Isaiah 11:4(v4)but he will judge the poor with righteousness, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of…
Jeremiah 23:5-6(v1)“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will…
1 Chronicles 22:12-13(v1)May Yahweh give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel; that so you may keep the law of Yahweh your God. Then…
2 Chronicles 1:10(v1)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of yours?”
Ezekiel 34:15-16(v4)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down,” says the Lord Yahweh. “I will seek that which was lost, and…
Show all 52 cross-references
1 Chronicles 29:19(v1)and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and…
Isaiah 32:1(v2)Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.
1 Kings 1:39–2:4(v1)Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live king…
Psalms 109:31(v4)For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
Isaiah 11:2(v1)Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of…
Psalms 127:1(v1)Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
Isaiah 52:7(v3)How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news, who proclaims…
Zechariah 9:8-10(v4)I will encamp around my house against the army, that no one pass through or return; and no oppressor will pass through them any more: for…
Psalms 72:12-14(vv2, 4)For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls…
Job 34:24(v4)He breaks mighty men in pieces in ways past finding out, and sets others in their place.
Psalms 2:9(v4)You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Psalms 94:5(v4)They break your people in pieces, Yahweh, and afflict your heritage.
Proverbs 20:26(v4)A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.
Isaiah 9:4(v4)For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian.
Daniel 2:34-35(v4)You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.…
Zechariah 11:7(v4)So I fed the flock of slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called “Favor”, and the…
Matthew 11:5(v4)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news…
John 3:34(v1)For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.
Revelation 18:6-8(v4)Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her…
Revelation 18:20(v4)“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.”
Revelation 18:24(v4)In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
Revelation 19:2(v4)for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and…
Job 19:2(v4)“How long will you torment me, and crush me with words?
Isaiah 32:17(v2)The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
Isaiah 51:12-13(v4)“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass?…
Jeremiah 51:20-23(v4)“You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms. With you I will…
Zechariah 11:11(v4)It was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that listened to me knew that it was Yahweh’s word.
Hebrews 1:8-9(v1)But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. You have loved…
1 Kings 3:5-10(v2)In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask for what I should give you.” Solomon said, “You have shown to…
Job 34:19(v2)He doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respect the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands.
Psalms 12:5(v2)“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety…
Psalms 45:6-7(v2)Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated…
Psalms 65:12(v3)The wilderness grasslands overflow. The hills are clothed with gladness.
Psalms 72:16(v3)Abundance of grain shall be throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field.
Psalms 82:3-4(v2)“Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy. Deliver them out…
Psalms 85:10-11(v3)Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked…
Psalms 96:11-13(v3)Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all…
Psalms 98:8-9(v3)Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing for joy together. Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He…
Isaiah 9:7(v2)Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold…
Isaiah 11:2-5(v2)Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of…
Isaiah 32:16-17(v3)Then justice will dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness will remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace,…
Ezekiel 34:13-14(v3)I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. I will feed them on…
Daniel 9:24(v3)“Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make…
Joel 3:18(v3)It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow…
2 Corinthians 5:19-21(v3)namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the…
Revelation 19:11(v2)I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes…
Jeremiah 33:15(v2)“In those days and at that time, I will cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David. He will execute justice and righteousness in…
52 distinct cross-references across this passage (53 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (26 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 41. O God! give thy judgments to the king.…
1. O God! give thy judgments to the king. While David, to whom the promise had been made, at his death affectionately recommended to God his son, who was to succeed him in his kingdom, he doubtless endited to the Church a common form of prayer, that the faithful, convinced of the impossibility of being prosperous and happy, except under one head, should show all respect, and yield all obedience to this legitimate order of things, and also that from this typical kingdom they might be conducted to Christ. In short, this is a prayer that God would furnish the king whom he had chosen with the spirit of uprightness and wisdom. By the terms righteousness and judgment, the Psalmist means a due and well-regulated administration of government, which he opposes to the tyrannical and unbridled license of heathen kings, who, despising God, rule according to the dictates of their own will; and thus the holy king of Israel, who was anointed to his office by divine appointment, is distinguished from other earthly kings. From the words we learn by the way, that no government in the world can be rightly managed but under the conduct of God, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If kings possessed in themselves resources sufficiently ample, it would have been to no purpose for David to have sought by prayer from another, that with which they were of themselves already provided. But in requesting that the righteousness and judgment of God may be given to kings, he reminds them that none are fit for occupying that exalted station, except in so far as they are formed for it by the hand of God. Accordingly, in the Proverbs of Solomon, (Proverbs 8:15,) Wisdom proclaims that kings reign by her. Nor is this to be wondered at, when we consider that civil government is so excellent an institution, that God would have us to acknowledge him as its author, and claims to himself the whole praise of it. But it is proper for us to descend from the general to the particular; for since it is the peculiar work of God to set up and to maintain a rightful government in the world, it was much more necessary for him to communicate the special grace of his Spirit for the maintenance and preservation of that sacred kingdom which he had chosen in preference to all others. By the king’s son David no doubt means his successors. At the same time, he has an eye to this promise:
“Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne,” (Psalm 132:11.)
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But no such stability as is indicated in that passage is to be found in the successors of David, till we come to Christ. We know that after the death of Solomon, the dignity of the kingdom decayed, and from that time its wealth became impaired, until, by the carrying of the people into captivity, and the ignominious death inflicted upon their king, the kingdom was involved in total ruin. And even after their return from Babylon, their restoration was not such as to inspire them with any great hope, until at length Christ sprung forth from the withered stock of Jesse. He therefore holds the first rank among the children of David.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4Endue the king with the Spirit of wisdom and…
Endue the king with the Spirit of wisdom and justice, that he reign not as do the worldly tyrants.
To wit, to his posterity.
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Composed by David as touching the reign of his son Solomon.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv1–4Psa 72:1 « [A Psalm] for Solomon. » Give…
Psa 72:1 « [A Psalm] for Solomon. » Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
A Psalm for Solomon] Whom his father David had crowned while yet alive; and now, at point of death, leaveth him this last bequeath as a basilicon doron, a direction in point of government, and a prediction of a most flourishing reign thereupon; this last he so describeth, that by a spirit of prophecy, attributing eternity thereunto, he riseth up from Solomon to Christ, of whom he was a type; like as also the promise made to David, concerning Solomon and Christ, was conceived in such terms by God himself, as if they had been almost one and the same person, 2Sa 7:13-14 1Ch 22:10. (Beza).
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Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God] i.e. Give me, for that little time I have here to live and reign, skill and will to do it aright, and as thy law requireth.
And thy righteousness unto the king’s son] To Solomon, and his successors; for David’s great care was the welfare of God’s people after his decease, for which end he both prayeth, and principleth his son Solomon; and herein his great piety to the end appeareth. I could not but love the man (said Theodosius, the emperor, concerning Ambrose) who, while he lived he heartily wished that the contentions that were in the Church might be quenched, though it were with his blood; so when he died he was more solicitous of the Church’s welfare than of his own.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv1–4The king; Solomon, who was now anointed king, his…
The king; Solomon, who was now anointed king, his father yet living, 1Ki 1:39. And this Psalm may seem to be made for that great and solemn occasion.
Thy judgments, i.e. either,
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1. Thy statutes and precepts, which are oft called God’s judgments; which as thou hast given already in thy book, so give them to him a second and a better way, by writing them upon his heart, or by giving him a solid knowledge of them, and a hearty love and obedience to them. Or rather,
2. Thy manner of government or administration, which is oft called judgment, as Psa 94:15; Isa 28:6, &c.; that he may follow thy example in governing thy people, as thou governest them, to wit, in
righteousness, as it follows. He saith judgments, in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts, and branches, and acts-of it; as to acquit the innocent, to condemn the guilty, &c.; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God doth, or would have him to do in such cases.
Thy righteousness; that grace of righteousness which is a part of thine image, and is absolutely necessary for good government.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv1–4Give the King thy judgments, O God,.... A prayer…
Give the King thy judgments, O God,.... A prayer of David, or of the church he represents, to God the Father concerning Christ; for he is "the King" meant; which is the sense of the old Jewish synagogue: the Targum is,
"give the constitutions of thy judgments to the King Messiah;''
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and so their Midrash (m) interprets it. He is "the King", by way of eminence, as in Psa 45:1; not only the King of the world in right of creation and preservation, in conjunction; with his Father, having an equal right with him; but of saints, of the church and people of God, by the designation and constitution of his Father; hence he was promised and prophesied of as a King, Jer 23:5, Zac 9:9; and he came into the world as such, though his kingdom did not appear very manifest in his state of humiliation; yet at his ascension it did, when he was made and declared Lord and Christ; and it is for the manifestation of his kingdom, and the glory of it, the psalmist here prays. For by "judgments" are meant not the statutes and laws of God, given him to be shown, explained unto, and enforced on others, which rather belongs to his prophetic office, or as the rule of his government; nor the judgments of God to be inflicted upon wicked men, which is only one part of his kingly office; but of all power in heaven and in earth, which was given him by his Father upon his resurrection, and about the time of his ascension, Mat 28:18; and is the same with "all judgment" committed by him to his Son, Joh 5:22; and which explains the clause here, and is the reason why it is expressed in the plural number here; which takes in the whole of the power and authority, the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom, delivered to Christ; and which chiefly lies in the government of the church, which is on his shoulders, and is committed into his hand; exercised in enacting laws, and delivering out ordinances, to be observed by the saints, and in the protection and defence of them; and also includes his judgment of the world at the last day, to which he is ordained and appointed by his Father, and will be managed and conducted by him;
and thy righteousness unto the King's Son; who is the same with the King, as Jarchi well observes; for only one single person is afterwards spoken of, and designs the Messiah; who, as a divine Person, is the Son of the King of kings, the only begotten of the Father, the true and proper Son of God; and, as man, the Son of David the king. And so the Targum,
"and thy righteousness to the Son of David the king;''
a known name of the Messiah, Mat 1:1. And by "righteousness" is meant, not the essential righteousness of God; this Christ has by nature equally with his divine Father, and is not given or communicated to him; but the fulness of the graces of the Spirit, and perfection of virtues, which he received without measure; whereby, as Mediator, he is abundantly qualified to judge with righteousness, and reprove with equity; and not as other judges do, after the sight of the eyes, or hearing of the ears; see Isa 11:2. Unless it can be understood of the everlasting righteousness, which Christ has wrought out, called his Father's, because appointed in council and covenant, approved of and accepted by him, and imputed to his people. To work out this righteousness was not only given to Christ in covenant, but he was sent in the fulness of time to do it; and had a power given him, as Mediator, to justify many with it, Isa 53:11; and which may be here prayed for. Jerom, by the "King's Son", understands such as are regenerated, and taken into the adoption of children; and to such the righteousness of God is given. This is a truth, but not the sense of the text.
(m) In Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 112. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv1–4Divers passages of this psalm, do not agree to…
Divers passages of this psalm, do not agree to Solomon, nor to any other king but the Messiah. It must therefore be acknowledged, that, this is a mixt psalm, belonging to Solomon imperfectly, but to Christ, clearly and fully: diverse expressions being so ordered, that the reader might be led by them to the contemplation of Christ, and of his kingdom. Which was the more necessary for the support of God's true Israel, because the spirit of God foresaw Solomon's dreadful apostacy, and the great miscarriages and calamities of his successors, and of the kingdom under their hands, and therefore was pleased to fortify their hearts with that glorious condition, which they should certainly enjoy under the Messiah. It is probable, David dictated this psalm, a little before he died, when he gave orders to proclaim Solomon king. After a short prayer for his successor, he foretells the glories of his reign, ver. 1-17. And concludes with praise to the God of Israel, ver. 18-20. A psalm for Solomon.
Judgments - He saith judgments in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches, of it; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God would have him to do.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv1–3David prays to God for Solomon, 1;
PSALM LXXII
David prays to God for Solomon, 1;
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prescribes Solomon's work, 2;
the effects of his administration, 3-7;
the extent of his dominion, 8-11;
his mercy and kindness to the poor, and the perpetuity of his
praise, 12-17.
God is blessed for his power and goodness; and the psalmist
prays that the whole earth may be filled with his glory, 18-20.
NOTES ON PSALM LXXII
The title לשלמה lishelomoh, we translate, A Psalm for Solomon. The Chaldee says, "By the hand of Solomon, spoken prophetically." The Syriac, "A Psalm of David, when he had constituted Solomon king." All the other Versions attribute it to Solomon himself. But in the conclusion of the Psalm it appears to be attributed to David. "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." It is most probably a Psalm of David, composed in his last days, when he had set this beloved son on the throne of the kingdom. "Then," says Calmet, "transported with joy and gratitude, he addressed this Psalm to God, in which he prays him to pour out his blessings on the young king, and upon the people. He then, wrapped up in a Divine enthusiasm, ascends to a higher subject; and sings the glory of the Messiah, and the magnificence of his reign. Hence it is that we may see in this Psalm a great number of expressions which cannot relate to Solomon, unless in a hyperbolical and figurative sense; but, applied to Christ, they are literally and rigorously exact."
Verse 1. Give the king thy judgments] Let Solomon receive thy law, as the civil and ecclesiastical code by which he is to govern the kingdom.
And thy righteousness unto the king's son.] Righteousness may signify equity. Let him not only rule according to the strict letter of thy law, that being the base on which all his decisions shall be founded; but let him rule also according to equity, that rigorous justice may never become oppressive. Solomon is called here the king, because now set upon the Jewish throne; and he is called the king's son, to signify his right to that throne on which he now sat.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv1–3Psa 72:1. Give the king — Namely, Solomon, who…
Psa 72:1. Give the king — Namely, Solomon, who was now anointed king, although his father was yet living, 1Ki 1:39; thy judgments — Either, 1st, Thy statutes and precepts, often called God’s judgments; as thou hast already given them to him in thy book, so give them to him in another and better way, by writing them upon his heart, or by giving him a perfect knowledge of them, and a hearty love to them, that he may obey and walk according to them. Or, 2d, Give him a thorough acquaintance with thy manner of governing and judging, that he may follow thy example in ruling thy people, as thou rulest them, namely, in righteousness, as it follows. He says judgments, in the plural number, because, though the office of ruling and judging was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches of it; in all which he prays that Solomon might be directed to do as God would have him do in such cases.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv1–4Give the king - Supposing the psalm to have…
Give the king - Supposing the psalm to have been composed by David in view of the inauguration of his son and successor, this is a prayer that God would bestow on him the qualifications which would tend to secure a just, a protracted, and a peaceful reign. Though it is to be admitted that the psalm was designed to refer ultimately to the Messiah, and to be descriptive of “his” reign, yet there is no impropriety in supposing that the psalmist believed the reign of Solomon would be, in some proper sense emblematic of that reign, and that it was his desire the reign of the one “might,” as far as possible, resemble that of the other. There is no improbability, therefore, in supposing that the mind of the psalmist might have been directed to both in the composition of the psalm, and that while he used the language of prayer for the one, his eye was mainly directed to the characteristics of the other.
Thy judgments - Knowledge; authority; ability to execute thy judgments, or thy laws. That is, he speaks of the king as appointed to administer justice; to maintain the laws of God, and to exercise judicial power. It is one of the primary ideas in the character of a king that he is the fountain of justice; the maker of the laws; the dispenser of right to all his subjects. The officers of the law administer justice “under” him; the last appeal is to him.
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And thy righteousness - That is, Clothe him, in the administration of justice, with a righteousness like thine own. Let it be seen that he represents “thee;” that his government may be regarded as thine own administration through him.
Unto the king’s son - Not only to him, but to his successor; that is, let the administration of justice in the government be perpetuated. There is no improbability in supposing that in this the psalmist may have designed also to refer to the last and the greatest of his successors in the line - the Messiah.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures1864 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 72
Psalms 72
A Psalm for Solomon
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1 Give the king thy judgments, O God,
And thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness,
And thy poor with judgment.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He shall judge the poor of the people,
He shall save the children of the needy,
And shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:
As showers that water the earth.
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish;
And abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the river unto the ends of the earth.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;
And His enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
All nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
The poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy,
And shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:
And precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
Prayer also shall be made for him continually;
And daily shall he be praised.
16 There shall be a handful of corn upon the top of the mountains;
The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever:
His name shall be continued as long as the sun:
And men shall be blessed in him:
All nations shall call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only doeth wondrous things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever:
And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen, and amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Its Contents and Title.—The Psalm begins with supplication for a king who is at the same time a king’s son, who thus is of a royal race or birth, that his government may be righteous and a blessing to the land (Psa_72:1-4); then follows the wish that his rule may be of everlasting duration and bloom (Psa_72:5-7); then it is promised that his kingdom shall embrace the whole world (Psa_72:8-11); next the reason for this universal homage is disclosed in the character of his government as benevolent, merciful and righteous (Psa_72:12-14); finally the duration of his gracious activity, of the blessings which descend upon his land and the everlasting praise of his name is implored in prayer and is predicted (Psa_72:15-17). The doxology of Psa_72:18-19 did not belong originally to the Psalm, but is a liturgical addition (comp. Introd., § 4), with especial reference to the Elohim Psalms of this second book, and it is placed before the historical remark, Psa_72:20, in order to be read in the church service. The contents of this Psa_72:20 show that it is older than the entire collection of the Psalms. Yet it does not follow from this that David is likewise the author of this Psalm (comp. Introd., § 2 and 8), and that we have to regard the title as: about Solomon (Sept., Vulg., Aben Ezra, et al.), or composed for Solomon (Kimchi: by David on his deathbed), and designed to be his song (Clauss), as the mirror of his government (Stier). The לְ must be interpreted here as usual. The usage of the titles demands this, which excludes the many references which are in themselves possible (Stier), among which the most suitable would be the respectful reference=to Solomon. Then the contents demand so much the more a decided advance beyond the supposition of a poetic congratulation (De Wette) of some king of Israel. We must at least recognize the fact, that the Psalm is a prayer whose expressions flow forth from the ideal character of the Hebrew monarchy as the kingdom of God (Hupfeld). Then these expressions are not merely poetical, but prophetical, and thus have a Messianic character, so that the wishes and hopes are not, as it were, “extravagant” (Hupfeld), but take the form of definite promises, and that these promises not only have as their contents the universal extent and the everlasting duration of this kingdom, but at the same time the righteous, peaceful and saving government of the theocratic king as well as the perpetual blessing of all nations by the power of his name. By their personal bearing they transcend the reference to the kingdom of Solomon (according to the promise, 2 Samuel 8 developing itself as the kingdom of God throughout history) (Calvin), or the Davidic dynasty (Hofmann), and find in the circumstances of the time of Solomon a historical support and occasion (most recent interpreters), which is overlooked or undervalued by the exclusive Messianic interpretation (Chald. and most of the older interpreters). There is no reason either in the contents or in the language to put the Psalm in the time of king Josiah, or even later (Ewald). The reference to Ptolemy (Olsh.), particularly to Ptolemy Philadelphus, as the benefactor of the Jews (Hitzig) is far fetched and untenable. The ancient church, on account of the reference of the Psalm to David, Solomon and the Messiah, made it the chief Psalm of Epiphany as the *festum trium regum.
Str. I, Psa_72:1. Thy judgments.—These are hardly the rights transferred by God as king of Israel to the theocratic king (Delitzsch), the Messianic authority (Geier, et al.) to rule; for the exercise of which the righteousness directly mentioned as the corresponding official endowment is then implored, but in accordance with the parallelism, the way of judging (De Wette, Hupf.), the decisions (Hitzig), the latter not in the sense of the commandments and directions given to the king, the norm of his judging and sentences (Olsh.), but as the sentences and decisions flowing forth from the Spirit of God (Chald., Hengst.), for which Solomon obtained wisdom for himself, 1Ki_3:9; 1Ki_3:28; comp. Isa_11:2 (Isaki, kimchi). There is no reference here to righteousness which avails before God (Seb. Schmidt).
Psa_72:2. May he judge Thy people, &c.—It is better to regard the futures in this and the following verses as optatives.
[Psa_72:3. May the mountains bear peace for the people, and the hills, by righteousness.—Mountains and hills are mentioned as the characteristic features of the land of Palestine. They were cultivated in ancient times, being terraced from top to bottom. Remains of these terraces are visible and in use at the present time not only for the vine and fig, but likewise for grain. It is unnecessary to supply a verb in the latter clause. Righteousness is the means by which this fruit of peace is to be produced by the mountains and the hills.—C. A. B.]
Str. II, Psa_72:5. May they fear Thee.—The supposition that here it is not God who is addressed, but the king (Hupfeld, Hitzig), cannot be proved from Psalms 89, and is against the context, which puts the constantly abiding fear of God as the blessed effect of the righteous rule in the closest connection with its other fruits.—As long as (there is) a sun, and before the moon (through) generation of generation.—עִם is used of contemporaneous existence as Dan. 3:33. Before the moon, as Job_8:16=as long as it shines=exists (comp. Psa_72:7). The same may be said of before the sun (Psa_72:17), to be distinguished from the expression: in presence of the sun (Num_25:4)=as long as it is day; and from the phrase: before the eyes of the sun (2Sa_12:11)=in clear daylight.6
Psa_72:6. Let him come down as rain.—The figure of the rain reminds us of 2Sa_23:4. גֵּז is not the fleece of the sheep (the ancient versions, Luther, et al.), as Deu_18:4, here with a reference, perhaps, to Jdg_6:37 sq.; so likewise not the mown grass (De Wette, et al.), as Amo_7:1, as needing rain for the after-growth (Kimchi), or in order not to be dried up to the roots by the heat of summer (Calvin), still less the meadows eaten off by locusts (Chald., J. D. Mich.), but the meadows ready for the mowing (Hupf., Delitzsch).
Psa_72:7. Till there be no more moon.—עַד בְּלִי might mean: even to the destruction, the ruin (J. H. Mich.), as Job_14:12; Isa_38:17. The prevailing use of the word בל, however, is not as a substantive, but as a particle.
Str. III, Psa_72:8-11. From sea to sea.—Since the reference here is to the extension of the Theocracy over the earth (Zec_9:10) and already in the time of Solomon the limits of the kingdom were no longer those of Exo_23:31, the meaning cannot be here of its extension between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. But it is not entirely indefinite: from every sea to every sea (Hengst.); but as the parallel member shows, it begins with a well known limit, namely, the Mediterranean and the stream, that is, the Euphrates, and from thence to the opposite sea which is parallel with the ends of the earth (Chald.). Amo_8:12 mentions as such far-off regions those from the north to the east, here at the same time those in the west and south, and indeed with reference to their riches, namely, the Phœnician colony in southern Spain called by the Greeks Tartessos, with the islands, namely, of the Mediterranean Sea, and שְׁבָא in south Arabia at the same time with םְבָא in Ethiopia. Many understand by צִיִּים likewise, the Ethiopians after Sept., Aquil., and Symmach., it can only mean Arabic Beduins (Hitzig) or Nomads in general, unless we should accept a false reading instead of צָרִים, that is to say, adversaries (Olshausen., Hupfeld), because the word of the text elsewhere does not seem to designate men, but beasts of the wilderness (Psa_74:14; Isa_23:13).
[Str. IV, Psa_72:12-14. For he delivereth.—Perowne: “The reason is given why all kings and nations should thus do homage to him who sits on David’s throne. He has merited such submission by the exercise of every royal virtue, by the justice and the mercy of his sway, by his deep sympathy with and compassion for the poor, by the protection which he extends to them against the ministers of fraud and violence. It is not that he merely covers with the shadow of his throne all neighboring nations, and is acknowledged as their political head, but that the bright example which he sets, the majesty of righteousness enthroned in his person, compels all to bow before him.”—Precious is their blood.—Compare Psa_116:15 “precious is the death of His saints.” Their life is precious to God, and He will avenge their blood upon those who seek to injure them, and He will ward off injury from them.—C. A. B.]
Str. V. Psa_72:15. And may he live and give him of the gold of Sheba, and pray for him continually, bless him all the day.—It is disputed whether the subject is the same in all the clauses of this verse, or whether there is a change of subject, and in the latter case (in favor of which Delitzsch appeals to the Oriental style and his Geschichte der jüdischen Poesie, S. 189), whether the Messianic king is the subject of live, and the following verbs are to be taken as impersonal or passive (the ancient versions, Isaki, Luther, Calvin, Umbreit), or whether the poor man is to be regarded the subject of live and bless, and the king as the subject of give and pray (J. H. Mich.), or yet of give (Maurer, Hofmann, Delitzsch). In the former case, on the other hand, it is again disputed whether the Messianic king is the subject of all the clauses (Cocc., De Dieu, Stier, Böhl), or the protected subject (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Geier and most interpreters). The last supposition is not in opposition to the immediate context, even when the aim of sparing and delivering is not regarded as directly expressed, (Ewald, Olsh.), but the consequences of the deliverance, the life and the expression of thanks. The mention of the gold of Sheba, however, is difficult. For the delivered give this, not, as it were, as the most precious and best (Geier, J. H. Mich.), which would have been called the gold of Ophir, or because he was a native of Sheba (Hupf.) as the product of his land, which does not suit Psa_72:10 at all. We might rather suppose that the poor man (Psa_72:13) had been again restored by the king to his possessions (Hengst.); or since the singular then refers back to Psa_72:12 sq., that here as there the poor man is parallel to the miserable in the comprehensive and typical sense of Biblical usage (Hupfeld). Then we should have, not a return to Psa_72:4 (De Wette), but an expansion of the thought there expressed. But this is, to a still greater extent, the case if the king is regarded as the subject of this clause as of all the preceding.
Psa_72:16. Let there be abundance of corn in the land, even to the top of the mountains, let its fruit rustle as Lebanon.—The derivation of פִּסָּה is doubtful. The word seems to mean not only a crowd (Syr.), but after the Aramaic פסא and the Arabic, a spreading out (Isaki). There is little probability in the derivation from פסם in the meaning of: end, that is to say, the limits of grain on the top of the mountains (Hofmann), or: piece, handful (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Calvin, Geier, most interps.)=there is a handful of corn, yet it will rustle. Besides the latter is against the accents. Abundance of corn as the sign of blessing (Deu_11:14; Jer_31:12; Zech. 10:17) in connection with the bloom of the people (Jer_27:6), whose increase as herbs of the land or grass of the field (Psa_92:8; Job_5:25) likewise belongs to the blessings of the Messianic time, Isa_4:1; Isa_9:2; Isa_49:20; Zec_2:8; Psa_110:3; Sir_44:21. A historical support in the time of Solomon is given in 1Ki_4:20. The comparison with Lebanon refers to the movement of its trees in the wind. The translation: its fruits culminate or tower above as Lebanon (Sept., Ewald), presupposes a different Hebrew verb.
Psa_72:17. Before the sun let his name sprout.—This hardly refers to his posterity, through whom his name would transplant itself (Hupfeld), but to the occasions which would repeat themselves in the coming generations for the breaking forth of the glory of this name, in which all nations may bless themselves (Gen_18:18; Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4; Gen_48:20). The subject which is at first general and indefinite is finally very clearly expressed.
[The doxology which closes this book is fuller than that of the 1st Book. The use of Jehovah Elohim instead of Jehovah is characteristic, and is in accordance with the use of the Divine names in the two books.—C. A. B.] The predicate of God, Psa_72:18 b, is like Psa_88:6; Psa_136:4; Job_9:8; His name bearing the impression of glory is as Neh_9:5, the construction and contents of Psa_72:19 b are from Num_14:21.
[The historical remark, Psa_72:20, was apparently attached to an original collection of the Psalms of David made by Solomon, or under his superintendence, to which Psalms of Solomon of a Messianic character formed the introduction and conclusion. Vid.Psalms 1, 2. This collection was composed mainly of the Psalms of the first two books, although changes in taking from and adding to may have been made in subsequent times, especially when the Psalter was completed in its present form. This historical remark may be compared with Job_31:40.—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Nothing can be implored for a king more rich in blessing than the capacity and power for a righteous and mild government whose fruit is peace (Isa_32:17) and prosperity throughout the land. From the righteous king such a fructifying effect goes forth that the fear of God is spread abroad through the coming generations, and his rule gains an unlimited extent.
2. Yet this king will not extend his rule by the sword, but only by his righteousness and his helping love will he rule and conquer. Voluntarily other kings and their peoples will do homage to him, uneasy and hostile neighbors will sink impotent in the dust, those who have been delivered, protected and blessed by him will thankfully offer their gifts, prayers and homage. Thus will his rule endure in the power of the blessing of piety, his kingdom increase, his land prosper, his people bloom, and his name be a means of blessing from generation to generation, Psa_45:2; Psa_102:12.
3. Such wishes and hopes as these do not float in the air like human phantasies or empty dreams without prospect of realization; they have their sure ground in the promises of God respecting the son of David, their historical support in the Divine guidance of Israel and his kingdom, their constant type in the Theocracy, their transient type in Solomon’s peaceful rule, their final fulfilment by the Messiah and his kingdom of God, their lasting power in the faith in the blessings, by which God has decreed and promised to overcome in all generations the curse resting upon them.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Peace as the wholesome fruit of righteousness.—The fear of God as the source of earthly and heavenly blessings.—The welfare of nations: a, in what it consists; b, how it is gained; c, whereby it is assured.—The blessing in the name of the Lord.—When prince and people pray with and for one another, they are blessings to one another.—Righteous judgment, mild government, and a pious mind are the jewels of the king, the happiness of the people, and are well pleasing to God.—Willing obedience, thankful love, devoted trust as testimonies of the sprouting power of the name of the Lord.—The prayers of believers have their yea and amen in the name of the Lord.—The promises respecting the duration, extent, and the happiness of the kingdom, set up by God’s king, ruled and filled with blessings by him.
Starke : The office of the magistrate is not only to punish the wicked with righteous judgment, but likewise to protect the poor and miserable.—Since God calls men to His service from all places and quarters, it is very clear that His will is that all men should be blessed.—In the world those are helped who are the least needy, whilst those who are most needy are often allowed to sink into misery; but with Christ it is not so, the poor are the especial objects of His compassion and deliverance.—God’s works have often to the reason a slight beginning, but afterwards a wonderful, blessed, and agreeable progress.—As sure as the true mouth of the Lord has said, that all the world shall be full of His glory, it will be fulfilled in the most complete manner.
Selnekker: O thou poor reason, and miserable flesh and blood, what art thou frightened at, and why dost thou fear death and suffering? Is my blood precious with God, what wish I more?—Renschel: The chief subjects of thanksgiving: 1) That God the Lord has done and still does such great wonders in the kingdom of Christ; 2) that He declares His name and gospel therein; 3) that He spreads it abroad in all lands; 4) that He will eternally preserve His word and His Church.—Umbreit: The love of the king is the ground of the universal conversion of nations to Him. Because He helps the poor, all the rich bow before Him.—Tholuck: As the eternal God wields the sceptre of His righteousness for the good of His oppressed congregation on earth, He has appointed His anointed to conquer the earth for His meek ones.—Guenther: Heathendom will have an end, this kingdom of sorrow and misery will blossom into the glorious kingdom of peace.—Taube : The kingdom of God comes in its royal glory only at the advent of the Lord; now are the times of preparation.
[Matth. Henry: As by the prayer of faith we return answers to God’s promises of mercy, so by the promises of mercy God returns answers to our prayers of faith.—Christ is the poor man’s King.—Subjects ought to speak well of the government that is a blessing to them; and much more ought all Christians to praise Jesus Christ, daily to praise Him; for they owe all to Him, and to Him they lie under the highest obligations.—Spurgeon: Each crystal drop of rain tells of heavenly mercy which forgets not the parched plains; Jesus is all grace, all that He does is love, and His presence among men is joy. We need to preach Him more, for no shower can so refresh the nations. Philosophic preaching mocks men as with a dust shower, but the gospel meets the case of fallen humanity, and happiness flourishes beneath its genial power.—If we can do no more than cry, it will bring omnipotence to our aid. A cry is the native language of a spiritually needy soul; it has done with fine phrases and long orations, and it takes to sobs and moans, and so, indeed, it grasps the most potent of all weapons, for heaven always yields to such artillery.—Christ’s subjects shall be as plentiful as blades of grass, and shall as suddenly appear as eastern verdure after a heavy shower.—C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
6[Perowne: “The sun and the moon are mentioned here, and again ver. 7, and in Psa_89:37, as witnesses to an everlasting order, and as it were figures of eternity, things fixed and unchangeable, compared with the fleeting, dying generations of men, as Jer_31:35; Jer_33:20; though as compared with God, themselves subject to decay and destruction, Psa_102:26; Isa_51:6; comp. Job_14:18.”—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 41. Judgments… righteousness—The latter the principle, the former the…
1. Judgments… righteousness—The latter the principle, the former the act or sentence, of justice. The one implies the discernment of the will of God, or wisdom to govern; the other, the executive energy to adjust the administration of government to that standard. This was partially fulfilled in the early part of Solomon’s reign, (see 1Ki_3:28; 1Ki_10:9,) but the state of society here described is realized fully only under King Messiah’s government, and is represented (Rev_20:4) as belonging to the millennium: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.”
The king… the king’s son—The one a designation of office, the other of royal descent, and hence of hereditary right to reign.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–41. God is the source of all judgement (Deu_1:17);…
1. God is the source of all judgement (Deu_1:17); the king is His representative for administering it. May God therefore grant him such a knowledge of the divine laws and ordinances by which he is to govern Israel, and endow him with such a divine spirit of justice, as may make him a worthy ruler. Just judgement is the constant characteristic of the ideal king (Isa_11:3 ff; Isa_16:5; Isa_28:6; Isa_32:1). The words of this verse and the next are the echo of God’s offer to Solomon, “Ask what I shall give thee;” and of Solomon’s answer, “Give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people;” and a prayer for the effectual realisation of the promise, “Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart.” (1Ki_3:5 ff.).
the king … the king’s son] Not, to the king and his heir, for the Psalm speaks of but one ruler; but, to a king who is a king’s son, the legitimate successor to the throne.
