CHRIST SAVES THE NEEDY
Psalm 72 is David’s last prayer and though in some respects he was referring to Solomon who would succeed him, elements of the Psalm help us see David pointed the Seed who would reign in a way that neither he nor Solomon ever could. One snippet on this idea is found in verse 19 but in reality, the idea is threaded throughout the whole Psalm.
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“Blessed be his glorious name name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.”
Psalm 71:19 (NIV)
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In this last devotional for 2022 Advent, I want to focus on Psalm 72:12-14.
[12] For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.
[13] He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
[14] He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Psalm 72:12-14 (NIV)
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All Kings Are Born
Like every king whose ever lived, every single one of them was born. Every one of them was a tiny little baby in their mother’s womb. There is no king whom God did not knit together in their mother’s womb (See Psalm 139:13), and this most certainly includes our Lord Jesus (See Matt 1:18).
Furthermore, all the kings of our past died. Not one was able to defeat death under their own power, and only those in Christ are with him now and will rise on the last day. It is their powerlessness over death that demonstrates the need for a King who will come to eradicate death.
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Our Need
We are a needy people. We are anxious. We are prone to fear and despondency. We experience a variety of pain, hardship, suffering and difficulty that produce in us deep impulses to cry out.
Christ will deliver us because delivers the needy.
How do you need to cry out to your King?
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Our Affliction
Sleepless nights can prompt our thoughts to dwell on our affliction: When will it end is a common refrain. Crying out can sometimes seem useless.
Conflict with those we love or separation due to imprisonment, abandonment or perhaps death make us want to blame ourselves or search for relief in sex, drugs, tv, work, spending, you name it.
But eventually we learn that even an endless supply of these pleasures never help us.
We need help in our afflictions and our eternal and lasting source of help comes from the person of Christ.
Christ helps us in our affliction. What is your affliction that only Christ can help you with?
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Our Savior
Christ takes pity on us in our weak and low estate. While we were sinners Christ died (Rom 5:8). By his substitutionary death, we who are needy are rescued from death by his death.
Christ our rescuer lifts us from oppression, and there is no greater oppressor than Satan who prowls around seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).
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Christ Saves the Needy
In the sight of our Lord, our blood is precious to him. As we grow in a fuller acquaintance of our neediness, our affliction, our weaknesses and our pitiful estate brought about by sin, we will grow to see the beauty and preciousness of His blood.
The Father sought us in our currently exiled state. We were ransomed from the futile ways of our forefathers but this ransom was not paid for in the traditional means of silver or gold. Rather, we were ransomed "with the precious blood of Christ".
Do you see the exchange in what is viewed as precious?
Christ views our blood as precious (Ps 72:14)
We who are in Christ view His blood as precious (1 Peter 1:19)
When we ask ourselves how the Father rescues us in our neediness, in our affliction; how he responds to our cry for mercy, how he handles our weakness and restores us from our low estate, the answer is: With the blood of Christ.
His precious blood rescues our precious blood.
This is why Christ came. This is why we celebrate this Christmas. As this truth sinks in, may your heart be merry and glad.
