«　WEEK 4　DAY 3　»

　　Matt. 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

　　Luke 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

　　The kingdom, of which Christ is the King, is composed of Abraham’s descendants, including both his descendants in the flesh and those in faith. Hence, the genealogy of Christ in Matthew begins with Abraham, the father of the called race, not with Adam, the father of the created race. God’s kingdom is not built with the created race of Adam but with the called race of Abraham, which includes both the real Israelites (Rom. 9:6-8) and the believers in Christ (Gal. 3:7, 9, 29). (Matt. 1:1, footnote 1)

　　Solomon is a type of Christ as the son of David, the One who inherits the throne and kingdom of David (2 Sam. 7:12-13; Luke 1:32-33). Solomon, as a type of Christ, did mainly two things: he built the temple of God in the kingdom (1 Kings 6:2) and spoke the word of wisdom (1 Kings 10:23-24; Matt. 12:42). Christ, in fulfilling this type, is now building the real temple of God, the church, in the kingdom of God and has spoken the word of wisdom. (Matt. 1:1, footnote 3)

　　Psalm 69 is on the suffering Christ, typified by the suffering David, and Psalm 72 is on the reigning Christ, typified by the reigning Solomon... After His life of suffering on earth, typified by the sufferings of David, Christ ascended to the heavens, where He is now reigning as the King, typified by Solomon. (Psa. 69:1, footnote 1)

　　The reigning Christ is typified in Psalm 72 by the reigning Solomon, the son of David (Matt. 1:1; 22:42), in his prosperous and flourishing time. This is indicated by the title of this psalm, “Of Solomon,” and by the first verse: “O God, give Your judgments to the king, / And Your righteousness to the son of the king.” (Life-study of the Psalms, p. 343)

　　Psalm 72 tells us how Christ shall reign over the whole earth and how the saints will be glorified and blessed with Him. First, we see that He will reign with righteousness and justice, by which peace will be ushered in (vv. 1-5). When Christ returns, He will be the King, ruling over the entire earth with righteousness and justice. Hence, the earth will be full of peace. People today speak much about peace, but there will be no peace until Christ returns. Under His rule, real peace will begin its reign.

　　Second, this psalm presents Christ in His rule like rain watering the earth; so the saints will flourish. “He will drop like rain upon mown grass, / Like abundant showers dripping on the earth. / In His days the righteous will flourish, / And there will be an abundance of peace / Until the moon is no more. / And He will have dominion from sea to sea / And from the River unto the ends of the earth. / The desert dwellers will bow down before Him, / And His enemies will lick the dust. /... And all the kings will bow down before Him; / All the nations will serve Him” (vv. 6-11). Even at the time when Christ returns for judgment, He will be like rain upon mown grass, like abundant showers dripping on the earth. This is the way Christ gains the earth. He gains it by His watering, not by fighting, not by condemning, not by judging. Praise the Lord!

　　Psalm 72 gives a glorious picture of what it will be like for the Lord to recover, possess, and reign over the earth. “Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, / Who alone does wondrous deeds; / And blessed be His glorious name forever; / And may His glory fill the whole earth. / Amen and Amen” (vv. 18-19). (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3,” Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” pp. 107, 109)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msg. 29; CWWL, 1969, vol. 3,” Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” ch. 11