THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

II. Happiness In A Harmfully Wicked World

(Psalm 2:1-12)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

There is a great need for happiness in today's harmfully wicked world, a fact we can illustrate (as follows):

(1) It occurs in the medical and political realms: (a) A letter by Dominick Mirabelle of Prospect told how "Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases" said "the . . . thousands . . . crossing our southern border do not contribute to the spread of . . . COVID-19" though "nurses, police officers, and prison and border guards" face "threats" of being fired "if they refuse to be vaccinated." (Republican-American, October 8, 2021, p. 8A) (b) Also, a letter by Stephen Derochick of Barkhamsted observed that elected officials "spend as if there's an unlimited supply of money and then go into hyperdrive . . . yelling the sky will fall unless the debt ceiling is raised. And the debt ceiling is ultimately raised with insufficient control of spending." (Ibid.)

(2) It occurs in the realm of social media: (a) "A brave whistleblower" and "former Facebook product manager who accused the social network giant of threatening children's safety -- and the integrity of democracy -- is urging Congress to take action to rein in a largely unregulated company. The drama rings familiar, but will real change come out of it this time?" (Marcy Gordon, "Facebook whistleblower asks congress to rein in company," Ibid., p. 5B) (b) In addition, psychoanalyst Erica Komisar's piece, "Cancel Culture's Mental Health Toll" in The Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2021, told how "(s)chool-sanctioned shaming and a social-media free-for-all of bullying leave teens and young adults constantly walking on eggshells, afraid to express heterodox [dissenting] opinions in class, among peers or in schoolwork." ("Quotable," Ibid., Republican-American, October 15, 2021, p. 8A; brackets ours)

(3) It occurs in the religious realm: "A top committee of the Southern Baptist Convention agreed . . . to open up . . . records to investigators who will look into how it handled, or mishandled cases of sexual abuse within the nation's largest Protestant denomination over the past two decades." (Peter Smith, "Southern Baptist panel to open legal records for abuse probe," Ibid., p. 3B) The story was accompanied by a photo of a woman telling "through tears" of "being abused sexually by a Southern Baptist minister." (Ibid.)

Need: So, we ask, "How can one find happiness in today's harmfully wicked world?!"

I. David, the author of Psalm 2 (Acts 4:25), noted that the wicked world was stirred up against God and His anointed king, threatening to harm the social and economic welfare of God's people, Psalm 2:1-3.

II. [The ultimate fulfillment of this psalm occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation when the antichrist under Satan will try to block Christ's coming Messianic Kingdom, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 793.]

III. Thankfully, Psalm 2:4-12a describes God's infinite sovereignty over the harmfully wicked world:

A. God the Father Who sits in the heavens will mockingly laugh in His wrath at the wicked, and He as the "Sovereign" ('Adonai, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Psalm 2:4) Lord will scoff at them, Psa. 2:4 NIV.

B. He will then rebuke and terrify the wicked in His wrath, saying, "But I Myself ('ani, emphatic pronoun, Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 977) have installed My King on Zion, My holy hill!" (Psalm 2:5-6)

C. The "anointed" (i. e. "Messiah") King then speaks of God the Father's decree in 2 Samuel 7:14 to the heir of David's throne where God referred to that heir as His "Son," declaring God's promise "today," the king's coronation day, that God would give Him dominion over the world's nations, that the "Messiah" would defeat them as if dashing clay pots with His iron scepter, Psalm 2:7-9; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 792.

D. David thus urged God's foes to be wise and heed his directive to serve God with fear and rejoice with trembling, to accept the "Messiah," giving Him cultural homage by kissing that "Messiah" lest God the Father be angry and such foes perish with the flaring up of God's wrath! (Psa. 2:10-12a; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Psa. 2:12)

IV. David then offered an edifying directive for God's people in Psalm 2:12b (as follows):

A. The word rendered "Blessed" (KJV, NIV, ESV) in verse 12b is the plural construct of the noun 'esher, and it literally means, "(Oh) the blessedness [or happinesses] of . . ." (Ibid., Kittel, p. 978; B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 80-81; Joseph A. Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained, 1975, p. 9)

B. The verb "put their trust in" (KJV) translates the Hebrew active participle hosey of the verb hasah, "seek refuge," Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., The Analyt. Hebrew & Chaldee Lex. (Zon.), 1972, p. 251; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 340.

C. The verb hasah is used mainly of seeking shelter from the hot sun under the shade of a tree or of baby birds seeking refuge from predators under the wings of their mother bird, Ibid., B. D. B.

D. Since hosey is an active participle, implying continual action, the "blessedness" occurs for those who continually seek refuge in the Lord. David thus urged Israel's people to seek God's shelter from the harmfully wicked world as a way of life, doing so until God fully overcomes such foes at Christ's Second Coming!

