Psalm 2 (NKJV)
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot 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 bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break[a] them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,[b] lest [c] He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
I have always found Psalm 2 fascinating in light of Psalm 1. Whereby Psalm 1 gives great blessing to those who have submitted to the word of God, Psalm 2 shows the great opposition in the human heart against the sovereignty of God.
I know of no other psalm which more accurately describes the widespread rejection in the human heart for the authority of God. This is the source of all sin. Right from the garden, we see the point of attack which Satan used. He basically asked, “Has God really said…” and we know the rest of the story.
The human heart is evil and there is rebellion from the onset to any symbol of authority. Consider the heavens and all that is in them. God commands the sun, moon, stars, seas, wind, plants, animals and they all obey Him. It is only in the human heart where there is any form of dissent.
So in the first 3 verses, you see what man has agreed to do and indeed do we now see signs of that in various places physically and in some countries even, public prayer to God is more and more out of favour and even in Ghana, trying to insist that you live for the glory of God can and will attract mockery among co-workers, school mates or even family members.
Even some ‘churches’ have not been spared in this regard and you find many such institutions no longer governed by the word of God but more by majority decision or by what is popular in the culture at the time to make decisions. That is tragic!
However, God is not in the least bit bothered by the futile plans of human beings because they ultimately fall short. Verses 4-6 make this abundantly clear. God has determined what he is going to do and all the counsel and scheming by the kings and rulers and wise men of the earth will come to nothing.
Even more significantly, Psalm 2 is a messianic psalm and points ahead to the true King and Anointed One of God, Jesus Christ. From verse 7, Christ speaks about the declaration the Father has made concerning Him and the promises that He has received after His suffering. The nations belong to Him even though some of them do not realize it yet.
There is a warning of judgment at the end of the psalm for all those who do not make peace with the Son of God. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day when grace has been extended. Kiss the Son for the time is coming when His wrath will be unleashed upon all the children of wrath and it will be justified.
What about you today? Do you truly know Christ or are you still fighting God at every turn of your life?
Fellow Christian, I leave you with this:
1 John 5:3-4 (ESV)
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Every word He has spoken is designed for His glory, our good and our flourishing. Do not allow the world to influence your thinking that it is oppressive somehow. Rightly divide the word and obey! God bless you this week!
