First Sunday After Epiphany. Series

Psalm 72:1-8, Zechariah 8:1-8, Romans 12:1-5, Luke 2:41-52.

A). THE REIGN OF MESSIAH.

Psalm 72:1-8.

The name of Solomon is associated with this Psalm, and it is quite possible that this sacred song was premiered on the occasion of his coronation. However, Christians recognise Jesus as the fullest fulfilment of the ideal king in this chapter.

Psalm 72:1. As king, Jesus has the power to establish justice. He is endowed with righteousness as the King’s Son. We submit to His kingship, and pray for the manifestation of His righteous judgment.

Psalm 72:2. As quickly as the prayer is uttered we are presented with a definite answer: His people shall benefit from His righteous judgment. There is no partiality (cf. Romans 2:11), but the poor in spirit do have God’s favour (cf. Matthew 5:3). We should desire this gracious rule in our own hearts.

Psalm 72:3. The mountains will bring “shalom”: peace, prosperity, wellbeing. This is because the kingdom is established in righteousness (cf. Isaiah 32:17). Jesus Himself is our righteousness (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30), and our peace (cf. Ephesians 2:14).

Psalm 72:4. Jesus our king brings justice and salvation to His people (cf. Luke 4:18-19). He also executes righteous judgment against those who oppress His people. Nothing, and no-one, can separate us from the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 72:5. Jeremiah speaks of the ordinances of sun, moon and stars (cf. Jeremiah 31:35-36; Jeremiah 33:20-21). The prophet foresees Jesus when he says that as long as these things remain, there will be a king to sit upon the throne of David. There shall also always be a people to reverence King Jesus.

Psalm 72:6. There is a gentleness in Jesus’ coming (cf. Isaiah 42:3). Every drop of rain is a blessing from God. The gospel brings refreshment to the weary and parched soul.

Psalm 72:7. God’s people flourish when Jesus is manifested amongst them. Then they abound in “shalom”: peace, prosperity, wellbeing. Again, the Psalmist draws our attention to the ordinance of the moon.

Psalm 72:8. It is evident that there were limitations to Solomon’s reign, and the monarchy fell into serious decline after his death. However, this only served to intensify the appetite among the godly for the fuller fulfilment which would herald the dawn of Messiah’s reign.

In the fullest sense, this Psalm is all about our Lord Jesus Christ. All that the Israelite monarchy stood for foreshadowed ‘great David’s greater Son’ (as one of our hymns puts it). So whether this is a prayer or a prophecy, it fits in neatly with our own Lord’s Prayer, ‘Thy kingdom come.’

B). ORACLES OF RESTORATION.

Zechariah 8:1-8.

The Apostle Paul tells us that ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God’ (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Apostle Peter tells us that ‘the word of the LORD endures forever’ (cf. 1 Peter 1:25).

So when we find the expression “Thus saith the LORD” repeated throughout our current passage, it should make us sit up and listen. He is the “LORD of hosts” (ZECHARIAH 8:1), the God of the armies of heaven, and not to be trifled with.

(i). At the end of the previous chapter the LORD had scattered His people among the nations, and the ‘pleasant land’ was laid desolate by their enemies (cf. Zechariah 7:14). Now the LORD is offering comfort into that situation. He begins by speaking of His “great jealousy” for Zion (ZECHARIAH 8:2; cf. Zechariah 1:14).

It is certainly comforting to us to know the intensity of God’s “jealousy” on our behalf. His jealousy is not like man’s selfish jealousy, whereby we might covet something that someone else has. His jealousy is quite the opposite: it is a jealous care of the other (cf. Zechariah 1:16-17). Such jealousy arises from the love wherewith He has ‘loved us with an everlasting love’ (cf. Jeremiah 31:3).

(ii). ZECHARIAH 8:3. The manifestation of this love is seen in the fact that the LORD has “returned unto Zion” (a present reality), and would “dwell in the midst of Jerusalem” in an even more special way when the Temple would be completed (cf. Exodus 25:8; Zechariah 4:9).

A further fulfilment of this prophecy was seen when ‘the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us’ (cf. John 1:14), and Jesus, who is ‘the Truth’ (cf. John 14:6) taught His truths in the “city of truth.” And when the Spirit came upon His church at Pentecost, introducing the Gospel era, “the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain” was ‘exalted,’ and (in a figure of speech) ‘all nations flowed to it’ (cf. Isaiah 2:2).

We await another fulfilment when Jesus shall return with power and great glory (cf. Matthew 24:30), and all His angels (the angelic “host”) with Him (cf. Matthew 25:31).

The fullest fulfilment of the prophecy of this verse comes with the descent of the new Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21:2-3).