Psalms 2:12

Kiss the Son,.... The Son of God, spoken of in Psalms 2:7; the word used is so rendered in Proverbs 31:2; and comes from another which signifies to "choose", and to "purify", or "to be pure"; hence

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Kiss the Son.

Kiss, in token of your subjection and adoration; whereof this was a sign among the Eastern nations, as is manifest both from Scripture, as , and from heathen authors. Submit to his person and government. The Son, to wit, the Son of God, as appears from , called here the Son, by way of eminency, and in a singular manner; which agrees much better to Christ than to David, who is never particularly called by this name. And ye perish from the way, i.e. be taken out of the way by death or destruction; or, perish out of the way, i.e. by losing the right way, by taking wrong and evil courses, the end of which will be your certain and utter ruin; or, for the way, i.e. for your evil way or manner of living, for your perverse and foolish course of opposing my Son instead of submitting to him. Or, in (which particle is oft. understood) the way, i.e. in your wicked way or course, in the midst of your plots and rebellions against him; and so you will die in your sins, as it is expressed, , which is a sad aggravation of their death, and therefore here fitly proposed as a powerful argument to dissuade them from such dangerous and destructive courses. But a little, i.e. the least degree, of his anger is very terrible, much more the heat and height of it, caused by such a desperate provocation as this is. Or, for his wrath will be kindled shortly, or suddenly, or within a very little time, as this word is used, . His patience will not last always, but will shortly be turned into fury; and therefore take heed that you neither deny nor delay subjection to him, but speedily comply with his offers and commands before it be too late. They that put their trust in him; who put themselves under his power and protection, believing in him, and expecting safety and happiness from him; which cannot with any colour be applied to David, who always dissuades all men from putting their trust in princes, or in any men or thing besides or below God, 44:6 62:6-8 118:8 146:3, and every where; and therefore it would very ill have become him to invite others to put their trust in him. And he is pronounced cursed that trusteth in man, . But Christ is every where propounded as an object of trust, not only in the New Testament, but also in the Old, as ; and therefore they are most truly and fitly said to be blessed that put their trust in him. Under which sentence the contrary is implied, that they are most cursed and miserable creatures that provoke and oppose him; and so cursed and miserable that David dreaded the very thoughts and mention of it, and therefore expresseth it by the contrary and blessed condition of his friends and subjects. And such-like significations of the miseries of sinners by the blessedness of others opposed to them we have .

Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him.Ver. 12. Kiss the Son] That Son of God, Psalms 2:7. Bar is a Hebrew word also, as R. Abraham confesseth, though other Rabbis deny it; and therefore render this text, Osculamini pure, Kiss purely, and Osculamini eum qui selectus est, Kiss him who is selected, or set apart. Christ is God’ s elect, Isaiah 42:1 Matthew 12:14. Him men must kiss with a kiss of adoration and subjection, with a kiss of faith and love, 1 Peter 5:14. Osculo homagii, as Samuel kissed Saul, 1 Samuel 10:1 Genesis 48:10. Kiss his holy wounds, as Constantine did the eye of Paphnutius, that was bored out in Maximinus the tyrant’ s time; so shall he kiss us with the kisses of his mouth, Son 1:2, and with his kisses suck out the sting of death, and take away our souls with a kiss, as the Rabbis, from Deuteronomy 34:5, say he did Moses’ s soul. Mortuus, est Moses ad os Iehovae. Maimonides. The ancient patriarchs saluted Christ afar off, and were interchangeably saluted by him, ασπασαμενοι, Hebrews 11:13, for they saw by faith him who is invisible, Hebrews 11:27. Oh get a patriarch’ s eye, study Moses’ s optics; for here the northern proverb is found true, Unkent unkist. Men know not the Son of God, and therefore love him not, kiss him not, unless it be Osculo Iscariotico, as the traitor kissed him. See a lofty and lively description of him Hebrews 1:2-3. Lest he be angry] For meek though he be as a lamb, and will not break the bruised reed, yet so angry he can be, that the kings and great ones shall be glad to flee from the wrath of this lamb, Revelation 6:16, who hath feet like burning brass and eyes like flaming fire, Revelation 1:14-15 Plato saith of the king of bees, that although he hath no sting, yet he ruleth and governeth his commonwealth with great severity and justice. So doth the Lord Christ; and every good soul is ready to say as the poet did, Ut mala nulla feram nisi nudam Caesaris iram, Nuda parum nobis Caesaris ira mali est? (Ovid.) And ye perish from the way] Or, in the way; that is, in medio studio, before ye come to your journey’ s end, to the full accomplishment of your purposes and practices, destruction shall suddenly seize you, 1 Thessalonians 5:3. When his wrath is kindled but a little] It is sometimes let out in minimums, as Hosea 5:12, but if timely course be not taken, it grows to a great matter, as thunder doth, and as fire, that at first burns a little within upon a few boards, but, if not quenched, bursteth out in a most terrible flame. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him] That is, in Christ, John 14:1.

