1 00:00:04,740 --> 00:00:07,160 We'll take a break for a few weeks 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:08,680 from our study of the Sermon on the 3 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:13,240 Mount and go wherever the Lord takes us. 4 00:00:14,780 --> 00:00:16,940 And I wanted us to go to Psalm 5 00:00:16,940 --> 00:00:19,260 2 today. 6 00:00:24,470 --> 00:00:26,870 And the name of this sermon, if you 7 00:00:26,870 --> 00:00:31,910 like, is Raging World, Laughing God. 8 00:00:33,890 --> 00:00:37,490 Raging World, Laughing God. 9 00:00:42,750 --> 00:00:45,870 If my journal entries are right, we've read 10 00:00:45,870 --> 00:00:48,430 this Psalm four times in the last two 11 00:00:48,430 --> 00:00:50,210 years in our prayer meetings. 12 00:00:52,250 --> 00:00:54,970 And it tends to come up in my 13 00:00:54,970 --> 00:00:58,290 heart when news events get difficult. 14 00:00:59,610 --> 00:01:02,410 And I believe that's the right use for 15 00:01:02,410 --> 00:01:03,489 Psalm number two. 16 00:01:04,630 --> 00:01:07,370 When you see the world raging, when you 17 00:01:07,370 --> 00:01:10,430 see things going on that hurt your heart 18 00:01:10,430 --> 00:01:13,930 in the world, you should turn to Psalm 19 00:01:13,930 --> 00:01:18,710 2 and seek to see everything that's happening 20 00:01:18,710 --> 00:01:20,750 in our world through the lens of this 21 00:01:20,750 --> 00:01:21,090 Psalm. 22 00:01:23,230 --> 00:01:25,690 We have a great need for this Psalm. 23 00:01:26,910 --> 00:01:29,410 This last week we had that horrific shooting 24 00:01:29,410 --> 00:01:30,150 in Nashville. 25 00:01:30,890 --> 00:01:31,510 Horrific. 26 00:01:32,170 --> 00:01:32,650 Horrific. 27 00:01:33,810 --> 00:01:36,110 A few weeks ago we had the Asbury 28 00:01:36,110 --> 00:01:36,750 Revival. 29 00:01:38,450 --> 00:01:41,570 Yesterday there was purportedly this trans day of 30 00:01:41,570 --> 00:01:41,970 vengeance. 31 00:01:43,090 --> 00:01:45,250 There are very weird things going on in 32 00:01:45,250 --> 00:01:48,210 our world, and we see people raging against 33 00:01:48,210 --> 00:01:51,930 God daily, daily in our world. 34 00:01:53,210 --> 00:01:56,030 The three sections of this Psalm, if you 35 00:01:56,030 --> 00:01:57,170 like, would be this. 36 00:01:57,290 --> 00:02:01,650 A Raging World, a Laughing God, and a 37 00:02:01,650 --> 00:02:02,430 Kissing Church. 38 00:02:03,110 --> 00:02:04,650 But we're not going to get to all 39 00:02:04,650 --> 00:02:05,630 of the Psalm today. 40 00:02:06,630 --> 00:02:10,330 But think about those three sections with me 41 00:02:10,330 --> 00:02:12,330 for a second, and how vital it is 42 00:02:12,330 --> 00:02:15,310 that we refresh our mind with those ideas. 43 00:02:16,230 --> 00:02:17,390 The world is raging. 44 00:02:18,690 --> 00:02:20,470 God looks at it and laughs. 45 00:02:21,650 --> 00:02:24,470 And thirdly, His church kisses. 46 00:02:25,290 --> 00:02:26,710 We kiss the Christ. 47 00:02:27,730 --> 00:02:29,390 And those are the three things we want 48 00:02:29,390 --> 00:02:30,170 to see going on. 49 00:02:30,170 --> 00:02:32,170 When you see something in the news that 50 00:02:32,170 --> 00:02:34,890 hurts your heart, you want to go back 51 00:02:34,890 --> 00:02:36,530 to this Psalm and say, okay, the world 52 00:02:36,530 --> 00:02:39,990 is raging, but God is laughing at that, 53 00:02:40,270 --> 00:02:43,490 and we are called to kiss the Son. 54 00:02:45,390 --> 00:02:47,010 Those are the stakes of Psalm 2. 55 00:02:47,130 --> 00:02:49,010 We might be in it for a week 56 00:02:49,010 --> 00:02:50,410 or two or three, I'm not sure. 57 00:02:50,870 --> 00:02:52,870 But let's read this incredible Psalm. 58 00:02:55,420 --> 00:02:59,740 Why do the heathen rage, and the people 59 00:02:59,740 --> 00:03:02,060 imagine a vain thing? 60 00:03:04,410 --> 00:03:07,870 The kings of the earth set themselves, and 61 00:03:07,870 --> 00:03:12,570 the rulers take counsel together against the Lord 62 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:18,590 and against His anointed, saying, let us break 63 00:03:18,590 --> 00:03:22,010 their bands asunder and cast away their cords 64 00:03:22,010 --> 00:03:22,990 from us. 65 00:03:24,230 --> 00:03:28,270 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. 66 00:03:29,530 --> 00:03:31,510 The Lord shall have them in derision. 67 00:03:32,770 --> 00:03:34,790 Then shall He speak unto them in His 68 00:03:34,790 --> 00:03:37,670 wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure. 69 00:03:39,690 --> 00:03:42,670 Yet have I set my king upon my 70 00:03:42,670 --> 00:03:44,250 holy hill of Zion. 71 00:03:44,890 --> 00:03:47,790 I will declare the decree the Lord hath 72 00:03:47,790 --> 00:03:50,710 said unto me, thou art my son, this 73 00:03:50,710 --> 00:03:52,650 day have I begotten thee. 74 00:03:53,330 --> 00:03:56,070 Ask of me, and I shall give thee 75 00:03:56,070 --> 00:03:58,970 the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost 76 00:03:58,970 --> 00:04:01,090 parts of the earth for thy possession. 77 00:04:01,670 --> 00:04:03,910 Thou shalt break them with a rod of 78 00:04:03,910 --> 00:04:04,250 iron. 79 00:04:04,790 --> 00:04:07,250 Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a 80 00:04:07,250 --> 00:04:08,030 potter's vessel. 81 00:04:09,570 --> 00:04:12,490 Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings. 82 00:04:13,430 --> 00:04:15,870 Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 83 00:04:16,910 --> 00:04:20,550 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with 84 00:04:20,550 --> 00:04:21,089 trembling. 85 00:04:22,550 --> 00:04:26,810 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and 86 00:04:26,810 --> 00:04:28,930 ye perish from the way, when His wrath 87 00:04:28,930 --> 00:04:30,190 is kindled but a little. 88 00:04:31,650 --> 00:04:34,550 Blessed are all they that put their trust 89 00:04:34,550 --> 00:04:35,650 in Him. 90 00:04:37,050 --> 00:04:37,610 Amen. 91 00:04:39,970 --> 00:04:40,530 Amen. 92 00:04:41,610 --> 00:04:44,670 Lord Jesus, please show us Yourself from this 93 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:44,930 song. 94 00:04:45,950 --> 00:04:49,570 Please guide us, Lord, to consider every precious 95 00:04:49,570 --> 00:04:50,970 golden word of this song. 96 00:04:51,870 --> 00:04:54,730 Lord, please edify Your church through a study 97 00:04:54,730 --> 00:04:56,710 of this incredible song. 98 00:04:57,390 --> 00:04:59,670 And Lord, please get me out of the 99 00:04:59,670 --> 00:05:02,410 way, and let us hear from Jesus Christ 100 00:05:02,410 --> 00:05:04,830 Himself today, by Your Holy Spirit. 101 00:05:05,370 --> 00:05:08,050 Father, thank You that there's access to Your 102 00:05:08,050 --> 00:05:09,930 throne as we sit here today. 103 00:05:10,390 --> 00:05:11,630 And this is not vain. 104 00:05:11,970 --> 00:05:13,850 We're in an act of worship here, Lord, 105 00:05:13,890 --> 00:05:15,010 as we open Your word. 106 00:05:15,310 --> 00:05:17,890 We're in an act of worship, enlarging our 107 00:05:17,890 --> 00:05:20,590 hearts, Lord, enlarging our hearts to see how 108 00:05:20,590 --> 00:05:23,630 this world actually works, enlarging our hearts, Lord, 109 00:05:23,770 --> 00:05:25,850 to have wisdom to go on and to 110 00:05:25,850 --> 00:05:27,010 persevere as Christians. 111 00:05:27,770 --> 00:05:29,110 So we thank You, Lord. 112 00:05:29,730 --> 00:05:31,330 Please open up Your word to us. 113 00:05:32,010 --> 00:05:34,050 Help us be like Bereans, who don't just 114 00:05:34,050 --> 00:05:36,430 take what's said for granted, but who go 115 00:05:36,430 --> 00:05:39,390 home and seek to see if what's been 116 00:05:39,390 --> 00:05:41,650 preached is actually in Your word. 117 00:05:43,010 --> 00:05:45,110 Lord, help us to honor Your word today. 