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“Psalm 2: Finding Refuge in The King”
Categories: Magnify the Lord!(By Michael Walls)
Have you ever felt like the world is spinning out of control—like leaders and nations are always at odds with each other? Are you concerned that all the plotting and warmongering will bring disaster to us all? Worried about the future for your children or grandchildren? These are legitimate concerns and should not be ignored, but we must each realize how little impact we actually have on the goings on around us. In fact, the farther away an event is from us, the less we can impact it at all. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, or that we should just ignore the challenges the world presents, I’m just saying we need to focus our energies where we can do the most good, which is on the people we come in contact with every day. We need to demonstrate the love of God in our relationships with others. But that doesn’t mean the world won’t go crazy on us.
In fact, That’s exactly the kind of world Psalm 2 describes. It starts with a picture of the nations raging and the rulers plotting, all of them trying to throw off God’s rule.
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.” (Psalm 2:1-2)
It’s a picture of rebellion—everyone wants to do their own thing, and God’s authority is treated like a chain to be broken. This creates chaos and uncertainty for everyone. But it’s not just the world leaders dong this-it is each one of us in our own way rebelling against God and creating our own chaos. The psalm however, tells us God’s response to all this nonsense:
“He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.” (Psalm 2:4)
God isn’t laughing because he is amused. Oh no. He is laughing at humanity’s foolishness. God isn’t worried or panicked by human rebellion as if we can somehow foil his plans. He’s already set His King—His Anointed—on Zion, His holy hill. This clearly is a prophecy pointing to Jesus, the Messiah who would ultimately rule over all nations.
God made a promise of universal reign to His Son. It’s a reminder that no matter how chaotic the world looks, God’s plan will not be stopped. This doesn’t mean there won’t be chaos, uncertainty, or pain. There always will be, except in the Lord. Only in Him is found certainty in love and in truth, and ultimate rest.
The psalm ends with both a warning and an invitation:
“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.” (Psalm 2:10-12)
This is a call to submit to God’s King (not just kings, but all of us), to find refuge in Him rather than in worldly kings and presidents. It’s a call to stand for what is right no matter what is happening in the world, to stand with Him instead of against Him. That’s where true blessing is found:
“Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” (Psalm 2:12)
It may look like the world is falling apart, and I suppose in a way it is. But remember, to us, who are in the world, we cannot see or fathom how the whole thing functions (ask Job how his conversation with God went…) any more than a rat can see the whole maze it scurries through looking for food. It looks like chaos and randomness, it looks too big to be controlled, but it is not. God has it in the palm of his hand and nurtures and cherishes it. So in a world that often feels like it’s falling apart, Psalm 2 reminds us that God is still on the throne—and the best place to be is in humble submission to His Son.
One day this world will end. Will you be with God or against him?
