Tuesday, June 30 — May All Nations Serve the Lord
We all want leaders who actually care about the people no one else notices. Today's psalm paints a portrait of exactly that kind of king.
Psalm 72:1-13 — KJV
1 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. 3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
Psalm 72:1-13 — WEB
1 God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. 2 He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. 3 The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. 4 He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces. 5 They shall fear you while the sun endures; and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. 6 He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. 7 In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. 12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. 13 He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls of the needy.
Explanation
Psalm 72 carries the heading "for Solomon," and it reads like a coronation prayer — the kind of blessing spoken over a new king as he takes the throne. But listen to what the people actually ask God to give him. Not military glory first. Not wealth first. They ask for righteousness and justice, and they define both immediately by who benefits: the poor, the needy, the children of the helpless, the one with no one to defend him.
That is a striking way to measure a kingdom. The psalm says a good reign comes down "like rain on the mown grass" — gentle, life-giving, reaching the lowest blade. Power, in God's design, is supposed to water what is small, not trample it. Verse 12 gives the reason the king is honored at all: "he will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor, who has no helper." His greatness is tied directly to his tenderness.
Then the vision opens outward, just as it did in Monday's reading. Kings from Tarshish and the far islands, from Sheba and Seba, come bringing gifts. "All nations shall serve him." No earthly Israelite king ever ruled that widely, and the people knew it. So this psalm always pointed past Solomon to a greater King — one whose justice would actually reach the ends of the earth and gather every nation under one righteous reign.
That King is Jesus, and this is the thread toward Sunday. The centurion we will meet on Sunday is one of those "far off" people the psalm imagined — a Roman, a foreigner, an outsider — drawn to bow before Israel's King. The psalm dreamed of all nations serving the Lord; the Gospel shows it beginning, one surprising believer at a time.
For us, this psalm asks a quiet but pointed question about how we use whatever authority we hold. Most of us are not kings, but we all have some power somewhere — over employees, over children, over a classroom, over the cashier we could be kind to or cruel to. The mark of a godly use of power is not how loudly it announces itself but who it lifts. Do the people with no leverage over you experience you as rain or as drought? The King we serve delivers the one who has no helper. Those of us who follow Him are called to lead the same way, wherever our small kingdoms happen to be.
Thought for the Day Real power waters what is small instead of trampling it.
Reflection Question Where do you hold a little authority — and does the most powerless person in that space experience you as rain or as drought?
Prayer Lord, You are the King whose justice reaches the forgotten. Thank You for caring about the people the world overlooks, including me on the days I feel small. Wherever You have given me influence, make me gentle and fair. Let me use what I have to lift someone who cannot repay me, the way You have lifted us all. Amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: The Believing Centurion, A Gentile Whose Faith Jesus Commended.