The Reign of Refreshment Text: Psalm 72:5-7
Introduction: The Solomon Typology
We come this morning to Psalm 72, a psalm designated "of Solomon." And as with all such things in the Old Testament, we must learn to read with New Testament eyes. This psalm is about Solomon, yes, but it is about Solomon in the same way the story of the bronze serpent is about a snake on a pole. It is a type, a shadow, a preliminary sketch of a greater reality. The initial fulfillment in Solomon's reign, with its peace and prosperity, was glorious, but it was a glory destined to fade. It was a trailer for the feature film. This psalm strains at the seams, using language that bursts the historical confines of Solomon's kingdom. It speaks of a reign that endures as long as the sun and moon, a dominion from sea to sea, to the very ends of the earth. This is not just about the son of David; this is about the Lord of David.
This is a Messianic psalm, and it describes the nature of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what a description it is. In a world that is parched and cynical, run by grasping and godless men who leave the ground cracked and barren behind them, this psalm is a drink of cold water. Our political discourse is filled with promises of "change" and "hope," but it is all dust and ashes. The world offers us either the desert of godless libertarianism or the swamp of godless socialism. But God promises a garden. He promises rain.
The central theme here is the quality and character of Christ's worldwide dominion. We who are postmillennialists read such passages with a robust and cheerful confidence. We believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and that this power is not just for saving individual souls out of a sinking world, but for saving the world itself. Christ's kingdom is not a spiritual abstraction, a disembodied feeling in our hearts. It is a real kingdom with real effects on the real world. It affects crops and commerce, justice and peace, rulers and the ruled. This psalm tells us what the reign of Christ looks like as it advances over the globe through the proclamation of the gospel. It is not a reign of grim coercion, but a reign of glorious refreshment.
We must get this into our heads. The kingdom of God is not a cultural winter; it is a spring rain. It does not crush the grass; it makes it grow. The world fears a Christian society because they imagine it to be a joyless, gray, oppressive thing. They imagine a global North Korea with Bibles. But that is a lie from the pit. When Christ rules, the righteous flourish and peace abounds. This is the promise, and we must believe it, preach it, and live in light of it.
The Text
Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
May the righteous flourish in his days,
And abundance of peace until the moon is no more.
(Psalm 72:5-7 LSB)
Perpetual Piety (v. 5)
The psalm begins this section by describing the duration and foundation of this kingdom.
"Let them fear You while the sun endures, And as long as the moon, from generation to all generations." (Psalm 72:5)
The first thing to notice is the antecedent of "You." The previous verses describe the king, the son of the king, who judges with righteousness. But the fear, the worship, is directed to God. "Let them fear You." This is crucial. The reign of the Messiah does not terminate on Himself in a way that displaces the Father. Rather, His reign is the very instrument that brings the nations to the true worship of the one true God. When the Son reigns, the Father is glorified. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). A righteous human king points his people to God. The divine King, Jesus Christ, brings His people to God.
The foundation of this kingdom's stability and blessing is the fear of the Lord. This is not the cowering dread of a slave before a tyrant, but the awesome, reverent worship of a creature before his glorious and good Creator. It is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10), and because it is the beginning of wisdom, it is the beginning of any lasting civilization. A society that does not fear God is a society that is building its house on the sand. It is temporary, foolish, and destined for a great crash. But the kingdom of Christ is built on the rock of the fear of God, and so its duration is tied to the very fabric of creation.
"While the sun endures, and as long as the moon." This is covenant language. This is God talk. After the flood, God promised Noah that seedtime and harvest, day and night would not cease as long as the earth remains (Gen. 8:22). He uses the permanence of the celestial bodies as a sign of His own covenant faithfulness (Jer. 31:35-36). Here, the psalmist hitches the duration of the Messiah's kingdom to that same permanence. As long as you look up and see the sun by day and the moon by night, you can be assured that the kingdom of Christ is advancing and will endure. This is not a kingdom that lasts for a political season or two. It is not a four-year term. It is a perpetual reign, from generation to all generations. This is the ultimate refutation of all pessimistic eschatologies that see the church as a tiny, beaten-down remnant, just holding on until the rapture. No, the fear of the Lord is destined to fill the earth, and this reverence will last as long as the created order itself.
Gentle Dominion (v. 6)
Verse 6 gives us a beautiful and profound image for the nature of this king's arrival and rule.
"May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth." (Psalm 72:6)
This is one of the most sublime metaphors in all of Scripture. Think of what it is saying. The coming of the king is not like a hailstorm that batters the crops into the mud. It is not a flash flood that tears up the landscape. It is not a military invasion that scorches the earth. His coming is like rain. And not just any rain, but rain on "mown grass."
