A King Sent in Love
(No. 2760)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JANUARY 5, 1902.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
SEPTEMBER 14, 1879.
"Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to
Solomon, Because the LORD has loved His people, He has made you king
over them." 2 Chronicles 2:11.
I THINK that you must have been struck with the deeply religious tone
of the communications which passed between Solomon and Hiram. I am
inclined to think that Hiram must have been a proselyte to the faith of
Israel. At any rate, the dispatches between these two neighboring kings
contain very gracious references to Jehovah and His dealings with His
ancient people. Not that I recommend that the dispatches which are sent
now between kings should be of a similar character, for that would be a
piece of beggarly hypocrisy! What has God to do with the most of them?
And what has He to do with the transactions of modern times, in which
the invasion of countries by the more powerful is perpetually being
justified by the laws of politics which seem to be the very reverse of
the Laws of God? Oh, that better times might come, when kings would
rule in righteousness! One almost despairs of them, but, at any rate,
there is a King coming who will rule in righteousness! Make no delays,
O our God!
In the letter, which was written by Hiram, we note that he declares his
belief that Solomon was of such a character that his reign was a
special blessing from God to His people. That is the meaning of our
text–"Because the Lord has loved His people, He has made you king over
them." Such was the character of Solomon, in those early days before he
began to decline from the splendor of his first estate, that even this
heathen monarch could see that he was bound to be a blessing to the
people. I wish that your life and mine, dear Friends, might always have
that about it which should make even the worldling say, "That young man
is likely to be a blessing to his family. That woman is sure to be a
blessing to her husband and to her children." I would to God that our
character was so transparent, so true, pure and good, that all who knew
us might feel that we were a blessing to those among whom we dwell!
I want you to notice, also, that Hiram here distinctly recognizes that
every blessing comes from God. If Solomon is a blessing to his
subjects, Hiram attributes that to the fact of God having placed him
where he was. Now, if one who had been a heathen could thus trace a
blessing back to God as its source, what heathen must those be who
never do anything of the sort, but trace it to what they call, "good
luck," or to "chance," or to anything rather than to God? O Beloved,
whenever there is anything of good, anything of excellence, anything of
happiness that comes to our door, let us praise and bless the God who
gave it! We are all too apt to complain of Him when we suffer and ready
enough to attribute our afflictions to Him. Surely, then, when
plentiful mercies come to us, we should magnify and glorify the name of
the Lord our God from whom they come! We should say of every mercy, in
somewhat similar fashion to that of Hiram when he wrote to Solomon,
"Because the Lord has loved His people, therefore has He done this and
that for them."
I purpose, however, to take our text right away from Solomon for, true
as it was in his case, it is more emphatically true in reference to our
King. It is still true, as was said in Thessalonica in Paul's day,
"There is another King, one Jesus," and many here present, I am
thankful to know, are His loyal subjects. King of kings is He to us and
our soul loves to worship and adore Him. Well, now, God has been
pleased to make Christ our King, so my text shall run thus– "Because
the Lord has loved His people, He has made Jesus to be King over them."
I. That shall be our first division, THE LOVE OF GOD HAS MADE JESUS TO
BE OUR KING.
If we believe that, does it not prove that we do not regard the
dominion of Jesus Christ as any burden whatever It is a proof that in
our esteem His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Those who look on
from the outside say, "We would rather be perfectly free–free thinkers
and free livers." And when they hear any of us say, with the Psalmist,
"O Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant and the son of Your
handmaid: You have loosed my bonds," they feel that they do not want to
share any such servitude with us. But we are living and truthful
witnesses to the fact that we do not look upon the rule of Christ over
us as any hardship. On the contrary, we take delight in it! We trace it
to the love of God, not to His anger–not even to His justice, or to
any necessity that may constrain Him, but to His infinite love and to
His gracious thought that He could not do any better thing for us than
to give us Jesus Christ to be our King–and we devoutly thank and bless
the Lord, this day, that He has set Him over us, to rule us and to have
dominion over our spirit, soul and body henceforth and forever.
