Psalm 2: The Laughter of God

 

Who is really in control of this world?

 

When we look around at the state of the world both near and far we may be tempted to wonder: ‘What is really going on in the world?’.

Politically and culturally the world, for the Believer at least, is an increasingly hostile environment. In the face of the chaos and hostility there is a very real temptation to give way to feelings of helplessness or hopelessness; or simply to give in and join the world in it’s ways.

But when we come to Psalm 2, we are invited into the very Throne Room of God to see things from God’s perspective. This is a Psalm which celebrates God’s sovereign power and gracious provision and calls us to trust in Him alone.

In Psalm 2 we see God respond to futile hostility with both powerful derision and gracious provision in the form of an anointed one- a ‘Messiah’. This Promised King would establish God’s eternal rule over the whole earth and bring peace and order. Today we know this ‘Messiah’ to be Jesus. Psalm 2, then, is a bold declaration of God’s sovereign rule and gracious provision in the person and work of Christ.

With this truth the Psalmist rouses God’s People to trust in Him and to look to an era when all God’s enemies would be defeated and His throne would be established across the universe. Like many psalms, the theme of Psalm 2 is emphasised in the final verse: we can defy God and perish, or we can surrender to Him and be blessed.

Taking Psalm 2 as a whole we can see it is carefully structured like this:

In verses 1 to 3 we see Rebel Schemes…

…in verses 4 to 6 we witness Divine Derision…

…in verses 7 to 9 we hear a Divine Decree…

…and in verses 10 to 12 there is a Royal Summons

Psalm 2 offers great hope to the embattled Believer in every generation by lifting our eyes to the One who is graciously sovereign and sovereignly gracious. And Psalm 2 offers a solemn challenge to all: will we submit to our graciously sovereign king and enjoy the blessing of taking refuge in Him?.

We turn firstly to consider the ‘Rebel Schemes’.

I wonder if you have ever watched in dismay as a child foolishly rejects the help of their parents. How often have you witnessed a child hurt themselves because they thought they knew better what height they could jump from without incurring injury? As a parent it causes no end of frustration and astonishment- why won’t they accept that we, as parents, may know better and want what’s best?.

In verses 1 to 3 the psalmist expresses his astonishment at the senseless rejection of God and deep-seated opposition to His rule. The world has rejected God’s gracious provision and the psalmist cannot understand why.

One translation captures the mood of these verses well when it says:

¹ You are wondering: What has provoked the nations to embrace anger and chaos?
Why are the people making plans to pursue their own vacant and empty greatness?
² Leaders of nations stand united;
rulers put their heads together,
plotting against the Eternal One and His Anointed King, trying to figure out
³ How they can throw off the gentle reign of God’s love,
step out from under the restrictions of His claims to advance their own schemes.

The psalmist is expressing his astonishment that the peoples of this world are organising themselves and uniting against God. They have no reason to rage against God, and they have no benefit in raging against Him. But in their foolishness they are conspiring against God and His perfect rule.

If we are to understand this Psalm we must firstly see that what the Psalmist is expressing is the rebellion of the human heart against God. All of us, outside of Christ, are members of that multitude who deliberately design the overthrow of God in our lives and in the world. By nature we are cosmic rebels who, as we see later in the Psalm, are destined for destruction.

So, today, there is a call to consider: are you a member of that rebellious multitude set against God and heading for destruction? Or, are you, like the Psalmist, one who knows the blessing of taking refuge in the Lord? Arrogant opposition of God and His King leads to destruction. Humble submission to the Son leads to blessing beyond the things of this world.

 

As we hear of these rebel schemes we must consider if we are part of that rebellious multitude or not. And if we are not then then these opening lines are a warning to us as Believers in this time and place that we live in a hostile world. All around us are those opposed to God and His People.

Notice in verse 2 the powers combine against God and His Anointed. And since we are united by faith to Christ then we will face opposition and hatred too. In John 15 Jesus warns the Disciples that because they belong to Him, God’s Anointed, and not to the world, and its rebellion, then they will be hated and persecuted.

