Word of Encouragement (12/17/2020)

“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Ps. 2:10-12).

Good morning!

To whom is the Psalmist addressing these words? To the kings and rulers of the earth. We have heard of these people before: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed...” (vv. 1-2). God laughed at them for their vain attempt to overthrow His sovereign rule. He established His King, His Son, on Zion (v. 6). He gave Him the authority to break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel (v. 9) for their sin of insolent rebellion against their Maker and Lord.

Even though that’s what these rebel kings and rulers deserve, God offers them an opportunity to escape His dreadful punishment. He calls them to be wise. “It is always wise to be willing to be instructed, especially when such instruction tends to the salvation of the soul...; delay no longer, but let good reason weigh with you. Your warfare cannot succeed, therefore desist and yield cheerfully to him who will make you bow if you refuse his yoke.”

In His gracious invitation, God makes the choice really easy. “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (v. 12). But if they do not serve the LORD with fear and not kiss the Son in humble surrender, they will provoke Him to anger and they will perish under His wrath (v. 12). How easy the choice should be—between finding a refuge and blessedness in God’s Son and suffering God’s wrath in foolish stubbornness!

And God has kept that promise for us. “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience..., and were by nature children of wrath.... But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ...” (Eph. 2:1-5). How amazing is His grace toward us!

But His grace doesn’t stop there. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.... He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things” (Rom. 5:10; 8:32)?

So, let us serve the LORD with fear—not the kind of fear, which drives us away from God, but the kind of fear, which draws us near to God in awe and wonder of His holy majesty and breathtaking grace. Let us rejoice with trembling because we realize that God, who is extending His grace to us, is the dreadful Judge of all. Let us kiss the Son in humility and love for the great salvation He granted to us by His suffering and death so that we might be blessed (instead of cursed and punished as we deserve) and find refuge in Him for our souls.

Have a blessed day!