But, Beloved, there was an urgent necessity that we should have Jesus
as our King. We are such poor creatures that we cannot live without
some form of rule and government. Men have tried to live in anarchy,
but their experiment has proven to be a disastrous failure. Think of
the French Revolution at the end of the 18th Century and see what awful
abominations resulted from it. A den of tigers, all let loose upon one
another, would be peacefulness, itself, compared with a mass of men
living without any law or order! We are such creatures that we need to
be under authority of some kind. God has frequently compared us to
sheep, but what can sheep do without a shepherd? I do not know that
there has ever been a discovery made of really wild sheep anywhere.
There are certain wild animals that are somewhat like sheep, but sheep
like those with which we are familiar–what shiftless, hopeless,
helpless, defenseless creatures they would be without a shepherd! They
would soon die out altogether if it were not for man. The rule,
leadership and kingly shepherdry of man are good for sheep–and
Christ's rule is absolutely necessary for His sheep. We are His people
and the sheep of His pasture if we have believed in Him and, we as much
need Jesus, our Shepherd-King, as the sheep need their shepherd!
If you object to that figure, let us think of ourselves under a higher
aspect. As many of us as have been born-again are the children of God.
Now, a family without rule–I venture to say very boldly–is not a
happy family. Children who are always allowed to do just as they like
will very soon be exceedingly unhappy. A father's gentle sway over the
various members of the household, which is, I take it, the first type
of kingship, is absolutely necessary for their good–for disorder soon
breeds unhappiness, envy, strife, malice and all kinds of evil. Every
house needs to have a "house-band" to keep it together. Every family
needs to have someone as its head. Every thinking person feels that it
must be so and, therefore, how thankful we ought to be that our
glorious God, seeing that His own brightness unveiled might have been
too much for our feebleness, has given us His Son, "whom He has
appointed Heir of all things," and made Him to be the first-born among
many brethren, that He might sweetly rule the whole household! Because
the Lord loved His people, therefore He gave Jesus to be King over
them.
Further, this fact tends greatly to our happiness. It is not merely a
matter of necessity, but, over and above that, it makes us exceedingly
happy to have such a King as Jesus is. Just suppose, for a moment, that
we, the people of God, were left without any law or ruler. Well, my
Brothers and Sisters, in such a case as that, we would not know what to
do! We might wish to do what was right, but we would not know what
right was! I am sure we must all desire to be guided by God, for we
feel unable to guide ourselves and we dare not trust the best earthly
guide. So it is a mercy that we have a King to whom we can refer all
difficult cases and who will guide us. Why, even if I were conscious of
having done right, yet if I had no Ruler and Law-Giver, whose
Infallible Word would assure me that I had done so, I would always be
in a fidget about it! I would be anxious to know whether I had made a
wise choice or not–whether I might not, after all, have put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter. When a man is his own ruler, he has all
the responsibility of what he does–but when he implicitly obeys
Christ's command, he is not responsible for the result of his
actions–that rests with Him who gave the command. If, in doing right,
we meet with trouble–if we have to suffer persecution or if the reward
of virtue does not reach us in the present–yet we have the comfort
that we did what Jesus told us to do. We did what our King commanded,
so the responsibility of it must rest with Him. This is always a sweet
feeling and much to the ease of such poor minds as ours are.
"Well," says one, "I like to be my own master." Yes, and that involves
two things–first, you have a very bad master and, next, your master
has a fool for his servant! But he who takes the Lord Jesus Christ as
his Master will be rightly and wisely guided–and hence arises the
comfort of such a relationship.
But, to my mind, the bliss of being under the dominion of Christ lies
in the Character of Christ. As I must have a master, let me have the
Christ of Bethlehem–the Christ of Nazareth–the Christ of Calvary–the
Christ of Heaven! If I must submit my mind and will to another–and
surely I must do so, or else I must submit it to the imperious
domination of my own lusts and passions, which is the worst slavery in
the whole world–if I must have a king, let it be Jesus Christ, whose
head was once crowned with thorns!
For, my Brothers and Sisters, in Him we have all the wisdom of Solomon
and infinitely more. He will rule and guide us wisely. To err is human,
yet He never makes any mistakes! His rule and guidance are Infallible!
There is also united with this wisdom, unlimited power, for, where
Christ rules, He is able to protect. He can put forth the might of
Omnipotence. His decrees and proclamations shall never be wasted words.
