Kiss the son – as (in the verse) "and he kissed all his brethren"
(Gen. 45:15). And (the word) בר is the same as בן; and so "What, my son (בני)?"; and "what, O son (בר) of my womb?" (Prov.31:2). Or it may be interpreted by "the pure (ברי) of heart"
(Ps. 73:1). If its meaning is "son," this will be its interpretation: Kiss this son whom God has called "son," as He says (above): Thou art My son. And the command is Kiss, because it is the custom for a servant to kiss the hand of the master. And if its meaning is "pure," its interpretation is, "What have I to do with you, for I am pure in heart and there is no wickedness in me that ye should come and fight against me? Your duty is to kiss me and to confess that I am king by the command of God." And בר may also be fittingly interpreted from (the verse) "Choose (ברו) you a man for you"
(1 Sam. 17:8), upon the analogy of "Saul the chosen of the Lord"
(2 Sam. 21:6).
lest He be angry – If ye turn not speedily from your evil ways God will be angry with you.
and ye perish in the way, For His wrath will soon be kindled – Soon, because ye continue in your wickedness, His anger will burn upon you, as if to say, If ye do not quickly repent. And the interpretation of and ye perish in the way is as (in the verse) "and the way of the wicked shall perish"
(Ps. 1:6). And behold the way perishes and they are perishing because of their way which is perishing, as "an oak fading as to its leaves" (Is. 1:30). Because the leaves are fading the oak is called a fading one. And so, "the torn of clothes" (2 Sam. 13:31(2)), and elsewhere, for the clothes are torn and not they (i.e. the wearers), and they are called torn because of their clothes which are torn. And so
(Jer. 41:5), "Shaven as to their beards and rent of clothes" and other similar instances. And he says:
Happy are all they that put their trust in Him – as I am this day, because I have put my trust in Him, and am saved by Him while ye perish; but if ye trust in Him they shall likewise say of you, "Happy are ye!"
And there are some who interpret this Psalm of Gog and Magog, and the anointed one is King Messiah: and so our teachers of blessed memory have interpreted (Bavli Berakhoth 7b). And the Psalm can be explained in this way, but the better is that David uttered it concerning himself, as we have interpreted.
And the Nazarenes interpret it of Jesus; and the verse they adduce by way of proof and make a support of their error is really their stumbling–block: it is The Lord said unto me, Thou art My son. For if they should say to you that he was the Son of God, answer that it is not proper to say "Son of God" in the manner of flesh and blood; for a son is of the species of his father. Thus it would not be proper to say, This horse is the son of Reuben." If this be so, he to whom the Lord said, Thou art My son, must necessarily be of His species, and be God like Him. And further, He says, I have this day begotten thee; and the begotten is of the same species as the begetter. Say (also) to them that of the Godhead it is unfitting (to speak of) father and son; because the Godhead cannot be divided, for it is not a body that it should be divided; but God is one in every aspect of unity; He cannot be increased, decreased, or split up. And further say to them that a father is prior to a son in time, and the son issues from the father's vigour; and although it is not proper to use one term without the other as regards nomenclature, for one is not called father until he have a son, and a son is not so called unless he have a father, nevertheless he who is called father when he has a son is prior in time without any doubt. And if this be so, the God whom you speak of and call "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" the portion you call Father existed before the other portion you call Son. For if they had been always together they should have been called twin brothers, and you would not call them Father and Son, nor begetter and begotten. For the begetter is prior to the begotten without doubt.
And if they say that it is not fitting to say "Son of God" of anything which is not of the divine species, say to them that we are unable to speak of God Blessed be He! except in metaphorical language, as it is said of Him "mouth of the Lord," "eyes of the Lord," "ears of the Lord," and such like, and it is understood that such (language) is metaphorical only. And so it is by way of metaphor when it says "son of God" or "sons of God"; for he who does His commands and commission is called "son," as the son does the father's commands. So He calls the stars sons of God, as (in the verse) "and all the sons of God shouted for joy"
(Job 38:7).
So man, by reason of the higher spirit which is in him, when he does the commandments of God because of the wise soul which teaches him, He calls "son"; and therefore He says, Thou art My son, this day have I begotten thee."
He says also "Israel is My son, My first–born"
(Exod. 4:22); it says also "Ye are sons of the Lord your God"
(Deut. 14:1); and it says (ibid. 32:6) "Is not He thy Father which hath bought thee?" and "I will be to him a Father and he shall be to Me a son"
(2 Sam. 7:14).
And further say to them, Has the God whom you describe as "the Father" said to His Son, Ask of Me and 1 will give the nations for thine inheritance? How should the Son ask from the Father? Is he not God like Him? And has he not power over the nations and the ends of the earth even as He? And further, before this request, were not the nations already his possession? If so, was God less powerful at the beginning and afterwards of greater power? This cannot be said of God. And if they say to you that it is spoken in regard to the flesh, after the Godhead had taken flesh, and to (the Son in) the flesh He says that he should ask from Him and He would give the nations for his inheritance this is not the case, for (Jesus in) the flesh had no kingdom nor any authority over any nation of the nations. And if they say to you that it is about the (spread of the) faith (religion) he speaks which should be accepted, behold the great number of nations, Jews and Mohammedans, who have not accepted his faith.
Behold I have taught you what to reply to them in this Psalm, and you can add of your own after the tenor of these words. And if they ask you its meaning, then interpret it in one of these two ways as you choose, either of David or King Messiah, as I have interpreted it for you.