Lesson: Though God's people throughout human history are humanly vulnerable to harm from a wicked world, God's people must constantly rely on God for blessing until He fully defeats the wicked at Christ's Second Coming.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-11. (2) May we trust in God, seeking His shelter from the harmfully wicked world as a way of life for great blessing, looking forward to Christ's return to establish His Messianic Kingdom.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

We apply this sermon's lesson of seeking God's shelter relative to the issues mentioned in our introduction:

(1) Regarding concerns about one's vulnerability to harmful parties in medical and political realms, God directs that (i) we make it our ambition to be "restful, undisturbed" (hesuchazo, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 349-350) regardless what we face (1 Thessalonians 4:11a), what involves applying Proverbs 29:25 (as follows): (1) Though the fear of man brings a snare (v. 25a), if we continually rely on (boteha, act. part. of batah, "rely on," Ibid., The Analyt. Heb. & Chal. Lex., p. 71; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 105) the Lord, He continually "sets [us] securely on high" above the reach of harmful foes (yesuggab, Pual imperfect of sagab, "be high," Ibid., p. 960). (2) We may still be concerned about such foes, but as long as we rely on the Lord, He keeps us out of harm's way from them that we might fulfill His assignments for us! (ii) We must also heed 1 Thessalonians 4:11b,c to focus on our own affairs and "work for our own benefit" (ergazesthai, pres. middle infin. of ergazomai, "work;" Ibid., p. 306-307; Wm. D. Mounce, The Analyt. Lex. to the Grk. N. T., 1993, p. 214), to live independently of the control of harmfully evil parties! By way of review, this involves (1) limiting debt (Prov. 22:7), (2) aiming to gain financial independence by investing long-term with diversification (Eccl. 11:1-6), (3) frugality (John 6:12) and (4) following God's leading if He desires that we be self-employed (James 4:13-17). (5) If God leads us to be employed by another party, we should still try to work as independently as possible so we will be evaluated by overseers as to our own work, trusting God to reward us for good workmanship (Psalm 62:10-12). (6) To get hired by an employer, we must continually pray, seek and knock on doors of opportunity (Matthew 7:7-8 verb tenses). (7) Once hired, we should perform our work well faithfully (Exodus 16:11-18, 35 with Joshua 5:11-12 for Israel's 40 years of faithful work!). (iii) Regarding health needs, by way of review, we can practice preventative medicine to avoid needless costs and problems with medical entities by way of proper diet, exercise, sleep, home remedies, etc., cf. 1 Timothy 5:23 et al.

(c) In view of our exposure to unedifying news reports about harmful parties in the world, we must guard our inner man, Proverbs 4:23. To achieve it, Proverbs 4:24-27 directs us (i) to put aside perverted speech (v. 24), (ii) to focus on proper goals (v. 25), (iii) to make level paths for our feet (so we are able to travel on them) (v. 26a NIV), (iv) to take secure paths (limit risk, v. 26b NIV), (v) to avoid swerving to the right or left from the planned good path (v. 27a) and (vi) to keep our feet from evil, that is, to watch that our methods are as upright as our goals (v. 27b).

(2) Regarding harmful emotional and mental pressures on youth via social media platforms and other entities in the world, (a) Ephesians 6:4 ESV calls parents to rear their children in God's "discipline and instruction," (b) and Genesis 18:19 ESV shows this means training children to heed rules (sedaqah, "righteousness" in young children) and then to apply those rules in decision-making (mishpat, "justice, deciding a case" in maturing children) to prepare them for adulthood. (Ibid., Kittel, p. 23; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 842, 1048-1049) These verses thus give parents sovereignty in overseeing their child's exposure to social media platforms and all other entities! (c) God's Word is the one platform with the one ideology that truly edifies, so parents and children alike should be immersed in Scripture and its truths!

(3) Regarding sexual abuse, (a) if facing a threatening crisis, we must heed Joseph's Genesis 39:10-12 example to flee from temptation or from an attempted entrapment. (b) As a preventative measure before such a crisis arises, we should heed Ephesians 5:15 on being careful how we live, that we not let ourselves end up alone with a problem party in potentially bad circumstances. (c) If we have already been [verbally and/or] sexually abused, (i) we need to believe Ephesians 1:6 that claims we are fully accepted by God the Father in our spiritual position in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. (ii) We can also rely on the Holy Spirit to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:16, 22-23 ESV) for healthy behavior. (iii) We should then continually saturate our minds and hearts with Scripture for God's continued spiritual nurture of the soul, Psalm 1:1-3.

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life. May we seek God's spiritual shelter from a harmfully wicked world and look for Christ's return.