Today’s reading was Psalm 2:
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
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.
_________
It is tempting as we look at the world to think that things are out of control. ISIS, or IS, or ISIL is attempting to create an Islamic caliphate in the Middle East. Russia seems to be flirting with the idea of taking over Ukraine, having already annexed the Crimea. We can look around and wonder, where is the Sovereign Lord in control of all of this?
Psalm 2 represents a similar perspective, with a world conspired against the one true God. But this is really no threat to the Almighty. He laughs and scoffs at their pretentiousness, then unleashes his anger and terrifies them.
This is rightly called a Messianic Psalm, which functions on two levels. The basic level is celebrating the installation of God’s king on the throne; the second, longer term trajectory is looking forward to the reign of king Jesus. From verse 10 onwards, the nations are given an ultimatum:
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.
Serve the Lord, celebrate his rule, Kiss the Son, or
Wrath and destruction await you.
The kiss that is in mind is, I think, the kissing of the king’s ring, to signify willing service, respect and loyalty.
There’s another kiss that comes to mind:
48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. (Matthew 26:48-49)
And another:
37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. (Luke 7:37-38)
Which will our kiss be today? A kiss of betrayal, or a kiss of respect, loyalty and thankful love?