圣经注释书

前篇是大卫年老时所作,本篇似乎也是;因所罗门此时已有继承王位之望;前者是为他自己祷告,本篇是为他的儿子与后嗣;大卫耶西的儿子之祷告便以这两篇作结,如本篇末了所言。我们若在世时得神同在,并对我们身后之人有美好的盼望——他们要在地上赞美神、如同我们在天上赞美他——便已足够。本篇题为「所罗门的诗」:大概是大卫口授,或更是由圣灵借他所默示的,那是他在离世前不久,借神的指示立定继承之序,下令宣告所罗门为王(王上1:30等)。然而此处虽用所罗门之名,所预言的乃是基督的国度——以所罗门为预表与影像。大卫知道那神谕的意思:「照肉体说,他从他的后裔中立一位坐在他的宝座上」(徒2:30)。他在此为他作见证;并以他国度荣耀的远景,在自己临终之时自慰——因他预见他的家在神面前不会如他所愿那样大、那样好。大卫在灵里:一、开始为其后嗣作一简短祷告(诗72:1);二、随即转入对其国度的荣耀的长远预言(诗72:2-17);三、以对以色列之神的赞美作结(诗72:18-20)。我们唱这首诗时当注目于基督,以他为君王而赞美,并以我们作他子民的福分为乐。

本诗的标题，在原文中只是"为所罗门"。"诗"一字是译者补上的。旁注作"所罗门的"，即属所罗门——仿佛所罗门是作者。亚历山大教授（Alexander）译作"所罗门所作"，并当然认为他是作者。七十士译本译作"为"——εις eis——"所罗门"。拉丁武加大译本也是如此："In Salomonem"。叙利亚文译本作："大卫的；当他立所罗门为王之时。"路德的译本作："所罗门的。"诚然，标题中的希伯来文，与那些指明作者的其他诗篇所用的相同，如 Psalm 68; Psalm 69; Psalm 70:1-5 等处作"大卫的"，Psalm 73; Psalm 74 等处作"亚萨的"等等；而且这表达方式最自然地传达所罗门是作者的意思，这也是事实；但同样真实的是，这一解释并非必须——七十士译本、拉丁武加大译本、叙利亚文译本以及迦勒底意译本的作者对它另作理解，这一事实正表明了这一点。没有人能怀疑，希伯来文可以有后一种解释（参见格塞尼乌斯论希伯来字母 lamed（ל l），那是一个不可分离的前置词），而"为所罗门"的译法是一个恰当的翻译。本诗的内容也要求这里采取这一解释。所罗门把诗中这些预言写成指着他自己，是完全不大可能的；而大卫论到即将登基的儿子发出这些预言和祷告，却绝非不大可能。本诗的语言，各方面都与这一假定相称：它出于大卫之手，是着眼于他儿子和继承者可期待的荣耀与太平之治而写的——作为一篇受默示的作品，预示那治权将是怎样，并前瞻弥赛亚作王时那更荣耀、更太平的统治。因此，在我看来，证据已足够清楚：本诗是论到所罗门而写的，不是出于他的手笔；若是如此，最自然的假定便是它出于大卫。这证据固然不是正面的，却是很可能的证据，以致几乎没有怀疑的余地。

本诗原本只指所罗门，还是也指弥赛亚、当列在弥赛亚诗篇之中，是一个十分重要的问题。它适用于所罗门的统治，视之为一个太平繁荣的统治，这是无可怀疑的；而且它旨在描述他的统治、诗中主要的形象取自那可预见将作为他政府特征的事，这似乎也同样没有多少理由怀疑；但它也指弥赛亚及其统治，我认为将从以下的考虑显明出来：

（1）传统的见证。古时的迦勒底意译本无疑表达古代犹太人的通行意见，它认为本诗指弥赛亚。该意译本把本诗第一节译作："神啊，将你判断的知识赐给王弥赛亚——משיחא למלכא lemaleka' meshiyacha'——将你的公义赐给王的儿子大卫。"据肖特根（Schottgen）所说，较古的犹太作者都同意把它应用于弥赛亚。

