Psalm 72 Commentary
This psalm is more about Solomon than it is by Solomon. It can as well be by an aged David writing concerning Solomon’s dynasty. There is a strong feeling as well as several hints that the psalmist is reflecting the LORD’S promise of an everlasting dynasty. Refer to 2 Samuel 7 Commentary – LOVING SCRIPTURE
It must have been commonplace for people to praise earthly kings in divine tones. That is just how desperate humanity is for God’s presence. Man’s search for the Creator God is what we see when men and women long for longevity, leadership, authority, companionship, and prosperity.
When men age they tend to withdraw to some ranch or farm. Again, we can see man’s wish to reconnect to the ground where he came from. Even babies have a special love for the soil. It is there in black and white. Man is still searching for his Creator.
The psalmist is talking about an earthly king but in words that reveal a deeper need for more. Let’s have a throne of justice and righteousness. And let it endure forever. Let there be dominion. We cannot run away from what God meant us to be.
“In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.” Verse 7. The psalmist has picked on Genesis chapter 1 verse 28 with emphasis on prosperity. We have already seen the psalmist underline the need for dominion. The three mandates of increase, dominion, and prosperity are all on display here.
In answer to the psalmist’s prayer, an enlarged and blessed Solomon would go on and receive gifts from the queen of Sheba.
“May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.” We can go back to the Book of Genesis and see the LORD’s promise to Abraham. Isaac came and went and so did Jacob and his 12 sons. Then David is about to go. Now the hope of the son through whom the nations would be blessed rests on Solomon, hence this prayer.
It would be another of David’s sons, long after Solomon, who would fulfill the Abrahamic blessing. With the man Jesus Christ is an everlasting dynasty. The desire for longevity is more than satisfied with the blessing of immortality in the presence of the El-Shaddai God.
And the soil we always want to connect to shall fully be restored to us in the Garden of peace and tranquility – under the light of the Lamb of God. Then the crops will flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field. Grain will abound throughout the land.
It’s only the Lamb of God, in the person of the man Jesus Christ, who can rescue the needy from death. He rescues them from oppression and violence because their blood is precious to His sight. This should be good news to the world that constantly experiences fear and uncertainty.
It is these deep thoughts of eternity and the hope of restoration, it is the thought of longevity, dominion, and prosperity that closes Book two of the Book of Psalms. And so the prayers of David are ended by pointing to the future hope.
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