by Thomas Watson
In the beginning of this Psalm, holy David shows us how all the powers and gallantry of the world rage and confederate against the Lord and His anointed, that is, Christ. Verse 2, "Rulers take counsel against the Lord and His anointed." That power which He put into their hands, they employ against Him—but their attempt is in vain. In the first verse, "The people imagine a vain thing," as if the holy Psalmist had said, "The Lord will have a church in spite of earth and hell." Matthew 16:18, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it"; that is, neither the power of hell nor the policy of hell shall prevail against His Church. Neither the serpent's subtlety, nor the dragon's fierceness, shall prevail against it. We read in the gospel, that the ship was tossed on the waves but was not overwhelmed because Christ was in it. Christ is in the ship of His Church, and the more opposition is made against the Church of God, the more it increases. It grows by opposition, Exodus 1:12. "The more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied." Said Chrysostom, "It is just like the torch—the more it is beaten the more it flames. Religion is that phoenix which is always flourishing in the ashes of martyrs. Therefore, let the great ones conspire and take counsel against the Lord and His Christ; they imagine a vain thing. In the 4th verse we read that when the wicked sit plotting—God laughs at them, "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh at them." God laughs to see men's folly—to see poor, weak clay strive with the Almighty Potter. But let the wicked remember that God is never more angry with them—than when He laughs. "The Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming." Psalm 37:13. "I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you!" Proverbs 1:26. After His laughing, then He shall speak to them in His wrath. And what does He say? Verse 6, "Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion." In spite of all the powers of darkness, Jesus Christ shall have a throne to sit upon among His people. "I have set My King," that is, I have anointed Christ to be King and have poured on Him the ointment of grace and gladness. I will have My Son to reign, and such as will not bow to His golden scepter—shall be broken with His iron rod, verse 9. Then, after this, the Psalmist makes the inference. Before he had been making the doctrine to kings and the great ones of the world. Now he makes the use in verse 10, "Be wise now therefore, O you kings! Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear." As if he had said, "Come at last to your wits; don't stand out any longer in contest with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. But rather bow to Him; throw your crowns at His feet; make your peace with Him. Serve the Lord with fear." So the text ushers in. And it is a part of the good counsel the Holy Spirit gives, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way." Kissing the Son denotes two things: First, adoration. It was an ancient custom to kiss the son when they admired him, Job 31:27. So Jerome and others read it, "Admire the Son." Adoration is a crown jewel, proper to Christ and to His crown. Admire the Son, that's the first thing. Second, kissing the Son denotes subjection. So we find in 1 Samuel 10:1. Samuel kissed Saul when he anointed him king. He kissed him in token of homage and subjection to him. So that's the meaning of the text, Kiss the Son, that is, admire Him and be subject to Him. The text then falls into these two parts: First, here's a duty—Kiss the Son. Second, the reason of it, and that is very cogent—Lest He be angry. So here are two propositions which result from the words. I shall only speak to the first, and draw the other in the application. Doctrine 1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Doctrine 2. It is a great point of prudence to highly
value and love, to kiss and admire, this blessed Son of God. DOCTRINE 1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. "Kiss the Son." He is the Son of God, not by creation, as the angels are said to be His sons—but He is His Son by eternal generation. Hebrews 1:3, "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person." Observe, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, for He is the brightness of His Father's glory. You know that the brightness that issues from the sun is of the same nature with the sun in the firmament. So Jesus Christ is the brightness of His Father; He is of the same nature with His Father as the beams are of the same nature with the sun. Therefore, Christ says, John 14:9, "He who has seen Me has seen My Father."Again, observe that Christ is called the brightness of His Father's glory. The glory of the sun in the sky, lies in the brightness of it. So the incomparable glory of the Father most shines in Jesus