Why are the nations stirred up, and why do the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers scheme together against the Lord and against his chosen one.
Let us tear apart their chains, and throw their ropes off of us!
The one sitting in heaven laughs. The Lord mocks them.
Then, he speaks to them in his anger, and in his anger, they are terrified.
“I set up MY king on Zion, MY holy mountain.
I will recount the decree. The Lord said to me:
“You are my son. Today I have fathered you.
Ask me, an I will make the nations your property,
and will make your inheritance the ends of the earth.
You will shatter them with your iron club,
Like potter’s wares you will smash them.”
So, now, kings— be smart.
Accept the reprimand, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord in fear, trembling in fear!
Kiss the son, so he won’t be angry,
and your way be destroyed in his quick burning anger.
Blessed are all those who seek shelter in him.
Whoa.
That is a hot burning Psalm. It’s threatening, menacing. Intensely burning with anger, the Psalmist is defiant here, backed into a corner with his fists raised. He’s ready for a fight. This isn’t a desperate plea for God’s help, but a derisive taunt towards enemies of God’s chosen king. The message is clear: God is on my side. Don’t mess with me.
As I’ve meditated and prayed over this Psalm this week, I have a hard time getting that kind of boldness up. I’m careful about being too self-assured or too confident that I am in fact fighting on the Lord’s side of things, and I think that deserves care and prudence. But am I so cautious that it prevents me from being bold in the conviction that I’m fighting for the right directions?
I’m not altogether with this Psalm yet. So my meditations on it are really incomplete, filled with too much timidity. I’m really in awe of the confidence of this Psalm. Truthfully, I fear what my life would be like if it were dominated by this type of thinking!
Be Advised
The most scathing part of the Psalm to me is the turn in verse 10. My own translation reads:
So, now, kings— be smart. Accept the reprimand, you rulers of the earth.
It’s a turn of power. The seemingly powerless psalmist is laying his cards on the table, and believes himself to be the strongest one in the room because of the Lord’s support. The Lord looms in the background, like a musclebound bouncer who is itching for a fight. There it is, there are the facts as the Psalmist sees them, and once he lays them on the table, out int he open, he boldly says to his opponents, “Don’t be stupid. Get with the program here.”
The Source of Strength here is unquestionably the Lord. This is perhaps the hinge point of the entire Psalter, the Lord as the source of strength. He is the source of the strength we have, and the source of the strength we don’t. In this Psalm, that strength produces boldness to the point of absurdity, underlining the trust the Psalmist has with the only source of strength he thinks matters. In his view, everything else is literally a poor joke, a mockable play at power.
