This meditation on the Psalms was given at the Grace Church Guildford Prayer Meeting on 10 February 2022.
Big Stick Diplomacy. It was a term first used in 1900 by future US President Teddy Roosevelt and it basically describes what is happening in Ukraine right now. In an attempt to prevent Russia attacking, Ukraine is trying to muster as much international support as possible. The basic idea is that even a big country like Russia will hold back from a war with a much larger coalition of nations. People tend to avoid fights when the odds are stacked against them. Even if you have a stick to hit someone with, you are unlikely to do so once you realise that their stick is much bigger that yours!
We not only see this internationally, but also in the local playground, don’t we? It is usually the small children that get picked on. The biggest and strongest kids are left alone. It would be strange, even foolish, for someone to pick a fight with them. The same is true in the animal kingdom, it is ridiculous for a housecat to start a fight with a lion. It is foolish to fight against those much bigger than ourselves.
And yet, that is exactly what we read of in Psalm 2. Here we have a diplomatic incident not between nations of the earth, but between earth and heaven, a conflict of kingdoms, a clash of kings. In 2:1-6 we hear of the kings of the earth. And then in 2:7-12 we read of the King of Heaven. Let us consider these in turn: (1) A Declaration from the Kings of Earth (2:1-6); (2) A Decree of the King of Heaven (2:7-12).
1. A DECLARATION FROM THE KINGS OF EARTH (2:1-6)
Though our American brothers and sisters may not like us saying so, 2:1-3 is really a Declaration of Independence. 2:1-2 tell how the kingdoms of earth come together to conspire against God. In 2:3 we have the text of a declaration they make, which outlines the purpose of their plot. ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’ They want to overthrow God’s rule, govern themselves, to make their own way in this world. In this, the Psalmist isn’t recording any specific event in history, as if there was some kind of world congress where this declaration was actually made. Rather, this statement is simply the constant stance of humanity throughout history. The cry of every century.
We can trace it back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve decided to try and become like God, step out of his shadow and not merely rule as servants, like God intended, but as sovereigns. However, while it began in the garden, this same declaration has been repeated in every generation, in every age. Think of the Tower of Babel for example. Or perhaps, most shockingly, in the Gospels, where God’s people reject his anointed king, Jesus Christ, declaring that they do not want him to reign over them, and so send him to die a cross (Luke 19:14). This is rejection of God’s rightful ruler, and it has become the mantra, motto, of all mankind.
As Christians, sometimes this opposition seems overwhelming. After all, Psalm 2 tells us that the whole world is unified around this one object: opposing God and oppressing us. And yet, we see here that in the end it is nothing to worry about. Even if all the world worked as one, if China and Russia and America and every other nation came together in a grand coalition to conspire against God, that coalition would cause no concern in the throne room of heaven.
Indeed, 2:4 tells us the response of heaven is laughter. Perhaps it is the kind of laughter that a parent has when their child boldly and stubbornly refuses to go to bed. Or the chuckle we might have if we watched a housecat trying to pick a fight with a lion. When God hears this declaration of independence, he is not troubled, but amused. The thought of creatures overthrowing the Creator is ridiculous. If we think of it in terms of Big Stick Diplomacy, it just doesn’t make sense. There is no one greater, stronger, than the sovereign of Heaven. As we have just sung, from age to age he stands, and time is in his hands. His stick is so big, how can we even begin to quantify it? And yet here comes these little creatures, so-called kings of the earth, trying to usurp their Creator. It is absurd! We see in 2:6, his plan for earth has long been fixed, he has chosen a king who can never be overthrown.
2. A DECREE FROM THE KING OF HEAVEN (2:7-12)
This chosen king is who the Psalmist turns to in 2:7-12, for having heard a declaration from the kings of earth, we now hear of a decree from the king of heaven. This decree in 2:7-9 is rich and we do not have time now to draw out all its intricacies. However, the New Testament (Acts 4:26; Acts 13:33; Heb 1:5; 5:5) leaves no doubt that the ‘Lord’ spoken of here is the divine Son of God, Jesus, the Messiah. This is the chosen king from 2:6 that God has installed to reign over the earth, and here in 2:8 we hear of him being offered the nations as his inheritance and the ends of the earth as his possession. The Creator has decreed that that this earth will belong to Christ. And so he will conquer the nations regardless of their resistance to him. As Jesus himself explained, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him (Matthew 28:18). This is where we can draw confidence from as we go to make disciples of all the nations: though they all oppose him now, one day he will own them all. Christ is the rightful ruler of this world. Everyone will realise it in the end. In that day, in 2:9, we see that all who have opposed him, tried to break off from his rule, will themselves be broken, shattered like a pot that falls onto the floor.
The psalm finishes by applying these realities to our lives. Just as the King of heaven responds to the declaration from earth in 2:1-6, here the kings of the earth are told to respond to his decree from heaven. How then are we to live? What then are we are all the peoples and kings of this earth to do? In short, we are to react appropriate to his rule. Instead of picking a fight with the biggest kid in the playground, going to war despite the presence of a infinitely greater force, we are to bow in submission to to him. That reference to kissing picks that up well – for the kiss was a sign of submission. Like bowing before and kissing the ring of a great Lord. However, here we find not only a warning, but also an invitation. The final line of the psalm reminds us of the refuge that this unconquerable king provides for all who trust in him. Like a small country trying to secure safety by finding the protection of a mighty one, the great power of our God provides all of us protection. Even if all the kings of the earth rage against us, we are safe in the protection of the king of heaven, to whom we have sworn ourselves and our service. By bowing to him, we come under his blessing. By submitting to his service, we are safe within his shelter.
ALEXANDER ARRELL