Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Ps 2:10-12)
Now the psalmist summarises his thoughts and reveals his intended audience: the rulers of the kingdoms of the earth. This psalm is a warning, but it is also a teaching and an unveiling. It serves to teach earthly rulers that their first responsibility is to God – to serve him, yes to worship him: ‘kiss the Son.’
They are called to acknowledge that God’s Son, his Anointed, his King, who has now been revealed as Jesus, has authority over them. It is an unveiling because it shows that their earthly rule is not merely a physical, temporal thing; but a spiritual activity which places political leaders in the realm of the spirit along with the other ‘powers’ (see Rom 13:1f, Eph 3:10, Col 1:16).
However, for all the warnings there is also a promise to earthly political leaders: ‘blessed are all who take refuge in him.’ This is not set up as a further expression that God is on the side of the oppressed, that his blessing is upon those who need refuge from the evils of this world; rather it is an offer to all, and here explicitly to political leaders: God’s blessing is available to all who will put their trust and confidence in him.
So we see that God does not conceive of political rule as inherently in opposition to Jesus’ heavenly rule: the two can find harmony and peace with one another; what is required is that earthly rulers acknowledge their God-given responsibility of exercising government for the good of the people; that they reject the temptation to see positions of authority as a means to a personal end, that they humbly acknowledge that they are under a higher authority and that they ultimately find their security and fulfilment in the God who established their positions of rule.
Comments