118 00:05:45,810 --> 00:05:47,910 Enlighten us and refresh us with Your word. 119 00:05:49,190 --> 00:05:52,030 In Christ's mighty name, we pray. 120 00:05:52,850 --> 00:05:53,310 Amen. 121 00:05:54,930 --> 00:05:55,650 Amen. 122 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:00,720 This psalm has three divisions. 123 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:02,300 You might want to mark them out in 124 00:06:02,300 --> 00:06:02,800 your Bibles. 125 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,940 The first one is verses 1, 2, and 126 00:06:05,940 --> 00:06:11,300 3, which present the problem, the problem of 127 00:06:11,300 --> 00:06:12,240 a raging world. 128 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,500 And then we have verses 4 through 9, 129 00:06:15,660 --> 00:06:20,980 which present God's response, God's response. 130 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,980 And then we have verses 10 through 12, 131 00:06:25,220 --> 00:06:28,260 which present our response. 132 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:30,780 So that's pretty simple, is it not? 133 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,660 The psalmist sets forth the problem, and then 134 00:06:35,660 --> 00:06:38,160 God himself reacts to that problem. 135 00:06:39,340 --> 00:06:41,880 And then finally, the psalmist tells us how 136 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,260 we should respond to that problem. 137 00:06:44,940 --> 00:06:46,940 I don't believe we're going to get all 138 00:06:46,940 --> 00:06:49,180 the way through this psalm today, but hopefully 139 00:06:49,180 --> 00:06:51,300 let's try to get through the first six 140 00:06:51,300 --> 00:06:52,340 verses or so. 141 00:06:53,420 --> 00:06:56,280 And again, my title for you today is 142 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:59,700 Raging World, Laughing God. 143 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,940 We see the raging world in verses 1 144 00:07:03,940 --> 00:07:06,880 through 3, and we see our laughing God 145 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:08,740 in verses 4 through 6. 146 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:11,040 Let's study this. 147 00:07:12,260 --> 00:07:14,740 And before I even give us those two 148 00:07:14,740 --> 00:07:17,900 points, let me just give you the application 149 00:07:17,900 --> 00:07:19,760 for this sermon right at the start. 150 00:07:20,340 --> 00:07:21,320 Here's our application. 151 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,120 View all of life through the lens of 152 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:26,060 this psalm. 153 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,700 View every difficult news event that comes up 154 00:07:29,700 --> 00:07:31,420 through the lens of this psalm. 155 00:07:32,220 --> 00:07:34,000 That's our application, okay? 156 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:37,140 When things come up, when you start to 157 00:07:37,140 --> 00:07:39,700 become confused about where the world is going, 158 00:07:39,700 --> 00:07:42,840 when you start to wonder what in the 159 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,140 world is happening on the streets right outside 160 00:07:45,140 --> 00:07:49,200 of our homes and apartments, go back to 161 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:49,680 psalm 2. 162 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:51,360 Let's train ourselves. 163 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:52,880 Go back to psalm 2. 164 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,280 Pray psalm 2. 165 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:55,640 Learn psalm 2. 166 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:56,760 Okay? 167 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,040 So that's the application. 168 00:07:58,240 --> 00:07:59,260 Very simple today. 169 00:07:59,660 --> 00:08:01,580 We look at all of the world through 170 00:08:01,580 --> 00:08:02,280 this lens. 171 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:07,020 Let's look first at the raging world, verses 172 00:08:07,020 --> 00:08:07,840 1 through 3. 173 00:08:10,610 --> 00:08:12,930 And we're going to go word for word 174 00:08:12,930 --> 00:08:14,710 and study this psalm together. 175 00:08:16,620 --> 00:08:17,600 Verse 1. 176 00:08:19,300 --> 00:08:23,420 Why do the heathen rage and the people 177 00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:25,560 imagine a vain thing? 178 00:08:26,700 --> 00:08:28,720 Is that not a good question, brethren? 179 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,240 Why do the heathen rage? 180 00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:35,380 The psalmist is asking a question that's on 181 00:08:35,380 --> 00:08:38,320 our minds almost, what, daily now? 182 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,720 Why do the people around us rage and 183 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,360 imagine a vain thing? 184 00:08:44,900 --> 00:08:46,480 You could sum it up this way. 185 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:48,480 What in the world is going on? 186 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,960 What in the world happened in Nashville? 187 00:08:51,100 --> 00:08:53,780 That was such a horrific tragedy. 188 00:08:54,340 --> 00:08:55,340 What was going on? 189 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:58,040 Why is the world raging? 190 00:08:58,980 --> 00:09:01,360 And that's the question of verse 1. 191 00:09:02,980 --> 00:09:04,600 Why do the heathen rage? 192 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:07,180 That first question is external, okay? 193 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,440 And the word that's used there is the 194 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,620 same word that's used for when a horse 195 00:09:12,620 --> 00:09:15,320 rears up and starts neighing, right? 196 00:09:15,580 --> 00:09:18,860 Gets on its hind legs and goes, whinnies 197 00:09:18,860 --> 00:09:20,160 and neighs like that. 198 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:21,980 That's the verb right here. 199 00:09:22,140 --> 00:09:25,640 Why are the heathen just neighing and going 200 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,400 crazy like a wild horse? 201 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:30,160 Is it not a good question? 202 00:09:31,820 --> 00:09:32,780 That's external. 203 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:34,280 So when you look at the first half 204 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:36,320 of this verse, you say, I can hear 205 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:36,580 them. 206 00:09:36,580 --> 00:09:38,800 I can see them on the streets. 207 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:40,700 I can hear them on news reports. 208 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,660 I see the people around me literally going 209 00:09:43,660 --> 00:09:46,400 crazy like a wild stallion, right? 210 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:47,560 We can hear it. 211 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:48,540 We can see it. 212 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:50,240 That's external. 213 00:09:50,940 --> 00:09:53,260 The second half of verse 1 is internal. 214 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:54,220 So look at it. 215 00:09:54,420 --> 00:09:56,880 And the people imagine a vain thing. 216 00:09:57,460 --> 00:09:59,380 So now he takes us not just into 217 00:09:59,380 --> 00:10:02,600 the news reports, but into people's minds. 218 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,560 And the psalmist tells us that deep in 219 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:08,580 their hearts, they're imagining emptiness. 