Rebels Without a Clue

January 5th – Les Kovacs              Psalm 2

Observe:  The psalmist gives us a unique perspective of looking at God seated upon His throne, looking down at the kingdoms of this earth.  And what does God see?  He sees the kings of the earth setting themselves against Him and His Anointed One, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He sees their vain plotting, shaping this world according to their will and desires.  They want to break away from the Lord’s control upon them, and live according to their own ways.

But, God on His heavenly throne, laughs at their pitiful efforts to make their own power seem to prevail over God’s.  He rebukes them and tells them that He has installed His own King on His high mountain.  To this King, God will give the nations as His inheritance.  This King, whom God calls His Son, will rule over all the ends of the earth  He will break the reign of the earthly kings and rulers shatter them like pottery.
The psalmist warns the earthly kings to beware.  They should turn from their ways and serve the Lord with fear and trembling.  He warns them to “Kiss His Son”, or their ways will lead to destruction when His wraths flares upon them.  But He blesses those who take refuge in Him.   
 
Interpret:  Psalm 2 is one of those psalms where you don’t have to dig too deep to find the gold.  It’s the only place in Scripture that I have found where we’re told that God laughed, but it’s not the fun-loving kind of laugh that makes you feel good.  No, this is a scoffing kind of laughter as He watches prideful earthly rulers follow their own wicked will, thinking that God won’t see what they’re doing, or that God doesn’t really care what they do, or that He just isn’t more powerful than they are in this world.  Or worse, that He doesn’t actually exist.  That’s what the scoffers say, anyway.  That’s what the mockers think.  However, God in His great patience and lovingkindness continues to warn them to turn from their evil ways because His Son, the Anointed One, will bring destruction and punish all who refuse to acknowledge His authority over all the earth.  God’s willing ness to wait until the appointed time to act shows great restraint, power, and mercy on His part.

The psalmist closes by promising a blessing to those who trust in the Lord and take refuge from the ways of the world in Him.

Application:  This psalm was written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. According Acts 4:24-25, King David wrote Psalm 2, possibly as a continuation of Psalm 1.  So, there were 28 generations between the time this Psalm was written and God's Anointed One set foot upon this earth as Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man.  Yet the Holy Spirit declared through David that Jesus would defeat the rulers of this world, and bless those who turned to Him.

King David saw the rebellion of the nations against God.  He looked at the chaos of the world in his day and said that even though the nations have rebelled against God, He is sovereign, and that we must submit to Him while there is still time.  Yet, even in his day, the kings of the earth rushed madly about to serve any god except the one true God.  

Are our governments today any different?  How many modern nations even proclaim the existence of God?  Countries that may have honored God in the past do nothing more than give lip service to Him today.  Countries whose laws were founded upon Biblical principles, seem to be rushing away from His Holy Word and Laws of God under the guise of separation of church and state.  Governments are slowing eroding away the Biblical foundations of our nations.

Although Jesus was, and still is, mocked, ridiculed, and blasphemed by people, God will not allow His Son to be stripped of His crown.  Though our nations rebel and our earthly governments rage against Him, God has still raised Him up, exalted Him, glorified Him, and set Him upon The Holy Mountain (v 6).  In spite of anything that mere mortals may do, there will come a day when those rulers will be forever sorry (v 12).

So, is there any hope for the kingdoms, the nations, of this world?  Yes, there is.  It is in order to give us hope that God has inspired such psalms as this to be included in His Holy Scriptures.  In verses 10 through 12, the psalmist urges the rulers of this world to serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling, that He might bless those who find refuge in Him.

God sees all of creation from its beginning to its end, not from some minute vantage point somewhere in middle like we do.  All the plotting, planning and accumulation of power by the rulers of the earth really is plotting in vain, because in the end, Christ will rule, and every nation will bow down before Him.

As individuals, we too are called to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.  Left to our own devices and hopelessly condemned before God because of our sins, we look to Christ as the only One who can restore us to a right relationship with God the Father. 

Questions:  Do you still make plans without asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
Do you rely on your own wisdom and strength to carry out those plans?  Or do you bend your will to the Lord's?

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for Your mercy when we forget our place as Your adopted children.  Forgive us and guide to us to seek Your will in every interaction we have with the people we meet, and in every circumstance we encounter, so that we may reflect Your glory, and Your love for all of creation.  In the mighty and merciful name of Jesus, Amen.
 
Song:  King Jesus – Matt Redman
https://youtu.be/cKYzdRGQ-L8​