Ps. 72.8 (the geography of glory)

May he rule / from sea to sea
and from the River / unto the ends of the earth. 

We have attempted to chart the scope of the king’s rule thus far. It has, thus far, been one of a perpetual blessing. His reign has entered into the cosmic scope of creation itself, as a perpetual, abundant blessing. Here, in these verses, the final ‘completion’ is found: the kingdom itself is now envisioned to expand over the entire earth. In other words, creation will be kingdom, and kingdom will be creation. His ruling from ‘sea to sea’ points in this initial direction. However, the second arena of his ruling reaches a deeper significance. It is often said that the “river” is the Euphrates. That may be. However, I think it just as likely that what is being referred to is the River flowing from Zion—that same River that Ezekiel envisions pouring out over the face of the earth, as life-giving water. I think this to be the case because of the referent to “the ends of the earth”. The “ends of the earth’ are often figured as places of foreboding, a place where demonic forces reside. When God’s salvation comes, it is often portrayed as moving to the uttermost in conquering power, precisely by its movement into these darkest areas of creation. It is by establishing his authority there that God reveals his reign to be complete, and secure. It is only when this realm is conquered that darkness is fully eradicated. Hence, in this line, the River (place of Zion) to the ‘ends of the earth’ points toward this totality of power, beginning in Zion and moving over all of creation (including its most perverse and dark). In a sense, when we said before that creation will be kingdom, we could now say that, in the reign of the king, creation will be Zion. Creation will be Temple. Creation will be Eden—inhabited, fully, by the mediated, covenantal power and concern of God. To emphasize, this is not simply the desire to see the king’s reign extended geographically. This is not simply ‘politics’. It is theological geography. The king’s reign is the brining to creation the covenantal power of God. In other words, it is the desire to see creation, in a very concrete way, become the vessel of God’s presence through the king.