(12) Kiss the Son.—This familiar translation must be surrendered. It has against it the weight of all the ancient versions except the Syriac. Thus the Chaldaic has, “receive instruction “; LXX., followed by Vulg., “lay hold of discipline.” Symmachus and Jerome render “pay pure adoration.”Aquila has “kiss with discernment.” Bar, in the sense of “son,” is common in Chaldee, and is familiar to us from the Aramaic patronymics of the New Testament: e.g., Bar-Jonas, Bar-nabas, &c. The only place where it occurs in Heb., is Proverbs 31:2, where it is repeated three times; but the Book of Proverbs has a great deal of Aramaic colouring. Our psalmist uses ben for “son” in Psalms 2:7, and it is unlikely that he would change to so unusual a term, unless nashshekû-bar were a proverbial saying, and of this there is no proof Surely, too, the article or a suffix would have been employed. “Kiss son” seems altogether too abrupt and bald even for Hebrew poetry. The change of subject also in the co-ordinate clause, “lest he (i.e., Jehovah, as the context shows) be angry,” is very awkward. As to the translation of the verb, the remark of Delitzsch, that it means “to kiss, and nothing else,” is wide of the mark, since it must in any case be taken figuratively, with sense of doing homage, as in Genesis 41:40 (margin), or worshipping (1 Kings 19:18; Hosea 13:2). The most consistent rendering is, therefore, proffer pure homage (to Jehovah), lest he be angry. It may be added that the current of Rabbinical authority is against our Authorised version. Thus R. Solomon: “Arm yourselves with discipline;” (so, with a slight variation, one of the latest commentators, E. Reuss: “Arm yourselves with loyalty”;) another Rabbi: “Kiss the covenant”; another, “Adore the corn.” Among the best of modern scholars, Hupfeld renders “yield sincerely”; Ewald, “receive wholesome warning”; Hitzig, “submit to duty”; Gratz (by emendation), “give good heed to the warning.” From the way.—The LXX. and Vulg. amplify and explain “from the righteous way.” It is the way in following which, whether for individuals or nations, alone there is peace and happiness. (See Note Psalms 119:1.) When his wrath.—Better, for his wrath is soon kindled, or easily kindled.Put their trust.—Better, find their refuge.Notice in the close of the psalm the settled and memorable belief that good must ultimately triumph over evil. The rebels against God’s kingdom must be conquered in the noblest way, by being drawn into it.