All power is given unto Him in Heaven and in earth. Though He sometimes
leaves His subjects to suffer in this world, (they must have
tribulation, for they have to carry their cross after Him), yet He
could deliver them in a moment if He pleased, for there is nobody above
or below the sky who can successfully withstand the almighty power of
the Christ of God! Happy are the people who have so wise and strong a
King as He is.
But, then, with this wisdom and strength, He is also gentle. Was there
ever such a gentleman and such a gentleman as He was? Who would not
gladly serve Him who suffered the little children to come unto Him and
would not let His disciples forbid them to come? Who would not
willingly serve Him who sat upon the well at Sychar to talk with the
poor sinful woman till He had won her soul and made her into a zealous
and successful home missionary? Who would not freely serve Him to whom
publicans and sinners drew near, that He might woo them, with tender
love, to forsake their sins? He is truly and Divinely royal! But He is
also, as the children are taught to say–
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild," so affable, generous, humane,
benevolent, gracious, Godlike–that to be enlisted beneath His banner
is to serve One who is, indeed, a Standard-Bearer among ten thousand!
Yes, He is altogether lovely. We are not ashamed to be the servants of
the Lord Jesus Christ. There have been some kings and princes whom a
man might well be ashamed to serve–to have anything to do with such
loathsome creatures as some despots are, would make a stain upon
anyone's character! But to come beneath the blessed servitude of Christ
is to be honored indeed! The meanest scullion in His royal kitchen has
more real glory than all the peers of the realm put together if they
have not entered the service of our gracious King!
Further, this blessed King not only commends Himself to us by His
Character, but also by His relationship to us. Surely it was because
the Lord loved His people that He made Him to be King over them who is
their Brother, for Jesus is our Brother. He was in all things made like
unto His brethren and, while upon the earth, He was tempted in all
points like as we are. But–"Now, though He reigns exalted high," He is
still our Brother, and He is not ashamed, even in Heaven, to call His
people His "brethren"–
"Though now ascended up on high,
He bends to earth with a Brother's eye.
Partaker of the human name,
He knows the frailty of our frame.
Our fellow Sufferer yet retains
A fellow feeling of our pains,
And still remembers in the skies,
His tears, and agonies, and cries." He also comes, if possible, nearer
than that, for He is our Husband–married to every believing heart,
united with us in a conjugal union which never can be broken by
divorce. Christ is the heavenly Bridegroom and each believing soul is
His bride, as the whole Church of the redeemed is the bride, the Lamb's
wife. I may say to each Believer, in the words of the 45th Psalm, "So
shall the King greatly desire your beauty: for He is your Lord; worship
you Him." He not only reigns over us, but He loves us with such love
that He even died for us! What other monarch ever did that for His
subjects? You have seen the portraits of kings holding the globe and
the scepter in their hands, wearing a crown, perhaps adorned with a
wreath in token of their victories. But when our King puts on His royal
regalia, when He comes forth in His coronation robes, I will tell you
what are the chief ensigns of His sovereignty, the tokens of His
universal dominion. They are the wounds in His hands, and in His feet,
and in His side! He deservesto be our King and we delight to say to
Him–
"You have redeemed our souls with blood
Have set the prisoners free–
Have made us kings and priests to God,
And we shall reign with Thee."
Truly, none who really know our Lord Jesus Christ can refuse to rejoice
that the Father has so loved His people as to set the Savior, who did
redeem them, to be King over them henceforth and forever.
I think I have said enough upon that point, so I will now turn to
another side of the subject. Just to refresh your memories, I remind
you that the first division was that the love of God has made Jesus our
King.
II. Now we will shake the kaleidoscope and then we shall see the same
Truth of God presented to us under another aspect–IT IS THE LOVE OF
GOD WHICH HAS MADE US TO BE THE SUBJECTS OF KING JESUS.
There is love in the selection of the King who has been chosen for us,
and there is also love in the choice of His subjects. It was certainly
Divine Love which made a choice of Israel to be the subjects of Solomon
because, if God meant to make a great king, and a wise king with wide
dominions and vast influence, it was a very singular thing that He
should choose the land of Israel to be the country over which Solomon
should rule in such glory. Palestine was a poor, miserable little
country, a very small district to be the center of so much splendor.
And the people were not very numerous and they were very poor. Only a
little while before they had been downtrodden by the Philistines.
