Commentari biblici

Psalm 72:1. Give the king — Namely, Solomon, who was now anointed king, although his father was yet living, 1 Kings 1:39; thy judgments — Either, 1st, Thy statutes and precepts, often called God’s judgments; as thou hast already given them to him in thy book, so give them to him in another and better way, by writing them upon his heart, or by giving him a perfect knowledge of them, and a hearty love to them, that he may obey and walk according to them. Or, 2d, Give him a thorough acquaintance with thy manner of governing and judging, that he may follow thy example in ruling thy people, as thou rulest them, namely, in righteousness, as it follows. He says judgments, in the plural number, because, though the office of ruling and judging was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches of it; in all which he prays that Solomon might be directed to do as God would have him do in such cases.

Psalm 72:2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness — Namely, if thou givest him what I have desired. And by this prediction he tacitly admonishes him of, and obliges him to, the performance of his duty. Or the words may be rendered, Let him judge, the future being put for the imperative, as is often the case; and so it is a prayer. And thy poor — Or, thy afflicted, or oppressed ones; for such are thine in a special manner; thou art their judge and patron, Psalm 68:5, and hast commanded all thy people, and especially kings and magistrates, to take a singular care of them, because they have few or no friends.

Psalm 72:3-4. The mountains, &c. — Which are so dangerous to passengers, on account of robbers or wild beasts, which commonly abide there; shall bring forth peace — Shall be travelled over, or inhabited, with perfect security and safety. Or peace is here put for that prosperity, ease, and plenty, which is the fruit of peace; when the mountains and hills are cultivated and tilled, and so are capable of producing abundance of grain, though naturally full of stones and barren. He shall judge the poor of the people — That is, vindicate them from their potent oppressors, as judging often means. He shall save the children of the needy — Whom the rich had, or would have seized upon, for bond-men, upon some pretence or other.

Psalm 72:5. They shall fear thee, &c. — Most commentators consider the psalmist as suddenly turning his speech to Solomon here, and signifying that his wisdom and righteous administration of his government should redound to his everlasting honour, so that all posterity should continually esteem and revere him as the wisest and best of princes. They acknowledge, however, that in this he was a type of Christ, and that the words ultimately, and in their most sublime sense, are to be explained of him. But as fear or reverence is frequently put for strict and proper divine worship, (as Isaiah 29:13, compared with Matthew 15:9, and frequently elsewhere,) which certainly was not due to Solomon, and could not be paid to him without idolatry; and as the psalmist never elsewhere, in any part of the Psalm, speaks of Solomon in the second person, but always in the third; many others consider him as addressing God in these words, to whom he had spoken before in the second person, Psalm 72:1-2, as it is here. Thus Mr. Samuel Clark: “They shall worship and serve thee, O God, so that, with peace, true religion shall flourish.” “The sense is,” says Poole, “This shall be another blessed fruit of his righteous government, that, together with peace, true religion shall be established, and that throughout all generations, as it here follows. Which was begun in Solomon’s days, and continued, though not without much interruption, in the time of his successors, the kings of Judah, and afterward, until the coming of Christ, in and by whom this prediction and promise was,” in part, and shall, in the end, be “most fully accomplished.” And Henry interprets the words to the same purpose. As long as the sun and moon endure — Hebrew, With the sun, and before the moon, that is, while they continue in the heavens; or, as others expound it, Both day and night, as the twelve tribes are said to serve God, Acts 26:7.

Psalm 72:6. He shall come down, &c. — To wit, by the influences of his government upon his people, the administration of which shall be so gentle and easy, that it shall refresh and revive the hearts of his subjects, and render them a flourishing people. But this phrase much better agrees to Christ, who was yet to come, and who did come down from heaven, and brought or sent down from thence his refreshing and fertilizing doctrine, often compared to rain, and the sweet and powerful influences of his Spirit. Like rain upon the mown grass — Which it both refreshes and causes to grow and flourish, and therefore was very acceptable, especially in Canaan. where rain was more scarce, and more necessary than in many other places, because of the scorching heat, and the natural dryness of the soil, and the want of rivers to overflow or water the land.

Psalm 72:7. In his days shall the righteous flourish — As the wicked shall be discountenanced and punished, so good men shall be encouraged, advanced, and multiplied. And abundance of peace as long as the moon endureth — That is, as long as time and the world shall last. Which neither was nor could be the case under the reign of Solomon, which was not of very long duration, and the peace of whose kingdom was sadly disturbed, and almost wholly lost after his death; but which was, and more especially hereafter will be, undoubtedly and eminently accomplished in Christ, who came to bring peace on earth, Luke 2:14, and left it as a legacy to his disciples, John 14:27.

Psalm 72:8. He shall have dominion from sea to sea — Either, 1st, From the Sinus Arabicus, or Red sea, to the Mediterranean sea, for so far Solomon’s dominion extended; but so did David’s also; and, therefore, in that respect Solomon has not that pre-eminence, which this promise plainly seems to give him, above his predecessors. Or, rather, 2d, More generally from one sea to another, or in all parts of the habitable world. In which sense it is truly and fully accomplished in Christ, and in him only. And from the river — Namely, Euphrates: which was the eastern border of the kingdom of Canaan, allotted by God, (Exodus 23:31; Numbers 34:3,) but possessed only by David and Solomon; unto the ends of the earth — To the border of Egypt, or the tract of country along the Mediterranean sea, the end of the land of Canaan. But if understood of the kingdom of Christ, the expression means literally to the remotest parts of the earth, or throughout the whole world. Thus, Psalm 2:8, I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Psalm 72:9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him — That is, that inhabit solitary places. The Hebrew word, ציים, tziim, here used,

(from ציה, tziah siccitas, dryness, or a dry place,) is applied to barren grounds or deserts, parched up for want of springs and rains, and it here signifies the inhabitants of such countries, and particularly the people and kings of Arabia Deserta. These were tributary to Solomon, 1 Kings 10:15, and great numbers of them submitted to Christ, and received his gospel. And his enemies shall lick the dust — Shall prostrate themselves to the ground in token of reverence and subjection to him, as was the custom of the eastern people.