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1–7. A prayer that God will confer upon the king the gifts which he needs for the right exercise of his office. Then righteousness will bear the fruit of peace; redress and repression of wrong will promote the fear of God; under his beneficent rule the righteous will flourish.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3(1) The king . . . the king’s son.—The…
(1) The king . . . the king’s son.—The article is wanting in the Hebrew.
(1, 2) The order of the words should be noticed—“judgments,” “righteousness,” “righteousness,” “judgment”—as offering a good instance of introverted parallelism. With regard to the meaning of the words we are placed on practical ground; they refer to the faculty of judging in affairs of government, of coming to a great and fair decision. In fact, whether Solomon be the intended subject of the poem or not, the prayer made in his dream at Gibeon (1Ki_3:9) is the best comment on these verses. (Comp. Isa_11:4; Isa_32:1.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv1–4THE "title" attributes this psalm to Solomon, and the…
THE "title" attributes this psalm to Solomon, and the contents of the psalm are very favourable to his authorship. The prayer in vers. 1-4 is an echo of that recorded in 1Ki_3:9. The stress laid upon "peace" (vers. 3, 7-16) accords with the peaceful reign (1Ki_4:20-25) of "the peaceful one." The local allusions (vers. 10, 15) suit the circumstances of Solomon"s time. The tone, cheerful, equable, and objective rather than subjective, is Solomonic. The psalm is thought to have been composed early in Solomon"s reign for liturgical purposes. It is a prophetic prayer for a blessing on the king and on his reign, which is represented in colours and with circumstances, that make it typical of the reign of Messiah (see especially vers. 8, 11, 17). The concluding verses (18, 19) are a doxology, marking the end of the Second Book. (compare the comment on Psa_41:13)
Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king"s son. God had established in Israel, in the person of David, hereditary monarchy, (2Sa_7:12-16) such as was usual in the East, and suited to Oriental notions. In speaking of himself, not only as "the king," but also as "the king"s son," Solomon makes appeal to the sentiment of respect for hereditary royalty. Compare the inscription of Mesha, "My father was king over Moab thirty years, and I became king after my father" (line 1). In praying God to give him "his judgments," he is desiring a "spirit of judgment" which will enable him to deliver decisions as righteous as God"s.
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HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Vers. 1-20. The glory of Christ"s kingdom.
It is written that Satan took our Lord "up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them"; (Mat_4:8) but they had no charm, for him. In this psalm we are, so to speak, taken up by the Spirit, and shown the kingdom of Messiah; and as its glory opens to our sight our hearts are thrilled with admiration and delight. With renewed ardour we cry, "Thy kingdom come." Consider some things testified here as to the glory of Christ"s kingdom.
I. THE GREATNESS OF THE SOVEREIGN. David and Solomon were in some respects great kings; and their greatness, so far as it was real, arose from their feeling their dependence upon God, and that it was their first duty to rule themselves and their people according to God"s Law. We know how in many things they offended. But here is a King spoken of whose greatness is of a nobler kind, and who comes short in nothing of God"s glory. As respects his nature, his character, his relationships, he is supremely fitted to rule. In him "righteousness" and "judgment" are found as in God. The will of God, on the one hand, and the welfare of his people are his highest ends. "God is light;" and this King saith, "I am the Light of the world." "God is love;" and this King"s advent was proclaimed by angels as the Saviour who should bring down love to men: "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to the children of men.
II THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE ADMINISTRATION. (Vers. 2-4) David, in his last words, describes Messiah"s manner of government. (2Sa_23:1-4) It is characterized by justice; there is no respect of persons; friends are not unduly favored, nor enemies unfairly punished; (Isa_11:4, Isa_11:5) the condition and interests of all are considered, and the poor are specially regarded; but justice is blended with mercy. It is the glory of Christ"s government that it provides for the return of the rebellious, and for the restoration of the fallen.
III THE HAPPINESS OF THE PEOPLE. (Vers. 6, 7) The laws of the kingdom are not only adapted to the nature and necessities of man, but designed for the welfare of those who obey them; (Deu_32:47 Isa_48:18) they are not arbitrary, but. founded in truth; they are not alterable, but eternally fixed. Earthly governments so far regulate their laws according to circumstances, and there may be improvements made and reforms carried out from time to time for the greater advantage of the people; but the laws of this kingdom do not need improvement they are perfect as God is perfect. We see the result in the character and privileges of the people. (Isa_43:21 Mat_5:1-10) They are enlightened, contented, law-abiding; they strive to mould their lives according to the will of their King, and in loyalty and devotion to him they find their highest honour and their highest happiness. In this kingdom alone can liberty, equality, and fraternity, in the truest sense, be enjoyed.
IV THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS THAT MAY BE CONFIDENTLY EXPECTED. This kingdom is destined to grow from more to more; it has an unlimited power of expansiveness (vers. 8, 13); it is also marked by stability. Earthly kingdoms have their rise and fall; but this kingdom is unshakable and eternal. It begins on earth, but is carried up to heaven. Other kings may have successors, though often the direct succession fails; but this King has no successor, but will reign forever and ever. W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-7. The effect of the anger of a perfectly righteous King.
Most probably put into form by Solomon, even if David suggested the substance of it. It is the portrait of an ideal King, never yet realized completely by any earthly monarch, and finds its perfect fulfilment only in Christ and his kingdom. Solomon did not fulfil it. It shows the effects of the reign of a perfectly righteous King such as Christ.
I HE PROCLAIMS AND ADMINISTERS ONLY RIGHTEOUS LAWS AND JUDGMENTS. (Vers. 1, 2) In opposition to the injustice of the despot. but the true King has a passion for justice.
II THE REIGN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BRINGS IN THE REIGN OF PEACE. (Ver. 3) "Mountains and hills are mentioned as being characteristic features of the country." Peace is always spoken of in the Scriptures as the fruit of righteousness in public and in private.
III IT UPHOLDS AND VINDICATES THE RIGHTS OF THE POOR AGAINST ALL OPPRESSION. (Ver. 4) Those who are born to poverty are more or less regarded by an unrighteous government as having no rights. Christianity expresses the cause of the poor, and vindicates their rights against all injustice and selfishness.
IV RIGHTEOUS RULE TEACHES THE PEOPLE THE FEAR OF GOD. (Ver. 5) Corrupt government encourages licentiousness and irreligion among the people.
V RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT QUICKENS AND FERTILIZES ALL THE AFFAIRS OF A NATION. (Ver. 6) As rain quickens and fertilizes the dry earth.
VI GOOD MEN PROSPER AND HAVE PEACE UNDER RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT. (Ver. 7) But are mostly persecuted and despoiled of their liberty and rights under a tyrannical rule. It is the office of a righteous king to defend the righteous; but it is Christ"s work to make men righteous by fashioning their minds anew by his Holy Spirit. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv1–4A Psalm for Solomon. The best linguists affirm that…
A Psalm for Solomon. The best linguists affirm that this should be rendered, of or by Solomon. There is not sufficient ground for the rendering for. It is pretty certain that the title declares Solomon to be the author of the Psalm, and yet from Ps 72:20 it would seem that David uttered it in prayer before he died. With some diffidence we suggest that the spirit and matter of the Psalm are David's, but that he was too near his end to pen the words, or cast them into form: Solomon, therefore, caught his dying father's song, fashioned it in goodly verse, and, without robbing his father, made the Psalm his own. It is, we conjecture, the Prayer of David, but the Psalm of Solomon. Jesus is here, beyond all doubt, in the glory of his reign, both as he now is, and as he shall be revealed in the latter day glory.
We shall follow the division suggested by Alexander. "A glowing description of the reign of Messiah as righteous, Ps 72:1-7; universal, Ps 72:8-11; beneficent, Ps 72:12-14; and perpetual, Ps 72:15-17; to which are added a doxology, Ps 72:18-19; and a postscript, Ps 72:20."
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Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God. The right to reign was transmitted by descent from David to Solomon, but not by that means alone: Israel was a theocracy, and the kings were but the viceroys of the greater King; hence the prayer that the new king might be enthroned by divine right, and then endowed with divine wisdom. Our glorious King in Zion hath all judgment committed unto him. He rules in the name of God over all lands. He is king "Dei Gratia" as well as by right of inheritance.
And thy righteousness unto the king's son. Solomon was both king and king's son; so also is our Lord. He has power and authority in himself, and also royal dignity given of his Father. He is the righteous king; in a word, he is "the Lord our righteousness." We are waiting till he shall be manifested among men as the ever righteous Judge. May the Lord hasten on his own time the long looked for day. Now wars and fightings are even in Israel itself, but soon the dispensation will change, and David, the type of Jesus warring with our enemies, shall be displaced by Solomon the prince of peace.
Title. For Solomon. I shall but mention a threefold analogy between Christ and Solomon.
1. In his personal wisdom (1Ki 4:29-30); so Christ (Col 2:3); "In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
2. In the glorious peace and prosperity of his kingdom: the kingdom was peaceably settled in his hand. 1Ch 22:9 4: 24-25. And so he fell to the work of building the temple, as Christ doth the church; so Christ (Isa 9:6); he is the Prince of Peace, the great Peacemaker. Eph 2:14.
3. In his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter. Some observe that the daughter of Pharaoh never seduced him: neither is there any mention made of the Egyptian idols. 1Ki 11:5, 7. In his other outlandish marriages he did sin; but this is mentioned as by way of special exception (1Ki 11:1); for she was a proselyte, and so it was no sin to marry her: and the love between her and Solomon is made a type of the love between Christ and the church. So Christ hath taken us Gentiles to be spouse unto him. Psalm 45. Samuel Mather (1626-1671), in "The Figures or Types of the Old Testament."
Whole Psalm. The Seventy-second Psalm contains a description of an exalted king, and of the blessings of his reign. These blessings are of such a nature as to prove that the subject of the Psalm must be a divine person.
1. His kingdom is to be everlasting.
2. Universal.
3. It secures perfect peace with God and goodwill among men.
4. All men are to be brought to submit to him through love.
5. In him all the nations of the earth are to be blessed; i.e., as we are distinctly taught in Ga 3:16, it is in him that all the blessings of redemption are to come upon the world. Charles Hodge, in "Systematic Theology." 1871.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm was penned by a king, it is dedicated to a king, and is chiefly intended concerning him who is "King of kings." Joseph Caryl, in a Sermon entitled "David's Prayer for Solomon."
Whole Psalm. Two Psalms bear Solomon's name in their titles. One of these is the Hundred and Twenty-seventh, the other is the Seventy-second; and here the traces of his pen are unequivocal. A mistaken interpretation of the note appended to it, "The prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended, "led most of the old commentators to attribute the Psalm to David, and to suppose that it is a prayer offered in his old age "for Solomon, "as the peaceful prince who was to succeed him on the throne. However, it has long been known that the note in question refers to the whole of the preceding portion of the Psalter, much of which was written by Asaph and the sons of Korah; and there can be no doubt that the title can only be translated, "of Solomon." So clear are the traces of Solomon's pen that Calvin, whose sagacity in this kind of criticism has never been excelled, although he thought himself obliged, by the note at the end of the Psalm, to attribute the substance of it to David, felt Solomon's touch so sensibly, that he threw out the conjecture that the prayer was the father's, but that it was afterward thrown into the lyrical form by the son. This is not the place for detailed exposition; I will, therefore, content myself with remarking that, properly speaking, the Psalm is not "for Solomon" at all. If it refers to him and his peaceful reign, it does so only in as far as they were types of the Person and Kingdom of the Prince of Peace. The Psalm, from beginning to end, is not only capable of being applied to Christ, but great part is incapable of being fairly applied to any other. William Binnie.
Whole Psalm. This is the forth of those Psalms which predict the two natures of Christ. This Psalm admonishes us that we believe in Christ as perfect God, and perfect Man and King. Psalter of Peter Lombard(--1164).
Whole Psalm. That under the type of Solomon (to whom it is inscribed) the Messiah is "The King" of whom this Psalm treats, we have the consent, not only of the most eminent divines of modern times, and of the Fathers of the early Christian church, but the ancient and most distinguished Jewish expositors; of which reference, indeed, it contains the most conclusive internal evidence. And, as under a new type, so is the kingdom here presented to us in a new aspect, in marked contradistinction to its character as foreshadowed by its other great type, the Davidic: for the character of David's reign was conquest. He was "a man of war" (1Ch 28:1-3); the appointed instrument for subjecting the enemies of God's people Israel, by whom they were put in undisturbed possession of the promised land. But the character of Solomon's reign was peace, the import of his name, succeeding to the throne after all enemies had been subdued, and governing the kingdom which David's wars had established (1Ki 2:12), the two types, respectively, of Christ as he is yet to be manifested at his next appearing; first revealed as David, as seen in the vision of that event (Re 19:11): "I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war, "etc., subduing the Antichristian confederacy (Re 19:19-21), as before predicted in the Second Psalm, of this same confederacy: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." And then, as Solomon, taking his throne, and extending the blessings of his kingdom of peace to the ends of the earth. David in the Second Psalm; Solomon in this. William De Burgh.
Whole Psalm. The reader is reminded of James Montgomery's hymn, beginning, "Hail to the Lord's Anointed; "it is a very beautiful versification of this Psalm, and will be found in "Our Own Hymn Book, " No. 353.
Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God. Right and authority to execute judgment and justice. The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son. John Fry.
Ver. 1. The king... The king's son. I do not apprehend, with the generality of interpreters, that by The king, and The king's son, David means himself and his son, but Solomon only, to whom both the titles agree, as he was David's son, and anointed by him king during his lifetime. Samuel Chandler.
Ver. 1. The king... The king's son. We see that our Lord is here termed both Klm, and Klm Nb, being king himself, and also the son of a king; both as respects his human origin, having come forth from the stock of David, and also as to his divine origin; for the Father of the universe may, of course, be properly denominated King. Agreeably to this designation, we find on the Turkish coins the inscription: Sultan, son of Sultan. George Phillips.
Whole Psalm.
I. He shall.
II. They shall. Ring the changes on these, as the Psalm does.
Ver. 1. The prayer of the ancient church now fulfilled.
I. Our Lord's titles.
1. King, by divine nature.
2. King's Son, in both natures. Thus we see his power innate and derived. II. Our Lord's authority: "Judgments."
1. To rule his people.
2. To rule the world for his people's benefit.
3. To judge mankind.
4. To judge devils. III. Our Lord's character. He is righteous in rewarding and punishing, righteous towards God and man. IV. Our loyal prayer. This asks for his rule over ourselves and the universe.
In CHANDLER'S Life of David, Vol. 2, pp. 440-44, there is an Exposition of this Psalm.
Psalms 72:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy…
Psa_72:1-20
Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the kings son.
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The world-wanted king
Society cannot exist without laws: these laws require to be expressed and enforced, and whoever does this is ruler. Again, whilst the millions have the instinct of obedience, and lack the faculty to rule, there are always some, on the other hand, in whom there is the tendency and the power to govern. Let us look at the reign of this ideal king as here sketched.
I. It is characterized by righteousness and compassion (Psa_72:1-4). This compassion, this tender, practical sympathy for the woes of the indigent and oppressed, is not something opposed to righteousness. It is but a modification of righteousness, or rather, another phase of righteousness. Justice is but love sternly opposing all that is injurious to the universe, and benevolently encouraging all that is promotive of happiness. Justice is like some Alpine hill, when the sun is descending in the West on one side it is dark, frowning, terrific, on the other side it glows in brightness, disports in beauty. This compassion, this mercy, becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.
II. It is characterized by the highest national blessings (Psa_72:3; Psa_72:7).
1. General peace. The prevalence of universal good-will is essential to universal peace. Men not seeking their own as the grand end, but seeking the good of each other.
2. Spiritual vitality.
3. The prosperity of the righteous. Men will be considered great, useful, and honourable in proportion to the amount of rectitude that lives in their hearts and comes out in their daily life.
III. It is characterized by its moral command over all peoples (Psa_72:9-11). Moral worth is always mighty; like the sun, no man can ignore it, no man can disregard its influence, or deny its value. But moral worth in a king is especially mighty, it is seen, and wherever seen is felt. Moral worth is moral sovereignty.
IV. It is characterized by its expansibility and duration (Psa_72:8; Psa_72:16-17). The language does not mean that the king himself is to live and reign for ever, but that his name, his moral character, will be held in everlasting remembrance and will work on the earth for good as long as the sun and moon shall last.
V. It is characterized by its Divine establishment (Psa_72:18-19). For such a king as this the mighty Sovereign of the universe deserves the devoutest praises of men. He alone can form the character of such a king. (Homilist.)
Messiahs reign
I. Characteristics.
1. Righteousness (Psa_72:2). (Isa_11:1-5; Isa_32:1; Isa_32:17). Not till He comes whose right it is to reign will there be on earth a king whose judgments shall be based on an absolute knowledge of men, independent of the sensual judgment of sight and hearing. Then, and then only, will the people have righteousness meted out to them; then only will the poor be perfectly defended from the oppression of the rich.
2. Strength (Rev_12:10). In the day of Christs reign oppression shall not only come to an end, but the saints shall inherit the kingdom and the oppressor shall be cast out of power.
3. Gentleness (Psa_72:6). Not with the sword does Christ win His kingdom, nor by such means will He execute righteousness in the deliverance of His poor and in the breaking of the tyrants power, but by the almighty strength of truth itself.
4. Peace and prosperity (Psa_72:8; Psa_72:10; Psa_72:16). This can only indicate an abundance of every supply, both for the people in country and city, and for all purposes of state and kingdom.
II. Extent.
1. Duration. An everlasting reign (Psa_72:15; Psa_72:17). His Kingship, as well as His Priesthood, is in the power of an endless life (Psa_21:4; Psa_61:6-7).
2. Subjects. Not only of all nations, but of every class of men in all nations.
3. Territory (Psa_72:8). What a heaven this earth will be with the curse removed, all wickedness and evil taken out of the hearts and lives of all people; waters shall break out in the desert, and the very beasts of the field and the forest shall rest at peace each side with the others.
III. Universal adoration.
1. Prayer. Prayer shall be made to Him continually. Every want shall be presented to Him, in the spirit of constant and humble, yet confident supplication, and no good thing will be witheld from those who pray.
2. Praise. And daily shall He be praised. Eternity will not be too long wherein to praise Him who shall have delivered our souls from death, from the deceit and oppression of the wicked, especially from the power of our great enemy, the devil; to praise Him for the unspeakable blessings of forgiveness, justification, regeneration, sanctification.
3. Gifts. To Him shall be given the gold of Sheba. The people will themselves be a free-will offering to their Lord and King; all that they are and have shall be laid at His feet as being worth nothing apart from Him and His blessing. Who shall say that in the age of glory there shall not be vast fields and unknown opportunities for the employment of all the redeemed and sanctified powers of man? (G. F. Pentecost, D. D.)
Jesus both King and Kings Son
The king--the kings son. We see that our Lord is here termed both king and the kings son; both as respect to His human nature and also as to His Divine origin; for the Father of the universe may, of course, be properly denominated King. Agreeably to this designation we find on Turkish coins the inscription, Sultan, son of Sultan. (George Phillips.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 72
Psalms 72
RIGHTLY or wrongly, the superscription ascribes this psalm to Solomon. Its contents have led several commentators to take the superscription in a meaning for which there is no warrant, as designating the subject, not the author. Clearly, the whole is a prayer for the king; but why should not he be both suppliant and object of supplication? Modern critics reject this as incompatible with the "phraseological evidence," and adduce the difference between the historical Solomon and the ideal of the psalm as negativing reference to him. Psa_72:8 is said by them to be quoted from Zec_9:10, though Cheyne doubts whether there is borrowing. Psa_72:17 b is said to be dependent on Gen_22:18 and Gen_26:4, which are assumed to be later than the seventh century. Psa_72:12 is taken to be a reminiscence of Job_29:12, and Psa_72:16 b of Job_5:25. But these are too uncertain criteria to use as conclusive, -partly because coincidence does not necessarily imply quotation; partly because, quotation being admitted, the delicate question of priority remains, which can rarely be settled by comparison of the passages in question; and partly because, quotation and priority being admitted, the date of the original is still under discussion. The impossibility of Solomons praying thus for himself does not seem to the present writer so completely established that the hypothesis must be abandoned, especially if the alternative is to be, as Hitzig, followed by Olshausen and Cheyne, proposes, that the king in the psalm is Ptolemy Philadelphus, to whom Psalms 45 is fitted by the same authorities. Baethgen puts the objections which most will feel to such a theory with studied moderation when he says "that the promises given to the patriarchs in Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4, should be transferred by a pious Israelite to a foreign king appears to me improbable." But another course is open-namely, to admit that the psalm gives no materials for defining its date, beyond the fact that a king of Davidic descent was reigning when it was composed. The authorship may be left uncertain, as may the name of the king for whom such far-reaching blessings were invoked: for he was but a partial embodiment of the kingly idea, and the very disproportion between the reality seen in any Jewish monarch and the lofty idealisms of the psalm compels us to regard the earthly ruler as but a shadow, and the true theme of the singer as being the Messianic King. We are not justified, however, in attempting to transfer every point of the psalmists prayer to the Messiah. The historical occasion of the psalm is to be kept in mind. A human monarch stands in the foreground; but the aspirations expressed are so far beyond anything that he is or can be, that they are either extravagant flattery, or reach out beyond their immediate occasion to the King Messiah.
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The psalm is not properly a prediction, but prayer. There is some divergence of opinion as to the proper rendering of the principal verbs, -some, as the A.V. and R.V. (text), taking them as uniformly futures, which is manifestly wrong; some taking them as expressions of wish throughout, which is also questionable; and others recognising pure futures intermingled with petitions, which seems best. The boundaries of the two are difficult to settle, just because the petitions are so confident that they are all but predictions, and the two melt into each other in the singers mind. The flow of thought is simple. The psalmists prayers are broadly massed. In Psa_72:1-4 he prays for the foundation of the kings reign in righteousness, which will bring peace; in Psa_72:5-7 for its perpetuity, and in Psa_72:8-11 for its universality; while in Psa_72:12-15 the ground of both these characteristics is laid in the kings becoming the champion of the oppressed. A final prayer for the increase of his people and the perpetuity and world wide glory of his name concludes the psalm, to which is appended in Psa_72:18-20 a doxology, closing the Second Book of the Psalter.
The first petitions of the psalm all ask for one thing for the king-namely, that he should give righteous judgment. They reflect the antique conception of a king as the fountain of justice, himself making and administering law and giving decisions. Thrice in these four verses does "righteousness" occur as the foundation attribute of an ideal king. Caprice, self-interest, and tyrannous injustice were rank in the worlds monarchies round the psalmist. Bitter experience and sad observation had taught him that the first condition of national prosperity was a righteous ruler. These petitions are also animated by the conception, which is as true in the modern as in the ancient world, that righteousness has its seat in the bosom of God, and that earthly judgments are righteous when they conform to and are the echo of His. "Righteousness" is the quality of mind, of which the several "judgments" are the expressions. This king sits on an ancestral throne. His people are Gods people. Since, then, he is Gods viceroy, the desire cannot be vain that in his heart there may be some reflection of Gods righteousness, and that his decisions may accord with Gods. One cannot but remember Solomons prayer for "an understanding heart," that he might judge this people; nor forget how darkly his later reign showed against its bright beginning. A righteous king makes a peaceful people, especially in a despotic monarchy. The sure results of such a reign-which are, likewise, the psalmists chief reason for his petitions-are set forth in the vivid metaphor of Psa_72:3, in which peace is regarded as the fruit which springs, by reason of the kings righteousness, from mountains and hills. This psalmist has special fondness for that figure of vegetable growth (Psa_72:7, Psa_72:16-17); and it is especially suitable in this connection, as peace is frequently represented in Scripture as the fruit of righteousness, both in single souls and in a nations history. The mountains come into view here simply as being the most prominent features of the land, and not, as in Psa_72:16, with any reference to their barrenness, which would make abundant growth on them more wonderful, and indicative of yet greater abundance on the plains.
A special manifestation of judicial righteousness is the vindication of the oppressed and the punishment of the oppressor (Psa_72:4). The word rendered "judge" in Psa_72:4 differs from that in Psa_72:2, and is the same from which the name of the "Judges" in Israel is derived. Like them, this king is not only to pronounce decisions, as the word in Psa_72:2 means, but is to execute justice by acts of deliverance, which smite in order to rescue. Functions which policy and dignity require to be kept apart in the case of earthly rulers arc united in the ideal monarch. He executes his own sentences. His acts are decisions. The psalmist has no thought of inferior officers by the kings side. One figure fills his mind and his canvas. Surely such an ideal is either destined to remain forever a fair dream, or its fulfilment is to be recognised in the historical Person in whom Gods righteousness dwelt in higher fashion than psalmists knew, who was, "first, King of righteousness, and then, after that, also King of peace," and who, by His deed, has broken every yoke, and appeared as the defender of all the needy. The poet prayed that Israels king might perfectly discharge his office by Divine help: the Christian gives thanks that the King of men has been and done all which Israels monarchs failed to be and do.
The perpetuity of the kings reign and of his subjects peace is the psalmists second aspiration (Psa_72:5-7). The "Thee" of Psa_72:5 presents a difficulty, as it is doubtful to whom it refers. Throughout the psalm the king is spoken of, and never to; and if it is further noticed that, in the preceding verses, God has been directly addressed, and "Thy" used thrice in regard to Him, it will appear more natural to take the reference in Psa_72:5 to be to Him. The fear of God would be dig fused among the kings subjects, as a consequence of his rule in righteousness. Hupfeld takes the word as referring to the king, and suggests changing the text to "him" instead of "Thee"; while others, among whom are Cheyne and Baethgen, follow the track of the LXX in adopting a reading which may be translated "May he live," or "Prolong his days." But the thought yielded by the existing text, if referred to God, is most natural and worthy. The king is, as it were, the shadow on earth of Gods righteousness, and consequently becomes an organ for the manifestation thereof, in such manner as to draw men to true devotion. The psalmists desires are for something higher than external prosperity, and his conceptions of the kingly office are very sacred. Not only peace and material well-being, but also the fear of Jehovah, are longed for by him to be diffused in Israel. And he prays that these blessings may be perpetual. The connection between the kings righteousness and the fear of God requires that that permanence should belong to both. The cause is as lasting as its effect. Through generation after generation he desires that each shall abide. He uses peculiar expressions for continual duration "with the sun"-i.e., contemporaneous with that unfading splendour; "before the face of the moon"-i.e., as long as she shines. But could the singer anticipate such length of dominion for any human king? Psalms 21 has similar language in regard to the same person, and here, as there, it seems sufficiently accounted for by the consideration that, while the psalmist was speaking of an individual, he was thinking of the office rather than of the person, and that the perpetual continuance of the Davidic dynasty, not the undying life of anyone representative of it, was meant. The full light of the truth that there is a king whose royalty, like his priesthood, passes to no other is not to be forced upon the psalm. It stands as a witness that devout and inspired souls longed for the establishment of a kingdom, against which revolutions and enemies and mortality were powerless. They knew not that their desires could not be fulfilled by the longest succession of dying kings, but were to be more than accomplished by One, "of whom it is witnessed that He liveth."
The psalmist turns for a moment from his prayer for the perpetuity of the kings rule, to linger upon the thought of its blessedness as set forth in the lovely image of Psa_72:6. Rain upon mown grass is no blessing, as every farmer knows: but what is meant is, not the grass which has already been mown, but the naked meadow from which it has been taken. It needs drenching showers, in order to sprout again and produce an aftermath. The poets eye is caught by the contrast between the bare look of the field immediately after cutting and the rich growth that springs, as by magic, from the yellow roots after a plentiful shower. This kings gracious influences shall fall upon even what seems dead, and charm forth hidden life that will flush the plain with greenness. The psalmist dwells on the picture, reiterating the comparison in Psa_72:6 b, and using there an uncommon word, which seems best rendered as meaning a heavy rainfall. With such affluence of quickening powers will the righteous king bless his people. The "Mirror for Magistrates." which is held up in the lovely poem 2Sa_23:4, has a remarkable parallel in its description of the just ruler as resembling a "morning without clouds, when the tender grass springeth out of the earth through clear shining after rain"; but the psalmist heightens the metaphor by the introduction of the mown meadow as stimulated to new growth. This image of the rain lingers with him and shapes his prayer in Psa_72:7 a. A righteous king will insure prosperity to the righteous, and the number of such will increase. Both these ideas seem to be contained in the figure of their flourishing, which is literally bud or shoot. And, as the people become more and more prevailingly righteous, they receive more abundant and unbroken peace. The psalmist had seen deeply into the conditions of national prosperity, as well as those of individual tranquillity, when he based these on rectitude.
With Psa_72:8 the singer takes a still loftier flight, and prays for the universality of the kings dominion. In that verse the form of the verb is that which expresses desire, but in Psa_72:9 and following verses the verbs may be rendered as simple futures. Confident prayers insensibly melt into assurances of their own fulfilment. As the psalmist pours out his petitions, they glide into prophecies; for they are desires fashioned upon promises, and bear, in their very earnestness, the pledge of their realisation. As to the details of the form which the expectation of universal dominion here takes, it need only be noted that we have to do with a poet, not with a geographer. We are not to treat the expressions as if they were instructions to a boundary commission, and to be laid down upon a map. "The sea" is probably the Mediterranean; but what the other sea which makes the opposite boundary may be is hard to say. Commentators have thought of the Persian Gulf, or of an imaginary ocean encircling the flat earth, according to ancient ideas. But more probably the expression is as indeterminate as the parallel one, "the ends of the earth." In the first clause of the verse the psalmist starts from the Mediterranean, the western boundary, and his anticipations travel away into the unknown eastern regions; while, in the second clause, he begins with the Euphrates, which was the eastern boundary of the dominion promised to Israel, and, coming westward, he passes out in thought to the dim regions beyond. The very impossibility of defining the boundaries declares the boundlessness of the kingdom. The poets eyes have looked east and west, and in Psa_72:9 he turns to the south, and sees the desert tribes, unconquered as they have hitherto been, grovelling before the king, and his enemies in abject submission at his feet. The word rendered "desert peoples" is that used in Psa_74:14 for wild beasts inhabiting the desert, but here it can only mean wilderness tribes. There seems no need to alter the text, as has been proposed, and to read "adversaries." In Psa_72:10 the psalmist again looks westward, across the mysterious ocean of which he, like all his nation, knew so little. The great city of Tarshish lay for him at the farthest bounds of the world; and between him and it, or perhaps still farther out in the waste unknown, were islands from which rich and strange things sometimes reached Judaea. These shall bring their wealth in token of fealty. Again he looks southward to Sheba in Arabia, and Seba far south below Egypt, and foresees their submission. His knowledge of distant lands is exhausted, and therefore he ceases enumeration, and falls back on comprehensiveness. How little he knew, and how much he believed! His conceptions of the sweep of that "all" were childish; his faith that, however many these unknown kings and nations were, Gods anointed was their king was either extravagant exaggeration, or it was nurtured in him by God, and meant to be fulfilled when a world, wide beyond his dreams and needy beyond his imagination, should own the sway of a King, endowed with Gods righteousness and communicative of Gods peace, in a manner and measure beyond his desires.
The triumphant swell of these anticipations passes with wonderful pathos into gentler music, as if the softer tones of flutes should follow trumpet blasts. How tenderly and profoundly the psalm bases the universality of the dominion on the pitying care and delivering power of the King! The whole secret of sway over men lies in that "For," which ushers in the gracious picture of the beneficent and tender-hearted Monarch. The world is so full of sorrow, and men are so miserable and needy, that he who can stanch their wounds, solace their griefs, and shelter their lives will win their hearts and be crowned their king. Thrones based on force are as if set on an iceberg which melts away. There is no solid foundation for rule except helpfulness. In the world and for a little while "they that exercise authority are called benefactors"; but in the long run the terms of the sentence are inverted, and they that are rightly called benefactors exercise authority. The more earthly rulers approximate to this ideal portrait, the more "broad based upon their peoples will" and love will their thrones stand. If Israels kings had adhered to it, their throne would have endured. But their failures point to Him in whom the principle declared by the psalmist receives its most tender illustration. The universal dominion of Jesus Christ is based upon the fact that He "tasted death for every man." In the Divine purpose, He has won the right to rule men because He has died for them. In historical realisation, He wins mens submission because He has given Himself for them. Therefore does He command with absolute authority; therefore do we obey with entire submission. His sway not only reaches out over all the earth, inasmuch as the power of His cross extends to all men, but it lays hold of the inmost will and makes submission a delight.
The king is represented in Psa_72:14 as taking on himself the office of Goel, or Kinsman-Redeemer, and ransoming his subjects lives from "deceit and violence." That "their blood is precious in his eyes" is another way of saying that they are too dear to him to be suffered to perish. This kings treasure is the life of his subjects. Therefore he will put forth his power to preserve them and deliver them. The result of such tender care and delivering love is set forth in Psa_72:15, but in obscure language. The ambiguity arises from the absence of expressed subjects for the four verbs in the verse. Who is he who "lives"? Is the same person the giver of the gold of Sheba, and to whom is it given? Who prays, and for whom? And who blesses, and whom does he bless? The plain way of understanding the verse is to suppose that the person spoken of in all the clauses is the same; and then the question comes whether he is the king or the ransomed man. Difficulties arise in carrying out either reference through all the clauses; and hence attempts have been made to vary the subject of the verbs. Delitzsch, for instance, supposes that it is the ransomed man who "lives," the king who gives to the ransomed man gold, and the man who prays for and blesses the king. But such an arbitrary shuttling about of the reference of "he" and "him" is impossible. Other attempts of a similar kind need not be noticed here. The only satisfactory course is to take one person as spoken of by all the verbs. But then the question comes, Who is he? There is much to be said in favour of either hypothesis as answering that question. The phrase which is rendered above "So that he lives," is so like the common invocation "May the king live," that it strongly favours taking the whole verse as a continuance of the petitions for the monarch. But if so, the verb in the second clause (he shall give) must be taken impersonally, as equivalent to "one will give" or "there shall be given," and those in the remaining clauses must be similarly dealt with, or the text altered so as to make them plurals, reading, "They shall pray for him (the king), and shall bless him." On the whole; it is best to suppose that the ransomed man is the subject throughout, and that the verse describes his glad tribute, and continual thankfulness. Ransomed from death, he brings offerings to his deliverer. It seems singular that he should be conceived of both as "needy" and as owning "gold" which he can offer; but in the literal application the incongruity is not sufficient to prevent the adoption of this view of the clause; and in the higher application of the words to Christ and His subjects, which we conceive to be warranted, the incongruity becomes fine and deep truth; for the poorest soul, delivered by Him, can bring tribute, which He esteems as precious beyond all earthly treasure. Nor need the remaining clauses militate against the view that the ransomed man is the subject in them, The psalm had, a historical basis, and all its points cannot be introduced into the Messianic interpretation. This one of praying for the king cannot be; notwithstanding the attempts of some commentators to find a meaning for it in Christian prayers for the spread of Christs kingdom. That explanation does violence to the language, mistakes the nature of Messianic prophecy, and brings discredit on the view that the psalm has a Messianic character.