David, Solomon's father, had only just rescued them by the skin of
their teeth from being slaves to the Philistines and, before that, they
had been perpetually harried by all the neighboring nations, so that
they never had any settled peace. Yet it was this little paltry nation
that God chose to be ruled over by Solomon, to give it a name and make
it the leading nation on the face of the earth!
Well, now, Beloved, what are we who have been chosen to be God's
people? What are we that Christ should ever rule over us? Surely if He
wanted to exercise dominion, He might have chosen the kings, queens,
lords, dukes and the fine folk of earth! But you know how it is
written, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble are called: but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and
things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are
not, to bring to nothing things that are: that no flesh should glory in
His Presence," Not even to the wise and prudent has He revealed the
Truths of His Kingdom, but He has revealed them unto babes. "Even so,
Father," said Christ, "for so it seemed good in Your sight." Surely it
was because the Lord loved us that He put us under the dominion of
Christ, that He might rule over us!
More than that, these people of Israel began with Solomon by a
rebellion. You know how all through the reign of David, they were
continually kicking against his rule. He had saved them from the
Philistines, yet, at one time, they set up Absalom in opposition to him
and, at another time, another pretender would come forth and they would
follow him, for they seemed to wish to get rid of their best friend and
deliverer! Even when David was near death, and Adonijah proclaimed
himself king, Joab and Abiathar, and many of the people followed him,
so that Solomon's reign began with rebellion! Yet he was set up as king
over these traitorous and disloyal people–and what a mercy it is for
us, who used to be rebels against our King–that the Lord Jesus Christ
ever admitted us under the sway of His scepter!
I need not go into the details of what we used to be. It will bring
tears to the eyes of some of us if we only think of what we once were.
Lord, what a rebellious wretch I was! Many here had to fight against
conscience, to fight what was against everything good in order to
remain as they were! Yet they did remain as they were until the Lord so
loved them that He subdued them, by His Grace, and brought them to His
feet! With almighty love He came to them, broke down all their
opposition and made them willing in the day of His power! I am sure
that if any of you are rejoicing in being Christ's subjects, you will
ascribe it to the love of God and not to your own will, or to your own
goodness, that you ever came to bow at Jesus' feet, for no man ever
comes there of himself. They are drawn by Divine Grace and then they
run, but never does a soul crouch at the feet of Jesus, crying for
mercy and taking Him to be its King except by an act of Almighty Grace
which leads the sinner to that happy and blessed decision! So let us
give all the praise to God if we belong to the Kingdom of Jesus, for it
is Love, amazing Love that has put us under such gracious Sovereignty
as that.
Now, Brothers and Sisters, we are happy, indeed, for it is with us as
it was with Israel. For, after Solomon was once settled on the throne,
there was no more rebellion. In his God-given wisdom, he so ruled the
nation that all was quiet and peaceable. After he had once climbed up
into the saddle, he could not be thrown out of it. And after King Jesus
once gets into the throne of our heart, stubborn wills and rebellious
passions must lie still, for Jesus knows how to rule. What
wonderful order Solomon set up! What remarkable peace the people
enjoyed! What extraordinary prosperity they had! For "the king made
silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones."
And, Beloved, Christ has made us to be so rich, so happy, so contented,
so blessed, that we have no wish to escape from His dominion, but
rather does each of us cry, "O Jesus, subdue me more completely! Drive
out all my old enemies! Root out my sins! Hunt them down like traitors
and hang them up to die–and You alone rule and reign over me
absolutely. In the entire kingdom of my nature, over my whole spirit,
soul and body, You be the supreme and only Lord! And let no rebellion
be so much as thought of." But it must be the love of God that will
effect this–we cannot do it ourselves. It is the Grace of God–the
mighty Love of God in Christ Jesus–that will subdue our spirit to the
dominion of Christ! And in so far as He has already done it, let us
praise and bless Him and, in any respect in which the gracious work is
not yet fully accomplished, let us cry to Him to complete it.
III. I conclude my discourse with the third point, which is simply
another view of the same Truth–OUR LOVE TO
GOD NOW MAKES THE REIGN OF CHRIST OVER US TO BE VERY BLESSED, INDEED.
Since we have been
taught to love the Lord Jesus Christ, it has become a great delight to
us to be under His dominion.
