Jesus, The Ideal King 2-15-26 AM

I.            His piety (Ps. 72:1-4).

a.     David first prayed that his son would show a great spiritual devotion towards God.

b.     Solomon needed to depend on the God for righteousness and justice.

          i.      We know Solomon did do this at the beginning of his reign.

          ii.      When told by God he could have anything, Solomon showed piety by asking for wisdom to lead (2 Chr. 1:7-10).

          iii.      He was just in his ruling, as when asked to judge between two mothers (1 Ki. 3:16-28 – notice verse 28).

c.      Sadly, this piety did not extend through the entirety of his reign.

          i.      We know that Solomon gave in to the foreign wives he married.

          ii.      1 Ki. 11:4.

d.     Jesus, the Ideal King, remained dependent upon God for the entirety of His stay on earth.

          i.      John 8:29.

          ii.      Jesus was reliant upon God in prayer (Heb. 5:7-9).

          iii.      As we noticed last week, I come to do your will O God (Heb. 10:9).

e.      There was not one instance where Jesus did His own will (John 6:38).

f.       Most rulers we know of expect others to bow to them.

          i.      In the Old Testament, we read of kings holding out scepters and others bowing to them.

          ii.      We have heard of those who hold out a hand and the person coming to the ruler bows and kisses the ring.

g.     Jesus, the Ideal King, is repeatedly found in prayer, bowing before the Father.

          i.      When big decisions were to be made, Jesus bowed in prayer.

          ii.      In Gethsemane, as soldiers were coming to take Him away, Jesus bowed in prayer.

h.      Jesus was constantly and consistently dependent upon God, despite being God in the flesh.

i.        If He was so dependent upon God, how much more should we?

II.            His perseverance (Ps. 72:5-7).

a.      David wanted Solomon to continue to be faithful to God all the days of his reign.

          i.      David understood the need for perseverance in faith.

          ii.      He had lived it out in his own reign.

b.     If Solomon would do so, the people under his reign would be blessed and righteousness would flourish.

c.     He would be a blessing to his people and they would be in peace.

d.     Solomon, as we pointed out, did so for a time but then became unfaithful – he did not persevere in faithfulness.

e.     Jesus, the Ideal King, persevered in faithfulness the entire time of His earthly stay.

         i.      He was faithful to God.

         ii.      He was also faithful to His followers.

f.      Jesus never quit on God or on His people.

         i.      John 13:1.

         ii.      Heb. 13:8.

         iii.      2 Tim. 2:13.

g.    I’ve been to New Orleans twice.

         i.      If you’ve ever gone, you know that you go over Lake Pontchatrain.

         ii.      The bridge is the longest over water bridge in the world, spanning almost 24 miles.

         iii.      The first time I went over it, it was at night and it was very foggy.

         iv.      All I could think about was the my friend driving was going drive us over the side in the fog and we would end up with the alligators.

         v.      I was genuinely scared to even look out the window.

h.    Imagine driving over that bridge and learning the engineer sometimes lost interest halfway through some of his projects.

         i.      Some he saw all the way through.

         ii.      Others, he simply left to the workers to finish with no oversight.

i.      I wouldn’t go over it – I would just never have gone to New Orleans.

j.      We wouldn’t trust that bridge.

k.    Jesus never abandons what He begins (Php. 1:6).

l.      Earthly kings and leaders change, but Jesus does not.

m.   His faithfulness is not seasonal – it is eternal.

III.            His prosperity (Ps. 72:8-11).

a.     David wanted Solomon to be honored by others and to be prosperous.

b.     This was definitely the case for Solomon.

          i.      God blessed him with more wealth than anyone in history.

          ii.      Leaders came from all over the known world to hear his wisdom and to learn from him.

c.      But, when you read these words, it cannot be the case that this all fits Solomon.

          i.      Not all nations honored him.

          ii.      Not all kings bowed before him.

d.      This has to point to the prosperity of one greater than Solomon.

e.      Jesus was not prosperous in the sense of physical wealth.

          i.      He said He didn’t have anywhere to lay His head.

          ii.      We never read of a permanent residence for Jesus during His ministry.

          iii.      His own brothers did not believe in Him.

f.       Jesus, the Ideal King, is prosperous in the sense of not losing any that God gives Him (John 6:39).

          i.       Jesus deals in souls.

          ii.      Nothing is more valuable than a human soul (Matt. 16:26).

g.     Jesus is prosperous in mercy (Eph. 2:4).

h.     Jesus rains that prosperity down on us (Rom. 10:12).

          i.      Notice how Micah describes God’s mercy (Mic. 7:18-19).

          ii.      Our Lord makes mercy available continuously (Heb. 4:16).

i.       Jesus told a parable about a servant who was indebted to such a measure he would never be able to repay it.

          i.       The master forgave the debt completely.

          ii.      It was totally removed from existence.

          iii.      This is the mercy of Jesus – not merely reducing our debt, but completely removing it

j.       This shows us the prosperity of Jesus, the Ideal King.

IV.            His pity (Ps. 72:12-14).

a.     David wanted for his son to be a king on whom the people could rely for pity and relief when in need.

b.     Solomon showed that in his dealing with the two women we mentioned earlier.

c.     We know this was fully fulfilled in Jesus, the Ideal King.

d.     Jesus was not some social justice warrior.

          i.      But, He was extremely concerned about the poor and unfortunate.

          ii.      He was continuously gracious to them.

e.      How many times do we read something like “He was moved with compassion”?

          i.      It was Jesus who touched the leper.

          ii.      It was Jesus who looked lovingly on a widow crying at the funeral procession of her son.

          iii.      It was Jesus who was moved to spare the life of a woman caught in sin.

f.       Jesus was not detached from suffering – He was drawn to it.

          i.      He called for Blind Bartimaeus when others were telling the man to be quiet.

          ii.      He called for the children when others were telling them to go away.

g.      Jesus touched the untouchable.

h.      Jesus loves the unlovable (Rom. 5:8).

i.        You and I are never invisible to the Ideal King.

V.            His permanence (Ps. 72:12-17).

a.      David wanted his son to rule over a kingdom that was vast and for his reign to go on for years.

           i.      The kingdom of Israel grew to its largest size under Solomon.

           ii.      He reigned for 40 years.

b.      Sadly, because of Solomon turning from God, the kingdom failed to grow any larger and Solomon died before he had to.

           i.      God had promised Solomon a large kingdom since he asked for wisdom.

           ii.      God also told him he would have length of days as long as he remained faithful.

c.       This section of the psalm is why the Jews consider this a Messianic Psalm.

d.      This can only be said of God’s Anointed One and we know that to be Jesus, the Ideal King.

           i.      Luke 1:32-33.

           ii.      Heb. 1:8.

           iii.      Rev. 11:15.

e.      Every earthly kingdom fades.

f.        The kingdom of Christ never will.

g.      One day I hope to visit Italy, Greece, maybe even Egypt.

           i.      I want to see the remnants of those great kingdoms.

           ii.      I want to see the Coliseum, Mars Hill, and the pyramids.

           iii.      Those are all ruins.

h.      They were once unstoppable empires, but are now museums.

i.        There will never be ruins of the kingdom of Christ.

           i.      His throne does not decay.

           ii.      His authority will never weaken.

           iii.      His reign will never end.