Beloved this time I would like to invite you to stand together with me for scripture reading Our first scripture reading is taken from the New Testament the gospel of Matthew chapter 2 verse 1 through 12 and My sermon text for tonight is Psalm 72, but first we'll be reading Matthew chapter 2 1 through 12 and I will read it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem was him. And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him in Bethlehem of Judea, so it is written by the prophet. And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.' Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child. And when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother. And they fell down and worshiped him. They then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Now let's turn our Bibles to Psalm 72. where the psalmist speaks about the righteous kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Psalm 72 of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people and the hills in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. May they fear you while the sun endures and as long as the moon throughout all the generations. May he be like rain that falls on the moon, grows like showers that water the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish and peace abound till the moon be no more. 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 coast lands render him tribute. May the kings of Sheba and Sheba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him. For 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. Long may he live, may gold of Sheba be given to him, may prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day. May there be abundance of grain in the land, on the tops of the mountains may it wave. May its fruit be like Lebanon. And may people blossom in his sights like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever. His fame continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in him. All nations call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the 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 prayers of David, the son of Jesse are ended. This is the reading of the holy and the infallible Word of God and may the Lord bless the reading of His Word into our hearts by the power of His Holy Spirit. Tonight I want to ask you to recall to mind all the prayer items, prayer lists that you have with you individually and as a family, those prayer lists that you always pray for, that you always pray about. And my question to all of you is this, in your prayer list, for your family devotion, for your private devotion and worship, how often do you include a prayer for your nation, especially prayer that God would bless the nation of America with a righteous leader, with righteous leaders. How often do you pray for a righteous kingdom, for a righteous leader to be granted, to be given to this nation from God? You see, a righteous, God-fearing leader or leaders are the product of the prayers of God's people. The wise king, his wisdom was from God, King Solomon, in Proverbs 14, 34, he said, Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Again in Proverbs 29, 2, the same king said, When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people drown. There will be grief in the hearts of all the people when a wicked leader rules a nation. But how do you pray for a righteous leader? What is your base? How would you approach God to pray for a righteous leader or righteous leaders? I believe Psalm 72 will help us to achieve this in our Christian life. Psalm 72 is King David's prayer for the kingdom of his son, King Solomon. When you see the superscription of Psalm 72 of Solomon, You might think that the author is Solomon himself, but when you look into the post-scription of Psalm 72 in verse 20, you will see the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. Charles Spurgeon, referring to Psalm 72, he said, this is the prayer of David, the Psalm of Solomon. John Calvin said, this is the prayer of King David that Solomon, his son, recorded for us. So this is the prayer of King David at the time that he was passing on his kingdom to his son Solomon. And we see him in Psalm 72 praying for the kingdom of his son to be a righteous kingdom. For his son to rule the people of Israel in justice, but also with the fear of God. And he does that, you see, King David does that in having a larger picture of Christ's righteous kingdom in his perspective, in his mind. He's praying for the kingdom of his son to be righteous. But he is also mindful of that righteous kingdom, eternal, everlasting, righteous kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ. And God's people from Psalm 72, from the prayer of King David, We learn three things. The first thing that I want us to consider is Christ's kingdom is a righteous kingdom. And secondly, Christ's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And then thirdly, Christ's kingdom is a universal kingdom. So first, in order to see these three characters of David's prayer in Psalm 72, I would like to take you through this. these prayers of King David one by one. First, King David prays for a righteous kingdom. Notice verses 1 and 2. