All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.The LORD is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds. (Psalm 145:10–13 NRSV)
One of the fascinating aspects of following the lectionary is how it provides the opportunity to find connections between different parts of the Scriptures, the story of God, and the cross in the context of the Gospels. And it’s during the current season of Lent in particular, as we look to the cross, we also look for connections to Jesus, his life, his words, and his deeds, as well as his death, resurrection, and ascension. It is there, within today’s lectionary reading from the Psalms that we see what was no doubt some of the inspiration and language that Jesus drew upon for his words and deeds concerning the Kingdom of God.
As its author, David was no doubt writing of the kingdom promised him by God that was to be everlasting and enduring throughout all generations. However, David did not likely understand in his day and age that when Jesus would speak of the Kingdom in his day and age that Jesus was speaking of the continuation of this same Davidic reign through himself. Or that this reign would extend far beyond the nation of Israel to include all the peoples of the earth and even the outer reaches of the cosmos.
Consider these words from Psalm 145 that connect to this cosmic reality: “All your works [. . .] shall speak of the glory of your kingdom.”
Or how these words connect this Kingdom to all the peoples of the world: “to make known to all people your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.”
The words “an everlasting kingdom [. . .] your dominion [kingdom] endures throughout all generations” speak to the eternal nature of this reign.
In addition, we can also draw a connection between Jesus’s words and deeds (his message) – as described in Matthew 4:23 as the Gospel of the Kingdom – that Jesus brought and that David spoke of in his description of this kingdom. David says, “The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his deeds,” both of which characterize the understanding and nature of the kingdom in his time and are connected to the Son of God in his.
As we take the opportunity during this Lenten season to focus on Jesus and the cross, let us today focus as well on his glorious and eternal Kingdom, which he and we demonstrate by word and deed – the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Randy Schmor is interim VP of International Missions for the North American Baptist Conference and the director of NAB Gateway.
