Mensa Otabil - Rejoice With Trembling (11/02/2025)
We are doing our final reading of the second Psalm. We’ve studied it from verse one; now, we are getting to the end of it, and 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’s always a redemptive side to God that even when people are defeated, He calls them to repentance; He calls them to Himself.
So the psalm starts with the Lord anointing His Son or anointing a king, and there is rebellion. There are people who oppose what God is doing, and they fight it. They say they’re going to break the bands of the Lord and resist Him. There’s a huge rebellion, but God affirms His purposes, and then He delivers victory to His anointed. Now, He calls on those who have been defeated to be wise; that means stop opposing God-it’s not going to work. Be wise about it and come before Him.
Actually, if you read the next verse, it says, «Kiss the Son.» In other words, make peace with God. You can’t fight the purpose of God; you cannot resist the purposes of God, and that’s something we can all learn from. We cannot fight the purposes of God, even if God is blessing somebody you think doesn’t deserve to be blessed. You may not like the person, but your dislike 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.
So the psalmist instructs the earthly kings to abandon their foolish rebellion, and he tells 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’s 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 workings, 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. Thus, it is the triumph of Christ over those who oppose Him and those who fight His kingdom. Those who say, «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 a 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 the Christians win because that is God’s purpose. For every one of you who is fighting the purposes of God, please know that it’s not a good thing to do; it is not good at all. So refrain, and just come before the Lord, and He will accept you.
But for each one of us, we must know that the purposes of God stand and that those who rebel against His purposes eventually bow and submit to His will. May the purpose of God rule in your life; 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.