Sunday, December 5, 2010 pm
Studies In Psalms
GIVE THE KING YOUR JUDGMENTS
Psalm 72
Tonight we continue our study of the psalms.
This particular psalm is described as “a psalm of Solomon.”
Solomon, of course, was the son of David who inherited the throne
and through whom the Seed promise would come (2 Sam. 7).
It is believed that this psalm was written based upon David’s
prayer toward the end of his life concerning his son, Solomon (see vs.
20). Also, Solomon probably
wrote it early in his reign and it described his early humility and
desire to reign righteously.
The psalm, however, when
examined has at least hints of being Messianic in its fulfillment.
It is certainly descriptive of Christ as our king and we will
notice how.
Our approach to this psalm
will be to compare how a king of this earth OUGHT to reign and how our
KING does reign over us. As
we examine this psalm it will become clear that it portrays a better
picture of our Lord than it does of the earthly kings of Israel (and
Judah). 8-11- everywhere, 12-14 – beneficent; 15-17 – perpetual, 18-20 –
glorious reign
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
Vs. 1 – A
request that God’s judgments and righteousness be the influence of the
“king’s Son.”
If David prayed this toward the
end of his life, his desire for God’s kingdom was that such godliness
and peace to prevail.
Solomon’s kingdom was one of relative peace (cf. 1 Chron. 22:9) until he
rejected God by following his idolatrous wives.
ii.
LESSON: Do
we pray for our leaders as we ought to? 1 Tim. 2:1-3
iii.
LESSON 2:
Concerning heritage. If this
psalm is based on a late life prayer of David on behalf of Solomon,
notice how he desires that his son and many generations beyond seek the
righteous and just path.
This is reminder of the awesome responsibility parents have to train up
their children – Prov. 22:6, Eph. 6:4, cf. 2 Tim. 3:14-15.
iv.
Vs. 2 – A
king that judges in righteousness and justice.
The way leaders OUGHT to be.
v.
Vs. 3
speaks of mountains and hills bringing peace – believed to be a
description of all the land.
The mountains being the highest (greatest) places in the land and the
hills being the rest of the land (usually in a hilly land there are more
hills than mountains).
vi.
Vs. 4 -
They are concerned about all over whom they are entrusted with
leadership.
NOT only does he vindicate the poor but he also protects the people from
their enemies.
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
FIRST, He
IS reigning in Heaven as our King – Acts 2:32-36, Mk. 16:19, Heb. 10:12
ii.
Truly He
possesses the righteousness and judgment of God – Rev. 19:11, 1 Cor.
1:30, Heb. 1:8-9
iii.
He brings
justice to the poor and needy – Luke 4:18 where He claimed to fulfill
prophecy from Isaiah 61:1-2
iv.
His reign
is throughout the earth – Phil. 2:9-10, Rev. 7:9, a great multitude of
nations…
v.
He will
“break in pieces” the oppressor – He will destroy ALL His enemies –
1 Cor. 15:25-26 – He will put all enemies under His feet, including
death.
II.
An
everlasting Kingdom (5-7)
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
Vs. 5 –
When worldly leaders are fearful to God, their followers will show due
reverence to God and His precepts.
This will also lend toward these leaders being respected and
feared by the people (1 Pet. 2:17, Rom. 13:7).
NOTE: David COULD pray this concerning Solomon with hope because of the
promise made to him in 2 Sam. 7:16.
ii.
Vs. 6 –
Like rain blesses the land, this king seeks what is best for his people
iii.
Vs. 7 –
Peace and righteousness predominate his kingdom
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
He will
reign and people will fear (& reverence) Him – Luke 1:32-33, 1 Cor.
15:24-25
ii.
It will be
“as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations”
– the kingdom of our Lord is an everlasting kingdom.
iii.
Our Lord
SHOWERS us with real blessings – Eph. 1:3, Rev. 5:13
iv.
In His
kingdom the righteous DO flourish and there is peace – everlasting
(until the moon is no more).
