It is easy for us to not notice how much this world needs the return of Christ. Our world as a whole is divided and scattered in confusion “as sheep without a shepherd.” The world will remain this way until Jesus returns and leads the world in peace, righteousness and blessing. Until then, we ought to desire Jesus’ rule, seek His kingdom, and exalt His person.
John Cole
Jesus & Me in the Psalms / Kingdom of God; Christ as King
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 72 KJV
A Psalm for Solomon. 1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, And thy righteousness unto the king’s son. 2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, And thy poor with judgment. 3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, And shall break in pieces the oppressor. 5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun And moon endure, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: As showers that water the earth. 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; And abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him. 12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; The poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13 He shall spare the poor and needy, And shall save the souls of the needy. 14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: And precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: Prayer also shall be made for him continually; And daily shall he be praised. 16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 His name shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: And men shall be blessed in him: All nations shall call him blessed. 18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things. 19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: And let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
INTRO
There’s a common theme in inspirational messages to:
“CHANGE THE WORLD!”
• What does that mean?
• What’s the scope of change to make?
• Who decides what is changed?
The truth is, we do need change.
• The current world population is nearly 7.5 billion people
• [slide] 80% of the world lives on less than $10 a day
• [slide] Every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases
• One out of nine people in this world are either without clean water or malnourished
• [slide] 40% of the world’s money belongs to the 4% of the world in America
• If you make $10,000 a year, you are wealthier than 84% of the world
• Religious zealots continue to attempt to force conversions, which is both irrational and unbiblical
• World powers continue to position, deceive, and politic the world stage
• Oppression, murder and abuse continues
• Destruction of unprotected, innocent babies happens each day under the guise of “pro-choice abortion.”
• Confusion of God-given realities such as birth gender, Creation, and life authorities is ever spreading and being propagated
Psalm 72 tells us Who will bring the needed change to our world and how He will lead the change.
This psalm is a royal psalm, describing how David’s line of kings will lead, beginning with Solomon, and ending with the Messiah.
It looks forward to Christ’s righteous, universal, and endless reign on this earth.
It seems to parallel Solomon’s early reign with what Jesus’ reign will be like:
• vs. 1–4 with his prayer for the listening heart,
1 Kings 3:9 KJV
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
• the anticipations of peace, vs. 3, 7, with his name, “the peaceful one”;
• the rule from sea to sea, v. 8, with
1 Kings 4:24 KJV
24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
• the presents from Sheba, v. 10, with 1 Kings 10.
We had previously looked at Psalm 2 and seen a similar message.
• The difference is that Psalm 2 gives a war perspective of Jesus’ reign similar David,
• while Psalm 72 gives a peaceful perspective, similar to Solomon.
God had promised to bless all nations through Abraham and to give an eternal throne through David.
Genesis 12:2–3 KJV
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Galatians 3:14 KJV
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
It will be a righteous, peaceful kingdom.
Isaiah 2:1–5 KJV
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, That the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; And he will teach us of his ways, And we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, And shall rebuke many people: And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, And let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:1–10 KJV
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, And reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, And the leopard shall lie down with the kid; And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; Their young ones shall lie down together: And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea. 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, Which shall stand for an ensign of the people; To it shall the Gentiles seek: And his rest shall be glorious.
TEXT
A Righteous King (vs. 1-4)
Psalm 72:1–4 KJV
1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, And thy righteousness unto the king’s son. 2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, And thy poor with judgment. 3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, And shall break in pieces the oppressor.
An Enduring King (vs. 5-7)
Psalm 72:5–7 KJV
5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun And moon endure, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: As showers that water the earth. 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; And abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
A Universal King (vs. 8-11)
Psalm 72:8–11 KJV
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him.
A Just King (vs. 12-14)
Psalm 72:12–14 KJV
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; The poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13 He shall spare the poor and needy, And shall save the souls of the needy. 14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: And precious shall their blood be in his sight.
A Blessed Kingdom (vs. 15-17)
Psalm 72:15–17 KJV
15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: Prayer also shall be made for him continually; And daily shall he be praised. 16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 His name shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: And men shall be blessed in him: All nations shall call him blessed.
A Kingdom of God Alone (vs. 18-20)
Psalm 72:18–20 KJV
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things. 19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: And let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
APPLICATIONS
Desire Jesus’ rule
Seek Jesus’ kingdom
Exalt Jesus today
