“Now,
therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve
the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 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.” -Psalm 2:10-12
(ESV) [Read Psalm 2]
Abraham
in the long ago was called by God from Ur of the Chaldees and
commissioned to go to the land of Israel and possess it. With the
going, God gave a covenant to Abraham which, briefly stated, was “In
you shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (see Genesis
12:1-3). That covenant was never broken, although God’s chosen
people erred, were punished, repented, were restored and a remnant of
them held onto the covenant promise. It was through King David’s
line that a Messiah, a Deliverer, was promised—and came, in Jesus
Christ. Psalm 2 declares that the Gentile nations will only find
peace and lasting joy as subjects of this promised King. The Psalm
begins by asking a pertinent rhetorical question: “Why do the
nations rage?” The implication is that the heathen kings cannot
possibly gain power over the Lord’s anointed One.
This
is a Messianic psalm. Although the Messiah, a descendant of King
David, has already come to earth, it was not yet time for Him to set
up the earthly kingdom expected and promised. His first coming was
for the purpose of making sacrifice for the rebellion and sin that
bound mankind and made rendered subjects in the nations of the earth
helpless without His interceding on their behalf. Verses 7 and 8 of
Psalm 2 are clear on God’s plans” ““The
Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask
of me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the
earth your possession.’ ”
Hebrews 1:5 cites Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 to show that Jesus is
the Messianic heir of David. And in Romans 1:4 the Apostle Paul sees
the resurrection of Jesus as His coronation and His entry into the
Davidic kingdom, or the “kingdom of all nations” in the promise
to Abraham.
What
then is the major lesson from this Messianic Psalm? The Lord’s
anointed will reign. All the kings of the earth will come to realize
that the One whom they reject is not just another ruler. He is the
Anointed of God who will reign over all the world. We are reminded
of the Scripture: “To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall
swear allegiance” (Isaiah 45:23b, quoted also in Romans 14:11 and
in Philippians 2:10).
The
only escape from the wrath to come before the Messiah King assumes
His rightful reign is to follow what we are taught in Psalm 2:12:
“”Blessed are
all who take refuge in Him.”
Rev.
Franklin Graham, son of Evangelist Billy Graham, feels led of God to
hold meetings in every state of the United States in 2016. Called
“Decision America” Tour, he plans to hold massive prayer and
Bible teaching/preaching inspirational rallies in the capitols of all
50 states. The first is set for Des Moines, Iowa on January 5, 2016.
Georgia’s is set for February 10, 2016 in Atlanta. He hopes to
hold these on or near the capitol grounds of each state. Contrary to
“don’t speak of God, it’s not politically correct,” Graham
will declare the message God has laid on his heart and call Americans
to repentance and faith. Throughout 2016, Graham asks Christians to
be involved with earnest daily prayers and attendance, if possible,
at the rally in their state. These rallies certainly carry out the
admonition in Psalm 2: “be
warned, O rulers…Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with
trembling” (Psalm 2:11b, 12).
Prayer:
Lord, you have warned us in Psalms and elsewhere of the destruction
of peoples and nations not following Your decrees. Awaken us to
repentance and faith. May we ‘rejoice with trembling,” and may
we turn again to You and ‘take refuge in You.” Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 01.03.20016
No comments:
Post a Comment