Grosey's Messages

Psalm 72  The King Who Reigns

Of Solomon.

 1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
 2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
 3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
 4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the oppressor!

 5 May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
 6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
 7 In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

 8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
 9 May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!
 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!
 11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!

 12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
 13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
 14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.

 15 Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!
 16 May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!
 17  May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun!

 May people be blessed in him,  all nations call him blessed!

 18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
 19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!

 20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

As we read through this Psalm, have in mind Isaac Watt's paraphrase in the hymn

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run,
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore, till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2 To him shall endless prayer be made, and praises throng to crown his head.
His name like sweet perfume shall rise with every morning sacrifice.

3 People and realms of every tongue dwell on his love with sweetest song,
and infant voices shall proclaim their early blessings on his name.

4 Blessings abound where'er he reigns: the prisoners leap to lose their chains,
the weary find eternal rest, and all who suffer want are blest.

5 Let every creature rise and bring the highest honors to our King,
angels descend with songs again, and earth repeat the loud amen.

Solomon is connected with this Psalm and 127. If the inscription is translated "of Solomon," then he was the author and wrote of himself in the third person. This would make it a prayer for God's help as he sought to rule over the people of Israel. But if the inscription is translated "for Solomon," David may have been the author (v. 20), and the psalm would be a prayer for the people to use to ask God's blessing upon their new king. If Solomon did write the psalm, then it had to be in the early years of his reign, for in his later years, he turned from the Lord (1 Kings 11; Prov. 14:34). But beyond both David and Solomon is the Son of David and the one "greater than Solomon" (Matt. 12:42), Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel.

2 Samuel 7

' 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince  over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.  Your throne shall be established forever.'" 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

The Righteous King (vv. 1–7)

The Lord was King over His people, and the man on the throne in Jerusalem was His representative, obligated to lead the people according to the law of God (Deut. 17:14–20 14 "When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,' 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.' 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.  18 "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by  the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.).

He had to be impartial in his dealings (Ex. 23:3, 6; Deut. 1:17; Isa. 16:5) and make sure that his throne was founded on righteousness and justice (89:14; 92:2).

Note that righteousness is mentioned four times in verses 1–3 and 7, and see Proverbs 16:12.
 12 It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.
 13  Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.

Messiah will one day reign in righteousness and execute justice throughout the world (Isa. 9:7;   6  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;  and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace  there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 11:4–5; 1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.   2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,  4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.   5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.   6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.   7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.   8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.   9  They shall not hurt or destroy

in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.   11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush,  from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  13  The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
 14  But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them.

Jeremiah 23:5–6; 5 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'   7 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' 8 but 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land."

Zechariah 9:9  9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.   10  I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.   11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,  I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.   12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.   13 For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword.  14 Then the LORD will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.   15 The LORD of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar.   16 On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.  17  For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!  Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.

It is because Jesus fulfilled God's righteousness in His life and death that sinners can be forgiven and have peace with God (Rom. 5:1–8), and He is our "King of righteousness" and "King of peace" (Heb. 7:1–3). Solomon's name is related to the Hebrew word shalom, which means "peace, prosperity, well-being."

God promised David an endless dynasty (2 Sam. 7:16, 19,26 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them  great and awesome things by driving out  before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God. 25 And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel,' and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."),

and this was fulfilled in Jesus, the Son of David (Luke 1:31–33).

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

David used a similar metaphor in 2 Samuel 23:34. Godly leaders are like the refreshing rain that makes the land fruitful and beautiful, so that even the newly mown fields will produce a second crop. They are also like lamps that light the way (2 Sam. 21:17), shields that protect (84:9; 89:16), and the very breath of life that sustains us (Lam. 4:20).

Ver. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, etc. This is spoken and promised of Christ, and serves to teach us that Christ coming to his church and people, by the gracious influences of his Holy Spirit, is most useful and refreshing to their souls, like showers of rain to the dry ground, or a meadow newly cut to make it spring again. Christless souls are like the dry ground; without the moisture of saving grace their hearts are hard; neither rods, mercies, nor sermons, make impression upon them. Why? They are without Christ, the fountain of grace and spiritual influences. Before the fall man's soul was like a well watered garden, beautiful, green, and fragrant; but by his apostasy from God, in Adam our first head, the springs of grace and holiness are quite dried up in his soul; and there is no curing of this drought but by the soul's union with a new head; to wit, Christ our second Adam, who has the Spirit given him without measure for the use of all his members. Now, when we are united by faith to Christ, our Head of influences, the dry land is turned into water springs; Christ "comes down as the rain" by his Spirit of regeneration, and brings the springs of grace into the soul. He is the first and immediate receptacle of the Holy Spirit, and all regenerating and sanctifying influences, and out of his fulness we must by faith receive them. And when at any time the springs of grace are interrupted in the soul by sin or unbelief, so as the ground turns dry, the plants wither, and the things which remain are ready to die, the soul hath need to look up to Jesus Christ to come down with new showers upon the thirsty ground and decayed plants.

1. As the rain is the free gift of God to the dry ground, it comes free and cheap to poor and rich, small and great, and cost them nothing: so Christ with his blessings is God's free gift to a dry and perishing world; for which we should be continually thankful.