（2）本诗不能按其意义的完满应用于所罗门的统治。诚然，本诗把那统治的一般特征描述为太平繁荣；但同样真实的是——这将在本诗解释的进程中看出——诗中有些段落不能恰当地应用于他，或其意义之丰满、含义之广，要求应用于他治理之下所发生者以外的另一种事态。

（3）本诗"确实"适用于弥赛亚，并且无论就其总体性质，还是就其具体措辞，都与旧约中其他对弥赛亚的描述相符。试将 Psalm 72:2、Psalm 72:4 与 Isaiah 11:4，Psalm 72:3 与 Isaiah 9:6，Psalm 72:5 与 Isaiah 9:7 相比较。另见 Psalm 72:8、Psalm 72:11、Psalm 72:17。在这些经文的解释中将会显明：它们准确描述了弥赛亚之下的状态，并且不能字面地应用于所罗门的统治。

（4）还可以补充说，这一解释与旧约的普遍风格一致。无论这事实如何解释，没有人能怀疑，旧约的作者们"确实"前瞻一位要在将来出现的卓越人物。无论先知默示的真实性是被承认还是被否认，他们总之已怀有"那观念"，而这观念在他们的著作中不断显明出来。他们乐于详述祂显现的盼望；他们乐于默想祂的特性；他们在国难之时转向祂；他们期待唯独在祂之下得着最终的拯救。他们描述祂披着君王的威荣；他们把祂升至最高的位分；他们表明祂品格至美、能力至大；他们把最崇高的名称归于祂：祭司、先知、君王、战士、使者、"神"。我们发现圣作者无论写什么主题，随时回到这观念，并不足为怪；想到一部"没有弥赛亚"的旧约，就几乎等于想到没有阿喀琉斯的《伊利亚特》、没有埃涅阿斯的《埃涅阿斯纪》，或没有哈姆雷特的《哈姆雷特》。那些否认先知默示的人，当解释这观念如何在他们心中兴起；他们不能否认这观念确实在那里。也许旧约中没有哪一部分比我们眼前的这篇诗把这表明得更明显。它处处带有在这观念影响之下写成的痕迹。

本诗由两部分构成：

一、对"王"——弥赛亚——之统治的描述（Psalm 72:1-17）。

二、荣耀颂（Psalm 72:18-19）。

一、对"王"——弥赛亚——之统治的描述。那统治将是：

（1）公义的统治。人人得享公正；贫穷被践踏的必蒙保护；义人必亨通；整个施政的方针都利于美德与信仰（Psalm 72:1-7）。

（2）那统治将是普世的（Psalm 72:8-11）。这王必执掌权柄，从这海直到那海；外邦的君王必送礼物给他；诸王都要叩拜他；万国都要事奉他。

（3）那将是仁慈的统治；特别顾念穷人、穷乏人和受欺压之人的统治（Psalm 72:12-14）。

（4）那将是永久的；它必传扬远方，存到永远（Psalm 72:15-17）。

二、荣耀颂（Psalm 72:18-19）；鉴于弥赛亚之国可望的荣耀，这荣耀颂极为合宜。为这样的国，为这样荣耀而仁慈的统治，为设立这般主权的前景中向世人所显的怜悯，人心当充满崇敬，嘴唇当涌出对神之名的称颂，这才是合宜的。

本诗之后附有跋语（Psalm 72:20），表明这是归于大卫名下之诗篇集的结束。关于其意思，参见该节的注释。

David prays to God for Solomon, Psalm 72:1; prescribes Solomon's work, Psalm 72:2; the effects of his administration, Psalm 72:3-7; the extent of his dominion, Psalm 72:8-11; his mercy and kindness to the poor, and the perpetuity of his praise, Psalm 72:12-17. God is blessed for his power and goodness; and the psalmist prays that the whole earth may be filled with his glory, Psalm 72:18-20.