Christ. He is the brightness of His Father's glory. And this is enough to demonstrate to us that Christ is the very Son of God. And as Christ is the Son of God, so He is a royal Son. He is a Son as He is a King. "I have set My King upon My holy hill of Zion," Psalm 2:6. Jesus Christ is said in Scripture to be the "Prince of the kings of the earth," Revelation 1:5. All kings hold their crowns by immediate tenor from Jesus Christ. Proverbs 8:15, "By Me princes reign." So Christ is a royal Son. He is such a Son that He is a King. Indeed, He has the titles given to Him of a King. He is called high and mighty, Isaiah 9:6, "the mighty God." As He is a King, He has His ensigns of royalty. He has His sword, Psalm 49:3. He has His scepter in His hand, Hebrews 1:8. Again, as Christ is King, He has His royal prerogative. For instance, He has power to make laws. He has power to pardon offenders, which are jewels belonging to the crowns of princes. Again, He has His subjects, and they are the most noble and excellent subjects in the world, and that in a threefold respect: First, all Christ's subjects are made free, John 18:36. His subjects fear Him from a sincere principle of love. They do not serve Christ out of constraint but out of choice. They are of a free, noble spirit. Second, Christ's subjects have the Spirit of the living God in them. They have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, 2 Timothy 1:14. Third, all Christ's subjects are of the royal blood of heaven. They are kings, Revelation 1:8. Thus you see that Christ is a Son, He is a King, and He has His subjects. Christ as King has His dominions. There are some princes who have titles—but they do not have dominions. But Christ has dominions as well as titles of honor. He has lands belonging to His crown. Christ's dominions are famous for three things: First, they are large dominions. God has given Him as King the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. His kingdom reaches all over the world. Second, Christ's dominion is famous for its spirituality. The Lord Jesus sets up His throne and kingdom where no other king can. He rules the hearts of men; He gives laws in their consciences; He binds their souls by His laws. Here is the spirituality of His kingdom. Third, here is the eternity of His kingdom. "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever," Hebrews 1:8. What king can say so? It's true, He has many heirs, for all believers are His heirs—yet He has no successors. Earthly crowns fade away and tumble in the dirt, as do those who wear them. Does the crown endure to all generations? No, there is a worm that feeds in this gold. But Christ's throne endures forever. As the Lord Jesus has the largest possessions, for so He has, they shall endure forever and ever. And thus much for the doctrinal part. Jesus Christ is the
Son of God, the brightness of His glory. And He is a royal Son. He is so a
Son as He is a King. Now to make some application. Doctrine 2. It is a great point of prudence to highly value and love, to kiss and admire, this blessed Son of God. Use 1. Of Inference. Is Jesus Christ the Son of God? He is a King full of glory and majesty. It is the Son of God, His royal Son, by whom all princes reign. Learn from hence that all matter of fact must be brought before this Son. Christ has the power of life and death in His hand. John 5:22, "The Father has committed all judgment (all government) to the Son." That blessed Lord Jesus who once had a reed put into His hand by way of scorn and contempt, shall shortly have a royal scepter put into His hand as the great king. That Jesus who once hung on the cross—shall shortly sit as Judge upon the throne. God has committed all judgment to the Son. The whole world must shortly come before the Son. That's the last and great assize from whence there is no appeal. This blessed Son of God is fitly qualified to be the Judge of the world in respect of these two things. 1. Jesus Christ has wisdom to understand all causes. He is the Son of God. He is God, and therefore will search to the bottom of all causes. Therefore He is described with seven eyes to denote His omniscience to judge things. Jesus Christ weighs the spirits of men, as it were, in a balance, Job 16:2. He is said to weigh the spirit. Christ not only judges matter of fact—but He judges men's hearts. Many men's actions may seem in this world to be good—but their hearts are not good, 2 Chronicles 25:2. Now Christ, this great Judge, has this touchstone to try the heart. 