Shall we pray? Father, we come to that point in our worship together where we come around your word and we hear a man give an attempt to expound it and apply it. And the reality is that as men, we can do nothing. We can be of great oratory. We can even feel that we've failed from time to time, but the reality is that it's your spirit that does the work. And so I ask that as we look at this Psalm 72 together, that you would be pleased this evening to enlighten our eyes, open our ears and our heart, and Lord, you would speak into it in whatever way you feel fit at this moment in time. Lord, bless this time together, we pray. in the name of Jesus, amen. So I'm not really sure what you will have made of last week's voting, last Thursday when people was rushing or not out to the polling stations. Not sure what you will have made of the result. Some of us may have mixed hopes, mixed reservations, mixed concerns. Some may be happy. Some may be aggravated by the outcome. We may wonder what it means for us as a country financially or individually. We certainly should be questioning what it means for the country morally. But more importantly, we We must think about how much this may affect the little influence that Christianity has as we stand in this country at this moment in time. The reality is that we're living in an age where the word of God is not even second class. It's forgotten about. You know, in the good old days, you used to have men, strong men that supported the king or the queen, and they had influence, they had a voice, and they spoke of good Christian things into the parliament of this land. Even in the 19th, 20th century, we've had men that have been there giving the Christian message, even in parliament, standing up and giving the gospel. Yes, we have Christian men and women today, but they're pushed down. They have the hands bound behind the back. They have the tongues really sewn into the roofs of their mouth because they're not really allowed to say what it is that they believe. I believe that's only going to get worse. Call me pessimistic if you like, but The reality is that we now have a government in power that is more woke than the previous government. They're more tolerant, they're more pushing. I mean, you only have to listen to the opening speech from the man in charge to see what his thoughts are. But let's take a moment to review what the scriptures tell us, both about leaders who are given to us More important than the reality of God's sovereignty over it all, we must not forget that. Romans 13, verse one, which I'm sure is familiar to you. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. The ESV renders it like this, let every person be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God. In other words, these people have been put in place by God. And we've seen that over the years and we definitely read it in scripture that God uses men and women that he is, when we say put in place, not physically put there, but allowed, allowed to come into authority, allowed to come in and be rulers over certain countries. Sometimes it's for good, sometimes it's for judgment. But as a people of God, we must be confident that God has his hand over it all. We mustn't be perplexed. We mustn't look out there and think, oh my goodness, what's coming? What's gonna happen? And start worrying about what the future holds, whether that's financially for us personally, or whether that's what it holds for the church of God. God has promised that his church will never be defeated. God has promised that his church will never be overturned. God has promised that his church will never cease. and God has promised that he will always be with his people, and God has promised that he is the victor over everything. So if we're Bible-believing Christians and we adhere to his teaching that God has predetermined a plan for his people in the work of Christ, if we follow all the undeniable scripture evidence that God is supremely sovereign and in charge of all these things. We cannot but have a confidence in the words that Paul utters that we're so familiar with, that all things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. So with this in mind, I want us to take a look at Psalm 72 together this evening. And what we're gonna be looking at is the king and his reign, the king and his reign. Now, normally when I preach, I normally take one, two, maybe three verses from a passage and preach on those. But tonight I want us to look at the entirety of this psalm together. And I want us to see what David's telling us, not only about his son Solomon, but ultimately about the Messiah that is yet to come. So commentators across the ages have suggested two possibilities in terms of the author of this psalm. Some actually attribute it to Solomon himself, whilst many attribute it to Solomon's father, David. Psalm 72 is the closing psalm of book two in the Psalms. And really for me, the last verse of this Psalm 72 clenches who wrote it. Verse 20 says, the prayers of David, the son of Solomon are ended. The prayers of David are ended. The title of this Psalm is a Psalm of Solomon, but really it should be rendered a Psalm for Solomon. David is here writing and he's sharing his prayer and his hopes for the future king, his son Solomon and as he's crowned and he's asking God for the immediate blessing upon Solomon and upon the people as a result of his son's governing and his leadership. However I'm sure that as you've heard this, as I've read it to you, that there is a clear There's clear signs that this is David being moved upon by the Holy Spirit to write about the Christ and