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.

There are man made laws, and God made laws. Man made laws are often foolish.

• In Juneau, Alaska you are prohibited from bringing your pet flamingo into a barbershop, while in Fairbanks it is illegal to serve alcohol to a moose.
• In Quitman, Georgia you cannot change the clothing on a storefront mannequin unless the shades are down.
• In New Orleans, Louisiana it is illegal to gargle in public.
• Women in Minnesota can face 30 days in jail for impersonating Santa Claus.
• In Oklahoma, people who make ugly faces at dogs can be fined or jailed.
• At restaurants in Memphis, Tennessee, any pie must be eaten on the premises.

I could go on and on. I have no idea why some laws were put in place, but I suspect they had a good reason (or so they thought) when the laws were placed on the books. I remember one episode of Andy Griffith (the greatest show, ever) where a hill billy family came to town, and stopped at a “memorial horse trough”. As they filled the radiator of their old truck up with water, Sheriff Andy came and told them “It’s illegal to fill your radiator from the memorial horse trough”. The head of the clan, without a smile, said “If I see a horse anywhere, I’ll get out of the way.”

Man made laws often make no sense. They’re not as funny when they effect human life. But God made laws are always certain.

Like the Law of Gravity, or the Law of Aerodynamics, God made laws are given to humanity for our protection and blessing. When we violate God’s laws we cause hurt.

Violating God’s Laws brings disease and death. God told Adam in Eden:

Genesis 2:17 … of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam listened to the serpent’s lie (the serpent is satan. See Revelation 12:9). What happened? Just what God promised. By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all, for all have sinned (Romans 5:12). God’s Word stands true. It is as true as is gravity. We are all sinners because of Adam’s transgression. But, praise God, our Heavenly Father is merciful. Our Father sent Jesus Christ to us, to bless whosoever will.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

The bad news is that humanity took a bad path away from God, and are racing toward destruction and death. But the good news is the Father, our Creator, offers us an alternative. Let us all strive to …

Kiss The Son

“Kiss the Son” means more than just an empty act with your lips. Many a young man has kissed a young woman for a temporary pleasure, but without any idea of commitment. Many claim to “kiss the Son”, but their hearts are not given to it. Both Isaiah as well as Jesus spoke of those hypocrites, who …

Matthew 15:8-9 …. draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

To claim love of God but to reject His Word and His Laws in favor of man made laws never pleases God. What God has said to us in His Word in truth. We are set apart as God’s people by our allegiance to His Word. Jesus Christ prayed for His Church, asking the Father to …

John 17:17 … Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

If you love God, you will love His written Word. If you love God, you will love His Living Word. The Pharisees claimed to love God, but despised Jesus. They loved to twist the written Word of God, to manipulate it so that they could live their lives as they wished regardless as to God’s decreetive will. There are many people who claim to be Christians today who do they very same thing. I was told by a brother in Christ that another professing Christian is spreading hatred toward a Church I know. Why? Because the Pastor of that Church preached that it is wrong to live together in sexual contact without being married. This so called Christian is living with his girlfriend, believing what he is doing is absolutely right. Beloved, though man’s law may say that such behavior is acceptable, it is God’s Law and God’s Decree that matters. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, what do we pray? Do we not pray:

Matthew 6:9-10 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, THY WILL BE DONE in earth, as it is in heaven.

Do we not end the Lord’s prayer with,

Matthew 6:13 … FOR THINE {O FATHER} IS THE KINGDOM, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

God is our King, the King of Kings. His Word must be not only heard, but obeyed. Jesus told the Pharisees:

John 8:42-45 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to manifest God to us. He came to show us the Father’s heart. If you love the Father, you will kiss the Son. You will cherish Jesus, and live your lives pleasing unto Him. You will obey the Words He speaks.

