"Blessed Be the Lord God of Israel" Sermon: Psalm 72:1-20

“Blessed Be the Lord God of Israel””
[Psalm 72:1-20]
January 3, 2010 Second Reformed Church

It is said that political satire is the sign of a healthy country. If that is true, we are a very healthy country. We satirize all of our politicians, and those who are against a particular politician cry out, “hooray!”, while those who are for that paticular politician cry out, “foul!” How ought Christians to act and react to our politicians?

Today is Epiphany, and in many churches it will be taught that this is the day that commemorates the three kings – one from China, one from Africa, and one from Europe – who followed the star of Bethlehem to the manger and gave the Baby Jesus gifts. Of course, that is mythology. The history that we are given is that some magi – astrologers – came from the East – probably modern day Iran and Iraq – and went to the house where Mary and Joseph lived and gave the Baby Jesus gifts.

But that’s not what we’re going to look at this morning: the word “epiphany” means “revealing,” and one of the Scriptures that is recommended for today is the Psalm that was read. So, let us look to it and see what it reveals to us. As you may have already guessed, this Psalm – this hymn of Solomon, the son of David – has to do with politicians.

Solomon wrote this Psalm – this hymn – as a prayer for his kingship and for those who would follow after him. He prays for what he would like to see in himself and his descendants as they rule on the throne of their father, David.

Solomn begins by praying that the king would be just and righteoues with the people: “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteouesness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteouesness, and your poor with justice!” Solomon prays that he and his descendants would rule in a way that reflects the holiness and innocence and fairness of God. He desires that kings rule as God rules over His people. He prays that there will be no unfairness or cheating or immorality among the kings.

He prays that the land would respond and be released from the curse placed on it in the Garden of Eden – in response to the righteousness of the kings – that the land would respond to the people with abundance: “Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!” For the sake of the good that the king does, he asks that God will bless the crops – that they would be bountiful and good.

He prays that a top priority of the king would always be to defend and provide for the cause of the poor, the weak, the widow, and the orphan – all those who have no one to stand by them and help them in their time of need. And he prays that the king will crush those who oppress the truly needy and helpless: “May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!”

He prays that those who would oppress the poor and the needy would be in fear of the king while the sun is up, while the moon is up, and while there is human life on the earth: “May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!”

He prays that the king would not just be righteous, but that that righteousness would flourish from him throughout his kingdom and that there would be a true and lasting peace throughout all of the kingdom until the moon is no more: “May he be like the rain that falls on the mown grass, and like showers that water the earth! In his day may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!”

He prays that such kings of righteousness and peace and justice would be sovereign over the whole earth – that all of the other kingdoms would recognize him as the true and rightful king and come to him and bow down and offer gifts to him – that all the world would be subject to the one king who rules like God rules.

“May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastland render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba brings gifts! May all the kings fall down before him and serve him!”

And this desire for sovereignty is not out of pride or arrogance, but out of the recognition that if the king did serve his people perfectly as God reigns, he would be worthy of such submission. They would look to him and see the way in which all kings and rulers and politicians ought to live and reign. “For [they would see] he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.”

The righteous and just king that he prays to be and he prays his descendants to be would be a king who looked upon his people as precious. His chief goal would be to protect them and punish those who do evil.

That would be a king that the people would pray to have long life. That would be a king who the nations would bring gold in tribute to. That would be a king who would be prayed for and blessed day and night by all the peoples. If he only did what was right and just for them and punish evil.

God would bless that king and his kingdom – there would be an abundance of grain – their would be food enough for everyone – and it would be equitably distributed. The mountains would be covered with grain – there would be no hunger. The fruit of the harvest would be strong and lasting like that of Lebanon. The people would blossom in the cities – they would be healthy and grow in every way. They would multiply like the grass of the fields.

The name of such of king would endure forever – just as the throne of David endures forever. His fame would continue until the sun goes out. The people would be blessed by the rule of such a king and all the nations of the world would call such a king blessed.

Is that how we pray for our politicians? Do we pray for those in authority like Solomon did?

We know from history that Solomon did not live up to the goals he set and prayed for in this Psalm. And the truth of the matter is that no mere human authority has lived up to the prayer and the goals that Solomon put forth in this Psalm.

