Psalm 72:1–15, 17, 19

God, give your authority to judge to the King. Give your righteousness to the Son of the King. ² He will judge your people with righteousness. He will judge your afflicted ones with justice. ³ The mountains will deliver peace to the people. The hills will produce righteousness. ⁴ He will obtain justice for the afflicted among the people. He will save the children of the poor, but he will crush the oppressor. ⁵ They will fear you as long as the sun remains, and as long as the moon endures, through all generations. ⁶ He will come down like rain on a mown field, like showers, like a downpour on the earth. ⁷ In his days the righteous will flourish, and peace will be plentiful till the moon is no more. ⁸ He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ Those who dwell in the desert will bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. ¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of the sea coasts will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer him gifts. ¹¹ All kings will bow down to him. All nations will serve him. ¹² He will certainly deliver the poor person who cries out, as well as the afflicted, and the one who has no helper. ¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the poor. He will save the lives of the poor. ¹⁴ From oppression and violence he will redeem their lives, because their blood is precious in his sight. ¹⁵ May the King live! May gold from Sheba be offered to him. May people always pray for him. May they bless him all day long. … ¹⁷ May his name endure forever. May his name flourish as long as the sun. They will be blessed through him. All nations will call him blessed. … ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. (EHV)

Dear Friends in Christ,

We’ve moved on from a rancorous election year. It’s now 2025 and it will be at least a few months till the campaigning starts all over again. We’re always hoping for a better way and a better leader because we always live in a world of problems. It’s not wrong to hope for positive change. God has planted in every person’s heart the knowledge that there must be a better world, a perfect world with a perfect leader. He’s placed that hope in each heart because He wants us to long for the “promised land” and seek it by storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and by seeking and finding the King of Kings, through whom all nations are blessed.

It’s that hope that filled the hearts of the Magi from the East, as they journeyed westward, following the star. And they found what they were seeking, they found Him, at the end of their long journey—not an earthly king, but the everlasting King of Kings. They found the Son of God, the Messianic King foretold by Solomon in Psalm 72, and they bowed down and worshiped.

Unlike earthly leaders, Solomon tells us 1. The King of Kings’ rule is Just. 2. It is Universal and everlasting, and it is 3. Overflowing with Blessings.

The King of Kings’ Rule Is Just

We see so much injustice in our society, in our government, even in our courts. But the King of Kings does all things justly. God, give your authority to judge to the King. Give your righteousness to the Son of the King. ² He will judge your people with righteousness. He will judge your afflicted ones with justice. ³ The mountains will deliver peace to the people. The hills will produce righteousness. ⁴ He will obtain justice for the afflicted among the people. He will save the children of the poor, but he will crush the oppressor.

Often, Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah describe His eternal Kingdom in earthly terms, such as the prophecy of the lion lying down with the lamb. Those prophecies combine the blessings of the Kingdom we are already experiencing, with those that we will only know fully after Jesus comes back to judge the nations. That’s Stage 3 of those kingdom prophecies. You could say we’re in “stage two.” Stage 1: Jesus came and  established His Kingdom. Stage 2: Jesus’ kingdom has spread and we’re already part of it, yet its glory is still invisible to the world. Yes, we can see signs or “marks” of the Kingdom all around the world: confessing Christians and their churches and cathedrals. We see the fruits of the kingdom in Western Civilization. Yet we still see Christians oppressed and persecuted in many places. We still see  a lack of justice all around the world.

When Jesus was born the angels proclaimed, “Peace on earth and goodwill to men.” Yet you’ve learned from Scripture that they weren’t foretelling the end of war in the near future. Rather God sent them to proclaim that Jesus came to make peace between God and man, individually as they come to know Him as their Savior. You and I have that “peace that surpasses all understanding” but it won’t be visible to the world until the King’s return.

The Kingdom of God begins invisibly in our hearts through faith. That’s why when Jesus preached, He said “the Kingdom of God is near” (Luke 10:11). He told the people “Yet if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in a way you can observe, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘Look, there it is!’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). But then He turned to His disciples and reminded them that the day would surely come when the kingdom will be clearly visible: “On the day the Son of Man is revealed, [He] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other” (Luke 17:30b, 24).

The Kingdom of Christ has begun as a spiritual kingdom, established by the preaching of God’s Gospel justice as foretold. God, give your authority to judge to the King. Give your righteousness to the Son of the King. ² He will judge your people with righteousness. He will judge your afflicted ones with justice. How? What does this mean? The justice of the Gospel is this: God is just, and God is also love. God’s love and justice meet together in Christ, who kept the holy and immutable law of God, and then paid the just penalty for sin required by the law with His sacrifice of atonement. As St. Paul explained in Romans, Christ made it possible for God to be both just and the God who justifies, those who have faith in Jesus (3:26).

