1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

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 break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2)

For those who would prove that God has a sense of humor, this passage affords the only testimony of God’s laughter. The subject matter, however, precludes there being any humor in this laughter.

Set before us is the arrogant rebellious attitude of the rulers of human governments who own no God but themselves. They rage and fume against the restrictions put upon them, their governments and their behavior by the decrees of the Almighty. They are filled with vain ambitions, pompous illusions of grandeur, exaggerated estimations of their persons and powers. These earthling rulers take counsel among themselves, with the vain hope of breaking the laws and limitations placed upon them by a sovereign God. They disagree, fight and war among themselves until God appears on their horizon; and then they unite and gather themselves together against Him and His Anointed. It is interesting to remember that Pilate and Herod were confirmed enemies until Jesus Christ entered their lives. From that day forward they became friends, united by their common hatred for Christ. This is a common refrain among men who are accustomed to grinding other men under their tyrannic heels. “We will not have this man (Christ) to reign over us.” They are unaccustomed to submitting themselves to men, and they think that they will not submit themselves to God either.

The Lord will have them in derision. He laughs at the foolish attempts of men to overthrow His good purpose. That God is not amused is clear in the next verse. He is angry. “He shall speak to them in His wrath.” When God speaks to wicked men, they hear no voice from heaven. Rather, they experience His displeasure. He “vexes” or troubles them. No nation has flaunted the moral laws of God, defied the divine order of justice, integrity and human relations, and survived to boast of it. All who have are now extinct, with the exception of the newest crop who will also soon follow them to the same inglorious grave.

God has established His own King. Jesus Christ has been crowned King of kings and Lord of lords in the court of heaven. And though earthly rulers will not willingly own His Lordship, He yet rules over them. To Him every knee will ultimately bow and every tongue will confess His Lordship. It would be wise if we did it now while He is yet willing to be our Saviour also.

-C.M.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1)

In this first psalm, the writer draws upon rich imagery to mark out a sharp contrast between the righteous, the “blessed man,” the man whom the Lord “knows,” and the “ungodly,” those who fear not God. The God-fearing man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Their counsel or philosophy does not chart the course. The wisdom or reason of unconverted worldly minded men is set on mischief, avarice, greed, worldly lust, malice, temporal things. The godly man reasons differently. He delights in God’s law, God’s counsel, the inspired scriptures, God’s leadership by the Holy Spirit. He meditates upon them, thinks on them continually. They become a part of his being, and direct his every action and undertaking.

The righteous man does not stand in the way of sinners. His anchor is not theirs. He is not established by what they are. Their hope is in temporal things, wealth, power, the admiration of men, the achievements of men. He is established in Christ. He is like a tree planted. It is fixed forever, never to be moved as long as it lives. Like a tree planted by the rivers of water, the godly man is fixed in Christ Who is the way, the truth, and the life. All that man needs to sustain him and make him fruitful flows from Christ. As the planted tree brings forth fruit, so the righteous brings forth lasting fruit.

The ungodly do not stand. They have no certain fountain of water, so they dry up. They are not fixed, so they drift with the wind. They will not stand in the congregation of the righteous, and cannot stand in the day of judgment which will surely come.

The “blessed” man does not “sit” in the seat of the scornful. The scornful is a fool resting upon a false hope. He is at ease when he derides the righteous and mocks the warnings of a Holy God, but his rest and security are a delusion. It will surely fail. The blessed man rests under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty. The righteousness of Christ is his hope and refuge. Because his “leaf,” the vitality of his life, gathers food from the eternal God, it shall never with, but will prosper in all that he does.

-C.M.

“Now therefore be wise, O kings. Be instructed you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry”.

Psalm 2:10-11.

Present day kings of the earth should not be thought to be heads of state. That may have been true in times past, but power is rarely in their hands now. The Hitlers, Stalins, Titos, and Sadam Husseins may have a short day, a passing flash of glory, but they are soon overthrown in today’s world climate. No, the abiding power that holds sway over the minds and souls of today’s populace are those who sit at the heads of colleges and universities, determining what will be taught as truth. They are the popular authors and publishers of books who hold sway over the reading public, actors and producers of movies and television entertainment, who created a fantasy, a false illusion of values and realities of life. They are the news Anchors and talk-show Hosts who frame and color every event and pending consideration with a contempt for anything spiritual or godly. Included, also in today’s despots are Supreme court judges who, appointed for life, are free to frustrate the will and minds of the people and rule them by perverse interpretation and application of sound and wholesome laws.

These are they who rage, fume, and rail against God’s anointed King. They have determined that they will break the decrees of God, despise, slander and trod His blessed Son underfoot. They will change times and seasons, pervert right and wrong, and thumb their noses at every convention among civilized and orderly society that has the slightest connection with the Almighty.

The power of these creators of “political correctness” have succeeded in eliminating the hated three-letter “G” word from polite society and public speech! Profanity, obscenity and cursing is not only permitted, but admired; but let someone suggest that God exists or has anything to do with whatever comes to pass, and he is immediately censored, ridiculed, and silenced.

God’s laughter at this sort of thing must not be construed to be an indication of His sense of humor. It is a laugh of derision. Jesus Christ was not, as is usually portrayed by these “kings”, merely a good man, a social reformer who, unfortunately, ran afoul of the religious and political climate of his day, and had his objectives frustrated. No, the Almighty has set His King on High. All power is in His Hand…right now. All He needs do to ask the Father, and God will put a man, a king, a nation, in His Blessed Had to do with whatever He pleases. They are all His inheritance. Far from being frustrated Jesus accomplished exactly what He came to do…the redemption of His people. If the kings of the earth were wise, and not fools, they would be bowing at His feet, kissing His blessed Hand, and begging Him to be their Savior and King.

