Psalm 2 – 150 Days of Purposeful Meditation (Day 2) Remix

God is laughing hysterically at the state of our Union.  We celebrate this day as our independence day.  The day that our nation declared independence from the authority that then ruled over it.  Since then, we have been on an increasing decline drifting farther and farther away from all authority…except our own.

The Kings of Psa 2 “take their stand together against the Lord and His anointed…[so that they may] tear [the Lord’s] fetters…and cast away [His] chords from them.”  They want the right to rule and govern themselves apart from God, their creator.  They want to make their own decisions about what is right and what is wrong.  They want to make their own standards of law and morality.  They want to write their own commandments to live by.  They do not want the Lord or His Anointed sticking their noses into their business.

Sound familiar?  Our own nation, as many freedoms as we boast of (even the fact that I am able to write this without threat of open persecution is indicative of the freedoms we enjoy), as much relative good as we pursue; it is all ultimately for the expressed purpose of pursuing our own standard of “happiness” apart from any outside ruling authority.  This agenda is very clear, though its hard to know where to begin the discussion.  Marriage, abortion, homosexual “rights”, even the blurring of gender and gender roles.  These are among the many issues that our government is in the process of redefining and legislating according to its own agenda (admittedly the agenda of the “people”), apart from the expressed agenda of the Lord and His Anointed.  We quibble about gun control, taxes and privacy while as a nation we collectively thumb our noses at our Creator and His chosen King.  We have nationally rejected His law, His way and His chosen One.  The message of this Psalm is for us, today.

How does the Lord respond to the state of our union today?  Is He worried?  Is He afraid of where we may go next?  Is He concerned that we used to follow a morality consistent with Judeo-Christian values and have in recent days made every attempt to distance ourselves from those values?  No.  This Psalm tells us that as He looks down from Heaven upon the United States of America with its “In God we trusts” and “God bless America’s”, He sits back and laughs hysterically.

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. (Psa 2:4 NAU)

He laughs and He mocks us as we seek to redefine morality in our own image.  Autonomy is the god of our day along with his children, relativism and tolerance.  These have become our championed values, the new morality and anyone who resists this morality is counted as treasonous.  And since the Lord and His Anointed One are decidedly against the gods of our nation; we seek to sever our connection with Him at any costs.  And yet this is the very thing that moves God to hysterical laughter, even mockery.

We love the idea of “free will.”  There is a doctrine in the world of men that speaks of free will as that which is an inalienable right, an innate quality of mankind.  And yet in this we have deceived ourselves.  There is no such thing as absolute freedom among men.  We are created beings and by definition are subject to our creator.  Thus there is no absolute freedom.  And even if there were no creator and we came into being solely on the basis of chance (which the probability of such a theory, though widely held, flings one headlong into insanity); then it would be chance to whom we are subject and not we ourselves.  Thus again, leaving no room for absolute freedom.  Either we are subject to a Creator or we are subject to chance.  Nevertheless, we are created beings and as such are ultimately subject to the divine will.  We may not acknowledge that, but God certainly knows it to be true.  And He no more needs to convince us of that than we need convince an ant that the underside of our boot is able to crush them.  It simply is.  Thus we may mock the futile attempt of an ant to run away in terror as we approach it with the expressed purpose of crushing it knowing that it will never be anything more than a futile attempt.

Clearly that is the nature of the message of this Psalm.  Our attempts to throw away His fetters, to disconnect ourselves from the Sovereign will of God are futile.  We may feel that we do well to run far away from the approach of the iron rod that is coming but it will never be anything more than a futile attempt.  This Psalm is forward looking.  It predicts the time in the future when the Lord’s Anointed will literally reign upon the earth and when the kings of the earth will literally reject and rebel against His authority.  And yet none will escape His Almighty judgments against their rebellion.

 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” (Psa 2:9 NAU)

Yet while the prediction of this Psalm will ultimately not be fulfilled until that day, we know that the judgments of the Lord may also be given in the present day.  There is no promise in scripture for the United States of America.  There is no promise for its endurance, for its remaining prominence, for its future.  There is really no mention of the United States in any of the prophetic writings, no matter how some bible teachers stretch and twist the words of scripture to attempt to place her on the map.  Either she will fall prior to that day or she will be so greatly diminished that she is not worth mentioning.  Sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

What does that mean for us?  Even as we celebrate the day that our nation took on its own international identity, we should set realistic expectations about our place in His world.  We can either ignore prophecy and assume that it doesn’t apply to us or acknowledge that His word is true and valuable (Psalm 1) and act accordingly.  If you choose to acknowledge the truthfulness and value of God’s word you would do well to consider the following warning:

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psa 2:10-12 NAU)

The real issue facing our nation today is a matter of worship…and obedience.  Who will we worship and who will we obey?  Do we continue to worship our independence and seek to obey the god of autonomy?  Or do we return and worship the Lord with reverence and seek to obey His Son, the King whom He has chosen?

The cost is real.  “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.”  The warning is that this Son, the divinely chosen King, may become angry and cause the rebelling nations to perish.  This is the same perish from Psalm 1, mentioned in an earlier post.  These two Psalms were meant to be taken together as an introduction to the whole book of 150 Psalms.  Thus the identity of the blessed One of Psalm 1 and this One mentioned here as the Son who is installed as King are one and the same.  The reason why He is chosen above all others is clear from Psalm 1, because of His love for and delight in the will of God.  Furthermore this connection to that which will perish is another indication as to His duty as the blessed One, the chosen King.  He is sent forth with a “rod of iron” to “shatter” those who have rebelled against the Lord of Heaven.  His anger is a righteous anger, a holy anger, a God sanctioned divine anger sent down from heaven against ungodly rebellion.  This day is coming.  The King has been chosen.  Indeed scripture testifies elsewhere:

having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed (Act 17:30-31 NAU)

“Do homage to the Son…”  “Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.”