What is mown grass? It is grass that has just been cut. It is vulnerable, exposed, and in need of restoration to grow again. This is a picture of humility and need. The reign of Christ comes to those who have been cut down, whether by the conviction of the law, the trials of life, or their own repentance. The gospel is for the poor in spirit. Christ's rule is a comfort to the afflicted. He comes to the field that has been cleared and is ready for new life. The proud, the self-sufficient, the uncut grass of the world, do not receive this rain. They resist it. But where there is humility, the Lord comes down gently.
His reign is like "showers that water the earth." This is a picture of life, refreshment, and fruitfulness. In the ancient Near East, rain was everything. No rain meant no crops, no life, no future. Rain was the blessing of God. The prophet Hosea uses this same imagery: "He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth" (Hosea 6:3). This is telling us that the dominion of Jesus Christ is not extractive but generative. He does not take from the earth; He gives to it. His rule causes things to grow. It brings life and flourishing wherever it goes. This is what happens when the gospel takes root in a heart, a family, a city, a nation. It does not drain the life out of the culture; it is the very thing that waters it and makes it fruitful.
Flourishing and Peace (v. 7)
The result of this perpetual, rain-like reign is described in verse 7.
"May the righteous flourish in his days, And abundance of peace until the moon is no more." (Genesis 72:7)
Under the reign of this king, who are the ones who flourish? The "righteous." This is a direct consequence of the fear of the Lord mentioned in verse 5. When God is honored, those who align themselves with His character, His law, and His grace are the ones who prosper. The word "flourish" is a botanical term. It means to sprout, to bud, to break forth in growth. It is the image of a desert blooming. In a fallen world, it is often the wicked who seem to flourish. They cut corners, they oppress the poor, they lie and cheat their way to the top. But when the true King's reign is manifest, the moral order of the universe is restored. Righteousness is no longer a handicap; it is the very soil of success.
And what is the atmosphere of this kingdom? "Abundance of peace." The Hebrew word is shalom. It is one of the richest words in the Bible. It doesn't just mean the absence of conflict, though it certainly includes that. Shalom means wholeness, completeness, health, prosperity, and tranquility in every direction. It is peace with God, peace within oneself, peace with our neighbors, and peace with creation itself. It is all-encompassing well-being. And notice the quantity: not just peace, but an "abundance" of peace. A super-abundance. It is a peace that overflows.
And how long does this last? "Until the moon is no more." The psalmist circles back to the astronomical language of verse 5. This flourishing of the righteous and this abundant peace are not a temporary ceasefire. They are the permanent condition of the kingdom. As long as the moon hangs in the night sky, the shalom of King Jesus will be growing in the world. This is the postmillennial hope. The gospel is not failing. The church is not losing. The kingdom is coming, like a quiet, steady rain, and under its influence, the righteous are flourishing, and peace is growing, and it will keep doing so until the whole earth is as green as the Garden of God.
The Gospel Rain
We cannot read this psalm without seeing its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King who comes down from heaven. But how does He come? He does not come first as a conquering general on a warhorse, but as a baby in a manger. He comes down in humility. He allows Himself to be "mown," cut down at the cross for our transgressions.
And because He was cut down, He is now the source of life-giving rain for all who are cut down in their sin and cry out to Him. The Holy Spirit is the rain, the shower that waters the parched ground of our souls, sent by the Father in the name of the Son. When we repent and believe the gospel, the reign of Christ begins in us. He comes down into our hearts not as a tyrant, but as a gentle rain.
And what is the result? The righteous flourish. In Christ, we are declared righteous by faith. And in Him, we begin to actually grow in righteousness. The fruit of the Spirit begins to bud and blossom in our lives. And we experience an abundance of peace. We have peace with God, for our sins are forgiven. The war is over. And this internal peace begins to work its way out into our families, our churches, and our communities. We become agents of shalom in a world of chaos.
This psalm, then, is both a promise and a prayer. It is a promise of what Christ's kingdom will accomplish in history. It will endure, it will be gentle, it will be life-giving, and it will result in a world filled with flourishing saints and abundant peace. But it is also a prayer that we should pray. "May he come down..." We should be praying for the reign of Christ to be extended, for the gospel to run and be glorified. We should pray for revival, for reformation. We should ask God to send the rain on our dry and thirsty land. And as we pray, we should live as though we expect an answer, as citizens of this coming and growing kingdom of refreshment.