The theme of Psalm 2 is God's sovereignty over the nations and rulers of the earth. The word "sovereignty" means "God's attribulte of power and active rule over the affairs of the earth." It is largely tied to His attributes of omnipotence and omniscience. God knows that happens. God is almighty, and able to do all He wants to do, both in Heaven and on earth. God's sovereignty is also linked to God's Providence. He watches over His children, and guides them, and protects them, and superintends all that happens to them in this life. Let's take a closer look at Psalm Two:

I. Verses 1-3 remind us that most of the nations and leaders of the nations are in a state of rebellion against Jehovah.

A. They don't want to bow the knee to the God of the Bible. They will support Atheism, or Hinduism, or Islam, or Communism. But they won't acknowledge Christianity.

B. They want to break the boundaries and limitations that God wills for nation states. They want to control the lives of people. God says that nations states have legitimate functions. Especially, they are empowered by God to punish those who do evil (Romans 13). But nation states are not allowed to promote evil. They are not authorized to persecute God's people, as they do in so many countries.

C. We should thank God that we have a President in the USA who acknowledges that human rights are from God, not the government. And who acknowledges God's Providence and Sovereignty, as he did on February 6.

D. We ought not to want to throw off the chains and fetters of God. God has limited human behavior by His laws. These laws are good and holy, and we should humbly accept God's laws, because we worship God, and because we know that God's laws are good for us. It is good for us to rest on the Lord's Day. It is good for us to abstain from adultery, and to have enduring families. It is good for us to refrain from stealing. It is good for us to be satisfied with what we have, and to stop coveting, and so on.

II. God has already installed His King in Zion.

A. Psalm two reveals the identity of God's King: God has installed His own Son as the King of the nations. His name is Jesus.

B. This installation has already happened. There will be a future fullness, but Jesus is the King of the earth now, and always has been. (Adam was never the King of the earth, and certainly Satan has never had any God-given authority over the earth. He claims such authority, but Satan is a rebel and a liar.)

C. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus announced that He had all authority, and sent His disciples to every nation, to preach the Gospel, to lead men and women to Christ, and to teach them all He had taught them.

D. As the Gospel is preached, the rule of Christ is being extended year after year, decade after decade, millennium after mellennium, and Christ's reign will definitely fill the entire earth (Daniel 2:31-45).

E. It is a comfort to know that God is in charge of nations, kings, and indeed all things. We often ask ourselves, "why do bad things happen to good people." Why did 9-11 happen? Why did the astronauts die in the Columbia crash? Why do we each have personal heartaches and tragedies? Because we believe in God's sovereignty, we can say that there must be a reason for all these tragic events. Life is not just "full of sound and fury signifying nothing." God is in charge, therefore He must have a good reason to allow these events.

III. Psalm 2 ends with a challenge to repent and turn to Christ, and acknowledge Him as Lord (2:10-12).

A. Each of us needs to personally repent and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

B. We need to be in prayer for our friends, neighbors, family,co-workers and so on, that they would turn to Christ. Pray that God would give them the gifts of repentance and faith. Pray for our nation. Pray for President Bush and the Congress. Pray for our military. Pray that God would make us even more of a Christian nation than we already are.

Conclusion: "Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." We need a place of refuge. We need to be saved from our sins, but we also need to be protected and comforted because of he trials of life. If you are being tried, tempted and discouraged, you can find refuge and comfort in Jesus, and in the concept of the Sovereignty and Providence of God over the affairs of men. Amen.