The lost do not want to kiss the Son. They want nothing of Jesus. Let us look to our focal text. The Psalmist – who is saved – asks a question:

Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

Why is the world in disarray? Why is America in such a mess right now? Some will blame it on a political party. The Democrats will blame the Republicans, the Republicans the Democrats, and the Libertarians will blame them both. Some blame the President, the others the House or the Senate. The sad truth is we as a nation are in such disarray because we refuse to kiss the Son. We refuse to acknowledge the rule of God. Throughout the Old Testament Israel suffered when her leadership – political, business, and religious – refused to honor God. The Psalmist says:

Psalms 2:2-3 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

The liberal ruling governors mock God. Much of our Legislature has minimized the necessity of God. The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence states:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The idea of liberty as flamboyant as American liberty is requires a moral and God fearing people. We have wandered from God. We do not kiss the Son – nor do we seem to care much for the Father, or even for our fellow man. Our Lord Jesus came from glory and told us:

Matthew 22:37-40 … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The basis for a civil society is a people who love the Lord. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord (Psalm 33:12). Conversely, where the nation turns away from God and from treating those around you as created in God’s image, that nation begins to disintegrate from the inside out.

Beloved, we need to kiss the Son. To reject His Word and His will while trying to be our own god is futile. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 2:4-5 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

The God of Scripture is the Maker of Heaven and Earth. The God of the Scripture has designed the earth and the creatures on it, and has given us right and holy Words to live by.

To Kiss The Son We Must Repent

The beginning of a blessed life is to repent, to turn from being your own god, and turning to the One Who is God. Jesus came preaching:

Matthew 4:17 … Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

To repent is to turn from being your own god, and to turn to Him that is God. To repent is to cease following your will, and follow God’s will. To repent is to turn from sin, and toward the Savior. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, He came to save the sinner. Jesus said:

Matthew 9:13 … I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

As Jesus went from town to town healing people, doing miraculous things, He continually called people to repentance. Jesus said “Fall in love with Me. Follow Me. Cast your sins upon Me. Let Me be your Guide. Imitate Me, not the world. Hear My Word, and you will be blessed.”

Though Jesus called people to repentance, many chose instead to continue to follow their own paths. Jesus cried over those who would not listen to Him.

Matthew 11:20-30 {Jesus began cry over} the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The way unto the blessed life, the blessed family, the blessed community, the blessed city, the blessed country is to kiss the Son. To come unto Jesus as a child, as a simple minded person. The way of peace and blessing is hidden from those who think they know it all. But the way of peace and blessing is revealed to those who come to Jesus.

Take His Yoke upon you.
Pick up His Cross, bear it with Him.
Learn of Jesus, and be like Him.
He Humbly follows the Father,
We humbly follow Him.
Bind your life and thoughts to Christ.
Obey His Word, and Kiss Him with obedience.
Humble yourselves, following Him daily.
This is where life begins – immersed in the Son.

One day Jesus was visiting a friend by the name of Simon the Leper. I suspect that this man was one the lepers that Jesus once healed. Simon the leper was also a Pharisee – and he had in himself a bit of self righteousness. The Bible tells us that …

Luke 7:37-38 … And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

This woman was “a sinner”. When this phrase was applied to women, it usually meant that they were involved in some sort of sexual sin. This woman said not a word to Jesus, but stood behind Him and treated Him with love and respect. She washed the feet of Him Who died for us, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. As the smell of the perfume that she anointed Jesus with went through the house, it was the wondrous smell of Grace. Jesus looked at this precious woman and said:

Luke 7:48-50 … Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

“Who is this Who forgives sins also?” This is Jesus. This is the One of Whom God said:

Psalm 2:6-11 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Those who serve Jesus with love – who kiss the Son – they shall be blessed. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life … no man comes unto the Father but BY HIM (John 14:6).

There is blessing in following Christ. But there is cursing in rejecting God’s Son. C.H. Spurgeon said:

“Some of you are this day fitted on the bow of sin. Some of you are whistling onward towards death, despair, and hell. Sin is the path to hell and you are traveling it with lightening speed. … Oh, kiss the Son, I beseech you, for if you kiss Him not, if you receive not His Grace and Mercy, perish you must. There is no hope for you, desperate, without remedy, your end must be, if you will not yield your pride and submit to Jesus!”

There is no salvation without Christ. There is no satisfactory life without Christ. There are but two sides to life. There is Team Jesus, and there is Team World. Team Jesus has the promise:

John 10:28 I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

But Team World will one day hear:

Matthew 25:41 … Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

The choice is yours, dear friends. You can follow the world toward destruction, or Christ toward grace and glory. What will you choose? What will YOU choose?

Psalm 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.

May God open your eyes to heed His Word, and live. Amen and Amen!