Psalm 72

What a marvelous hymn we have before us, presenting the glories of our Lord and King, the Messiah, the Son of David, the One greater than Solomon.

How are we to understand this Song which is on the one hand said to be A Psalm of Solomon and yet the end of the prayers of David (v20).  It seems these were the words of David late in life when he was unable to pen them himself.  Thus Solomon, who wrote many Psalms (1 Kings 4:32 says he wrote 1,005, though only Ps. 72 and 127 were identified as his work), was the writer but the words were David’s.  While this is the final prayer of David’s life there are several more Psalms of David recorded in this Biblical Hymnbook.

This Psalm is Messianic!  The opening verse indicates David’s concern for his son Solomon.  But the prayer clearly goes beyond him to David’s greater Son, the One who was greater than Solomon (Luke 11:31).  You can see this yourself as you read through it.  The testimony of the Jewish Rabbis is in agreement that this speaks of Messiah.  We would be surprised if David’s closing prayer did not recognize the promise of God that your throne shall be established forever (2 Sam. 7:16).  That promise is the backdrop for David’s prayer as he prays the will of God.

Consider the glories of Messiah’s kingdom in all its dimensions.

·         72:1: introduction.  A prayer for the king and the king’s Son.

·         72:2-4: His righteous reign.  The nature of His reign is righteousness and peace (Isa. 9:6-7; Isaiah’s prophecy is a thumbnail version of this Psalm).

·         72:5-7: His eternal reign (length).

·         72:8-11: His universal reign (breadth). 

·         72:12-14: His compassionate reign (depth).

·         72:15-17: His blessed reign (height).

·         72:18-19: Benediction.  A great passage to commit to memory and to use when we pray Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

·         72:20: Conclusion.

In a recent conversation a friend noted she had experienced the loss of several acquaintances to death.  It was a reminder that this matter of life and death goes on relentlessly.  Let us make the hand off, so to speak, as David has done here.  David, the son of Jesse (who has died) is praying for his son just before his own death.  Let us pray for and seek God’s blessing on our heirs.  But let us put our hope in the Anointed One, whose kingdom is glorious and eternal.  Let us pray for God's rule in the lives of those who come after us.  In so doing we will remind them that they too will die.  Their good and only hope is to be in sync with the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16) who shall reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15).