First, Brothers and Sisters, the courts of Christ are our home. In this
House of Prayer, the Lord has often revealed Himself to us. Some of us
feel that when we get into our places and join in holy worship, it is
the best spot beneath the sun. I know that it is so by the way in which
you strive to get here on Monday evenings and Thursday nights. Many of
you are glad, then, as well as on the Sabbath, to steal away for a
little while out of the world and even, perhaps, out of the worry of
the household. And because our Lord Jesus Christ manifests Himself to
you, here this place becomes to you the very palace of the great
King–and you love to be here.
There are some hearers who must have a very grand place of worship and
a very soft seat in it–and very eloquent preaching–and even then they
soon drop off to sleep! But a true child of God who loves his Savior
with all his heart, says, "I can stand anywhere. I do not mind being
squeezed up in a corner so long as I can hear about Jesus–
'Sweeter sounds than music knows Charm me in Immmanuel's name.'" That
is right, Brother, Sister! Keep on playing that tune! Praise the name
of Jesus! Let that be the theme of all your music! Ring again, and
again, and again, those sweet silvery bells that sound out–
"Free Grace and dying love."
You may hold me by the ears and by the heart, too, as long as you play
such music as that! Even though there is no eloquence in the speaker,
and he only talks straight on and tells what he knows of Jesus in his
own heart, I will sit, or I will stand anywhere if I may but hear the
strains of that blessed melody! And I know that many of you say the
same. I can tell that you do by the look on your faces and I also know
how I feel, myself, when, now and then, it is my privilege to listen to
a sermon full of Christ. That is what causes tears of joy to flow and
makes me feel, "I know that I am the Lord's, for I do rejoice in the
music of His charming name." Yes, He is such a King to us that His
courts are the place of our highest delight! And we are never happier
than when we are among even the meanest of those who gather within His
palace gate. We often feel that we would rather be doorkeepers in the
House of our God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
We also realize that it is God's Love that made Jesus to be our King,
for His service has come to be our best recreation. I heard a young man
say, in a railway carriage, "I do not like the English mode of spending
Sunday. I think Sunday ought to be devoted to recreation–everybody
needs recreation." An old gentleman who sat opposite to the one who
made this remark, spared me the trouble of replying to him by saying,
"I think, my dear Sir, it is very likely that you need recreation,
too." "Yes," answered the young man, "I certainly do." "Ah! " said the
other, "but perhaps you do not quite understand the word I
used–re-creation–that is, being created anew, so as to be made a new
creature in Christ Jesus. If you were created again, the recreation
that you would then desire would be of a different kind from that which
you are now advocating."
That was quite true, but even using the word, "recreation," in the
ordinary meaning of the term, we have found the service of God to be
really a recreation to us. When you, my Brother, get a little spare
time, I know that you feel it a pleasure to spend it in some form of
service for Christ. Someone might say to you, 'Well, I should think
that you had had enough work with that quill-driving, or standing
behind the counter, or toiling in that factory–and that when you get
an hour to spare, you would go to bed, or take your ease in some form
or other." "No, I do not," you reply. "I go and
gather my class together, or call on my scholars in their homes and try
to find out whether they have really given their hearts to the Lord
Jesus Christ." "Well," says the enquirer, "do you mean to say that you
get recreation out of such work as that?" "Yes," you reply, "I do," and
he says, "Then, you must be an odd fish!" Well, perhaps we are odd
fish, but that is one of our highest sources of recreation! We find the
service of Christ to be so blessed to us that we take our rest in it
and if, sometimes, we get wearied in it, we can truly say that we do
not get wearied ofit. Our whole soul delights in it and we are resolved
that we will serve our Savior as long as we have life and breath.
More than that, it has now become such a joy to us to serve our King
that His revenue has become our riches. Solomon's subjects were very
heavily taxed, yet their very taxes were a proof of their prosperity.
They worked at a high pressure in order to produce wealth. They were a
poor people to begin with, but they grew rich under the plan which
Solomon adopted. It was an expensive plan but, then, if they paid much
in the way of taxation, it was because they had so much the more coming
in, year by year. Silver and gold had become so plentiful that it was
not at all a hardship that the people should help to pay for the
efficient maintenance of the king's postal service and all the other
arrangements by which they were, themselves, enriched.
