Psalm 72 is a hopeful prayer for the king who rules over God’s people. Shalom is a key word in the original text, often translated as “prosperity” and “peace” (see verses 3 and 7). Shalom carries the idea that something broken has been made whole. When you are restored to health and wholeness after battling an illness that has badly weakened you, maybe even to the point of death, that is an example of shalom. Another example could include being restored to a meal around a table with loved ones after being cut off from family and friends for a long time, or after enduring a period of great loneliness.

This psalm dares to hope and pray for shalom to be restored throughout the earth. This happens in the context of righteousness (being right with God) and justice (living in right relationships with people). Righteousness and justice go together like the two sides of a coin. The great hope and prayer is that God’s shalom comes on the earth through the right king.

Trusting in Christ as King, we can live with a heart of wisdom, identifying places and situations where things are broken, and seeking to make them right.

The shalom of Christ the King comes as we repent, believe, and follow Christ as King. We receive his reign and pursue it in whatever ways his Spirit leads us.