The title לשלמה lishelomoh, we translate, A Psalm for Solomon. The Chaldee says, "By the hand of Solomon, spoken prophetically." The Syriac, "A Psalm of David, when he had constituted Solomon king." All the other Versions attribute it to Solomon himself. But in the conclusion of the Psalm it appears to be attributed to David. "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." It is most probably a Psalm of David, composed in his last days, when he had set this beloved son on the throne of the kingdom. "Then," says Calmet, "transported with joy and gratitude, he addressed this Psalm to God, in which he prays him to pour out his blessings on the young king, and upon the people. He then, wrapped up in a Divine enthusiasm, ascends to a higher subject; and sings the glory of the Messiah, and the magnificence of his reign. Hence it is that we may see in this Psalm a great number of expressions which cannot relate to Solomon, unless in a hyperbolical and figurative sense; but, applied to Christ, they are literally and rigorously exact."

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 72

A Psalm for Solomon. The title of this psalm is by some rendered, "a psalm of Solomon" (h); as a psalm "for David", is often rendered "a psalm of David"; and so make Solomon to be the writer of it: to which the Targum inclines, which paraphrases it,

"by the hand of Solomon, said in prophecy.''

But, though Solomon had a gift of divine poetry, as appears by the Song of Songs, composed by him; and the Thousand and Five, he was the author of; and perhaps wrote the hundred twenty seventh Psalm: yet by the first and last verses of this psalm it may be concluded it was not written by him, but by David; and very likely at the close of his days, when he ordered Solomon to be anointed king, and expressed his satisfaction in it; his prayers and wishes then being ended with regard to that affair; see 1 Kings 1:34. And so the title in the Syriac version is,

"a psalm of David, when he made Solomon king:''

the same Kimchi observes; it was written for him, and on his account: and it might be sent to him, and delivered into his hands, to be laid up and kept by him, and be referred to for his use at proper times. For it may be rendered, as in the Arabic version, "to Solomon"; which adds, the son of David: or else it may denote the subject of the psalm, and be read, "concerning Solomon" (i); the Messiah, the antitypical Solomon; who is often called by this name in the Song of Songs; see Sol 3:7; Solomon being a type of him in his wisdom and riches, and in the peaceableness and extent of his kingdom; to which reference is had in this psalm. But a greater than Solomon is here; that the Messiah is the subject of it is manifest from the largeness of his kingdom, it reaching to the ends of the earth; which was not true of Solomon, Psalm 72:8; and from the duration of it, it being as long as the sun and moon endure, Psalm 72:5; and from the abundance of peace and prosperity in it, which equally last, Psalm 72:3; and from the subjection of kings and nations to him, even all of them, Psalm 72:9; and from the happiness of his subjects; they having protection, deliverance, and salvation by him, and all spiritual blessings in him; which shows him to be the promised seed, in whom all nations should be blessed, Psalm 72:2, and from the honour, praise, glory, and blessedness, ascribed to him, Psalm 72:15. So Tertullian (k), long ago, observed, that this psalm belongs to Christ, and not to Solomon. And that the Messiah is intended, many of the Jewish writers, both ancient and modern, acknowledge, as appears from the Targum, Talmud, Midrash, and other writings, which will be observed in the exposition of it. Jarchi, though he interprets it of Solomon, yet owns that their Rabbins expound the whole psalm of the Messiah: and Kimchi, who explains it hyperbolically of Solomon, acknowledges that, in the proper and literal sense, it is to be understood of the Messiah; and which is the sense given by his father, R. Joseph Kimchi. Aben Ezra says, this psalm is either concerning Solomon, or concerning the Messiah; but Abarbinel (l) makes no doubt that it is said concerning him. R. Obadiah says, it is concerning the coming of the Messiah; and to this agrees the title in the Syriac version,

"and a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah, and the calling of the Gentiles.''

