The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he judge Your people with righteousness
And [c]Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e]peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.5 [h]Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.8 May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of Tarshish and of the [n]islands bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.
Here we have a rare psalm from Solomon, though some speculate it might have been written of a different king being “inaugurated”. Whether it is written by the new king or for the new king, there is an air of humility that permeates many of the thoughts. That is, even in the first verse, he is the “king’s son” rather than “the king”. Then throughout, each statement begins with “May he…” and “Let the…”.
While the king would typically be regarded as the most powerful man in Israel, the whole passage is an admission that the king is not the highest power. Instead, his rule is only established by God, and whatever good he does is only as God gives him wisdom and ability.
If a king needs God’s help in every aspect of his rule, how much more so for us “Average Joe’s”? Truthfully, there is no one that has an advantage, except in Christ. He is our everything, and just as he enabled Solomon to judge wisely, save the needy, and crush the oppressor, so we also need God in every area of our lives.
To think otherwise is arrogant (and foolish) pride. We need God desperately, even more than we need breath and water and food. Remember that every day, make Him your “daily bread” and let His character permeate every area of your life.