Rejoice and be glad

DEVOTION

PSALMS

REJOICE AND BE GLAD

Ps 2:7-12

7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:

He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.   8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

NIV

Now that we have seen the rebellion laughed at by God and a warning that those who rebel, that plot in vain, will be rebuked and terrified, now God gives us the promise of Jesus. He is the Son, and Jesus will have all those nations, even the ones who conspired against God, as his inheritance. That is, Jesus has all authority been given to him. Everything on this earth is his. Although Jesus offers the free gift of salvation through his redemptive work on the cross as well as eternal life through his defeat of death by his resurrection, some nations will continue to conspire against him and plot in vain. We could make it more personal by using the word people instead of nations. What we see here is that although Jesus offers all he does, for those people who refuse, they will be dashed to pieces like pottery. This is the contrast John makes about either eternal life or perish. It is one or the other. We are either in or out, in one piece or in pieces. So God being a loving merciful Father, gives them another warning. He tells people to be wise. He uses kings and rulers, but just think about that. People who refuse the Lordship of Jesus in their lives, are in fact setting themselves up as their own king, their own ruler of their lives. So be warned people who have not accepted Jesus. Be warned all who plot in vain, the course of their own lives. Be warned, turn from your ways and serve the LORD with fear and trembling. The original language says reverence the Lord, spin around under the influence of violent emotion,(rejoice) and shutter. This certainly speaks of being born again, of coming to Christ with a change of heart. Kiss the Son. That is what we have done. We have kissed Jesus. If people do not heed the warning, their ways will be destroyed, for just as we are warned in the rest of scripture, Jesus will come as a thief in the night, it will happen in the twinkling of an eye. The dead will be raised and we who are alive will be caught up in the air with our Lord. But for those who refuse, who plot in vain, that same moment they will experience his wrath. So again we are told, if we take refuge in Jesus, we will be blessed. How wonderful to have that assurance. How peaceful is our heart because we are in Christ. How blessed to not have anxiety, fear, or worry. We are at peace with God and only need to trust in him. He provides all we need in addition to eternal life. Let us rejoice and be glad.