Thoughts for the Day

* King Solomon.

Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth....

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.

Thoughts

This wonderful psalm from David to King Solomon, has also become a description for Christians of the Kingdom of God. If we take Isaiah's prophecy from Isaiah 11.1-5 and Chapters 60-62 as actually referring to the Messiah, then Psalm 72 has been granted the same status. After all Solomon as a man was not going to live "while the sun endures, and as long as the moon". Neither is it likely that his kingdom would "have dominion from sea to sea, and ... to the ends of the earth". Theologians and hymn writers have used this psalm to talk about the reign of Christ when His Kingdom is complete.

The psalm reminded King Solomon of his royal obligations, but it also reminds us of what our royal King will bring in due course. The king's role is to be the guardian of justice and the protector of the poor, and these are to be God-given gifts to a righteous king as we saw when King Solomon prayed first for wisdom from God (1 Kings 3.7-9).

This wonderful prayer for an earthly king and for the completion of God's Kingdom, ends in the words of the doxology - the glorious expression of praise to God - which we heartily endorse in the words "Amen and Amen."

Lord Jesus Christ,
this Advent we pray for the coming
of Your Kingdom,
a Kingdom of righteousness,
justice and peace.
May we settle for nothing less
than Your perfection,
and may we continue to praise God
for ever.
Amen and Amen.