So now, you kings, do what is wise;
Psalms 2:10-12 (NET Second Edition)
you rulers of the earth, submit to correction.
Serve the LORD in fear.
Repent in terror.
Give sincere homage.
Otherwise he will be angry,
and you will die because of your behavior,
when his anger quickly ignites.
How blessed are all who take shelter in him!
Psalm 2 Finishes with some advice from the God of Heaven to the kings and rulers of the earth. They should submit to correction, serve the Lord, repent, and give sincere homage.
Can you think of a single ruler, king, president, prime minister, any national leader in government or in a position of great authority over the lives of people that heeds this advice today? Do any of these people even know the Lord? I cannot think of a single one. In fact it seems the human rulers of the earth serve different gods who oppose the One True God and Messiah.
The Lord has sovereignty over who is put into positions of power, over the leaders of nations. We get who we deserve. If a nation is unrighteous, then we get leaders who reflect our unrighteousness. The only answer is to heed the advice of the Psalm – ourselves and our politicians and rulers. If nations turn away from the Lord, as they have, then there is the warning of judgement the Psalm leaves us. It will happen again as is proven in the history of Israel. There is reason to expect that the same pattern applies to nations today.
You may not be able to change culture or the evil trajectory of a nation but what each one of us can do is serve the Lord, repent, and give sincere homage to Him.
The final verse of the Psalm speaks of shelter. Shelter from what? From the coming judgement. The recompense of the wicked will come. That is the warning of the Psalm. But the promise of the Psalm to the righteous is shelter.
Pray for your national rulers and politicians. Pray for your nation, not for economic prosperity or that things would return to business as usual, but that there would be repentance, a sincere turning away from wickedness and a widespread outpouring of the Holy Spirit that brings conviction and a turn towards the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
