“Then He will speak to them in His anger, and terrify them in His fury.” (Psalm 2:5)

Many people today have a woefully inadequate view of God. Some consider Him to be soft and lenient, like a doting grandfather who won’t discipline his errant grand baby. Others see Him as a God with whom they have a relationship, and do not need to fear. And truly, there ARE some who have a personal relationship with God: those who have repented of their sins and put their trust in Jesus as their Savior. They do indeed have no reason to fear God’s wrath.

This does NOT mean, however, that just anyone can rightfully adopt this attitude towards the Lord. This fearless attitude is only for those who have submitted their lives to God’s will through Jesus Christ. For others, like those Psalm 2 describes who rebel against God, and wish to “cast away the cords” of God’s laws and restrictions from their lives, there is a harsh reality. Verse 5 says of these people, “He will speak to them in His anger, and terrify them in His fury.”   Ponder for a moment the horrifying nature of that prospect. There are people to whom God will speak, not as a loving shepherd, but as an angry judge. There are many whom God will “terrify in His fury” of judgment.

It should be the most important priority of our lives to make sure that does not happen to us. Do not take God’s benevolence towards you for granted. Make certain that you have repented of your sin, and that you are indeed following God’s word, so that you have every reason to believe that you are His child, and have no reason to fear. And do not be comforted by a past “commitment” to God if your attitude towards His commands is currently one of rebellion, or neglect. If you are presently “casting away the cords” of God’s word in your life, you have every reason to believe that a horror, worse than the most terrifying nightmare you can imagine, is awaiting you in the wrath of God. As :10-12 admonish: “take warning …  do homage to the Son … take refuge in Him.”  Stop your rebellion and turn to follow Jesus in His word.  Make certain that He will not “speak to YOU in His anger, and terrify YOU in His fury.”