Our world is not getting any better. Indeed our Western world seems to be increasingly wrecking itself on the rocks of unadulterated selfishness.\u00a0\u00a0Where do we turn for hope?<\/p>\n
The Book of Psalms reminds us that in the midst of the day-to-day realities of life, our only hope is to turn to the Lord God for his help and to his Word for his wisdom.<\/p>\n
Psalm 2, the second of the two foundational psalms (Psalm 1 is the first) jumps straight in with a question: \u2018Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain<\/em>\u00a0against God and his king?\u2019<\/p>\n And, in setting the scene for the whole Book, it continues with words that speak of the futility of humankind:\u00a0Why 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, saying, \u201cLet us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Psalm 2:2-3).<\/p>\n Why is it that men and women, created beings, plot against their creator? And in anticipation of the events that led to Jesus\u2019 death, why is it that kings and rulers \u2013 Herod and Pilate \u2013 conspire together to bring down God\u2019s elect king? And why is it that men and women speak of God\u2019s instruction as\u00a0bonds\u00a0<\/em>to be broken and\u00a0cords<\/em>\u00a0to be cast off? Hosea 11:4 speaks of God\u2019s\u00a0cords of\u00a0<\/em>kindness, and Jesus invites us to come to him for his\u00a0yoke is easy and\u00a0<\/em>his\u00a0burden is light<\/em>\u00a0(Matthew 11:30).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n With this beginning, Psalm 2 introduces a theme that bubbles through the psalms \u2013 namely\u00a0the plotting\u00a0<\/em>of men and women against their creator. At the same time we are introduced to two other characters we find in the Psalms, God and his anointed King.<\/p>\n We then read God\u2019s response:\u00a0He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury saying, \u201cAs for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Psalm 2:4-6).<\/p>\n And in verses 7-9, God\u2019s king now speaks:\u00a0I will tell of the decree: The Lord\u00a0<\/em>(that is, God)\u00a0said to me, \u201cYou 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. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter\u2019s vessel<\/em>.\u201d At Jesus\u2019 baptism and transfiguration, God the Father proclaimed him his Son in words drawn from this verse \u2013 and also from Isaiah 42:1. When Jesus commissioned the apostles, he emphasized\u00a0the nations<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0the ends of the earth<\/em>, taking up this promise concerning God\u2019s King.<\/p>\n