So we must understand that we are a people living in a hostile world who will experience hostility for the sake of Christ. But we must also remember to set this opposition in context and live accordingly. We must accept the reality of hostility to God and His rule. We must accept the reality that we will face hostility as those who seek to extend the rule of our King.

However, we must also see the futility of the nations’ hostility.

As Believers today we must have the same perspective as the Psalmist who saw the world’s rebellion as ‘futile’ and ‘vain’ because God is sovereign. We must follow the example of the Early Church in Acts 4 who understood that even the Cross was a futile and vain attempt by God’s enemies. When we read Acts 4 verses 25 to 28 we see that they understood all the raging and the plotting of Christ’s enemies at the Crucifixion was futile because it was all part of God’s sovereign plan.

 

As the Early Church used Psalm 2 in their prayers they were declaring that the enemies of Jesus raged in vain and plotted in vain, because all their plotting was predestined by God. Their raging and plotting did not fulfil their little purposes but God’s eternal purpose. The Cross and the Gospel are the result of God’s sovereign plan and gracious provision and not the result of man’s schemes. So as we cast our gaze at the world today we do so with a confidence that God is in control and He is one whose gracious provision overcomes the world’s plans.

In verses 2 to 3 we see that the nations’ opposition to God is the result of their desire for autonomy and self-rule- they want to govern their own lives. The nations are saying: ‘Our plans are better than God’s provision.’. They think they know better than God and act accordingly. They scheme and resist the authority of God, leading others in rebellion, because they oppose God and His Way. They display their foolishness because they see God as bondage-bringer rather than bondage-breaker.

Commenting on the Psalm Spurgeon notes: “To a graceless neck the yoke of Christ is intolerable, but to the saved sinner it is easy and light…. We may judge ourselves by this, do we love that yoke, or do we wish to cast it from us?”. These words cut at the heart of our contemporary notions of ‘freedom’.

Today we define freedom as the absence of restraint; it is freedom from God’s law. But, as this psalm will persuade us, such so-called freedom sets us on a terrible path to destruction. True freedom is not about being free from restraint but being set free for living rightly, in glad obedience to God’s law. This is the vision set before us in Psalm 1.

Today we can clearly perceive the ways in which the world sees God’s Law as a burden to ‘freedom’. In the cultural war on marriage, gender and sexuality those in positions of influence are determined to dismantle God’s provision for an ordered and flourishing society. And all this is done in the service of the hollow agendas of equality, autonomy and choice.

However, these verses should act as a warning to us. Firstly, we must consider our own lives. We must consider if we see the yoke of Christ as a way to life and a display of God’s gracious provision. In light of the Cross we must see God’s commands to love and forgive, to pursue servant leadership in our homes, to pursue family discipleship, to pursue our work as a divine calling, to seek purity of mind and truth of speech, to see our true identity as a beloved child of God, to find satisfaction in Him alone as a way to true life. Our walk with God, our discipleship, must be all consuming but grace fuelled.

And secondly, we must come to terms with the fact that we live in hostile territory. And the hostility of the world to God will have impact upon us as God’s People. However, we are called to trust in God’s provision and trust in His sovereign ways.

We are to hear the heavenly laughter, consider the futility of the world’s hostility and the truths of ‘Divine Derision’.

We started by pondering:

Who is really in control of this world?

Hopefully, without too much consideration, we all settled on the truth that God is ultimately in control.

But I wonder do we really take time to think through what that means. And I wonder when was the last time you stopped to consider just how powerful God is (perhaps during last week’s thunderstorm the thought may have crossed your mind!).

In verses 1 to 3 a challenge has been laid by the peoples of the earth. In verses 4 to 6 we see God’s response to the futile actions of His opponents. God considers their hostility and simply sits back on His throne and fills the universe with peal after peal of terrible, spinetingling laughter- louder and more terrifying than any thunderclap.

