Advent Devotion: “Jesus Our King: Blessed Are All Who Take Refuge in Him”

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:1-12 NIV)

It seems like the world is falling apart. Do you feel that way? It feels like things are spinning out of control. Would you agree? I bet people of all times have said that, but now it really seems to be true. Brutal wars are breaking out, when we thought we’d figured this peace stuff out. There’s corruption and violence around our own country. Why is it like this? Even worse, we have this suspicion that there’s something going on behind the scenes that we can’t see or control. “What is really happening?” we wonder. That’s a bad feeling. When is everything going to crumble?

That sounds a lot like what David described in Psalm 2: “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’” Does that sound familiar? David describes a world in which powerful people were united on one thing: War against God. “Let’s break off God’s chains! Let’s release ourselves from God’s shackles.” People can’t agree on anything, except this: “We don’t want God!”

That makes me worried. What about you? Studies say that worry and anxiety are at all time highs. That doesn’t surprise me, because I sure get worried! More than I used to. Do you? How do you cope with your worry? I find that I try not to think about things. Do you try that too? If I don’t think about what’s happening around the world, if I don’t think about what might be happening behind the scenes, then maybe I won’t worry so much. Some of you have told me that you don’t watch the news. Does that work? I’m not so sure. We look around and think, “Oh no!”

Know what God does? When God sees the kings of the earth rise up against him, what does God do? This is one of my favorite lines in the Bible: “The One enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’” What does God do? He laughs. Why? There is nothing so silly, nothing so foolish, as when people try to join forces against God. Because who is in complete control? God. God is not one bit worried. Do you realize that? No matter what happens in the world, God is not one bit worried. “The One enthroned in heaven laughs.”

Think of what that means for us. If God sees everything happening around the world and laughs, what does that mean for us? We don’t need to worry. Right? If God has placed his king in control of everything, what does that mean for us? We don’t need to worry. Doesn’t that sound wrong? We almost feel guilty not to worry about stuff, don’t we? “I should be worried about…” No, you shouldn’t! That’s what God is telling you and me. You don’t have to worry. Why? God is King, and he’s not worried. So take a deep breath. Chuckle to yourself. God is King!

If that’s all this psalm said, it would be just what we need to hear. But this little psalm is talking about so much more. Look at the end of verse 2. The rulers band together against his “anointed.” You know how to say that word—“anointed”—in Hebrew. Know what it is? Messiah. Whom were all the kings really banding together against? The Messiah. The Savior. Remember when David lived? About 1000 B.C. 1000 years before Jesus’ birth, David wrote this psalm about the Messiah, about Jesus, about how Jesus the Messiah is the true King. Isn’t that amazing?

How do we know that David is really writing about Jesus? The Bible tells us. In the book of Acts, Jesus’ disciples Peter and John use this psalm to explain something that had just happened. Do you know the greatest example of kings and rulers banding together against the Messiah? Good Friday. On Good Friday, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who usually didn’t get along, banded together with Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor whom they hated, and King Herod, who was an enemy of Pilate. These three groups had nothing in common except for one thing: They hated Jesus. So they banded together and killed him. Yet, what did God do? He saved the world. The rulers of the earth did their worst, and God used it to save the world through Jesus’ death on the cross. God is able to take the world’s worst and make it the best thing ever.

See how this psalm is talking to us about Jesus the Messiah? In fact, Jesus himself starts talking. In this psalm written in 1000 B.C., Jesus says, “I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.” Jesus tells us about a conversation he had. With whom? With God the Father. God the Father said to Jesus, “You are my son; today I have become your father.” When did Jesus become God’s Son? Not at Christmas. Forever. Since forever, God the Father has said to Jesus, “You are my son; today I have become your father.”

Those words sound familiar, don’t they? What God the Father has been saying to Jesus forever, “You are my son…,” he actually said out loud two times while Jesus was on earth. Remember when? When Jesus was baptized, there was a voice from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). When Jesus was transfigured in all his glory with Moses and Elijah, there was a voice from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” See how God the Father was using the words of this psalm? “You are my son; today I have become your father.” No matter how much the kings and rulers rise up and rage against God, Jesus is the King and the Messiah and the Son of God who rules all.

That was God the Father’s promise to Jesus: “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Jesus rules all things. Jesus possesses all things. Jesus controls all things. Whatever kings are against him, Jesus will break them with his rod of iron! When? Well, this verse is used three times in the book of Revelation. Can you guess when Jesus will be truly seen as King of kings and Lord of lords? On Judgment Day. All people on earth, from the lowliest to the greatest, will be ruled by Jesus. Some by Jesus’ grace through faith in his salvation. Some by Jesus’ wrath when Jesus comes to judge. All will submit to Jesus as King.

So here’s the Bible’s encouragement: “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Since Jesus is King, be wise! Listen to our new banner. Did you notice our new banner? “Wise men still seek him.” Serve the LORD. Kiss the Son.

What does that mean? One of the most powerful pictures in the Bible is when the wise men bow to little Jesus. Important, wealthy, powerful men got down on their knees before Jesus. Why? They recognized their King. We need that reminder. To get off our thrones. To set aside our way. To submit everything to Jesus. To kiss the Son. For every time we’ve tried to throw off God’s control… Repent! For every time we’ve tried to rule our lives… Repent! For every time we’ve let worry fill our hearts… Repent before it’s too late. Jesus will rule with grace or with wrath.

We want the grace! So, “blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Take refuge in Jesus your King. There you find forgiveness for every sin. There you find hope for eternal life. There you find refuge for today. God’s got this! It might look everything is falling apart, but it’s actually going according to Jesus’ plan. It might look like it’s all out of control, but it’s actually all in Jesus’ hands. It might look like everyone is rising up against Jesus, but he laughs. Jesus is not worried. So you don’t need to worry either. Ever. Because Jesus is our King. Blessed are all who take refuge in him!