Mensa Otabil - Serve the Lord with Fear
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We are doing our final reading of the second psalm. We’ve studied it from verse one, and now we are getting to the end of it. These are verses 10 and 11: «Now therefore be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.»
There is always a redemptive side to God that, even when people are defeated, He calls them to repentance; He calls them to Himself. The psalm starts with the Lord anointing His Son or anointing a king. There is rebellion, and there are people who oppose what God is doing. They fight against it and say they’re going to break the bounds of the Lord and resist Him. There’s a huge rebellion, but God affirms His purposes. Then He delivers victory to His anointed.
Now He calls on those who have been defeated to be wise, to learn; that means stop opposing God. It’s not going to work. Be wise about it and come before Him. If you read the next verse, it says to kiss the Son; in other words, make peace with God. You cannot fight the purposes of God. You cannot resist His purposes, and that’s something we can all learn: we cannot fight the purposes of God, even if God is blessing someone you think doesn’t deserve to be blessed. Your dislike for the person is not God’s dislike. At a certain point, you have to just be wise and stop fighting the purposes of God because what God determines to do, He will do.
The psalmist instructs the earthly kings to abandon their foolish rebellion, telling them to rejoice with trembling. In other words, be happy and afraid at the same time; God is doing this, His hand is upon it, and there is no need to fight against it. The image we see here is total submission to the sovereign power of God. May the Lord reign supreme over every situation in your life. Those who rebel against the Lord and His working may they always come in submission to His kingdom and to His power. Here we see the triumph of Christ because, as we said from the beginning, this is a messianic psalm. It speaks about Jesus Christ and His triumph over those who oppose Him, those who fight His kingdom, and those who say, «Oh, we don’t want Jesus Christ to be Lord.» He is Lord whether you like it or not.
Secondly, it is the triumph of the Church. For those who fight the Church of Jesus Christ and want to bring it down, God is going to win this battle in the end.
Thirdly, it is the triumph of the Christian. If you are a child of God, remember this: you are going to win in the end. That is how it all ends up: Christ wins, His Church wins, and Christians win because that is God’s purpose. For every one of you who is fighting the purposes of God, please note that it is not a good thing to do; it is not good at all.
So refrain and come before the Lord, and He will accept you. Each one of us must know that God’s purposes stand, and those who rebel against His purposes will eventually bow and submit to His will. May the purpose of God rule in your life; may it reign in your life. May the Lord show you mercy, goodness, and favor all the days of your life.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, thank you for victory. You overrule the plots of the wicked. Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» Tomorrow we start a new study, and I trust that it will be a great blessing for you. The Word of God is fresh all the time; it’s alive and speaks to each one of us. I’ll be with you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Peace and life to you.