2. Jesus Christ has not only wisdom—but He has strength too whereby He is able to be avenged upon all His enemies. Therefore in Scripture it is remarkable that Christ's seven eyes are said to be upon one stone. Seven eyes upon one stone denote the infinite strength of Christ, the power and mighty strength of Christ. As Christ has His balance, so He has His sword to cut off offenders. He can easily strike through the loins of His enemies, Psalm 110. Thus the Son of God, this royal Son, is to be Judge, and all causes and all matters will be brought before His judgment seat. Christ's court is the highest court of judicature. If men are once cast there, there is no appeal to any other court. Use 2. Of Exhortation. First, if Jesus Christ is the Son of God, so full of glory and majesty, and shall sit upon the bench of judicature, then let all great ones take heed how they employ their power against Jesus Christ. It is Christ who gives them their power. "By Me," said Christ, "princes reign," Proverbs 8:15. Power and sovereignty are talents that Christ entrusts men with; and He will shortly call them to account for what they have done with this talent. And if it is found that they have employed this talent against Jesus Christ, O what a dismal account will they have to make! Christ is set up to be a King, and whoever opposes Christ in His kingly office, who says, "We will not have this man to reign over us," will find that Christ will be too hard for them. For men to lift themselves up against Christ is as if a little child should go to fight with an archangel. Isaiah 8:9, "Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered!" This is the voice of God's church speaking to its enemies. The church of God, having such a champion on her side as the Lord Christ is, exults over all her enemies. Second, if Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then let us labor, all of us, to become one with Christ. Then we also shall be the sons of God. Christ makes all the saints to become sons of God, Romans 8:17-18. Christ is a Son by eternal generation, and believers are His sons by adoption. David thought it a great honor to be son-in-law to a king, 1 Samuel 18:18. What an infinite honor to be the sons of the most high God! As Christ is the Son of God, so grace makes us to be the sons of God. God accounts all His sons to be honorable, and they must be so. Such honor have all His saints, for they are born of God and fetch their pedigree from heaven. Isaiah 43:4, "Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honorable." Their tears are put into God's own bottle. He gives the saints a partnership with Christ in His glory. God lays up a portion for all His sons. He gives them a kingdom when they die. Luke 12:32, "It is My Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." O! Who would not labor for grace? As Christ is the Son of God, so grace makes us to become the sons of God. And, being sons, we are heirs to all God's promises. The promises are a cabinet of jewels, and God has bestowed this cabinet upon His sons. Therefore saints are called heirs of the promises, Hebrews 6:17, and heirs of eternal life, Titus 3:7. O saints of God! Think of this! If you are sons, why, though you may lose and suffer the confiscation of your goods, as the primitive saints did, Hebrews 10:34—yet you shall not lose your portion; for your heavenly Father will keep a portion for you in His kingdom. Third, if Christ is the Son of God, then let us all be willing to hear Christ's voice when He speaks to us. This I ground upon that Scripture in Matthew 17:5, "This is My beloved Son, hear Him." This is the inference that God Himself makes. When Jesus Christ calls for us in His Word to believe and repent, He is said to speak from heaven to us. O then let us hear the Son! God knows how long we shall hear the Son speaking to us. Shall we hearken to a lust? Shall we hearken to a temptation? Shall we hear the serpent's voice, and shall we not hear the Son's voice? O let us not despise the voice of the Son of God! If God should speak to us now as He did to the people when He gave the Law with thundering and earthquakes, then we would tremble as they did. Exodus 20:18-19, "Let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die!" But when God speaks to us, Hebrews 1:2, with a still, small voice of the gospel; when God woos and beseeches us by His Son, 2 Corinthians 5:19; "Turn, turn! Why will you die?" Ezekiel 18:31-32; "Hear, and your souls shall live," Isaiah 55:2—shall we not now hear the voice of the Son of God? If we will not hear Christ's first voice—"Come unto Me, you who are weary and heavy laden," Matthew 11:28—we shall never hear Christ's second voice, "Come to Me, you blessed," Luke 25:34. Fourth, which is the main thing, if Christ is the Son of God, a king full of glory and majesty, as you have heard, then take the counsel in the text, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry." Kiss Christ, this blessed Son of God, with a threefold kiss. Kiss Him: 1. With a kiss of faith. 2. With a kiss of love. 3. With a kiss of obedience. 