about the Messiah who is yet to come. There's things within this psalm that we read that can't apply to Solomon. In his human capabilities, in his humanness, in his frailties, there are things written here that can only apply to the Christ himself. Isaiah 11, verses one to five, read like this. They shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness should be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness, the belt of his waist. So as we read this portion from Isaiah and we compare it with what we've already read from David's psalm and David's prayer in this Psalm 72, we cannot help but recognize that this is messianic in its wider context. There are things written and stated in the psalms many many of the Psalms that apply to Christ and we we get the fullest fulfillment when we see it in those terms. The reason I want us to focus on this Psalm this evening is I want us to get a grasp of what God is promising. Now we opened up with with all that can be scary and worrying us about the world that is and the world that is yet to come. But I want us to focus on what God is telling us about the King and his reign and how that should then make us feel, respond, and live out our life as Christians. Matthew Henry suggests that this psalm is split into three sections, and as I wrote this, I've followed that. The first one is a short prayer and request for Solomon, David's successor. Second, a prediction of the glories of his reign. And third, a conclusion of praise to the God of Israel. And we'll be following those three things as we look at this psalm together. So the first one, a short prayer and request for Solomon, David's successor. This prayer of David is very short. It's just the first verse. And it consists of two requests. One, that God would grant Solomon the ability to reign with true justice in line with nothing more than the judgments and the righteousness of God himself. The second thing that he asks is that God will enable Solomon to reign not only with true justice, but to reign also in God's righteousness. Now we need to note the request is not for Solomon to reign with just justice and righteousness, but to reign with the judgments and the righteousness of God himself, there's a big difference. In other words, David wants Solomon not just to rule with the power and the right decision-making and is not to just be honorable or to work with noble actions, but that God would grant him the ability to reign with godly wisdom, with godly grace, with godly justice, with a godly judgment, which was consistent with God himself. That's what he's asking for here. You know, the king will come in, King Charles did the thing, he made an oath, but he's living it out in his own power. David here was asking for something more for Solomon. He knows that Solomon's a man, he knows that he's weak, just as he was weak, but he's asking God to grant him these things. And as we read through the Psalms, we see repeatedly again and again, these two things put side by side, justice and righteousness, justice and righteousness. They appear time and time again. Psalm 33 verse five says, he, being God, loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Psalm 89 verse 14, righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Mercy and truth go before your face. Psalm 97 verse two, clouds and darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. And then Proverbs 21 verse three says this, to do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. So as we read these few out of many, we can see how important and how vital that righteousness and justice is to God. His righteousness and His justice. And that's something that we must keep at the forefront of our minds as we go through this. We know, and I've preached many times on this, I've been here, we know and we've gone into all the scriptures that tell us that man in his fallen state, is unable and is totally at odds with this type of living that we're talking about. We may be able to uphold these things to a degree. We may be able to uphold them for a while, but we can't sustain them. We can't, not in our own strength. Again, something I say often, we only have to look into our own lives and know that that's the truth. We know that through the life that we've lived thus far that our judgments have not always been godly, that our justice has not always been godly, that things that we think are right have not always been godly. And so we cannot live up to that standard. They never will be. fully of God. One important thing to note about this first verse is the use of the term to the king's son. Previously this couldn't have been said about any of the two kings of Israel. We know that Saul was a man who was picked out by God, but he didn't come from any line, he was just from a tribe. The same was of David, he wasn't born into kingship. He was picked out of a little tribe and brought into kingship. But here we have the first king that is born to King David. And I think that's significant as we start looking at this psalm because it's this first king, this firstborn. It's a type, it's a shadow of the firstborn of God that was to come. in that manger, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The request that was made by David in this opening portion was clearly heard by God and in part it was bestowed upon Solomon. We know and we read that he was blessed with wisdom more than any man on the earth. However, this righteousness and this justice that goes along with that wisdom, it was only temporal. And we read at the back end of his life, the mistakes that he made. And yet, all that we read in this