– C.M.

“My voice You shall hear in the morning O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You. And I will look up. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight: You hate all the workers of iniquity….The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” (Psalm 5:3-6)

The Bible tells us that God is love. That statement is certainly true. Love is not merely an attribute of God: it is the essence of His Person. Love exists in the universe; men are capable of love and nobility only because they are made in the image of the Creator, and as finite mortals, partake in measure of Infinite Immortality.

God’s love, however, is popularly misrepresented. The enemy of our souls has cleverly twisted this Divine Benevolence to a caricature of a smiling old Grandfather who indulges the meanness and wickedness of people as merely innocent mischievousness. The Bible does not permit this concept, for the God of the Bible is Holy. Holiness is also the essence of His Person. Holiness is not suspended by love during the willful evil acts of men. His anger is ready to burn hot against all who practice wickedness.

Our text tells us that God positively hates all the workers of iniquity, that He abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. It is no small part of our prayers for His protection and deliverance to know that God is no friend of those who devour and persecute the righteous. We are made to understand that God is the Avenger of the downtrodden and abused, and are not moved to strike out against those who oppress us. Our God will do that much better, and far more effectively than we can. We are forbidden to hate them with a bitter carnal hatred, for our God hates them with a perfect and Holy Hatred.

So rather that rise in the morning, trembling and fearful of what may befall us during day, we may come before God with thanksgiving, praise and adoration, laying all our petitions in His Hand. If we are His obedient trusting child, He loves us with a holy and divine love. That means He will put a difference between us and all those who would oppress us. He destroyed the Egyptian army in pursuit of His liberated people. He will do no less for us. He is imminently worthy of our adoration.

– C. M.

“Lord how have they increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me. ‘There is no help for him in God”. (Psalm 3: 1-3)

It is no easy matter to maintain our faith and peace when reversals seem to multiply against us. Our lives are on a fast track downhill. One ill tiding falls close on the heels of another. No small part of these manifold blows is the knowledge that everyone is taking note of them. Everyone who has had any peeve, envy, resentment or ill feeling toward us is taking courage from our miseries, and prophesying total ruin.

David’s son, Absalom has succeeded in mounting a rebellion against his father, and has enlisted much support. He has gathered such a host of the king’s enemies that the man whom the Lord loves is obliged to flee. Political bootlickers and news pundits, sensing David’s job performance approval has sunk to new lows, prophesy his case to be hopeless. “Not even God can help him now”!

Amazing! The arrogance of men! God may be God, and He may be supreme, sovereign and omnipotent; but after all those attributes are merely theological shibboleth. Nobody really counts on them as reality when they must be applied to the hard facts of circumstances. A few people may be over-ruled by God. Even a large number may be set aside by God’s power. But when it comes to a great multitude of people…all of them against us, is it not foolish for us to hope in God putting all those people’s opposition down?

But that is precisely what David did. “I cried unto the Lord with my voice. And He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept: I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” Nothing yet had changed on the public scene. The gainsayers were still shaking their heads. Enemies were still gloating. The rebellion was still growing, and David was still retreating. But the outcome of the battle was settled, and David was resting peacefully in that. One fact outweighed everything else that was happening: vs.8: “Salvation belongs to the Lord”. There is not enough flesh on earth, nor enough demons and devils in the heavenlies to overthrow God’s salvation. It is exclusive His alone to withhold or grant. Blessed is that man whose hope is in God.

– C. M.

“Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many are they that say of my soul. There is no help for him in God. But thou O Lord art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I laid me down and slept” (Psalm 3:1-3)

Truth and reality is not discovered by majority vote. It is not created by the sum total of all the wisest and informed of men. All that should ever be that truly is, was before man was formed from the dust of the earth. In fact man came rather late. Although made in God’s image, he was the last on the agenda. His counsel was not taken into account in the ordaining and bringing to pass all of which the universe and its operation consist.

Job’s wisest counselors, his best friends came and sat with him for days before opening their mouths. When they had finished all their counsel, their analysis, and their prophecies, Job was as miserable, as ignorant, as stupid, as bitter and hopeless as before they appeared. He then adds his own ignorance to the sum of his friends. God’s reply comes swiftly and crisply. “Who is this that darkens

counsel by words without knowledge?” The Almighty then pounds them with a series of mouth closing questions: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “Where are the foundations fastened?” “Who laid the cornerstones?” “Have you….?” “Can you…?” “Will you…?” “Do you know the time…? “Who put wisdom in the mind?”

Parents certainly know more than children. Young men and women will do well to seek and listen to the counsel of elders. Considerable wisdom has been accumulated and preserved in libraries of good books. Pundits and editors exhort us from the pages of the publications or the venues from which they speak. But when we have heard them all, our questions are merely multiplied

Thousands of years of living in and exploring this planet has only increased its mysteries: and that is to say nothing of the boundless universe of which the earth is no more than a speck of dust.

When we find ourselves in a hopeless situation, and the best and most beloved of our available counselors give us no help, we ought lift our eyes a bit higher than the level of our fellow creatures. There is One Who stands outside all that is created, and Whose treasures of knowledge are unopened by creatures. He has the power, wisdom and compassion to silence our fears, and order our faltering steps. He will speak if we seek Him.

When He does, and we have been properly humbled from our arrogance, we will be enabled to quietly rest in the Voice that spoke when there was no one to hear, and yet abides as the single Source of all wisdom.

– C. M.