1. Kiss Christ the Son of God with a kiss of FAITH. This is indeed to kiss Him, when we believe in Him. So it follows in the words of the text, "Blessed are those who put their trust in Him," to believe and confide in His merit. This believing kiss is that which Christ looks for to affect our thoughts and confidence in the merit of the Son of God. This kiss of faith, said Augustine, is, as it were, to set foot in heaven. When we begin to believe, we have got one foot in heaven. It is the main thing in the gospel to believe in the Son. Acts 13:39, "By Him all who believe are justified." We may believe sometimes when we don't know we believe. As there may be life when there is no lively sense, so in faith, we may have faith when we don't know it. This kiss of faith, believing in Christ, is the best kiss we can give to Christ. This He takes most kindly at our hands. For when we believe, then we honor the Son as we honor the Father. It sets the crown upon the head of Christ.Now, because there is so much weight lying upon this believing in the Son of God, I shall show you, first, what it is to believe in Him. It is not only an assent that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah—but there must be a sincere recumbence, a leaning on Christ as the spouse did in Song of Solomon 8:5, "Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her Beloved?" All other pillows will break but this one. This pillow you can never lean too hard upon. Jesus Christ is a golden pillow that bears all that is laid upon Him. This believing in Christ is a catching hold of His merit. One who is ready to drown, catches hold of the bow or twig to keep him from sinking. O! Nothing will keep us from eternally sinking in the sea of God's wrath but catching hold of Jesus Christ! Believing is a holy adventure upon Christ. Queen Esther adventured into the presence of the king. "If I perish, I perish," said she. This is the language of faith, "If I perish, I perish." Who ever perished believing? Second, this kissing of Christ by faith is hard. It is not an easy matter. It is easy to profess this Son of God—but it is not easy to kiss this Son. That which makes this work of believing hard lies in these two things: It is hard because man has set up the idol of self-righteousness. He is apt to think he has something of his own merit in him: righteousness of his own, his prayers, his tears, his alms. He would make a Christ of them. Instead of kissing the Son, he idolizes himself. Man is a proud piece of flesh. He would see some worthiness in himself. He would give part to himself and part to Christ. He is loath to be indebted to grace only. He would grow upon his own root and not be grafted upon the stock of Christ's righteousness. Romans 10:3, "Going about to establish a righteousness of their own, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." O! It's wonderful to see a proud sinner humbled, to see him go out of himself to Christ for righteousness. That's the first thing. The second thing that makes this work of believing so hard, is that believing is a work above the power of nature to produce. It is a work of supernatural infusing, John 6:29. Faith is called the work of God. It's the work of God to believe. Faith is a new creation. The creation of the world is called the work of God's finger—but the creation of faith is called the work of God's arm. The Lord sets all His strength to work. It is called "the exceeding greatness of His power," Ephesians 1:20. Surely to raise Christ from the dead required a great power. He had a heavy gravestone laid upon Him—the sins of the whole world. Why, this is the same power which God puts forth in the producing of faith in the soul. So that this kissing of Christ by faith is not as easy as most imagine. The third aspect of believing in Christ is that wherever this blessed work of faith is, it has some virtue that goes along with it. It has a refining, consecrating virtue. The kiss of faith is a holy kiss; it purifies the heart and makes it holy, Acts 15:9. Faith is in the heart as fire among metal. It purifies it and takes away the dross. A kiss of faith has the same virtue as the touching of Christ by faith. The woman touched the hem of Christ's garment by faith, and immediately she received healing virtue from that touch, Mark 5:34. Thus faith touches Christ—and heals. True faith draws a sanctifying and a mortifying virtue from the Lord Jesus. Justifying faith is miraculous—for it removes mountains of sins and throws them into Christ's blood! Whoever kisses the Son by faith is presently made holy. Faith argues a man to holiness. It falls to reasoning with him, "O my soul! Has Christ done so much for me? Has He forgiven me so many debts? Has He purchased such rich mercy in His blood? And will you abuse the love of so dear a friend? Will you make the wounds of your dear Savior to bleed afresh? Is this to kiss the Son? O my soul! How should you give up yourself to Christ in holiness!" And then faith reasons, "If