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. He's writing about the reign of the Lord Jesus on Zion's hill as if it's already happened. Because it's so certain, despite the fact that people say we will not have this man to reign over us, the certainty of his reign is so real that God writes about it as if it's already happened. He will reign. And you know, isn't it wonderful that the place where he will reign is described here, that holy hill of Zion? Remember how David took Zion's hill from the Z- uh, Jebusites? It's speaking of Jerusalem. It's speaking of that very place where he was rejected, where they said, take him outside the city walls, we don't want this man to reign over us, and they crucified him outside the city. In that very place, the very scene of his rejection will be the scene of his vindication. And isn't that wonderful? I just, I long for the day when my Savior, the Lord Jesus, will be vindicated on this planet. When people who have mocked his name and said that he, he he's that apostate, or whatever they say about him, will have to eat their words. And when every knee will bow, and when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. What a day that's going to be. We ought to have the hallelujah chorus going because it's going to happen! And I believe it's going to happen soon. He's going to reign. What a thrill it is. And God says, despite your claims, despite your boasts, despite your claims that we will not have this man, I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. No answer to that, is there? God's gonna do it. And that day will come that the prayer that many have prayed, many unbelievers have prayed that prayer, but they say this, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That day will happen. God's will will be done on this earth. Well, how does he have the right to reign? Verses seven through nine, He talks about the decree. I will declare the decree the Lord has said unto me. His right to reign is based on an eternal decree made in the councils of eternity, that God has said to him, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Now, what does that mean? It's a difficult verse, it really is. There's been a lot of men got themselves into a lot of trouble over this verse. See, it talks about a day, uh, this day have I begotten thee, and of course there were so many momentous days in the history of the Son of God, weren't they? And so some have thought, well, what about the incana- incarnation? Was that the day that this is referring to? And of course, some very prominent Bible teachers in our day did teach that, the incarnational sonship of the Lord Jesus. I'm glad to note that one prominent teacher has since changed his mind on that and has re- re- reversed his decision. Because the thing is that Christ was eternally the Son. Because if you remove the eternal sonship of Christ, you have a problem with the eternal fatherhood of God, don't you? It's a big issue. It's not just kind of a minor point, it's a serious point. He was eternally the Son. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. He was eternally the Son. And when he came down to this earth, it's interesting that his claim was that he was the Son. And because he claimed to be the Son, the Jews knew what he was saying. And they said he's claiming to be equal with God. And they picked up stones to stone him. And the real reason that he was crucified was for blasphemy, because he claimed he was the Son. The eternal Son of God. Now turn to Acts thirteen, please, for a moment. Let's see Paul using this... psalm in his message in the, the synagogue in Antioch Pisidion. He's speaking to Jews, and he's reasoning them from, uh, with them from their scriptures. And he says in verse thirty three and thirty four, he says, God has fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and as concerning that he raised him from the dead. Now no more to return to corruption. He said, on this wise I will give you the sure mercies of David. What the apostle is, is saying is, I believe that the Lord Jesus was the eternal Son of God, but this day that he refers to here, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, is referring to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And in what sense is it being referred to as the resurrection? Well, it's interesting that he links here this concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption. He said, on this wise I will give you the sure mercies of David. One of the promises that were made, was made to David that he would always have a descendant that would sit upon his throne. And as you examine the genealogies, it really comes down to only one person that has the right to reign on David's throne. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. There's nobody else that qualifies. No one else in the whole of the genio- genealogical framework of Israel qualifies to sit on the throne of David, except the Lord Jesus. So what did they do with him? Well, and here's a promise that David will always have a descendant, and they took that descendant and they nailed him to a cross. That's a problem, isn't it? But that problem was overcome, wasn't it? Because God raised him from the dead, no more say corruption. And so now here's one that's going to sit on David's throne, and he's never going to have an ending. And so in what way then does this refer to Psalm two, the resurrection, referring to thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? Just turn to Romans chapter one for a moment, please, and verses three and four. It says... Now, let me just read from verse one. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated into the gospel of God, which he had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. Listen to verse four: and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Let's just put these thoughts together. He came to this earth, and he always made the claim, never backed down from it. I am the eternal Son of God. They hated that claim, and as a result of that claim, they took him and they nailed him to the cross, accusing him of blasphemy. God vindicated every claim that he ever made when he rose in from the grave. He made a declaration when Christ came out from that grave in resurrection, he made a declaration. This, this is my son, this day have I begotten him. This, this is the Son of God. You thought he was an imposter. He really is the son of God. The resurrection vindicates every claim he ever made. And so, as we think of it, and you say, well, why does he use the term begotten? Often, when I think of the term begotten, I think in terms of Genesis five. so and so begot so and so, and we think of in terms of childbirth. And in a very real sense, there's a thought that I, I read and I just thought was very interesting, that when the Lord Jesus was born on this earth, that he was born and came forth from a virgin's womb, didn't he? And then, interestingly enough, they buried him in a tomb in which no man had ever yet laid. You could say it was a virgin tomb. Nobody had ever laid there before, and it's, it's just almost like birth. Here he is in this tomb, and all of a sudden he comes forth, doesn't he, in resurrection power, begotten from the virgin tomb. What we're saying is that this eternal decree was made to the Lord Jesus. Thou art my son. This day, I believe speaking of the resurrection, have I begotten thee, have I brought thee forth, vindicated all thy claims. And then he says, as a result of this, that the fact is that he is the son, and that it's been proved without shadow of doubt that he is the son. Then he says this, ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. All the son has to do, because being the son, he's the heir of all things now, isn't he? All he has to do is ask one thing. I