To those who reject Christ’s atonement for their sin God is also just. He gives them just what they ask for—straight up Law Justice. They will be judged by their own deeds, weighed in the balance and found wanting. In justice, they will get exactly what they justly deserve, without mercy.

The King of Kings’ Rule Is Universal and Everlasting

The King of Kings’ Rule is not only Just, it is Universal and Everlasting: It extends through all nations and all time. They will fear you as long as the sun remains, and as long as the moon endures, through all generations. ⁶ He will come down like rain on a mown field, like showers, like a downpour on the earth. ⁷ In his days the righteous will flourish, and peace will be plentiful till the moon is no more.

All the ancient kingdoms and empires have come crashing down. Nor will today’s nations last forever. Not even Old Testament Israel lasted once it abandoned God. When Solomon wrote this psalm, Israel enjoyed its greatest prosperity and widest borders ever. But it wouldn’t last, and Solomon knew it. Solomon and David both put their hope in the far greater King to come, whose Kingdom will last forever and ever. As the Book of Revelation says: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Solomon put it this way: He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ Those who dwell in the desert will bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust.

When Jesus was born, Israel wasn’t even a kingdom anymore—only the Roman province of Judea. But the Kingdom of Christ has since spread into the whole world and continues to grow as more and more come to know Jesus, starting with the Magi on Epiphany: ¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of the sea coasts will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer him gifts. ¹¹ All kings will bow down to him. All nations will serve him.

When King Charles was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 2023, he was grudgingly compelled to acknowledge by oath that he rules under the authority of Christ. In our country, too, presidents take their oaths of office with their hand on the Bible, in fulfillment of Psalm 72, as we will soon witness once again. Like the Magi in Bethlehem, many kings and presidents have and will bow down to Him during their lifetime, and then throughout eternity in heaven. Those who refuse will bow down to Him when He returns with all His angels to judge the earth, and then throughout eternity in hell.

The King of Kings’ Rule Is Overflowing with Blessings

By God’s immeasurable grace, even while we still live under earthly rulers, we disciples are citizens of Christ’s eternal and universal Kingdom of Grace, a Kingdom Overflowing with Blessings, as Solomon reminds us in Psalm 72.

¹² He will certainly deliver the poor person who cries out, as well as the afflicted, and the one who has no helper. ¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the poor. He will save the lives of the poor. ¹⁴ From oppression and violence he will redeem their lives, because their blood is precious in his sight. During His earthly ministry, Jesus showed how much He cared for people in need. Through His people, the church, He continues to show compassionate care and love. It was the Christian church that established the first hospitals and orphanages and schools for the deaf and the blind that the world had ever seen. It’s because of the Christian church and the gospel that even the heathen today talk about such things as human rights. Care agencies, adoption agencies, international aid agencies—there was no such thing in any pre-Christian kingdom or empire. Jesus has brought so many blessings to the world through His Church. This King’s Rule Is Overflowing with Blessings.

And Jesus brings so many blessings to His people directly—to us! He intervenes in our lives to protect and care for His own. He will certainly deliver the … person who cries out, … the afflicted, … the one who has no helper. ¹³ He will take pity on the weak. No matter what He lets us go through, He makes it all work out for us in the end. That’s His promise.

In the meantime, He comforts us with His love. He gives us forgiveness and new life. He strengthens us when we are weak. He empowers us by His Holy Spirit. He gives us faith to revere Him like the Wise Men, bring Him offerings and serve Him by serving our neighbor. He moves us to share the gospel and pray for the spread of His kingdom for the prosperity of the church. That’s how Solomon concludes his Psalm—by praying for the king and encouraging us to pray that His Kingdom will grow and prosper. May the King live! May gold from Sheba be offered to him. May people always pray for him. May they bless him all day long. … ¹⁷ May his name endure forever. May his name flourish as long as the sun. They will be blessed through him. All nations will call him blessed. … ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

As citizens of the United States, we have flawed leaders, whom we nevertheless honor and pray for. But Jesus is and always will be our eternal King. In faith, the Magi recognized who Jesus really is. May we also worship the King of Kings and enjoy His blessings by faith! May all earthly kings and rulers be led to bow the knee to Him! And may His Kingdom continue to conquer hearts with His love and forgiveness, as we pray “Thy Kingdom Come!”

Amen.