A Very Good King

A Reflection on the Psalm for December 4th, 2022:
The Second Sunday of Advent

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Psalm 72

R. In His days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound forever.

Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.

R. In His days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound forever.

In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. In His days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound forever.

For he delivers the needy one who calls,
the poor and the one who has no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.

R. In His days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound forever.

May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.

R. In His days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound forever.

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This psalm is a prayer for a nation’s new king – that his rule may be just, his judgment righteous, and his help abundant and full of mercy. Reading this psalm today, a few months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II and with the coronation of her son, King Charles III, still to come in the new year, feels very strange. As a Canadian, I don’t think about monarchs very often – they really don’t impact my day-to-day life. Sure, we have a Governor General and the Queen’s image is all over our currency, but other than that, I don’t pay much attention at all. This prayer describes a very good king – one who delivers the needy, helps the poor and abandoned, and creates a land where peace abounds forever. Who wouldn’t want a king like this?
 
My mind jumped straight to Jesus when I read this psalm – maybe because I don’t think about our 21st century kings and queens all that much. I read it purely metaphorically, interpreting the words as a description of what Jesus, the King of Glory, will do when He comes. If this is a prayer for a good and just king, then Jesus is the greatest and most just king of them all. We as Christians form a nation who are indeed blessed in Him – blessed in the abundance of His mercy, blessed in the forgiveness that tempers His judgment, blessed in the sacrifice of His love. I find it funny that the last verse ends with “may they pronounce him happy,” because, surely, we are the ones who should be happy for having such a wonderful king. 
 
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of our leaders – municipal, provincial, federal, world – were like this king? In light of the past couple years, the picture painted by this prayer seems almost like a pipe dream. We can certainly pray for our leaders, pray for God to give them justice and righteousness and bring peace back to our world, pray that they will end the terrible wars and persecution taking place in so many countries. But on a micro scale, we can also strive to be kings and queens in our own lives and communities – no, I don’t mean wearing crowns and expecting royal treatment everywhere we go! Instead, we can act with justice, strive to uphold righteousness, offer our help and time and money to the poor, weak, and needy, and do our best to create nations of peace – to create places for God’s love to grow in hearts and souls through what we say and do, how we live, and how we love.




Kim Tan

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