The last part of the psalm (Psa_72:16-17) recurs to petitions for the growth of the nation and the perpetual flourishing of the kings name. The fertility of the land and the increase of its people are the psalmists desires, which are also certainties, as expressed in Psa_72:16. He sees in imagination the whole land waving with abundant harvests, which reach even to the tops of the mountains, and rustle in the summer air, with a sound like the cedars of Lebanon, when they move their layers of greenness to the breeze. The word rendered above "abundance" is doubtful; but there does not seem to be in the psalmists mind the contrast which he is often supposed to be expressing, beautiful and true as it is, between the small beginnings and the magnificent end of the kingdom on earth. The mountains are here thought of as lofty and barren. If waving harvests clothe their gaunt sides, how will the vales laugh in plentiful crops! As the earth yields her increase, so the people of the king shall be multiplied, and from all his cities they shall spring forth abundant as grass. That figure would bear much expansion; for what could more beautifully set forth rapidity of growth, close-knit community, multiplication of units, and absorption of these in a lovely whole, than the picture of a meadow clothed with its grassy carpet? Such hopes had only partial fulfilment in Israel. Nor have they had adequate fulfilment up till now. But they lie on the horizon of the future, and they shall one day be reached. Much that is dim is treasured in them. There may be a renovated world, from which the curse of barrenness has been banished. There shall be a swift increase of the subjects of the King, until the earlier hope of the psalm is fulfilled, and all nations shall serve him.
But bright as are the poets visions concerning the kingdom, his last gaze is fastened on its king, and he prays that his name may last forever, and may send forth shoots as long as the sun shines in the sky. He probably meant no more than a prayer for the continual duration of the dynasty, and his conception of the name as sending forth shoots was probably that of its being perpetuated in descendants. But, as has been already noticed, the perpetuity, which he conceived of as belonging to a family and an office, really belongs to the One King, Jesus Christ, whose Name is above every name, and will blossom anew in fresh revelations of its infinite contents, not only while the sun shines, but when its fires are cold and its light quenched. The psalmists last desire is that the ancient promise to the fathers may be fulfilled in the King, their descendant, in whom men shall bless themselves. So full of blessedness may He seem to all men, that they shall take Him for the very type of felicity, and desire to be even as He is! In mens relation to Christ the phrase assumes a deeper meaning still: and though that is not intended by the psalmist, and is not the exposition of his words, it still is true that in Christ all blessings for humanity are stored, and that therefore if men are to be truly blessed they must plunge themselves into Him, and in Him find all that they need for blessedness and nobility of life and character. If He is our supreme type of whatsoever things are fair and of good report, and if we have bowed ourselves to Him because He has delivered us from death, then we share in His life, and all His blessings are parted among us.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v1Superscription.—“A Psalm for Solomon.” Margin: “Of Solomon.” Hengstenberg: “Solomon…
INTRODUCTION
Superscription.—“A Psalm for Solomon.” Margin: “Of Solomon.” Hengstenberg: “Solomon is named in the title as the author of the Psalm. Attempts have been made, to no purpose, to interpret לִשְׁלמֹה here, as in Psalms 127, in another sense. The ל, when it occurs as in the titles, without anything to limit its application, always indicates, as here, the author. In favour of the announcement in the title, we have first the remarkably objective character of the Psalm, common to it with the other writings of Solomon, and in striking contrast to that flow of feeling which forms such a marked feature in the Psalms of David. And, in the second place, there is also the fact that it is the circumstances of Solomon’s time that form the groundwork of the Psalm.”
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We have in the Psalm a picture of the character and extent of the sovereignty of the Messiah. “Solomon, when at the height of his own power,” says Canon Liddon, “sketches a Superhuman King, ruling an empire which in its character and in its compass altogether transcends his own. The extremest boundaries of the Kingdom of Israel melt away before the gaze of the Psalmist. The new kingdom reaches ‘from sea to sea, and from the flood unto the world’s end’ (Psa_72:8). It reaches from each frontier of the Promised Land to the remotest regions of the known world in the opposite quarter. From the Mediterranean it extends to the ocean that washes the shores of Eastern Asia; from the Euphrates to the utmost West. At the feet of its mighty Monarch, all who are most inaccessible to the arms or the influence of Israel hasten to tender their voluntary submission. The wild sons of the desert (Psa_72:9), the merchants of Tarshish in the then distant Spain, the islanders of the Mediterranean, the Arab chiefs, the wealthy Nubians (Psa_72:10), are foremost in proffering their homage and fealty. But all kings are at last to fall down in submission before the Ruler of the new kingdom; all nations are to do Him service (Psa_72:11). His empire is to be co-extensive with the world: it is also to be co-enduring with time (Psa_72:17). His empire is to be spiritual; it is to confer peace on the world, but by righteousness (Psa_72:3). The King will Himself secure righteou judgment (Psa_72:2; Psa_72:4), salvation (Psa_72:4; Psa_72:13), deliverance (Psa_72:12), redemption (Psa_72:14), to His subjects. The needy, the afflicted, the friendless, will be the especial objects of His tender care (Psa_72:12-13). His appearance in the world will be like the descent of ‘the rain upon the mown grass’ (Psa_72:6); the true life of man seems to have been killed out, but it is yet capable of being restored by Him. He himself, it is hinted, will be out of sight; but His Name will endure for ever; His Name will ‘propagate’; and men shall be blessed in Him to the end of time (Psa_72:17). This King is immortal; He is also all-knowing and all-mighty. ‘Omniscience alone can hear the cry of every human heart; Omnipotence alone can bring deliverance to every human sufferer.’ ”
Looking at the Psalm homiletically we see in it A Prayer for Kings (Psa_72:1), The Glorious Reign of the Messiah (Psa_72:2; Psa_72:17), and the Doxology.
A PRAYER FOR KINGS
(Psa_72:1.)
This brief prayer for the king suggests—
I. The character of a true king. It is clearly implied that he should be righteous. “Give Thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” Kings should be righteous in heart, in aims, in actions. They are bound to this,—
1. By obligations which are common to all men. Kings as much as their subjects are required “to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” The eternal and immutable laws of God for moral beings are as binding upon the mightiest sovereign as upon the meanest subject.
2. By obligations which are special to men of high position. Their example is incomparably more influential than that of those who occupy less conspicuous, or obscure positions. “The people are fashioned,” says Claudian, “according to the example of their king; and edicts are of less power than the model which his life exhibits.”
“A sovereign’s great example forms a people;
The public breast is noble, or is vile,
As he inspires it.”—Mallet.
Hence kings are under special obligations to “wear the white flower of a blameless life.”
“King-becoming graces
Are justice, verity, temperance, stableness,
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness,
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude.”
—Shakespeare.
“He’s a king,
A true right king, who dares do aught, save wrong;
Fears nothing mortal, but to be unjust;
Who is not blown up with the flatt’ring puffs
Of spongy sycophants; who stands unmoved,
Despite the jostling of opinion;
Who can enjoy himself, maugre the throng
That strive to press the quiet out of him;
Who sits upon Jove’s footstool as I do,
Adorning, not affecting, majesty;
Whose brow is wreathed with the silver crown
Of clear content.”—Marston.
“He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”
II. The function of a true king. It is implied that his business is to administer justice. “Give the king Thy judgments, O God.” The “judgments” are the legal decisions, or sentences. The judgments of God are contrasted with those which the king gives independently. “The essence of all justice lies in the conformity of the decisions of the earthly judge to the decisions of the heavenly Lord of Justice.” Barnes: “It is one of the primary ideas of the character of a king that he is the fountain of justice; the maker of the laws; the dispenser of right to all his subjects. The officers of the law administer justice under him; the last appeal is to him.” The true administrators of justice are “persuaded that justice is God’s own work, and themselves His agents in this business,—the sentence, of right, God’s own verdict, and themselves His priests to deliver it.” (Comp. Deu_1:17; 2Ch_19:6; Pro_8:15.)
“A monarch should be
Heaven’s true vicegerent, whose superior soul
Raised high above the tyrant’s selfish poorness,
Pants but for power of doing good, rejects
All power of doing ill; who makes no war
But to revenge his people’s wrongs; no peace
But what secures their safety; courts no fame
But from their happiness: a parent he,
The public parent—they not slaves, but sons.”
—Mallet.
Or, as Tennyson portrays him—
“Who reverenced his conscience as his king;
Whose glory was, redressing human wrong;
Who spake no slander, no, nor listen’d to it;
Who loved one only, and who clave to her.”
“The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.” The kingdom whose rulers are not characterised by righteousness, and whose judges are not just, must hasten to its overthrow.
III. The need of a true king. It is implied in the text that he needs—
1. Divine guidance. “Give the king Thy judgments, O God.” If kings are to exercise the functions of their high office truly and wisely, they must be instructed and strengthened from above. When “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” rests upon kings, their rule shall be righteous, their throne secure, and their subjects happy. (Comp. Isa_11:2-5.)
2. Divine grace. “Give Thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” Righteousness is not innate in kings. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Righteousness must come to them as the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and must be sought and obtained by faith, &c. Very great is the need of kings of the constant help of God. Their temptations are many and very powerful; they stand in slippery places; their exaltation has a tendency to unsettle their moral equilibrium, &c. They need the guidance and support of the Divine hand.
IV. The duty of subjects. We may make this our prayer for our rulers:—“Give the king Thy judgments, O God,” &c. Every subject ought to pray for the blessing of God upon his sovereign. M. Henry: “Those who would live quiet and peaceable lives must pray for kings and all in authority, that God would give them His judgments and righteousness.” Let us pray God with His favour to behold all the rulers of men, and so replenish them with the grace of His Holy Spirit, that they may alway incline to His will and walk in His way.
THE GLORIOUS REIGN OF THE MESSIAH
(Psa_72:2-17.)
That these splendid utterances cannot be applied merely to the kingdom of Solomon, or of any of his successors, must be obvious even to the most superficial reader. That they are prophetic of the kingdom of the Messiah will also be obvious, we think, to every one who thoughtfully regards them. Consider—
I. The blessings of His reign. Several of these are here specified.
1. The administration of justice. “He shall judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with judgment. He shall judge the poor of the people. He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.” (See remarks in the preceding sketch on the function of a true king.) Eloquently has Isaiah portrayed the character of the Messianic administration (Psa_11:1-5).
2. The enjoyment of peace. “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness.” Mountains and hills are characteristic features of Palestine. In ancient times these were terraced and cultivated as far up as possible. In the representation of this peace by the Psalmist we have three ideas.
(1) Prevalence. The mountains and hills by reason of their number and prominence are well fitted to express the idea that the land everywhere shall be full of peace. There shall be “abundance of peace.” The war drum shall no longer throb, and the battle flag shall be for ever furled. Men “shall beat their swords into ploughshares,” &c. Strife and bitterness between different classes of society shall be no more. Peace in man’s own being. Peace between man and man. Peace between God and man.
(2) Reality. “Peace by righteousness.” The peace which is not rooted in righteousness is spurious and deceptive. True peace is the product and consequence of righteousness. It is so in the individual. “Being justified by faith we have peace with God,” &c. It is so also in society and in nations. Christ is “the Prince of Peace,” because He “reigns in righteousness.”
(3) Permanence. The spurious peace which is not rooted in righteousness is of short duration. The true peace, which is “by righteousness,” shall last. Like its Author, it is abiding, everlasting. What an unspeakably precious boon is this Divine peace!
3. The progress of religion (Psa_72:5-7). We have three conspicuous features of true religion.
(1) Reverence towards God. “They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.” One of the blessed effects of the glorious reign of the Messiah is that God will be regarded by man with the deepest reverence. And this reverence shall be perpetual. Generations of men come and go—
“Like the snowfall in the river,
A moment white—then melts for ever.”
But the sun and moon remain and shine through all generations while they remain, God shall be reverenced by man. And when they are no more, even for ever, shall He be feared.
(2) Refreshment from God. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth.” A beautiful illustration of Divine influences—
“As rain on meadows newly mown,
So shall He send His influence down;
His grace on fainting souls distils,
Like heavenly dew on thirsty hills.”—Watts.
The showers that water the earth tend to produce life, beauty, and fruit. In this they symbolise the gracious influences of the reign of Jesus Christ.
(3) Growth towards God. “In His days shall the righteous flourish.” As the mown grass springs into vigorous and beauteous growth after genial showers, so the righteous in His day shall grow and prosper; they shall bring forth “fruit unto holiness.” If they have been depressed, by His blessing they shall be revived and strengthened. Their faith and love and obedience, their consecration and zeal and sanctity, their truth and tenderness and power, all shall increase. What an inspiring and glorious prospect this is! Evil shall not always lord it over good, &c.
4. Beneficent government. We have already made some remarks on the righteousness of His administration, but we return to it, because the Psalmist gives special prominence to His treatment of the poor and the oppressed. Three characteristics at least of that treatment he sets before us.
(1) He regards the cry of the needy and helpless. “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” Not even the most obscure or despised of men shall cry to Him in vain.
(2) He champions their cause. “He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence.” He will befriend the friendless, will be the Helper of the helpless, and the Protector of the defenceless. “His administration will have special respect to those who are commonly overlooked, and who are exposed to oppression and wrong.”
(3) He prizes their life. “And precious shall their blood be in His sight.” In His sight men are precious not in proportion to their rank or wealth or power, but according to their character. “The Lord knoweth them that are His,” and holds them dear to Him. He guards His subjects well because He loves them well. “Christ is the poor man’s King.”
5. Abundant prosperity. “There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains, the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the field.” The word—פִּסָּה—translated “handful,” is rendered abundance by Conant, Gesenius, Hengstenberg, Moll, et al. Fuerst gives as its meaning, superabundance. Abundance of corn is the sign of abundant prosperity. As the mountains are prominent and picturesque, so the signs of the prosperity would be conspicuous and beautiful. The cities also shall be populous and prosperous. Beauty, plenty, and joy, shall be universally diffused throughout the dominions of the Messiah. An historical basis of the ideas of prosperity presented in this verse is found in the time of Solomon, and recorded in 1Ki_4:20. (For further treatment of Psa_72:16, see below.) Such, in brief, are some of the more prominent blessings of the reign of the Christ. Consider—
II. The universality of His reign (Psa_72:8-11).
1. He shall reign over all classes. The wanderers of the desert and the kings of wealthy and famous cities shall bow to the sway of the Lord Jesus. Rich and poor, learned and illiterate, distinguished and obscure, great and small, men of all ranks and conditions, shall loyally call Jesus Lord.
2. He shall reign in all places. “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” For an historical basis of the statements in Psa_72:8-10, see 1Ki_4:21. Applying the words of Psa_72:8, to the kingdom of the Messiah we are not, it seems to us, to fix upon any particular sea or river. M. Henry: “No sea, no river, is named, that it might, by these proverbial expressions, intimate the universal monarchy of the Lord Jesus.” Hengstenberg: “The dominion of this king extends from any one sea to any other sea, and from any river even to the ends of the earth—it is a kingdom of boundless extent.” “All nations shall serve Him.” (Comp. Rev_11:15.)
And His dominion shall be as secure as it is wide, as real as it is extensive All His foes shall be completely subdued unto Him. “His enemies shall lick the dust,” in token of reverence and submission to Him.
Mark the reason of this universal and complete sovereignty. The Psalmist gives it in Psa_72:12-14. Perowne: “The reason is given why all kings and nations should thus do homage to Him who sits on David’s throne. He has merited such submission by the exercise of every royal virtue, by the justice and the mercy of His sway, by His deep sympathy with, and compassion for, the poor, by the protection which He extends to them against the ministers of fraud and violence. It is not that He merely covers with the shadow of His throne all neighbouring nations, and is acknowledged as their political head, but that the bright example which He sets, the majesty of righteousness enthroned in His person, compels all to bow before Him.”
III. The perpetuity of His reign. “They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.… His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun.” Margin: “Shall be as a son to continue his father’s name for ever.” Conant: “As long as the sun shall His name flourish.” Moll: “Before the sun let His name sprout.” The idea seems to be that the name of the king would be always acquiring fresh renown by His new deeds on behalf of His subjects. Through all the coming generations of men new glories shall break forth for His name, in which all nations may bless themselves. The reign of Jesus will be perpetual. “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” The perpetuity of His reign is guaranteed by—
1. The declarations of God’s Word (Psa_45:6; Psa_89:36; Isa_9:7; Dan_4:3; Rev_11:15).
2. The character of His sovereignty. He rules in the hearts of His subjects, by the force of truth, righteousness, and love. The loyalty and service which they render to Him are voluntary and joyous.
IV. The praise of His reign. The Psalmist represents this as presented to the king in various forms. It is expressed by—
1. Rendering homage to Him. “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him, and His enemies shall lick the dust. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him.”
2. Rendering service to Him. “All nations shall serve Him.” His subjects will praise Him not only by forms and expressions of homage, but by loyal obedience also. Their hearty submission to Him will be manifest in their devoted service.
3. Paying tribute to Him. “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. To Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba.” The day is surely coming when men everywhere shall gladly lay their best and most treasured possessions at His feet. Genius, eloquence, power, riches, shall all be heartily rendered to Him.
4. Ascribing blessing to Him. “Prayer also shall be made for Him continually, and daily shall He be praised. And men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.” The prayer is made “not for Him personally, but for the success of His reign—for the extension of His kingdom. Prayer made for that is made for Him, for He is identified with that.” Instead of “men shall be blessed in Him,” many render: “Shall bless themselves in Him;” and interpret it as the expression of admiration of His blessedness, and desire to be blessed as He is. Daily men praise Him. And the time approaches when men of every nation shall constantly ascribe to Him all power, and dominion, and glory, and blessing; their lives shall become grateful, adoring, and songful; from all peoples, and from all places, praise shall ascend to the Saviour-King.
CONCLUSION.—
1. Let the enemies of Christ submit themselves cheerfully to Him as their King. Manifestly it is both their duty and their interest to do so.
2. Let His loyal subjects take encouragement from the sure and glorious prospect of His reign. The sin and strife and sorrow of the race will have an end. The kingdom of holiness, peace, and joy will be universal and perpetual. Here is encouragement to work and wait, to pray and hope.
“O’er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest:
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all bless’d.
“The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove:
His name shall stand for ever!
That name to us is—LOVE.”
—Montgomery.
PEACE BY POWER
(Psa_72:3.)
“The mountains shall bring peace.”
The writer of this Hebrew ode finds the peaceful in the grand—rest in greatness. Our doctrine is, that the quiet of the human soul is to be honestly found, not in descending to its lower or lessforcible states, but in the freedom of its highest qualities, and through its stronger exercises: or, that Christian peace is an attainment of the spiritual energies, and not a mere acquiescence in inferiority.
When the Saviour speaks of the ultimate result of His religion in the single heart or in the world, He calls it Peace; “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you.” But as soon as you look into the spirit and relations of His words, you see that in this peace there is something quite peculiar. He says, “My peace.” It is a peace obtained by the drops of blood and the cross; Gethsemane and Calvary; by a life in which there was no place to lay the head. It is not a mere constitutional, negative, nor any superficial peace: it is not what we call pleasure, nor a happy temperament, nor gratified sensibilities, nor satiated appetites. It is something deeper and stronger. It is an attainment; it is a victory; it is tribulation overcome. It is the mightiest powers of our nature balanced, reconciled, and harmonised at last, though we know not by what struggles and sufferings, till, by the perfect sway of one supreme principle of faith, there are the equipoise and serenity that pass all understanding.
The three obvious attributes of mountains are elevation, magnitude, and permanency. Out of these three several characters comes an influence of peace. In just such attributes of strength, human character, also, is to find its moral balance, its real peace, viz., in its aspiration, its largeness, its constancy. Man is high with his devotional affections, his prayers; wide with his practical principles; and steadfast with his convictions. Or, he is high with his spirit, wide with his will, and steadfast with his reason. With these three properly adjusted, you will have a general effect of serenity; because such a man will live in a certain equipoise within himself, centred and completed according to the grand designs of his Creator, as a creature belonging both to the world and heaven. He reaches up into the infinite mystery that broods like a sea of conscious life about him. He reaches out, in all liberal fellowships, to mankind, with a love that cannot narrow into hatred, nor be fretted into war; and he rests firmly on eternal foundations. And thus, on all sides—God-ward, and man-ward, and self-ward—so far as man can, he resides in the securities of a well-defended peace.
Spiritual serenity, then, is spiritual strength. It comes in by no softness of sentiment, but by thorough work. It comes by a faith that emboldens and energises the whole soul, a penitence that searches and strains it, and often a secret fight of afflictions. Christianity is a robust religion. It was planted in the world by a race of heroes.…
Take any one of these three traits just mentioned away, and, besides what other ruin you make, you most disastrously disturb the peace.… On whichever side you enfeeble man, you unbalance and torture him.
Proceed to some examples, in other regions of life, how peace depends on power.
In literary expression, the effect of pathos is finest in thinkers habitually severe. What saves sentiment from sentimentality is the feeling of a firm intellectual fibre through the emotion.
Persons who have been in the strain and peril of some moral or civil revolution, wounded with real weapons, and compacted by times of terror, if they have benignant qualities, impress us in that way far more than is possible for men of softer discipline. Tenderness is doubly tender when we know a rugged and aggressive temper has been subdued to it by that rule over the spirit which is mightier than the taking of cities.
It is familiar how bereavements, which are the storms of the soul, prepare the way for religious tranquility. Crosses bring calmness.… In the solemn portrait-galleries of history, the serenest faces are the saddest—where peace has not been inherited, but conquered.
We have this union of power and tenderness eminently in such as Luther; …
Again, in the great pacifications of empires, the same rule prevails. It takes the strongest heads to bring peace. Diplomacy has to summon her stoutest, clearest-sighted, and farthest-sighted ministers. The most intrepid are most pacific. Magnanimity makes no quarrels.
Hence we come to discover in what order of persons we are to look for the noblest charity and the real consolation. We want our consolers to be, not only the subjects of pain, but its conquerors through their suffering. The more masculine your pity, the more it moves and melts.
And when we speak of comfort, we are directed up to the Comforter.… What is the whole doctrine of that Spirit, in the New Testament, and in Paul? They represent Him as not only Comforter, but also and first, Rebuker, Renewer, and Sanctifier.
All our peace is in God, who is not only the strongest, but Almighty. “The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”
Personal applications.
1. Learn never to be afraid of rugged and even painful experiences.
“Great souls snatch vigour from the stormy air,
While weaker natures Suffer and despair,
Grief not the languor but the action brings,
And spreads the horison but to nerve the wings.”
2. A rule for “strengthening the brethren.” As we would comfort one another, we must try, with the apostle’s earnestness, to “endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.”
3. Of how sterling worth is a form of religious belief which holds fast the stringent as well as the soothing doctrine of Christ’s evangelical teaching. The order of the universe is poised between justice and mercy; and it is not kindness, but the bitterest cruelty, which would unsettle that order, by giving us a Deity too doting to punish, and too fond too judge.
4. Learn the way of making our own eternal life secure. The New Testament speaks continually to us of salvation. By salvation Christ means such safety as lies in a sturdy and athletic power of character, will, heart, conscience, and intellect, got by daring to attempt great virtues and by incessant intrepidity. He holds up no lower standard than to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. He wins confidence by the very immensity of His demands.
5. We disturb the true spiritual order and invert God’s plan for us, whenever we go in search of peace first, and not holiness. “First pure, then peaceable:” that is the clearly-pronounced order and everlasting law of a disciple’s way.—F. D. Huntington, D.D. Abridged from Christian Believing and Living.
THE GOSPEL THE POWER OF GOD
(Psa_72:16.)
Such figurative language as that of the text is frequently employed to describe the Gospel as a mere system of means, unlikely to accomplish the purpose contemplated, and yet as certain of ultimate success. Considering this language as referring to the Gospel, let us notice—
I. The insignificance of its commencement. In Ezekiel’s vision of the waters issuing from the sanctuary, it is but “a little rill,” which takes its rise at the south side of the altar, just where the blood of the sacrifices overflow. In the vision of Nebuchadnezzar it is “a little stone,” cut out of the mountain without hands. And in the New Testament we find our Saviour comparing it to “a grain of mustard seed;” and to “a little leaven” hid in meal. In our text it is compared to “a handful of corn.”
1. Look at its commencement in the world. It was heralded by one who had not his abode in cities, who was not of the honourable of the earth, either as to wealth or learning; but one of stern and forbidding aspect, &c. Look at its Author; a poor carpenter’s son, belonging to the despised city of Nazareth; and to Him, He associates twelve of the poorest class of society. Yet to these twelve was committed the task of evangelising the world.
2. Look at the fewness of its doctrines. The first preachers of the Gospel went forth to proclaim a fact—that Jesus Christ had died for sinners—and from that fact they drew various inferences, and urged various duties upon men, and with these, as all that was necessary to accomplish their purpose, they went forth.
3. Look at its commencement in the heart. How insignificant are some of the means made use of. Perhaps it is a single word dropped from the lips of a preacher; sometimes it is the sight of a word in the Bible; sometimes even a look is enough; sometimes many are awakened by merely seeing others in concern, as in the great revival at Kilsyth, a century ago.
II. Its unlikelihood of success. “An handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains.” How unlikely, how impossible, for it to yield a crop there. Yet such is the figure employed to represent the Gospel in the world. This language may point out—
1. The feebleness of its instrumentality. Soil found on the tops of mountains, both from its poverty and scarcity, would be a very unlikely instrument for yielding a crop of corn. So they who have been employed by God in diffusing the Gospel have not been such instruments as were likely in human estimation to accomplish its purposes. “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty.” He hath put the “treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God.” The first preachers of the cross were a few fishermen.
2. The difficulties it has to surmount. Corn sown on the top of a mountain would not be likely to yield a crop, on account of the adverse influences it would have to encounter. There would not only be the unfitness and scarcity of the soil itself; there would be the want of solar heat, its exposed situation, open to every current of air and to all the storms of the sky; and as mountains are the first to attract the clouds, the teeming rain would likely wash down both seed and soil to the base beneath. The Gospel, in its first promulgation among men, had to encounter many obstacles.
(1) It had to contend with long-established forms of error, … to encounter systems of superstition, which possessed a mighty influence over the minds of their votaries, because they had the argument of antiquity in their favour, and because they were the religious systems of their fathers.
(2) It had to encounter those errors in an age of great refinement. This was the Augustan age of literature. It was at this time that some of the greatest minds that ever adorned our planet were shedding the light of learning, philosophy, and poetry around them, much of which is resplendent to the present day. How unlikely was the Gospel to make progress in such an age as this. Yet this was the period chosen.
(3) The enmity of man’s nature is another obstacle which would then as now be presented to the progress of the Gospel. There is nothing in the doctrines or duties of the Gospel which is at all congenial to man’s fallen nature. Its truths are foolishness to him. Its purity excites his enmity.
(4) There is against the Gospel the combined powerful agency of the mighty and malicious prince of darkness and his numerous followers. This is a subject of frequent allusion to the early promoters of Christianity.
III. Its glorious results. “The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon,” &c. These results are placed before us—
1. In the fertility that attends it. Wherever the waters of the Gospel flow, it turns the wilderness into a fruitful field, and makes the desert as “the garden of the Lord.” “Lovely tempers, fruits of grace,” everywhere attend the proclamation of the Gospel of peace.
2. In the beauty that adorns it. “Shake like Lebanon.” How beautiful the change which the Gospel has effected in every place in which it has been introduced. It has been alike successful in demolishing callous systems of philosophy and sanguinary superstition. What are those buildings which rear their fronts where once Druid temples were erected? They are asylums for the wretched, the sick, the destitute, and the dying. And to what do we owe the change? To the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Witness its triumphs also in the islands of the South Sea, in Africa, &c.
3. In the triumphs which it is destined universally to accomplish. “They of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” Count the numbers of the blades of grass which are spread over the surface of this earth of ours: ou cannot! Neither can you count the numbers of the future converts of Zion. This language may also point out its rapid progress in the latter day. Grass is proverbially speedy in its growth. The triumphs of the Gospel will very soon be equally rapid. “The earth shall be made to bring forth in one day, and a nation be born at once.”—Abridged from One Hundred Sketches of Sermons.
HOPE OPENED TO THE WORLD
(Psa_72:17.)
“Men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed.”
Hope, with respect to the world, affords some comfort to us, when viewing its affecting condition since the fall; and this spring of consolation we have opened to us in God’s word of promise. What a glorious time is the Psalmist looking forward to here! Observe—
I. The objects regarded. “Men.” Not angels. While we have abundant cause to admire the grace of God in this; it must obviously be looked upon as bearing a striking impress of sovereignty. Men participated with devils in their guilt; yet not one of the latter is ever to be blessed (Heb_2:16; 2Pe_2:4; Jud_1:6).
II. The number included. “All nations.” How many nations are there in the world that never heard of Christ? How many, that have been deprived of the Gospel during a long series of ages? But this distinction among nations with respect to the means of salvation was never intended in the Divine mind to continue always (Mat_24:14; Mat_26:13; Mar_14:9; Mar_16:15). If little has been hitherto done for distant countries, it must be ascribed to the selfishness of men (Php_2:21).
III. The exercise mentioned. “Call Him blessed.” The worth of Christ shall be universally sung; none shall be afraid to confess Him before men, or dare to offer any vain excuse for not yielding allegiance to Him; but from every tribe under heaven soldiers shall hasten to His standard and proclaim His honours.
IV. The certainty expressed. “All nations shall call Him blessed.” This certainty may be argued from prophetic representation—from the dominion given to the Saviour—from the facilities afforded in the present day to missionary exertions—from the desires and expectations of the saints—and from the Divine threatenings against the powers of darkness.—W. Sleigh.
DOXOLOGY
(Psa_72:18-20.)
“Verses 18 and 19 do not belong to the Psalm, but contain the doxology which forms the conclusion of the second book.” This doxology is fuller than that which is appended to Psalms 41, at the close of the first book.
The historical remark which constitutes Psa_72:20 is no part either of the Psalm or of the doxology. It seems to have been attached to a collection of the Psalms of David, as distinguished from separate Psalms of his. Hengstenberg: “All the Psalms of David in the last two books are inserted as component parts into the later cycles. The subscription at the end of the second book must have been designed to separate the free and the bound, the scattered and the serial Psalms of David, from each other. Analogous in some measure is the subscription—‘At an end are the speeches of Job,’ in Job_31:40, which is not contradicted by the fact that Job appears again speaking, in chaps. 40 and 42; it should rather be regarded as serving to give us a light understanding of that formal conclusion.” In this doxology there are four leading homiletic points—
I. The comprehensiveness of the praise. God is praised because—
1. Of what He is in Himself. “Blessed be the Lord God, and blessed be His glorious name.” Note the ideas conveyed by these terms. “Jehovah”—“the existing, i.e., He who has come into existence by nothing outside Himself, the continuing, permanent, everlasting; its antithesis or opposite being the non-real, the transitory, the nought.”—Fuerst. “God,” Elohim, the Almighty. “His glorious name,” perhaps referring particularly to Jehovah. “Still the prayer would be, that all the names by which He is known, all by which He has revealed Himself, might be regarded with veneration always and everywhere.”
2. Of what He is to His people. “The God of Israel.” He had entered into covenant relation with them. (See p. 205.)
3. Of what He does. “Who only doeth wondrous things.” (α) In creation. (β) In providence, (γ) In redemption. His wondrous redemptive work transcends even angelic intelligence. “Which things the angels desire to look into.”
“The first-born sons of light
Desire in vain its depths to see;
They cannot reach the mystery,
The length and breadth and height.”
His works are wondrous
(1) In their power.
(2) In their wisdom.
(3) In their kindness. “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
(4) In their significance. “No man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” Therefore, “Blessed be the Lord God,” &c.
II. The perpetuity of the praise. “For ever.”
“My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures.”
He is “the author of eternal salvation;” He calls us “to His eternal glory;” He promises an “eternal inheritance;” therefore, let His praise be eternal.
“But O! eternity’s too short
To utter all His praise.”
III. The universality of the praise. “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.” (Comp. Num_14:21.) This brief prayer involves two things—
1. That the whole earth may be filled with His blessing. “It is not a little favoured spot that the Psalmist regards; it is not an insulated portion of the globe that he would have fructified and converted into a paradise. It is not on his own garden or fields that he wishes the refreshing showers only to fall; but with a noble, expansive, and generous mind, he prays that the whole earth may be filled with God’s glory.”
2. That the whole earth may be filled with His praise. “Let every heart, and every mouth, and every assembly be filled with the high praises of God.” (See Mal_1:11.)
IV. The intensity of the praise. “Amen and Amen.” (See p. 205.)
“May kindness, truth,
Wisdom, and knowledge, liberty, and power,
Virtue, and holiness o’erspread all orbs;
the world be bliss and love;
And heaven above be all things; till at last
The music from all souls redeemed shall rise,
Like a perpetual fountain of pure sound,
Upspringing, sparkling in the silvery blue;
From round creation to Thy feet, O God!”
