Rich Mullins was one of my favorite Christian artists of all time. He wrote a song entitled “While the Nations Rage” that is inspired by Psalm 2. That song has led me to a deep love of this song over the years.
Every morning after an election, I like to read this Psalm and reflect upon it. Listen to what we hear in Psalm 2:
1 Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling
12 kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.
Why do the nations rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain against the Lord? Those words are always true. We upon the earth worry and fret and are concerned and anxious and all of these things. Many of us were anxious yesterday and are rejoicing today. Others were anxious and are now sad.
I said yesterday the thing that worried me about the election in our nation was how we talked about each other. Religion and politics invoke such passion within us because we feel so strongly about them. And those passions are a good thing because we want to make the world a better place. So we vote, we work, we campaign, we believe in a way that we believe will make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren. My prayer is that through the grace of Jesus Christ, we can feel as passionate about loving God and Neighbor!
But today, whether you a full of joy or despair, remember the words of this Psalm. Why do the nations rage? The Lord laughs, the Lord knows. The Lord is in control. Happy are all who take refuge in Him.
God is good. All the time. And all the time, God is good.
Today after an election those words of Psalm 2 are as true as ever. If your candidate won, God remains on the throne. If your candidate lost, God remains on the throne.
And today, we have work to do! There are those around us that are hungry and needy. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. There are those around us that have never heard the good news of mercy and grace. We’ve a story to tell. There are those around us that need a community to be a part of. We have churches to invite them to.
We have children that need to be taught to pray. We have families that need to be healed through grace. We have broken hearts that need to be mended, we have work to be done!
There are folks all around that need to know that a Savior died for them. We’ve got a mission to live out.
Today, rest assured in Jesus, no matter what! All will be well!
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