God Laughs at the Nations' Rage

 “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” – Psalm 2:1

This Psalm views all the rulers of all the nations on earth with both rage and a strange unity in their rage. They rage because they hate God and His Messiah, or Anointed One. Humanity rages and wages war on one another, uniting in a singular cause in their passionate opposition of God. The raging nations of war devotedly seeks to break the cords from God and rule themselves. Ever since human intelligence crafted tools to make their work easier, the depraved mind of humanity sought clever ways to use it in a rage against another human being. What are nations but such a collection of such human beings, and what are rulers but ordinary sinners with a collection of tools to be used in a rage?

Such rage and such warfare is met with a riveting response by the Almighty: God laughs (verse 4).  What a laughable thing for creatures to gather in revolt to our Creator! It is utterly insane to attempt to match human rage with divine wrath, earthly war with the might of the Lord of heavenly hosts.

This Psalm promises that God’s chosen Messiah will be King on His holy hill ruling the nations. All must kiss the Son of God to have God’s wrath turned away, for “blessed are all who take refuge in [the Son]” (verse 12). The Psalmists warns kings and rulers of earth to “serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling” (verse 11).

Christian, today’s headlines are frightening. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine again meets east and west as the nations continue to rage. A people who simply desired to live in freedom from communism now must defend their land from superior firepower. To laugh at Putin’s rage seems wildly inappropriate. Yet, our heavenly Father laughs. Psalm 2 is not making light of momentary but intense afflictions. On the contrary, God’s laughter leads to the Son of God being a man of sorrows acquainted with grief and carrying our burdens. This is how the wrath of God turns away from sinful humanity: having love for the Son of God who is our rightful King, and serving Him with fear and trembling.

My personal reading lately has been I Peter. “In this you rejoice,” wrote Peter, “though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (I Peter 1:6). In what do we rejoice? There is a coming Kingdom that does not rage, a coming King who is our everlasting Prince of Peace. “Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (I Peter1:8). Our inexpressible joy is looking forward, even when the pain is intense now.

The nations who rage now have a coming Deliverer, Christian. He is coming with the clouds to cease all war on earth (Psalm 46:9). Beloved child of the Lord most high, do not fear the raging nations with trembling. Have a trembling fear of God who laughs at the raging nations. A healthy fear of God dismisses all earthly fears including war. Pray God to come and vanquish His enemies, which He will fully and finally do in the coming of Jesus. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess He is Lord.

Heavenly Father, we confess to be frightened by the raging nations. With great pain do we cry out to You. Our hearts break for Your people both in Ukraine and in Russia. Bless them and bless us with Peter’s extraordinary vision of Your coming imperishable, undefiled, and unfading Kingdom and comfort us in this truth. Provide our hearts with Your peace and joy, o Refuge of our souls, as we wait for it with patience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Christian's Fearful Courage and Strength

 

“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” -Psalm 2:11

Be strong and courageous. This was the command of God to Joshua at the death of Moses. A great leader the people of God had followed and known for forty years is gone, and Joshua had to take the lead. Where was such strength and courage for Joshua’s leadership to be found?

 “The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

The rich promises of God’s presence with him always are found in God’s Word which says, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” How are we as followers of Christ to serve Him with fear, and rejoice with trembling? The Lord tells Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Jesus told His disciples at the very end of Matthew, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Christian, in your fear of the Lord, the Lord dismisses all other fears. When the fearful Lord is on your side, who can be against you? With His faithful promises yours in Christ Jesus, be strong and courageous. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, thus a wise strength and courage in which to obey the commands of the Lord in a world which assaults the worship of God.

Honesty and faithfulness at work, home, as servants in the Lord’s church, as citizens of heaven in our citizenship on earth will take the Lord’s strength and courage in you. To have tongues of truth proclaiming God’s Word to the world will be met with the fleshly temptation for cowardly safety, and at the end of our comforts in our following of Christ and His Word we will need His strength and courage.

Do not ask the world if they think it is right. Do not ask the world for safety. Truth and safety are not in the world. Our only safety and truth are in the Lord who says, “be careful to do according to all that is written in (the Law of God).” Truth is in God’s Word and our fear of the Lord sends us to Christ for safety.

Heavenly Father, You are holy and awesome in power. In fear do we approach you with trembling to rejoice in hearing You say, “do not be afraid.” Dismiss our fears and grant to us Your mercies of strength and courage by Your Holy Spirit to obey Your commands. Forgive us, deliver us from temptation, give us all the needed mercies to be faithful. In Jesus’ name we ask it, amen.

Sent to Make Christ Known

“How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?” –Romans 10:14

I heard a haunting statistic recently: worldwide, 81% of non-believers do not personally know a Christian. In the U.S., it hovers around 60%. Think of the sea of faces your eyes pass by each day. They have souls; God knows them by name and has numbered their hairs. They are humans with fears and dreams and families. The overwhelming majority of them do not have a personal relationship with someone with the message of the only hope of rescue for sinners. 

In Acts 8, Philip was asked to join an Ethiopian eunuch in a chariot heading home from Jerusalem. The man was reading Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Which the man replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?

Your neighborhood is filled with sinners on a trajectory toward eternity to suffer God’s wrath, and they do not know you or any gospel proclaimer personally. This world is filled with sinners with no hope, and we have a message. Your neighborhood is not unreached, because by God’s grace He sent you there.

For what purpose did God rescue you? The Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners rescued to display Jesus Christ’s perfect patience (I Timothy 1:16) and that in the church God displays “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). We cannot display without intentionality. We are commanded by our Lord to make disciples of all people. Every background, every kind of sinner, every type of folks who may be uncomfortable to be around. Yes, they are blinded by Satan (II Corinthians4:4), but we do not proclaim ourselves but Christ Jesus who has the power to bring light from darkness! 

Do not be intimidated and let not your heart be troubled, dear disciple of Jesus. You weren’t given a spirit of fear, but of boldness to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ to such sinners. That is Jesus’ mission; that is your mission! Do not hesitate to gain relationships with those who are not following Jesus. Do not hesitate to tell them the glorious truth of Jesus Christ from His Word. With urgency and grace-gifted boldness, share the love of Jesus with those in darkness that they may see a great Light.

Heavenly Father, give us urgent and compassionate hearts to weep over sinners like Jesus wept over Jerusalem as a people without a shepherd. May we trust in Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to give us words to say as we faithfully fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord. Grant us Your mercy, O Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.