Kings Will Bring Gifts

A long line of camels comes over the horizon, swaying under heavy loads. Gold. Spices. Precious things from far away. At the front ride ambassadors from distant kingdoms. And they are all heading for one king.

This is Psalm seventy-two. Its title links it with Solomon, King David's son, the king famous for his wisdom and his wealth. It is a prayer for the king, perhaps prayed when a new king came to the throne. Israel's neighbours prayed for their kings too, asking for long life, victory and riches. But listen to what this prayer asks for first. Not gold. Not armies. Justice. It is a prayer that the king will be good, especially to those who have no one else to stand up for them. And as the prayer goes on, it reaches further and further, until it describes a king greater than any king Israel ever had.

It begins, “God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.” Notice whose people they are: your people, God's people. The king is only looking after them for God. And the poor are your poor. God cares about them first. Then the prayer asks, “He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.” A king who notices the children of poor families. A king who stops bullies, even rich and powerful ones.

Then the prayer becomes beautiful. “They shall fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.” Imagine a field after the grass has been cut, dry and bare, and then soft rain falling on it so that it grows green again. That is what a good king is like. In his days the righteous will flourish, and peace will be abundant until the moon is no more. And then: “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.” This is bigger than the borders of Israel.

And now the gifts. “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.” Why? The very next line explains. “For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. He will have pity on the weak and the needy.” The kings come because this king is kind. Gold of Sheba will be given to him, and prayer made for him continually. And the prayer ends with an echo of the promise to Abraham. “His name endures forever. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.” Solomon was great, but he fell short of this. Christians have heard this psalm in the story of the wise men, who came from the east with gold, frankincense and myrrh, and knelt before a child born in a poor family.

Sheba was a real kingdom, known to its own people as Saba. It lay in the south-west corner of Arabia, in what is now Yemen. Its wealth came from trade in incense and spices carried north by camel caravans. Archaeologists have uncovered its old capital, Marib, with a great temple and the remains of a huge ancient dam. When the Bible says the queen of Sheba visited Solomon with camels carrying spices and gold, it describes just the kind of trade Saba was famous for.

Kings will bring gifts. That's Psalm seventy-two, verses one to seventeen. A prayer for a king who rescues the poor, to whom the whole world brings its treasures. So here is a question to carry with you. The kings honoured this king because he cared for the weak. Who is someone weak or left out that you could care for this Christmas?