2. As nothing can stop the falling of the rain; so nothing can hinder Christ's gracious influences, when he designs to awake, convince, or soften a hard heart. When those showers do fall on sinners, the most obstinate will must yield, and cry, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

3. As the rain is most necessary and suitable to the dry ground, and to the various plants it produces, and also to the different parts of every plant or tree-- such as the root, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit; so Christ is absolutely necessary, and his influence most suitable to all his people's souls, and to every faculty of them--the understanding, will, memory, and affections; and to all their different graces, faith, love, repentance, etc.; to root and establish them, strengthen and confirm them, quicken and increase them, cherish and preserve them.

4. As the rain comes in diverse ways and manners to the earth, sometimes with cold winds and tempests, thunders and lightnings, and at other times with calmness and warmth; so Christ comes to sinners, sometimes with sharp convictions and legal terrors, and sometimes with alluring invitations and promises.

5. O how pleasant are the effects of rain to languishing plants, to make them green and beautiful, lively and strong, fragrant and beautiful! So the effects of Christ's influences are most desirable to drooping souls, for enlightening and enlivening them, for confirming and strengthening them, for comforting and enlarging them, for appetizing and satisfying them, transforming and beautifying them. A shower from Christ would soon make the church, though withered, turn green and beautiful, and to send forth a smell as of a field that the Lord hath blessed; and likewise some drops of this shower, falling down upon the languishing graces of communicants, would soon make them vigorous and lively in showing forth their Saviour's death at his table. John Willison.

The righteous King Has A Universal Reign (vv. 8–11)

God promised Abraham that he would give his descendants all the land from the River of Egypt in the south to the Euphrates in the north (Gen. 15:18 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."), and He reaffirmed this promise through Moses (Ex. 23:31).

Both David and Solomon ruled over great kingdoms (1 Kings 4:21, 24; 1 Chron. 9:26), but neither of them ruled "from the river [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth" (v. 8). This privilege is reserved for Jesus Christ (2:8; Zech. 9:9–10; Mic. 4:1–5 1 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it,   2 and many nations shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law,  and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.   3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;   4  but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,  and no one shall make them afraid,  for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.  5 For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.   6 In that day, declares the LORD,  I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted;   7 and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.  8 And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.).

As Solomon's realm embraced all the land of promise, and left no unconquered margin; so shall the Son of David rule all lands given him in the better covenant, and leave no nation to pine beneath the tyranny of the prince of darkness. We are encouraged by such a passage as this to look for the Saviour's universal reign; whether before or after his personal advent we leave for the discussion of others. In this Psalm, at least, we see a personal monarch, and he is the central figure, the focus of all the glory; not his servant, but himself do we see possessing the dominion and dispensing the government. Personal pronouns referring to our great King are constantly occurring in this Psalm; he has dominion kings fall down before him, and serve him; for he delivers, he spares, he saves, he lives, and daily is he praised.

The Righteous King Has A Compassionate Reign (vv. 12–14)

The king of Israel was looked upon as God's shepherd who lovingly cared for God's flock (78:70–72; 100:3; Ezek. 34). Any citizen had access to the king to get help in solving legal problems, and the king was to make certain that the local judges were being fair and honest in their decisions. Solomon didn't reach this ideal, for even though he had a vast bureaucracy, his officers didn't always aid the people (Eccl. 4:1). The picture here is surely that of our Savior, who had such great compassion for the needy and met their needs (Matt. 9:3 6). Not only does He hold their blood (life) precious to Him (v. 14; 116:15), but He shed His own precious blood for the salvation of the world (1 Peter 1:19). The word "redeem"  is used for the "kinsman redeemer" of Ruth.

The Righteous King Has A Prosperous Reign (vv.15-17)

God's covenant with Israel assured them of prosperity so long as the rulers and the people obeyed His commandments. The Lord also assured David that he would always have an heir to his throne if he and his descendants obeyed God's will (2 Sam. 7:11–12, 16). Because of the promise of the coming Savior, it was important that the Davidic dynasty continue. But in the case of Jesus, He reigns "according to the power of an endless life" (Heb. 7:16). He is the life (John 14:6), and He is alive forever (Rev. 1:18). He is King forever!

Israel's prosperity would be not only political (the king), but also economic (gold), spiritual (prayer), and commercial (thriving crops). In fulfillment of His covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3), God would bless all the nations through Israel, as He has done in sending Jesus Christ (Gal. 3). The prophets wrote of this glorious kingdom, and their prophecies will be fulfilled (Isa. 35; 60—62; Ezek. 40—48; Amos 9:11–15; Mic. 4; Zech. 10; 14). There will be abundant grain even on top of the hills in the most unproductive land. The grain fields will look like the forests of the cedars in Lebanon (1 Kings 4:33).

The Righteous King Has The Glorious Reign (vv.18-19)

The closing benediction (vv. 18–19) is not a part of the psalm proper but forms the conclusion to book II of the book of Psalms (see 41:13; 89:52; 106:48). A fitting conclusion it is, for it focuses on the glory of the Lord. Solomon's kingdom had its share of glory, but the glory did not last. When Jesus reigns on earth, the glory of God will be revealed as never before (Num. 14:21; Isa. 6:3; 11:9; 40:5; Hab. 2:14).