your tears will wash Christ's feet, will you not pour them out? If your estate is a precious ointment, will you not pour out this ointment upon part of Christ's body and relieve His members?" Now the soul cannot withstand these melting reasons—but immediately yields to all. Faith is a holy gift; it consecrates the heart wherever it comes. Fourth, to kiss the Son by faith is the most excellent way of worshiping Him. There's nothing like believing. Let me set forth a little to you the excellency of faith. Faith is the main thing the Scripture holds forth and presses you to. If one should ask why the Scriptures were written, the answer is to point us to Christ the true Messiah, and that we should embrace him by faith. John 20:31, "These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name." This is the marrow of the gospel. It's the sovereign cordial of a fainting soul, that by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ he may be saved. This blessed believing, kissing the Son by faith, is the most excellent of graces. It excels all others, even as gold among metals. Every grace is very lovely—but this of faith excels them all. Consider these five particulars: Faith is the uniting grace; therefore this grace excels. Other graces conform us to Christ but faith unites us to Christ; it espouses us to Him. Other graces make us like Christ—but faith makes us one with Christ. Other graces make us pictures of Christ—but faith makes us branches of Christ. Faith is the vital grace. By kissing Christ we fetch life from Him. "The just shall live by faith," Habakkuk 2:4. By believing we fetch life from Christ. "I live by the faith of the Son of God," said the Apostle, Galatians 2:20. As the arm lives by drawing life from the heart, so faith lives by drawing life and strength from Christ. Other graces are useful, but faith is vital. Faith is the justifying grace; therefore it is most excellent. Romans 5:1, "Being justified by faith." It is not repentance which justifies, nor self-denial—but faith. Faith is the most proper grace of all to justify a sinner, for the hand is more fit to receive the food than the eye. So faith is the most proper to justify because, when we believe, we don't give anything to Christ—but we fetch something from Him. Faith is a world-conquering grace. 1 John 5:4, "This is the victory over the world, even our faith." Faith overcomes all the allurements of the world, the riches of the world, the delights of the world, and it does it by showing the soul a better world than this is. Faith gives it a prospect of prosperity. It carries a believer to the Mount of Transfiguration. It makes him see things that are not seen by the eye of sense, Hebrews 12:1. Faith leads the soul to Christ, the bright morning star. It gives the soul a view of Him, and He is known in the embroidered robes of His glory. Faith shows a man a kingdom. It trades above the moon, and when once a soul has a shadow of these things, it despises all the pleasures of this world. Last, faith is a suffering grace. It enables us to wade through the deep waters of affliction. Hebrews 11:25, "By faith Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season." Faith is a furnace grace; it gives the soul a right notion of suffering. What is this suffering? Faith says it is but a light affliction, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. The cross is light in comparison to the cross which Christ conformed to. The cross is light in comparison to the weight of glory, and thus faith makes the soul go through affliction. This kissing of Christ by faith pleases God more than anything we can do besides. It is better than to give God rivers of oil; it is better than sacrifice. It is faith that pleases God. This is the savory meat which God loves to taste. And the reason why believing is so pleasing to God is that, by believing, we bring a righteousness into God's presence which is perfectly meritorious. We don't bring the righteousness of Adam into court, or the righteousness of angels—but we bring the righteousness of God. And this is that which makes believing so pleasing to God. If then to kiss Christ by faith is the great work under the gospel, why then, let us labor to kiss the Son of God by believing in Him and putting and placing our full hope in Him. That's the first thing—Kiss Him with a kiss of faith. 