Establish my footsteps in Your Word ~ Psalm 119:133

Summary Statement
God has set His King (His Messiah) in an unparalleled position of absolute authority over all the earth. Therefore, everyone must submit to the authority of this King because it is God’s plan for Christ to squash all rebellion and to rule the world.

Outline
l. The Conspiracy of the Nations (v.1-3)
ll. The Response of God (v.4-6)
lll. The Proclamation of the King (v.7-9)
lV. The Warning from God (v.10-12)

Genre
This Psalm is classified as a Royal Psalm. There are at least ten Psalms that are considered to be royal because they share a common motif: the office, character and/or the activity of the king is it’s central theme. These were written to celebrate momentous occasions in the life of a king, such as his coronation, wedding and successful military campaigns.

Royal Psalms include:
2 – The Coronation of the Son and the certainty of His dominion
18 – The King’s song of victory in battle
20 – A prayer for the king for victory in battle
21 – A praise by the king for victory in battle
45 – The wedding of the victorious and righteous King
72 – A prayer for the righteous and prosperous dominion of the King
89 – The Davidic Covenant assured
101 – The charter by which the King will rule
110 – The establishment of the priestly kingdom
144 – The establishment of peace and prosperity by the King’s victory

Royal Psalms are the most frequently used ones in the teachings of the New Testament.

The key to unlocking the significance of the Royal Psalms is found in the fact that God establishes who will be king… both in Israel and in eternity. God is in control of who sits on the throne – past, present and future.

Psalm 2 is a Typological Psalm

A ‘type’ is an actual historical event or person that in some ways symbolizes or anticipates a later occurrence; particularly, an Old Testament foreshadowing of a New Testament event. Typology in the Old Testament is the “picture language” that prefigure doctrines in the New Testament. The ‘anti-type’ is the counterpart, the completion or the fulfillment of the previously revealed truth in the New Testament.

This Psalm is referenced at least seven times in the New Testament:

• Acts 4:25-26 (Psalm 2:1-2)
• Hebrews 1:5; 5:5 (Psalm 2:7)
• Acts 13:33 (Psalm 2:7)
• Revelation 2:26 (Psalm 2:8)
• Revelation 2:27 (Psalm 2:9)
• Revelation 19:15 (Psalm 2:9)

It would be a mistake to study the Royal Psalms and not see the picture of the coming Messiah and His eternal reign!

Background

2 Samuel 7:1-16
– David wants to build a house for God (v.1-3).
– God has other plans (v.4-6).
– God’s everlasting covenant with David (v.8-16).

1 Kings 1
– David is on his deathbed (v.1-4).
– Adonijah conspires with Joab and Abiathar and exalts himself to be king (v.5-10).
– Nathan tells Bathsheba the mother of Solomon (v.11-14).
– Bathsheba, Solomon and Nathan the prophet break the news to David (v.15-27).
– David declares that Solomon is the rightful king over Israel (v.28-37).
– Solomon anointed king (v.38-53).

The Conspiracy of the Nations

In this first stanza, it is the narrator speaking of the nations conspiring against God’s anointed One. The actions of these godless world leaders is rooted in their rebellion and reject of the only true God.

• Uproar speaks of their rage. It is descriptive of their vehement noise and commotion.
• Devising tells of how they plot and conspire. As a group, they are planning and meditating, much in the same manner as business people would gather around a table to strategize a plan for the company.
• Vain thing describes the emptiness of the uproar and plotting. Their end goal amounts to something without benefit or purpose.
• Take their stand means they are rising up and stationing themselves with each other like a coalition against something.
• Counsel together has a connotation of ‘laying a foundation’ or ‘to be seated close together’ again indicating a gathering for their sinister scheming.
• Tearing their fetters and casting away cords are vivid word pictures of their rebellion. They shake their fists at God and say with their actions, ‘we will not be tied down with your rules‘!

The Response of God

In response to the rebellion of the nations God the Father speaks. It is noteworthy that God is seated when He speaks. The world leaders who conspire against Him are so small in His eyes that He doesn’t even need to stand to address them. God’s reaction to all their wicked scheming is priceless… and encouraging.

• He Laughs – this is not a laughing of something funny. It is a scornful, mocking sort of laughter. Why? Because their schemes against Him are ridiculous!
• He Scoffs – This also is a mocking response. God holds these people in derision.
• He Rebukes – God shows His anger in His response. This is burning, flaring of the nostrils kind of divine rage. It is fury on steroids. It is terrifying.
• He Declares – God has set His King in place. This is none other than His Son Jesus Christ as we see in verse 7.

The Proclamation of the King

Verse 7 is the King speaking… specifically, God the Son Speaks. When taking the Bible in it’s fullest context, we see that ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You’ is quoted in Hebrews 1:5, speaking of the excellencies of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 2:26-27 also references verses 8 and 9 of this Psalm, along with Revelation 19:15 pointing back to verse 9. Clearly, King Jesus will possess the ends of the earth, He will break His enemies with a rod of iron and He will shatter them like earthenware.

The Warning from God

We find our application in this chapter in the last stanza where the Psalm writer speaks in closing. He gives His enemies some warnings, which are also good instructions for the rest of us too:

• Show discernment – be wise; be teachable; hear what the Lord is saying
• Take warning – be receptive to correction, which may include chastisement.
• Worship – do homage to the Son. Some versions say ‘kiss the Son’ here, and we would understand that is shows loyalty, allegiance, adoration, love, submission and fidelity.

Application

There are a couple of clear applications from this Psalm:
1). Comfort to the Believer: God will eventually put an end to the antagonism against Himself, His word and His people. All wickedness will be put down and Christ will rule. This outcome is not in question, even though it may not seem like it now. This Psalms brings calm to the believer. We are settled because we know God is in full control and His Son has been installed permanently on the throne!

2). Warning to the Unbeliever: By throwing off the authority of the Lord’s anointed, they are actually rebelling against God Himself. You cannot claim to worship the one true God while at the same time reject His Son, the Messiah.