There is a close connection between psalms one and two. Psalm one depicts the fate of
humanity. Psalm two continues the theme of the first poem expanding on the evil doings
of the un-Godly in contrast with the good work of the Godly. The similarity of the themes
made some early sages to treat both poems as one. The poem appears to be intended
for use in the coronation of a king to assure him of victory over his enemies. The poem
is made up of four strophes or stanzas.
The first strophe, developed in the first three verses, introduces the conspiracy of
rebels against the king. These are un-Godly people, who take advantage of the death
of a king and the initial inexperienced reign of his successor to rebel against the
government. Defending the right of Israel, the poet condemns the conspiracy of the
rebels. He affirms in no uncertain terms that the king of Israel is the anointed one of the
Most High and such conspiracy in reality is against God Himself, and it will not stand.
In the second strophe, God speaks to the rebels. He has anointed and appointed a king
to rule from Jerusalem over His dominions and no rebellion will ever depose His king. In
effect, no rebellion ever did, and no foreign government succeeded against Israel as
long as the governing authorities were faithful to the Lord.
In the third strophe, the king acknowledges the divine pledge to him of full support
providing he remained true to God. The poet has God saying to the anointed king: “You
are my son, today I have begotten you.” And as son, God sponsors the king’s
conquering ventures of other dominions to expand his territories at infinitum.
The fourth and final strophe is a divine charge to all Israelite kings to remain faithful to
God in total submission and under penalty of excommunication. Loyalty to God is a
condition first appearing in the calling of Abram and repeated with Isaac and Jacob.
This is a recurring theme throughout the Bible in both testaments.
Our concern is with the promises to the king appearing in the third strophe. It is a divine
pledge to the anointed one. In return, God expected the king to be completely loyalty to
Him. A quick look at the history of the kings of Israel appearing in I and II Kings and I
and II Chronicles reveals lots of disloyalty, which in turn induced the masses to be
unfaithful to the Lord. Disloyalty brought failure to Israel, loyalty success.
And here is the lesson for us today. God expects loyalty from all believers. Being loyal
to God means to live in complete respect and obedience to His person and laws.
Nothing less is acceptable to God.
Loyalty to God, however, transcends legality. Mere legal action exercised by God upon
humans would be coercive, forcing people to behave the way He wants under penalty of
permanent banishment from His presence . But this is contrary to the character of God
presented in Holy Scripture. God is the Creator who made everything there is out of
love. Believers respond to the love of God with love of their own. This makes for the
relationship to be free. Anyone loving God would not even think of doing anything
contrary to God’s expectations. The end result is that loyalty to God brings spiritual
enrichment to whoever observes it.
Prayer:
Almighty and merciful Father, certainly we have erred and strayed from your ways in so
many respects. Although your laws are scripted in our hearts, repeatedly we have
neglected to follow its precepts. We confess our wrong-doings and ask for your
forgiveness, as we renew our pledge of submission and obedience to you and your
laws. Amen
THE GODLY REMAIN TRUE TO GOD
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.
Psalm 2:8-9.
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