The Second Psalm

Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
"Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!"

He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
"But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain."

I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, 'You are my Son,
Today I have begotten You.
'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
You shall rule them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware,'"

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

The nations still roar in vanity against the Judeo-Christian God, and for good reason. They take counsel seeking what they think is best, using diplomacy, force, currency, rhetoric, and whatever other tools are at their disposal. Yet, they can all agree that the God of the Judaic and Christian scriptures is not a friend in the interest of maintaining political and financial power or stability. This is because God claims the right to judge. Every tactic, every word, every thought, is evidence that will be held against, not only the leaders of this world, but every individual. The standard is clear. There is no hope of maintaining innocence. Every ruler is guilty, and no citizen is righteous enough to replace him.

With great human wisdom the rulers of earth quickly come to the consensus that escape is the only way to freedom from guilt. The psalmist records the conspiring rulers' statement:

"Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!"

They clearly see the truth that they can not go free without a change. The law bears down on them, and they know they cannot bear it, so they plan their escape. This hope is false. These rulers are naive to the fact that God laughs at their attempts, because he knows their plans and has a plan of his own. He has appointed his son as his heir. Every nation and everything of value on the earth has been given to this heir. Furthermore, this heir has the authority and power to bring all people into submission, forcing them to bear the burden of their guilt.

It is easy to read this psalm and consider God to be a cruel despot who cares nothing for humanity. Yet, we praise the human judge who enforces the laws that protect us from the wrath, jealousy, or stupidity of others. Further, we would look very unkindly indeed on the warden who knew of his convicts' plan to escape, but turned a blind eye, affording them the chance to endanger the public welfare again. We consider God to be cruel because either we refuse to accept our guilt, or we know that we are guilty, but don't want to suffer the consequences.

The rulers' view:
We might say calmly, "I am a good person, and though I endanger the public welfare (or at least the hearts of those close to me) with my fits of wrath, jealousy, and stupidity, I don't mean to do it. It just happens, and everyone is a bit wrathful, jealous, and stupid sometimes." Then the pitch of our voice raises slightly, " And anyway, you stop picking on us, God. You know we are going to screw up." We become a bit more frantic, "I can't be perfect, and you could have chosen to create me that way, but you didn't, so ignore my guilt, or change your standards, or something, because this is not fair!" And we have absolved ourselves of guilt because God should have made a way out for us.

Then we come to the advice that the psalmist gives to the rulers of this world who rage against the chains that God binds them with on account of their overwhelming guilt. He pleads with them to show discernment, the ability to judge the situation rightly:

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.

It is so important that we judge the situation rightly, or we will mistake this advice for foolishness. If we believe the cruel despot view of the situation this advice is the most detestable, self-abasing, unrighteous way of moving forward. I would rather perish than worship such an unfair god.

But what if God has provided a way out, and we are too prideful to consider it?

The psalmist's view:
The psalmist says with tears, "You have made me and all mankind, but we are wrathful, jealous, and stupid. I see the goodness of this creation, but I also see that my thoughts, words, and actions are in opposition to the continuance of that goodness. I admit that I don't belong here and deserve death, but you, God, deserve worship because your thoughts, words, and actions are the source of that goodness. I have heard that you have a plan to redeem me from my wrath, jealousy, and stupidity. I beg that you would do it."

If the psalmist has judged the situation rightly and is begging the leaders of this world to do the same, then his advice makes perfect sense. He even seals it with with the final line of hope for redemption:

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? Because they have wrongly judged their situation. Yet, the psalmist presents the truth, hoping that all may reconsider.