This is a Psalm which relates to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, not as the Man of sorrows, but as the King of glory; not as David, struggling to secure the throne; but as Solomon, seated upon it, and reigning in peace.
Psalms 72:1. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is both a King and the Son of a King. He is King of kings, and therefore our Sovereign by his own native right; but he is also our sovereign Prince as the Son of God. Oh, that the Lord would visibly give into his hands power over all the people of the earth! «Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.»
Psalms 72:2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgment.
It is the peculiar characteristic of the reigning Christ that he has his eye chiefly upon the poor. Most princes rule in the interest of the great ones around them, but our King rules for the good of the poor of his people.
Psalms 72:3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
The reign of Christ is the reign of righteousness, the rule of true uprightness; and consequently it is the reign of peace, and love, and joy. Oh that his gentle rule were acknowledged by all the kings of this world!
Psalms 72:4. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
This is the King we want to reign over us. Oh, that the day were come for him to take the crowns from all other heads, and to wear them on his own, and to take all sceptres from other hands, and gather sheaves of them beneath his arms, and himself to be universally proclaimed «King of kings, and Lord of lords»! Then would the world's loud hallelujahs rise as with the sound of mighty thunderings. O God, how long shall it be before this glorious King takes to himself the power that is his by right?
Psalms 72:5. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
All other kings and princes and rulers pass away; our King alone has an everlasting kingdom. Where are the dynasties that have ruled over vast empires? They have passed almost out of remembrance, but the promise to our King still abides: «They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.»
Psalms 72:6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
The reign of Christ even now is to the poor dispirited sons of men like rain upon the mown grass, and when he shall come in his glory as he will shortly come, his coming shall be as blessed to this world as the gentle showers are to the grass that is newly mown.
Psalms 72:7-8. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
This is God's decree. As surely as he has set his King upon his holy hill of Zion, so surely will he make him to «have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.» I do, therefore, expect greater glory for the cross of Christ than any that the world has hitherto seen. The crescent shall wane, and fade away in eternal night, but the light of the cross of Christ shall burn brighter and brighter unto endless day.
Psalms 72:9-10. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
Commerce with all its wealth shall yet lend its homage to the Saviour; and every ship that crosses the sea shall yet bear its cargo of praise unto his glorious name.
Psalms 72:10. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Their barbaric splendor shall find a higher glory in being consecrated to the King of kings.
Psalms 72:11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him that has no helper.
That is what we look for as the true recognition of religion. The true recognition of religion in a State is not the setting up of some favored sect to be indulged above the rest, there is something better than that reserved for the Christ of God. He must have the first place all the world over: «All kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.»
Psalms 72:12. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
Again I remind you that this is the distinguishing mark of the Christ of God, that he has a special eye to the poor and needy.
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,
With all our hearts we cry, «Long live the King!» And our King shall live forever; to him alone of all kings may it be truly said, «O King, live forever!» «He shall live,»
Psalms 72:15. 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.
One of the marks of sovereignty is the king's visage upon the coinage of the realm, and the use of his name in public prayer; and Christ claims this homage of all his followers: «Prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.»
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.
The cause of Christ in the earth may be so reduced as to be only comparable to a handful of corn, and that handful of corn may be, as it were, sown on the bleak mountain-side; yet it shall grow and increase until it fills the whole earth. His kingdom is without end.
Psalms 72:17-19. 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. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
Is not that double Amen the very mark of the Christ? Often when he preached, he commenced his sermons with «Amen, Amen;» that is, «Verily, verily, I say unto you.» He is God's great «Amen, the faithful and true Witness.» But interpreting the word in the other sense, do not you and I most heartily say, «Amen,» and again «Amen,» to this royal prayer? «Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.»
Psalms 72:20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
This is the end of the second great division of the Book of the Psalms; it is therefore most appropriately closed with this verse: «The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.» But I think that David, when he had reached this point, felt that he could not ask for anything more than he had already requested in this great petition. If the whole earth should be full of the glory of God, the psalmist would then have gained the utmost that he could desire. Is it not so with us also? If the name and the glory of Christ did but cover the whole earth, what more could we wish for? What more could we ask of God? Till that blessed consummation is reached, let us keep on praying, «Let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen and Amen.»