—P. J. Bailey.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible1900 · Public DomainOn v1I. Christ’s gracious visitations are essential to the comfort…
Psa 72:6
I. Christ’s gracious visitations are essential to the comfort and prosperity of the Church. This doctrine is evidently taught in the text. The Church, without the manifestations of Christ’s presence and grace, is, like the mown grass, languishing for heaven’s moisture. Favoured with these manifestations, it is like a field which the Lord hath blessed.
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II. We are warranted to look for gracious visitations to the Church. The text is not to be regarded as a prophecy pertaining merely to the future, but as a statement which has been verified already in the history of the Church, and which may be verified also in like manner at the present day.
III. Notice some of the means which must be employed for the obtaining of the blessings promised in the text. When Christ is to come down for the refreshment of His people, like rain upon the mown grass, it will generally be found (1) that they have been stirred up earnestly to desire and long for His manifestations; (2) that they have been excited to the exercises of deep repentance and prayer; (3) that they have set themselves to walk before Him according to all the appointments of His word; (4) that they have been brought to give greater honour to the Spirit and His work than they were accustomed to do before, and to feel more deeply their absolute dependence upon His gracious operations.
A. D. Davidson, Lectures and Sermons, p. 135.
The genial character of Christianity.
Look at Christianity:
I. As a scheme. (1) As a scheme, the religion of Jesus Christ is a device to seek and to save the lost. (2) It is a Divine device, consisting of means arranged by our Father in heaven to prevent His banished ones being finally expelled from Him. (3) In this design chief service is assigned to One who is called the Son of God. His service is rendered chiefly by abasement and toil, suffering and death. This part of the Christian scheme appears to some men so ungenial that they ignore or reject it; but all that is dark, and sad, and gloomy in the sacrifice of the Son of God leads to all that is bright and sunny in man’s salvation. (4) The Christian scheme provides that salvation should be revealed and applied by the Holy Ghost. This part of the scheme is as important, and at the same time as genial, as the redemption-devising grace of the Father, and as the mediation of the Son of God. Perfect knowledge, wisdom, goodness, and love in Him whose work directly affects our inner life, is a fact on which we cannot but look with joy. (5) As a system of morals, Christianity is based upon love. (6) The Christian religion is aggressive, aiming at comprehension without compromise; but its mode of aggression is as genial as its doctrines and precepts, its promises and spirit. (7) If we look at the Christian dispensation as a matter of individual experience, its genial aspect remains unchanged. (8) The Christian system finds its consummation in a new creation, perfected in all its parts and bearings. Can this scheme be other than genial?
II. Look, secondly, at Christianity as a fact. (1) As a fact, Christianity was too genial to be received by the people to whom it was first presented. (2) The presence of Christianity involves the presence of all that is genial there. It presents genial subjects to the mind and genial objects to the soul, and it must give a genial aspect to the character and prompt its disciples to generous and noble deeds. (3) To be really genial we must maintain personal intercourse with Christ by the aid of the Holy Ghost. To be right, and true, and strong is our first duty; to be attractive, and cheerful, and genial is our next duty. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me."
S. Martin, Rain upon the Mown Grass, p. 1.
References: Psa 72:6.—H. Macmillan, Two Worlds are Ours, p. 80; S. Hebditch, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 273. Psa 72:6, Psa 72:7.—J. Keble, Sermons for the Christian Year: Christmas to Epiphany, pp.39, 268. Psa 72:10, Psa 72:11.—G. Huntington, Sermons for Holy Seasons, p. 43. Psa 72:12.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xviii., No. 1037. Psa 72:15.—Ibid., vol. xii., No. 717. Psa 72:16.—F. Delitzsch, Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iii., p. 60; M. G. Pearse, Sermons to Children, p. 67.
Psa 72:17
The theme which this text presents for our consideration is Messiah’s glorious renown—a renown richly deserved, widely diffused, enthusiastically accorded, and everlastingly continued. The perpetuity of Jesus’ name and fame is, however, the main idea of the passage.
Notice:—
I. For what reasons Messiah’s name and fame shall endure for ever. (1) Because, by its own inherent properties, it is fitted to endure. It is a name (a) of superlative greatness; (b) of superlative goodness. (2) Because, by God’s immutable purposes and promises, it is destined to endure for ever.
II. In what respect Messiah’s name shall endure for ever, (1) Emblazoned on the pages of a living book. Christ is an Author. The Bible is His book. (2) Embodied in lasting institutions. Beyond compare the noblest institution in the world today is the Christian Church, and of that Jesus is the Founder. We have the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Day, and Divine ordinances of prayer and praise, of preaching and giving, that shall not cease. (3) Enshrined in loving hearts. His name shall live in their holiness, love, and gratitude for ever.
III. With what results Messiah’s renown shall endure for ever. (1) Benefactions from Him. "Men shall be blessed in Him." (2) Benedictions upon Him. "All nations shall call Him blessed."
A. Miller, American Pulpit of the Day, 1st series, 1875, p. 55.
References: Psa 72:17.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 27. Psa 72:18, Psa 72:19.—H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 26. Psa 72:19.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 129; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 220; A. Fletcher, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 77. Psalm 72—Congregationalist, vol. xv., p. 95; J. G. Murphy, The Book of Daniel, p. 48. Psa 73:2, Psa 73:17.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 104.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant1903 · Public DomainOn v1Salvation for the Earth.
Salvation for the Earth.
For Solomon.
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The last psalm of the salvation-book of the Psalms shows the full extent of the salvation in its earthly aspect, in the Melchizedek reign of Christ, King of righteousness and peace; peace being the effect of righteousness, and thus abiding. And this is a true picture of what is come, although there are things which the New Testament adds to it, which are not seen here, nor in the Old Testament at all. For the Old Testament does not reveal the full and final, eternal condition of things, even for the earth, as the New Testament reveals it, save in that brief intimation of "new heavens and a new earth," with which Isaiah closes. Types and dark sayings, of course, there are, but no plain speech otherwise. For the Old Testament the kingdom of Christ ends all; which is true in a most important sense, but incomplete: for we have not the millennial limitation, the uprise of evil at the end, the judgment of the dead, and the change of the kingdom of the Son of man into the kingdom of the Father, when, having brought all things into the full final condition of blessing, the Son gives up that preparatory millennial rule into the Father’s hand. All this could scarcely be revealed till Christ had come; and it is the manner of revelation to increase in fullness to the end. Yet, as Christ, after all, does reign for ever and ever, -the eternal throne being still "the throne of God and the Lamb," the kingdom to which the Old Testament looks on is, after all, eternal; and its view is simply (and necessarily) incomplete, not (of course) wrong. Yet this merging of the millennial in the eternal is that which no doubt has confused the minds of some who think they see more clearly, and have lately come to believe in two successive kingdoms of Christ as man: the millennial being merely introductory (as the Davidic) to the true Solomon reign of uninterrupted peace and much longer duration which yet precedes the eternal blessedness. But the twentieth of Revelation certainly finds no place for such a reign in the brief interval between the millennium and the judgment of the great white throne; while we are told that "when all enemies shall be subdued under Him," -and the last enemy to be subdued is death, -"then shall the Son also Himself be subject to Him that put all things under Him" (1Co 15:28): thus excluding this reign of glory from the other side of it. However, let us take up the psalm.
1. The first section shows the principle of the kingdom, -peace as the effect of righteousness. This is what the apostle speaks of in relation to the antitypical Melchizedek, and which he draws from the language of the history in a way so deeply instructive for the interpretation of Scripture, and so declaring the divine perfection which is found throughout this. "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, . . . first being by interpretation ’king of righteousness,’ and after that, king of Salem; that is, ’king of peace.’" Melchizedek being as the translation of his own name "king of righteousness," similarly this must come before his official title, "king of Salem," which being similarly translated means "king of peace." The meaning and order of these two Hebrew names are made in this way to define for us the principle that "righteousness" must go before "peace." This is only what Scripture elsewhere declares (in plain words) of that glorious time "when the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever" (Isa 32:17). But the apostle thinks evidently that there is no need of confirmation of what these two names declare. What an insight into the breadth of Scripture, and what a revelation of its glory, he gives us by this method of proof!
This first section of our psalm, as we shall see, declares the same thing. First of all, in a prayer, the psalmist asks: "O God, give the king Thy judgments; and Thy righteousness unto the king’s Son." Christ is both, as we know. Son of David, He takes the throne of David legally as that. But He is King also in a far higher way, and as such, divine righteousness belongs to Him by nature. No merely human hands can be trusted to hold in perfect equipoise this sceptre: and yet they are truly human hands: His of whom as Man, after a life of thirty years in this world, God could give testimony, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Now we have His careful discrimination in judgment, the first line speaking of strict equity; the second, bringing in (as lexicographers tell us), or at least allowing in it, the element of mercy also: "Thine afflicted, with judgment."
Then the effect is found: "The mountains," types of firmly established power, "shall bring peace to the people; and the hills" (the smaller magistracies), "by righteousness." The perfect equity of the Head reflects itself in all that are His representatives.
And while no persons are favored in the judgment, the "afflicted" are tenderly considered, and "the children of the needy" cared for; while He breaks in pieces the oppressor.
2. Such is the character, then, of this government, so unique as it is among the sons of men. We now are called to see the kingdom in progress. Years do not change it: "They shall fear Thee as long as the sun, and while the moon endureth, -for all generations." Those glowing orbs of heaven are indeed the typical representatives of such power as this, the underived and the reflected; lights that have never erred from their appointed place since the day they were commissioned to "give light upon the earth." But no figures suffice to show Him forth aright; the next verse speaks of tender and reviving ministry: "He shall come down like rain on the mown grass" -the field that needs replacement of that which has been removed: "as showers that water the earth." There is no sweeter figure of spiritual influence than this which is the Spirit’s own type. And the Spirit indeed it is, who works in unity with this glorious King; so that again we have righteousness and peace, though after a different manner, connected together: "In His days shall the righteous flourish, and there shall be abundance of peace till the moon be no more."
All this is as simple as it is blessed to contemplate: this is the progress of the kingdom in time; now we are to see its progress in extent; and here we naturally begin from the centre -from the land itself. The fourth verse of this section plainly defines the limits of the land itself, of Israel’s land. "From sea to sea" is not the way in which dominion over the whole earth would be defined; nor again "from the River to the ends of the earth." The River, without any other definition, naturally means the Euphrates; and this was Israel’s limit in one direction, according to the promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:18). From this point, the "ends of the land" -for so we should evidently understand it -reach to Egypt in the one direction, and to where the land ends, in the opposite direction eastward from this. And there is in this direction, and southward from it, everywhere a coast-line which is its "end." If the number of the verse (4), as that of earthly universality, seems to speak rather of world-wide dominion, all the terms of the description are against this. Must we not take it, then, as what there is little difficulty in applying it to, the whole land?
This, let us remember, is what Israel never yet has got -the land according to the promise to Abraham, -supplemented and explained by many an after-assurance. "From sea to sea," cannot be here from the Mediterranean to the Salt Sea, which would not be in any case a definition save for the very southernmost portion of her narrow possessions, -a straitness to which she limited herself, through unbelief. This could not be the extent of what is spoken of to them as "a good land and a large." The land of the Sidonians, which was promised to them, they never did possess, nor Mount Lebanon, which was a part of it. Edom. Moab, Ammon, Philistia, are all to belong to them, and never did. Though David’s empire reached at one point to the Euphrates, it was only over tributary kings, and that land never was Israel’s possession. And finally, if we are to interpret (and how can we avoid it?) "all the land of the Hittites," by what we are beginning to realize of what their land was, how far northward in that direction must we carry their boundary-line? (Comp. Gen 15:18-21; Exo 23:31; Jos 1:2-4; Eze 47:13-23.)
It is not for us here to attempt a solution of the many difficulties which beset this subject, and which (if the Lord permit us to take up the book of Ezekiel) we must do there; but it ought to be evident already that as a definition of the land "from sea to sea" can be no less than from the Mediterranean to the Persian gulf. It is meant to be, and is, a wide dominion; from the Euphrates to the Nile and the Red Sea giving other limits.
But this land, as we find it today, contains many different people, and wide desert tracts. Notice, therefore, in connection with this, the perfect naturalness of the next verse, which speaks of the competency of the King to take possession of this wide and varied tract: "The dwellers in the deserts (or parched lands) shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust" how well does this account for the special mention of such as these in connection with the progress of a victorious King, when one would expect rather to find mention of strong peoples, -foes that it would need special might to subdue! A glance at the map will show its appropriateness, and this "desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" (Isa 35:1).
Naturally, now, we are told of "conquests" (as the number would show) in foreign lands. "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts." Tarshish and the isles lie west from Palestine; Sheba and Seba south-east. The "isles," at least, speak of Japhet; Sheba may be Joktanite -Shemitic; Seba, Cushite -Hamitic: all the families of the earth seem thus to be represented in the homage rendered here. The conquests may be entirely peaceful ones. Nothing else is suggested. The names have no certain meaning. The people represent apparently the commerce of the world, which now, for the first time in its history, owns Christ. Its gain is consecrated unto the Lord of the whole earth.
But the tide of homage swells: "all kings bow down before Him: all nations serve Him." The universal empire is at last complete. The cross is really at last the symbol of power and imperial sway, under which the earth reposes, quiet in sabbatic rest.
3. Again, before the book closes. we are called to look at the blessing of a rule which is service, -a glory unflecked with stain or shadow, -a David who is free to show the "kindness of God" to the maimed and ruined children of shame wherever they may be found. "For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, and the afflicted, and him that has no helper." That is what the sign of the cross denotes, and by this we know the Lord. None that has owed salvation to Him but must know that there was no help possible for him beside, and that it could be found in no other. And "He shall have compassion on the impoverished and needy, and shall save the souls of needy men." Faithful, compassionate, He is thus the sanctuary refuge from the evil of the world, "deceit," the sin of the weak, and "violence" of the strong: and as the refuge-cities of Israel declared of old, "precious shall their blood be in His sight."
Such is He, and such was He in all essential reality, when He was among men, and in their hands, to do with Him as they would. Such was He whom they crucified: and now, though He be Lord of all, how do their hearts respond to this glory of His? How, but as is appreciated the need which He is always meeting, -the grace, therefore, which has come in to meet it. And this is what the fifteenth verse (the fourth of this section) gives, as I believe; although, as so frequently in the case of Old Testament evangel, there is a certain mystery about it, which the loose grammatical structure of Hebrew favors, and with which the character of the psalm as prophecy, and especially as typical prophecy, harmonizes; by which we must not be thrown back, but only made to look more closely at what is before us.
It seems impossible that the whole of the verse can be applied to the Lord. Whether we translate, "he shall live," (with the common version,) or "let him live," as many others, it seems trivial,* and out of keeping with the context, if so applied. On the other hand, the connection with the verse before is too obvious to have escaped notice, even where the full meaning has not been grasped. The revised version gives even "they shall live," which is the meaning, although in a verse like the present, too interpretative, perhaps, to be adopted, especially as it makes a similarly interpretative rendering necessary in the remainder of the verse.** But the "he" is merely a specific example of the delivered ones just spoken of whose blood was precious in the sight of the King.
{*With Cheyne, for instance, it is hardly to be doubted as merely the court phrase, "Let the king live!"
**As in the case of the Revised: "They shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: and men shall pray for him continually; they shall bless him all the day long." Yet in the first and last instance "he" is given as an alternative in the margin.}
But if this be what we start with, to whom shall he give of the gold of Sheba (as the Hebrew literally), and who is this "he?" If it be the delivered one who gives to the King, this (remembering Who the King is) is surely feeble enough, though the expression of thankfulness; and if it he indefinite, there is the loss of connection with what precedes altogether. The receiver of the gift would then be the delivered man; and this is not unsuited to our King of kings. Nay, we have heard of Him in the end psalm of the previous series, as One who has "led captivity captive, and received gifts for men," and understand it to be His manner to enrich those whom He delivers; and the "gold of Sheba" will be still better fitted to express this, if it mean, as seems to be the fact, "the gold of the ’Captor.’"* Typically we take "gold" to be the revelation of divine glory; and this is just the Captor’s gold, with which He enriches those whom He sets free. The spiritual application therefore furnishes a consistent and worthy sense all through. Does any other?
{* Sheba in Hebrew, would be undoubtedly akin to the words used in Psa 68:18: shabhitha shebhi, "thou hast led captive captivity."}
But we have still the second part of the verse to interpret and account for: and here the general consent of commentators seems to apply both clauses to the King. It is the King then that is prayed for, and the King that is blessed. In application to a merely human king, also, this would be simple enough, and by such as fully hold the Messianic one it is urged that "’prayer shall be made continually for him’ shows simply that the blessings enjoyed through Him raise the desire and request for His glory and continuance in power." But both this interpretation and the request, even so interpreted, seem to me unnatural. If men know who the King is, -and this, surely, cannot be unknown, -how can they doubt the continuance of it? how can they imagine that the kingdom of God, once come, will pass, save as dawn, perhaps, into full day?
I have no other alternative, therefore, but to believe that we have here expressed the priestly office of the true Melchizedek. Would it not be strange if this were altogether omitted? And if we have had at the beginning of the psalm, and variously through it, the plain reference to this character of royalty, is it not even to be expected that we should have somewhere in it the intercessory work of the "priest of the most high God"?
The same objections do not apply to the common understanding of the last clause of the verse. Consistent rendering throughout would seem to make this also the blessing of the needy one; and thus it would be the answer to the prevailing intercession of the Royal Priest on his behalf. The whole verse would thus be uniform, and any apparent inconsistency be taken away.
Such then being the glorious Mediator who stands for man Godward as for God manward, it is no marvel to find the divine government in response, with marvelous fertility of the ground, and men filling the cities with corresponding increase. The fields of corn shall rustle like the forests of Lebanon. Who can picture the blessing when the earth shows to the full the powers that now lie almost dormant in it?
Thus the King’s Name which guarantees all this blessing, shall endure for ever: His name shall continue like the life-giving Sun, His image; and men shall bless themselves in Him; as being the highest possible thought of blessing. All nations shall call Him blessed.
Thereupon follows that outburst of praise with which the second book ends: every line of truth having its natural end and outcome in this joy in God and worship. The Eternal God, the God of Israel, is He who alone doeth wonders. May the whole earth be filled with His glory! In this, as an eighth verse, there is perhaps an intimation of the overflow of this blessedness beyond the bounds of time and into the true eternity which, as we have seen, the Old Testament can hardly be said to enter. The double Amen is here appended to the prayer in testimony of the steadfast longing of the heart for it. The Lord takes it up as His "verily, verily," to make it the token of the steadfastness of the blessed truths with which He connects it, the assurance and rest of the heart which enters into them.
Does not this show us also the character of that final word which has been surely so much misunderstood by the great body of critics, who have shown in the way they have taken it up, how much they are critics of manuscripts -biblio-technics, if I may coin the word for them, -rather than judges of the spirit which pervades Scripture. What simpler way of reading the end of David’s prayers than by comparison with the "last words," as we find them in the history? He even calls himself, there as here, "David the son of Jesse," and there also the "sweet psalmist of Israel." And of what are his last words full! Of
"A righteous Ruler over men;
A Ruler in the fear of God;"
and then in some of the images which this very psalm suggests, —
"Even as the morning-light when the sun ariseth,
A morning without clouds:
From the brightness after rain
The herb springeth from the earth."
Nor did he speak with any thought of his mere human house; for he tells us directly that that house was not so with God." Yet he speaks of "an eternal covenant" as to the future, "ordered in all, and sure;" and he adds: "for this is all my salvation and all of delight, though" -as yet in that sorrowful house that he had had, "He maketh it not to grow."
All David’s heart then was wrapped up in that glorious prospect: the very same that he has shown us here! What wonder, then, that when he has poured his heart out in the contemplation of this glorious scene, he should express himself in this thankful ejaculation: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended"! What more simple, heart-felt, and natural?
These are not, we may be sure, the words of a collector who thought he had got together in these first two books of the Psalms all that David had written, and was mistaken. This is but their mistake who have not learned that "the foolishness of God is wiser than man," and that "the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain."
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow1909 · Public DomainOn v1Title.—A Psalm for (RV 'of') Solomon.
Title.—A Psalm for (RV 'of') Solomon.
The title in AV suggests that David is the writer, and Solomon the subject, of this Ps., but, as RV shows, the authorship is really ascribed to Solomon. The Ps., however, appears rather to be the prayer of a subject for the king. Some actual ruler—Solomon, Hezekiah, or another—is no doubt in view, but, as in Psalms 45, the royal figure is so idealised that the Ps. becomes truly Messianic, and applicable only to the perfect divine King, though it is nowhere expressly quoted in this sense in the NT. The justice and beneficence of the king's reign, the world-wide extent of his dominion, the prosperity of his country, and the perpetuity of his fame, are successively described. Psa_72:18-19 are the closing doxology of Book 2 of the Psalter, and Psa_72:20 is an instructive editorial note.
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1. Judgments.. righteousness] the qualities of a great and upright ruler: see Psa_72:2. The king's son] a parallel expression for the king.
2. Thy poor] the class who suffered most from unjust and oppressive rulers.
3. By righteousness] RV 'in righteousness.' Under a righteous government peace will be the fruit that grows on all the wooded slopes of the land: see Isa_32:17.
5. They shall fear thee] not the king, but God. LXX reads instead, 'He shall endure as long as the sun, and while the moon doth shine.'
6. Upon the mown grass] to start the new growth. LXX and V ulg. render, 'upon a fleece': cp. PBV 'into a fleece of wool.'
7. The metaphor of Psa_72:6 is continued. 'Righteousness' (LXX) and peace are the vegetation which springs up after the fertilising showers.
8-11. These vv. should be read as a prayer rather than as a prediction. 'May he have dominion.. M ay they bow,' etc.
8. From sea to sea] from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The river] RV 'the River,' the Euphrates in the E. The ends of the earth] the extreme W: see Exo_23:31. 1Ki_4:21.
9. They that dwell in the wilderness] the wandering desert tribes. Lick the dust] the attitude of abject submission.
10. Tarshish] probably Tartessus in Spain: see on Psa_48:7. The isles] the coast-lands of the Mediterranean. Sheba] Saba in S. Arabia. Seba] an unknown locality, elsewhere connected with Ethiopia (Isa_43:8; Isa_45:14).
12. The poor also, etc.] RV 'and the poor that hath no helper.'
14. Precious shall their blood be] Human life will be protected, and not held cheap, as it is where tyranny flourishes.
15. He shall live] better, 'May he live, and may men give him.. may they pray,' etc. For him] PBV renders, 'prayer shall be made ever unto him': an indefensible translation, which has arisen from an exclusive reference of the Ps. to Christ.
16, 17. These vv. also are best read as a prayer. 'May there be.. may his name endure,'etc.
16. An handful] RV 'abundance.'
In the earth] better, 'in the land.' Shake like Lebanon] wave or rustle like the cedars of Lebanon. They of the city, etc.] better, 'may men spring forth out of the city like grass of the earth.'
17. Be blessed] RM 'bless themselves': see Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4 (RM), and cp. Isa_65:16.
20. See Intro, to Book 2.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v1Give the king
Give the king
The Psalm as a whole forms a complete vision of Messiah’s kingdom so far as the O.T. revelation extended. All David’s prayers will find their fruition in the kingdom (Psa 72:20); 2Sa 23:1-4.
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Psa 72:1 refers to the investiture of the King’s Son with the kingdom, of which investiture the formal description is given in Dan 7:13; Dan 7:14; Rev 5:5-10; Psa 72:2-7; Psa 72:12-14 give the character of the kingdom. (Cf) Isa 11:3-9.
The emphatic word is righteousness. The sermon on the Mount describes the kingdom of righteousness. Psa 72:8-11 speak of the universality of the kingdom. Psa 72:16 hints at the means by which universal blessing is to be brought in. Converted Israel will be the "handful of corn" Amo 9:9 as the King Himself in death and resurrection was the single grain, the "corn of wheat" Joh 12:24 "To the Jew first" is the order alike of Church and kingdom.; Rom 1:16; Act 13:46; Act 15:16; Act 15:17. It is through restored Israel that the kingdom is to be extended over the earth. Zec 8:13; Zec 8:20-23.
See Psalms 89, next in order of the Messianic Psalms.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein1922 · Public DomainOn v1Psalm 72
Psalm 72
The Kingdom Psalm
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1. The King, who reigns in righteousness (Psa 72:1-4)
2. His kingdom from sea to sea (Psa 72:5-11)
3. The blessings and the kingdom (Psa 72:12-20)
The last Psalm of this Exodus section describes the establishment of the promised kingdom, the kingdom of heaven on earth. Surely the Spirit of God directed the arrangement of the Psalms, and put each into the right place. Here we have a beautiful prophecy of what is yet to be and for which all is waiting now, in a time when every form of government has failed and law and order seems to go to pieces. The King and the King’s Son is the Lord Jesus Christ, He who came as the Only-Begotten from the bosom of the Father to this earth, to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel, offering them first the promised kingdom. His own received Him not. In previous Psalms we heard the voice of His complaints, His sorrows and saw the sufferings of the cross. But here we behold Him enthroned as the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace. Righteousness and peace He alone can bring to man and He will surely bring both for the whole earth when the cloud brings Him back. Then He will be feared and worshipped as long as the sun and moon endure, for all times. Showers of blessing will fall and the righteous will flourish, while the wicked can trouble the righteous no more. Abundance of peace will be the lot of mankind then and His kingdom will include all the kingdoms of the earth. His enemies will lick the dust and kings will bring Him presents. And the blessings of His Kingdom! All the subjects in His kingdom will share them and all creation as well. The doxology of this section is the greatest of all. “And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”--The prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended.” Let us quote once more Prof. Davidson what he makes of this. “A note, probably added by the editor of the Elohistic collection, to mark the end of a group of Davidic Psalms.” What blindness! David had seen the glories of the kingdom of Him who is His Lord and His Son and then declared “his prayers are ended.” He has nothing more to pray for.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v1The Majestic Reign of the Messiah.
The Majestic Reign of the Messiah.
A psalm for Solomon, composed by Solomon; for he, under whose wise reign Israel reached the summit of its glory and power and was filled with the blessings of the Lord, sang this hymn in honor of the great King and His eternal glory and of the spiritual blessings of His dominion.
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v. 1. Give the King Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the King’s Son. The Messiah is King and the Son of a King. To Him God gives, equips Him with, His righteousness, with His judgments. Every decision of this King, everything that He says and does, is right and acceptable with God.
v. 2. He shall judge Thy people with righteousness, that is, the congregation of Jehovah, and Thy poor, those truly poor in spirit, with judgment. Because the Messiah is clothed with the righteousness of God as His own, therefore He is also able to dispense righteousness to the citizens of His kingdom, to impart it to those who believe in Him. It is His judicial sentence by and through which He declares His people to be righteous, justifies them with the righteousness which is perfect, which is acceptable in the sight of God. This is the right which God’s people have before Him: their King declares them to be justified. The very ones who are poor and despised before the world, poor and humble also in the sight of God, are nevertheless honored by Him; they are partakers of His righteousness. So great and wonderful is this gift that the psalmist declares:
v. 3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness, the blessings of God’s mercy flowing down upon the believers as it were, in streams. Righteousness is a gift coming down from above, bringing the peace of the heavenly Father with it and resulting in a calm satisfaction of mind, the believer being confident in the possession of the imputed righteousness.
v. 4. He shall judge the poor of the people, those who feel their spiritual need; He shall save the children of the needy, those who depend upon Him alone, clinging to Him in true faith, accepting the righteousness imputed to them, and shall break in pieces the oppressor, crushing all those whose enmity oppresses His children.
v. 5. They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations, that is, the relation of the believers to their King is one of holy awe and reverence, by which they give Him the honor which is due Him, divine honor and glory. This is done before the sun, as long as the sun runs his course, and before the moon, as long as she stands in the sky, that is, to the end of time.
v. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth, literally, "like dewdrops, showers of rain on the earth," the point of resemblance being in the gentle, restoring freshness of a profuse fall of dew, of copious showers. Although the King has been exalted to the right hand of glory, exalted over all creatures and reigning over His congregation, yet His advent may be celebrated continually, for He is ever present in the midst of His Church in His means of grace, with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which are shed on us abundantly.
v. 7. In His days, as the result of these rich spiritual blessings, shall the righteous flourish, blooming and thriving before Him in a life of sanctification flowing from faith, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth, literally, "until no longer the moon," throughout the present dispensation of grace. Because we are now, in the acceptable time, living before Him in the life of faith and enjoying the power of His grace in its effect upon our hearts and lives, therefore there is peace between us and God. And even after the moon has ceased shining, after the earth and all it contains have been destroyed, yea, then more than ever, will the believers have fulness of peace; in the world to come we shall possess and enjoy in everlasting bliss the peace of God which passes all understanding.
v. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, His royal power extending over the whole earth, and from the river unto the ends of the earth, His dominion is enlarged, His power is spread, to the utmost ends of the universe, Eph 1:20-23.
v. 9. They that dwell in the wilderness, the barbarians, the enemies of Christ and His Church, shall bow before Him, submitting themselves to His almighty power, since they refused to yield to His grace, Php 2:10-11; Mat 26:64; and His enemies shall lick the dust, be brought into full subjection to Him, forced to acknowledge Him as their Victor and Sovereign, since they refused to accept Him as their Redeemer.
v. 10. The kings of Tarshish, Tartessus in Spain, an important commercial center, with many princes of finance, and of the isles, of the coasts of Europe, named as far-distant points, shall bring presents, the mighty ones of the very ends of the earth being named as doing homage before the Lord; the kings of Sheba and Seba, that is, of Arabia Felix and of Meroe in Egypt, shall offer gifts, people from heathen countries bringing tribute to His honor and acknowledging His sovereignty.
v. 11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. The King, by virtue of His having paid the ransom of His blood for the redemption of the whole world, has a right to expect the allegiance of all men. They are to acknowledge Him as their Savior and Lord. The psalmist mentions just those countries in which the Christian Church flourished for centuries. Many heathen from this entire territory along the coasts of the Mediterranean, including also princes and mighty men, acknowledged Christ as their Lord. But these heathen, at the same time, represent the entire heathen world; for the Lord has His children in all nations, the believers being the true representatives of the nations in the sight of God. The poet now gives the reason why so many heathen would turn to God, to Jehovah-Messiah:
v. 12. For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also and him that hath no helper. He has compassion with the spiritual poverty and want, with our weakness and helplessness; He saves the needy by His grace. When our hearts have been crushed by the blows of the Law, when our souls are bowed down to the ground by the realization of our sinfulness, then He comforts us with the beauty of His Gospel.
v. 13. He shall spare, have pity on, the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy, delivering them from the damnation which threatens them.
v. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, the word here used being the standing term of the Old Testament for redemption and deliverance of every kind; and precious shall their blood be in His sight, valuing their lives so highly that He pays the high price of His own blood for their redemption. Moreover, it is true in general that God will not forsake His children, even if the enmity of the world reaches the point where the blood of the believers is shed on account of their testimony of the truth. In life and in death Christ is their Redeemer, and He will finally avenge the blood of His children. Since these conditions obtain, therefore the kingdom of Christ will surely spread and extend over many nations.
v. 15. And He shall live, the Possessor and the Giver of life, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba, of the wealth of Arabia Felix, this being taken to represent the gifts of men as they throng to do homage to the Messiah. Prayer also shall be made for Him continually, in a service of worship before Him, which shall continue throughout eternity; and daily shall He be praised, the righteous blessing His name for the rich gifts of His grace. And now, with a glance at Canaan in the glory of its earthly products, Solomon speaks of the kingdom of Christ in terms of this rich plenty.
v. 16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains, that is, the spiritual offspring of the Messiah will be as abundant as the grain of the lowlands, which clothed even the hills to their very tops; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, as the proud and mighty cedars of Lebanon; and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth, literally, "and they shall thrive from out the city as the grass of the earth," budding forth and bearing blossoms and fruit in rich and luscious abundance, for such are the conditions which obtain in Christ’s Kingdom of Grace.
v. 17. His name shall endure forever, exist, maintain itself, throughout eternity; His name shall be continued as long as the sun, or, "before the sun will flourish, propagate, His name. " Wherever the Church is established, it grows from generation to generation through the power of His Word. It is for this reason that the name of the Messiah will last throughout eternity, the Church Militant merging into the Church Triumphant; as long as the sun continues in his course, His name will be proclaimed and bring forth fruit in abundance. And men shall be blessed in Him, blessing themselves in Him, calling themselves happy, fortunate, beyond description in the possession of His grace; all nations shall call Him blessed, praising the Lord Jehovah for all His wondrous deeds for the salvation of the world. In view of these unspeakably glorious facts which have been set forth briefly in his hymn, the inspired poet closes with a doxology:
v. 18. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things, all glory and honor being given to Him alone;
v. 19. and blessed be His glorious name, Himself with all His divine attributes, as He has revealed Himself to men in His Word, forever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. As the Word of God had its course here in time, being proclaimed in every part of the earth, so the heavens will resound with the praises of His glory throughout eternity. This is most certainly true. The psalm closes with a note of the men who collected this second book of the psalter.
v. 20. The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended, this remark being apparently attached to an original collection of David’s hymns.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 4General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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General Information:
Possible meanings for the header "a psalm of Solomon" are 1) David wrote this psalm about Solomon ("the king's son") or 2) Solomon (who, as David's son, was "the king's son") wrote this psalm as a prayer about himself or 3) another king wrote it about his son in the style of Solomon. People in those days would often speak of themselves as if they were someone else. However, it would be best to translate this as though the psalmist is speaking of someone else, not of himself. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
Give the king your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to the king's son
Possible meanings are 1) "Give me, the king, your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to my son" or 2) "Give me, the king, your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to me, the king's son." People in those days would often speak of themselves as if they were someone else. However, it would be best to translate this as though the psalmist is speaking of someone else, not of himself. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
Give the king your righteous decrees
"Enable the king to judge rightly"
your righteousness to the king's son
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. Here the word "righteousness" refers to making righteous decisions. AT: "give your righteousness to the king's son" or "enable the king's son to rule with righteousness" (See: Ellipsis)
May he judge
If David wrote this, he is talking about his son, "the king's son," he is speaking of the time when his son will be king. If Solomon wrote it, even though he is writing about himself, it would be best to translate as though he were writing about someone else. Either way, "May the king judge" is the best translation.
your people ... your poor
The psalmist is speaking to God.
your poor
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. The adjective "poor" refers to poor people. AT: "may he judge your poor people" (See: Ellipsis and Nominal Adjectives)
May the mountains produce peace ... may the hills produce righteousness
The psalmist speaks of the people of Israel as if they were the mountains and hills on which they live. He speaks of the mountains and the hills as if they were the entire land of Israel, as if that land were a garden that produces fruit, and of peace and righteousness as if they are that fruit. AT: "May the people of the land live in peace ... may they do everything in a righteous way" (See: Metonymy and Synecdoche and Metaphor)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3, 4Ps 72 This royal psalm closes Book Two, with…
Ps 72 This royal psalm closes Book Two, with 72:18-20 functioning as an epilogue to all of Book Two. The psalmist reflects on the prospects of David’s royal line and on Zion (see Pss 46, 48). He prays that Israel’s kings will be good and prosperous, extending the Lord’s blessing on his people throughout the whole earth. The surpassing righteousness and dominion sought in this prayer foreshadow the coming of Jesus, the Son of David.
