This psalm of Solomon is a prayer to The Lord as Solomon became king in his father’s place. But his prayer holds more meaning than a simple prayer for himself. As believers we can take this prayer to encourage ourselves as well. And it is messianic prophecy as Solomon describes the ideal king, Jesus. Verses 1-7 describe the Righteous King.
“Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may the righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!”
True righteousness comes only from God. Jesus lived, died, and resurrected to give us His righteousness. The Holy Spirit works in us to make us more like Jesus and so more righteous every day. And The Father calls us to be holy as He is holy.
Jesus is the ultimate Judge and He is our justice. He makes us righteous so that we can be reconciled to God, know Him, and have a relationship with Him. Jesus cares deeply about the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the prisoners. He has compassion for all the needy. And He avenges us against the enemy who oppresses the people. We may not prosper financially or in any way that the world would notice but we prosper spiritually and we prosper in the Kingdom of God.
One day the children of God, the faithful followers of Jesus Christ will be forever with Him in the mansions of Mount Zion instead of the tents of this world. There will be no sun to light the day nor moon to light the night. The Glory of God, Jesus Himself will be our light. (Revelation 21:22-24).
We are royalty as well. We are righteous kings and queens in Jesus. He has given us His name in adoption. We walk with His authority and that means we walk with His love and mercy. If we are to be like the King of kings then we walk with compassion and justice for the oppressed, the poor, the needy, the widow, and the orphan. We love them as Jesus loves them. We want the lost to know peace with God. We want the tyrannized to know freedom. We want the persecuted to know justice. Jesus is our Peace, Freedom, and Justice.
Solomon wanted to be a good king. He wanted to rule well. We too want to be the best royal priests we can be. When the Lord asked Solomon what he desired most in order to be a righteous king, Solomon asked for wisdom. God granted him that as well as wealth, long life, and military victory. (1 Kings 3, 1 Kings 4:29-34). He gives us wisdom as well when we ask. He is happy to grant us the gifts that will make our walk that much more glorifying, loving, and effective. James 1:5 reads,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
And 1 Corinthians 12:
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
Love is that more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 13). We are to love as Jesus loves us. We do that by being the royal children of God that we are called to be. We manifest the traits of Jesus described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, love, patience, kindness, humility, justice, joy in righteousness, faith, and steadfastness, the fruit of the Spirit.
Jesus is Judge and King over all the earth. There is nothing He does not have sovereign authority over. Verses 8-11 read,
“May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the Rive] to the ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!”
Every person on earth whether they acknowledge Jesus as Lord or not must submit to His rule. One day every knee will bow to Him. One day every person will acknowledge that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of all. Philippians 2:8-10 reads,
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Even nature must obey Jesus. He created the world and the world concedes to His authority. Jesus spoke and storms stopped and seas calmed. (Mark 4:35-41).The Lord spoke and trees grew and trees died. (Jonah 4:5-11, Mark 11:12-25). He even gave us the authority to command nature as His royal and righteous ambassadors. Mark 11:22-25 reads,
“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
We are not arrogant in our royalty. We like Jesus are humble. We don’t boast or take pride in great works, because they are not ours, they are Jesus’ works. We know that we are completely in need of God. We can’t even breathe without Him. We can’t have faith without Him. (Isaiah 42:5). The Lord has mercy on those who need it and ask for it. The Lord died for sinners, not for righteous men. A king has no kingdom if people do not submit to his authority. So we submit to Jesus, our Righteous King. He frees the prisoners, provides for the needy, and feeds the hungry. Verses 12-15 describe Him.
“For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.”
These verses describe Jesus. Do they describe us? They should. As His followers we should have His compassion, mercy, and longing for justice. We should act in Jesus’ love for people. His love wasn’t lip service it was action. He brought people to salvation. He healed, He spent time, He taught, and He served. He is our King, we should exemplify Him.
Do we long for His name to be known throughout the earth? Do we cry out “Long live the King!” Are we making disciples of every nation? Verses 15-19 read,
“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!
16 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 the cities
like the grass of the field!
17 May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
May people be blessed in him,
all nations call him blessed!
18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!
Believer, you and I are the glory of God! You and I are the ones to make Jesus’ name famous. Our ancestors have passed away and passed the job onto us. David worshipped God. He brought light to Israel. When David died the torch was passed to Solomon. We carry that torch now. Let us light the world on fire for Jesus. Verse 20 says,
“The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.”
David could no longer be the king. That job fell to Solomon. Now it is we who must take on the responsibility and glorify The Lord.