Psalms

This post is number 3 in a series of short pieces about the Psalms. Photo by Alabaster Co on Unsplash

King of the hill

Click here to read: Psalm 2

The Psalms were put together into five collections and then the whole lot became one big booklet. We are looking at the Psalms in the first collection, which goes all the way to Psalm 41. One of the things you find with these 40 songs is that they have lots about Israel’s king in them.

Now Israel had some stupid ideas about having a king. They looked at other nations and wanted a leader just like theirs. But those kings served themselves not God. They got rich, they enjoyed power, they hurt anyone in their way, some even called themselves gods. Why did people in Israel want a king like that? Because they didn’t trust the real God enough. He could look after them way better than any king. But they didn’t believe it.

God, however, still cared for them. After their first king came to a sad end, he gave them a really good one. A king who would rule on God’s behalf – a bit like having God sat on the throne. The man was called David and God said he had anointed him. That meant God wanted David as king and had given him the power to do it. Which meant that anybody who stood in his way would regret it.

Psalm 2 sings that out loud by telling Israelites to see other kings for what they really are. They are against God and, one day, they’ll regret it. David proved this. He had to fight enemies who wanted to hurt and control Israel. They got together to do this, saying they were stronger than the LORD and his king. They would never be ruled by the LORD or his king! To them, that would be like having chains on their wrists and ankles.

God doesn’t think much of these kings. Their schemes are useless. They make him laugh. Is it right sometimes to laugh at bad people who want to oppose God? Oh yes! Because trying to fight God is so ridiculous. Who can win that fight? No-one. Which means if God has anointed a king, no-one is going to beat him in the end either. That was true of David who lived on a hill known as Zion, in the city of Jerusalem, with God protecting him.

David died a long time ago. He’s no-one’s king any more, just a man in our history books. But the words of Psalm 2 are still as true as ever. Jesus is described as David’s son later in the Bible. He wasn’t literally David’s son – he lived hundreds of years later. But if you drew his family tree, it went back to David. That meant he was also God’s king.

So Jesus went up on a hill near Jerusalem. All his enemies got together there. They beat him, bruised him, cut him, stole from him, told jokes about him and then killed him. It looked like the enemies had won.

But soon God would laugh in heaven. Jesus’ death wasn’t a defeat. It was a victory! He died on the hill to win the biggest battle of all. God proved that by bringing Jesus back to life. Then he took him up into heaven to sit on a throne next to God. A throne he will never have to leave, wearing a crown that will always be his. The highest king on the highest hill. A king for ever.

We need him as our king. To save us from enemies and give us a life like his, that never ends.

The Psalms – Number 2 Verses 1-6
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