I am an authority in this church, and I have sinned. The elders and the deacons of this church have sinned. Our President and senators and representatives and governors and mayors have all sinned. None of us have done everything we should do as authorities and we have done things that we ought not to have done.

There is truth in the statement that political satire proves a healthy country – in this sense, we do right to expose and condemn sin. When our leaders do what is wrong, we are to hold them accountable. When we are unsure of what our leaders are doing, we are right to question them and ask them to show why they believe what they are doing is right.

But is there anything else that we ought to be doing?

Shortly before he was to be executed under the rule of Emperor Nero, Paul wrote this to Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:1-4, ESV).

Paul, knowing he would shortly be executed, said to pray and give thanks for all people – including kings – those in authority – Emperor Nero – that they would live and reign with justice and righteousness. And, let us Christians live peaceful, quiet lives, godly and dignified.

We need to pray for our leaders. We need to pray for President Obama. We need to pray that he would look to the Only God, Our Savior, and rule with justice and righteousness. We need to pray that he would exercise the two biblical offices of government and protect the people – especially the most needy – and punish those who do evil. We are to pray that God would be pleased with his godly leadership and bless the land. We are to pray that other nations will look to him as he does what is good and right and in the likeness of our God and follow him and praise him and seek alliances with him. We are to pray that he will see the blood of the people he serves and rules as precious to him. We are to pray that his kingdom would be long in its justice and righteousness and that he would be remembered for living and ruling like the One True God.

And if anyone has gotten tense by my saying we need to pray such things for President Obama, understand that we need to pray those things for me, as your pastor. We need to pray those things for Governor Christie and Mayor Smith, and all those that God has gifted with positions of authority. And we ought not to lose hope when we see our leaders sin, because they will. Instead, we ought to pray for them more, that they will repent and turn from their evil. That God would give them wisdom and guide them in His paths.

But there’s still the epiphany. What is the epiphany in this Psalm? What is the “a-ha!”?

Well, the negative would be that no mere human being will ever live up to the call to leadership that God has placed on him or her. Every mere human being will sin and fail the people he or she has been called to lead. That is a truth, but it is not the only truth here – not the only epiphany.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!”

The epiphany is that there is a King Who is a descendant of David Who sits on the throne of David right now and rules perfectly, justly, and righteously, with all the holiness of God, because He is not merely Man, but He is God. That Man is Jesus.

That’s why Solomon exclaims praise to God at the end of his Psalm – because he knows it would only be the Incarnate God, Who would sit on the throne of David Who could be the perfect leader – the perfect politician.

Remember what Isaiah prophesied, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7, ESV).

When God became Man on that first Christmas, Jesus began His Eternal Reign as the Perfect and final Son of David – King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And He is working all things together to fulfill the Plan He had from before the Creation. And in the end, Paul tells us, “therefore, God has highly exalted [Jesus] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV).

Jesus reigns and seeks justice and righteousness for His people. He is the God Who grants us food and all prosperity in Him. He defends the needy and punishes the wicked. He is feared by all who have wisdom. His Righteousness and Peace is flourishing, and more and more people are coming to faith in Him – until the full number of the elect have been brought in. He is the Sovereign over all of Creation and all the world will one day confess that fact. He will deliver the poor and the needy who come to Him. He will be worshiped and blessed and prayed to forever and ever. He will bring His people into eternal glory. And His Name will endure forever and ever.

As we begin this New Year – this epiphany is Good News – the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory belong to Jesus, and whether our leaders are good or evil or somewhere in between, we ought to be in prayer for them, knowing that Jesus cannot be dethroned and we shall enter in His Glory.

Let us pray:
Sovereign God, we thank You for telling us that Your Reign is Holy and Eternal, and You shed Your Blood in love for Your people. Help us not to be discouraged by the sins of our leaders, but to pray for them that they would believe in You and become more like You, even as we seek to become more like You. And now, as we receive the bread and the cup, we ask that we would have the privilege of meeting with You even now and having You minister to us Your Grace that we might be more fully equipped to do and be all that You have called us to. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.