220 00:10:09,660 --> 00:10:12,100 The literal word in verse 1 is that 221 00:10:12,100 --> 00:10:16,080 the people are meditating a vain thing. 222 00:10:16,580 --> 00:10:19,160 Go back to psalm number 1 and look 223 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:19,880 at verse 2. 224 00:10:20,060 --> 00:10:23,300 And it says, the godly man's delight is 225 00:10:23,300 --> 00:10:24,560 in the law of the Lord. 226 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,800 And in his law doth he meditate day 227 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:29,260 and night. 228 00:10:30,180 --> 00:10:34,840 Now you come to psalm 2 and these 229 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,920 people, the nations around us are also meditating. 230 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:40,980 But what are they meditating upon? 231 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:43,080 Upon emptiness. 232 00:10:43,820 --> 00:10:46,300 Literally, they're meditating emptiness. 233 00:10:47,540 --> 00:10:49,800 They're imagining a vain thing. 234 00:10:51,930 --> 00:10:52,610 Isn't that amazing? 235 00:10:53,330 --> 00:10:54,950 We see them on the outside. 236 00:10:55,150 --> 00:10:57,510 So now we're studying biblical psychology here. 237 00:10:57,510 --> 00:10:59,650 We see from the outside and we see 238 00:10:59,650 --> 00:11:00,810 people going insane. 239 00:11:01,770 --> 00:11:04,090 But here, the psalmist takes us into their 240 00:11:04,090 --> 00:11:06,130 hearts and we realize, what are they doing 241 00:11:06,130 --> 00:11:06,610 all the time? 242 00:11:06,710 --> 00:11:08,370 What are they thinking about all the time? 243 00:11:08,870 --> 00:11:13,290 Well, vanity, nothing, nothingness, emptiness. 244 00:11:14,930 --> 00:11:16,410 Do you all remember when you were in 245 00:11:16,410 --> 00:11:16,810 the world? 246 00:11:17,710 --> 00:11:21,910 Do you all remember meditating upon vanity? 247 00:11:22,770 --> 00:11:25,450 Just upon things that don't matter at all? 248 00:11:25,450 --> 00:11:29,310 I remember and I still go with lost 249 00:11:29,310 --> 00:11:32,470 family and extended family on vacations. 250 00:11:32,790 --> 00:11:36,110 And the central thing is always just food. 251 00:11:36,710 --> 00:11:37,810 Just what's the next thing? 252 00:11:37,870 --> 00:11:39,190 What's the next thing we're going to eat? 253 00:11:39,570 --> 00:11:41,530 Just food, food, food. 254 00:11:41,590 --> 00:11:43,270 And then you relax for maybe an hour 255 00:11:43,270 --> 00:11:44,570 and then it's, what's the next meal? 256 00:11:45,190 --> 00:11:46,210 Food, food. 257 00:11:46,430 --> 00:11:47,750 What's the next meal, right? 258 00:11:48,650 --> 00:11:51,530 And it's like, well, why is that? 259 00:11:51,530 --> 00:11:54,070 The psalmist tells us right here, the people 260 00:11:54,070 --> 00:11:57,570 of the world without Jesus, they're just meditating 261 00:11:57,570 --> 00:12:00,170 on emptiness, on nothingness. 262 00:12:01,570 --> 00:12:03,890 And this verse also ought to convict us 263 00:12:03,890 --> 00:12:05,490 for our own Christian lives. 264 00:12:06,070 --> 00:12:08,310 We have times in our life where you 265 00:12:08,310 --> 00:12:10,370 can, you say, I'm a Christian, but all 266 00:12:10,370 --> 00:12:11,770 of a sudden, I realize I've gone for 267 00:12:11,770 --> 00:12:15,090 hours just meditating on emptiness, on nothing. 268 00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:17,750 I've just been flicking through Facebook. 269 00:12:18,090 --> 00:12:19,530 I've just, I'm doing nothing. 270 00:12:19,670 --> 00:12:20,870 I'm not redeeming the time. 271 00:12:20,870 --> 00:12:22,970 I'm not doing anything whatsoever. 272 00:12:24,410 --> 00:12:27,550 We want to make a marked difference between 273 00:12:27,550 --> 00:12:31,710 these heathens in verse one and the godly 274 00:12:31,710 --> 00:12:33,850 man back in Psalm 1 verse 2. 275 00:12:34,470 --> 00:12:35,890 We ought to say, no, I want to 276 00:12:35,890 --> 00:12:38,570 fill my life and my thoughts and my 277 00:12:38,570 --> 00:12:42,750 days and my hours with God's law, with 278 00:12:42,750 --> 00:12:46,170 beautiful things, with singing good songs, with having 279 00:12:46,170 --> 00:12:48,210 purpose, with redeeming the time. 280 00:12:49,410 --> 00:12:53,310 But here, well, just ask yourself that. 281 00:12:53,390 --> 00:12:54,970 Do you ever meditate a vain thing? 282 00:12:56,110 --> 00:12:57,950 Let's clean up those hours in our life. 283 00:12:58,030 --> 00:13:00,150 Let's not be like these people. 284 00:13:00,650 --> 00:13:02,470 Let's be a people who redeem the time. 285 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,060 That's the raging world, verse one. 286 00:13:08,580 --> 00:13:11,100 There's so much to study, even right there. 287 00:13:11,980 --> 00:13:14,280 He tells us what's going on by asking 288 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:15,020 this question. 289 00:13:15,620 --> 00:13:17,180 And now we get an answer to the 290 00:13:17,180 --> 00:13:18,260 question in verse two. 291 00:13:18,260 --> 00:13:20,780 The question was, what's going on? 292 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:22,040 Why are people raging? 293 00:13:22,380 --> 00:13:23,480 And here comes the answer. 294 00:13:23,860 --> 00:13:24,360 Verse two. 295 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:27,040 This is why people are raging. 296 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,760 The kings of the earth set themselves and 297 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,280 the rulers take counsel together against the Lord 298 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:37,080 and against his anointed. 299 00:13:39,740 --> 00:13:41,080 So why are people raging? 300 00:13:41,860 --> 00:13:43,420 Why are people full of emptiness? 301 00:13:43,420 --> 00:13:49,860 Because they're actively setting themselves against God and 302 00:13:49,860 --> 00:13:50,460 his anointed. 303 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:52,860 And you all see that word there, his 304 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:53,240 anointed. 305 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,240 That's Hebrew, Meshiach, or Messiah. 306 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,480 So they've set themselves up against who? 307 00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:04,960 The Lord Yahweh and his Christ, his Messiah, 308 00:14:05,420 --> 00:14:06,640 Jesus Christ himself. 309 00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:11,440 Another thing to notice about verse two, it 310 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,360 speaks of the kings and the rulers. 311 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,240 And most commentators will say that this verse 312 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:19,520 is using metonymy. 313 00:14:19,900 --> 00:14:21,800 You all know the figure of speech called 314 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:22,400 metonymy? 315 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,700 It's where you take a part for a 316 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:24,980 whole. 317 00:14:25,940 --> 00:14:30,140 And the frequent example is, you say, the 318 00:14:30,140 --> 00:14:30,600 what? 319 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:32,720 The sails are coming into the harbor. 320 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:35,780 Many sails coming into the harbor. 321 00:14:35,980 --> 00:14:36,620 And what do you mean? 322 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,400 Well, many ships are coming into the harbor, 323 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:39,940 right? 