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A meditation, on Psalm 2

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Psalm 2 gives interesting context to the political storms of any given day:

HT, Blastus, from Handel’s Messiah, sung by a Korean singer

Psalm 2: The Reign of the LORD’s Anointed

1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD 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 break2 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,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. [ESV]

It will help to put this in context of Isa 52:13 – 53:12:

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

Isa 52:13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;2
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.


Isa 53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?

9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand
.


11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,10
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,11
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

What is our response to Messiah, risen as prophesied 700 years ahead of time, as attested by 500 witnesses and unstoppable, life transforming resurrection power experienced by millions ever since?

This gives us perspective. END

Comments
Kairosfocus: that may be so, but ask yourself why that is so, why is this particular piece of music a major cultural icon A mojor cultural icon for who? I bet most people couldn't name it if they heard it, do not own a copy of it and probably have never even heard it. I consider The Messiah a lovely, lovely piece but all over the world I'm in a minority. The English tend to know it better than some (partly because it was written in English while Handel was in England) but in America? Or even South Korea? Classical music is now a very niche market. I suppose most people recognise the names Mozart and Beethoven but I'm pretty sure a vast majority of people do not know when they lived or even what countries they are from. If you played that particular aria to 100 people on the street I'd bet less than 10, probably less than 5 could tell you what it was from or who wrote it.JVL
July 5, 2020
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JVL, that may be so, but ask yourself why that is so, why is this particular piece of music a major cultural icon. KFkairosfocus
July 5, 2020
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Kairosfocus: South Korea is undergoing a Christian tipping point event. He's an opera singer!! He doesn't care about the text, he just wants to sing it 'cause it's famous and lovely and he gets paid! He travels all over the world; I bet most people in Korea never hear him sing at all. I own a performance of this piece of music and a lot of other liturgical music by Mozart and Haydn and Handel and I'm not a Christian!!JVL
July 5, 2020
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JVL, South Korea is undergoing a Christian tipping point event. KFkairosfocus
July 5, 2020
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KF, Found this years ago, you may appreciate the following acrostic of Psalm 9-10.. http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/article_55.htm A bit of a time consuming read, but fascinating Hebraic interpretations we often miss out on from translations. "It is noteworthy that this lengthy meditation on the warped logic of the wicked falls exactly at the place where six consecutive letters are omitted. This correlation leads us to suggest that the structure of the psalm reflects its message. The alphabetic acrostic represents proper order ? the way the world should be when God is present. Mention and discussion of the wicked, who represent a breakdown in appropriate divine order, come at precisely the point where there is a breakdown in the acrostic sequence. In this ten verse long section which delves into the inner thoughts of the wicked, the acrostic breaks down completely and six letters go missing. The acrostic only gets back on track with the call for God to act and punish the wicked - ???? ?' (10:12)." DATCG
July 5, 2020
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Beautiful music . . . why did you add the note "sung by a Korean singer"? What difference does that make?JVL
July 5, 2020
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Blastus, thanks, added at the right point above!kairosfocus
July 5, 2020
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Handel included a portion of Psalm 2 in his oratorio https://youtu.be/lYMM-YWn9rkBlastus
July 5, 2020
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A meditation, on Psalm 2, further enlightened by Isa 52 - 53.kairosfocus
July 5, 2020
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