I’ve met people over the years who hate God. I’ve read philosophers who claim the idea of God leads people astray. We’ve all evidenced world leaders who crushed religious worship for the good of mankind—think of Stalin in the past along with many current rulers.

There’s nothing new in this impulse. The psalmist writes, Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

Shaking one’s fist at God remains popular. Some harbor anger from past disappointments, real or imagined. Some simply wrap the universe around themselves, with no room for a competing god. Many attempt to manipulate God to their own ends, and the Lord fails to comply.

I’m prone to these same thoughts.

The Lord laughs at all this, scoffs actually, and rebukes such ragers. The psalmist reminds us that we owe ultimate loyalty to the Messiah—Kiss the son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

In the son—Jesus—we find mercy in place of wrath. He appeases the Lord’s anger. Grace waits as our advantage. But it takes humility to turn from fist-shaking anger to bowing before the Lord.

The Lord makes room for you and I, and all the ragers and haters, when each of us chooses to serve the Lord and celebrate his rule.

Psalm 2 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Anna Popović