324 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,140 Here, he speaks of kings and rulers. 325 00:14:44,740 --> 00:14:47,280 And what he's really speaking of is all 326 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,280 the heads of the earth and all the 327 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:50,860 people that come under those heads. 328 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,900 It's a way of saying everyone in this 329 00:14:53,900 --> 00:14:58,200 world, the kings, the rulers, all their subjects, 330 00:14:58,380 --> 00:15:00,180 all their nations, what are they doing? 331 00:15:00,180 --> 00:15:04,080 They're setting themselves and taking counsel together against 332 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,760 the Lord and against his anointing. 333 00:15:09,940 --> 00:15:13,520 Now, there's a wonderful diagnostic here that even 334 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:15,080 if we don't get very far in our 335 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,020 study of this psalm today, I want everybody 336 00:15:17,020 --> 00:15:17,720 to get this. 337 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,580 When you see people raging, what does the 338 00:15:21,580 --> 00:15:23,680 psalmist tell us about the answer to that 339 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:24,080 rage? 340 00:15:24,730 --> 00:15:27,840 Well, that rage is all based upon the 341 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,900 way they are exercising their own will and 342 00:15:30,900 --> 00:15:35,240 responsibility against Yahweh and his Messiah. 343 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,560 We need then to analyze each situation where 344 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,420 we see people raging, and this can make 345 00:15:45,420 --> 00:15:47,120 us better defenders of the gospel. 346 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,560 What we need to ask is, how precisely 347 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,160 are they against the Lord and against Christ? 348 00:15:56,660 --> 00:15:58,240 If you want to sum that up, we 349 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:00,760 could say, how are they against a creator 350 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,060 and a redeemer? 351 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,420 And then we start to get really an 352 00:16:05,420 --> 00:16:09,620 advanced apologetic because you look at these raging 353 00:16:09,620 --> 00:16:12,720 nations and people around us and you say, 354 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,080 OK, what do they hate about a creator? 355 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,240 And secondly, what do they hate about a 356 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:20,640 redeemer? 357 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,480 You see how useful that could be if 358 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:24,660 we start to think that way? 359 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:32,180 Let's take this woman, Audrey Hale, who murdered 360 00:16:32,180 --> 00:16:34,100 six people in Nashville. 361 00:16:35,420 --> 00:16:39,000 Let's first ask, OK, why was she raging? 362 00:16:39,700 --> 00:16:41,160 Where did that rage come from? 363 00:16:41,980 --> 00:16:43,420 Well, let's apply our psalm. 364 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,540 Verse two, she set herself and she took 365 00:16:46,540 --> 00:16:49,100 counsel against Yahweh and his Messiah. 366 00:16:49,540 --> 00:16:49,740 Amen. 367 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,820 OK, now let's ask a little bit deeper. 368 00:16:54,260 --> 00:16:57,140 What did she have against a creator? 369 00:16:57,940 --> 00:17:00,000 Well, we see in the very act of 370 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,079 murder that she decided that she wanted to 371 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:06,640 be the one who gives life and takes 372 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:07,300 away life. 373 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:07,619 No? 374 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,420 Someone who is set on murder is dead 375 00:17:11,420 --> 00:17:14,619 set against a creator God, because the creator 376 00:17:14,619 --> 00:17:18,079 God is sovereign over when life begins and 377 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:19,440 when life ends. 378 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:19,900 No? 379 00:17:19,900 --> 00:17:24,800 I remember being a suicidal, lost person, and 380 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,680 the thought was, I can take my life 381 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:28,460 whenever I want. 382 00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:30,320 I can end this thing. 383 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:30,940 Right? 384 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,360 Now, but again, we return to our psalm 385 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,320 and we say, what's at the heart of 386 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:37,500 that? 387 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,500 It's hatred for Yahweh. 388 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,320 It's hatred for a creator God. 389 00:17:43,860 --> 00:17:44,080 Amen. 390 00:17:44,540 --> 00:17:45,220 You all see that? 391 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:48,520 Now, go a little bit deeper again with 392 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:50,280 this woman, Audrey Hale. 393 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:51,780 What about Christ? 394 00:17:52,580 --> 00:17:54,820 What were her feelings about Christ? 395 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,320 We don't know yet, but I can, I 396 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:00,960 think we could all predict that when her 397 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,800 manifesto is released, and I do hope it 398 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,420 is released, we're going to hear something about 399 00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:10,140 workspace salvation in that manifesto. 400 00:18:11,420 --> 00:18:12,720 And how do I know that? 401 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,760 Because she set herself against Yahweh and against 402 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,160 his one and only redeemer, the Messiah. 403 00:18:19,180 --> 00:18:21,180 So just watch when it comes out, you'll 404 00:18:21,180 --> 00:18:24,520 see things about workspace salvation, about our own 405 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:24,900 goodness. 406 00:18:25,340 --> 00:18:26,840 It's just inevitable. 407 00:18:27,820 --> 00:18:27,960 Okay. 408 00:18:28,660 --> 00:18:31,100 And so this is what we're learning from 409 00:18:31,100 --> 00:18:31,920 this psalm here. 410 00:18:35,390 --> 00:18:38,290 Another sneaking thought that comes into the mind 411 00:18:38,290 --> 00:18:40,770 of the unbeliever, they might not come out 412 00:18:40,770 --> 00:18:43,330 and say, yeah, I'm against Yahweh and his 413 00:18:43,330 --> 00:18:43,830 Messiah. 414 00:18:44,670 --> 00:18:46,470 But they might say something like this. 415 00:18:48,230 --> 00:18:50,690 I know what God really wants. 416 00:18:52,190 --> 00:18:54,390 Do any of you remember being lost and 417 00:18:54,390 --> 00:18:55,090 thinking that way? 418 00:18:55,690 --> 00:18:57,630 I thought that way all the time. 419 00:18:58,670 --> 00:19:01,910 You're not denying God necessarily, you're not making 420 00:19:01,910 --> 00:19:03,710 any claims about the God of the Bible, 421 00:19:03,930 --> 00:19:05,830 but deep down inside, what are you saying? 