Now, our King has a great revenue with which we have nothing to do
except to draw from it all that we need. Unbounded riches of Grace are
stored up in Christ Jesus and He gives us liberty to take all that we
require. As to anything that we present to Him, what little we can
give, we count it our highest riches to offer to Him and, whenever we
do give anything to the Lord, we find that He multiplies whatever we
have left in our basket and store! But, if He did not do so, we would
still delight to lay at His dear feet anything that we can–and we do
not need Him to give it back to us. It is a delight and joy to us to
have an opportunity of doing anything in His blessed service! It is no
task to us, it is never irksome. Some of us–I do not know whether each
one of us–can sing, with Dr. Watts–
"All that I am, and all I have,
Shall be forever Yours.
Whatever my duty bids me give,
My cheerful hands resign.
Yet if I night make some reserve,
And duty did not call,
I love my God with zeal so great,
That I would give Him all."
So, Brothers and Sisters, I hope it has come to this with many of us,
that Christ's Cross is our crown. We have fallen in love with it and we
gladly bear it for His sake. The very hardships that we endure in
connection with Christ's Kingdom have become a joy to us! While, as for
His Glory, that is now our honor and, as for Himself, He is our Heaven!
Thus have I spoken, all too feebly, concerning the King given to us by
God in love. If there are any here who are not under the rule of
Christ, I wish that they would, at any rate, give heed to my testimony
that the service of Christ is the best service in the whole world!
There is no other that is worthy to be compared with it for a single
moment. If you resolve to serve yourself, or to serve the world, or to
serve pleasure, or to serve the devil, you will rue the day–you may
depend upon it! There is one remarkable thing about the service of
Christ which ought to have great weight with impartial observers. Many
who have lived to serve the world have repented of their folly on their
deathbeds–but there was never yet heard of even one instance of a
Christian saying, when he was dying, "I am sorry that I have served
Christ." There never has been since the foundation of Christ's Kingdom,
one of His subjects who, when he was dying, said, "I am sorry that I
did so much for Christ, that I was so earnest in His service, or so
generous to His cause." No, there never has been such a case and there
never will be one!
I always say that it is the sign of a man having a good master when he
tries to introduce his sons into the service of his employer. A man is
not likely to complain of his master when he comes to him and says, "I
would be much obliged to you, Sir, if you would take my two sons into
your service." It looks as if he had a good master when he talks like
that! Well, that is my own case–it is my intense delight to see my two
sons actively engaged in the service of my Master! He has been a good
Master to me. I often wonder that He has not turned me off, yet I
should have wondered still more if He had done so, because He has said,
"I will never leave you, nor forsake you." All this while He has borne
with my ill manners and put up with many imperfections in my service. I
wonder that He is not tired of me, yet I have His own word for it that
He will not turn me adrift, for He has said, "Him that comes to Me, I
will in no wise cast out." I must love Him! I
must praise Him! And I wish that everyone else would enter the service
of my blessed Lord and Master. If you would only give Him a trial, (by
God's Grace may you be led to do so!) you would never regret it. Ask
any man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, whether He has ever regretted
having done so–you will never find one who will say that he has!
Well, then, if we can all speak so well of our King, we think that
common reason, if it were really reasonable, would lead men to say,
"Can we not enter into this service, too?" I pray that God's Grace may
enable many of you to say this. Will you not seek to become His servant
this very hour? The way into His service is by your becoming nothing
and letting Him be your All-in-All. Any soldier can tell you how he
gets into his sovereign's service. What does he give in order that he
may become a soldier? Give? Why, he gives nothing at all! He takes a
shilling from the recruiting officer and that seals the act! That is
the way to become a Christian–take the Lord Jesus Christ as your own!
He gives you Himself, so trust Him and take Him, for thus you become
His soldier, enlisted forever! He will teach you your drills. He will
show you how to behave yourself in His service and He will give you a
rich reward at the end of it. So may He bless each one of you, for His
dear name's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM 72:1-4.
Verse 1. Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness
unto the king's son. ' 'Give the king Your judgments, O God." The right
to reign was transmitted by descent from David to Solomon, but not by
that means alone. Israel was a theocracy and the kings were but the
viceroys of the greater King. Therefore the prayer that the new king
might be enthroned by Divine right and then endowed with Divine Wisdom.
