Psalm 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

This week there was a national election held in the Philippines. The ballots are still being counted, however the media is suggesting that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the winner of this election. Apparently the former leader’s daughter will be his vice president. We know that Mr. Marcos Sr. was a ruthless leader who loved other people’s money. His son refuses to acknowledge any wrong doing on the part of his father, and thus he could be a similar leader to that of his father.
Governing a nation should be done in the fear of God. King Solomon was a young man when his father, David, installed him as the next king of Israel. Solomon’s father died shortly after that. God visited king Solomon as a newly appointed king and He asked him what he wanted. King Solomon was a wise young man who did not ask for riches, but rather he asked for wisdom to know how to govern such a great nation. When Solomon became king, he understood that the nation of Israel was under God’s authority and he was just a human representative of what God wanted for the nation. He was not the sovereign ruler of the land.
We know from the Word of God that Solomon soon lost that place of humility. He chose a foreign wife as his first wife. That was strictly against God’s law. He also chose many more wives beside that one. The Bible tells us that his many foreign wives turned his heart away from God. The nation of Israel was not the same strong nation at the end of Solomon’s reign, that it had been when he was crowned king. It was not that God had changed. It was that Solomon chose to reject God’s authority and he chose to listen to the lies of the many wives he married. Their false gods became dominant in Solomon’s life and the kingdom suffered greatly as a result.
In our text, we see that when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to earth, God the Father will give the heathen to Him for His inheritance. We know there will be Gentiles who will be saved at the end of the Tribulation. They will enter the Millennium as well. They will be under the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The entire world will be under the possession and rule of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

After Jesus’ resurrection, He declared to His disciples that His Father had given Him all power in heaven and in earth. He has all power, but at this time, His children are not following Him with the humility that we should have. Every one of His children will realize His power at the judgment seat of Christ. We will be rewarded, or we will lose rewards based on our faithfulness to Him after salvation.
In the Millennium, Jesus Christ will sit as King of the earth. He will rule with a rod of iron. Not all will want to submit to His rule, but there will be no other “political entity” that they can run to and align themselves with. He will rule and all will bow before Him. We know from God’s Word that not all will bow with their hearts.
Those who have lived as rebels, know that it is tough to try to submit to someone you do not want to submit to. God has the solution to that problem in our text.
In verse 9 we see the authority that Jesus Christ will exercise when He is set up as the King. He will clean house. As we have mentioned, no lost person will enter the Millennium. He will be a just King. The earth has never experienced a just king like the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us who are saved, do not fully grasp the blessing of coming under the absolute authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be growing in that understanding after salvation. We will fully submit to that authority after death.
In verse 10 God gave wise counsel to the kings and the judges of the earth. We have mentioned before that God’s design is for rulers to know Him. The wise ruler is the humble ruler who understands he does not have the wisdom in himself to govern as he must. Even a father must know that he does not have the wisdom in himself to be a responsible father.
God created man and He alone knows how man should live. God gave Adam wise instructions and prior to the fall, Adam used that wisdom to name all the animals and never got mixed up. He did not forget the names he had given them. God also told Adam how he could prosper in life. He had great liberty in the Garden. Within that liberty there was one tree he was not to eat from. God knew man needed the freedom to choose. God also knew that man needed His wisdom to know how to choose wisely. Adam chose to ignore God’s wisdom and the result was disaster for him and for all of humanity.
The same would hold true for our P.M. He was recently asked a question regarding prayer in Parliament. He shrugged it off and tried to turn the attention to the climate and Ukraine, etc. He is a wicked man who will have all of eternity to gnash his teeth and cry out in torment, unless he humbles himself and is saved before he dies.
Those who are saved would be wise to consider God’s instructions given here and all through the Bible regarding leadership. I know I would have been wise to pay closer attention to God’s Word as a younger man. It is still wise to listen to Him now.
In verse 11 we see that God’s command is for rulers to serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. God is holy. Man is not born holy. Man can only begin to be holy after he is saved. God told Moses to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground in the presence of the LORD. Moses needed to stand in awe of the holy God.
In our Psalm, God is talking of the kings and judges who will be in authority during the Millennium. We have mentioned before that David will be one of them. Whoever Jesus Christ sets up as king or judge under Him will need to humble themselves and serve Him with fear. There will be no self-made men in power at that time. Jesus will not allow that to happen.
In verse 12 we see the importance of acknowledging the power and authority of the Son. It is my understanding that every ruler that has ever gone to see the pope, has kissed his ring. History tells us that some of the popes had great power over the rulers of countries. The popes are just men. They cannot call down fire from heaven. They cannot call down rain in a drought. They are fools because they reject God.
However, Jesus Christ is the rightful King of all. He has all power and He knows how to use that power with absolute justice. The wise ruler will bow to him today. Rather than all the foolishness of setting emissions goals that are unattainable and unnecessary, the wise ruler would repent toward God and be saved and then serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
We are told that there will be consequences for those who choose not to humble themselves before the LORD. Our P.M. thinks he has the power to force people to submit to his whims. He demonstrates his disgust for those who will not bow before him. He has questioned whether society should even tolerate such people. Such arrogance! Yet the media and many others accept his babbling.
Our text tells us that Jesus Christ will rule with true authority and He will rightfully demand that His subjects submit to Him. There will be no option. Jesus Christ needs to be the Lord of every true believer today. He has received much abuse from those who profess to know Him. We would be wise to humbly study His Word and submit to His Word. He is always right. His way will always work. He promises to bless all those who put their trust in Him. He is worthy of all praise and all worship.
Pastor Bartel