(h) "ipsius Selomoh", Vatablus; Salomonis, Cocceius. (i) "De Salomone", Muis. (k) Adv. Marcion. l. 5. c. 9. (l) Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 78. 2, 3.

LXXII.

At the first glance this psalm looks like one that would readily yield up not only its meaning, but its purpose and authorship. Odes in honour of royalty generally tell their own tale, and here we certainly have a prayer for a king, the son of a king, who is to be at once glorious and good, renowned and just, in whose reign peace is to “lie like a line of light from verge to verge,” plenty is to crown the year with happiness, and the empire is to be as wide abroad as the government is righteous and beneficent at home. But, making every allowance for poetical exaggeration, it is impossible to find any monarch of Israel whose reign the poem exactly describes. The name of Solomon is naturally the first to suggest itself, as it did to those who prefixed the inscription. Undoubtedly the memory of his imperial greatness inspired the song. The psalmist looks for deliverance not to the sword, but to a wise and understanding heart. He prays that the king may be animated by the spirit which dictated Solomon’s choice to discern between good and evil; and he perceives that the only solid foundation for national prosperity is a just administration. Internal justice, external power and prosperity, would go hand in hand. All this might have been breathed as a prayer at Solomon’s succession; but the tone (Psalm 72:12-14) is hardly such as we should expect at the close of David’s reign. These verses read rather like the hope of one who had seen the nation sunk in distress, and who hailed the advent of a young prince as bearing promise of restoration and renewal of power and glory. Josiah has been suggested by Ewald, as meeting these conditions; a foreign prince, Ptolemy Philadelphus, by Hitzig and Reuss. But the view which regards the psalm as Messianic, i.e., descriptive of the peace and plenty and power anticipated under a prince as yet unborn and unknown, who was to come of David’s line to restore the ancient glory of the theocracy, best suits its general tone. The verse is easy and graceful, with a regular parallelism, but an uncertain division of stanzas.

Title.—According to usage, this inscription can mean only of Solomon, denoting authorship. (See Introduction.)

The preceding Psalm dwells much upon the righteousness of God: this Psalm depicts the blessings which will flow from the righteousness of His earthly representative, the theocratic king. In Psalm after Psalm in this book we have heard the cry of the oppressed: here is unfolded to our view the splendid vision of a perfect ruler who shall be the champion of the oppressed, whose glory will be, “redressing human wrong.”

i. The Psalm begins with a prayer that God will endow the king with the knowledge of His laws and with the spirit of His righteousness. Thus equipped he will fulfil the ideal of his office, as the just ruler who protects the oppressed, and secures for his people the blessings of peace and plenty (Psalm 72:1-7).

ii. Thus far the Psalmist has dealt with the relation of the king to his own people. Now, taking a wider sweep, he prays that he may have a world-wide dominion, and that the wealthiest and most distant nations may bring him tribute, won by the moral supremacy of his beneficent rule to offer him their voluntary homage ((Psalm 72:8-14).

iii. The Psalm concludes with prayers for the welfare of the king himself, for the prosperity of his people, and for the undying perpetuation of his memory as the benefactor of the nations, in whom the promise made to the seed of Abraham finds its fulfilment ((Psalm 72:15-17).

In rendering the title ‘A Psalm for Solomon,’ the A.V. follows the LXX (εἰς Σαλωμών) in regarding Solomon as the subject of the Psalm. Similarly the Syriac Version entitles it, ‘A Psalm of David, when he had made Solomon king, and a prophecy concerning the Advent of the Messiah and the calling of the Gentiles.’ But this explanation is untenable. The analogy of the other Psalm-titles points to the rendering of A.V. marg. and R.V., supported by all the other Ancient Versions, ‘A Psalm of Solomon.’ It seems then to have been regarded as having been composed by Solomon as an intercession to be used by the people on his behalf. Nor is this an impossible view of its origin and purpose. If the “last words” of David, uttered in the spirit of prophecy shortly before his death, describe the blessings which would flow from the rule of a righteous king, animated by the spirit of justice and guided by the fear of God, and anticipate the rise of such a righteous king out of his house in virtue of the eternal covenant which God has made with him, why should not the first words of Solomon be a prayer that these great hopes should be realised in himself by the world-wide extension and eternal duration of a kingdom founded in righteousness?