Psalm typifies the Messiah. He displays righteousness and justice. His death obtained and secured righteousness and justice for all those who believe in him and whose resurrection ensured that he both reigns now and forever with the full righteousness and justice of God. We read in the scripture that the judge of all the earth will do right. And we see that implicated in this opening verse. and we hear it echoed in the supporting verses that we're gonna look at together in a moment. Godly justice and godly righteousness are ultimately only found in Christ. That's what we are reading when we read this psalm. This should leave people in one of two places. The wicked should tremble at the thought of falling into the hands of a fully righteous and a fully just God. The wicked, they should dread facing this righteous and just God. But the people of God, those who are justified and made righteous through Christ, should rejoice. and live with that in mind. And it's that that I want us to focus on for the rest of our time together. We see how this all plays out as we read the next 16 verses of David's psalm. As we work our way through verses 2 to 17, we see six general themes within the prediction of Solomon's rule. as David writes in this psalm. We're not gonna spend 45 minutes on each one. We're gonna go through these briefly. But these six things are wonderful. The first one is that Solomon, sorry, David, speaks about a just reign. We've already covered that in part by what we've just said. But in terms of what that means, in terms of what it means specifically, That's what I want us to look at. We're told that the king will judge the poor with justice and that the needy will be saved. Judgment here is not just a statement of deciding what is right and wrong. It's a statement of how the king will govern. In other words, he will be the protector and he'll be the provider for the poor and the needy. In his kingdom, the poor cannot contend with the rich. We know that, don't we, in the life that we live. Hence, there is provision made for them by the king. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Matthew Henry says this, Christ is the poor man's king. Christ is the poor man's King. The Bible tells us that there's not many noble, not many wise according to the flesh that are called, but to those who know their weakness, to those who know their need, to those who are poor in spirit and are needy because of their fleshly filth, To those people, Christ, the King, is their strength. He is their portion, he is their righteousness, and he is their joy. But justice is also about crushing. It's also about punishment of the oppressors. Those who are against the poor and the needy, those who take advantage of them, those who treat them with violence and neglect. This psalm is very clear that the king will deal with such people. Again, man can do this to a degree, but we only have to look at our legal system over the years to know that it's flawed because man sits over it, man presides over it. He has an imperfect outlook. He has an imperfect discernment. He has an imperfect wisdom. And if somebody crosses his palms with silver, then justice can go by the wayside. But our God is not like this. He's just and righteous, as we've already established. And the wicked and the oppressors of God's people should tremble at the coming punishment. He will righteously break in pieces the oppressors. That's what the Bible tells us. Second thing that David mentions about this rain is it's a peaceable rain. Solomon's name means and it signifies peaceable. When a king rules correctly, with justice and with righteousness, with compassion and with grace, ultimately there's gonna be peace. If we have a king who lives his life like this, he will have an influence not only over the people, but over the nations that he casts communications with, and the reign will be peaceable. And we saw this. through the majority of Solomon's reign. If you read all the way through his life, it's only at the back end of his life that he starts to have to have fights with his enemies because he is living under the justice and the righteousness of God. Number three, a compassionate reign. Alongside justice and righteousness and peace, There has to be compassion. David praised that the new king would not only govern justly, but to govern also through compassion, not just with moral standards, but to have a compassion for the people, for those that were needy, for those that were poor, but for those that were downtrodden. The king should hear the cry of these needy people and he should respond to their need, he should come to their aid with mercy, with compassion and with honour. That's what a king should do, shouldn't lord it over his subjects, he shouldn't grab all the men, shouldn't build up armies for himself, he shouldn't take of the spoil, He should be compassionate over his people. And that's what David wanted for his son. Oh, how we see this in abundance in the King of Kings. The miracles of mercy that were done by his hands while he was on earth on the bodies of those that were riddled with disease. The mercy he showed at the well where sin abounded Grace superabounded. The compassion he had towards his people when he looked out them and the tears ran down his face because they were a sinful people who were rejecting him. Christ will spare the poor and the needy. Those who throw themselves on him because they recognize their need. The Bible is very, very clear that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, who call upon them in that recognition of their need, in their recognition of their