This is Our King?
The
Epiphany of Our Lord
Epiphany Ev.
Luth. Church, Racine , WI
Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
2 He will judge
your people in righteousness,
your afflicted ones with justice.
3 The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
4 He will defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
he will crush the oppressor.
5 He will endure as
long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.
6 He will be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
7 In his days the righteous will flourish;
prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.
8 He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of
the earth.
9 The desert tribes will bow before him
and his enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba
will present him gifts.
11 All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.
16 Let grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon
let it thrive like the grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
All nations will be blessed through him,
and they will call him blessed.
18 Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
19 Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
This Is Our King?
He was pierced for…transgressions, he was
crushed for…iniquities; the punishment that brought…peace was upon him, and by
his wounds…[some]…are healed. But not
you.
Whoa.
Could you imagine if that were true?
Could you imagine hearing the sweetest gospel you had ever heard, only
to be told you don’t get a taste?
I can see in your eyes the thoughts your mind is
screaming, “Pastor, that’s not how the Isaiah passage goes! What you said isn’t true! It is
for me! Jesus was
pierced for me! He was
crushed for me! It has to be, or I have no hope!”
You’re right.
He was pierced for you. He was
crushed for you. His punishment does
bring you peace. You are healed by his
wounds. Because, the Christ is our King, too. That is Epiphany.
“Endow the king with
your justice,
O God,
the royal son with your
righteousness.”
O Lord, because the Christ is my King, give him all
your authority to judge. Give all your
righteousness to the King! In your
justice you say sinners with dark hearts like mine are forgiven because you
punished your Son. You gave him the
righteousness we need for heaven, and he promised to give it to all who trust
in him. So give it all to your Son! Give it all to our King! Since he is our King, he will surely give it
to me!
You can begin to sense the joy of the Gentile
Magi when they saw the star and they knew they were close. They were close to seeing the promised King
who came to save even Gentile them. Oh,
their hearts must have been racing. What
would he look like? What would he be
like? With all the great and glorious promises
about this King, they surely expected something great! When they saw him, were they a little bit
perplexed at his lowliness? Is this the
one
“[Who] will judge your
people [with] righteousness
[and] your afflicted
ones with justice”?
They didn’t give it a second thought. “They bowed down and worshiped him” (Matt. 2:11 ). The Word of God took on human flesh as an
infant so that the Son of God could grow up to die for the sins of all
people. The Almighty became lowly so
that the lowly sinner could be lifted up to the Almighty with the peace of
forgiveness.
“The mountains will
[bear peace] to the people
the hills the fruit of
righteousness.
He will [save] the
afflicted among the people
and save the children of
the needy;”
No
one who is troubled by their sins need fear this king because he came to
save. But those who aren’t troubled by
their sin; those who have no use for God; those who despise God’s Word and mock
his people?
“He will crush the
oppressor.”
God promised that deliverance from spiritual
enemies, rescue from hell, and peace in the face of death belongs to every
member of this King’s kingdom, Jew and Gentile.
This mystery was kept hidden in God for ages past. The Magi traveled a long time to see
him. This new born king took an even
longer time in coming! Now that he came,
is it too good to be true? Can it last?
“He will endure as long
as the sun,
as long as the moon,
through all generations.
The spiritual refreshment Jesus was born to
bring will last as long as this earth.
“He will be like rain
falling on a mown field,
Like showers watering
the earth.
In his days the
righteous will flourish,
[and peace]will abound
till the moon is no more.”
When the sun and moon stop shining, that’s when
the full peace of our heavenly eternity begins, but even now we enjoy its
benefits.
No wonder the Magi traveled so far to see
him. No matter how foreign they were to
the Promised Land, no matter how distantly related to God’s covenant people,
they knew the new born King’s reign extended over all time and that it extended
over all places and people, including them.
From where Adam and Eve first met each other to where ships could no
longer sail, that’s how far his reign of power and glory and grace stretches. The sun never sets on Christ’s kingdom. He has believers from every tribe, language,
and people.
“He will rule from sea
to sea
and from the River to
the ends of the earth.
The desert tribes will
bow before him
and his enemies will
lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish
and of distant shores
will bring tribute to
him;
the kings of Sheba
All kings will bow down
to him and all nations will serve him.”
That means we can never be out of reach of his
care, we can never be too far away to receive his blessings. Your contrite prayers will never be out of
range of his forgiving ears. Your needs
will never be too far away for him to see and care. When you feel helpless and alone He will
never be out of touch. He is too big,
his kingdom extends too far, and you are too precious to him to let that
happen.
“For he will deliver the
[poor one] who [cries] out,
[and] the afflicted [and
the one who has no helper].
He will take pity on the
weak and the [poor]
and save the [lives of
the poor].
He will rescue them from
oppression and violence,
for precious is their
blood in his sight.
The magi worshiped him with their gold and their
incense and their myrrh. But let it not
stop there.
“Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba
May people ever pray for
him
and bless him all day
long.”
May the harvest he gathers of our offerings to
him be as rich as the harvest of souls his gospel brings in. May his gospel peace spread so far and wide
that the mountains are covered with a rich harvest of souls. May his Word be so fruitful in the hearts of
those who hear it that it puts the richest thickest forests to shame.
“Let grain abound
throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills
may it sway.
Let its fruit flourish
like Lebanon
let it thrive like the
grass of the field.
May his name endure
forever;
may it continue as long
as the sun.
All nations will be
blessed through him,
and they will call him
blessed.”
I’m sure that that part of Psalm 72, one of
Solomon’s psalms sounded familiar to the Magi.
It would have sounded familiar to Mary and Joseph, to Simeon and
Zechariah, to the shepherds and all who saw and held the Savior. It should sound familiar to you, too. It’s the promise that God spoke to Abraham. It’s the reason why there are believers in China Pakistan Canada Racine
Praise be to the LORD
God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous
deeds.
Praise be to his
glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be
filled with his glory.
He
is our King!
Amen and Amen.
S.D.G.
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