By Jeremy Bell
Constitution and the Comprehensive God
Welcome! I am going to share my personal study on Psalm 2 as well as the connection to it in the book of Hebrews. All scripture is God breathed. People use it to learn to be people of God. Scripture is NOT people breathed to create God.
I am a citizen of the United States of America. In America, the constitution establishes the federal government. It also provides rights for the citizens. Whoever you are, you are living under some sort of constitution. And so, as a citizen and an individual, I want something during my time in this society. If my viewpoint is focused on the individual as the center point for the reason the constitution was written, then I can begin to use the document to get what I want while justifying it.
For example, right away I can see that the constitution is established to promote the general welfare to promote a more perfect union. I would then search articles and laws and find a way to get the thing I want according to the constitution as a document written by an individual for individuals. The focus is me and the constitution is for my welfare.
By choice, I can alter my viewpoint. By definition a constitution establishes federal government. The first phrase of the U.S. constitution is “We the people.” I have been told by outside sources as well as the document itself that it is not individual focused, it is total society focused. Though James Madison physically wrote the constitution, he did not author it alone, many contributed to its’ construction.
The Right Perspective
The federal government is made up of many people and the citizens, many more. I still want something during my time in this society, but now, I am an individual within this mass of people united by this constitution for all. I can still search the articles and laws in relation to what I want, but now, I do it to be a good citizen. Does what I want promote the general welfare and promote a more perfect union? Does it hurt those things?
I am able to make choices in my mind and act accordingly. That being true, what I do is subject to the constitution and how it is held up by the federal government, irrespective of my personal convictions. I may be able to justify my individual want to myself, but if that breaks a law, I won’t be the judge of myself or the sentencer. I could end up in prison, fully self-justified. Reading the Bible is no different, people can choose in their minds whether it is God breathed or man written. The warning is that whatever the choice, the consequences are not up to the individual. The end destination may be an eternity of weeping, fully self-justified.
In my motif analysis, graphically displayed in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization, I see Psalm 2 as a VerseArrow Refrain Psalm. In this form, the motif rises and falls from a center point, or center idea. The refrain is a bigger picture truth. A refrain could go anywhere as many times as desired. Here is the highlight of the Psalm.
Hopefully that gives some perspective and something to consider while preparing to hear or read this Psalm. It is by no means the only consideration, just the one right now. So… without further hesitation, here is Psalm 2 and selections from Hebrews.
[ Psalm 2 ]
Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take a stand,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let’s break their bonds apart,
and cast their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens will laugh.
The Lord will have them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his anger,
and terrify them in his wrath:
“Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”
I will tell of the decree:
Yahweh said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance,
the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession
You shall break them with a rod of iron.
You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore be wise, you kings.
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve Yahweh with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way,
for his wrath will soon be kindled.
Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
Hebrews 1: 1 – 6, 8 – 9
God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels as the more excellent name he has inherited is better than theirs. For to which of the angels did he say at any time,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your father?”
and again,
“I will be to him a Father,
and he will be to me a Son?”
When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.”
Of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”
Participation in God’s Plan
The gospel contains good news for me as an individual. But the gospel is Gods’ good news that through Jesus Christ God has accomplished all that is ultimately necessary to bring about His glorious plan to manifest His glory in and among His people throughout His good creation ad that through faith and the grace of God, you and I can participate in that glorious plan as we are brought to the Father in the Son through the power of the Spirit. How will this perspective affect your day, this day?
The constitution was written by flawed people, even a flawed person. The laws that uphold the constitution were as well. The laws show what wrongdoing is. Following each law, learning about their author will result in hypocrisy, is flawed thinking, and ultimately results in personal conviction. The difference between a God author and human one is that with God there is no hypocrisy. The difference between God’s kingdom and human kingdoms is that one is truth defined leading to an eternity of good life and the other is a constantly evolving shadow of truth leading to life in the society one lives and then to the grave.
Better Than Angels
James Madison is quoted as saying “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” We have something better than angels, Jesus, born of Mary 2,000 years ago in the Roman controlled town of Bethlehem, is king and God. In Him is The Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Equipping the Saints for Local Missions Truths.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.