“‘I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 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.” Psalm 2:7-12 ESV
A father with his new baby is the sweetest thing to watch. Josh was present at the birth of our youngest son. He cried the minute Nathan entered our world. There was a gleam in his eyes. If I could read his mind, it would probably be filled with all that he wanted to give his son. The first order of business was to give him a bath. However, Josh would have provided anything for his beloved children. It makes me wonder how much more a Heavenly Father would want to give to His divine Son. Not only is God merely desirous to give His Son whatever He asks, God is also able to grant any request. Josh was just a man plagued with his mortality. Although his heart was to give our son all his love for all his days, he was sadly unable to do so for long.
God the Father is all-powerful and everlasting. His supreme authority points us to the loftiness of His Son—the anticipated Messiah. The Father is capable of giving His Son all the nations of the world for all eternity. Ultimately, redemption from His enemies will be gloriously given to Christ along with the title deed to the earth. “Here he declares that his very enemies are his inheritance. To their face, he declares this decree, and ‘Lo! here,’ cries the Anointed One, as he holds aloft in that once pierced hand the scepter of his power, ‘He hath given me this, not only the right to be a king, but the power to conquer.’” Charles H. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David.
Before pride swells up and we, like the Pharisees, think we Jesus comes to right all our wrongs and set our enemies straight, let us remember where we come from, and make sure of where we are heading. Who are Jesus’ enemies that will be dashed to pieces? We are. Without God’s choosing to take us from the kingdom of darkness into His kingdom of light, we are doomed. We are not natural born heirs like Jesus. We first stand as his enemies, deserving death and torment for our rebellion. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8.) You and I must kiss the Son to be pardoned freely. He has every right to be angry at us. Even toward us who have been saved if we trample the Son of God and take lightly His blood shed with our persistent sin (Hebrews 10:29.)
Our whole-hearted adoration is the only acceptable response. When we are tempted to abandon ship due to the weight of our problems, may we repent of our unbelief. Let us hold fast to Jesus as our refuge. When life seems full of scars and raging wars, he is our healing resting place. When our circumstances are utterly contrary to our hearts deepest longings, we can look beyond it, to a satisfying reward—Christ himself. All who find Him to be our consolation are promised a blessing in this passage. Friend, I pray we would not harden our hearts, but serve Him with fear and rejoicing.
This Thorny Rose 