Thoughts for the Day

Long may he live!
May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all day long.
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.

May his name endure for ever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name for ever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Undoubtedly Psalm 72 is an enthronement psalm probably for Solomon, but it was to lead to something much greater. Look at the over-the-top invocations above! Prayers and blessings were to be said all day long, and gold and grain were to be given in great excess to him. But it is the phrase "may all nations be blessed in him" (or through him as a note to the text says) that indicates someone greater than Solomon.

But all this exaltation of the human king was to lead to the hope of a Messiah who would be so much greater than even a good king. King after king failed to live up to the glowing picture and high ideals that had been set for them, with the scriptures saying "he did evil in the sight of the Lord" (eg 1 Kings 16) and quoting examples of kings who massacred the families of other claimants to the throne, or who began to worship Baal, the hope grew that one day a king would come who could fulfill the prophecies. When the northern tribes were destroyed and Judah taken to Babylon, with the temple gone, it might have been thought that all these hopes were at an end, However pronouncements from later prophets like Jeremiah (23.5-6) and Ezekiel (34.23-24) as well as reference back to psalms like Psalm 72, undoubtedly encouraged them to keep looking for a Messiah who would come to save them.

So it is that In our New Testament, over a third of the quotations from the Hebrew scriptures (our Old Testament) come from the Book of Psalms, and are given Messianic interpretations by Jews and Christians.

King of kings, and Lord of lords,
we look forward to a future
when You will return,
to rescue Your people,
as You promised to Your disciples.
Give us patience to wait in hope
for a better future,
and in the meantime to do all we can
to share Your love with those around us.
Amen.