2. We must kiss the Son of God with a kiss of LOVE. Indeed, Christ is the wonder of beauty. He is nothing but love. God is love, 1 John 4:8. Christ has that majesty in Him which may draw reverence; and He has that mercy in Him that may draw love to Him. The Lord Jesus is a whole paradise of delight. Why then, kiss Him with a kiss of love. Let it be a sincere love. 1 Corinthians 16:21, "Grace be with those who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth."Don't kiss Him with a Judas kiss to betray Him—but love Him sincerely; that is, love His person more than jewels. Love Christ more for what He is—than for what He has. Love Christ with a superlative love—a love above all things whatever. Christ has loved you more than others, you who are believers. He has loved you with such a love that He does not bestow upon the wicked. You have electing love, you have adopting love. Let your love to Christ be such a love that none else but Christ may be a sharer. That is, give Christ a love that is joined with adoration. Don't only kiss Christ with your lips—but worship Him in your hearts. That's the second point—Kiss Christ with a kiss of love. He deserves your love most, and He deserves your love best. 3. Kiss Christ with a kiss of OBEDIENCE. This is to kiss Christ—when we submit to Him, when we obey His laws, when we are under His jurisdiction. There are many in the world who give Christ a complementary kiss. They seem devout--they bow and cringe. O but they don't obey the Son! They kiss Christ as their Savior—but they will not submit to Him as their King. The truth is, they would have Christ and their lusts together. They would embrace His promises but they will not obey His commands. O kiss the Son with a kiss of subjection!We should be like the needle which points the way which the loadstone draws. Those who will not have Christ's laws to rule them—shall never have Christ's blood to save them! Now, to persuade you to kiss the Lord Jesus with a kiss of obedience, consider these two things: The first is in the text, "lest He be angry." Anger is not in Christ as a passion—but anger is said to be in Christ as a displeasure in Him. And His punishing of offenders is the effect of His displeasure. "Who knows the power of His anger?" O therefore, "kiss the Son lest He be angry!" See that place in Revelation 6:15, "The kings of the earth, the great men hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the rocks and the mountains, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Now the Lamb of God is turned into a Lion, and therefore they cry out to the rocks, "O hide us from the wrath of the Lamb!" He who has no part in the blood of the Lamb—will have a part in the wrath of the Lamb. If you will not kiss the Son and lie down at His feet and submit to Him, then you must fall into His hands. And the Apostle said, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," Hebrews 10:31. It is good to fall into His hands when He is a friend. O but it's sad to fall into His hands when He is an adversary! God is the sweetest friend but He is the sourest enemy. When but one spark of God's wrath lights upon a man it is so terrible; what is it, then, to have the whole furnace of His wrath! How easily can the Lord Jesus crumble us to dust? He can unpin the whole world! O then "kiss the Son lest He be angry." The mountains quake at His presence, and will not the sinner's heart quake? Perhaps you think this Lion is not as fierce as He is painted. Look into one Scripture, Ezekiel 22:14, "Can your heart endure, or can your hand be strong in the day that I shall deal with you?" If we kiss the Son by believing in Him and obeying Him, Christ will answer love with love. He will smile upon us. He will kiss us with the kisses of His mouth. Song of Solomon 1:8, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth; for His love is better than wine." Christ will lay us forever in His bosom, and if we give Him a kiss of love, He will give us a crown of life, Revelation 2. Use 3. Warning. Here is a word of terror to wicked men. Instead of kissing the Son, they disobey Him, dishonor Him, vex His Spirit, and do all they can to spite Him. They take counsel against the Lord and His anointed. Are there not many who do all they can to overturn Christ's interests? They would stop the conduit pipes which transmit the water of life. Revelation 17:14, "They shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them." Christ will get the victory. He will come off as Conqueror. Jesus Christ will lay His saints in His bosom—but He will put His enemies under His feet. Psalm 110:1, "I will make My enemies My footstool." Those who will not be ruled by Christ's royal scepter, His scepter of grace, shall be broken by His rod of iron. In short, all those who oppose Christ shall be as so many ripe clusters of grapes to be cast into the great winepress of God's wrath, and to be trodden by the Son of God until their blood squeezes out.The Lord Jesus shoots His arrows very deep into the very hearts of His enemies, "Your arrows are sharp, piercing Your enemies' hearts." Psalm 45:5. The Persians dip their arrows in poison to kill more mortally. So Jesus Christ shoots His arrows of poison; and because they cannot endure the wrath of the Lamb all at once, they will be enduring it to eternity. So, therefore, here is terror to all those who do not kiss the Son. |