«A Psalm for Solomon» much more for one who is greater than Solomon, the true Prince of Peace.
Psalms 72:1. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
So it is decreed, and so it has been accomplished, that Jesus, who is both a King and a King's son, should have all judgment delivered into his hand. And now at this time Christ is the judge. It is he who discerns between the precious and the vile. He sits as King in the midst of Zion.
Psalms 72:2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
The kingdom of Christ has a special eye to the poor. They are generally passed by and forgotten in the scope of legislature among men, but Christ makes even his poor people the poor in spirit also to be the objects of his judgment.
Psalms 72:3-4. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
In the reign of Christ there shall be no treading down of the little by great no pressure put upon the feeble by the strong, but his right hand shall get to the weakest cause the victory.
Psalms 72:5. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
For the kingdom of Christ renews itself. It is never broken in pieces by the power of the enemy, but every piece becomes a new root, and it springs up again. There are some plants of which they may that the more you tread upon them the more they will spread, and certainly it is the case with the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. As long as there is a sun in the heavens, and a moon to gladden the night, so shall the kingdom of Christ endure.
Psalms 72:6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
Christ shall not come like fire to burn up and to destroy, but his kingdom is one of mercy and grace. When the grass has just been wounded with the scythe, he shall come down to bring it refreshment, that it may spring up again. In plenteous showers of grace shall he visit wounded spirits.
Psalms 72:7. In his days shall the righteous flourish: and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
There have been empires which have been propitious to the flourishing of great wrongs. Some of the worst and vilest of men have flourished under certain empires, which have but lately passed away; but in the empire of Christ the righteous alone shall flourish. Everything about him and about his power shall make it go well for them, and his empire is peace the most truly «abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.»
Psalms 72:8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Universal monarchy is to be the monarchy of Christ. This is the fifth great monarchy, and there shall never be another. No king or potentate that shall ever rise can possibly have universal dominion again. We need not fear that, for the fifth empire is that of the Christ of God, and behold he cometh to claim it.
Psalms 72:9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
The most distant tribes those that wander and have no settled dwelling-place shall, nevertheless, bow before him. The Arab boasts that he never knew a master that even Caesar could not penetrate into his deserts and subdue him; but Christ shall be his Lord, and he will be glad to own him.
Psalms 72:10. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
We need not be afraid if this Psalm refers to Christ, and we do not doubt that it does. He must reign. The end of the world is not coming until there shall be a conquest for him. He may come before that time, but certainly there shall be no winding up of history until this shall be literally true. «The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents.»
Psalms 72:11-12. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
The Psalmist seems glad to dwell upon that. It seems to be the joy note in his mind that the great King the greatest of all kings will care for the lowly and the humble. Let us rejoice in this, dear friends. Christ is chosen out of the people and exalted by God; and he is the Christ not only ready to save the highest, but to save the lowest. From his kingdom we may say:
«None are excluded hence but those
Who do themselves exclude;
Welcome the learned and polite,
The ignorant and rude.»
Psalms 72:13-15. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. And he shall live, They say,
«O king, live for ever.» It can never happen to their kings, but to our King it will happen. «He shall live.»
Psalms 72:15. And to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba:
He shall have the best the world can find willingly given to him. I am sure that we who know his love think that we have nothing good enough for him. We would render to him all that we have.
Psalms 72:15. Prayer also shall be made for him continually;
With the gold shall come the golden prayer the prayer for Christ. But how can we pray for him? Why, that he may have the reward of his sufferings, may see of the travail of his soul that his kingdom may come, and that his name may be dear in the hearts of men.
Psalms 72:15. And daily shall he be praised.
He shall have praise as well as prayer and gold.
Psalms 72:16. 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.
It was corn good seed corn, but there was only a handful of it. So there were saints in the world, but there were very few of them. And where were they? On the tops of the mountains. A strange place for corn; not a likely place for a harvest. So have God's servants been pushed into the corners of the earth. There they were in the valleys of Piedmont for many a year fighting for dear life. And, in all lands, those that have been faithful to God have been put away into the corners driven, as it were, to the mountain-tops. But what has come of it, and what will come of it? Why, the fruit shall shake like Lebanon. The golden corn, standing upright in its strength, adorned with its ear, shall wave in the breeze as pleasing a sight even as the cedar of Lebanon.