poor and wretched state, who understand their need. And as in this psalm, they get down on their knees and they cry to their king for help. He will meet it, and he'll meet it with abundance. This Psalm tells us that not only will the grass be cut, but it shall be watered. It shall come down like fresh rain upon the mown grass, reviving it and sustaining it, feeding it and causing all spiritual fruit to grow in its season. rather than it to be scorched by the sun. I don't know whether you've ever mown your lawn in the morning when it's started to get hot and as the day goes along, it just scorches it because it's lacking in any water to keep it going. Our King's not like that. He'll strip us down, he'll rid us of all that sin, but then he'll feed us. He'll pour down his rain upon us so that that fruit of the spirit starts growing within us. Sanctification working its process in our lives. And the fruit starts to grow bit by bit by bit and it keeps pouring that watering can and it grows more and more. That's how we know if we're a Christian or not. If you don't see any fruit in your life, then you must question it. Fruit, sanctification is the proof of God's watering on your life. If you don't see any, your grass is just shriveling up and it's being scorched by the midday sun. Ensure you're being fed and ensure you're seeing fruit. The fourth thing, a universal rain. Let me just read verses eight to 11. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of all the isles will bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all the kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. We know that King Solomon had many nations come to pay him tribute. They come lavishing gifts upon him, gold and silver and camels and donkeys, spices and herbs. He was the richest man on all the earth. We know that the Queen of Sheba came to pay tribute to him and she sought his wisdom. She was asking him questions and again, she brought him innumerable gifts. But with Solomon's wealth and fame and notoriety, it doesn't even come close to the universal reign that Christ has upon his world and upon his people. The acknowledgement that he had as a king doesn't come close to the acknowledgement that Christ has now by his people, but will have at the end of the age. All men, whether they bow and confess now or whether they confess at the end, they will bow down and confess his name. at the name of Jesus, we sang. Every knee shall bow. There's no mistake in that. Whether it's your friends or your family that mock, whether it's those people that wag their heads as you go out and faithfully preach and give tracts out on the street, whether it's scoffers, whether it's the fools, or whether it's the humble person, that comes week in, week out faithfully to church. All will bow and all will confess him, Lord of all. Strangers in the wilderness will bow, it tells us. In this we see hope for all men everywhere. This message, this gospel is for all men, not just for Israel, but for strangers in the desert. Christ is not some object owned by one nation or one people. No, his death and the shedding of his blood is enough that every man, woman and child that has lived is living or ever will live. It's enough to save everyone. Hence, all who call upon him will be saved. No question, no doubt, the promise is sure. There will be people from every nation, every tribe, every tongue, from generation to generation, men, women, and children will be saved. No doubt, won't stop, not until Christ comes again. And it also tells us that his enemies will eat dust. That means that their faces will be so far to the floor that their tongues are licking that dry earth. Not necessarily meaning that they're bowing down out of a reverence or an obligation to bow down in worship, but they will be brought low. They'll be cast down. They'll be subdued to a position of reverence that they have no option to undertake. they will be submitted in the presence of this King. I long for that day, don't you? Not to have revenge on people or not because I want to see people perish, but for those who constantly mock and scorn, those who blaspheme, those who have no reverence for God whatsoever, who think that they can fly through this life untouched, Their tongues one day will be lapping up dust in the presence of God our King. Number five, a prosperous reign. We see here David's statement that his son would reign over a kingdom which would prosper. There would be an abundance of grain in the earth and fruit would come from the mountains, we're told. Those of the city would flourish like the grass. Solomon was a man of commerce. He built ships, he traded with countries all around and he bought a lot of wealth and a lot of prosperity. He was very prosperous and this obviously impacted the people that he was reigning over. But again, in all of this prosperity and in all of this wealth and in all of this goodness that it brought to the people, It's just a drop in the ocean of what Christ brings to his people. We are told that a seed must fall into the ground and die in order for it to bear much fruit. And that's what Christ did. He went to the cross, gave his life and he died. And the result? people, after people, after people, after people being made the children of God. Being given not only a life that lasts temporarily, but given a life that is eternal. Given a new life, a new heart, an ability to praise God. and ability to come towards him and ability to enter into his presence because our sins have been forgiven. That's the abundance that Christ offers. Have you received it this evening? Again, I mentioned this morning that Ryan was preaching about how temporal this life is. Riches in this life mean absolutely nothing, nothing. They might pay the bills. They might buy a nice car. They might buy a big house. But the reality is that one day, whether we're here or not, all that's gonna be burned up and gone. It's temporal. What Christ brings us is eternal, and it's that that we should be anchoring after. It's that that we should be chasing after. Number six, an everlasting kingdom with an everlasting reign. 