“Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”
The psalmist here recognises that the nations perceive God in the same way as Cain did – as an oppressive master: someone to rage against, someone unfair, someone to resist and fight. God’s law is seen as chains whilst morality and conscience are the bonds that keep the slave captive. The irony here is that the anointed one against whom they also rage is the one who came to free them from slavery and to release them from their captivity to sin. The truth of the matter, though sometimes hard to perceive, is that God’s service is the only true freedom we may ever find; in no other path may liberty be found. Solomon hints here also, stating, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck.”
Jack Winslow wrote in his great hymn “Lord of creation”:
Lord of all power, I give you my will,Lord God, as I give myself again to you today, may I discover the freedom of Your service.
In joyful obedience your tasks to fulfil.
Your bondage is freedom, your service is song,
And, held in your keeping, my weakness is strong.
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