Then His ridicule leads to rebuke in the form of righteous, terrifying anger. When that last peal of terrifying anger dies away it is replaced by a rising tide of fearful, holy wrath. Finally, we see the installation His Anointed One as a gracious provision for His People. God’s reaction to the ruler’s rejection is the reassertion of His gracious sovereignty. So let us consider these three aspects of divine derision:

In verse 4 we read of God’s Laughter:

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

Laughter is a form of nonverbal communication that illustrates a deeper understanding of the situation. It may be ‘getting’ the punchline of a joke or seeing the lighter side of an incident. Laughter acknowledges that more is going on than meets the eye.

In verse 4 God’s laughter is an expression of ridicule. God is not perturbed or afraid or confused about the opposition of man. God looks at the way man plots against Him and He laughs.

God sees the world’s attempts to oppose His plans to bring blessing and satisfaction to His People and He laughs. God laughs because He sits as the Great King on a glorious throne. He isn’t pacing back and forth in the throne room of heaven, wondering what He should do. God sits in perfect peace and assurance because He is all sovereign and His plans will prevail.

Man may have successfully split the atom, and managed to scare himself half to death in the process, but how can he can compete with the God who stokes the nuclear fires of billions of stars? Man- for all his science and skill, technology and talents- is still man. And God is God- eternal, uncreated, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, infinite, infallible, holy and high.

God laughs at men for being such fools. But God is not laughing at His People. He is not laughing at the pain and misery that is being caused by these rebellious leaders. Instead, God’s laughter gives great comfort. God laughs to dispel our fears and remind us no purpose of His can be thwarted, and now power can overcome Him- the all-powerful One.

However, for those who oppose God, divine laughter communicates their folly and defeat. They stand no chance against the sovereign of all. They are utterly overmatched and will most certainly lose in the end, however long God chooses to suffer them. Standing against God’s anointed King is laughably ridiculous.

God laughs because it isn’t an earthly throne He occupies; it is the throne of heaven with authority over all creation. What does heaven have to fear from earth?

Through the centuries, many have opposed God and His Kingdom in Jesus Christ. Each one of these opponents shall be frustrated and crushed.And so we see God’s laughter leading to ‘Anger’.

One translation puts verse 5 like this:

⁵ But His laughter turns to rage, and He rebukes them.
As God displays His righteous anger, they begin to know the meaning of fear.

God laughs in heaven, but He doesn’t remain inactive. Our confidence is in the One who is unmoved by opposition but not uninvolved in the life of His People. In God’s wrath He displays His anger at the empty plans of His opponents and the danger of their hollow plots. God’s anger is at the plotting to undo His Plan of installing the Anointed One who will display His love and blessing to His People. God’s anger is against those who would prevent the Gospel taking hold of people’s lives and allowing them to flourish in faithful following of Jesus.

Notice that before He acts against defiant mankind, He first speaks to rebellious humanity. This shows the great mercy of God. He has every reason and every right to simply act against defiant men. Love and mercy compel God to speak a word of warning before He acts and so He points the nations to the One He has installed.

In verse 6 we read:

⁶ “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”

God wants defiant mankind to know that He has established a King. God has sent One to rule over the nations. This is the decisive action in human history.

God enters our world and declares war on His opponents as He establishes His Kingdom. God’s reaction to man’s rebellion is the provision of Jesus and the Gospel. God’s reaction to man’s rebellion is always Jesus and the Gospel which establishes Jesus as either Justifier or Judge.

Here, God declares His rule through a King who is a righteous, loving redeemer. God declares that He will rule despite the plans and plots of His opponents. God is telling His People in all generations: I will always accomplish my purposes through my King.

Today we know that God will spread the Gospel through the power of His Holy Spirit working in the life and witness of the Church. Christ has established His Kingly rule in His first coming, in His second coming He will consummate His kingly rule and in the intervening time He has given His Spirit to accomplish His purposes through His Church.

In divine derision we see that God’s People, like their King will prevail in the power that He supplies. It is in this truth that we go out to live for Christ and witness for our King in an angry and chaotic world.

 

Conclusion

Next time we will consider what God actually does through His Anointed and the invitation to ‘Kiss the Son’. Until then let us remember that whatever happens in the world Our King is on His eternal throne. As God’s People we keep our focus on the Ancient of Days who is graciously working our His sovereign purposes through the gracious provision of His Anointed King.