72:1-7 The blessings of justice create a balance in nature, resulting in harmony, prosperity, and fertility.
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72:1 love of justice . . . righteousness: Kings in the ancient Near East were expected to represent justice; the standard for Israel’s kings was much higher because the Lord was their model.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4 1. O God! give thy judgments to the king.…
1. O God! give thy judgments to the king. While David, to whom the promise had been made, at his death affectionately recommended to God his son, who was to succeed him in his kingdom, he doubtless endited to the Church a common form of prayer, that the faithful, convinced of the impossibility of being prosperous and happy, except under one head, should show all respect, and yield all obedience to this legitimate order of things, and also that from this typical kingdom they might be conducted to Christ. In short, this is a prayer that God would furnish the king whom he had chosen with the spirit of uprightness and wisdom. By the terms righteousness and judgment, the Psalmist means a due and well-regulated administration of government, which he opposes to the tyrannical and unbridled license of heathen kings, who, despising God, rule according to the dictates of their own will; and thus the holy king of Israel, who was anointed to his office by divine appointment, is distinguished from other earthly kings. From the words we learn by the way, that no government in the world can be rightly managed but under the conduct of God, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If kings possessed in themselves resources sufficiently ample, it would have been to no purpose for David to have sought by prayer from another, that with which they were of themselves already provided. But in requesting that the righteousness and judgment of God may be given to kings, he reminds them that none are fit for occupying that exalted station, except in so far as they are formed for it by the hand of God. Accordingly, in the Proverbs of Solomon, (Proverbs 8:15,) Wisdom proclaims that kings reign by her. Nor is this to be wondered at, when we consider that civil government is so excellent an institution, that God would have us to acknowledge him as its author, and claims to himself the whole praise of it. But it is proper for us to descend from the general to the particular; for since it is the peculiar work of God to set up and to maintain a rightful government in the world, it was much more necessary for him to communicate the special grace of his Spirit for the maintenance and preservation of that sacred kingdom which he had chosen in preference to all others. By the king’s son David no doubt means his successors. At the same time, he has an eye to this promise:
“Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne,” (Psalm 132:11.)
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But no such stability as is indicated in that passage is to be found in the successors of David, till we come to Christ. We know that after the death of Solomon, the dignity of the kingdom decayed, and from that time its wealth became impaired, until, by the carrying of the people into captivity, and the ignominious death inflicted upon their king, the kingdom was involved in total ruin. And even after their return from Babylon, their restoration was not such as to inspire them with any great hope, until at length Christ sprung forth from the withered stock of Jesse. He therefore holds the first rank among the children of David.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4 Endue the king with the Spirit of wisdom and…
Endue the king with the Spirit of wisdom and justice, that he reign not as do the worldly tyrants.
To wit, to his posterity.
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Composed by David as touching the reign of his son Solomon.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Psa 72:1 « [A Psalm] for Solomon. » Give…
Psa 72:1 « [A Psalm] for Solomon. » Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
A Psalm for Solomon] Whom his father David had crowned while yet alive; and now, at point of death, leaveth him this last bequeath as a basilicon doron, a direction in point of government, and a prediction of a most flourishing reign thereupon; this last he so describeth, that by a spirit of prophecy, attributing eternity thereunto, he riseth up from Solomon to Christ, of whom he was a type; like as also the promise made to David, concerning Solomon and Christ, was conceived in such terms by God himself, as if they had been almost one and the same person, 2Sa 7:13-14 1Ch 22:10. (Beza).
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Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God] i.e. Give me, for that little time I have here to live and reign, skill and will to do it aright, and as thy law requireth.
And thy righteousness unto the king’s son] To Solomon, and his successors; for David’s great care was the welfare of God’s people after his decease, for which end he both prayeth, and principleth his son Solomon; and herein his great piety to the end appeareth. I could not but love the man (said Theodosius, the emperor, concerning Ambrose) who, while he lived he heartily wished that the contentions that were in the Church might be quenched, though it were with his blood; so when he died he was more solicitous of the Church’s welfare than of his own.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–4 The king; Solomon, who was now anointed king, his…
The king; Solomon, who was now anointed king, his father yet living, 1Ki 1:39. And this Psalm may seem to be made for that great and solemn occasion.
Thy judgments, i.e. either,
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1. Thy statutes and precepts, which are oft called God’s judgments; which as thou hast given already in thy book, so give them to him a second and a better way, by writing them upon his heart, or by giving him a solid knowledge of them, and a hearty love and obedience to them. Or rather,
2. Thy manner of government or administration, which is oft called judgment, as Psa 94:15; Isa 28:6, &c.; that he may follow thy example in governing thy people, as thou governest them, to wit, in
righteousness, as it follows. He saith judgments, in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts, and branches, and acts-of it; as to acquit the innocent, to condemn the guilty, &c.; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God doth, or would have him to do in such cases.
Thy righteousness; that grace of righteousness which is a part of thine image, and is absolutely necessary for good government.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Give the King thy judgments, O God,.... A prayer…
Give the King thy judgments, O God,.... A prayer of David, or of the church he represents, to God the Father concerning Christ; for he is "the King" meant; which is the sense of the old Jewish synagogue: the Targum is,
"give the constitutions of thy judgments to the King Messiah;''
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and so their Midrash (m) interprets it. He is "the King", by way of eminence, as in Psa 45:1; not only the King of the world in right of creation and preservation, in conjunction; with his Father, having an equal right with him; but of saints, of the church and people of God, by the designation and constitution of his Father; hence he was promised and prophesied of as a King, Jer 23:5, Zac 9:9; and he came into the world as such, though his kingdom did not appear very manifest in his state of humiliation; yet at his ascension it did, when he was made and declared Lord and Christ; and it is for the manifestation of his kingdom, and the glory of it, the psalmist here prays. For by "judgments" are meant not the statutes and laws of God, given him to be shown, explained unto, and enforced on others, which rather belongs to his prophetic office, or as the rule of his government; nor the judgments of God to be inflicted upon wicked men, which is only one part of his kingly office; but of all power in heaven and in earth, which was given him by his Father upon his resurrection, and about the time of his ascension, Mat 28:18; and is the same with "all judgment" committed by him to his Son, Joh 5:22; and which explains the clause here, and is the reason why it is expressed in the plural number here; which takes in the whole of the power and authority, the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom, delivered to Christ; and which chiefly lies in the government of the church, which is on his shoulders, and is committed into his hand; exercised in enacting laws, and delivering out ordinances, to be observed by the saints, and in the protection and defence of them; and also includes his judgment of the world at the last day, to which he is ordained and appointed by his Father, and will be managed and conducted by him;
and thy righteousness unto the King's Son; who is the same with the King, as Jarchi well observes; for only one single person is afterwards spoken of, and designs the Messiah; who, as a divine Person, is the Son of the King of kings, the only begotten of the Father, the true and proper Son of God; and, as man, the Son of David the king. And so the Targum,
"and thy righteousness to the Son of David the king;''
a known name of the Messiah, Mat 1:1. And by "righteousness" is meant, not the essential righteousness of God; this Christ has by nature equally with his divine Father, and is not given or communicated to him; but the fulness of the graces of the Spirit, and perfection of virtues, which he received without measure; whereby, as Mediator, he is abundantly qualified to judge with righteousness, and reprove with equity; and not as other judges do, after the sight of the eyes, or hearing of the ears; see Isa 11:2. Unless it can be understood of the everlasting righteousness, which Christ has wrought out, called his Father's, because appointed in council and covenant, approved of and accepted by him, and imputed to his people. To work out this righteousness was not only given to Christ in covenant, but he was sent in the fulness of time to do it; and had a power given him, as Mediator, to justify many with it, Isa 53:11; and which may be here prayed for. Jerom, by the "King's Son", understands such as are regenerated, and taken into the adoption of children; and to such the righteousness of God is given. This is a truth, but not the sense of the text.
(m) In Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 112. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Divers passages of this psalm, do not agree to…
Divers passages of this psalm, do not agree to Solomon, nor to any other king but the Messiah. It must therefore be acknowledged, that, this is a mixt psalm, belonging to Solomon imperfectly, but to Christ, clearly and fully: diverse expressions being so ordered, that the reader might be led by them to the contemplation of Christ, and of his kingdom. Which was the more necessary for the support of God's true Israel, because the spirit of God foresaw Solomon's dreadful apostacy, and the great miscarriages and calamities of his successors, and of the kingdom under their hands, and therefore was pleased to fortify their hearts with that glorious condition, which they should certainly enjoy under the Messiah. It is probable, David dictated this psalm, a little before he died, when he gave orders to proclaim Solomon king. After a short prayer for his successor, he foretells the glories of his reign, ver. 1-17. And concludes with praise to the God of Israel, ver. 18-20. A psalm for Solomon.
Judgments - He saith judgments in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches, of it; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God would have him to do.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–3 David prays to God for Solomon, 1;
PSALM LXXII
David prays to God for Solomon, 1;
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prescribes Solomon's work, 2;
the effects of his administration, 3-7;
the extent of his dominion, 8-11;
his mercy and kindness to the poor, and the perpetuity of his
praise, 12-17.
God is blessed for his power and goodness; and the psalmist
prays that the whole earth may be filled with his glory, 18-20.
NOTES ON PSALM LXXII
The title לשלמה lishelomoh, we translate, A Psalm for Solomon. The Chaldee says, "By the hand of Solomon, spoken prophetically." The Syriac, "A Psalm of David, when he had constituted Solomon king." All the other Versions attribute it to Solomon himself. But in the conclusion of the Psalm it appears to be attributed to David. "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." It is most probably a Psalm of David, composed in his last days, when he had set this beloved son on the throne of the kingdom. "Then," says Calmet, "transported with joy and gratitude, he addressed this Psalm to God, in which he prays him to pour out his blessings on the young king, and upon the people. He then, wrapped up in a Divine enthusiasm, ascends to a higher subject; and sings the glory of the Messiah, and the magnificence of his reign. Hence it is that we may see in this Psalm a great number of expressions which cannot relate to Solomon, unless in a hyperbolical and figurative sense; but, applied to Christ, they are literally and rigorously exact."
Verse 1. Give the king thy judgments] Let Solomon receive thy law, as the civil and ecclesiastical code by which he is to govern the kingdom.
And thy righteousness unto the king's son.] Righteousness may signify equity. Let him not only rule according to the strict letter of thy law, that being the base on which all his decisions shall be founded; but let him rule also according to equity, that rigorous justice may never become oppressive. Solomon is called here the king, because now set upon the Jewish throne; and he is called the king's son, to signify his right to that throne on which he now sat.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Psa 72:1. Give the king — Namely, Solomon, who…
Psa 72:1. Give the king — Namely, Solomon, who was now anointed king, although his father was yet living, 1Ki 1:39; thy judgments — Either, 1st, Thy statutes and precepts, often called God’s judgments; as thou hast already given them to him in thy book, so give them to him in another and better way, by writing them upon his heart, or by giving him a perfect knowledge of them, and a hearty love to them, that he may obey and walk according to them. Or, 2d, Give him a thorough acquaintance with thy manner of governing and judging, that he may follow thy example in ruling thy people, as thou rulest them, namely, in righteousness, as it follows. He says judgments, in the plural number, because, though the office of ruling and judging was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches of it; in all which he prays that Solomon might be directed to do as God would have him do in such cases.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Give the king - Supposing the psalm to have…
Give the king - Supposing the psalm to have been composed by David in view of the inauguration of his son and successor, this is a prayer that God would bestow on him the qualifications which would tend to secure a just, a protracted, and a peaceful reign. Though it is to be admitted that the psalm was designed to refer ultimately to the Messiah, and to be descriptive of “his” reign, yet there is no impropriety in supposing that the psalmist believed the reign of Solomon would be, in some proper sense emblematic of that reign, and that it was his desire the reign of the one “might,” as far as possible, resemble that of the other. There is no improbability, therefore, in supposing that the mind of the psalmist might have been directed to both in the composition of the psalm, and that while he used the language of prayer for the one, his eye was mainly directed to the characteristics of the other.
Thy judgments - Knowledge; authority; ability to execute thy judgments, or thy laws. That is, he speaks of the king as appointed to administer justice; to maintain the laws of God, and to exercise judicial power. It is one of the primary ideas in the character of a king that he is the fountain of justice; the maker of the laws; the dispenser of right to all his subjects. The officers of the law administer justice “under” him; the last appeal is to him.
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And thy righteousness - That is, Clothe him, in the administration of justice, with a righteousness like thine own. Let it be seen that he represents “thee;” that his government may be regarded as thine own administration through him.
Unto the king’s son - Not only to him, but to his successor; that is, let the administration of justice in the government be perpetuated. There is no improbability in supposing that in this the psalmist may have designed also to refer to the last and the greatest of his successors in the line - the Messiah.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 72
Psalms 72
A Psalm for Solomon
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1 Give the king thy judgments, O God,
And thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness,
And thy poor with judgment.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He shall judge the poor of the people,
He shall save the children of the needy,
And shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:
As showers that water the earth.
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish;
And abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the river unto the ends of the earth.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;
And His enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
All nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
The poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy,
And shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:
And precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
Prayer also shall be made for him continually;
And daily shall he be praised.
16 There shall be a handful of corn upon the top of the mountains;
The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever:
His name shall be continued as long as the sun:
And men shall be blessed in him:
All nations shall call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only doeth wondrous things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever:
And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen, and amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Its Contents and Title.—The Psalm begins with supplication for a king who is at the same time a king’s son, who thus is of a royal race or birth, that his government may be righteous and a blessing to the land (Psa_72:1-4); then follows the wish that his rule may be of everlasting duration and bloom (Psa_72:5-7); then it is promised that his kingdom shall embrace the whole world (Psa_72:8-11); next the reason for this universal homage is disclosed in the character of his government as benevolent, merciful and righteous (Psa_72:12-14); finally the duration of his gracious activity, of the blessings which descend upon his land and the everlasting praise of his name is implored in prayer and is predicted (Psa_72:15-17). The doxology of Psa_72:18-19 did not belong originally to the Psalm, but is a liturgical addition (comp. Introd., § 4), with especial reference to the Elohim Psalms of this second book, and it is placed before the historical remark, Psa_72:20, in order to be read in the church service. The contents of this Psa_72:20 show that it is older than the entire collection of the Psalms. Yet it does not follow from this that David is likewise the author of this Psalm (comp. Introd., § 2 and 8), and that we have to regard the title as: about Solomon (Sept., Vulg., Aben Ezra, et al.), or composed for Solomon (Kimchi: by David on his deathbed), and designed to be his song (Clauss), as the mirror of his government (Stier). The לְ must be interpreted here as usual. The usage of the titles demands this, which excludes the many references which are in themselves possible (Stier), among which the most suitable would be the respectful reference=to Solomon. Then the contents demand so much the more a decided advance beyond the supposition of a poetic congratulation (De Wette) of some king of Israel. We must at least recognize the fact, that the Psalm is a prayer whose expressions flow forth from the ideal character of the Hebrew monarchy as the kingdom of God (Hupfeld). Then these expressions are not merely poetical, but prophetical, and thus have a Messianic character, so that the wishes and hopes are not, as it were, “extravagant” (Hupfeld), but take the form of definite promises, and that these promises not only have as their contents the universal extent and the everlasting duration of this kingdom, but at the same time the righteous, peaceful and saving government of the theocratic king as well as the perpetual blessing of all nations by the power of his name. By their personal bearing they transcend the reference to the kingdom of Solomon (according to the promise, 2 Samuel 8 developing itself as the kingdom of God throughout history) (Calvin), or the Davidic dynasty (Hofmann), and find in the circumstances of the time of Solomon a historical support and occasion (most recent interpreters), which is overlooked or undervalued by the exclusive Messianic interpretation (Chald. and most of the older interpreters). There is no reason either in the contents or in the language to put the Psalm in the time of king Josiah, or even later (Ewald). The reference to Ptolemy (Olsh.), particularly to Ptolemy Philadelphus, as the benefactor of the Jews (Hitzig) is far fetched and untenable. The ancient church, on account of the reference of the Psalm to David, Solomon and the Messiah, made it the chief Psalm of Epiphany as the *festum trium regum.
Str. I, Psa_72:1. Thy judgments.—These are hardly the rights transferred by God as king of Israel to the theocratic king (Delitzsch), the Messianic authority (Geier, et al.) to rule; for the exercise of which the righteousness directly mentioned as the corresponding official endowment is then implored, but in accordance with the parallelism, the way of judging (De Wette, Hupf.), the decisions (Hitzig), the latter not in the sense of the commandments and directions given to the king, the norm of his judging and sentences (Olsh.), but as the sentences and decisions flowing forth from the Spirit of God (Chald., Hengst.), for which Solomon obtained wisdom for himself, 1Ki_3:9; 1Ki_3:28; comp. Isa_11:2 (Isaki, kimchi). There is no reference here to righteousness which avails before God (Seb. Schmidt).
Psa_72:2. May he judge Thy people, &c.—It is better to regard the futures in this and the following verses as optatives.
[Psa_72:3. May the mountains bear peace for the people, and the hills, by righteousness.—Mountains and hills are mentioned as the characteristic features of the land of Palestine. They were cultivated in ancient times, being terraced from top to bottom. Remains of these terraces are visible and in use at the present time not only for the vine and fig, but likewise for grain. It is unnecessary to supply a verb in the latter clause. Righteousness is the means by which this fruit of peace is to be produced by the mountains and the hills.—C. A. B.]
Str. II, Psa_72:5. May they fear Thee.—The supposition that here it is not God who is addressed, but the king (Hupfeld, Hitzig), cannot be proved from Psalms 89, and is against the context, which puts the constantly abiding fear of God as the blessed effect of the righteous rule in the closest connection with its other fruits.—As long as (there is) a sun, and before the moon (through) generation of generation.—עִם is used of contemporaneous existence as Dan. 3:33. Before the moon, as Job_8:16=as long as it shines=exists (comp. Psa_72:7). The same may be said of before the sun (Psa_72:17), to be distinguished from the expression: in presence of the sun (Num_25:4)=as long as it is day; and from the phrase: before the eyes of the sun (2Sa_12:11)=in clear daylight.6
Psa_72:6. Let him come down as rain.—The figure of the rain reminds us of 2Sa_23:4. גֵּז is not the fleece of the sheep (the ancient versions, Luther, et al.), as Deu_18:4, here with a reference, perhaps, to Jdg_6:37 sq.; so likewise not the mown grass (De Wette, et al.), as Amo_7:1, as needing rain for the after-growth (Kimchi), or in order not to be dried up to the roots by the heat of summer (Calvin), still less the meadows eaten off by locusts (Chald., J. D. Mich.), but the meadows ready for the mowing (Hupf., Delitzsch).
Psa_72:7. Till there be no more moon.—עַד בְּלִי might mean: even to the destruction, the ruin (J. H. Mich.), as Job_14:12; Isa_38:17. The prevailing use of the word בל, however, is not as a substantive, but as a particle.
Str. III, Psa_72:8-11. From sea to sea.—Since the reference here is to the extension of the Theocracy over the earth (Zec_9:10) and already in the time of Solomon the limits of the kingdom were no longer those of Exo_23:31, the meaning cannot be here of its extension between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. But it is not entirely indefinite: from every sea to every sea (Hengst.); but as the parallel member shows, it begins with a well known limit, namely, the Mediterranean and the stream, that is, the Euphrates, and from thence to the opposite sea which is parallel with the ends of the earth (Chald.). Amo_8:12 mentions as such far-off regions those from the north to the east, here at the same time those in the west and south, and indeed with reference to their riches, namely, the Phœnician colony in southern Spain called by the Greeks Tartessos, with the islands, namely, of the Mediterranean Sea, and שְׁבָא in south Arabia at the same time with םְבָא in Ethiopia. Many understand by צִיִּים likewise, the Ethiopians after Sept., Aquil., and Symmach., it can only mean Arabic Beduins (Hitzig) or Nomads in general, unless we should accept a false reading instead of צָרִים, that is to say, adversaries (Olshausen., Hupfeld), because the word of the text elsewhere does not seem to designate men, but beasts of the wilderness (Psa_74:14; Isa_23:13).
[Str. IV, Psa_72:12-14. For he delivereth.—Perowne: “The reason is given why all kings and nations should thus do homage to him who sits on David’s throne. He has merited such submission by the exercise of every royal virtue, by the justice and the mercy of his sway, by his deep sympathy with and compassion for the poor, by the protection which he extends to them against the ministers of fraud and violence. It is not that he merely covers with the shadow of his throne all neighboring nations, and is acknowledged as their political head, but that the bright example which he sets, the majesty of righteousness enthroned in his person, compels all to bow before him.”—Precious is their blood.—Compare Psa_116:15 “precious is the death of His saints.” Their life is precious to God, and He will avenge their blood upon those who seek to injure them, and He will ward off injury from them.—C. A. B.]
Str. V. Psa_72:15. And may he live and give him of the gold of Sheba, and pray for him continually, bless him all the day.—It is disputed whether the subject is the same in all the clauses of this verse, or whether there is a change of subject, and in the latter case (in favor of which Delitzsch appeals to the Oriental style and his Geschichte der jüdischen Poesie, S. 189), whether the Messianic king is the subject of live, and the following verbs are to be taken as impersonal or passive (the ancient versions, Isaki, Luther, Calvin, Umbreit), or whether the poor man is to be regarded the subject of live and bless, and the king as the subject of give and pray (J. H. Mich.), or yet of give (Maurer, Hofmann, Delitzsch). In the former case, on the other hand, it is again disputed whether the Messianic king is the subject of all the clauses (Cocc., De Dieu, Stier, Böhl), or the protected subject (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Geier and most interpreters). The last supposition is not in opposition to the immediate context, even when the aim of sparing and delivering is not regarded as directly expressed, (Ewald, Olsh.), but the consequences of the deliverance, the life and the expression of thanks. The mention of the gold of Sheba, however, is difficult. For the delivered give this, not, as it were, as the most precious and best (Geier, J. H. Mich.), which would have been called the gold of Ophir, or because he was a native of Sheba (Hupf.) as the product of his land, which does not suit Psa_72:10 at all. We might rather suppose that the poor man (Psa_72:13) had been again restored by the king to his possessions (Hengst.); or since the singular then refers back to Psa_72:12 sq., that here as there the poor man is parallel to the miserable in the comprehensive and typical sense of Biblical usage (Hupfeld). Then we should have, not a return to Psa_72:4 (De Wette), but an expansion of the thought there expressed. But this is, to a still greater extent, the case if the king is regarded as the subject of this clause as of all the preceding.
Psa_72:16. Let there be abundance of corn in the land, even to the top of the mountains, let its fruit rustle as Lebanon.—The derivation of פִּסָּה is doubtful. The word seems to mean not only a crowd (Syr.), but after the Aramaic פסא and the Arabic, a spreading out (Isaki). There is little probability in the derivation from פסם in the meaning of: end, that is to say, the limits of grain on the top of the mountains (Hofmann), or: piece, handful (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Calvin, Geier, most interps.)=there is a handful of corn, yet it will rustle. Besides the latter is against the accents. Abundance of corn as the sign of blessing (Deu_11:14; Jer_31:12; Zech. 10:17) in connection with the bloom of the people (Jer_27:6), whose increase as herbs of the land or grass of the field (Psa_92:8; Job_5:25) likewise belongs to the blessings of the Messianic time, Isa_4:1; Isa_9:2; Isa_49:20; Zec_2:8; Psa_110:3; Sir_44:21. A historical support in the time of Solomon is given in 1Ki_4:20. The comparison with Lebanon refers to the movement of its trees in the wind. The translation: its fruits culminate or tower above as Lebanon (Sept., Ewald), presupposes a different Hebrew verb.
Psa_72:17. Before the sun let his name sprout.—This hardly refers to his posterity, through whom his name would transplant itself (Hupfeld), but to the occasions which would repeat themselves in the coming generations for the breaking forth of the glory of this name, in which all nations may bless themselves (Gen_18:18; Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4; Gen_48:20). The subject which is at first general and indefinite is finally very clearly expressed.
[The doxology which closes this book is fuller than that of the 1st Book. The use of Jehovah Elohim instead of Jehovah is characteristic, and is in accordance with the use of the Divine names in the two books.—C. A. B.] The predicate of God, Psa_72:18 b, is like Psa_88:6; Psa_136:4; Job_9:8; His name bearing the impression of glory is as Neh_9:5, the construction and contents of Psa_72:19 b are from Num_14:21.
[The historical remark, Psa_72:20, was apparently attached to an original collection of the Psalms of David made by Solomon, or under his superintendence, to which Psalms of Solomon of a Messianic character formed the introduction and conclusion. Vid.Psalms 1, 2. This collection was composed mainly of the Psalms of the first two books, although changes in taking from and adding to may have been made in subsequent times, especially when the Psalter was completed in its present form. This historical remark may be compared with Job_31:40.—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Nothing can be implored for a king more rich in blessing than the capacity and power for a righteous and mild government whose fruit is peace (Isa_32:17) and prosperity throughout the land. From the righteous king such a fructifying effect goes forth that the fear of God is spread abroad through the coming generations, and his rule gains an unlimited extent.
2. Yet this king will not extend his rule by the sword, but only by his righteousness and his helping love will he rule and conquer. Voluntarily other kings and their peoples will do homage to him, uneasy and hostile neighbors will sink impotent in the dust, those who have been delivered, protected and blessed by him will thankfully offer their gifts, prayers and homage. Thus will his rule endure in the power of the blessing of piety, his kingdom increase, his land prosper, his people bloom, and his name be a means of blessing from generation to generation, Psa_45:2; Psa_102:12.
3. Such wishes and hopes as these do not float in the air like human phantasies or empty dreams without prospect of realization; they have their sure ground in the promises of God respecting the son of David, their historical support in the Divine guidance of Israel and his kingdom, their constant type in the Theocracy, their transient type in Solomon’s peaceful rule, their final fulfilment by the Messiah and his kingdom of God, their lasting power in the faith in the blessings, by which God has decreed and promised to overcome in all generations the curse resting upon them.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Peace as the wholesome fruit of righteousness.—The fear of God as the source of earthly and heavenly blessings.—The welfare of nations: a, in what it consists; b, how it is gained; c, whereby it is assured.—The blessing in the name of the Lord.—When prince and people pray with and for one another, they are blessings to one another.—Righteous judgment, mild government, and a pious mind are the jewels of the king, the happiness of the people, and are well pleasing to God.—Willing obedience, thankful love, devoted trust as testimonies of the sprouting power of the name of the Lord.—The prayers of believers have their yea and amen in the name of the Lord.—The promises respecting the duration, extent, and the happiness of the kingdom, set up by God’s king, ruled and filled with blessings by him.
Starke : The office of the magistrate is not only to punish the wicked with righteous judgment, but likewise to protect the poor and miserable.—Since God calls men to His service from all places and quarters, it is very clear that His will is that all men should be blessed.—In the world those are helped who are the least needy, whilst those who are most needy are often allowed to sink into misery; but with Christ it is not so, the poor are the especial objects of His compassion and deliverance.—God’s works have often to the reason a slight beginning, but afterwards a wonderful, blessed, and agreeable progress.—As sure as the true mouth of the Lord has said, that all the world shall be full of His glory, it will be fulfilled in the most complete manner.
Selnekker: O thou poor reason, and miserable flesh and blood, what art thou frightened at, and why dost thou fear death and suffering? Is my blood precious with God, what wish I more?—Renschel: The chief subjects of thanksgiving: 1) That God the Lord has done and still does such great wonders in the kingdom of Christ; 2) that He declares His name and gospel therein; 3) that He spreads it abroad in all lands; 4) that He will eternally preserve His word and His Church.—Umbreit: The love of the king is the ground of the universal conversion of nations to Him. Because He helps the poor, all the rich bow before Him.—Tholuck: As the eternal God wields the sceptre of His righteousness for the good of His oppressed congregation on earth, He has appointed His anointed to conquer the earth for His meek ones.—Guenther: Heathendom will have an end, this kingdom of sorrow and misery will blossom into the glorious kingdom of peace.—Taube : The kingdom of God comes in its royal glory only at the advent of the Lord; now are the times of preparation.
[Matth. Henry: As by the prayer of faith we return answers to God’s promises of mercy, so by the promises of mercy God returns answers to our prayers of faith.—Christ is the poor man’s King.—Subjects ought to speak well of the government that is a blessing to them; and much more ought all Christians to praise Jesus Christ, daily to praise Him; for they owe all to Him, and to Him they lie under the highest obligations.—Spurgeon: Each crystal drop of rain tells of heavenly mercy which forgets not the parched plains; Jesus is all grace, all that He does is love, and His presence among men is joy. We need to preach Him more, for no shower can so refresh the nations. Philosophic preaching mocks men as with a dust shower, but the gospel meets the case of fallen humanity, and happiness flourishes beneath its genial power.—If we can do no more than cry, it will bring omnipotence to our aid. A cry is the native language of a spiritually needy soul; it has done with fine phrases and long orations, and it takes to sobs and moans, and so, indeed, it grasps the most potent of all weapons, for heaven always yields to such artillery.—Christ’s subjects shall be as plentiful as blades of grass, and shall as suddenly appear as eastern verdure after a heavy shower.—C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
6[Perowne: “The sun and the moon are mentioned here, and again ver. 7, and in Psa_89:37, as witnesses to an everlasting order, and as it were figures of eternity, things fixed and unchangeable, compared with the fleeting, dying generations of men, as Jer_31:35; Jer_33:20; though as compared with God, themselves subject to decay and destruction, Psa_102:26; Isa_51:6; comp. Job_14:18.”—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4 1. Judgments… righteousness—The latter the principle, the former the…
1. Judgments… righteousness—The latter the principle, the former the act or sentence, of justice. The one implies the discernment of the will of God, or wisdom to govern; the other, the executive energy to adjust the administration of government to that standard. This was partially fulfilled in the early part of Solomon’s reign, (see 1Ki_3:28; 1Ki_10:9,) but the state of society here described is realized fully only under King Messiah’s government, and is represented (Rev_20:4) as belonging to the millennium: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.”
The king… the king’s son—The one a designation of office, the other of royal descent, and hence of hereditary right to reign.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–4 1. God is the source of all judgement (Deu_1:17);…
1. God is the source of all judgement (Deu_1:17); the king is His representative for administering it. May God therefore grant him such a knowledge of the divine laws and ordinances by which he is to govern Israel, and endow him with such a divine spirit of justice, as may make him a worthy ruler. Just judgement is the constant characteristic of the ideal king (Isa_11:3 ff; Isa_16:5; Isa_28:6; Isa_32:1). The words of this verse and the next are the echo of God’s offer to Solomon, “Ask what I shall give thee;” and of Solomon’s answer, “Give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people;” and a prayer for the effectual realisation of the promise, “Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart.” (1Ki_3:5 ff.).
the king … the king’s son] Not, to the king and his heir, for the Psalm speaks of but one ruler; but, to a king who is a king’s son, the legitimate successor to the throne.
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1–7. A prayer that God will confer upon the king the gifts which he needs for the right exercise of his office. Then righteousness will bear the fruit of peace; redress and repression of wrong will promote the fear of God; under his beneficent rule the righteous will flourish.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 (1) The king . . . the king’s son.—The…
(1) The king . . . the king’s son.—The article is wanting in the Hebrew.
(1, 2) The order of the words should be noticed—“judgments,” “righteousness,” “righteousness,” “judgment”—as offering a good instance of introverted parallelism. With regard to the meaning of the words we are placed on practical ground; they refer to the faculty of judging in affairs of government, of coming to a great and fair decision. In fact, whether Solomon be the intended subject of the poem or not, the prayer made in his dream at Gibeon (1Ki_3:9) is the best comment on these verses. (Comp. Isa_11:4; Isa_32:1.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–4 THE "title" attributes this psalm to Solomon, and the…
THE "title" attributes this psalm to Solomon, and the contents of the psalm are very favourable to his authorship. The prayer in vers. 1-4 is an echo of that recorded in 1Ki_3:9. The stress laid upon "peace" (vers. 3, 7-16) accords with the peaceful reign (1Ki_4:20-25) of "the peaceful one." The local allusions (vers. 10, 15) suit the circumstances of Solomon"s time. The tone, cheerful, equable, and objective rather than subjective, is Solomonic. The psalm is thought to have been composed early in Solomon"s reign for liturgical purposes. It is a prophetic prayer for a blessing on the king and on his reign, which is represented in colours and with circumstances, that make it typical of the reign of Messiah (see especially vers. 8, 11, 17). The concluding verses (18, 19) are a doxology, marking the end of the Second Book. (compare the comment on Psa_41:13)
Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king"s son. God had established in Israel, in the person of David, hereditary monarchy, (2Sa_7:12-16) such as was usual in the East, and suited to Oriental notions. In speaking of himself, not only as "the king," but also as "the king"s son," Solomon makes appeal to the sentiment of respect for hereditary royalty. Compare the inscription of Mesha, "My father was king over Moab thirty years, and I became king after my father" (line 1). In praying God to give him "his judgments," he is desiring a "spirit of judgment" which will enable him to deliver decisions as righteous as God"s.
