Psalm 72:1 A Psalm for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
Psa 72:3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
Psa 72:4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
Psa 72:5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
Psa 72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
Psa 72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
Psa 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Psa 72:9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
Psa 72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
Psa 72:12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
Psa 72:13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
Psa 72:14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
Psa 72:15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
Psa 72:16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
Psa 72:17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
Psa 72:18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
Psa 72:19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
Psa 72:20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Today is the day that was known until just this year as “Canada Day”. It was given that name by Mr. Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his government, with a bill that was passed in 1982. Apparently he had tried to change the name before that date, but could not get it done.
I know that in some parts of the country it is still referred to as “Canada Day”, however it has taken on a completely different format this year compared to other years. Canada is not a country that is glorious and free. If you think of the words of the song, it states: “God keep our land glorious and free.” Canada has never been a Christian country. It has had some Christian people living in it and still does today, but it is not a Christian country. God has been gracious to us as a nation. However, God’s longsuffering does not mean He does not judge sin. He has certainly been judging this nation over the years.
In 1864 Sir Leonard Tilley of New Brunswick suggested the name “Dominion of Canada” as the name of this country. Apparently he suggested that name based on what he had read in Psalm 72 in the Bible. I do not know if the man was a born again Christian or not.
The national holiday on July 1 used to be known as Dominion Day until Mr. Trudeau changed the name in 1982. It is interesting that Mr. Tilley looked to God’s Word to pick part of the name for this country, even though the context of that verse is regarding king David asking God to give the king His judgments, and of God having dominion from sea to sea . . .
Some have bemoaned the day when prayer was removed from the public schools. Born again Christians should bemoan the day when Christians were duped into giving up their God given responsibility to raise their children, to the state.
When we were raising our children, I remember seeking counsel from the church we attended with regard to sending our children to a “Christian School” that was starting up in our area. It was more private than Christian. At that time we did not know about homeschooling. The pastor of the church we were attending, nor the older men had anything to say about my concerns in making the switch. It took us a number of years to become obedient to God in regard to our responsibility. We had some help in developing our stand when we were at Bible School. Some other parents there were pulling their children out of the public system and homeschooling them. We spoke with them and we pulled our children out as well.
I sent a letter to our local government school system informing them of our decision. They responded by acknowledging our right to do so, but they also tried to scare us by telling us that our children’s education would not be recognized by the state when it came to higher education, etc. We soon discovered that homeschooling is far superior to any public school and we were not concerned about having the state approval of our children’s education. It became more important that God was pleased with what we were doing with these gifts that He had given us.
Looking back on that all, it seems to me that the Bible is quite clear on who should be training our children. The Bible is also very clear on what must be the foundation of all training of our children. God’s Word must be central.
There are things that I have learned too late in life. I cannot go back and change any of that. I am thankful that God forgives sin and gives wise counsel. I can try to help others to avoid some of the unnecessary mistakes I made. God’s Word is true. What is needed is for us to take His Word seriously in all things and follow His way.
The opening phrase of Psalm 72 states “A Psalm for Solomon”. It does not say a Psalm of Solomon, but for Solomon. The context shows us that David is the writer. However, the context of this Psalm obviously points to a king of much greater stature than either king David or his son Solomon. It is a Messianic Psalm.
King David was directed by God to write and ask God to give the king His judgments. Kings need to know how to make right decisions. It is also important for the king’s son to have God’s righteousness.
We know that Solomon made the right decision early in his reign when two harlots were brought to him with one dead baby and one live baby. He knew how to resolve that matter rather quickly. One of those women was lying and he soon exposed her for that.
Solomon soon disregarded God’s righteousness. He married a foreign woman, which was forbidden by God. Then he married 699 more women and had 300 concubines besides them. The Bible tells us that his strange wives turned his heart away from the LORD.
I spoke with a man recently who said he was fearful for his nieces and nephews. He did not like what he saw in our country. This was coming from the mouth of a man who knew how to swear and to use the Lord’s name in vain. God gave me opportunity to speak to him about the need of our country, but more importantly, the need of his own heart. It took some time for him to actually hear what I was saying. During the time of our conversation, I could see his facial features change as the truth of God’s Word began to bear upon his heart. I am praying for further opportunities to help that man to see his need to be saved.
The future is not bright for anyone living on this earth that is not saved. This world is in a mess. Our country is in a mess. Sadly, most do not see the solution as God declares it. Unless His judgment and His righteousness rules in our hearts, there is no hope.
David was led by God to pray that the LORD would rule from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Jesus Christ will rule from Jerusalem during the Millennium, with a rod of iron. His rule will be a blessing to those on earth at that time. Not all will appreciate that, but it will be a blessing.
Those who are saved need to continue to pray for our country. We also need to examine the things we hold dear and see if there are Scriptures we are ignoring just to keep the norm. We need to ask God to give us His judgment and His righteousness. We need to work at passing that on to our children and grand children.
Pastor Bartel