422 00:19:05,910 --> 00:19:10,490 You're saying, I just know he doesn't want 423 00:19:10,490 --> 00:19:11,790 what they all say he wants. 424 00:19:11,790 --> 00:19:13,830 I know that his will is a little 425 00:19:13,830 --> 00:19:16,050 bit more like my will, right? 426 00:19:16,590 --> 00:19:20,450 So deep down inside, we're saying God, even 427 00:19:20,450 --> 00:19:23,290 this creator God is more like me. 428 00:19:24,150 --> 00:19:27,790 And God in his redemptive plan, he's more 429 00:19:27,790 --> 00:19:31,150 like me and he will forgive me. 430 00:19:31,430 --> 00:19:33,630 And I can decide on what terms I 431 00:19:33,630 --> 00:19:34,310 get to heaven. 432 00:19:35,830 --> 00:19:38,530 Those are the really deep thoughts of the 433 00:19:38,530 --> 00:19:39,190 lost person. 434 00:19:39,890 --> 00:19:41,850 Are you all learning with me how to 435 00:19:41,850 --> 00:19:44,490 analyze the world around us just from verses 436 00:19:44,490 --> 00:19:45,270 one and two? 437 00:19:46,070 --> 00:19:49,150 It's very, very vital. 438 00:19:51,340 --> 00:19:52,840 I want to share something with you from 439 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:53,620 Fox News. 440 00:19:53,780 --> 00:19:55,500 It's very rare that I would quote Fox 441 00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:57,760 News, but this is from Tucker Carlson. 442 00:19:58,240 --> 00:19:59,920 And he looked at that event, which was 443 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:04,540 happening in Nashville, and he said something that 444 00:20:04,540 --> 00:20:07,540 was so spot on that made me praise 445 00:20:07,540 --> 00:20:08,740 the Lord that he was. 446 00:20:08,740 --> 00:20:11,720 I don't think Tucker Carlson's a Christian, but 447 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,580 he was preaching pure gospel right on Fox 448 00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:14,840 News. 449 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:16,800 I want you to listen to this and 450 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,360 listen to how what he's analyzing is exactly 451 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:20,580 what we're talking about here. 452 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:27,000 You know, this woman who shot up Christians 453 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,540 and precious Christian children at this Presbyterian school, 454 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:33,580 you know that deep in her heart, she 455 00:20:33,580 --> 00:20:37,200 had set herself against a creator and a 456 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:37,640 redeemer. 457 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,500 No, the biblical creator and redeemer. 458 00:20:40,660 --> 00:20:44,020 Listen to what Tucker Carlson said, what he 459 00:20:44,020 --> 00:20:44,740 preached rather. 460 00:20:45,620 --> 00:20:48,580 The trans movement is the mirror image of 461 00:20:48,580 --> 00:20:52,380 Christianity and therefore its natural enemy. 462 00:20:53,620 --> 00:20:57,240 For Christianity, the price of admission is admitting 463 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,180 that you're not God. 464 00:21:00,300 --> 00:21:00,540 Amen. 465 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,100 Christians openly concede that they have no real 466 00:21:06,100 --> 00:21:07,350 power over anything. 467 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,780 For that matter, they have very little personal 468 00:21:11,780 --> 00:21:12,220 virtue. 469 00:21:13,020 --> 00:21:15,500 They will tell you to your face that 470 00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,440 they are sinful and helpless. 471 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,280 This is on Fox News. 472 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,260 Listen, how he preaches the gospel saved a 473 00:21:23,260 --> 00:21:26,360 wretch like me goes the most famous Christian 474 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:28,260 hymn ever written in English. 475 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,440 The trans movement takes the opposite view. 476 00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:36,300 Trans ideology claims dominion over nature itself. 477 00:21:37,060 --> 00:21:39,700 We can change the identity we were born 478 00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:40,040 with. 479 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:40,960 They will tell you. 480 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,600 Christians can never agree with this statement because 481 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,140 these are powers they believe God alone possesses. 482 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:50,340 Amen. 483 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:51,700 That's Yahweh. 484 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:52,920 That's the creator God. 485 00:21:53,620 --> 00:21:57,140 That failure to acknowledge a trans person's dominion 486 00:21:57,140 --> 00:22:00,820 over nature incites and enrages some in the 487 00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:01,600 trans community. 488 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,880 People who believe they are God can't stand 489 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,120 to be reminded that they are not. 490 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:14,640 So Christianity and transgender orthodoxy are wholly incompatible 491 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:15,720 theologies. 492 00:22:16,660 --> 00:22:17,400 Amen. 493 00:22:18,620 --> 00:22:20,700 That's that's quite the statement. 494 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:22,920 That's quite the gospel presentation. 495 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,300 And I praise God that that's happening on 496 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:27,900 our news stations right now. 497 00:22:30,060 --> 00:22:32,420 We need to learn to think with this 498 00:22:32,420 --> 00:22:36,920 sort of prescience, this sort of clarity about 499 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,320 what's going on around us. 500 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,360 We need to learn as we seek to 501 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:43,600 go out on the streets more and more 502 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,040 that we see the rage, but we have 503 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,260 to identify where the rage is coming from. 504 00:22:48,260 --> 00:22:51,040 And then we need to make clear statements 505 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,420 about how exactly do they hate the creator 506 00:22:55,090 --> 00:22:57,640 and how exactly do they hate the one 507 00:22:57,640 --> 00:22:58,900 and only plan of redemption. 508 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:00,320 Amen. 509 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,360 We might not get very far in this 510 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:08,720 sermon, but I want you all to let's 511 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:09,920 go a little bit deeper here. 512 00:23:10,580 --> 00:23:13,240 Chiara and I were doing a little study 513 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:17,020 yesterday of the difference between non-Christian music 514 00:23:17,020 --> 00:23:18,200 and Christian music. 