Why is there so much anger in the world? Why do the nation’s Roar against one another? Why are the peoples of the nations so angry against Jews and Christian?
The author of Psalm 124 established the sovereignty of God as a comfort to those who are hated by the world. No one can touch the Lord’s anointed unless the Lord allow it to be so. “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their anger was kindled against us; ” (Psalms 124:2-3)
We can take comfort in such a case that the sufferings of this present time cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)
The reason for the world’s anger is made very clear in Psalm 2:3.
“Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” (Psalms 2:3)
Unredeemed men do not like to be told what to do. And nowhere is it made more clear that men are to be under the dictates of God their creator than in the Old and New Testament scriptures. It is a great irony that to become a slave of God is to be set free to do what is right. To seek to be free from God’s righteous demands is to become the slave of sin. (Romans 6 & 7)
It would be great to say that after becoming a Christian, I never again got upset, angry, or lost my temper, but that would be a lie. There was a sin in my life that escaped the victory that was mine in Christ. Until broken by the mighty hand of God, my pride made it impossible to appropriate the promises of God to secure victory. Only after being appropriately humbled did my pride along with that sin begin to vanish away.
The truth be told, it took many years until I never again lost my temper. Furthermore, there is such a thing as justifiable anger, and for this reason we are told in the Scriptures, “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” (Romans 4:25-27) There should be no sin in righteous anger; neither must there be fleshly, selfish, and carnal motives behind it. For this reason, if there is a person upon whom anger is directed, forgiveness must be offered and peace must be achieved before the sun goes down upon us.
The Law of God sets forth His standard of Holiness for men. The Ten Commandments are but a summary; Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, set forth God’s law in detail. The Book of Numbers and the rest of the Old Testament show how even the chosen people of God, Israel, could not and would not do what God said.
Israel’s defiance and rebellion is in the context of a great salvation, first from Egypt and then from the surrounding Nations. The greatest rebellion of all is turning away from the salvation set forth in the New Testament, which is the sacrificial and saving death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son. However, individuals and nations roar against God’s appointed savior, because they will not acknowledge Him as Lord. The Church’s great responsibility is to make His salvation known in the midst of rebellion and rejection. The people who constitute the Church do this out of godly fear for the souls of men.
Hear godly wisdom; God is the true sovereign.
“He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalm 2:4-9)
Hear godly wisdom; blessed is everyone who hears and responds
“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly (soon) kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 2:10-12; emphasis added)