Summary of God’s Righteousness, Application in Psalm 72
Based on Psalm 71 from last time, here is a summary of the qualities of God that the word “righteousness” should make us think of:
- He listens to the prayers of the righteous (those who believe and obey Him)
- He saves the righteous from the unrighteous
- His justice is immeasurable
- He is genuinely deserving of praise and thanksgiving
- He is unique
- An immeasurable source of righteousness
- The greatest source of justice
- The only one deserving of praise
In light of this, let us now turn to Psalm 72.
 1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,
      the royal son with your righteousness. 2 He will [a] judge your people in righteousness,
      your afflicted ones with justice. 3 The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
      the hills the fruit of righteousness.
Solomon is looking to God as his source of justice and righteousness. With that justice, it is Solomon’s plan to be there for the affilicted. He then looks to the mountains, and vows that they will be his tool for bringing about prosperity and righteousness to the people.
I am not sure what the mountains truly represented for Solomon, but to me they represent power and majesty (for their size), safety (as a barrier from ones enemies), prosperity (as a location for farming), and power (something huge, a symbol of God who alone creates mountains and gave the 10 commandments upon a mountain).
Solomon realized God’s intention for His righteousness to flow through him, out to the people. As such, Solomon was to save the righteous from the unrighteous, rule with God’s immeasurable justice, and make sure that God alone would receive the prayer and thanksgiving that results.
Do have authority over anyone? Can you “rule” them as an emissary of God, and give Him all the glory? Let God’s righteousness flow through, and know that the righteousness they see is not yours, but His… credit to you through belief, and manifested in true obedience.