In the Lord I Take Refuge: 31 Days in the PsalmsSample

When we, as the people of God, sing Psalm 2, we remind ourselves of how God made David and his descendants to be kings, tasked with carrying out God’s redemptive purposes in the world. In the face of overwhelming opposition, this psalm exults in the promises made to the Davidic king at his coronation. With its prospect of a worldwide rule for the house of David, this psalm also looks to the future, when David’s ultimate heir, the Messiah, would indeed accomplish this.

With the coming of the Messiah, this psalm’s triumphant portrait of the Davidic throne takes on heightened significance and finds its ultimate meaning. Believers today are the heirs of this psalm, and its promises come to rest on the worldwide church and its faith in the true and final Davidic heir, Jesus. Those who take refuge in him have found the only truly safe place in this broken world. Those who persist in resisting God and his rule, even if they are powerful “rulers of the earth,” will be finally defied and justly destroyed.

Despite whatever tumults rock our lives today, David’s greatest son, Jesus himself, has been installed as the ruler of the world. One day this kingship will break open in universal acknowledgment and the universal execution of perfect justice. For now, we can go forth in the glad assurance that in Jesus, we will one day leave behind forever the futility of the present. Every injustice in our lives will be undone.

Take heart. We are on the right side.