Psalm 72: 1, 20 (NIV)
Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
What a beautiful scene! Although there are some disputes over the authorship of this psalm – David or Solomon – most scholars land on a touching and powerful explanation. The King is on his deathbed and ready to finally come to rest in the arms of his Lord and Master. His dutiful, young son is by his side…the next King of Israel. The little shepherd boy who slayed the giant with his sling and a smooth stone is ending up his life as a legendary king presiding over a God-ordained kingdom. It has been a long, hard road…but one on which he never walked alone. At last, his time has come, and as was tradition in the Israelite culture, the father speaks a blessing over his son:
“Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.”
Solomon, savoring the moment, takes it all in and as quickly as he could…he moves to ink and parchment to transfer his father’s words into a beautiful song of blessing…and prophecy. I hope you will take the time to read all 20 verses. Consider for a moment having your own father speak over you in such glowing and lofty terms. Taking this charge into consideration, is it any wonder that when God asked Solomon in 1 Kings 3, “…for whatever you want me to give you” that Solomon answered, “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So, give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
Only through the power of God could a man hope to even begin to approach the lofty words of his dying father’s prayer…unless that man were Christ Jesus…and it is.
The prophetic implications of this entire psalm are impossible to miss. “It is a fitting conclusion, because it unexpectedly does not focus upon David himself, but on the Messiah – the King of Kings and the Son of David” (Enduring Word Commentary). Read through psalm 72 again and see His Kingship. He will bring justice to the poor, save the children of the needy, break the oppressor into pieces, and His mountain (or government) will bring peace. One day in the future these glorious visions will be completely fulfilled, and through Christ, you and I will be there to experience it. “He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth. In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more” (v. 6-7). This is the perfect future into which you have been grafted as an adopted child of Jesus Christ! From David to Solomon and eventually to Jesus…and now, to you and I. This is the present reality of our guaranteed future…and oh, what a future it will be!
“And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed” (v. 16-17).