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HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Vers. 1-20. The glory of Christ"s kingdom.
It is written that Satan took our Lord "up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them"; (Mat_4:8) but they had no charm, for him. In this psalm we are, so to speak, taken up by the Spirit, and shown the kingdom of Messiah; and as its glory opens to our sight our hearts are thrilled with admiration and delight. With renewed ardour we cry, "Thy kingdom come." Consider some things testified here as to the glory of Christ"s kingdom.
I. THE GREATNESS OF THE SOVEREIGN. David and Solomon were in some respects great kings; and their greatness, so far as it was real, arose from their feeling their dependence upon God, and that it was their first duty to rule themselves and their people according to God"s Law. We know how in many things they offended. But here is a King spoken of whose greatness is of a nobler kind, and who comes short in nothing of God"s glory. As respects his nature, his character, his relationships, he is supremely fitted to rule. In him "righteousness" and "judgment" are found as in God. The will of God, on the one hand, and the welfare of his people are his highest ends. "God is light;" and this King saith, "I am the Light of the world." "God is love;" and this King"s advent was proclaimed by angels as the Saviour who should bring down love to men: "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to the children of men.
II THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE ADMINISTRATION. (Vers. 2-4) David, in his last words, describes Messiah"s manner of government. (2Sa_23:1-4) It is characterized by justice; there is no respect of persons; friends are not unduly favored, nor enemies unfairly punished; (Isa_11:4, Isa_11:5) the condition and interests of all are considered, and the poor are specially regarded; but justice is blended with mercy. It is the glory of Christ"s government that it provides for the return of the rebellious, and for the restoration of the fallen.
III THE HAPPINESS OF THE PEOPLE. (Vers. 6, 7) The laws of the kingdom are not only adapted to the nature and necessities of man, but designed for the welfare of those who obey them; (Deu_32:47 Isa_48:18) they are not arbitrary, but. founded in truth; they are not alterable, but eternally fixed. Earthly governments so far regulate their laws according to circumstances, and there may be improvements made and reforms carried out from time to time for the greater advantage of the people; but the laws of this kingdom do not need improvement they are perfect as God is perfect. We see the result in the character and privileges of the people. (Isa_43:21 Mat_5:1-10) They are enlightened, contented, law-abiding; they strive to mould their lives according to the will of their King, and in loyalty and devotion to him they find their highest honour and their highest happiness. In this kingdom alone can liberty, equality, and fraternity, in the truest sense, be enjoyed.
IV THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS THAT MAY BE CONFIDENTLY EXPECTED. This kingdom is destined to grow from more to more; it has an unlimited power of expansiveness (vers. 8, 13); it is also marked by stability. Earthly kingdoms have their rise and fall; but this kingdom is unshakable and eternal. It begins on earth, but is carried up to heaven. Other kings may have successors, though often the direct succession fails; but this King has no successor, but will reign forever and ever. W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-7. The effect of the anger of a perfectly righteous King.
Most probably put into form by Solomon, even if David suggested the substance of it. It is the portrait of an ideal King, never yet realized completely by any earthly monarch, and finds its perfect fulfilment only in Christ and his kingdom. Solomon did not fulfil it. It shows the effects of the reign of a perfectly righteous King such as Christ.
I HE PROCLAIMS AND ADMINISTERS ONLY RIGHTEOUS LAWS AND JUDGMENTS. (Vers. 1, 2) In opposition to the injustice of the despot. but the true King has a passion for justice.
II THE REIGN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BRINGS IN THE REIGN OF PEACE. (Ver. 3) "Mountains and hills are mentioned as being characteristic features of the country." Peace is always spoken of in the Scriptures as the fruit of righteousness in public and in private.
III IT UPHOLDS AND VINDICATES THE RIGHTS OF THE POOR AGAINST ALL OPPRESSION. (Ver. 4) Those who are born to poverty are more or less regarded by an unrighteous government as having no rights. Christianity expresses the cause of the poor, and vindicates their rights against all injustice and selfishness.
IV RIGHTEOUS RULE TEACHES THE PEOPLE THE FEAR OF GOD. (Ver. 5) Corrupt government encourages licentiousness and irreligion among the people.
V RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT QUICKENS AND FERTILIZES ALL THE AFFAIRS OF A NATION. (Ver. 6) As rain quickens and fertilizes the dry earth.
VI GOOD MEN PROSPER AND HAVE PEACE UNDER RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT. (Ver. 7) But are mostly persecuted and despoiled of their liberty and rights under a tyrannical rule. It is the office of a righteous king to defend the righteous; but it is Christ"s work to make men righteous by fashioning their minds anew by his Holy Spirit. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–4 A Psalm for Solomon. The best linguists affirm that…
A Psalm for Solomon. The best linguists affirm that this should be rendered, of or by Solomon. There is not sufficient ground for the rendering for. It is pretty certain that the title declares Solomon to be the author of the Psalm, and yet from Ps 72:20 it would seem that David uttered it in prayer before he died. With some diffidence we suggest that the spirit and matter of the Psalm are David's, but that he was too near his end to pen the words, or cast them into form: Solomon, therefore, caught his dying father's song, fashioned it in goodly verse, and, without robbing his father, made the Psalm his own. It is, we conjecture, the Prayer of David, but the Psalm of Solomon. Jesus is here, beyond all doubt, in the glory of his reign, both as he now is, and as he shall be revealed in the latter day glory.
We shall follow the division suggested by Alexander. "A glowing description of the reign of Messiah as righteous, Ps 72:1-7; universal, Ps 72:8-11; beneficent, Ps 72:12-14; and perpetual, Ps 72:15-17; to which are added a doxology, Ps 72:18-19; and a postscript, Ps 72:20."
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Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God. The right to reign was transmitted by descent from David to Solomon, but not by that means alone: Israel was a theocracy, and the kings were but the viceroys of the greater King; hence the prayer that the new king might be enthroned by divine right, and then endowed with divine wisdom. Our glorious King in Zion hath all judgment committed unto him. He rules in the name of God over all lands. He is king "Dei Gratia" as well as by right of inheritance.
And thy righteousness unto the king's son. Solomon was both king and king's son; so also is our Lord. He has power and authority in himself, and also royal dignity given of his Father. He is the righteous king; in a word, he is "the Lord our righteousness." We are waiting till he shall be manifested among men as the ever righteous Judge. May the Lord hasten on his own time the long looked for day. Now wars and fightings are even in Israel itself, but soon the dispensation will change, and David, the type of Jesus warring with our enemies, shall be displaced by Solomon the prince of peace.
Title. For Solomon. I shall but mention a threefold analogy between Christ and Solomon.
1. In his personal wisdom (1Ki 4:29-30); so Christ (Col 2:3); "In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
2. In the glorious peace and prosperity of his kingdom: the kingdom was peaceably settled in his hand. 1Ch 22:9 4: 24-25. And so he fell to the work of building the temple, as Christ doth the church; so Christ (Isa 9:6); he is the Prince of Peace, the great Peacemaker. Eph 2:14.
3. In his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter. Some observe that the daughter of Pharaoh never seduced him: neither is there any mention made of the Egyptian idols. 1Ki 11:5, 7. In his other outlandish marriages he did sin; but this is mentioned as by way of special exception (1Ki 11:1); for she was a proselyte, and so it was no sin to marry her: and the love between her and Solomon is made a type of the love between Christ and the church. So Christ hath taken us Gentiles to be spouse unto him. Psalm 45. Samuel Mather (1626-1671), in "The Figures or Types of the Old Testament."
Whole Psalm. The Seventy-second Psalm contains a description of an exalted king, and of the blessings of his reign. These blessings are of such a nature as to prove that the subject of the Psalm must be a divine person.
1. His kingdom is to be everlasting.
2. Universal.
3. It secures perfect peace with God and goodwill among men.
4. All men are to be brought to submit to him through love.
5. In him all the nations of the earth are to be blessed; i.e., as we are distinctly taught in Ga 3:16, it is in him that all the blessings of redemption are to come upon the world. Charles Hodge, in "Systematic Theology." 1871.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm was penned by a king, it is dedicated to a king, and is chiefly intended concerning him who is "King of kings." Joseph Caryl, in a Sermon entitled "David's Prayer for Solomon."
Whole Psalm. Two Psalms bear Solomon's name in their titles. One of these is the Hundred and Twenty-seventh, the other is the Seventy-second; and here the traces of his pen are unequivocal. A mistaken interpretation of the note appended to it, "The prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended, "led most of the old commentators to attribute the Psalm to David, and to suppose that it is a prayer offered in his old age "for Solomon, "as the peaceful prince who was to succeed him on the throne. However, it has long been known that the note in question refers to the whole of the preceding portion of the Psalter, much of which was written by Asaph and the sons of Korah; and there can be no doubt that the title can only be translated, "of Solomon." So clear are the traces of Solomon's pen that Calvin, whose sagacity in this kind of criticism has never been excelled, although he thought himself obliged, by the note at the end of the Psalm, to attribute the substance of it to David, felt Solomon's touch so sensibly, that he threw out the conjecture that the prayer was the father's, but that it was afterward thrown into the lyrical form by the son. This is not the place for detailed exposition; I will, therefore, content myself with remarking that, properly speaking, the Psalm is not "for Solomon" at all. If it refers to him and his peaceful reign, it does so only in as far as they were types of the Person and Kingdom of the Prince of Peace. The Psalm, from beginning to end, is not only capable of being applied to Christ, but great part is incapable of being fairly applied to any other. William Binnie.
Whole Psalm. This is the forth of those Psalms which predict the two natures of Christ. This Psalm admonishes us that we believe in Christ as perfect God, and perfect Man and King. Psalter of Peter Lombard(--1164).
Whole Psalm. That under the type of Solomon (to whom it is inscribed) the Messiah is "The King" of whom this Psalm treats, we have the consent, not only of the most eminent divines of modern times, and of the Fathers of the early Christian church, but the ancient and most distinguished Jewish expositors; of which reference, indeed, it contains the most conclusive internal evidence. And, as under a new type, so is the kingdom here presented to us in a new aspect, in marked contradistinction to its character as foreshadowed by its other great type, the Davidic: for the character of David's reign was conquest. He was "a man of war" (1Ch 28:1-3); the appointed instrument for subjecting the enemies of God's people Israel, by whom they were put in undisturbed possession of the promised land. But the character of Solomon's reign was peace, the import of his name, succeeding to the throne after all enemies had been subdued, and governing the kingdom which David's wars had established (1Ki 2:12), the two types, respectively, of Christ as he is yet to be manifested at his next appearing; first revealed as David, as seen in the vision of that event (Re 19:11): "I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war, "etc., subduing the Antichristian confederacy (Re 19:19-21), as before predicted in the Second Psalm, of this same confederacy: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." And then, as Solomon, taking his throne, and extending the blessings of his kingdom of peace to the ends of the earth. David in the Second Psalm; Solomon in this. William De Burgh.
Whole Psalm. The reader is reminded of James Montgomery's hymn, beginning, "Hail to the Lord's Anointed; "it is a very beautiful versification of this Psalm, and will be found in "Our Own Hymn Book, " No. 353.
Ver. 1. Give the king thy judgments, O God. Right and authority to execute judgment and justice. The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son. John Fry.
Ver. 1. The king... The king's son. I do not apprehend, with the generality of interpreters, that by The king, and The king's son, David means himself and his son, but Solomon only, to whom both the titles agree, as he was David's son, and anointed by him king during his lifetime. Samuel Chandler.
Ver. 1. The king... The king's son. We see that our Lord is here termed both Klm, and Klm Nb, being king himself, and also the son of a king; both as respects his human origin, having come forth from the stock of David, and also as to his divine origin; for the Father of the universe may, of course, be properly denominated King. Agreeably to this designation, we find on the Turkish coins the inscription: Sultan, son of Sultan. George Phillips.
Whole Psalm.
I. He shall.
II. They shall. Ring the changes on these, as the Psalm does.
Ver. 1. The prayer of the ancient church now fulfilled.
I. Our Lord's titles.
1. King, by divine nature.
2. King's Son, in both natures. Thus we see his power innate and derived. II. Our Lord's authority: "Judgments."
1. To rule his people.
2. To rule the world for his people's benefit.
3. To judge mankind.
4. To judge devils. III. Our Lord's character. He is righteous in rewarding and punishing, righteous towards God and man. IV. Our loyal prayer. This asks for his rule over ourselves and the universe.
In CHANDLER'S Life of David, Vol. 2, pp. 440-44, there is an Exposition of this Psalm.
Psalms 72:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4 Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy…
Psa_72:1-20
Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the kings son.
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The world-wanted king
Society cannot exist without laws: these laws require to be expressed and enforced, and whoever does this is ruler. Again, whilst the millions have the instinct of obedience, and lack the faculty to rule, there are always some, on the other hand, in whom there is the tendency and the power to govern. Let us look at the reign of this ideal king as here sketched.
I. It is characterized by righteousness and compassion (Psa_72:1-4). This compassion, this tender, practical sympathy for the woes of the indigent and oppressed, is not something opposed to righteousness. It is but a modification of righteousness, or rather, another phase of righteousness. Justice is but love sternly opposing all that is injurious to the universe, and benevolently encouraging all that is promotive of happiness. Justice is like some Alpine hill, when the sun is descending in the West on one side it is dark, frowning, terrific, on the other side it glows in brightness, disports in beauty. This compassion, this mercy, becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.
II. It is characterized by the highest national blessings (Psa_72:3; Psa_72:7).
1. General peace. The prevalence of universal good-will is essential to universal peace. Men not seeking their own as the grand end, but seeking the good of each other.
2. Spiritual vitality.
3. The prosperity of the righteous. Men will be considered great, useful, and honourable in proportion to the amount of rectitude that lives in their hearts and comes out in their daily life.
III. It is characterized by its moral command over all peoples (Psa_72:9-11). Moral worth is always mighty; like the sun, no man can ignore it, no man can disregard its influence, or deny its value. But moral worth in a king is especially mighty, it is seen, and wherever seen is felt. Moral worth is moral sovereignty.
IV. It is characterized by its expansibility and duration (Psa_72:8; Psa_72:16-17). The language does not mean that the king himself is to live and reign for ever, but that his name, his moral character, will be held in everlasting remembrance and will work on the earth for good as long as the sun and moon shall last.
V. It is characterized by its Divine establishment (Psa_72:18-19). For such a king as this the mighty Sovereign of the universe deserves the devoutest praises of men. He alone can form the character of such a king. (Homilist.)
Messiahs reign
I. Characteristics.
1. Righteousness (Psa_72:2). (Isa_11:1-5; Isa_32:1; Isa_32:17). Not till He comes whose right it is to reign will there be on earth a king whose judgments shall be based on an absolute knowledge of men, independent of the sensual judgment of sight and hearing. Then, and then only, will the people have righteousness meted out to them; then only will the poor be perfectly defended from the oppression of the rich.
2. Strength (Rev_12:10). In the day of Christs reign oppression shall not only come to an end, but the saints shall inherit the kingdom and the oppressor shall be cast out of power.
3. Gentleness (Psa_72:6). Not with the sword does Christ win His kingdom, nor by such means will He execute righteousness in the deliverance of His poor and in the breaking of the tyrants power, but by the almighty strength of truth itself.
4. Peace and prosperity (Psa_72:8; Psa_72:10; Psa_72:16). This can only indicate an abundance of every supply, both for the people in country and city, and for all purposes of state and kingdom.
II. Extent.
1. Duration. An everlasting reign (Psa_72:15; Psa_72:17). His Kingship, as well as His Priesthood, is in the power of an endless life (Psa_21:4; Psa_61:6-7).
2. Subjects. Not only of all nations, but of every class of men in all nations.
3. Territory (Psa_72:8). What a heaven this earth will be with the curse removed, all wickedness and evil taken out of the hearts and lives of all people; waters shall break out in the desert, and the very beasts of the field and the forest shall rest at peace each side with the others.
III. Universal adoration.
1. Prayer. Prayer shall be made to Him continually. Every want shall be presented to Him, in the spirit of constant and humble, yet confident supplication, and no good thing will be witheld from those who pray.
2. Praise. And daily shall He be praised. Eternity will not be too long wherein to praise Him who shall have delivered our souls from death, from the deceit and oppression of the wicked, especially from the power of our great enemy, the devil; to praise Him for the unspeakable blessings of forgiveness, justification, regeneration, sanctification.
3. Gifts. To Him shall be given the gold of Sheba. The people will themselves be a free-will offering to their Lord and King; all that they are and have shall be laid at His feet as being worth nothing apart from Him and His blessing. Who shall say that in the age of glory there shall not be vast fields and unknown opportunities for the employment of all the redeemed and sanctified powers of man? (G. F. Pentecost, D. D.)
Jesus both King and Kings Son
The king--the kings son. We see that our Lord is here termed both king and the kings son; both as respect to His human nature and also as to His Divine origin; for the Father of the universe may, of course, be properly denominated King. Agreeably to this designation we find on Turkish coins the inscription, Sultan, son of Sultan. (George Phillips.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 72
Psalms 72
RIGHTLY or wrongly, the superscription ascribes this psalm to Solomon. Its contents have led several commentators to take the superscription in a meaning for which there is no warrant, as designating the subject, not the author. Clearly, the whole is a prayer for the king; but why should not he be both suppliant and object of supplication? Modern critics reject this as incompatible with the "phraseological evidence," and adduce the difference between the historical Solomon and the ideal of the psalm as negativing reference to him. Psa_72:8 is said by them to be quoted from Zec_9:10, though Cheyne doubts whether there is borrowing. Psa_72:17 b is said to be dependent on Gen_22:18 and Gen_26:4, which are assumed to be later than the seventh century. Psa_72:12 is taken to be a reminiscence of Job_29:12, and Psa_72:16 b of Job_5:25. But these are too uncertain criteria to use as conclusive, -partly because coincidence does not necessarily imply quotation; partly because, quotation being admitted, the delicate question of priority remains, which can rarely be settled by comparison of the passages in question; and partly because, quotation and priority being admitted, the date of the original is still under discussion. The impossibility of Solomons praying thus for himself does not seem to the present writer so completely established that the hypothesis must be abandoned, especially if the alternative is to be, as Hitzig, followed by Olshausen and Cheyne, proposes, that the king in the psalm is Ptolemy Philadelphus, to whom Psalms 45 is fitted by the same authorities. Baethgen puts the objections which most will feel to such a theory with studied moderation when he says "that the promises given to the patriarchs in Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4, should be transferred by a pious Israelite to a foreign king appears to me improbable." But another course is open-namely, to admit that the psalm gives no materials for defining its date, beyond the fact that a king of Davidic descent was reigning when it was composed. The authorship may be left uncertain, as may the name of the king for whom such far-reaching blessings were invoked: for he was but a partial embodiment of the kingly idea, and the very disproportion between the reality seen in any Jewish monarch and the lofty idealisms of the psalm compels us to regard the earthly ruler as but a shadow, and the true theme of the singer as being the Messianic King. We are not justified, however, in attempting to transfer every point of the psalmists prayer to the Messiah. The historical occasion of the psalm is to be kept in mind. A human monarch stands in the foreground; but the aspirations expressed are so far beyond anything that he is or can be, that they are either extravagant flattery, or reach out beyond their immediate occasion to the King Messiah.
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The psalm is not properly a prediction, but prayer. There is some divergence of opinion as to the proper rendering of the principal verbs, -some, as the A.V. and R.V. (text), taking them as uniformly futures, which is manifestly wrong; some taking them as expressions of wish throughout, which is also questionable; and others recognising pure futures intermingled with petitions, which seems best. The boundaries of the two are difficult to settle, just because the petitions are so confident that they are all but predictions, and the two melt into each other in the singers mind. The flow of thought is simple. The psalmists prayers are broadly massed. In Psa_72:1-4 he prays for the foundation of the kings reign in righteousness, which will bring peace; in Psa_72:5-7 for its perpetuity, and in Psa_72:8-11 for its universality; while in Psa_72:12-15 the ground of both these characteristics is laid in the kings becoming the champion of the oppressed. A final prayer for the increase of his people and the perpetuity and world wide glory of his name concludes the psalm, to which is appended in Psa_72:18-20 a doxology, closing the Second Book of the Psalter.
The first petitions of the psalm all ask for one thing for the king-namely, that he should give righteous judgment. They reflect the antique conception of a king as the fountain of justice, himself making and administering law and giving decisions. Thrice in these four verses does "righteousness" occur as the foundation attribute of an ideal king. Caprice, self-interest, and tyrannous injustice were rank in the worlds monarchies round the psalmist. Bitter experience and sad observation had taught him that the first condition of national prosperity was a righteous ruler. These petitions are also animated by the conception, which is as true in the modern as in the ancient world, that righteousness has its seat in the bosom of God, and that earthly judgments are righteous when they conform to and are the echo of His. "Righteousness" is the quality of mind, of which the several "judgments" are the expressions. This king sits on an ancestral throne. His people are Gods people. Since, then, he is Gods viceroy, the desire cannot be vain that in his heart there may be some reflection of Gods righteousness, and that his decisions may accord with Gods. One cannot but remember Solomons prayer for "an understanding heart," that he might judge this people; nor forget how darkly his later reign showed against its bright beginning. A righteous king makes a peaceful people, especially in a despotic monarchy. The sure results of such a reign-which are, likewise, the psalmists chief reason for his petitions-are set forth in the vivid metaphor of Psa_72:3, in which peace is regarded as the fruit which springs, by reason of the kings righteousness, from mountains and hills. This psalmist has special fondness for that figure of vegetable growth (Psa_72:7, Psa_72:16-17); and it is especially suitable in this connection, as peace is frequently represented in Scripture as the fruit of righteousness, both in single souls and in a nations history. The mountains come into view here simply as being the most prominent features of the land, and not, as in Psa_72:16, with any reference to their barrenness, which would make abundant growth on them more wonderful, and indicative of yet greater abundance on the plains.
A special manifestation of judicial righteousness is the vindication of the oppressed and the punishment of the oppressor (Psa_72:4). The word rendered "judge" in Psa_72:4 differs from that in Psa_72:2, and is the same from which the name of the "Judges" in Israel is derived. Like them, this king is not only to pronounce decisions, as the word in Psa_72:2 means, but is to execute justice by acts of deliverance, which smite in order to rescue. Functions which policy and dignity require to be kept apart in the case of earthly rulers arc united in the ideal monarch. He executes his own sentences. His acts are decisions. The psalmist has no thought of inferior officers by the kings side. One figure fills his mind and his canvas. Surely such an ideal is either destined to remain forever a fair dream, or its fulfilment is to be recognised in the historical Person in whom Gods righteousness dwelt in higher fashion than psalmists knew, who was, "first, King of righteousness, and then, after that, also King of peace," and who, by His deed, has broken every yoke, and appeared as the defender of all the needy. The poet prayed that Israels king might perfectly discharge his office by Divine help: the Christian gives thanks that the King of men has been and done all which Israels monarchs failed to be and do.
The perpetuity of the kings reign and of his subjects peace is the psalmists second aspiration (Psa_72:5-7). The "Thee" of Psa_72:5 presents a difficulty, as it is doubtful to whom it refers. Throughout the psalm the king is spoken of, and never to; and if it is further noticed that, in the preceding verses, God has been directly addressed, and "Thy" used thrice in regard to Him, it will appear more natural to take the reference in Psa_72:5 to be to Him. The fear of God would be dig fused among the kings subjects, as a consequence of his rule in righteousness. Hupfeld takes the word as referring to the king, and suggests changing the text to "him" instead of "Thee"; while others, among whom are Cheyne and Baethgen, follow the track of the LXX in adopting a reading which may be translated "May he live," or "Prolong his days." But the thought yielded by the existing text, if referred to God, is most natural and worthy. The king is, as it were, the shadow on earth of Gods righteousness, and consequently becomes an organ for the manifestation thereof, in such manner as to draw men to true devotion. The psalmists desires are for something higher than external prosperity, and his conceptions of the kingly office are very sacred. Not only peace and material well-being, but also the fear of Jehovah, are longed for by him to be diffused in Israel. And he prays that these blessings may be perpetual. The connection between the kings righteousness and the fear of God requires that that permanence should belong to both. The cause is as lasting as its effect. Through generation after generation he desires that each shall abide. He uses peculiar expressions for continual duration "with the sun"-i.e., contemporaneous with that unfading splendour; "before the face of the moon"-i.e., as long as she shines. But could the singer anticipate such length of dominion for any human king? Psalms 21 has similar language in regard to the same person, and here, as there, it seems sufficiently accounted for by the consideration that, while the psalmist was speaking of an individual, he was thinking of the office rather than of the person, and that the perpetual continuance of the Davidic dynasty, not the undying life of anyone representative of it, was meant. The full light of the truth that there is a king whose royalty, like his priesthood, passes to no other is not to be forced upon the psalm. It stands as a witness that devout and inspired souls longed for the establishment of a kingdom, against which revolutions and enemies and mortality were powerless. They knew not that their desires could not be fulfilled by the longest succession of dying kings, but were to be more than accomplished by One, "of whom it is witnessed that He liveth."
The psalmist turns for a moment from his prayer for the perpetuity of the kings rule, to linger upon the thought of its blessedness as set forth in the lovely image of Psa_72:6. Rain upon mown grass is no blessing, as every farmer knows: but what is meant is, not the grass which has already been mown, but the naked meadow from which it has been taken. It needs drenching showers, in order to sprout again and produce an aftermath. The poets eye is caught by the contrast between the bare look of the field immediately after cutting and the rich growth that springs, as by magic, from the yellow roots after a plentiful shower. This kings gracious influences shall fall upon even what seems dead, and charm forth hidden life that will flush the plain with greenness. The psalmist dwells on the picture, reiterating the comparison in Psa_72:6 b, and using there an uncommon word, which seems best rendered as meaning a heavy rainfall. With such affluence of quickening powers will the righteous king bless his people. The "Mirror for Magistrates." which is held up in the lovely poem 2Sa_23:4, has a remarkable parallel in its description of the just ruler as resembling a "morning without clouds, when the tender grass springeth out of the earth through clear shining after rain"; but the psalmist heightens the metaphor by the introduction of the mown meadow as stimulated to new growth. This image of the rain lingers with him and shapes his prayer in Psa_72:7 a. A righteous king will insure prosperity to the righteous, and the number of such will increase. Both these ideas seem to be contained in the figure of their flourishing, which is literally bud or shoot. And, as the people become more and more prevailingly righteous, they receive more abundant and unbroken peace. The psalmist had seen deeply into the conditions of national prosperity, as well as those of individual tranquillity, when he based these on rectitude.
With Psa_72:8 the singer takes a still loftier flight, and prays for the universality of the kings dominion. In that verse the form of the verb is that which expresses desire, but in Psa_72:9 and following verses the verbs may be rendered as simple futures. Confident prayers insensibly melt into assurances of their own fulfilment. As the psalmist pours out his petitions, they glide into prophecies; for they are desires fashioned upon promises, and bear, in their very earnestness, the pledge of their realisation. As to the details of the form which the expectation of universal dominion here takes, it need only be noted that we have to do with a poet, not with a geographer. We are not to treat the expressions as if they were instructions to a boundary commission, and to be laid down upon a map. "The sea" is probably the Mediterranean; but what the other sea which makes the opposite boundary may be is hard to say. Commentators have thought of the Persian Gulf, or of an imaginary ocean encircling the flat earth, according to ancient ideas. But more probably the expression is as indeterminate as the parallel one, "the ends of the earth." In the first clause of the verse the psalmist starts from the Mediterranean, the western boundary, and his anticipations travel away into the unknown eastern regions; while, in the second clause, he begins with the Euphrates, which was the eastern boundary of the dominion promised to Israel, and, coming westward, he passes out in thought to the dim regions beyond. The very impossibility of defining the boundaries declares the boundlessness of the kingdom. The poets eyes have looked east and west, and in Psa_72:9 he turns to the south, and sees the desert tribes, unconquered as they have hitherto been, grovelling before the king, and his enemies in abject submission at his feet. The word rendered "desert peoples" is that used in Psa_74:14 for wild beasts inhabiting the desert, but here it can only mean wilderness tribes. There seems no need to alter the text, as has been proposed, and to read "adversaries." In Psa_72:10 the psalmist again looks westward, across the mysterious ocean of which he, like all his nation, knew so little. The great city of Tarshish lay for him at the farthest bounds of the world; and between him and it, or perhaps still farther out in the waste unknown, were islands from which rich and strange things sometimes reached Judaea. These shall bring their wealth in token of fealty. Again he looks southward to Sheba in Arabia, and Seba far south below Egypt, and foresees their submission. His knowledge of distant lands is exhausted, and therefore he ceases enumeration, and falls back on comprehensiveness. How little he knew, and how much he believed! His conceptions of the sweep of that "all" were childish; his faith that, however many these unknown kings and nations were, Gods anointed was their king was either extravagant exaggeration, or it was nurtured in him by God, and meant to be fulfilled when a world, wide beyond his dreams and needy beyond his imagination, should own the sway of a King, endowed with Gods righteousness and communicative of Gods peace, in a manner and measure beyond his desires.
The triumphant swell of these anticipations passes with wonderful pathos into gentler music, as if the softer tones of flutes should follow trumpet blasts. How tenderly and profoundly the psalm bases the universality of the dominion on the pitying care and delivering power of the King! The whole secret of sway over men lies in that "For," which ushers in the gracious picture of the beneficent and tender-hearted Monarch. The world is so full of sorrow, and men are so miserable and needy, that he who can stanch their wounds, solace their griefs, and shelter their lives will win their hearts and be crowned their king. Thrones based on force are as if set on an iceberg which melts away. There is no solid foundation for rule except helpfulness. In the world and for a little while "they that exercise authority are called benefactors"; but in the long run the terms of the sentence are inverted, and they that are rightly called benefactors exercise authority. The more earthly rulers approximate to this ideal portrait, the more "broad based upon their peoples will" and love will their thrones stand. If Israels kings had adhered to it, their throne would have endured. But their failures point to Him in whom the principle declared by the psalmist receives its most tender illustration. The universal dominion of Jesus Christ is based upon the fact that He "tasted death for every man." In the Divine purpose, He has won the right to rule men because He has died for them. In historical realisation, He wins mens submission because He has given Himself for them. Therefore does He command with absolute authority; therefore do we obey with entire submission. His sway not only reaches out over all the earth, inasmuch as the power of His cross extends to all men, but it lays hold of the inmost will and makes submission a delight.
The king is represented in Psa_72:14 as taking on himself the office of Goel, or Kinsman-Redeemer, and ransoming his subjects lives from "deceit and violence." That "their blood is precious in his eyes" is another way of saying that they are too dear to him to be suffered to perish. This kings treasure is the life of his subjects. Therefore he will put forth his power to preserve them and deliver them. The result of such tender care and delivering love is set forth in Psa_72:15, but in obscure language. The ambiguity arises from the absence of expressed subjects for the four verbs in the verse. Who is he who "lives"? Is the same person the giver of the gold of Sheba, and to whom is it given? Who prays, and for whom? And who blesses, and whom does he bless? The plain way of understanding the verse is to suppose that the person spoken of in all the clauses is the same; and then the question comes whether he is the king or the ransomed man. Difficulties arise in carrying out either reference through all the clauses; and hence attempts have been made to vary the subject of the verbs. Delitzsch, for instance, supposes that it is the ransomed man who "lives," the king who gives to the ransomed man gold, and the man who prays for and blesses the king. But such an arbitrary shuttling about of the reference of "he" and "him" is impossible. Other attempts of a similar kind need not be noticed here. The only satisfactory course is to take one person as spoken of by all the verbs. But then the question comes, Who is he? There is much to be said in favour of either hypothesis as answering that question. The phrase which is rendered above "So that he lives," is so like the common invocation "May the king live," that it strongly favours taking the whole verse as a continuance of the petitions for the monarch. But if so, the verb in the second clause (he shall give) must be taken impersonally, as equivalent to "one will give" or "there shall be given," and those in the remaining clauses must be similarly dealt with, or the text altered so as to make them plurals, reading, "They shall pray for him (the king), and shall bless him." On the whole; it is best to suppose that the ransomed man is the subject throughout, and that the verse describes his glad tribute, and continual thankfulness. Ransomed from death, he brings offerings to his deliverer. It seems singular that he should be conceived of both as "needy" and as owning "gold" which he can offer; but in the literal application the incongruity is not sufficient to prevent the adoption of this view of the clause; and in the higher application of the words to Christ and His subjects, which we conceive to be warranted, the incongruity becomes fine and deep truth; for the poorest soul, delivered by Him, can bring tribute, which He esteems as precious beyond all earthly treasure. Nor need the remaining clauses militate against the view that the ransomed man is the subject in them, The psalm had, a historical basis, and all its points cannot be introduced into the Messianic interpretation. This one of praying for the king cannot be; notwithstanding the attempts of some commentators to find a meaning for it in Christian prayers for the spread of Christs kingdom. That explanation does violence to the language, mistakes the nature of Messianic prophecy, and brings discredit on the view that the psalm has a Messianic character.
