Psalm #

2:10-12: ¹⁰Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
¹¹Serve the Lord with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
¹²Kiss the Son,1 lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him. T

In this last section the psalm switches from the drama of the enthronement "in Zion" back to the rebel kings and rulers with which it began. "Therefore" (NIV) is meaningful enough, but w^e'attah has rather the force of "now" (most other EVV), as in "now that you understand all these, do this." It is an invitation to the kings and rulers who thought they could rebel to think again, an invitation to reason. But it is an invitation with a charge only the foolish could miss or would turn down. What are they to do? Just as their rebellion—even if they had not known it earlier—had been directed against two persons, Yahweh and His Anointed (the Davidic king who has been declared His Son), so their repentance must be directed to both.

First, with regards to Yahweh, they are to "serve Him with fear" and to "rejoice with trembling" (v11). Both clauses seem paradoxical at first.Kings and rulers by nature rule, not serve. Yet those who trully understand the nature of authority knows that there are orders of authority and where they stand in that hierarchy. Matthew reports the story of the centurion who came to Jesus in Capernaum to ask for his servant—who "lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering"—to be healed. When Jesus offered to come to his home to heal the servant, the centurion responded, "'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it.' When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." (Matt 8:5-10). Yes, kings, by nature, rule, but their rule are never absolute. Before Yahweh all must bow, and kings, in ruling, are simply doing it on His behalf; they are His servants. The call then is an invitation to return to their original appointment.

The second clause calls them to "rejoice with trembling."

beatitude