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. may he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. The concern of his prayer, the cry of his heart was that God would establish a righteous kingdom through the kingdom of his son Solomon. What a lesson for us God's people. You see, election is coming up in America. how many of you are praying like King David for God to raise a righteous leader for your nation. but also you see this relates to every area of the Christian life, to every area of government that God has established for us, for the good of humanity. So let me ask you this, those of you who are husbands, how many of you pray that God would make your wife a righteous woman? that she would care for you, love for you, serve you, and raise your children as a righteous woman, as a righteous wife. How many of you wives every day in your life pray that God would bless you with a righteous husband? A husband who would love you sacrificially, that he would sacrifice even his time, everything that God has given him for you. How many of you pray that God would bless you with a righteous husband? a husband who loves righteousness, a husband who hates sin and loves God and His holiness, and he always, he always rules his household that the righteousness of Jesus Christ would reign in his own life, in the life of his wife and his own children. Parents, do you pray that God would bless you with righteous children? Children that would flee from sin. Children who understand the riches that they have in Christ Jesus. Children who wants to marry believers, children who would, who loves to worship God every Lord's day morning and evening, they love to come to the house of the Lord. Do you pray that God would bless you as parents with righteous children? Members of the church of Jesus Christ, do you pray that God would bless your church with righteous leaders? leaders who would be an exemplary to all of you of the life, the character of Jesus Christ, the head of the church. You see, King David was concerned about these things. He was concerned about the kingdom of his son, so we see him praying for a righteous kingdom on behalf of his son. May my son rule or govern in accordance to God's character. That was his prayer. Let him be a godly leader. That was the cry of King David on behalf of his son. Let him be a godly leader. In Romans chapter 13, God commands the civil authorities to fear him and rule and govern his people in justice. But also the apostle Paul being inspired by the Holy Spirit, he reminds all the leaders on earth that they are accountable to the one who have appointed them to be rulers. over his people, that they will hold them accountable. But notice in verse 2, King David amplifies his prayer. He appeals to God by saying, may my son judge your people with righteousness, may my son judge, rule the poor in justice. that justice will be established in the kingdom of his son. He joins righteousness with weak and poor. You see, often The people who are mostly oppressed, neglected, and abused are the weak and the poor. That's why God has given the church a responsibility to give care and service to the poor and weak in the body of Jesus Christ. They can be neglected by leaders. who are evil and wicked, who are not mindful of the needs of their people. But the church of Jesus Christ always displays, reflects the love of Jesus Christ. So he joins righteousness with the weak and the poor. But verse 3 and 4, you see David in his psalm shows us the outcome of this prayer in verse 3 and 4. He says, let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills in righteousness. May He defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. These were the outcome of his prayers. When we pray for righteousness, when we pray for a righteous leader, God blesses our nation, with these rich blessings that he has preserved for his people. And the fruit will be peace, which is shalom. It's not the absence of conflict or war, but it is the wholeness of God's peace being dwelt in the life of his people. and by God's grace in the life of the nation. But remember, this is a wonderful picture, a wonderful state of a believer in Christ Jesus. The first benefit of your salvation is righteousness. Christ died on the cross on your behalf to justify you. to present you to his father as righteous, that God seeing you in Christ Jesus will be pleased. The father said, this is my son in whom I'm well pleased, which means I'm at peace with my people because of the does and the righteousness of my son. This is a wonderful picture of the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ that has been imputed to us by faith. You see, in verse 3, when a person reads verse 3, let the mountains bear prosperity for the people and the hills in righteousness, any person would think this righteousness is available to anyone, to any individual, even to those people who doesn't believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, those people who reject the Messiah. No, this righteousness belongs to the elect. This righteousness belongs to the people of God. This righteousness, this peace with God belongs to those who are in Christ Jesus by faith. To those who are in union with Jesus Christ by faith. This righteousness belongs to those true branches who are united in Christ Jesus by faith. And everything that flows from that righteous Savior becomes their righteousness. And they are always at peace with God. And this is what a nation needs, my brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what we pray, what we should pray for, for our nation. You see, the righteousness that King David is praying here did not come through Solomon, but rather through his greater son, Jesus Christ. You see, his prayer is forwarded to Jesus Christ. And why do I say that? Because from this point in time, things in Solomon's life, in Solomon's kingdom will go down to hell. He offended God. He sinned before God. He denied God. He was a king. who have forgotten who God is. He went after the false God. He loved those wicked women from another nation. You see, we are not righteous in ourselves. We are not righteous because of King Solomon, but we are righteous because of Christ. The prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 50 to 7, say this, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him, who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. You see, this reign, this rule, this kingdom is not the kingdom of Solomon. And David understood that. David was not praying that God would make the kingdom of his son an everlasting kingdom. He knew that he was mortal. He knew that his son was also a mortal man. So, What happened with King Solomon? In 1 Kings 11, this is what we read. The Lord was angry with Solomon because he went after other gods. He loved foreign women, he neglected the poor. Justice