Sermon for June 3rd, 2018

Psalm 2:1-11

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.

Psalm 2

The year is 871, and the Great Heathen Army, hoardes of vikings from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, have invaded England, bent on conquering the island and its loose alliance of Christian, Anglo-Saxon Kings. The Vikings have largely succeeded, as kingdom after kingdom falls under their advance. All except for one, in the remote soutwest corner of the island: The tiny kingdom of Wessex is the last to offer any resistance.

Its aging King, Æthelwulf, left behind five strong sons, but one by one they fell, and only the youngest, Prince Ælfred, remains. Ælfred, at 22, is not a warrior; he is an intellectual, a deeply religious boy who suffered from illnesses throughout his childhood.

And now in 871, surrounded on all sides with Vikings, with no allies or brothers left to come to his aid, and little hope or confidence from his people, Ælfred is crowned king.

Of course, he will go on to become Ælfred the Great, the king who defeated the Vikings, united England under one crown, and sparked a rennaisance in medieval English art, literature, government, and education.

Along the way, he personally translated the Book of Psalms from Latin into his native tongue, the very first translation of the psalms into the English language.

He did this late in his life, and I like to imagine him sitting in his study, reflecting back on his long reign and all that he had accomplished, as he translated the words of Psalm 2, verse 6:

"And ic eam þeah cincg geset fram Gode ofer his ðone halgan munt Syon, to þam þæt ic lære his willan and his æ."

English sounds a little different now than it did in the 9th century. In modern English, Alfred's translation reads: "But I, however, am appointed by God king over Zion, that holy mountain of his, to teach his will and his law."

And when he translated the opening lines of Psalm 2, about the nations raging, and the kings of earth setting themselves against God's chosen king, I wonder if these words took King Alfred back in thought and memory to that day when he first became king, to his own desperate prayers on that day to to break his enemies "with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel"

I wonder this because Psalm 2 is believed by scholars to be a coronation psalm of the ancient Jewish people, to be read or sung in the temple as part of the official ceremony when a new king ascended to the throne of Israel. Like England in the 9th century, Israel was a small country sourrounded on all sides by powerful enemies. The number one priority of a good king was to protect the people from invasion.

The Psalm is divided into four parts with a near perfect inner symmetry, each speaking with a different dramatic voice. The first part (v.1-3) is the voice of the nations, and they speak their part threatening Israel, Israel's God, and Israel's king.

The second part (v.4-6) is God's part, laughing at the challenge and therefore inspiring his people with confidence. When God speaks his part, it is to introduce his chosen king, whom he has placed on Zion, the holy hill (a poetic reference to Jerusalem).

In the third part (v.7-9), the king speaks, reminding the people of his special connection with God, and of God's promises to defend them and give them success against their enemies.

In the final part (v.10-12), the people, now unified under their God and king, speak their reply to the nations and their kings, warning them and threatening them and making the "circle" complete.

I'm explaining all of this in order to make the point that the context in which a Psalm was written, and the purpose for which it was used is important. That's true for all scripture, but especially for the Psalms. And Psalm 2, right here at the beginning of the book, is a little bit hard for us to relate to. In our country, we haven't had a king or a coronation for hundreds of years. (That's why I started with the story of King Alfred.) And as progressive, peace-loving modern-day Christians, we also have a hard time with this image of a God described as wrathful, angry, and derisive. We know that people and political leaders can be that way, but God?