515 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,320 And we compared Joni Mitchell's music with Rich 516 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,540 Mullins' music. 517 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:25,280 Now, look, this is interesting. 518 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:26,120 Think about this. 519 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,040 Both of these people, I don't know if 520 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,500 you know them, Joni Mitchell, both of them 521 00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:33,300 use a ton of allusions to nature. 522 00:23:33,820 --> 00:23:36,400 They have these beautiful pictures of nature coming 523 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:37,960 up in all of their songs. 524 00:23:39,060 --> 00:23:41,400 Joni Mitchell, a lost person on the one 525 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:41,660 hand. 526 00:23:41,900 --> 00:23:43,900 She's still alive, though, so pray that she 527 00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:45,040 gets saved. 528 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,400 And then Rich Mullins, a follower of the 529 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:49,780 cross on the other hand, right? 530 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,340 And we just started thinking about the difference 531 00:23:53,340 --> 00:23:55,220 between their songs. 532 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,140 Think about what happens. 533 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,080 Both of them are pointing, let's say, to 534 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:04,440 a beautiful river and skating on the river 535 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,780 and then the birds that come out and 536 00:24:08,780 --> 00:24:11,360 then the animals and the sunsets. 537 00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:15,580 The one who does not have the creator 538 00:24:15,580 --> 00:24:19,240 God, what happens in Joni Mitchell's songs? 539 00:24:19,860 --> 00:24:23,360 As Francis Schaeffer would say, the things are 540 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,920 not in their right place. 541 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:28,140 That's what happens when you take the creator 542 00:24:28,140 --> 00:24:29,120 out of your songs. 543 00:24:30,300 --> 00:24:33,120 If you go to Rich Mullins' songs, he's 544 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:35,480 talking about, let's say, a partridge over here, 545 00:24:36,020 --> 00:24:37,080 a bird over here. 546 00:24:37,900 --> 00:24:40,520 But all of those things are referred to 547 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,180 as creations, wonderful creations of the creator Yahweh. 548 00:24:45,140 --> 00:24:47,500 And he's putting them in their right place 549 00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:50,440 and he's seeing that humans are actually more 550 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,660 valued than that creation, right? 551 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,300 And he's sort of structuring the world in 552 00:24:55,300 --> 00:24:57,520 his songs in this beautiful way. 553 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,420 Joni Mitchell, you take away any thought of 554 00:25:02,420 --> 00:25:04,180 our creator God and all of a sudden, 555 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,180 I love this phrase, things are not in 556 00:25:06,180 --> 00:25:07,100 their right place. 557 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,180 She talks in one song about this winding 558 00:25:12,180 --> 00:25:14,260 river and she says, I wish I had 559 00:25:14,260 --> 00:25:16,020 a river that I could skate away on 560 00:25:16,020 --> 00:25:16,220 it. 561 00:25:16,700 --> 00:25:19,080 And you find that God's beautiful creation, this 562 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,120 river, is all about her self-aggrandizement. 563 00:25:22,620 --> 00:25:25,600 It's all about how she can use it 564 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,460 to heal her own psyche, her own head, 565 00:25:28,780 --> 00:25:30,440 how she can use it for her own 566 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:31,400 romantic tale. 567 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:33,140 You see the difference? 568 00:25:33,900 --> 00:25:36,200 You take the creator God out and all 569 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,520 of a sudden, things are just out of 570 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:38,820 whack. 571 00:25:38,980 --> 00:25:40,040 They're in weird places. 572 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,480 Both songwriters refer to lips and heads and 573 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,260 eyes and parts of the body. 574 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,720 But for one, it's used for personal romance. 575 00:25:51,060 --> 00:25:52,820 And for the other, it's used for praise. 576 00:25:55,180 --> 00:25:56,700 So that's what you do when you take 577 00:25:56,700 --> 00:25:57,760 Yahweh out of it. 578 00:25:58,260 --> 00:26:00,780 Now, what about when you take his Meshiach 579 00:26:00,780 --> 00:26:02,540 out of it, when you take his Messiah, 580 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:04,300 his Christ out of it? 581 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,640 What I notice is that you get a 582 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,020 false sense of self. 583 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,740 All of a sudden, Joni Mitchell's songs become 584 00:26:13,740 --> 00:26:14,760 self-obsessed. 585 00:26:15,460 --> 00:26:18,460 They become almost, it's like she's her own 586 00:26:18,460 --> 00:26:21,000 trumpeter and she's the one who's figuring out 587 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,300 what matters in the world. 588 00:26:24,940 --> 00:26:26,820 And then what happens when you take out 589 00:26:26,820 --> 00:26:29,020 a redeemer is that all of a sudden, 590 00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:31,740 there's no sense of thanksgiving and there's no 591 00:26:31,740 --> 00:26:32,500 sense of wonder. 592 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:34,400 Right? 593 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,540 So the minute we come to learn that 594 00:26:38,540 --> 00:26:40,960 we need Jesus, that we need a redeemer, 595 00:26:41,260 --> 00:26:43,580 that we need a Messiah, we also say, 596 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,700 whoa, I'm thankful for everything around me. 597 00:26:47,180 --> 00:26:48,660 I'm thankful for that Lord. 598 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,660 And then everything starts to be filled with 599 00:26:51,660 --> 00:26:52,700 wonder, no? 600 00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:55,440 Because it's not only are you thankful for 601 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,680 it, but you're amazed that you even got 602 00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,300 the chance to glimpse it and that you're 603 00:26:59,300 --> 00:26:59,940 not in hell. 604 00:27:00,660 --> 00:27:01,220 Amen? 605 00:27:01,220 --> 00:27:07,580 Um, when you take that element of the 606 00:27:07,580 --> 00:27:11,640 Messiah out, you get self-obsession and you 607 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:13,000 get a savior complex. 608 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,200 And it's really fascinating to watch as you 609 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,860 compare secular music with good Christian music. 