Meditations on the Psalm: “Why Do the Nations Rage
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III reflects on the opening of Psalm 2: “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?”, explaining that mankind often rebels against God despite the fact that He is the Creator who granted humanity existence, reason, and strength.
He explains that man’s hostility toward God is not because of any injustice from God, but because of pride, lusts, ignorance, or a weak relationship with God. Thus, a person imagines that God is the cause of his problems, while the true cause lies within himself or in the consequences of his own actions.
He also explains that those who oppose God consider His commandments and laws to be chains and burdens, while they are in reality the path to true freedom, holiness, and eternal life.
He emphasizes that every conspiracy against God or against His Anointed is a vain conspiracy, because God’s power is greater than every human power. Therefore, the Psalm says: “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh,” indicating that God is not shaken by human resistance or conspiracies.
He cites several biblical and historical examples, such as Herod, Goliath, the Tower of Babel, and the persecutions of kings, to show that everyone who stood against God ultimately failed, while God’s will remained steadfast and victorious.
He further explains that the raging of the nations reflects the loss of inner peace, because the person who moves away from God loses his peace and lives in anxiety and fear, whereas God grants true peace to those who remain united with Him.
He affirms that man’s bond with God is not slavery, but a bond with life, immortality, happiness, and grace, and that whoever cuts this relationship does not harm God but deprives himself of God’s blessings and salvation.
The lecture concludes by calling every believer not to join the spirit of rebellion against God, but to remain steadfast in His love and trust in His power, because God defends His children and preserves them regardless of the intensity of the world’s opposition.
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