Psalms 2 (Part II)

⁷ I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

    He said to Me, “You are my Son;
    today I have become your father.
⁸ Ask Me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate His rule with trembling.
¹² Kiss His Son, or He will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
    for His wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.  - Psalms 2:7-12

(vs 7-9) Just as my thoughts ended with the last reflection of the first six verses of Psalms 2 that God is the only Authority, this is the very thoughts exclaimed from these first three verses as God the Father gives His Son full authority over heaven and earth.  I am reminded of God's exclamation of approval over Jesus as He emerged from His baptism by John as it is written in Matthew 3:16-17, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"  Although John heard God declaring His pleasure in His Son, I wonder if Jesus didn't hear His Father say what is written here in Psalms 2.  Or maybe God said this to Him when He ascended into heaven after fulfilling His Father's will by dying on the cross.  Or maybe God declared this to His Son when He was physically born, or at a moment before the earth was even created.  It might be an interesting study to determine if it can even be found out.   Ultimately, it doesn't matter when, only that God gave Jesus full authority to rule heaven and earth.

(vs 12) "Kiss the Son" kings and rulers are told to do here.   One method to show reverence and acknowledgment to a god (unfortunately too often idols) was kissing.  The apparent idea is the kiss indicates the breath of life of man being given to the god adored.  For example, the Greeks of old would kiss their hand towards the rising sun as an act of worship to their idol.  Job refers to this in 31:27 when he denies that he has kissed his hand towards an idol.  In 1 Kings 19:18, Elijah indicates that he can only find 7,000 men who had not kissed Baal.  Just to bring this act a little closer to home, don't we see Cardinals and such kissing the Pope's ring?  So, kissing is used as a method of indicating or expressing worship at times in culture. 

(vs 10-12) Because God did give Jesus that authority, kings and rulers of the earth would be wise to "serve the Lord with fear and celebrate [Jesus] rule with trembling".   God is specifically telling all the kings and rulers to show Jesus your worship and respect His Authority lest He break you with a rod of iron and dash you to pieces like pottery.  Going "your way will lead to your destruction" thus indicating going His way is the way to be blessed.  What an incredible verse to memorize!  Accept His authority and believe in Him are the underlying commands.  Take security and shelter in His authority and in His way and you will be blessed.