disappeared from Israel. You see, it is from Christ. We go beyond Solomon. The prayer goes beyond the kingdom of Solomon. Romans 1 17. For in it, which is the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. Even David himself, he was a man who lived by faith. He was a man who looked forward to the Messiah to come even beyond of his son, his own son. You see, God not only makes leaders to act righteously, but he gives them righteousness. That's the reason why we need to pray for the conversion of our president, for the conversion of our leaders. Remember, the earthly kingdom is not the kingdom of God. You are the kingdom of God. You represent Christ on earth. The righteousness of Jesus Christ reflects out of the church of Jesus Christ from your life, the way you live, the way you worship, and the way you take the gospel to other people, but also the way you pray. It is Christ. He not only make them rule righteously, but also he gives righteousness by imputing his own righteousness in us. 2nd Corinthians 5 21. For our sake he made him to be seen who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Any leader who has the righteousness of Jesus Christ in his life Any leader who knows that he has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, any leader who knows that his only hope in life is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, he would love the poor. And he would uphold the weak. Because he knows what Christ has done for him. That's the reason why you need to pray for a righteous leader. And God is able. God is almighty. What seems impossible for us is possible with God. And secondly, King David prays for an everlasting kingdom. Notice verse 5. May they fear you while the sun endures. and as long as the moon throughout all generations. You see, sometimes we think, you know, the saints in the Old Testament, men like King David, they didn't believe in the gospel being universal. Sometimes we think they were limited with their own people, with the interest of the gospel for their own nation. These men in their thinking and in their prayers, they knew, they believed, they understood that the gospel is universal. So David is praying that his son's kingdom would be everlasting in its duration. Now remember, he knows that him and his son are not going to live forever. David knew that. But he's praying for the Lord's richest blessing, long years of blessing upon his son. If you remember King David reigned for about 40 years, and Solomon reigned for about the same time. But this has been fulfilled, this prayer has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ our Savior. The angel told Mary in Luke chapter 1, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. and of his kingdom there will be no end. Isaiah prophesied the same prophecy that Christ's kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom. In Hebrews 7 25, the writer of the Hebrews said, consequently, he is able to serve to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives. He is able to save, He is able to intercede, but He also rules forever. The prophet Daniel understood the nature of Christ's kingdom very well. Living in the time of the Old Testament, Listen to the prophet Daniel, how he describes this righteous kingdom, everlasting kingdom of Christ to us. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom that all peoples, nations, languages should serve him. Who is this king? This king is not Solomon. This king is not David. even though God blessed these two kings in Israel, but they were not everlasting. Their kingdom was not an eternal kingdom. Everlasting king, everlasting ruler, the one who governs for eternity is our Lord Jesus Christ. And how does Christ governs? his people, his church. How does Christ governs the nation? He governs his people and the nation by his word and spirit. The Bible says, the one who is in Christ Jesus will flourish. Psalm 1, 3, That righteous man who is in Christ Jesus, who is righteous, who is our righteousness, is like a tree planted by the streams of water and yields its fruits. It's Christ who makes these people fruitful. It's Christ who makes this church fruitful. We have the righteousness of Christ in our life by faith and by God's grace. and Christ makes you as a church and Christ makes you as an individual believer fruitful because you have been planted in him. Christian, remember you have been planted in the righteousness of your savior Jesus Christ. So you are fruitful because of Jesus. You bear fruit for the kingdom of God because of all the gifts that Christ has implanted in your life by faith. And thirdly, King David prays for the expansion of the kingdom. Notice verse 8, 10, and 11. May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Verse 10. May the kings of Tarshish and of the coast lands render him tribute. May the kings of Sheba and Sheba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him. All nations serve him. for the dominion of his kingdom, you see, to be influential over all nations, over all peoples. Let me remind you what happened with Solomon's kingdom. when he was enjoying prosperity, when God was blessing him, when he was ruling righteously, this is what happened with his kingdom. First Kings 14-25. And Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan even to Beersheba. Every man under his vine, this is the vine of King Solomon, under his vine, and under the fig tree, all the days of Solomon. Now think about it. If that was the reign of Solomon, how much glorious would be the reign of King Jesus? if people were able, by the grace of God, to live in peace and in safety under the vine of King Solomon, who was not a perfect king. He was not righteous all of his time. Who sowed other false gods. What about the kingdom of Jesus Christ? What about the peace that Christ gives you through his death and sacrifice on the cross? What about the justice that Christ would establish for us on earth? How glorious would that be? Christ's dominion and its nature, it's universal. Because it's the King of