December 26 - Messiah - Psalm 2:1-4, 9

December 26 - Messiah - Psalm 2:1-4, 9

Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and why do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.  He that dwelleth in Heav'n shall laugh them to scorn; The Lord shall have them in derision.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Even though Handel wrote sacred oratorios, they were generally performed on stage, rather than in a church.  He loved Italian opera and it wasn't until opera destroyed him financially that he set it aside for the English oratorio.  He used male sopranos and contraltos and stuck very closely to Italian opera conventions, creating masterpieces such as Guilio Cesare, Sosarme and Alcina.

Sometimes we let the evil of the world worry us too much. We act as if we have to make sure everything is fixed around us so that it will be alright for God.  We don’t want Him to see what terrible things are going on around us, because He’s much too good and it might be more than He can handle.

In this Psalm, which is a coronation psalm, the Lord reminds the nations of the earth that he is ultimately in charge. While David is the one whom He placed on the throne when the Psalm was written, the one who reigns now is His Son.

It doesn't matter what the nations of the earth do or what the rulers and kings say.  They can discount the Lord all they want and it will not change a thing.  He will still be in heaven and His Son will continue to reign from His right hand.

When the time comes, every thing that has been said by the leaders of earth’s nations or done by them to others in the name of power and pride will be struck down.

In the 1960s, TIME magazine asked if God was dead.  I’m pretty certain that didn't upset God either. Our little bits of time here on earth, though they seem immense and meaningful to us are just blips of time in God’s eyes and our petty wars and questions about His existence are simply part of the timeline and don’t really change how he interacts with the world.

God is in control and that doesn’t change, no matter what we believe or feel.  He doesn't need us to believe in Him in order to reign over His creation.