Psalm 2: God Rules

Key Verse
6     “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 
 
Meditation
God rules! And He invites us to find rest in worship of Him.
 
Burger King’s jingle annoys me, the refrain repeating “You Rule!” Interestingly, their attempt to manipulate human desire for sovereignty in marketing hits a wall when someone asks for a free refill on fries or whopper meat. Apparently, the customer does not rule after all.
 
Today’s psalm celebrates God’s rule by presenting human rebellion, revealing God’s response, declaring God’s reign, and guiding worshippers toward a wise response:
 
Rebellion (vv. 1-3) portrays humanity’s attempt to overthrow God’s authority, “taking counsel together against the Lord and His anointed.” Rebellion promises freedom but produces ruin, defiance delivering an empty life.
 
Reaction of God (vv. 4-6) is laughter, like a father who receives threats from his three-year-old. Human attempts to overthrow God’s sovereignty is absurd. The Lord has already established His King. God rules!
 
Reality (vv. 7-9) is revealed in the song of God’s King, Jesus the Messiah who reigns over the nations and possesses the ends of the earth. This “already” reality may not always align with our experiences, but truth is not dependent upon our perception. Jesus reigns right now (Revelation 21:5).
 
Response (vv. 10-12) is clear. Worshippers are called to serve the King with reverent joy, honoring His authority and bowing before His rule (Psalm 10:16).  The Lord sets up and removes earthly kings (Daniel 2:21), Jesus rules over all that is seen and unseen (Colossians 1:15-23), and one day the world’s kingdoms will become the Kingdom of our God (Revelation 11:15). 
 
Come, let us worship the King!
 
Today’s Reading
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.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s psalm, human rebellion, Divine reaction, the “already” reality, or our response. Why?
 
-Where do you believe the lie that you rule, or where do you fear the perceived rule of people who raise their fists against God’s rule?
 
-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, use of time and money, etc., different if this exalted rule of Jesus is true? Where do you need to find restoration under His beneficial rule? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
6     “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”