God. It's the King of Jesus Christ. In our Trinity Hymnal, we do have a hymn that we often sing. Hymn 439. Christ shall have dominion over land and sea. Earth's remotest regions shall his empire. They that wilds inhabitants shall their worship bring. Kings shall render tribute. Nations serve a king. That's King Jesus. You see, all people from all parts of the world will come to Jesus. They will bow down and worship him because he's an everlasting kingdom. But not only he will have dominion on earth, but also all people will submit to him. Notice the the mystery that King David shows us about this in verse 9 and 10. If they don't repent, if they don't return to their God in repentance and with faith, this king will destroy them. Because they are his enemies. They will be destroyed. But what about the righteous? But what about the one who is in Christ Jesus by faith? We will worship this king. But his enemies, some of them, they will come to him. believing in his name, repenting of their sin, but some of them will be destroyed forever. You remember when King Sheba of Ethiopia from Kush came to visit King Solomon in first Kings 10.7. When she saw all his glory and majesty as a king, she said to him this, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the halfway was not told me. Your wisdom and your prosperity surpassed the report that I have heard. Now, this is Queen Sheba telling Solomon, your kingdom is so great. And when I came and saw your glory and your majesty as a king in Israel, it was like half of what I heard about it. And one day, you see, we'll experience the same outcome You see, the enemies of Christ, the enemies of this kingdom, they will come to us because of our testimony, because of our preaching, because of our teaching. They will come to us and they will tell us, you didn't tell me everything. This is so beautiful. This is so great. This is the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of our savior. But most importantly, my brothers and sisters in Christ, this King, this everlasting King, not King Solomon, this King, King Jesus, he will be a blessing to all the nations. To all the nations. The wise men came to Jesus Christ, they bowed down before him and they worshiped him and they gave him a gift, gold, saying, you are the king, you are the Lord, you are the king of the universe. They bowed down and worshiped him with that gift, acknowledging him as the king of the universe. All kings and rulers will come bow down and worship him. God's people, why do you think you as a church send missionaries throughout the world? From my experience, you know, I can tell you that when missionaries come to the mission field, the response, the reaction of most of the people who would see them coming to their country often is they are here for their political agenda. They are here to influence our culture, to destroy our culture. But with what power do they go to those nations? With the authority and the power of the gospel. And those people who respond to their arrival with those statements that I have been sharing with you, after hearing the gospel, being preached to them, being proclaimed to them, they come to the missionaries and they give their life to Jesus Christ. They come to Jesus in repentance and by faith. And they say, truly, this is the king that I need in my life. So the question to all of us tonight is this. Are you praying for a righteous leader for your nation? Are you praying, do you pray for this with a focus on the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ. Are you praying for the expansion of Christ's righteous kingdom throughout the world? How often do you pray for the missionaries of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church by name? Do you know how many mission fields you have as a denomination throughout the world? Do you know all those nine active mission fields that we have all over the world? Do you know the missionaries by name? Do you pray for them? So that this righteous kingdom would influence all nations and the elect will be gathered through the labors and the preaching of our brothers on the mission fields. How often do you pray for our missionaries in China, in Uganda, in Ukraine, in Quebec, in Eritrea, even though we don't have any missionary right now? How often do you pray that that mission field will be reopened for us? so that the righteous kingdom will go forth and influence many for the salvation that God has preserved for his children. It is our duty, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to include this prayer as a highlight of our prayer every day. to pray that God would bless this nation with righteous leaders but also the righteous kingdom our savior Jesus Christ will rule over the universe through the preaching of the word of God and it is the church it is the church that is that is called to take this good news this gospel to all the nations let's pray Our gracious and heavenly father, we give praise to you, our God, for the preaching of your word. Thank you for reminding us what you, our God, requires from us in relation to this righteous kingdom of your son, Jesus Christ, and all our work our missionary enterprise that is related to this kingdom. That King Jesus sends his church to declare and proclaim the good news of the gospel of your son Jesus Christ to all the nations. Tonight we pray that you would grant your grace to this church and all the churches of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and all Bible-believing churches throughout this land, that we would make the duty of praying for righteous leaders and for this righteous kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ, its influence over all the nations. part of our prayers every day, that we would be faithful in praying for these things. Every time we gather for worship, every time we approach a presence in prayer, grant your people that zeal and passion and commitment that we would commit ourselves to pray for a righteous kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.