Our glorious King in Zion has all judgment committed to Him. He rules
in the name of God over all lands. He is King "Dei Gratia" as well as
by right of inheritance. "And Your righteousness unto the king's son."
Solomon was both king and king's son–so, also, is our Lord. He has
power and authority in Himself and also royal dignity given Him of His
Father. He is the righteous King. In a word, He is "the Lord our
righteousness." We are waiting till He shall be manifested among men as
the ever-righteous Judge. May the Lord hasten in His own time the
long-looked-for day! Now wars and fights are even in Israel, itself,
but soon the dispensation will change and David, the type of Jesus
warring with our enemies, shall be displaced by Solomon, the prince of
peace.
2. He shall judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with
judgment "He shall judge Your people with righteousness." Clothed with
Divine authority, he shall use it on the behalf of the favored nation,
for whom he shall show himself strong, that they be not misjudged,
slandered, or in any way treated maliciously. His sentence shall put
their accusers to silence and award the saints their true position as
the accepted of the Lord. What a consolation to feel that none can
suffer wrong in Christ's Kingdom! He sits upon the Great White Throne,
unspotted by a single deed of injustice, or even mistake
ofjudgment–reputations are safe enough with Him!
"And Your poor with judgment." True wisdom is manifest in all the
decisions of Zion's King. We do not always understand His doings, but
they are always right. Partiality has been too often shown to rich and
great men, but the King of the last and best of monarchs deals out
even-handed justice, to the delight of the poor and despised. Here we
have the poor mentioned side by side with their King. The Sovereignty
of God is a delightful theme to the poor in spirit–they love to see
the Lord exalted and have no quarrel with Him for exercising the
prerogatives of His crown. It is the fictitious wealth, which labors to
conceal real poverty, which makes men quibble at the reigning lord, but
a deep sense of spiritual need prepares the heart to loyally worship
the Redeemer King. On the other hand, the King has a special delight in
the humbled hearts of His contrite ones and exercises all His power and
wisdom on their behalf, even as Joseph in Egypt ruled for the welfare
of his brothers.
3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills,
by righteousness. "The mountains shall bring peace to the people."
Thence, aforetime, rushed the robber bands which infested the country,
but now the forts erected are there the guardians of the land and the
watchmen publish far and near the tidings that no foe is to be seen.
Where Jesus is, there is peace–lasting, deep, eternal. Even those
things which were once our dread lose all terror when Jesus is
acknowledged as Monarch of the heart. Death itself, that dark mountain,
loses all its gloom! Trials and afflictions, when the Lord is with us,
bring us an increase rather than a diminution of peace.
"And the little hills, by righteousness." Seeing that the rule of the
monarch was just, every little hill seemed clothed with peace.
Injustice has made Palestine a desert. If the Turk and Bedouin were
gone, the land would smile again, for even in the most literal sense,
justice is the fertilizer of lands and men are diligent to plow and
raise harvests when they have the prospects of eating the fruit of
their labors. In a spiritual sense, peace is given to the heart by the
righteousness of Christ. And all the powers and passions of the soul
are filled with a holy calm when the way of salvation, by a Divine
Righteousness, is revealed. Then do we go forth with joy and are led
forth with peace! The mountains and the hills break forth before us
into singing.
4. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of
the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor "He shall judge the
poor of the people." He will do them justice, yes, and blessed be His
name, more than justice, for He will delight to do them good!
"He shall save the children of the needy." Poor, helpless things, they
were packhorses for others, and paupers, but their King would be their
Protector. Happy are God's poor and needy ones–they are safe under the
wing of the Prince of Peace, for He will save them from all their
enemies.
"And shall break in pieces the oppressor." He is strong to smite the
foes of His people. Oppressors have been great breakers, but their time
of retribution shall come and they shall be broken themselves, Sin,
Satan and all our enemies must be crushed by the iron rod of King
Jesus! We have, therefore, no cause to fear, but abundant reason to
sing–
"All hail the power of Jesus'name! Let angels prostrate fall, Bring
forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all." It is much better
to be poor than to be an oppressor, for both the needy and their
children find an Advocate in the heavenly Solomon, who aims all His
blows at haughty ones and rests not till they are utterly destroyed!