If you read the entirety of Psalm 2 you should realize it is a Messianic Psalm, a prophetic utterance regarding the person and coming of the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice God the Father’s declaration in Psalm 2:6-7 that His Son, the “begotten” of the Father is King who will reign on the “holy hill of Zion” (the historic and ancient site of Jerusalem). The psalm ends with an exhortation to make peace with the Son of God [“Kiss the Son”] and an invitation to place one’s faith in Christ–“Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him” (2:12).
Our devotional study today is taken from Psalm 2:1-4.
Psalm 2:1-4 – “Why do the heathen [the nations of the earth] rage, and the people imagine [ponder; speak; declare] a vain thing [empty; worthless]? 2 The kings of the earth set [stand; withstand] themselves, and the rulers take counsel [consult] together, against the LORD [Jehovah; Eternal, Self-existent God], and against his anointed [Messiah], saying, 3 Let us break [break down; pluck off; tear away] their bands [bonds; chains; shackles] asunder [break down; tear away], and cast away [cast down; fling] their cords [ropes; chains] from us. 4 He that sitteth [dwells; inhabits; abides] in the heavens shall laugh [scorn; mock; hold in derision]: the Lord [God] shall have them in derision [mock; scoff; sneer; deride].”
The raging of the nations of the world and their bent for war and bloodshed dominate the nightly news around the earth. It seems there is not a corner of the world where there is not war or impending war. The United Nations, the embodiment of the nations of the world congregating and orchestrating with no consideration of the Sovereign God of Creation, plot and plan in vain to keep peace apart from and in opposition to the Prince of Peace. Make no mistake; the rulers of the earth are mere figureheads, front men (and women) for Satan and his minions—the rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) who, from the fall of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-15), have set themselves against the God of Heaven (Psalm 2:2).
Why this provocation of rebellion against God? Why this hatred for the Son of God? We read in verse 3 it is because men have rejected God, His Law and the order of His creation. Some declare themselves atheists, agnostics or skeptics; others are atheists in the practical sense—stating their belief in the existence of God while living in opposition to His Law and order. “There is no God” declares the fool (Psalm 14:1; 53:1), as though His rejection of the LORD of heaven and earth diminishes His rule or judgment.
The nature of man is one of sin and rebellion. Having denied God, rejected His Law and turned to his own way, man proposes he is the sovereign of his soul and destiny. We read in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” Romans 1:20 declares, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”; and yet man denies the Creator and proposes his own explanation for nature.
Having rejected His Creator, cast aside the “bands” and “cords” of God’s Law (Psalm 2:3), man becomes a law unto himself. The diminishing of America’s military leadership in the world has paralleled her moral decay as a nation. The murder of the unborn and the celebration of moral depravity on a scale that rivals ancient Rome are indicative of a people whom God has given “over to a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28).
What is God’s response to the foolishness of men and nations that reject Him? “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision” (Psalm 2:4).
Copyright 2015 – Travis D. Smith