Psalm Meditation 688
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 25, 2013

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.
(NRSV)

The psalmist describes God in terms of the most powerful person known at the time: a king. Kings held absolute power over their subjects and were held to the standards of the divine beings who had placed them in this position. For many cultures of the day and time, those divine beings had no real standards except their own wishes and desires. Since it was the divine way, whatever the king chose to do was the way the world worked in any given situation. Those who had any influence with the king could sway royal decision making through gifts, promises, threats and flattery. It was a difficult image of God for those who had no power or influence.

The God of Israel held to a standard of faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love, so the king was held to this same standard. The Bible makes clear that not every king felt bound by God’s standards of behavior. It was a mark of a great king to behave according to the laws of God and to treat subjects with the same faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love exhibited by God.

While we no longer see God in the same light as the psalmist, we do see ourselves as bound to God through the faithfulness, righteousness and steadfast love we continue to experience through our relationship with God. We also continue to find comfort as we take refuge in God in the face of the wide variety of trials and temptations we confront on a regular basis.

August 19, 2013