1. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

7. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

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.

1. The heathen are raging.

2. The people imagine a vain thing.

3. The kings of the earth set themselves.

4. The rulers take counsel together.

Someone might think the Bible is an old book, very old-fashioned and not appropriate for use by "modern man". But doesn't this verse tell exactly what is happening in this "modern world"? The heathens (unbelievers) are tumultuous. They are very unsettled, listening to "experts" in every field disagree and even conflict with one another. They try to find purpose for life and relief from its tensions in sex, drugs, drinking, dancing, and whatever mischief they can get into. Nothing works. The people imagine they can find true lasting peace and happiness in this life and still live like the devil. The kings of the earth set themselves against the laws of God. They sincerely believe they can "beat God" if they can only get together and decide on a program of peace, prosperity, and freedom. The rulers take counsel together in order to talk out their differences. They seek peace in spite of the fact that Jesus said there would be no peace. They do not notice Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars until He comes again. Every time there is a "summit conference", whether it is about the economy or some new peace movement, the national news media is there hoping against hope that somebody said something or somebody did something that will bring about Utopia on this earth.

Verse 3, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast their cords from us." All the rulers of this world are doing all they can to remove the restrictions placed on them by Almighty God. Note: the economic problems faced by the world is because the Word of God has been rejected. In II Thess. 3:10-12, God commands that people who don't work ought not to eat, but heathens declare, "give us our entitlements". Romans 13:8, "Owe no man anything", but heathens say, "Borrow all you can borrow. Pay it back later, if you want to." Romans 12:1, God says "Present your bodies a living sacrifice." But heathens say, "Get all the gusto out of life you can, you only go around once."

1. God is laughing.

2. God shall have them in derision.

3. God shall speak to them in His wrath.

4. God shall vex them in His sore displeasure.

God doesn't seem to be too bothered by all this sin and rebellion does He? If we are going to be like Him, then we shouldn't let it bother us to much either. He knows what will happen in the end, doesn't He? Hasn't He written this down in the Bible for us? Since we know what God is going to do, we ought to trust Him to do it and rejoice because this is God's plan. I don't mean to imply that we ought to be careless or unsympathetic. We ought to be like those people in Malachi 3:16-18. They lived in a bad time and couldn't do anything at all about it. But they met together and talked about the bad situation. They prayed and worshipped God. The Bible says God hearkened to them and took notice of them and wrote it down in a book of remembrance. God said, "They shall be mine when I make up my Jewels." Isn't that what we really want?

Don't let the wickedness of this world cause us to lose direction. Let's keep our hearts, minds, eyes and ears on Jesus Christ and His exceeding precious promises. It is by these things that we are partakers of the divine nature. Verse 7 tells us why the wickedness of this world shouldn't bother us. God has sent His only begotten Son to die for us. Our sin is forgiven by His precious blood, and our eternity is secured. God is talking to His Son, Jesus Christ in verse 8 and 9. Jesus is the one who receives the heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. Jesus is the one who will rule this earth with a rod of iron for 1,000 years. He will use this rod of iron to punish all nations that disobey His commands. In verse 10-12, God is talking to the kings and judges of this earth. Even though God sees all this rebellion, He still extends His invitation to all who will listen. WHAT WONDERFUL LOVE!! Don't you want to be more like Jesus?