Psalm 72
Several years ago, a movie broke all the box-office records, and made its creator, James Cameron, a boatload of money. It won a lot of Oscars, and when he stood in front of millions of viewers and held up his award, he proudly quoted the famous line from his film: “I’m the king of the world!!!”
I remember watching that show and thinking to myself, “That’s got to be one of the most idiotic statements ever made in public.” This guy was a movie director. True, he was very popular and famous and made a lot of money, but none of that made any eternal difference, and none of that was permanent.
But there’s Someone else coming, and he really will be King of the World! As we close out the series Jesus in the Psalms, that’s the phrase that kept coming to my mind as I read this passage.
Now, I have to be completely up front here. All of the other Psalms we've studied in this series are specifically quoted in the N.T. as predicting something about Jesus. There's no room for ambiguity there. However, strictly speaking that's not true for today's passage: Nowhere is today's Psalm quoted or alluded to in the N.T. Nevertheless, as we'll see, there are some good reasons for applying it to our Savior Lord.
First, there are a couple of interesting things to note. According to the superscript, this was composed by Solomon, and that would make it a rarity. Apparently his father was much more prolific when it came to writing Psalms, since the 127th is the only other one which bears his name.
The reason why this is important is because of the breadth of the passage. What I mean by that is the Psalm uses a lot of universal terms to describe the rule of this King. Look in particular at vss. 5, 7-8, 11, and 17. The only earthly king who even came close to fulfilling this passage was Solomon himself. He had a lot of nations bow before him, but never the entire earth, and he certainly didn’t live as long as the sun or moon. This might only be flowery language to describe himself or another Davidic king, but I think the ultimate fulfillment is found in David’s greatest Son, the One who'll reign on David's throne forever.
So what do we see about his reign, besides being eternal and universal? The two words which I think summarize this King’s reign are mercy and justice. In our system of government, we’ve divided up the functions of the legislative, the executive, and judicial functions, but not so under an absolute monarch like this one. He made the laws, he enforced the laws, and he applied the laws in disputes. If you were mistreated by someone else, then he was the one to ask for help.
To those who are “needy” and “afflicted,” he would be like a gentle rain on the earth, bringing refreshment and new life. All of us need this, especially in the spiritual realm, since we’re all beggars who depend completely on his mercy and grace to save us.
But to those who oppressed others and who rebelled against his rule, he would display his justice. No one would be able to hide from his piercing gaze or be able to stand before his wrath. The “meek and mild” Jesus you might've seen in paintings is not the one we see here.
I know that there are a lot of debates among Christians about his Return, and I'd really hesitate to be dogmatic about the details. However, there are some things which every Bible-believing Christian should know about it. Among these: One day he'll return in power and glory, and he will be either the best Friend or the worst Enemy you could ever have. The choice is yours, and you have to make it before the clock runs out.
Lord Jesus, I'm so glad that I’m covered by your precious blood. I belong to you, but I don’t show it all the time, or even most of the time. Please change that, as only you can.
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