Day 21: Psalm 2- God Rules

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed
2 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 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 burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
 
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
 
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
 
Meditation
A colleague I worked with in Jakarta once said to me, “everyone is trying to rule somewhere, trying to claim a piece of turf as their own.” Psalm 2 reminds us God rules over every ruler, including authority over every king and government power on earth. The Lord who sits on the throne (4) is King, ruler over all. The Lord laughs at those who scoff at His authority.
The Lord is King forever (Psalm 10:16), He sets up and removes kings of the earth (Daniel 2:21), He rules over all that is seen and unseen (Colossians 1:15-23), and the kingdoms of this world will one day become the Kingdom of our God (Revelation 11:15). 
We are wise to serve the true King with whatever turf He has entrusted to us- a place to live, a family or people to live with, a place to work or study… everything. We are wise to humbly submit to the Son (11-12), to find blessing in taking refuge under His authority (12).  We are foolish to challenge the authority of the true King by trying to form our own kingdoms and live for our own glory.  
The blessing of God is available for all who take refuge under His rule (12). His yoke is easy and His burden light and He invites you to surrender to His love (Matthew 11:28-30).
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you believe the headlines of this Psalm more than the headlines of the news or the bottom line of your budget?
 
-What turf has He entrusted to you? Do you use the turf to build your own Kingdom or further His?
 
-Abraham Kuyper said in his inaugural address at the dedication of the Free University in Amsterdam, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” How is your work, relationships, and use of money different if this exalted rule is true?
 
Key Verse
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.