Verse 12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry] It is remarkable that the word son (בר bar, a Chaldee word) is not found in any of the versions except the Syriac, nor indeed any thing equivalent to it. The Chaldee, Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, and AEthiopic, have a term which signifies doctrine or discipline: "Embrace discipline, lest the Lord be angry with you," c. This is a remarkable case, and especially that in so pure a piece of Hebrew as this poem is, a Chaldee word should have been found bar, instead of ben, which adds nothing to the strength of the expression or the elegance of the poetry. I know it is supposed that bar is also pure Hebrew, as well as Chaldee; but as it is taken in the former language in the sense of purifying, the versions probably understood it so here. Embrace that which is pure; namely, the doctrine of God. As all judgment is committed to the Son, the Jews and others are exhorted to submit to him, to be reconciled to him, that they might be received into his family, and be acknowledged as his adopted children. Kissing was the token of subjection and friendship. Is kindled but a little.] The slightest stroke of the iron rod of Christ's justice is sufficient to break in pieces a whole rebel world. Every sinner, not yet reconciled to God through Christ, should receive this as a most solemn warning. Blessed are all they] He is only the inexorable Judge to them who harden their hearts in their iniquity, and still not come unto him that they may have life. But all they who trust in him-who repose all their trust and confidence in him as their atonement and as their Lord, shall be blessed with innumerable blessings, For as the word is the same here as in Psalms 1:1, אשרי ashrey, it may be translated the same. "O the blessedness of all them who trust in him!" This Psalm is remarkable, not only for its subject-the future kingdom of the Messiah, its rise, opposition, and gradual extent, but also for the elegant change of person. In the first verse the prophet speaks; in the third, the adversaries; in the fourth and fifth, the prophet answers, in the sixth, Jehovah speaks; in the seventh, the Messiah; in the eighth and ninth, Jehovah answers; and in the tenth to the twelfth, the prophet exhorts the opponents to submission and obedience. - Dr. A. Bayly. ANALYSIS OF THE SECOND PSALM The prime subject of this Psalm is CHRIST; the type, DAVID. The persons we are chiefly to reflect on are three, and which make three parts of the Psalm: I. The enemies of Christ; II. Christ the Lord; III. The princes and judges of the earth. I. The enemies of Christ are great men, who are described here, partly from their wickedness, and partly from their weakness. First, Their wickedness is apparent. 1. They furiously rage. 2. They tumultuously assemble. 3.

12. Kiss the Son] According to this rendering the exhortation to serve Jehovah is followed by an exhortation to pay homage to His representative. For the kiss of homage cp. 1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Kings 19:18; Job 31:27; Hosea 13:2. But this rendering must certainly be abandoned, (1) Not to mention some minor difficulties, it assumes that the Psalmist has used the Aramaic word bar for son (cp. Bar-jona, Bar-Jesus) instead of the usual Hebrew word ben. The only example of its use in the Hebrew of the O.T. (it is of course found in the Aramaic of Ezra and Daniel) is in Proverbs 31:2, a passage which contains other marked Aramaisms. No satisfactory reason has been suggested for its introduction here. We should not expect a poet to borrow a foreign word for son either for ‘emphasis’ or for ‘euphony.’ (2) None of the ancient Versions, with the exception of the Syriac, give this sense to the words. They represent two views as to the meaning, (a) The LXX, and of course the Versions dependent on it, render, Lay hold of instruction: and similarly the Targum, Receive instruction, (b) Symmachus and Jerome render, Worship purely; and to the same effect, but with his usual bald literalism, Aquila gives, Kiss choicely. The Syriac gives the meaning Kiss the son: but its rendering is merely a transcription of the Hebrew words. The reading of the Ambrosian MS., which agrees with the rendering of the LXX, is a correction by a later hand to the reading of the Hexaplar Syriac. Jerome was acquainted with the translation Worship the son, but rejected it as doubtful. The passage in his treatise against Ruffinus (i. 19) deserves quotation. He had been charged with inconsistency for translating Worship purely (adorate pure) in his Psalter, though he had given Worship the son (adorate filium) in his Commentary. After discussing the possible meanings of the words he concludes thus: “Why am I to blame, if I have given different translations of an ambiguous word? and while in my short commentary where there is opportunity for discussion I had said Worship the Son, in the text itself, to avoid all appearance of forced interpretation, and to leave no opening for Jewish cavils, I have said, Worship purely, or choicely; as Aquila also and Symmachus have translated it.” It is however easier to shew that the rendering Kiss the Son is untenable, than to decide what rendering should be adopted. Bar (beside other senses inapplicable here) may mean choice, or, pure. Hence some commentators have adopted the renderings Worship the chosen one; or, Worship in purity (cp. Psalms 18:20; Psalms 18:24; Psalms 24:3-5). But the substantial agreement of the LXX and Targum points to the existence of a widely-spread early tradition as to the sense, and on the whole it seems best to follow their general direction and render, Embrace instruction, or perhaps, obedience. No rendering is free from difficulty, and it may be doubted whether the text is sound.

Kiss the Son - Him whom God hath declared to be his Son Psalms 2:7, and whom, as such, he has resolved to set as King on his holy hill Psalms 2:6.

10-12. Be wise now—An admonition to kings and rulers to make peace with King Messiah. Be instructed—Be corrected, chastened, restrained.