The last part of the psalm (Psa_72:16-17) recurs to petitions for the growth of the nation and the perpetual flourishing of the kings name. The fertility of the land and the increase of its people are the psalmists desires, which are also certainties, as expressed in Psa_72:16. He sees in imagination the whole land waving with abundant harvests, which reach even to the tops of the mountains, and rustle in the summer air, with a sound like the cedars of Lebanon, when they move their layers of greenness to the breeze. The word rendered above "abundance" is doubtful; but there does not seem to be in the psalmists mind the contrast which he is often supposed to be expressing, beautiful and true as it is, between the small beginnings and the magnificent end of the kingdom on earth. The mountains are here thought of as lofty and barren. If waving harvests clothe their gaunt sides, how will the vales laugh in plentiful crops! As the earth yields her increase, so the people of the king shall be multiplied, and from all his cities they shall spring forth abundant as grass. That figure would bear much expansion; for what could more beautifully set forth rapidity of growth, close-knit community, multiplication of units, and absorption of these in a lovely whole, than the picture of a meadow clothed with its grassy carpet? Such hopes had only partial fulfilment in Israel. Nor have they had adequate fulfilment up till now. But they lie on the horizon of the future, and they shall one day be reached. Much that is dim is treasured in them. There may be a renovated world, from which the curse of barrenness has been banished. There shall be a swift increase of the subjects of the King, until the earlier hope of the psalm is fulfilled, and all nations shall serve him.
But bright as are the poets visions concerning the kingdom, his last gaze is fastened on its king, and he prays that his name may last forever, and may send forth shoots as long as the sun shines in the sky. He probably meant no more than a prayer for the continual duration of the dynasty, and his conception of the name as sending forth shoots was probably that of its being perpetuated in descendants. But, as has been already noticed, the perpetuity, which he conceived of as belonging to a family and an office, really belongs to the One King, Jesus Christ, whose Name is above every name, and will blossom anew in fresh revelations of its infinite contents, not only while the sun shines, but when its fires are cold and its light quenched. The psalmists last desire is that the ancient promise to the fathers may be fulfilled in the King, their descendant, in whom men shall bless themselves. So full of blessedness may He seem to all men, that they shall take Him for the very type of felicity, and desire to be even as He is! In mens relation to Christ the phrase assumes a deeper meaning still: and though that is not intended by the psalmist, and is not the exposition of his words, it still is true that in Christ all blessings for humanity are stored, and that therefore if men are to be truly blessed they must plunge themselves into Him, and in Him find all that they need for blessedness and nobility of life and character. If He is our supreme type of whatsoever things are fair and of good report, and if we have bowed ourselves to Him because He has delivered us from death, then we share in His life, and all His blessings are parted among us.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 Superscription.—“A Psalm for Solomon.” Margin: “Of Solomon.” Hengstenberg: “Solomon…
INTRODUCTION
Superscription.—“A Psalm for Solomon.” Margin: “Of Solomon.” Hengstenberg: “Solomon is named in the title as the author of the Psalm. Attempts have been made, to no purpose, to interpret לִשְׁלמֹה here, as in Psalms 127, in another sense. The ל, when it occurs as in the titles, without anything to limit its application, always indicates, as here, the author. In favour of the announcement in the title, we have first the remarkably objective character of the Psalm, common to it with the other writings of Solomon, and in striking contrast to that flow of feeling which forms such a marked feature in the Psalms of David. And, in the second place, there is also the fact that it is the circumstances of Solomon’s time that form the groundwork of the Psalm.”
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We have in the Psalm a picture of the character and extent of the sovereignty of the Messiah. “Solomon, when at the height of his own power,” says Canon Liddon, “sketches a Superhuman King, ruling an empire which in its character and in its compass altogether transcends his own. The extremest boundaries of the Kingdom of Israel melt away before the gaze of the Psalmist. The new kingdom reaches ‘from sea to sea, and from the flood unto the world’s end’ (Psa_72:8). It reaches from each frontier of the Promised Land to the remotest regions of the known world in the opposite quarter. From the Mediterranean it extends to the ocean that washes the shores of Eastern Asia; from the Euphrates to the utmost West. At the feet of its mighty Monarch, all who are most inaccessible to the arms or the influence of Israel hasten to tender their voluntary submission. The wild sons of the desert (Psa_72:9), the merchants of Tarshish in the then distant Spain, the islanders of the Mediterranean, the Arab chiefs, the wealthy Nubians (Psa_72:10), are foremost in proffering their homage and fealty. But all kings are at last to fall down in submission before the Ruler of the new kingdom; all nations are to do Him service (Psa_72:11). His empire is to be co-extensive with the world: it is also to be co-enduring with time (Psa_72:17). His empire is to be spiritual; it is to confer peace on the world, but by righteousness (Psa_72:3). The King will Himself secure righteou judgment (Psa_72:2; Psa_72:4), salvation (Psa_72:4; Psa_72:13), deliverance (Psa_72:12), redemption (Psa_72:14), to His subjects. The needy, the afflicted, the friendless, will be the especial objects of His tender care (Psa_72:12-13). His appearance in the world will be like the descent of ‘the rain upon the mown grass’ (Psa_72:6); the true life of man seems to have been killed out, but it is yet capable of being restored by Him. He himself, it is hinted, will be out of sight; but His Name will endure for ever; His Name will ‘propagate’; and men shall be blessed in Him to the end of time (Psa_72:17). This King is immortal; He is also all-knowing and all-mighty. ‘Omniscience alone can hear the cry of every human heart; Omnipotence alone can bring deliverance to every human sufferer.’ ”
Looking at the Psalm homiletically we see in it A Prayer for Kings (Psa_72:1), The Glorious Reign of the Messiah (Psa_72:2; Psa_72:17), and the Doxology.
A PRAYER FOR KINGS
(Psa_72:1.)
This brief prayer for the king suggests—
I. The character of a true king. It is clearly implied that he should be righteous. “Give Thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” Kings should be righteous in heart, in aims, in actions. They are bound to this,—
1. By obligations which are common to all men. Kings as much as their subjects are required “to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” The eternal and immutable laws of God for moral beings are as binding upon the mightiest sovereign as upon the meanest subject.
2. By obligations which are special to men of high position. Their example is incomparably more influential than that of those who occupy less conspicuous, or obscure positions. “The people are fashioned,” says Claudian, “according to the example of their king; and edicts are of less power than the model which his life exhibits.”
“A sovereign’s great example forms a people;
The public breast is noble, or is vile,
As he inspires it.”—Mallet.
Hence kings are under special obligations to “wear the white flower of a blameless life.”
“King-becoming graces
Are justice, verity, temperance, stableness,
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness,
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude.”
—Shakespeare.
“He’s a king,
A true right king, who dares do aught, save wrong;
Fears nothing mortal, but to be unjust;
Who is not blown up with the flatt’ring puffs
Of spongy sycophants; who stands unmoved,
Despite the jostling of opinion;
Who can enjoy himself, maugre the throng
That strive to press the quiet out of him;
Who sits upon Jove’s footstool as I do,
Adorning, not affecting, majesty;
Whose brow is wreathed with the silver crown
Of clear content.”—Marston.
“He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”
II. The function of a true king. It is implied that his business is to administer justice. “Give the king Thy judgments, O God.” The “judgments” are the legal decisions, or sentences. The judgments of God are contrasted with those which the king gives independently. “The essence of all justice lies in the conformity of the decisions of the earthly judge to the decisions of the heavenly Lord of Justice.” Barnes: “It is one of the primary ideas of the character of a king that he is the fountain of justice; the maker of the laws; the dispenser of right to all his subjects. The officers of the law administer justice under him; the last appeal is to him.” The true administrators of justice are “persuaded that justice is God’s own work, and themselves His agents in this business,—the sentence, of right, God’s own verdict, and themselves His priests to deliver it.” (Comp. Deu_1:17; 2Ch_19:6; Pro_8:15.)
“A monarch should be
Heaven’s true vicegerent, whose superior soul
Raised high above the tyrant’s selfish poorness,
Pants but for power of doing good, rejects
All power of doing ill; who makes no war
But to revenge his people’s wrongs; no peace
But what secures their safety; courts no fame
But from their happiness: a parent he,
The public parent—they not slaves, but sons.”
—Mallet.
Or, as Tennyson portrays him—
“Who reverenced his conscience as his king;
Whose glory was, redressing human wrong;
Who spake no slander, no, nor listen’d to it;
Who loved one only, and who clave to her.”
“The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.” The kingdom whose rulers are not characterised by righteousness, and whose judges are not just, must hasten to its overthrow.
III. The need of a true king. It is implied in the text that he needs—
1. Divine guidance. “Give the king Thy judgments, O God.” If kings are to exercise the functions of their high office truly and wisely, they must be instructed and strengthened from above. When “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” rests upon kings, their rule shall be righteous, their throne secure, and their subjects happy. (Comp. Isa_11:2-5.)
2. Divine grace. “Give Thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” Righteousness is not innate in kings. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Righteousness must come to them as the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and must be sought and obtained by faith, &c. Very great is the need of kings of the constant help of God. Their temptations are many and very powerful; they stand in slippery places; their exaltation has a tendency to unsettle their moral equilibrium, &c. They need the guidance and support of the Divine hand.
IV. The duty of subjects. We may make this our prayer for our rulers:—“Give the king Thy judgments, O God,” &c. Every subject ought to pray for the blessing of God upon his sovereign. M. Henry: “Those who would live quiet and peaceable lives must pray for kings and all in authority, that God would give them His judgments and righteousness.” Let us pray God with His favour to behold all the rulers of men, and so replenish them with the grace of His Holy Spirit, that they may alway incline to His will and walk in His way.
THE GLORIOUS REIGN OF THE MESSIAH
(Psa_72:2-17.)
That these splendid utterances cannot be applied merely to the kingdom of Solomon, or of any of his successors, must be obvious even to the most superficial reader. That they are prophetic of the kingdom of the Messiah will also be obvious, we think, to every one who thoughtfully regards them. Consider—
I. The blessings of His reign. Several of these are here specified.
1. The administration of justice. “He shall judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with judgment. He shall judge the poor of the people. He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.” (See remarks in the preceding sketch on the function of a true king.) Eloquently has Isaiah portrayed the character of the Messianic administration (Psa_11:1-5).
2. The enjoyment of peace. “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness.” Mountains and hills are characteristic features of Palestine. In ancient times these were terraced and cultivated as far up as possible. In the representation of this peace by the Psalmist we have three ideas.
(1) Prevalence. The mountains and hills by reason of their number and prominence are well fitted to express the idea that the land everywhere shall be full of peace. There shall be “abundance of peace.” The war drum shall no longer throb, and the battle flag shall be for ever furled. Men “shall beat their swords into ploughshares,” &c. Strife and bitterness between different classes of society shall be no more. Peace in man’s own being. Peace between man and man. Peace between God and man.
(2) Reality. “Peace by righteousness.” The peace which is not rooted in righteousness is spurious and deceptive. True peace is the product and consequence of righteousness. It is so in the individual. “Being justified by faith we have peace with God,” &c. It is so also in society and in nations. Christ is “the Prince of Peace,” because He “reigns in righteousness.”
(3) Permanence. The spurious peace which is not rooted in righteousness is of short duration. The true peace, which is “by righteousness,” shall last. Like its Author, it is abiding, everlasting. What an unspeakably precious boon is this Divine peace!
3. The progress of religion (Psa_72:5-7). We have three conspicuous features of true religion.
(1) Reverence towards God. “They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.” One of the blessed effects of the glorious reign of the Messiah is that God will be regarded by man with the deepest reverence. And this reverence shall be perpetual. Generations of men come and go—
“Like the snowfall in the river,
A moment white—then melts for ever.”
But the sun and moon remain and shine through all generations while they remain, God shall be reverenced by man. And when they are no more, even for ever, shall He be feared.
(2) Refreshment from God. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth.” A beautiful illustration of Divine influences—
“As rain on meadows newly mown,
So shall He send His influence down;
His grace on fainting souls distils,
Like heavenly dew on thirsty hills.”—Watts.
The showers that water the earth tend to produce life, beauty, and fruit. In this they symbolise the gracious influences of the reign of Jesus Christ.
(3) Growth towards God. “In His days shall the righteous flourish.” As the mown grass springs into vigorous and beauteous growth after genial showers, so the righteous in His day shall grow and prosper; they shall bring forth “fruit unto holiness.” If they have been depressed, by His blessing they shall be revived and strengthened. Their faith and love and obedience, their consecration and zeal and sanctity, their truth and tenderness and power, all shall increase. What an inspiring and glorious prospect this is! Evil shall not always lord it over good, &c.
4. Beneficent government. We have already made some remarks on the righteousness of His administration, but we return to it, because the Psalmist gives special prominence to His treatment of the poor and the oppressed. Three characteristics at least of that treatment he sets before us.
(1) He regards the cry of the needy and helpless. “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” Not even the most obscure or despised of men shall cry to Him in vain.
(2) He champions their cause. “He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence.” He will befriend the friendless, will be the Helper of the helpless, and the Protector of the defenceless. “His administration will have special respect to those who are commonly overlooked, and who are exposed to oppression and wrong.”
(3) He prizes their life. “And precious shall their blood be in His sight.” In His sight men are precious not in proportion to their rank or wealth or power, but according to their character. “The Lord knoweth them that are His,” and holds them dear to Him. He guards His subjects well because He loves them well. “Christ is the poor man’s King.”
5. Abundant prosperity. “There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains, the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the field.” The word—פִּסָּה—translated “handful,” is rendered abundance by Conant, Gesenius, Hengstenberg, Moll, et al. Fuerst gives as its meaning, superabundance. Abundance of corn is the sign of abundant prosperity. As the mountains are prominent and picturesque, so the signs of the prosperity would be conspicuous and beautiful. The cities also shall be populous and prosperous. Beauty, plenty, and joy, shall be universally diffused throughout the dominions of the Messiah. An historical basis of the ideas of prosperity presented in this verse is found in the time of Solomon, and recorded in 1Ki_4:20. (For further treatment of Psa_72:16, see below.) Such, in brief, are some of the more prominent blessings of the reign of the Christ. Consider—
II. The universality of His reign (Psa_72:8-11).
1. He shall reign over all classes. The wanderers of the desert and the kings of wealthy and famous cities shall bow to the sway of the Lord Jesus. Rich and poor, learned and illiterate, distinguished and obscure, great and small, men of all ranks and conditions, shall loyally call Jesus Lord.
2. He shall reign in all places. “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” For an historical basis of the statements in Psa_72:8-10, see 1Ki_4:21. Applying the words of Psa_72:8, to the kingdom of the Messiah we are not, it seems to us, to fix upon any particular sea or river. M. Henry: “No sea, no river, is named, that it might, by these proverbial expressions, intimate the universal monarchy of the Lord Jesus.” Hengstenberg: “The dominion of this king extends from any one sea to any other sea, and from any river even to the ends of the earth—it is a kingdom of boundless extent.” “All nations shall serve Him.” (Comp. Rev_11:15.)
And His dominion shall be as secure as it is wide, as real as it is extensive All His foes shall be completely subdued unto Him. “His enemies shall lick the dust,” in token of reverence and submission to Him.
Mark the reason of this universal and complete sovereignty. The Psalmist gives it in Psa_72:12-14. Perowne: “The reason is given why all kings and nations should thus do homage to Him who sits on David’s throne. He has merited such submission by the exercise of every royal virtue, by the justice and the mercy of His sway, by His deep sympathy with, and compassion for, the poor, by the protection which He extends to them against the ministers of fraud and violence. It is not that He merely covers with the shadow of His throne all neighbouring nations, and is acknowledged as their political head, but that the bright example which He sets, the majesty of righteousness enthroned in His person, compels all to bow before Him.”
III. The perpetuity of His reign. “They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.… His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun.” Margin: “Shall be as a son to continue his father’s name for ever.” Conant: “As long as the sun shall His name flourish.” Moll: “Before the sun let His name sprout.” The idea seems to be that the name of the king would be always acquiring fresh renown by His new deeds on behalf of His subjects. Through all the coming generations of men new glories shall break forth for His name, in which all nations may bless themselves. The reign of Jesus will be perpetual. “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” The perpetuity of His reign is guaranteed by—
1. The declarations of God’s Word (Psa_45:6; Psa_89:36; Isa_9:7; Dan_4:3; Rev_11:15).
2. The character of His sovereignty. He rules in the hearts of His subjects, by the force of truth, righteousness, and love. The loyalty and service which they render to Him are voluntary and joyous.
IV. The praise of His reign. The Psalmist represents this as presented to the king in various forms. It is expressed by—
1. Rendering homage to Him. “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him, and His enemies shall lick the dust. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him.”
2. Rendering service to Him. “All nations shall serve Him.” His subjects will praise Him not only by forms and expressions of homage, but by loyal obedience also. Their hearty submission to Him will be manifest in their devoted service.
3. Paying tribute to Him. “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. To Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba.” The day is surely coming when men everywhere shall gladly lay their best and most treasured possessions at His feet. Genius, eloquence, power, riches, shall all be heartily rendered to Him.
4. Ascribing blessing to Him. “Prayer also shall be made for Him continually, and daily shall He be praised. And men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.” The prayer is made “not for Him personally, but for the success of His reign—for the extension of His kingdom. Prayer made for that is made for Him, for He is identified with that.” Instead of “men shall be blessed in Him,” many render: “Shall bless themselves in Him;” and interpret it as the expression of admiration of His blessedness, and desire to be blessed as He is. Daily men praise Him. And the time approaches when men of every nation shall constantly ascribe to Him all power, and dominion, and glory, and blessing; their lives shall become grateful, adoring, and songful; from all peoples, and from all places, praise shall ascend to the Saviour-King.
CONCLUSION.—
1. Let the enemies of Christ submit themselves cheerfully to Him as their King. Manifestly it is both their duty and their interest to do so.
2. Let His loyal subjects take encouragement from the sure and glorious prospect of His reign. The sin and strife and sorrow of the race will have an end. The kingdom of holiness, peace, and joy will be universal and perpetual. Here is encouragement to work and wait, to pray and hope.
“O’er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest:
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all bless’d.
“The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove:
His name shall stand for ever!
That name to us is—LOVE.”
—Montgomery.
PEACE BY POWER
(Psa_72:3.)
“The mountains shall bring peace.”
The writer of this Hebrew ode finds the peaceful in the grand—rest in greatness. Our doctrine is, that the quiet of the human soul is to be honestly found, not in descending to its lower or lessforcible states, but in the freedom of its highest qualities, and through its stronger exercises: or, that Christian peace is an attainment of the spiritual energies, and not a mere acquiescence in inferiority.
When the Saviour speaks of the ultimate result of His religion in the single heart or in the world, He calls it Peace; “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you.” But as soon as you look into the spirit and relations of His words, you see that in this peace there is something quite peculiar. He says, “My peace.” It is a peace obtained by the drops of blood and the cross; Gethsemane and Calvary; by a life in which there was no place to lay the head. It is not a mere constitutional, negative, nor any superficial peace: it is not what we call pleasure, nor a happy temperament, nor gratified sensibilities, nor satiated appetites. It is something deeper and stronger. It is an attainment; it is a victory; it is tribulation overcome. It is the mightiest powers of our nature balanced, reconciled, and harmonised at last, though we know not by what struggles and sufferings, till, by the perfect sway of one supreme principle of faith, there are the equipoise and serenity that pass all understanding.
The three obvious attributes of mountains are elevation, magnitude, and permanency. Out of these three several characters comes an influence of peace. In just such attributes of strength, human character, also, is to find its moral balance, its real peace, viz., in its aspiration, its largeness, its constancy. Man is high with his devotional affections, his prayers; wide with his practical principles; and steadfast with his convictions. Or, he is high with his spirit, wide with his will, and steadfast with his reason. With these three properly adjusted, you will have a general effect of serenity; because such a man will live in a certain equipoise within himself, centred and completed according to the grand designs of his Creator, as a creature belonging both to the world and heaven. He reaches up into the infinite mystery that broods like a sea of conscious life about him. He reaches out, in all liberal fellowships, to mankind, with a love that cannot narrow into hatred, nor be fretted into war; and he rests firmly on eternal foundations. And thus, on all sides—God-ward, and man-ward, and self-ward—so far as man can, he resides in the securities of a well-defended peace.
Spiritual serenity, then, is spiritual strength. It comes in by no softness of sentiment, but by thorough work. It comes by a faith that emboldens and energises the whole soul, a penitence that searches and strains it, and often a secret fight of afflictions. Christianity is a robust religion. It was planted in the world by a race of heroes.…
Take any one of these three traits just mentioned away, and, besides what other ruin you make, you most disastrously disturb the peace.… On whichever side you enfeeble man, you unbalance and torture him.
Proceed to some examples, in other regions of life, how peace depends on power.
In literary expression, the effect of pathos is finest in thinkers habitually severe. What saves sentiment from sentimentality is the feeling of a firm intellectual fibre through the emotion.
Persons who have been in the strain and peril of some moral or civil revolution, wounded with real weapons, and compacted by times of terror, if they have benignant qualities, impress us in that way far more than is possible for men of softer discipline. Tenderness is doubly tender when we know a rugged and aggressive temper has been subdued to it by that rule over the spirit which is mightier than the taking of cities.
It is familiar how bereavements, which are the storms of the soul, prepare the way for religious tranquility. Crosses bring calmness.… In the solemn portrait-galleries of history, the serenest faces are the saddest—where peace has not been inherited, but conquered.
We have this union of power and tenderness eminently in such as Luther; …
Again, in the great pacifications of empires, the same rule prevails. It takes the strongest heads to bring peace. Diplomacy has to summon her stoutest, clearest-sighted, and farthest-sighted ministers. The most intrepid are most pacific. Magnanimity makes no quarrels.
Hence we come to discover in what order of persons we are to look for the noblest charity and the real consolation. We want our consolers to be, not only the subjects of pain, but its conquerors through their suffering. The more masculine your pity, the more it moves and melts.
And when we speak of comfort, we are directed up to the Comforter.… What is the whole doctrine of that Spirit, in the New Testament, and in Paul? They represent Him as not only Comforter, but also and first, Rebuker, Renewer, and Sanctifier.
All our peace is in God, who is not only the strongest, but Almighty. “The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”
Personal applications.
1. Learn never to be afraid of rugged and even painful experiences.
“Great souls snatch vigour from the stormy air,
While weaker natures Suffer and despair,
Grief not the languor but the action brings,
And spreads the horison but to nerve the wings.”
2. A rule for “strengthening the brethren.” As we would comfort one another, we must try, with the apostle’s earnestness, to “endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.”
3. Of how sterling worth is a form of religious belief which holds fast the stringent as well as the soothing doctrine of Christ’s evangelical teaching. The order of the universe is poised between justice and mercy; and it is not kindness, but the bitterest cruelty, which would unsettle that order, by giving us a Deity too doting to punish, and too fond too judge.
4. Learn the way of making our own eternal life secure. The New Testament speaks continually to us of salvation. By salvation Christ means such safety as lies in a sturdy and athletic power of character, will, heart, conscience, and intellect, got by daring to attempt great virtues and by incessant intrepidity. He holds up no lower standard than to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. He wins confidence by the very immensity of His demands.
5. We disturb the true spiritual order and invert God’s plan for us, whenever we go in search of peace first, and not holiness. “First pure, then peaceable:” that is the clearly-pronounced order and everlasting law of a disciple’s way.—F. D. Huntington, D.D. Abridged from Christian Believing and Living.
THE GOSPEL THE POWER OF GOD
(Psa_72:16.)
Such figurative language as that of the text is frequently employed to describe the Gospel as a mere system of means, unlikely to accomplish the purpose contemplated, and yet as certain of ultimate success. Considering this language as referring to the Gospel, let us notice—
I. The insignificance of its commencement. In Ezekiel’s vision of the waters issuing from the sanctuary, it is but “a little rill,” which takes its rise at the south side of the altar, just where the blood of the sacrifices overflow. In the vision of Nebuchadnezzar it is “a little stone,” cut out of the mountain without hands. And in the New Testament we find our Saviour comparing it to “a grain of mustard seed;” and to “a little leaven” hid in meal. In our text it is compared to “a handful of corn.”
1. Look at its commencement in the world. It was heralded by one who had not his abode in cities, who was not of the honourable of the earth, either as to wealth or learning; but one of stern and forbidding aspect, &c. Look at its Author; a poor carpenter’s son, belonging to the despised city of Nazareth; and to Him, He associates twelve of the poorest class of society. Yet to these twelve was committed the task of evangelising the world.
2. Look at the fewness of its doctrines. The first preachers of the Gospel went forth to proclaim a fact—that Jesus Christ had died for sinners—and from that fact they drew various inferences, and urged various duties upon men, and with these, as all that was necessary to accomplish their purpose, they went forth.
3. Look at its commencement in the heart. How insignificant are some of the means made use of. Perhaps it is a single word dropped from the lips of a preacher; sometimes it is the sight of a word in the Bible; sometimes even a look is enough; sometimes many are awakened by merely seeing others in concern, as in the great revival at Kilsyth, a century ago.
II. Its unlikelihood of success. “An handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains.” How unlikely, how impossible, for it to yield a crop there. Yet such is the figure employed to represent the Gospel in the world. This language may point out—
1. The feebleness of its instrumentality. Soil found on the tops of mountains, both from its poverty and scarcity, would be a very unlikely instrument for yielding a crop of corn. So they who have been employed by God in diffusing the Gospel have not been such instruments as were likely in human estimation to accomplish its purposes. “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty.” He hath put the “treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God.” The first preachers of the cross were a few fishermen.
2. The difficulties it has to surmount. Corn sown on the top of a mountain would not be likely to yield a crop, on account of the adverse influences it would have to encounter. There would not only be the unfitness and scarcity of the soil itself; there would be the want of solar heat, its exposed situation, open to every current of air and to all the storms of the sky; and as mountains are the first to attract the clouds, the teeming rain would likely wash down both seed and soil to the base beneath. The Gospel, in its first promulgation among men, had to encounter many obstacles.
(1) It had to contend with long-established forms of error, … to encounter systems of superstition, which possessed a mighty influence over the minds of their votaries, because they had the argument of antiquity in their favour, and because they were the religious systems of their fathers.
(2) It had to encounter those errors in an age of great refinement. This was the Augustan age of literature. It was at this time that some of the greatest minds that ever adorned our planet were shedding the light of learning, philosophy, and poetry around them, much of which is resplendent to the present day. How unlikely was the Gospel to make progress in such an age as this. Yet this was the period chosen.
(3) The enmity of man’s nature is another obstacle which would then as now be presented to the progress of the Gospel. There is nothing in the doctrines or duties of the Gospel which is at all congenial to man’s fallen nature. Its truths are foolishness to him. Its purity excites his enmity.
(4) There is against the Gospel the combined powerful agency of the mighty and malicious prince of darkness and his numerous followers. This is a subject of frequent allusion to the early promoters of Christianity.
III. Its glorious results. “The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon,” &c. These results are placed before us—
1. In the fertility that attends it. Wherever the waters of the Gospel flow, it turns the wilderness into a fruitful field, and makes the desert as “the garden of the Lord.” “Lovely tempers, fruits of grace,” everywhere attend the proclamation of the Gospel of peace.
2. In the beauty that adorns it. “Shake like Lebanon.” How beautiful the change which the Gospel has effected in every place in which it has been introduced. It has been alike successful in demolishing callous systems of philosophy and sanguinary superstition. What are those buildings which rear their fronts where once Druid temples were erected? They are asylums for the wretched, the sick, the destitute, and the dying. And to what do we owe the change? To the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Witness its triumphs also in the islands of the South Sea, in Africa, &c.
3. In the triumphs which it is destined universally to accomplish. “They of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” Count the numbers of the blades of grass which are spread over the surface of this earth of ours: ou cannot! Neither can you count the numbers of the future converts of Zion. This language may also point out its rapid progress in the latter day. Grass is proverbially speedy in its growth. The triumphs of the Gospel will very soon be equally rapid. “The earth shall be made to bring forth in one day, and a nation be born at once.”—Abridged from One Hundred Sketches of Sermons.
HOPE OPENED TO THE WORLD
(Psa_72:17.)
“Men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed.”
Hope, with respect to the world, affords some comfort to us, when viewing its affecting condition since the fall; and this spring of consolation we have opened to us in God’s word of promise. What a glorious time is the Psalmist looking forward to here! Observe—
I. The objects regarded. “Men.” Not angels. While we have abundant cause to admire the grace of God in this; it must obviously be looked upon as bearing a striking impress of sovereignty. Men participated with devils in their guilt; yet not one of the latter is ever to be blessed (Heb_2:16; 2Pe_2:4; Jud_1:6).
II. The number included. “All nations.” How many nations are there in the world that never heard of Christ? How many, that have been deprived of the Gospel during a long series of ages? But this distinction among nations with respect to the means of salvation was never intended in the Divine mind to continue always (Mat_24:14; Mat_26:13; Mar_14:9; Mar_16:15). If little has been hitherto done for distant countries, it must be ascribed to the selfishness of men (Php_2:21).
III. The exercise mentioned. “Call Him blessed.” The worth of Christ shall be universally sung; none shall be afraid to confess Him before men, or dare to offer any vain excuse for not yielding allegiance to Him; but from every tribe under heaven soldiers shall hasten to His standard and proclaim His honours.
IV. The certainty expressed. “All nations shall call Him blessed.” This certainty may be argued from prophetic representation—from the dominion given to the Saviour—from the facilities afforded in the present day to missionary exertions—from the desires and expectations of the saints—and from the Divine threatenings against the powers of darkness.—W. Sleigh.
DOXOLOGY
(Psa_72:18-20.)
“Verses 18 and 19 do not belong to the Psalm, but contain the doxology which forms the conclusion of the second book.” This doxology is fuller than that which is appended to Psalms 41, at the close of the first book.
The historical remark which constitutes Psa_72:20 is no part either of the Psalm or of the doxology. It seems to have been attached to a collection of the Psalms of David, as distinguished from separate Psalms of his. Hengstenberg: “All the Psalms of David in the last two books are inserted as component parts into the later cycles. The subscription at the end of the second book must have been designed to separate the free and the bound, the scattered and the serial Psalms of David, from each other. Analogous in some measure is the subscription—‘At an end are the speeches of Job,’ in Job_31:40, which is not contradicted by the fact that Job appears again speaking, in chaps. 40 and 42; it should rather be regarded as serving to give us a light understanding of that formal conclusion.” In this doxology there are four leading homiletic points—
I. The comprehensiveness of the praise. God is praised because—
1. Of what He is in Himself. “Blessed be the Lord God, and blessed be His glorious name.” Note the ideas conveyed by these terms. “Jehovah”—“the existing, i.e., He who has come into existence by nothing outside Himself, the continuing, permanent, everlasting; its antithesis or opposite being the non-real, the transitory, the nought.”—Fuerst. “God,” Elohim, the Almighty. “His glorious name,” perhaps referring particularly to Jehovah. “Still the prayer would be, that all the names by which He is known, all by which He has revealed Himself, might be regarded with veneration always and everywhere.”
2. Of what He is to His people. “The God of Israel.” He had entered into covenant relation with them. (See p. 205.)
3. Of what He does. “Who only doeth wondrous things.” (α) In creation. (β) In providence, (γ) In redemption. His wondrous redemptive work transcends even angelic intelligence. “Which things the angels desire to look into.”
“The first-born sons of light
Desire in vain its depths to see;
They cannot reach the mystery,
The length and breadth and height.”
His works are wondrous
(1) In their power.
(2) In their wisdom.
(3) In their kindness. “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
(4) In their significance. “No man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” Therefore, “Blessed be the Lord God,” &c.
II. The perpetuity of the praise. “For ever.”
“My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures.”
He is “the author of eternal salvation;” He calls us “to His eternal glory;” He promises an “eternal inheritance;” therefore, let His praise be eternal.
“But O! eternity’s too short
To utter all His praise.”
III. The universality of the praise. “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.” (Comp. Num_14:21.) This brief prayer involves two things—
1. That the whole earth may be filled with His blessing. “It is not a little favoured spot that the Psalmist regards; it is not an insulated portion of the globe that he would have fructified and converted into a paradise. It is not on his own garden or fields that he wishes the refreshing showers only to fall; but with a noble, expansive, and generous mind, he prays that the whole earth may be filled with God’s glory.”
2. That the whole earth may be filled with His praise. “Let every heart, and every mouth, and every assembly be filled with the high praises of God.” (See Mal_1:11.)
IV. The intensity of the praise. “Amen and Amen.” (See p. 205.)
“May kindness, truth,
Wisdom, and knowledge, liberty, and power,
Virtue, and holiness o’erspread all orbs;
the world be bliss and love;
And heaven above be all things; till at last
The music from all souls redeemed shall rise,
Like a perpetual fountain of pure sound,
Upspringing, sparkling in the silvery blue;
From round creation to Thy feet, O God!”
—P. J. Bailey.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 I. Christ’s gracious visitations are essential to the comfort…
Psa 72:6
I. Christ’s gracious visitations are essential to the comfort and prosperity of the Church. This doctrine is evidently taught in the text. The Church, without the manifestations of Christ’s presence and grace, is, like the mown grass, languishing for heaven’s moisture. Favoured with these manifestations, it is like a field which the Lord hath blessed.
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II. We are warranted to look for gracious visitations to the Church. The text is not to be regarded as a prophecy pertaining merely to the future, but as a statement which has been verified already in the history of the Church, and which may be verified also in like manner at the present day.
III. Notice some of the means which must be employed for the obtaining of the blessings promised in the text. When Christ is to come down for the refreshment of His people, like rain upon the mown grass, it will generally be found (1) that they have been stirred up earnestly to desire and long for His manifestations; (2) that they have been excited to the exercises of deep repentance and prayer; (3) that they have set themselves to walk before Him according to all the appointments of His word; (4) that they have been brought to give greater honour to the Spirit and His work than they were accustomed to do before, and to feel more deeply their absolute dependence upon His gracious operations.
A. D. Davidson, Lectures and Sermons, p. 135.
The genial character of Christianity.