610 00:27:21,700 --> 00:27:24,520 So we've looked at verses one and two, 611 00:27:24,660 --> 00:27:26,140 and I want to, again, give you that 612 00:27:26,140 --> 00:27:27,100 as a diagnostic. 613 00:27:27,620 --> 00:27:30,440 You look at someone and you ask, why 614 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,220 do you hate the creator? 615 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:36,020 Why do you hate the one and only 616 00:27:36,020 --> 00:27:36,480 redeemer? 617 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:39,960 And then you start to get somewhere with 618 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:40,240 someone. 619 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:43,300 Then look at verse three. 620 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,140 There's something more that happens here. 621 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,140 They say, let us break their bands asunder 622 00:27:50,140 --> 00:27:53,080 and cast away their cords from us. 623 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,800 How are people reacting to Yahweh and his 624 00:27:57,800 --> 00:27:58,240 Christ? 625 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:03,480 First, they're saying, I will not serve that 626 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:03,780 God. 627 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:08,680 It's the chant of Luke chapter 19 and 628 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:09,520 verse 14. 629 00:28:09,660 --> 00:28:11,500 Y'all remember that little parable where they 630 00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:13,980 say, we will not bow down to that 631 00:28:13,980 --> 00:28:14,280 man. 632 00:28:15,180 --> 00:28:16,820 That's what they're saying right here. 633 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,020 They're saying, if that God has a law, 634 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:20,000 I will break it. 635 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,220 If that God has a gospel, I will 636 00:28:22,220 --> 00:28:22,760 break it. 637 00:28:23,020 --> 00:28:24,580 I must break it. 638 00:28:24,900 --> 00:28:26,360 I will not submit to it. 639 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,900 And then look at the progression of sin 640 00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:30,600 in verse three. 641 00:28:31,220 --> 00:28:33,840 It's not only, let us break it, but 642 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,020 let us cast it away as far from 643 00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:37,900 us as possible. 644 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:40,280 And we also want to look for that 645 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,300 as we're diagnosing the world around us. 646 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,520 You see people breaking what God says, that's 647 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:46,120 stage one. 648 00:28:46,940 --> 00:28:49,560 But stage two is, you throw it as 649 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,260 far away from you as heavenly possible. 650 00:28:53,220 --> 00:28:55,660 We see the very same thing in that 651 00:28:55,660 --> 00:28:57,260 last verse of Romans one. 652 00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:58,280 Do you all remember that? 653 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,340 Where people are not only doing sinful things, 654 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:03,040 but they're what? 655 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:06,540 Giving hearty approval to those who practice them. 656 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,800 We want to look for that sort of 657 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,860 progression deeper and deeper into sin in those 658 00:29:12,860 --> 00:29:13,600 around us. 659 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,760 That's the raging world, the raging world. 660 00:29:21,620 --> 00:29:24,740 Let's look for a moment at God's response. 661 00:29:25,460 --> 00:29:26,160 Verse four. 662 00:29:27,780 --> 00:29:31,280 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. 663 00:29:31,980 --> 00:29:35,060 The Lord shall have them in derision. 664 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,080 Then shall he speak unto them in his 665 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,860 wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. 666 00:29:41,940 --> 00:29:43,740 And this is what he says, verse six. 667 00:29:44,460 --> 00:29:47,200 Yet have I set my king upon my 668 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,180 holy hill of Zion. 669 00:29:51,140 --> 00:29:53,200 I think what we're going to do is 670 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,040 come back to this psalm in a future 671 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:55,420 week. 672 00:29:55,420 --> 00:29:57,340 But let me just give you a few 673 00:29:57,340 --> 00:29:59,860 little inklings of what happens right here. 674 00:29:59,940 --> 00:30:03,040 Look at God's response, verse four. 675 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:06,920 The one who sits in the heavens shall 676 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:07,440 laugh. 677 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,340 We need a deep concept in our minds 678 00:30:11,340 --> 00:30:13,200 of a God who, on the one hand, 679 00:30:13,340 --> 00:30:15,780 so loves the world that he gave his 680 00:30:15,780 --> 00:30:18,380 only begotten son to redeem it, right? 681 00:30:18,940 --> 00:30:21,060 And on the other hand, when the world 682 00:30:21,060 --> 00:30:23,180 rages against him, what is he doing? 683 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:24,900 He laughs. 684 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:26,540 He mocks him. 685 00:30:26,900 --> 00:30:28,100 He holds it in derision. 686 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:30,400 He is nonplussed. 687 00:30:30,620 --> 00:30:31,640 He's not impressed. 688 00:30:34,190 --> 00:30:35,070 Isn't that quite amazing? 689 00:30:35,910 --> 00:30:37,410 We need to be able to see that 690 00:30:37,410 --> 00:30:39,490 our God is reacting in that way. 691 00:30:40,430 --> 00:30:43,150 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. 692 00:30:46,750 --> 00:30:50,690 And I'm just going to end with this. 693 00:30:52,270 --> 00:30:53,910 And we'll come back to this psalm. 694 00:30:53,910 --> 00:30:56,570 In verses one, two, and three, we have 695 00:30:56,570 --> 00:31:00,970 diagnosed what this world's rage looks like, right? 696 00:31:02,670 --> 00:31:04,370 What we start to get a picture of 697 00:31:04,370 --> 00:31:08,470 in verses four, five, and six is that 698 00:31:08,470 --> 00:31:11,970 God, the father, points to his son. 699 00:31:12,910 --> 00:31:15,770 And he says, this is my plan, that 700 00:31:15,770 --> 00:31:17,510 everything happens through him. 701 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,740 And in effect, what God here is saying 702 00:31:21,740 --> 00:31:23,220 is there's no other plan. 703 00:31:23,900 --> 00:31:26,280 This is plan A, and there is no 704 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:26,940 plan B. 705 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,180 And he points to his son. 706 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,340 And he tells everyone, you look at my 707 00:31:32,340 --> 00:31:32,740 son. 708 00:31:32,860 --> 00:31:33,700 Look at verse six. 709 00:31:34,300 --> 00:31:36,360 Yet have I set my king upon my 710 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:37,900 holy hill of Zion. 711 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,020 We'll have to study that more exactly what 712 00:31:41,020 --> 00:31:41,640 that means. 