Psalm 3: Wrath and Fury?!?

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2 rWhy do sthe nations rage1

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 tAnointed, saying,

3 

“Let us uburst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

4 

He who vsits in the heavens wlaughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5 

Then he will speak to them in his xwrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6 

“As for me, I have yset my King

on zZion, my aholy hill.”

7 

I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, b“You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

8 

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and cthe ends of the earth your possession.

9 

You shall dbreak2 them with ea rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like fa potter's vessel.”

10 

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 

gServe the Lord with hfear,

and irejoice with htrembling.

12 

jKiss kthe Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his lwrath is quickly kindled.

mBlessed are all who take refuge in him.

This chapter caught me off guard, as do most chapters of the Bible that discuss the wrath,

rage and fury of the Lord.  Verse 11 commands us to "Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with

trembling."  

Isn't our God one of understanding and love?  Why would anyone describe a loving God as wrathful?

When I think of God in the context of WRATH, RAGE and FURY I can't help but think of the scene 

from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The evil Nazis have discovered the Ark of the 

Covenant, and despite the warnings printed in the Bible they greedily open the ark; hoping that the 

power of the Ark will give invincibility to their army.  At first nothing happens, but slowly and surely 

a light forms inside the Ark.  Beautiful spirits rise and float around singing pleasant melodies. 

Belloq, the leader of the band of Nazis even exclaims "It's beautiful!".  All appears to be fine on the 

surface.  Suddenly, the music changes when the angels develops sharp fangs and lash out.  Through 

the angels, The Lord releases his wrath on the sinful Nazis, striking them down by sending angels of 

death to burn holes through the hearts of the Nazis, blow up the heads of the officers and melt the   

faces of the truly evil Germans (pictured below---I couldn't resist this classic movie snapshot. :P)

I will admit that this is a slightly skewed view of what God's wrath actually looks like.  

I never thought of God as being a wrathful God, despite Spielberg's best attempts. I may have 

developed this 'cushy' view of God from a very young age.  While attending church,  Sunday school 

and other events during my adolescent years, I 'tuned out' the idea that our God is one to be feared.  

As a young girl, it was much easier for me to accept the idea of a loving God who cares for me and 

responds with kindness than a God that could destroy the entire sinful universe with the blink of His 

eye.  At a younger age, I was not keenly aware of what sinful person I am so the idea of punishment 

from the supreme Creator of the heavens and earth didn't seem to be scary, because ultimately I 

didn't feel I deserved to be punished or receive consequences from God for my sin.

Since last year, I've had some major realizations that have brought into focus the selfish, ugly, sinful 

parts of who I am, and when I realized just how bad I am I began to tremble inwardly, knowing that I 

fully deserve God's wrath upon myself for choices I make every single day.  And to make it even 

more clear, Proverbs 9:10 declares that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, 

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." The ignorance to my sins and struggles were preventing me from growing strong in the knowledge of who Christ wanted me to be.  This verse is an encouragement to me.  I know that even though I'm about the ugliest person to walk the planet that my Savior still looks at me and sees his Son, Jesus.  It is also comforting to realize that although rage and fury are scary words, that the Most Powerful Lord of the entire universe chooses to love me and keep me safe.  Pretty cool stuff.

Psalm 2 is not just about the 'wrath of God', however that is the part of the verse that I felt most compelled to think about tonight.

What parts of this chapter speak most strongly to you?