Look at Christianity:
I. As a scheme. (1) As a scheme, the religion of Jesus Christ is a device to seek and to save the lost. (2) It is a Divine device, consisting of means arranged by our Father in heaven to prevent His banished ones being finally expelled from Him. (3) In this design chief service is assigned to One who is called the Son of God. His service is rendered chiefly by abasement and toil, suffering and death. This part of the Christian scheme appears to some men so ungenial that they ignore or reject it; but all that is dark, and sad, and gloomy in the sacrifice of the Son of God leads to all that is bright and sunny in man’s salvation. (4) The Christian scheme provides that salvation should be revealed and applied by the Holy Ghost. This part of the scheme is as important, and at the same time as genial, as the redemption-devising grace of the Father, and as the mediation of the Son of God. Perfect knowledge, wisdom, goodness, and love in Him whose work directly affects our inner life, is a fact on which we cannot but look with joy. (5) As a system of morals, Christianity is based upon love. (6) The Christian religion is aggressive, aiming at comprehension without compromise; but its mode of aggression is as genial as its doctrines and precepts, its promises and spirit. (7) If we look at the Christian dispensation as a matter of individual experience, its genial aspect remains unchanged. (8) The Christian system finds its consummation in a new creation, perfected in all its parts and bearings. Can this scheme be other than genial?
II. Look, secondly, at Christianity as a fact. (1) As a fact, Christianity was too genial to be received by the people to whom it was first presented. (2) The presence of Christianity involves the presence of all that is genial there. It presents genial subjects to the mind and genial objects to the soul, and it must give a genial aspect to the character and prompt its disciples to generous and noble deeds. (3) To be really genial we must maintain personal intercourse with Christ by the aid of the Holy Ghost. To be right, and true, and strong is our first duty; to be attractive, and cheerful, and genial is our next duty. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me."
S. Martin, Rain upon the Mown Grass, p. 1.
References: Psa 72:6.—H. Macmillan, Two Worlds are Ours, p. 80; S. Hebditch, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 273. Psa 72:6, Psa 72:7.—J. Keble, Sermons for the Christian Year: Christmas to Epiphany, pp.39, 268. Psa 72:10, Psa 72:11.—G. Huntington, Sermons for Holy Seasons, p. 43. Psa 72:12.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xviii., No. 1037. Psa 72:15.—Ibid., vol. xii., No. 717. Psa 72:16.—F. Delitzsch, Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iii., p. 60; M. G. Pearse, Sermons to Children, p. 67.
Psa 72:17
The theme which this text presents for our consideration is Messiah’s glorious renown—a renown richly deserved, widely diffused, enthusiastically accorded, and everlastingly continued. The perpetuity of Jesus’ name and fame is, however, the main idea of the passage.
Notice:—
I. For what reasons Messiah’s name and fame shall endure for ever. (1) Because, by its own inherent properties, it is fitted to endure. It is a name (a) of superlative greatness; (b) of superlative goodness. (2) Because, by God’s immutable purposes and promises, it is destined to endure for ever.
II. In what respect Messiah’s name shall endure for ever, (1) Emblazoned on the pages of a living book. Christ is an Author. The Bible is His book. (2) Embodied in lasting institutions. Beyond compare the noblest institution in the world today is the Christian Church, and of that Jesus is the Founder. We have the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Day, and Divine ordinances of prayer and praise, of preaching and giving, that shall not cease. (3) Enshrined in loving hearts. His name shall live in their holiness, love, and gratitude for ever.
III. With what results Messiah’s renown shall endure for ever. (1) Benefactions from Him. "Men shall be blessed in Him." (2) Benedictions upon Him. "All nations shall call Him blessed."
A. Miller, American Pulpit of the Day, 1st series, 1875, p. 55.
References: Psa 72:17.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 27. Psa 72:18, Psa 72:19.—H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 26. Psa 72:19.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 129; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 220; A. Fletcher, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 77. Psalm 72—Congregationalist, vol. xv., p. 95; J. G. Murphy, The Book of Daniel, p. 48. Psa 73:2, Psa 73:17.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 104.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Salvation for the Earth.
Salvation for the Earth.
For Solomon.
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The last psalm of the salvation-book of the Psalms shows the full extent of the salvation in its earthly aspect, in the Melchizedek reign of Christ, King of righteousness and peace; peace being the effect of righteousness, and thus abiding. And this is a true picture of what is come, although there are things which the New Testament adds to it, which are not seen here, nor in the Old Testament at all. For the Old Testament does not reveal the full and final, eternal condition of things, even for the earth, as the New Testament reveals it, save in that brief intimation of "new heavens and a new earth," with which Isaiah closes. Types and dark sayings, of course, there are, but no plain speech otherwise. For the Old Testament the kingdom of Christ ends all; which is true in a most important sense, but incomplete: for we have not the millennial limitation, the uprise of evil at the end, the judgment of the dead, and the change of the kingdom of the Son of man into the kingdom of the Father, when, having brought all things into the full final condition of blessing, the Son gives up that preparatory millennial rule into the Father’s hand. All this could scarcely be revealed till Christ had come; and it is the manner of revelation to increase in fullness to the end. Yet, as Christ, after all, does reign for ever and ever, -the eternal throne being still "the throne of God and the Lamb," the kingdom to which the Old Testament looks on is, after all, eternal; and its view is simply (and necessarily) incomplete, not (of course) wrong. Yet this merging of the millennial in the eternal is that which no doubt has confused the minds of some who think they see more clearly, and have lately come to believe in two successive kingdoms of Christ as man: the millennial being merely introductory (as the Davidic) to the true Solomon reign of uninterrupted peace and much longer duration which yet precedes the eternal blessedness. But the twentieth of Revelation certainly finds no place for such a reign in the brief interval between the millennium and the judgment of the great white throne; while we are told that "when all enemies shall be subdued under Him," -and the last enemy to be subdued is death, -"then shall the Son also Himself be subject to Him that put all things under Him" (1Co 15:28): thus excluding this reign of glory from the other side of it. However, let us take up the psalm.
1. The first section shows the principle of the kingdom, -peace as the effect of righteousness. This is what the apostle speaks of in relation to the antitypical Melchizedek, and which he draws from the language of the history in a way so deeply instructive for the interpretation of Scripture, and so declaring the divine perfection which is found throughout this. "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, . . . first being by interpretation ’king of righteousness,’ and after that, king of Salem; that is, ’king of peace.’" Melchizedek being as the translation of his own name "king of righteousness," similarly this must come before his official title, "king of Salem," which being similarly translated means "king of peace." The meaning and order of these two Hebrew names are made in this way to define for us the principle that "righteousness" must go before "peace." This is only what Scripture elsewhere declares (in plain words) of that glorious time "when the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever" (Isa 32:17). But the apostle thinks evidently that there is no need of confirmation of what these two names declare. What an insight into the breadth of Scripture, and what a revelation of its glory, he gives us by this method of proof!
This first section of our psalm, as we shall see, declares the same thing. First of all, in a prayer, the psalmist asks: "O God, give the king Thy judgments; and Thy righteousness unto the king’s Son." Christ is both, as we know. Son of David, He takes the throne of David legally as that. But He is King also in a far higher way, and as such, divine righteousness belongs to Him by nature. No merely human hands can be trusted to hold in perfect equipoise this sceptre: and yet they are truly human hands: His of whom as Man, after a life of thirty years in this world, God could give testimony, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Now we have His careful discrimination in judgment, the first line speaking of strict equity; the second, bringing in (as lexicographers tell us), or at least allowing in it, the element of mercy also: "Thine afflicted, with judgment."
Then the effect is found: "The mountains," types of firmly established power, "shall bring peace to the people; and the hills" (the smaller magistracies), "by righteousness." The perfect equity of the Head reflects itself in all that are His representatives.
And while no persons are favored in the judgment, the "afflicted" are tenderly considered, and "the children of the needy" cared for; while He breaks in pieces the oppressor.
2. Such is the character, then, of this government, so unique as it is among the sons of men. We now are called to see the kingdom in progress. Years do not change it: "They shall fear Thee as long as the sun, and while the moon endureth, -for all generations." Those glowing orbs of heaven are indeed the typical representatives of such power as this, the underived and the reflected; lights that have never erred from their appointed place since the day they were commissioned to "give light upon the earth." But no figures suffice to show Him forth aright; the next verse speaks of tender and reviving ministry: "He shall come down like rain on the mown grass" -the field that needs replacement of that which has been removed: "as showers that water the earth." There is no sweeter figure of spiritual influence than this which is the Spirit’s own type. And the Spirit indeed it is, who works in unity with this glorious King; so that again we have righteousness and peace, though after a different manner, connected together: "In His days shall the righteous flourish, and there shall be abundance of peace till the moon be no more."
All this is as simple as it is blessed to contemplate: this is the progress of the kingdom in time; now we are to see its progress in extent; and here we naturally begin from the centre -from the land itself. The fourth verse of this section plainly defines the limits of the land itself, of Israel’s land. "From sea to sea" is not the way in which dominion over the whole earth would be defined; nor again "from the River to the ends of the earth." The River, without any other definition, naturally means the Euphrates; and this was Israel’s limit in one direction, according to the promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:18). From this point, the "ends of the land" -for so we should evidently understand it -reach to Egypt in the one direction, and to where the land ends, in the opposite direction eastward from this. And there is in this direction, and southward from it, everywhere a coast-line which is its "end." If the number of the verse (4), as that of earthly universality, seems to speak rather of world-wide dominion, all the terms of the description are against this. Must we not take it, then, as what there is little difficulty in applying it to, the whole land?
This, let us remember, is what Israel never yet has got -the land according to the promise to Abraham, -supplemented and explained by many an after-assurance. "From sea to sea," cannot be here from the Mediterranean to the Salt Sea, which would not be in any case a definition save for the very southernmost portion of her narrow possessions, -a straitness to which she limited herself, through unbelief. This could not be the extent of what is spoken of to them as "a good land and a large." The land of the Sidonians, which was promised to them, they never did possess, nor Mount Lebanon, which was a part of it. Edom. Moab, Ammon, Philistia, are all to belong to them, and never did. Though David’s empire reached at one point to the Euphrates, it was only over tributary kings, and that land never was Israel’s possession. And finally, if we are to interpret (and how can we avoid it?) "all the land of the Hittites," by what we are beginning to realize of what their land was, how far northward in that direction must we carry their boundary-line? (Comp. Gen 15:18-21; Exo 23:31; Jos 1:2-4; Eze 47:13-23.)
It is not for us here to attempt a solution of the many difficulties which beset this subject, and which (if the Lord permit us to take up the book of Ezekiel) we must do there; but it ought to be evident already that as a definition of the land "from sea to sea" can be no less than from the Mediterranean to the Persian gulf. It is meant to be, and is, a wide dominion; from the Euphrates to the Nile and the Red Sea giving other limits.
But this land, as we find it today, contains many different people, and wide desert tracts. Notice, therefore, in connection with this, the perfect naturalness of the next verse, which speaks of the competency of the King to take possession of this wide and varied tract: "The dwellers in the deserts (or parched lands) shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust" how well does this account for the special mention of such as these in connection with the progress of a victorious King, when one would expect rather to find mention of strong peoples, -foes that it would need special might to subdue! A glance at the map will show its appropriateness, and this "desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" (Isa 35:1).
Naturally, now, we are told of "conquests" (as the number would show) in foreign lands. "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts." Tarshish and the isles lie west from Palestine; Sheba and Seba south-east. The "isles," at least, speak of Japhet; Sheba may be Joktanite -Shemitic; Seba, Cushite -Hamitic: all the families of the earth seem thus to be represented in the homage rendered here. The conquests may be entirely peaceful ones. Nothing else is suggested. The names have no certain meaning. The people represent apparently the commerce of the world, which now, for the first time in its history, owns Christ. Its gain is consecrated unto the Lord of the whole earth.
But the tide of homage swells: "all kings bow down before Him: all nations serve Him." The universal empire is at last complete. The cross is really at last the symbol of power and imperial sway, under which the earth reposes, quiet in sabbatic rest.
3. Again, before the book closes. we are called to look at the blessing of a rule which is service, -a glory unflecked with stain or shadow, -a David who is free to show the "kindness of God" to the maimed and ruined children of shame wherever they may be found. "For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, and the afflicted, and him that has no helper." That is what the sign of the cross denotes, and by this we know the Lord. None that has owed salvation to Him but must know that there was no help possible for him beside, and that it could be found in no other. And "He shall have compassion on the impoverished and needy, and shall save the souls of needy men." Faithful, compassionate, He is thus the sanctuary refuge from the evil of the world, "deceit," the sin of the weak, and "violence" of the strong: and as the refuge-cities of Israel declared of old, "precious shall their blood be in His sight."
Such is He, and such was He in all essential reality, when He was among men, and in their hands, to do with Him as they would. Such was He whom they crucified: and now, though He be Lord of all, how do their hearts respond to this glory of His? How, but as is appreciated the need which He is always meeting, -the grace, therefore, which has come in to meet it. And this is what the fifteenth verse (the fourth of this section) gives, as I believe; although, as so frequently in the case of Old Testament evangel, there is a certain mystery about it, which the loose grammatical structure of Hebrew favors, and with which the character of the psalm as prophecy, and especially as typical prophecy, harmonizes; by which we must not be thrown back, but only made to look more closely at what is before us.
It seems impossible that the whole of the verse can be applied to the Lord. Whether we translate, "he shall live," (with the common version,) or "let him live," as many others, it seems trivial,* and out of keeping with the context, if so applied. On the other hand, the connection with the verse before is too obvious to have escaped notice, even where the full meaning has not been grasped. The revised version gives even "they shall live," which is the meaning, although in a verse like the present, too interpretative, perhaps, to be adopted, especially as it makes a similarly interpretative rendering necessary in the remainder of the verse.** But the "he" is merely a specific example of the delivered ones just spoken of whose blood was precious in the sight of the King.
{*With Cheyne, for instance, it is hardly to be doubted as merely the court phrase, "Let the king live!"
**As in the case of the Revised: "They shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: and men shall pray for him continually; they shall bless him all the day long." Yet in the first and last instance "he" is given as an alternative in the margin.}
But if this be what we start with, to whom shall he give of the gold of Sheba (as the Hebrew literally), and who is this "he?" If it be the delivered one who gives to the King, this (remembering Who the King is) is surely feeble enough, though the expression of thankfulness; and if it he indefinite, there is the loss of connection with what precedes altogether. The receiver of the gift would then be the delivered man; and this is not unsuited to our King of kings. Nay, we have heard of Him in the end psalm of the previous series, as One who has "led captivity captive, and received gifts for men," and understand it to be His manner to enrich those whom He delivers; and the "gold of Sheba" will be still better fitted to express this, if it mean, as seems to be the fact, "the gold of the ’Captor.’"* Typically we take "gold" to be the revelation of divine glory; and this is just the Captor’s gold, with which He enriches those whom He sets free. The spiritual application therefore furnishes a consistent and worthy sense all through. Does any other?
{* Sheba in Hebrew, would be undoubtedly akin to the words used in Psa 68:18: shabhitha shebhi, "thou hast led captive captivity."}
But we have still the second part of the verse to interpret and account for: and here the general consent of commentators seems to apply both clauses to the King. It is the King then that is prayed for, and the King that is blessed. In application to a merely human king, also, this would be simple enough, and by such as fully hold the Messianic one it is urged that "’prayer shall be made continually for him’ shows simply that the blessings enjoyed through Him raise the desire and request for His glory and continuance in power." But both this interpretation and the request, even so interpreted, seem to me unnatural. If men know who the King is, -and this, surely, cannot be unknown, -how can they doubt the continuance of it? how can they imagine that the kingdom of God, once come, will pass, save as dawn, perhaps, into full day?
I have no other alternative, therefore, but to believe that we have here expressed the priestly office of the true Melchizedek. Would it not be strange if this were altogether omitted? And if we have had at the beginning of the psalm, and variously through it, the plain reference to this character of royalty, is it not even to be expected that we should have somewhere in it the intercessory work of the "priest of the most high God"?
The same objections do not apply to the common understanding of the last clause of the verse. Consistent rendering throughout would seem to make this also the blessing of the needy one; and thus it would be the answer to the prevailing intercession of the Royal Priest on his behalf. The whole verse would thus be uniform, and any apparent inconsistency be taken away.
Such then being the glorious Mediator who stands for man Godward as for God manward, it is no marvel to find the divine government in response, with marvelous fertility of the ground, and men filling the cities with corresponding increase. The fields of corn shall rustle like the forests of Lebanon. Who can picture the blessing when the earth shows to the full the powers that now lie almost dormant in it?
Thus the King’s Name which guarantees all this blessing, shall endure for ever: His name shall continue like the life-giving Sun, His image; and men shall bless themselves in Him; as being the highest possible thought of blessing. All nations shall call Him blessed.
Thereupon follows that outburst of praise with which the second book ends: every line of truth having its natural end and outcome in this joy in God and worship. The Eternal God, the God of Israel, is He who alone doeth wonders. May the whole earth be filled with His glory! In this, as an eighth verse, there is perhaps an intimation of the overflow of this blessedness beyond the bounds of time and into the true eternity which, as we have seen, the Old Testament can hardly be said to enter. The double Amen is here appended to the prayer in testimony of the steadfast longing of the heart for it. The Lord takes it up as His "verily, verily," to make it the token of the steadfastness of the blessed truths with which He connects it, the assurance and rest of the heart which enters into them.
Does not this show us also the character of that final word which has been surely so much misunderstood by the great body of critics, who have shown in the way they have taken it up, how much they are critics of manuscripts -biblio-technics, if I may coin the word for them, -rather than judges of the spirit which pervades Scripture. What simpler way of reading the end of David’s prayers than by comparison with the "last words," as we find them in the history? He even calls himself, there as here, "David the son of Jesse," and there also the "sweet psalmist of Israel." And of what are his last words full! Of
"A righteous Ruler over men;
A Ruler in the fear of God;"
and then in some of the images which this very psalm suggests, —
"Even as the morning-light when the sun ariseth,
A morning without clouds:
From the brightness after rain
The herb springeth from the earth."
Nor did he speak with any thought of his mere human house; for he tells us directly that that house was not so with God." Yet he speaks of "an eternal covenant" as to the future, "ordered in all, and sure;" and he adds: "for this is all my salvation and all of delight, though" -as yet in that sorrowful house that he had had, "He maketh it not to grow."
All David’s heart then was wrapped up in that glorious prospect: the very same that he has shown us here! What wonder, then, that when he has poured his heart out in the contemplation of this glorious scene, he should express himself in this thankful ejaculation: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended"! What more simple, heart-felt, and natural?
These are not, we may be sure, the words of a collector who thought he had got together in these first two books of the Psalms all that David had written, and was mistaken. This is but their mistake who have not learned that "the foolishness of God is wiser than man," and that "the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain."
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Title.—A Psalm for (RV 'of') Solomon.
Title.—A Psalm for (RV 'of') Solomon.
The title in AV suggests that David is the writer, and Solomon the subject, of this Ps., but, as RV shows, the authorship is really ascribed to Solomon. The Ps., however, appears rather to be the prayer of a subject for the king. Some actual ruler—Solomon, Hezekiah, or another—is no doubt in view, but, as in Psalms 45, the royal figure is so idealised that the Ps. becomes truly Messianic, and applicable only to the perfect divine King, though it is nowhere expressly quoted in this sense in the NT. The justice and beneficence of the king's reign, the world-wide extent of his dominion, the prosperity of his country, and the perpetuity of his fame, are successively described. Psa_72:18-19 are the closing doxology of Book 2 of the Psalter, and Psa_72:20 is an instructive editorial note.
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1. Judgments.. righteousness] the qualities of a great and upright ruler: see Psa_72:2. The king's son] a parallel expression for the king.
2. Thy poor] the class who suffered most from unjust and oppressive rulers.
3. By righteousness] RV 'in righteousness.' Under a righteous government peace will be the fruit that grows on all the wooded slopes of the land: see Isa_32:17.
5. They shall fear thee] not the king, but God. LXX reads instead, 'He shall endure as long as the sun, and while the moon doth shine.'
6. Upon the mown grass] to start the new growth. LXX and V ulg. render, 'upon a fleece': cp. PBV 'into a fleece of wool.'
7. The metaphor of Psa_72:6 is continued. 'Righteousness' (LXX) and peace are the vegetation which springs up after the fertilising showers.
8-11. These vv. should be read as a prayer rather than as a prediction. 'May he have dominion.. M ay they bow,' etc.
8. From sea to sea] from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The river] RV 'the River,' the Euphrates in the E. The ends of the earth] the extreme W: see Exo_23:31. 1Ki_4:21.
9. They that dwell in the wilderness] the wandering desert tribes. Lick the dust] the attitude of abject submission.
10. Tarshish] probably Tartessus in Spain: see on Psa_48:7. The isles] the coast-lands of the Mediterranean. Sheba] Saba in S. Arabia. Seba] an unknown locality, elsewhere connected with Ethiopia (Isa_43:8; Isa_45:14).
12. The poor also, etc.] RV 'and the poor that hath no helper.'
14. Precious shall their blood be] Human life will be protected, and not held cheap, as it is where tyranny flourishes.
15. He shall live] better, 'May he live, and may men give him.. may they pray,' etc. For him] PBV renders, 'prayer shall be made ever unto him': an indefensible translation, which has arisen from an exclusive reference of the Ps. to Christ.
16, 17. These vv. also are best read as a prayer. 'May there be.. may his name endure,'etc.
16. An handful] RV 'abundance.'
In the earth] better, 'in the land.' Shake like Lebanon] wave or rustle like the cedars of Lebanon. They of the city, etc.] better, 'may men spring forth out of the city like grass of the earth.'
17. Be blessed] RM 'bless themselves': see Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4 (RM), and cp. Isa_65:16.
20. See Intro, to Book 2.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v1 Give the king
Give the king
The Psalm as a whole forms a complete vision of Messiah’s kingdom so far as the O.T. revelation extended. All David’s prayers will find their fruition in the kingdom (Psa 72:20); 2Sa 23:1-4.
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Psa 72:1 refers to the investiture of the King’s Son with the kingdom, of which investiture the formal description is given in Dan 7:13; Dan 7:14; Rev 5:5-10; Psa 72:2-7; Psa 72:12-14 give the character of the kingdom. (Cf) Isa 11:3-9.
The emphatic word is righteousness. The sermon on the Mount describes the kingdom of righteousness. Psa 72:8-11 speak of the universality of the kingdom. Psa 72:16 hints at the means by which universal blessing is to be brought in. Converted Israel will be the "handful of corn" Amo 9:9 as the King Himself in death and resurrection was the single grain, the "corn of wheat" Joh 12:24 "To the Jew first" is the order alike of Church and kingdom.; Rom 1:16; Act 13:46; Act 15:16; Act 15:17. It is through restored Israel that the kingdom is to be extended over the earth. Zec 8:13; Zec 8:20-23.
See Psalms 89, next in order of the Messianic Psalms.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 72
Psalm 72
The Kingdom Psalm
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1. The King, who reigns in righteousness (Psa 72:1-4)
2. His kingdom from sea to sea (Psa 72:5-11)
3. The blessings and the kingdom (Psa 72:12-20)
The last Psalm of this Exodus section describes the establishment of the promised kingdom, the kingdom of heaven on earth. Surely the Spirit of God directed the arrangement of the Psalms, and put each into the right place. Here we have a beautiful prophecy of what is yet to be and for which all is waiting now, in a time when every form of government has failed and law and order seems to go to pieces. The King and the King’s Son is the Lord Jesus Christ, He who came as the Only-Begotten from the bosom of the Father to this earth, to seek the lost sheep of the house of Israel, offering them first the promised kingdom. His own received Him not. In previous Psalms we heard the voice of His complaints, His sorrows and saw the sufferings of the cross. But here we behold Him enthroned as the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace. Righteousness and peace He alone can bring to man and He will surely bring both for the whole earth when the cloud brings Him back. Then He will be feared and worshipped as long as the sun and moon endure, for all times. Showers of blessing will fall and the righteous will flourish, while the wicked can trouble the righteous no more. Abundance of peace will be the lot of mankind then and His kingdom will include all the kingdoms of the earth. His enemies will lick the dust and kings will bring Him presents. And the blessings of His Kingdom! All the subjects in His kingdom will share them and all creation as well. The doxology of this section is the greatest of all. “And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”--The prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended.” Let us quote once more Prof. Davidson what he makes of this. “A note, probably added by the editor of the Elohistic collection, to mark the end of a group of Davidic Psalms.” What blindness! David had seen the glories of the kingdom of Him who is His Lord and His Son and then declared “his prayers are ended.” He has nothing more to pray for.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Majestic Reign of the Messiah.
The Majestic Reign of the Messiah.
A psalm for Solomon, composed by Solomon; for he, under whose wise reign Israel reached the summit of its glory and power and was filled with the blessings of the Lord, sang this hymn in honor of the great King and His eternal glory and of the spiritual blessings of His dominion.
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v. 1. Give the King Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the King’s Son. The Messiah is King and the Son of a King. To Him God gives, equips Him with, His righteousness, with His judgments. Every decision of this King, everything that He says and does, is right and acceptable with God.
v. 2. He shall judge Thy people with righteousness, that is, the congregation of Jehovah, and Thy poor, those truly poor in spirit, with judgment. Because the Messiah is clothed with the righteousness of God as His own, therefore He is also able to dispense righteousness to the citizens of His kingdom, to impart it to those who believe in Him. It is His judicial sentence by and through which He declares His people to be righteous, justifies them with the righteousness which is perfect, which is acceptable in the sight of God. This is the right which God’s people have before Him: their King declares them to be justified. The very ones who are poor and despised before the world, poor and humble also in the sight of God, are nevertheless honored by Him; they are partakers of His righteousness. So great and wonderful is this gift that the psalmist declares:
v. 3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness, the blessings of God’s mercy flowing down upon the believers as it were, in streams. Righteousness is a gift coming down from above, bringing the peace of the heavenly Father with it and resulting in a calm satisfaction of mind, the believer being confident in the possession of the imputed righteousness.
v. 4. He shall judge the poor of the people, those who feel their spiritual need; He shall save the children of the needy, those who depend upon Him alone, clinging to Him in true faith, accepting the righteousness imputed to them, and shall break in pieces the oppressor, crushing all those whose enmity oppresses His children.
v. 5. They shall fear Thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations, that is, the relation of the believers to their King is one of holy awe and reverence, by which they give Him the honor which is due Him, divine honor and glory. This is done before the sun, as long as the sun runs his course, and before the moon, as long as she stands in the sky, that is, to the end of time.
v. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth, literally, "like dewdrops, showers of rain on the earth," the point of resemblance being in the gentle, restoring freshness of a profuse fall of dew, of copious showers. Although the King has been exalted to the right hand of glory, exalted over all creatures and reigning over His congregation, yet His advent may be celebrated continually, for He is ever present in the midst of His Church in His means of grace, with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which are shed on us abundantly.
v. 7. In His days, as the result of these rich spiritual blessings, shall the righteous flourish, blooming and thriving before Him in a life of sanctification flowing from faith, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth, literally, "until no longer the moon," throughout the present dispensation of grace. Because we are now, in the acceptable time, living before Him in the life of faith and enjoying the power of His grace in its effect upon our hearts and lives, therefore there is peace between us and God. And even after the moon has ceased shining, after the earth and all it contains have been destroyed, yea, then more than ever, will the believers have fulness of peace; in the world to come we shall possess and enjoy in everlasting bliss the peace of God which passes all understanding.
v. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, His royal power extending over the whole earth, and from the river unto the ends of the earth, His dominion is enlarged, His power is spread, to the utmost ends of the universe, Eph 1:20-23.
v. 9. They that dwell in the wilderness, the barbarians, the enemies of Christ and His Church, shall bow before Him, submitting themselves to His almighty power, since they refused to yield to His grace, Php 2:10-11; Mat 26:64; and His enemies shall lick the dust, be brought into full subjection to Him, forced to acknowledge Him as their Victor and Sovereign, since they refused to accept Him as their Redeemer.
v. 10. The kings of Tarshish, Tartessus in Spain, an important commercial center, with many princes of finance, and of the isles, of the coasts of Europe, named as far-distant points, shall bring presents, the mighty ones of the very ends of the earth being named as doing homage before the Lord; the kings of Sheba and Seba, that is, of Arabia Felix and of Meroe in Egypt, shall offer gifts, people from heathen countries bringing tribute to His honor and acknowledging His sovereignty.
v. 11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. The King, by virtue of His having paid the ransom of His blood for the redemption of the whole world, has a right to expect the allegiance of all men. They are to acknowledge Him as their Savior and Lord. The psalmist mentions just those countries in which the Christian Church flourished for centuries. Many heathen from this entire territory along the coasts of the Mediterranean, including also princes and mighty men, acknowledged Christ as their Lord. But these heathen, at the same time, represent the entire heathen world; for the Lord has His children in all nations, the believers being the true representatives of the nations in the sight of God. The poet now gives the reason why so many heathen would turn to God, to Jehovah-Messiah:
v. 12. For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also and him that hath no helper. He has compassion with the spiritual poverty and want, with our weakness and helplessness; He saves the needy by His grace. When our hearts have been crushed by the blows of the Law, when our souls are bowed down to the ground by the realization of our sinfulness, then He comforts us with the beauty of His Gospel.
v. 13. He shall spare, have pity on, the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy, delivering them from the damnation which threatens them.
v. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, the word here used being the standing term of the Old Testament for redemption and deliverance of every kind; and precious shall their blood be in His sight, valuing their lives so highly that He pays the high price of His own blood for their redemption. Moreover, it is true in general that God will not forsake His children, even if the enmity of the world reaches the point where the blood of the believers is shed on account of their testimony of the truth. In life and in death Christ is their Redeemer, and He will finally avenge the blood of His children. Since these conditions obtain, therefore the kingdom of Christ will surely spread and extend over many nations.
v. 15. And He shall live, the Possessor and the Giver of life, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba, of the wealth of Arabia Felix, this being taken to represent the gifts of men as they throng to do homage to the Messiah. Prayer also shall be made for Him continually, in a service of worship before Him, which shall continue throughout eternity; and daily shall He be praised, the righteous blessing His name for the rich gifts of His grace. And now, with a glance at Canaan in the glory of its earthly products, Solomon speaks of the kingdom of Christ in terms of this rich plenty.
v. 16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains, that is, the spiritual offspring of the Messiah will be as abundant as the grain of the lowlands, which clothed even the hills to their very tops; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, as the proud and mighty cedars of Lebanon; and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth, literally, "and they shall thrive from out the city as the grass of the earth," budding forth and bearing blossoms and fruit in rich and luscious abundance, for such are the conditions which obtain in Christ’s Kingdom of Grace.
v. 17. His name shall endure forever, exist, maintain itself, throughout eternity; His name shall be continued as long as the sun, or, "before the sun will flourish, propagate, His name. " Wherever the Church is established, it grows from generation to generation through the power of His Word. It is for this reason that the name of the Messiah will last throughout eternity, the Church Militant merging into the Church Triumphant; as long as the sun continues in his course, His name will be proclaimed and bring forth fruit in abundance. And men shall be blessed in Him, blessing themselves in Him, calling themselves happy, fortunate, beyond description in the possession of His grace; all nations shall call Him blessed, praising the Lord Jehovah for all His wondrous deeds for the salvation of the world. In view of these unspeakably glorious facts which have been set forth briefly in his hymn, the inspired poet closes with a doxology:
v. 18. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things, all glory and honor being given to Him alone;
v. 19. and blessed be His glorious name, Himself with all His divine attributes, as He has revealed Himself to men in His Word, forever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. As the Word of God had its course here in time, being proclaimed in every part of the earth, so the heavens will resound with the praises of His glory throughout eternity. This is most certainly true. The psalm closes with a note of the men who collected this second book of the psalter.
v. 20. The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended, this remark being apparently attached to an original collection of David’s hymns.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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General Information:
Possible meanings for the header "a psalm of Solomon" are 1) David wrote this psalm about Solomon ("the king's son") or 2) Solomon (who, as David's son, was "the king's son") wrote this psalm as a prayer about himself or 3) another king wrote it about his son in the style of Solomon. People in those days would often speak of themselves as if they were someone else. However, it would be best to translate this as though the psalmist is speaking of someone else, not of himself. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
Give the king your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to the king's son
Possible meanings are 1) "Give me, the king, your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to my son" or 2) "Give me, the king, your righteous decrees, God, your righteousness to me, the king's son." People in those days would often speak of themselves as if they were someone else. However, it would be best to translate this as though the psalmist is speaking of someone else, not of himself. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
Give the king your righteous decrees
"Enable the king to judge rightly"
your righteousness to the king's son
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. Here the word "righteousness" refers to making righteous decisions. AT: "give your righteousness to the king's son" or "enable the king's son to rule with righteousness" (See: Ellipsis)
May he judge
If David wrote this, he is talking about his son, "the king's son," he is speaking of the time when his son will be king. If Solomon wrote it, even though he is writing about himself, it would be best to translate as though he were writing about someone else. Either way, "May the king judge" is the best translation.
your people ... your poor
The psalmist is speaking to God.
your poor
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. The adjective "poor" refers to poor people. AT: "may he judge your poor people" (See: Ellipsis and Nominal Adjectives)
May the mountains produce peace ... may the hills produce righteousness
The psalmist speaks of the people of Israel as if they were the mountains and hills on which they live. He speaks of the mountains and the hills as if they were the entire land of Israel, as if that land were a garden that produces fruit, and of peace and righteousness as if they are that fruit. AT: "May the people of the land live in peace ... may they do everything in a righteous way" (See: Metonymy and Synecdoche and Metaphor)
translationWords
psalm
Solomon
king
righteous
decree
God
judge
people of God
just
peace
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4 Ps 72 This royal psalm closes Book Two, with…
Ps 72 This royal psalm closes Book Two, with 72:18-20 functioning as an epilogue to all of Book Two. The psalmist reflects on the prospects of David’s royal line and on Zion (see Pss 46, 48). He prays that Israel’s kings will be good and prosperous, extending the Lord’s blessing on his people throughout the whole earth. The surpassing righteousness and dominion sought in this prayer foreshadow the coming of Jesus, the Son of David.
72:1-7 The blessings of justice create a balance in nature, resulting in harmony, prosperity, and fertility.
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72:1 love of justice . . . righteousness: Kings in the ancient Near East were expected to represent justice; the standard for Israel’s kings was much higher because the Lord was their model.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.