Psalm 72:15-17
72 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 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.
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.
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 verse 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 into 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, verses 1-7; universal, verses 8-11; beneficient, verses 12-14; and perpetual, verses 15-17; to which are added a doxology, verses 18-19; and a postscript, verse 20.”
“And he shall live.” Vive le Roi! O King! live for ever! He was slain, but is risen and ever liveth. “And to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba.” These are coronation gifts of the richest kind, cheerfully presented at his throne. How gladly would we give him all that we have and are, and count the tribute far too small. We may rejoice that Christ’s cause will not stand still for want of funds; the silver and the gold are his, and if they are not to be found at home, far-off lands shall hasten to make up the deficit. Would to God we had more faith and more generosity. “Prayer also shall be made for him continually.” May all blessings be upon his head; all his people desire that his cause may prosper, therefore do they hourly cry, “Thy kingdom come.” Prayer for Jesus is a very sweet idea, and one which should be for evermore lovingly carried out; for the church is Christ’s body, and the truth is his sceptre; therefore we pray for him when we plead for these. The verse may, however, be read as “through him,” for it is by Christ as our Mediator that prayer enters heaven and prevails. “Continue in prayer” is the standing precept of Messiah’s reign, and it implies that the Lord will continue to bless. “And daily shall he be praised.” As he will perpetually show himself to be worthy of honour, so shall he be incessantly praised: —
“For him shall constant prayer be made,
and praises throng to crown his head;
His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise
With every morning’s sacrifice.”
“There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains.” From small beginnings great results shall spring. A mere handful in a place naturally ungenial shall produce a matchless harvest. What a blessing that there is a handful; “except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah;” but now the faithful are a living seed, and shall multiply in the land. “The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon.” The harvest shall be so great that the wind shall rustle through it, and sound like the cedars upon Lebanon: —
“Like Lebanon, by soft winds fann’d,
Rustles the golden harvest far and wide.”
God’s church is no mean thing; its beginnings are small, but its increase is of the most astonishing kind. As Lebanon is conspicuous and celebrated, so shall the church be. “And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” Another figure. Christ’s subjects shall be as plentiful as blades of grass, and shall as suddenly appear as eastern verdure after a heavy shower. We need not fear for the cause of truth in the land; it is in good hands, where the pleasure of the Lord is sure to prosper. “Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” When shall these words, which open up such a vista of delight, be fulfilled in the midst of the earth?
“His name shall endure for ever.” In its saving power, as the rallying point of believers, and as renowned and glorified, his name shall remain for ever the same. “His name shall be continued as long as the sun.” While time is measured out by days, Jesus shall be glorious among men. “And men shall be blessed in him.” There shall be cause for all this honour, for he shall really and truly be a benefactor to the race. He himself shall be earth’s greatest blessing; when men wish to bless others they shall bless in his name. “All nations shall call him blessed.” The grateful nations shall echo his benedictions, and wish him happy who has made them happy. Not only shall some glorify the Lord, but all; no land shall remain in heathenism; all nations shall delight to do him honour.
— Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
