Ps 2:11-12 reminds us that we are to approach an omnipotent God with reverence and awe:
‘Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 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.’
Ps 2, like Ps 1, has presented us with the way of human rebellion verses the way of submission to God. ‘Kissing the son’ (or his feet) indicated an act of submission or homage, a declaration of obedience and recognition of being in the presence of someone greater than oneself. Other examples of kissing as a symbol of submission are found in 1 Sam 10:1 (when Samuel anoints Saul as king) and 1 Kings 19:18 (when God tells Elijah of the seven thousand in Israel who have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.) To kiss the Son means to recognise God’s Son as the only way to God (Jn 14:6) and to live to serve Him and celebrate His rule.
‘The fear of the Lord’ is a theme which runs throughout Scripture (especially the book of Proverbs, where we are told it is the beginning of wisdom.) We need to have reverence and a healthy regard for God. Whilst we are not meant to cower away in fright and are exhorted to come before His throne of grace with confidence (Heb 4:16), we cannot treat God’s Messiah with indifference or complacency. He deserves our respect, attention, obedience and submission, for He is Lord of Lords!