want the uttermost parts of the earth. I want the heathen for my inheritance. Now, he hasn't asked yet, has he? Obviously, he hasn't because the earth would be his inheritance right now. He's not asked that, but he's gonna ask it. Just turn with me to Revelation five for a moment. Passage that we love to refer to in our remembrance meetings, and a tremendous passage, but one of the, the, the key thoughts in this passage is about a, a scroll. Who is worthy, verse two, to open the book, more literally the scroll, and to loose the seals thereof? May I suggest to you that the scroll that's been spoken of here is actually the title deeds to planet Earth. If you would look back in the book of Jeremiah, you might find that in there Jeremiah bought some land, and it was on a scroll sealed with seven seals. It was a land document. And this is what this is about. The Lord Jesus here in Revelation five is asking the Lord for this inheritance, for the heathen to be his inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth to be his possession. And so as a result of him being worthy to open the scroll, we read that it tells us in verse ten, as a result of that, it says, uh, speaking of those, uh, well, let me read from verse nine. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and listen, and we shall reign, where? On the earth. Now, why do they say that? Because he's just asked for the title deeds to planet Earth, and they're going to reign with him there on that planet. There's only one little problem to deal with, isn't there? Because there are also people still living on planet Earth. Revelation calls them the earth dwellers, and they still don't want this man to reign over them. And so we have a little problem. There are squatters there on his territory. And so the rest of the book of Revelation six through nineteen is God going to sweep away those that are squatting so that he will be able to reign on this planet. And to me, that's the whole message of this book, that that he will reign, that there are those that are here that say we don't want him to reign, and he's going to deal with them in Revelation six through nineteen. And then he will take up his reign, and he will reign gloriously on the earth. Interesting thing is that there is a usurper on the throne right now, and it reminds us so much, doesn't it, of the time when David was anointed king, but there was a usurper on the throne. Saul was there. He didn't want to give up his throne. And so for a time there, there's David in that cave, and it says that all that were distressed and all those that were in debt, they gathered to themselves to their David because they realized he was the one who had the right to reign. And so during this period, they, they gathered him, they were loyal to him in the period of his rejection. But the day came when David did reign, and those that were loyal to him in the period of his rejection were those that reigned with him in the period of his vindication. And I believe that's where we're at today, brethren. We're at the time where people are still saying we will not have this man to reign over us. But we recognize that he's got the right to reign, don't we? We realize that he's the rightful king, the only rightful king to sit on the throne of David. And we believe that, and we're gathered to him. We recognized our distress and our de- debt, and we went and gathered ourselves to him. He's our gathering center. And so our loyalty is first and foremost to him in this period of his rejection. But beloved, there's a coming day when he'll be vindicated. And in that day, those that have shown loyalty to him will also reign with him. That's coming, and it's coming soon. Well, as we come to the concluding se- section in verses ten through twelve, the Spirit of God now gives some advice, and what tremendous advice it is. He says, be wise now, therefore. What is the therefore there for? In the light of everything that's gone before, in the light of your bold, audacious claims that you don't want that man to reign over you, I'm going to tell you something, that he will reign. And if you've got any sense, if you've got any gray matter left up there, this is what you'll do. You will kiss the sun. You'll give your undivided, undisputed allegiance to the sun. You know, that's the way that people showed their allegiance to a new monarch. They might kiss their hand or kiss them on the cheek, but what they're doing is they're saying, we, we recognize that, that you're the rightful king. Isn't it ironic that when Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus, what did he do? He betrayed him with a kiss, a sign of allegiance, a sign of owning his right to reign, and he took that sign of allegiance and turned it into an act of betrayal. That's the tragedy of it. You know, the beautiful thing is this. As we heard so eloquently put yesterday, there's a great need in the hour in which we live, because this day when he will reign is going to be very soon. Days and time is running out, and there are many out there that still have this mindset. We don't want this man to reign over us, and we've got a message to take to them. Kiss the sun. Give your allegiance to him. Will you not bow the knee to the Lord Jesus? One day you're going to have to. It'll be compulsory then, but now it's voluntary. Why don't you accept Christ? That's our message, isn't it? In the time of his rejection, we've got to be heralds, messengers. Tell them that he's coming, he's coming soon, and that if I were you, I'd be sensible. Despite all man's boast and all man's arrogance, God says, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Then he goes on and he says this, the end of verse twelve: Kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Then he says this, blessed, how incredibly happy are all they that put their trust in him. Isn't it a wonderful thing this morning to be in a gathering of believers that have already given their allegiance? They've already, as it were, put their colors to the master and said, yes, I believe he's the one that's the rightful king. I want to give my allegiance to him undisputedly, because there's nobody else quite like him. He's won our hearts with love, hasn't he? He- he's won our hearts by going to that cross at Calvary and demonstrating love to us in such a real way. But in this time when he's rejected, he's our gathering center, and we have a responsibility to go out to others and tell them they need to bow the knee. May the Lord encourage us by these thoughts. Things around us look bleak. It seems that there's a breakdown of restraint on every side, but there's coming a day of glorious rule when he will rule with a rod of iron, when there will be no more of this nonsense of, uh, trying to throw off restraint, when there'll be perfect government. It won't be in November that perfect government comes in, but it is coming. Let's pray. Our Father, we're so thankful for thy precious word. We're so thankful that as we look around us, we see much that concerns us. We see rebellion on every side. We see breakdown in our society. There's this sense of not wanting any restraint on man's unbridled passions. Dear Father, we're so thankful for the reminder that as you see these things, you're not intimidated at all. That he that sits in the heavens shall laugh. And then we're thankful, Father, for the promises that you've made. Yet have I set my king on my holy hill of Zion. We're so thankful that our Lord Jesus, despised and rejected by men, called so many horrendous names, will one day be vindicated in the very scene of his rejection, that he will sit on the throne of his father David, and that there's a coming day when every single knee on this planet will bow down, and every single tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.