Many of the arguments urged against the Solomonic date are of little real weight. (1) It is said that in Psalm 72:2 the whole people is spoken of as ‘afflicted,’ and that Psalm 72:12-14 “read like the hope of one who had seen the nation sunk in distress.” But the reference is not to the nation as a whole, but to the poor and weak within it who were always liable to be hardly treated by the rich and powerful. (2) Psalm 72:8 is said to be a quotation from Zechariah 9:10; and Psalm 72:12 from Job 29:12. It is however by no means clear that the Psalmist is the borrower. (3) The clear and flowing style is thought to be the mark of a later age. Delitzsch on the contrary finds in the somewhat artificial style a mark of the Solomonic period, and the argument is not one which can be pressed.

On the whole however the Psalm seems rather to reflect the memories of Solomon’s imperial greatness than to anticipate it. For what later king it was written must remain uncertain. It may have been for Hezekiah, who came to the throne at a time when grave social evils called for reform, and when the hope of the advent of the ideal king in the near future animated the minds of the prophets. It is even possible that the Psalm does not refer to any particular king, but is a prayer for the establishment of the Messianic kingdom under a prince of David’s line according to prophecy, the lyrical counterpart in fact of Zechariah 9:9 ff. At the same time it does appear to have a definite historical background, and to be a prayer for a king who is actually on the throne. The prayer in the Psalms of Solomon for the advent of the Messianic king (Introd. p. xlix) has an altogether different tone.

The hypothesis of Hitzig and others, approved by Cheyne, that it refers to some non-Israelite king, such as Ptolemy Philadelphus (b.c. 285), may safely be rejected. It is not conceivable that a poet of real patriotism, not to say of inspiration in the higher sense of the word, it should have so grovelled to a heathen monarch as to apply to him the sacred language of Messianic hope, and to connect his name with the solemn promises to the seed of Abraham and the house of David.

But if the primary reference of the Psalm is to some actual king of Judah, it is plain that it reaches far beyond him. It is a ‘Messianic’ Psalm. It presents a picture of the kingdom of God upon earth in its ideal character of perfection and universality. It is thus in its nature not only a prayer and a hope but a prophecy. As each successive king of David’s line failed to realise the ideal, it became clearer and clearer that its words pointed forward to One who was to come, to the true “Prince of Peace.” Hence the Targum interprets it of the Messiah. It paraphrases Psalm 72:1 thus:

“O God, give the precepts of Thy judgement to King Messiah,

And Thy righteousness to the son of king David:”

and it interprets Psalm 72:17 of the pre-existence of His name:

“His name shall be remembered for ever;

And before the sun existed was His name prepared;

And all peoples shall be blessed in His merits.”

According to the Talmud and Midrash, Yinnôn—the word in Psalm 72:17 which is rendered shall be continued or shall have issue—is one of the eight names of the Messiah. “His Name,” so the Rabbis mystically interpreted the passage, “is Yinnon. Why is He called Yinnon? Because He will make those who sleep in the dust to flourish”: i.e. He will raise the dead.

Following the example of Jewish exegesis, the Christian Church has rightly understood the Psalm to refer to Christ. Yet it is never quoted in the N.T. Possibly the regal aspect of the Messiah was so dominant in the first age (Acts 1:6) that it needed to be kept in the background, until men had learnt that His kingdom was “not of this world,” but a spiritual kingdom.

It was fitly chosen by the Early Church as the special Psalm for the Epiphany, foretelling as it does the homage of the nations to the Messiah, of which the visit of the Wise Men was the earnest.

It was a favourite Psalm of St Edmund, the martyr king of East Anglia, who spent a year in retirement that he might learn the Psalter by heart, so as to be able to repeat it in his intervals of leisure. Its kingly ideal seems to have moulded his life.

为所罗门祷告

所罗门的诗。

¹ 神啊，求你将判断的权柄赐给王，将公义赐给王的儿子。

本节是为王——也就是王的儿子——的祷告。

一、我们可将其应用于所罗门：「神啊，求你将『判断的权柄』赐给他，将『公义』赐给他」；使他作人、作王，使他作好人、作好王。1. 这是父亲为儿女的祷告，是临终的祝福，正如先祖遗留给儿女的。我们能为儿女向神求的至美之事，便是神赐他们智慧与恩典，知道并尽自己的本分；这胜于金子。所罗门学会为自己祷告，正如他父亲为他祷告一样——不求神赐他富足尊荣，而是求一颗智慧明达的心。大卫自己作王之后由儿子继位，已是安慰；更使他欣慰的，是儿子既有断事的智慧，又行公义。大卫已给他好的教育（箴4:3），已教训他「断事与公义」之道；但若非神赐他判断的权柄，这些仍不足。父母不能把恩典给儿女，却能借祷告把他们带到恩典之神面前，并必不徒然寻求他，因为他们的祷告或蒙应允，或带着安慰回到自己怀中。2. 这是君王为他继位者的祷告。大卫在位时施行公平公义，如今他求儿子也照样行。我们对于后代也当有此关怀——愿望并努力使后继者在我们之后的日子比我们更好地事奉神。对神对人毫无爱心、心胸狭窄自私的人，才不问世界与教会将来如何。3. 这是臣民为他们君王的祷告。看来大卫写本篇是给百姓用的，使他们借唱颂为所罗门祷告。愿过安宁太平生活的人，必须为君王和一切在位的祷告，求神赐他们判断的权柄与公义。

二、我们可将其应用于基督；并非那为我们代求的，需要我们为他代求；但，1. 这是旧约教会求差遣弥赛亚作为教会之王——「锡安圣山上的王」——的祷告，万王之王论到他曾说：「你是我的儿子」（诗2:6-7）。「求你快快来到那审判之权全交给他的一位」；我们也当如此催促基督的再来，那时他「按公义审判天下」。2. 这是表明一切真信者对主耶稣从父所受权柄的满意：「愿他在天上地下掌一切权，作我们的义；愿他作神一切恩典为属他之人所立的大受托者；求你赐给他，使他可以赐给我们。」

Ps 72:1-19.

所罗门的，原文作"属所罗门的"。末节较可能是论到诗篇第二卷（本篇为其末篇），或许是某位编纂者所加，以表明这卷以大卫之名（作为主要作者）为题的汇编已经完结。按此观点，其中可以合理地包含他人的作品，如亚萨、可拉子孙和所罗门的诗；而大卫的少数诗篇也可能放在后几卷中。此处使用了通常标注作者身份的方式，这一事实有力地证明所罗门是作者，特别是因为反对的理由不过如上所述，并不更强。本篇以高度精炼的比喻笔法，将一位君王的统治描述为"公义、普世、仁慈而永恒"。较早期的犹太解经家和大多数现代基督教解经家都将本篇指归基督，因为唯有基督现今和将来的统治才与其内容相符。正如第二篇的意象取自大卫作王时的尚武特征，本篇的意象则取自所罗门治下和平昌盛的景象。

1. 神啊，求你将判断的权柄赐给王等——这一祷告等同于预言。

公义——即正当治理的作为与（比喻地说）原则（

Joh 5:22; 9:39）。

公义——施行此种治理的资格。

王的儿子——与"王"是同一个人——这是对基督极为恰当的称号，因祂在两种本性中都是如此。