1 Why do the nations rage
Psalms 2:1-3
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.”
The power behind the nations
From warfare in Israel to violent protests in India to the roiling of our fractured nation, it’s fair to ask the question, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” We learn in the book of Daniel those emissaries of the enemy are the power behind countries and geographical regions. (Daniel 10:13)
I can personally attest to this truth. My family and I were missionaries in Romania, shortly after the fall of communism in that country. Each month we had to take a lengthy trip from Romania to Hungary to renew are visas. The moment we passed from Romania to Hungary it was like a weight that was lifted off us. During that time, Romania suffered from a high suicide rate as well as peasant witchcraft – I was “cursed” one time but Jesus is stronger, so it had no effect on me.
I know this may seem odd but remember that salvation is a supernatural event. We were dead (Ephesians 2:1) and now we are reborn into the kingdom of God. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)” And God’s Word says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
We see Jesus as King
The 2nd Psalm is a fascinating Messianic Psalm, showing both Jesus as the Son of God and in His Messianic role as King of kings and Lord of lords. Verse twelve declares to the nations:
“Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry,
and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
This Psalm doesn’t cast Jesus in His earthly ministry as the “lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)” Instead, we see Jesus who is in His glory, as King of kings, and in comparison, we see how weak are the “greatest” nations, how useless are their plots.
Good News
So, you may ask, “Where’s the good news?” At the macro-level, our Lord is greater than all the nations of Earth combined. And on a personal level, we find at the end of verse twelve, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Jesus doesn’t just protect us; He blesses us. We are His servants (1 Corinthians 6:20) that He has called friends (John 15:15). From the message in the 2nd Psalm, it is clear that we are on the winning side!
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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