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. Obviously, this can't just be talking about Solomon. Handel's Messiah, how many people have listened to it? How many people sung it? It crescendos at the end and it's wonderful to hear the voices exclaiming and proclaiming the eternal reign of Christ the King. Revelation 11, 15. And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever. forever and ever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He won the victory over the enemies. He won the victory over sin. He won the victory over death. He won the victory over hell. And he won the victory over this world that we currently live in. And he now sits on his throne. and he's ruling and he's reigning with his church, with his people, and he'll be like that until he returns again to claim it all for himself. So let us not be misguided. Let us not be downtrodden. Christ is ruling all right, and he shall reign forever and ever. Finally, the end of this psalm, doxology. And we tend to get all of our doxologies from the New Testament when we're finishing sermons, but what a wonderful doxology we have here at the end of this psalm. It presents to us a wonderful song of praise, and it should be something that we are able to use on a daily basis. These are the words, 18 and 19. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things, and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. Matthew Henry makes this comment. The psalmist is here enlarged in thanksgivings. for the prophecy and promise, so sure is he of every word of God, and with so much satisfaction, may we rely upon it, that we have enough reason to give thanks for what he said, though it not yet be done. What a statement that this is, and what a question it must leave us to ponder on. Firstly, does the word of God in all its richness, in all its beauty, in all its splendor, in all its promise, rise in you? Does it rise in me? Does it raise and rise in the church? Does it bring about with it such a doxology that we've just read at the back end of this psalm? Does it? I'm asking tonight, does it? Because it should. It should stir in our hearts to say every day, blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things. and blessed be his glorious name forever and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. That's the only time that amen is used twice. It's a double, so be it. Powerful. Does it urge us more to lay down our lives and to pick up the cross to follow him? To proclaim his glory, to proclaim his kingdom, in this world that is rapidly trying to crush it? Secondly, do we believe it? Do we believe it though Matthew Henry said, though it not yet be done? You know, we've seen many things over the years that God has done, but the end has not yet come. And we live this life in faith. That's not a vague hope. That's not clutching at straws. That's not a what if it might be. We live this life. Though the things have not yet come to their final fruition, we live knowing that they will be done. If we have our eyes open, If we truly are His and are walking with Him, the answer to this will be increasingly yes. Even though we stare at the world outside, even though sometimes we may have trembling in our inner being, we will be sure about the Word of God. We will be sure about the promises that it is made and we'll be sure that Christ is king and he is reigning and he will return and gain and claim everything that's his. The word of God promises a full conclusion. It promises a full completion in line with Christ's everlasting rule. A time when all wickedness will be left, we're done away with, a time when we shall be both like him and with him eternally. And finally again, notice how David ends this doxology, this double amen, this double so be it, so be it. May that be our response today in confidence, about what the Lord has done and what the Lord will be and will do. Lord, we trust you. Amen and amen. Let's pray. Father, as we've gone through this this evening, I ask that you will give us a fuller sense and a truer sense of your Christ being King and reigning now as we speak and live. That as we face our day-to-day tasks, that as we come against persecution, that as we look out into a world that seems bereft of anything holy and anything godly, that we'll truly be at peace, that we'll truly know that you are in control, that we'll truly know that what Christ did on the cross, he achieved, accomplished, and is applying. And that we as your followers and your children here today may walk this life in that confidence. That no matter what befalls us, no matter what besets us, no matter what enemy comes against us, no matter whatever circumstance is there before us, that Christ rules and he reigns and he is good to all of his children. Lord, help us, we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. We'll sing together our final hymn. Four, five, six. Hail to the Lord's anointed, great David's greater son. Hail in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun. He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free, to take away transgression and rule in equity. Four, five, six.