III.
Universal rule (8-11)
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
Vs. 8 – He
reigns over his kingdom from border to border.
He controls it and rules with integrity.
If he is blessed, his borders increase.
BUT we know that in reality, no king entirely ruled the world,
and those empires that stood strong only lasted a short time, usually
associated with their moral decay.
ii.
Vs. 9-10 –
Other nations fear and respect him.
These verses are descriptive of an influential world government.
The nations mentioned here were some distance from Israel
including Tarshish which was in western Europe, Sheba in southern Arabia
in Asia and Seba which is possibly in Africa (some say Ethiopia).
NOTE: Solomon and Israel NEVER reached these borders.
However Solomon would expand the
borders of Israel further than any other king.
In fact, it is in Solomon that the promises made to Abraham were
fulfilled (Gen. 15:18-21, 1 Kings 4:21, 9:20-22).
After him, it was downhill both spiritually and physically.
iii.
Vs. 11 –
He dominates throughout his empire.
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
His reign
is “from sea to sea” – Col. 1:23
ii.
His
enemies WILL bow before Him (Rev. 6:15-17, Phil. 2:9-10)
iii.
Man from
nations all over the world have submitted to His will and obeyed Him.
When one obeys the gospel and lives godly, they will bring gifts
to Him (spiritually).
iv.
Furthermore, consider that when Jesus was born, wise men from the east
brought Him gifts. A
demonstration of the announcement to the world (Matt. 2:1-2, 11).
IV.
Benevolent rule (12-14)
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
Vs. 12-13
– Again we see a benevolent and caring king delivering the needy,
helping the poor and doing what is needed to save them.
ii.
Vs. 14 –
He will redeem them from oppression.
iii.
Not many
physical rulers fully fulfill this.
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
Truly
Jesus is a deliverer of the poor and needy – both physically and
spiritually – cf. Matt. 11:28-30.
He is there for those who seem to have no one else.
ii.
He does
spare (have compassion) others and saves – He is our savior.
He desires our salvation – 1 Tim. 2:4, Eph. 5:23
iii.
He TRULY
is our redeemer – Titus 2:14, 1 Pet. 1:18
iv.
He will
hold accountable those who shed innocent blood and the blood of His
saints – 2 Thess. 1:6-8
V.
Praise and prayers offered for him (15)
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
A godly
king will receive gifts
ii.
He will be
petitioned for by his subjects.
iii.
He will be
praised by them as well
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
We offer
gifts to Him – beginning with ourselves
- Rom. 12:1-2, Heb. 13:15-16
ii.
We pray
for His will to be done – Heb. 10:19-22
iii.
We praise
Him daily and “all day long” (NASU) – Jude 25
VI.
A
blessed land (16)
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
Such is
NEVER guaranteed in this life.
But the wise and godly rulers are more likely to see such
blessings sustained.
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
He is the
giver of all things and He can bless us – Eph. 1:22-23,
ii.
He can
cause us to flourish more than anyone else
VII.
An
everlasting name (17-19)
a.
Concerning
the king:
i.
Most
leaders go down in history and are remembered one way or the other.
ii.
Here is a
ruler, whose good is remembered and considered as the future presents
itself.
b.
Concerning
Jesus:
i.
Truly His
name is everlasting and endures forever
“as long as the sun”
ii.
All
nations are blessed in Him – He fulfilled the promise to Abraham of Gen.
12:1-3
a.
The
psalmist concludes by praising God desiring that men hallow Him and
glorify Him. He is the one
who does wondrous things.
b.
His name
is glorious forever.
c.
May it
fill the whole earth.
d.
Vs. 20 –
may not actually belong with this psalm.
It could be a remark concerning the book of Psalms for this does
end the second section of the psalms.
In this psalm we see
the blessings David desired for his son Solomon.
But we also see the blessings our Lord has brought to us.
Considering the goodness of our Savior AND King, are we willing
to serve Him. Eph. 2:19, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”
Phil. 3:20,
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”