‘Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”…’
So begins Psalm 2.
The Lord, the One enthroned in heaven, spoken of in this Psalm is the Father. His anointed, the king He has appointed and thus anointed, is the Son, Jesus. These antagonistic rulers even include the modern equivalent of synagogue rulers, called pastors or vicars or priests or ministers of religion. These have a problem accepting the higher rule of the Father and Son in authority over them. Jesus is God’s answer to that vain antagonism. Jesus commands all, high and low, to love the Father, and in so doing, to love the Son, Jesus himself. “We already do!” those rulers protest. Yet the commands of the Father, given through the Son and Holy Spirit, are flouted and ignored, and interpreted away. Come, let us return to the Father our Maker. Let Him teach us His ways. The Father says, “I am God!” Love God openly with whatever voice He gives you, to tell His commands to the next generation, and without hypocrisy, to keep them yourselves. Then the Father and Son will come and make their home with you, so you may live this way forever.
