Psalm 2—Artwork
Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.
Person: Bruce Butler
I’m Bruce, and I’ve been part of Park for nearly 13 years. I’m married to Jamie Rosenberry, and we have a two-year-old and another child on the way (likely having arrived by the time you’re reading this!). I’ve worked as a Graphic Designer for about 13 years, originally freelancing under the name Wise Bison, and now full-time with The Fire and Smoke Society, a spice company known for its killer rubs. I also play guitar for Park and in two bands: Last Ditch and Our Violet Room. Outside of design and music, I co-manage Victory House, a sober living home within the Providence Network, and love specialty coffee, cooking for friends and family, and attending shows.
Piece
I chose Psalm 2 as the basis for this piece. The psalm describes nations rising in pride against God, only for God to laugh at their defiance. He establishes His Son—the Messiah—as heir to all nations, calling rulers to serve Him and to “kiss the Son” while rejoicing with trembling.
I represented this theme by illustrating six rebellions against God throughout history, using the number six symbolically—representing human incompleteness and our tendency to fall short. These are not all cases of atheism vs. Christianity, nor are they equivalent in scope or suffering. The six rebellions are:
- The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11)
- Pharaoh’s persecution of the Hebrews in Egypt (Exodus 7–12)
- The statue of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3)
- The Roman Colosseum and Christian persecution (1st–3rd Century AD)
- The Crusades (1095–1291 AD)
- Christian Nationalism (present day)
The last two were/are carried out by people claiming to act in God’s name, but their actions in the name of Christ are antithetical to His teachings, with a complete lack of trembling and wisdom by their nation’s “kings.” Jesus, over and over, chose to disregard government, military, or any political movement as a means to achieve his goals, instead calling the Church to action through love. To clarify, there should be an overlap with the government’s pursuits and Jesus commands, like loving your neighbors, caring for the least of these, widows, and orphans, and so on, but Jesus never elected to use government as the means to carry out his mission.
Above these six examples is an enormous, ornate crown with an Alpha & Omega symbol at the crest, displaying God being the king, set apart and unfathomable. Radiating rays shine from the crown, symbolizing His ridicule of humanity’s vain attempts at power and control.
PROCESS: Digital Art
For the process, I used Adobe Illustrator for the line work, trying a few ideas but landing on this concept of the crown above 6 rebellions. Trying to represent them symbolically with minimal detail was a challenge, and after starting with two design styles with the symbols at the bottom, I paused and went to work on the crown, which was more fleshed out in my mind. After finishing that, the rest of the “rebellions” fell into place quickly. I brought that into Photoshop and tried a few textures, but the brilliant colors of the Final felt most fitting for the unfathomable God in His glory.
