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Psalm 72:1-20

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Many commentators believe that this psalm represents a prayer of David for his son, Solomon, and the characteristics that David desires his son to exhibit as king. These commentators also see the Messianic nature of the psalm and how it predicts that the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) will fully exhibit these characteristics when He reigns as King in His millennial kingdom on this earth.

A Psalm for Solomon.

In the original Hebrew, this title merely reads “Solomon.” Some commentators interpret that to mean that Solomon is the author but most see this title as indicating that the psalm was written as a prayer in Solomon’s behalf. Many commentators believe that David is the author and v. 20 seems to support this belief.

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.

“Give the king thy judgments [to decide a case; justice], O God, and thy righteousness [justice] unto the king's son” – “The king” and “the king’s son” may be parallel references to the same person (Solomon). The prayer is that God will give king Solomon the ability to execute righteous judgment and justice in the same way as God does. The prayer is that Solomon would not allow bribes, respect of persons or personal bias to affect his ability to righteously govern Israel according to truth, justice and faithfulness to God.

“He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment” – God’s answer to the prayer will result in the king executing righteous judgment and giving justice to the poor. Jesus Christ will also reign in righteousness and justice.

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

Commentators have various interpretations of this verse. Some think the mountains and hills are large and small governments or officials inside Solomon’s kingdom that bring peace to the people by righteousness under his leadership. Others believe the mountains and hills to be other kingdoms of the world that will come to the people of Israel in peace because of righteousness. This will be true during the millennial reign of Christ, as the nations of the world will come to Jerusalem to worship Him. They will be at peace with Israel and will govern their own people in 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.

This verse describes how that the king (whether Solomon or Jesus Christ) will exercise righteous judgment, extending justice to the poor, protecting the children of the poverty-stricken so that they will not be sold into slavery, and punishing those who oppress others.

5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

“They shall fear thee” – Everyone will fear (reverence; to be in awe; to be afraid) the king. The righteous will fear and reverence him because of his righteous judgment and the oppressor will fear because he knows that the king will punish him for his wicked deeds.

“as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations” – These are expressions of the eternal nature of the Davidic royal line. Christ will certainly reign forever as the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to David that his descendants would always be on the throne. All will fear and reverence the king throughout eternity, a fact that describes Jesus Christ as King.

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.

“He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth” – This line speaks of the beneficial and nourishing nature of the king’s reign. God’s people will be blessed by the fact that this king is on the throne. This is David’s prayer for Solomon and it will be especially fulfilled when Christ is on the throne in Jerusalem.

“In his days shall the righteous flourish” – The righteous will prosper and be blessed while the king is on the throne.

“and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth” – Peace will also be eternally abundant, particularly in Christ’s kingdom.

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.

“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” – Zech. 9:10b makes the same statement about the reign of the Messiah, indicating the vastness of His kingdom. Speaking of Solomon, the two seas mentioned are likely the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea, spanning from east to west. The river mentioned is likely the Euphrates to the north of Israel and the phrase “the ends of the earth” probably refers to the wilderness to the south. The two spans cover Israel from east to west and north to south.

“They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust” – People living outside of Israel (“in the wilderness”) will submit themselves to the king and show him reverence, and his enemies, while bowing with their face to the ground, will “lick the dust” (akin to kissing the ground he walks on) in humble submission. This would be true of Solomon to a certain extent but it will be especially true of Christ when He establishes His kingdom on earth.

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.

Many kings brought gifts to Solomon (1 Kings 4:21; 10:1, 23, 24; Is. 60:4-7; Jer. 6:20) and served him (1 Kings 4:21 “And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life”). However, when Christ is on the throne in Jerusalem, literally “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.

The king will have compassion on the less fortunate. He will stand up for “the little guy” and protect him from anyone who would take advantage and oppress him. He will provide for the poor and rescue them from their poverty. While this may have been true of Solomon, it will be especially true of Jesus Christ during His millennial kingdom.

14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

The king will get justice for those who cannot protect themselves and have been the victims of “deceit” (oppression) and violence. Their lives will be precious to him and he will be quick to protect them or to seek vengeance for their death. Justice was important to Solomon and will be even more so to Jesus Christ in His millennial kingdom.

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.

“And he shall live” – This may be a variation of “Long live the king!” Undoubtedly David is praying that his son Solomon would live a long life, but it also speaks prophetically of the longevity and eternal nature of Christ’s kingdom.

“and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba” – In addition to long life, David prays for the prosperity of Solomon. Christ’s kingdom will also be one of prosperity in ways that David never dreamed.

“prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised” – No doubt the people of Israel prayed for Solomon and praised him for being a good (at least in his early years) and prosperous king. In His millennial kingdom, Jesus Christ will be prayed to, prayed for, and praised on a daily basis.

16 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 earth.

“There shall be an handful [plenty; abundance] of corn [grain] in the earth upon the top of the mountains” – This verse describes the prosperity of the land during the king’s reign. There will be an abundant crop of grain growing on the top of mountains where grain typically doesn’t grow well.

“the fruit [produce] thereof shall shake like Lebanon” – The image seems to be of the full heads of grain waving in the breeze and as plentiful as the cedars forests of Lebanon.

“and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth” – The cities will be full of people, as numerous as the blades of grass in a field.

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.

“His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued [to continue; to increase] as long as the sun” – David expresses his prayer that the name of Solomon will always be remembered, however this desire will be more truly realized in Jesus Christ because it will be His name that will endure throughout eternity. The phrase “shall be continued” is translated from a Hebrew word meaning “to continue” or “to increase” and is repeated twice. This is a Hebrew practice to emphasize an idea and in this case gives us the meaning that the king’s name will “increase and increase.”

“and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed” – This prayer would fulfill the promise God made to Abraham (Gen. 12:2-3 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”). The earth will be blessed in Abraham through Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

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.

“Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous [difficult to do; difficult to understand] things” – David does not fail to give glory to the God of Israel, the One Who has blessed him and made all these things possible that he has mentioned in this psalm. David declares all of God’s acts as being beyond what man can do or understand. No one can compete with God. The magicians in Egypt could mimic the signs that God did through Moses only so far. After a point, their failures compelled them to admit that “this is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19).

“And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory” – David calls on everyone on earth to glorify the name of God so that the whole earth will be filled with His praise. God’s name is forever worthy of all the glory and honor we can give.

“Amen [truly; so let it be], and Amen” – Using the Hebrew technique of repetition to emphasize a thought, David stresses the truth of what he has just said (and perhaps the entire psalm) and his desire that these things come to pass.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

This verse closes the group of psalms that is called “Book II” (Psalms 42-72), and the psalms written primarily by Asaph follow after this.  Although a few other psalms of David do appear later, this verse seems conclude a group primarily containing David’s psalms.