713 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:43,320 But consider just this. 714 00:31:43,700 --> 00:31:45,200 He says, that's it. 715 00:31:45,780 --> 00:31:46,500 That's it. 716 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:48,040 That's the answer. 717 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:51,560 And how is he saying that? 718 00:31:52,130 --> 00:31:53,180 Just think about this. 719 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:54,660 He's saying that in wrath. 720 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:57,980 We often want to say that our God 721 00:31:57,980 --> 00:32:00,020 is offering up Jesus in mercy. 722 00:32:00,580 --> 00:32:02,620 He's offering up Jesus in grace. 723 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:07,780 But right here, he's proclaiming his son as 724 00:32:07,780 --> 00:32:08,860 an act of wrath. 725 00:32:12,110 --> 00:32:13,390 That's very, very startling. 726 00:32:14,150 --> 00:32:16,030 And the picture we get is of a 727 00:32:16,030 --> 00:32:19,450 world raging around us and God pointing to 728 00:32:19,450 --> 00:32:20,030 his son. 729 00:32:20,030 --> 00:32:22,990 And when everybody says, I don't care at 730 00:32:22,990 --> 00:32:23,250 all. 731 00:32:23,450 --> 00:32:25,490 I want to continue raging. 732 00:32:26,630 --> 00:32:29,990 God the Father says, that's all I'm going 733 00:32:29,990 --> 00:32:30,650 to offer you. 734 00:32:31,550 --> 00:32:34,110 And if you don't accept it, you receive 735 00:32:34,110 --> 00:32:34,750 my wrath. 736 00:32:35,330 --> 00:32:36,990 That's all I'm going to offer you. 737 00:32:37,610 --> 00:32:39,730 And if you don't accept it, you receive 738 00:32:39,730 --> 00:32:40,970 my sore displeasure. 739 00:32:42,590 --> 00:32:46,730 It's remarkable here to see the gospel of 740 00:32:46,730 --> 00:32:50,130 Jesus Christ presented from the stance of the 741 00:32:50,130 --> 00:32:51,550 Father's wrath. 742 00:32:54,500 --> 00:32:55,560 I'll leave it there. 743 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:57,260 And I just want to give us those 744 00:32:57,260 --> 00:32:59,860 tools to deal with what's happening in the 745 00:32:59,860 --> 00:33:00,640 world around us. 746 00:33:00,700 --> 00:33:02,580 We've covered the raging world. 747 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,600 And we've started to see our God's response 748 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:06,740 is what? 749 00:33:07,220 --> 00:33:08,360 The laughing dog. 750 00:33:09,540 --> 00:33:11,100 He says, this is nothing to me. 751 00:33:12,220 --> 00:33:15,780 And regardless of what you do, that's still 752 00:33:15,780 --> 00:33:16,500 my answer. 753 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,860 My king, my son is still my answer. 754 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:22,620 That gives us a backbone when we start 755 00:33:22,620 --> 00:33:23,560 to evangelize. 756 00:33:23,980 --> 00:33:25,740 And when we for years and years, if 757 00:33:25,740 --> 00:33:27,300 you think about it, just in this church, 758 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,140 for let's say six years, we've given the 759 00:33:30,140 --> 00:33:32,140 gospel to people and given the gospel to 760 00:33:32,140 --> 00:33:34,060 people and given the gospel to people. 761 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:35,480 And what have they said? 762 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,820 They continue just to rage around it, just 763 00:33:38,820 --> 00:33:41,120 to rage around it and say, I don't 764 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:41,480 want it. 765 00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:43,080 I don't want to come in there. 766 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:44,840 I don't want to hear more of that. 767 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:46,520 I don't want to follow that God. 768 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,040 But then consider this. 769 00:33:48,460 --> 00:33:51,600 Our father says, yet have I set my 770 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:53,280 king upon my holy hill of Zion. 771 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:55,980 I'm still pointing to him. 772 00:33:56,700 --> 00:33:58,040 And there's no other answer. 773 00:33:58,800 --> 00:33:59,920 And I'm not going to help you in 774 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:01,400 any other way, raging world. 775 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:03,060 And he just keeps pointing. 776 00:34:04,060 --> 00:34:06,220 That can give us a strength in evangelism, 777 00:34:06,300 --> 00:34:06,720 can it not? 778 00:34:07,100 --> 00:34:10,460 Let's just keep pointing with our father and 779 00:34:10,460 --> 00:34:12,540 our king on the holy hill of Zion. 780 00:34:13,219 --> 00:34:14,340 And let's keep pointing. 781 00:34:14,340 --> 00:34:16,100 But no one comes in, but no one 782 00:34:16,100 --> 00:34:16,880 receives him. 783 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:20,440 But we keep pointing and we keep pointing. 784 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:24,940 It's really a frightening message, but it's also 785 00:34:24,940 --> 00:34:27,159 a beautiful and a glorious message that points 786 00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:29,679 to God in his sovereignty sitting in the 787 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:29,980 heavens. 788 00:34:31,340 --> 00:34:33,600 I'll give you this application one more time. 789 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:35,239 This is what we're going to work on 790 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:36,659 as we study this psalm. 791 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:39,300 View all of life through this lens. 792 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,420 View all of the news events around us 793 00:34:42,420 --> 00:34:43,540 through this lens. 794 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:47,520 And take comfort in this, that God has 795 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:48,980 this whole world mapped out. 796 00:34:49,460 --> 00:34:51,659 God knows exactly what's happening. 797 00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:54,699 And he sees these three elements happening always. 798 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:56,120 World raging. 799 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:58,760 God laughs in response. 800 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:01,940 And God calls us to kiss his son. 801 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:04,220 Amen. 802 00:35:08,390 --> 00:35:11,330 Lord, we thank you just for opening the 803 00:35:11,330 --> 00:35:14,250 eyes of our hearts here and teaching us 804 00:35:14,250 --> 00:35:16,930 something about how we ought to react to 805 00:35:16,930 --> 00:35:18,110 this world around us. 806 00:35:18,750 --> 00:35:21,230 Lord, please do help us to use this 807 00:35:21,230 --> 00:35:22,550 diagnostic. 808 00:35:23,110 --> 00:35:27,190 Lord, help us not to be flabby in 809 00:35:27,190 --> 00:35:28,430 how we approach this world. 810 00:35:29,410 --> 00:35:31,310 Help us, Lord, to see the world raging 811 00:35:31,310 --> 00:35:34,050 and to ask, why do you hate Yahweh? 812 00:35:34,650 --> 00:35:36,090 Why do you hate the Messiah? 813 00:35:37,050 --> 00:35:39,430 Help us, Lord, to ask these simple questions. 814 00:35:41,610 --> 00:35:42,870 Equip us, please, Lord. 815 00:35:43,670 --> 00:35:46,050 In Jesus' name, amen.