We seek freedom in the arms of the god of autonomy.  We seek to cast away the sovereignty of our Creator but instead cast ourselves headlong into subjugation to our own devices and the consequences that result.  And yet there is the offer of true freedom remaining.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psa 2:12 NAU)

the Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, (Gal 1:3-4 NAU)

It was for freedom that Christ set us free (Gal 5:1 NAU)

True blessing.  True happiness is found in the One who gave Himself up for us to deliver us from the evil of this age (even the evil that we have conceived as a result of our quest for independence).  True freedom is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the truly blessed and happy One, the chosen King, the Son to whom homage is due.  True freedom is found in Him and in Him alone.

As you celebrate this Independence Day, rejoice in the One who died for you to deliver you, not from political, social or moral oppression, but from the oppression of your own lawlessness.  If you haven’t trusted in Him yet, this can be your independence day.  This can be a day of reverent worship and rejoicing over the One who is truly worthy if you cease striving and humble yourself before His rule.  If you have trusted in Him already then independence day should have a fuller meaning for you.  For you it must go beyond the stars and stripes.  For you it will be a time to remember the stripes and shed blood that He bore on the cross for you…and the resulting freedom from sin that you now enjoy as one who takes refuge in Him.

Maranatha!

Heat, a Car Wash and the values of life

I sat out in my car today to eat lunch…for those who know how hot its been, yes I am a little crazy sometimes.  My car doesn’t have ac so I parked under a tree and put the windows down.  As I sat there in front of a car wash a guy pulled up in a fancy looking red car.  Nice and gleaming bright in the sun.  Looked like it had been washed, professionally detailed, washed again, buffed, touched up and then repeated.  This fella stepped out of his car – at the gas station – took out this special looking bottle of some sort of cleaner (not sure exactly, didn’t see it clear enough) and started to spray certain portions of the front and side of his car.  Then he pulled out this nice looking cloth and wiped in or off the stuff that he sprayed.  Again, not sure exactly what it was but looked spiffy.  Then after he had done all of that, standing out in the heat and taking his time to carefully and delicately wipe with his special cloth…he pulled in to the car wash at the gas station to have his car washed.

What was strange to me was that the car looked in pristine shape.  Either he had just driven it off the lot or else he had taken very good care of it since he did such that it looked brand new still.  It was an impressive looking car.  As he wiped and buffed; however i couldn’t help but to think of the fact that he was spending so much time working on his car that had likely dropped in value the moment he turned it on to drive off the parking lot.  And not only that but every rev of the engine, every pothole, every time the oil pulsed through the engine, every time a light came on at dusk, every time the wind blew, that car was loosing value.  He spent a good 20 minutes of his life (not including the car wash) preparing and caring for something that was losing value by the minute.  You ever think about that?

Henry Scougal said “the worth of a soul is to be determined by the object of its love.”  So true that statement.  I don’t know that fella.  Could be a fine upstanding citizen.  Could have been a  fellow believer.  Could have had a family just as I, working a similar job as I – though i doubt it from the likes of that car 🙂 – could have been around the same age as I and the likes.  But at that moment the thing that he valued the most (enough to spend 20 – 30 minutes of his day giving care and attention to) was in fact losing value with each moment regardless of how much he wiped or buffed.  The object of his love at that moment, the thing that he chose to spend his time on – meticulously caring for it – was worth-less.

Here is my question.  How much time do you spend on things that are losing value with time?  How much time do you spend on things that depreciate?  Why not spend your time investing in things that gain value?  Perhaps most of you can see the wisdom in that.  Perhaps you’re thinking (though you also spend time buffing and waxing your car on Saturday’s) yeah, maybe I should spend more time on things that appreciate with time…things with a greater value.  What are some things that appreciate?  Your home (not necessarily in this economy), certain musical instruments, gold, the stock market (just threw that in there for kicks), a good education…fairly short list and shaky at best.  Well, what if you spent your time on those things…are they worth it?

What if I told you that those things…even those things that are prized, valuable possessions by most in the world because they are deemed to yield the best over time; in the big scheme of life are still worth-less than your time?  Those things are passing.  The cold, hard reality of life is that you could spend your life chasing those things and drop dead tomorrow to enjoy none of the “fruit” of what you thought was worth your time.  Or you could spend your life chasing those things only to find yourself in a dead end economy where everything is turned upside down.  You could spend your life chasing after those things only to have someone else beat you to it in the end, or else take it from you altogether once you’ve achieved it.  Or, you could even get all of those things…but as so many spend the rest of your life alone, regretting that you hadn’t taken time to care for people and thus alienating yourself from meaningful relationships (take a look around at those who “have it all,” are they really happy, or are they riding the next high until they have one too many and are snubbed out?)

What is your soul worth?  I can tell you what its worth by what you spend the most of your time thinking on, pursuing, talking about and dreaming of.  The reality of life is this…”the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”  The earth and its works will be burned up.  Whatever you are pursuing in this life that is not eternal will be burned up.  If it is not associated with Jesus Christ, then it will be consumed by the purifying fires of God’s judgment.  He has judged the world and it is lacking.  Its been hot in Maryland.  But that’s nothing in comparison to what is coming to the world and its works.  Don’t waste your life.

Mark 8:36-37  

36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

2 Peter 3:10-14 

“the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.  11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!  13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless”