Justice And Favor

Read: Psalm 72

Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son. Psalm 72:1

IN WORD

Psalm 72 is more than a prayer for a king. It’s a picture of Israel’s hopes. It speaks of justice and righteousness, prosperity and blessing, honor and glory. It’s the shalom—the wholeness and fullness and peace—that every human heart longs for. The people’s expectations for their king, and therefore their kingdom, looked a lot like this.

It begins with justice. When we speak of God’s judgment, we often have in mind His eternal decrees against sin, a spiritual and cosmic settling of accounts. But there’s another kind of justice in Scripture that is purely focused on society and its problems. It involves human governments and social dynamics. It isn’t about the last day; it’s about today. The Bible’s common calls for justice—whether exercised by governing authorities or by God—are about establishing justice for the oppressed, not about establishing justice against the oppressor. It’s a call for mercy.

Any Christian who doesn’t take this call seriously doesn’t understand the Kingdom of God. We can’t ignore justice issues in this age and simply long for the day when God will make everything right. If He wants things to be right, He wants us to help make them so now. We won’t get it done perfectly; Jesus said the poor will always be with us. But He never said that’s an excuse not to meet the needs of the poor. God expresses profound concern for those who are at the bottom of society.

IN DEED

If we are to be Kingdom people, we need the King’s heart. And if we want to see a picture of the King’s heart, Psalm 72 is a powerful one. It echoes the prophecy from Isaiah 66:1-2 that Jesus quoted in Luke 4:18—God anointed Him to preach good news to the poor, release captives, give sight to the blind, and declare the Lord’s favor. Kingdom people are advocates of favor for all who need to see the kind heart of God. Before we ever even think of His judgments, we are to declare His justice—His support for those in need. We demonstrate the Kingdom by demonstrating the heart of the King.

ADDITIONAL READING: Luke 4:16-21

Justice is the foundation of kingdoms.

LATIN PROVERB