Psalm 72:7

In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) Flourish—i.e., spring up and grow like vegetation after rain.

Endureth.—See margin, and comp. Job 14:12, “till the heavens be no more.”

Benson Commentary

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.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

72:2-17 This is a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ; many passages in it cannot be applied to the reign of Solomon. There were righteousness and peace at first in the administration of his government; but, before the end of his reign, there were troubles and unrighteousness. The kingdom here spoken of is to last as long as the sun, but Solomon's was soon at an end. Even the Jewish expositors understood it of the kingdom of the Messiah. Observe many great and precious promises here made, which were to have full accomplishment only in the kingdom of Christ. As far as his kingdom is set up, discord and contentions cease, in families, churches, and nations. The law of Christ, written in the heart, disposes men to be honest and just, and to render to all their due; it likewise disposes men to live in love, and so produces abundance of peace. Holiness and love shall be lasting in Christ's kingdom. Through all the changes of the world, and all the changes of life, Christ's kingdom will support itself. And he shall, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, come down like rain upon the mown grass; not on that cut down, but that which is left growing, that it may spring again. His gospel has been, or shall be, preached to all nations. Though he needs not the services of any, yet he must be served with the best. Those that have the wealth of this world, must serve Christ with it, do good with it. Prayer shall be made through him, or for his sake; whatever we ask of the Father, should be in his name. Praises shall be offered to him: we are under the highest obligations to him. Christ only shall be feared throughout all generations. To the end of time, and to eternity, his name shall be praised. All nations shall call HIM blessed.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In his days shall the righteous flourish - It will be a period when just and upright people will be protected, or when they shall receive the countenance of him who reigns. The administration of the kingdom that is to be set up will be in favor of righteousness or justice. The word "flourish" here is derived from the growth of plants - as plants sprout, or spring up - an emblem of prosperity.

And abundance of peace - literally, "multitude of peace;" that is, The things which produce peace, or which indicate peace, will not be few, but numerous; they will abound everywhere. They will be found in towns and villages, and private dwellings; in the calm and just administration of the affairs of the State; in abundant harvests; in intelligence, in education, and in undisturbed industry; in the protection extended to the rights of all.

So long as the moon endureth - Margin, as in Hebrew, "until there be no moon." That is, until the moon shall cease to shine upon the earth. See Psalm 72:5.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7, and, carrying out the figure, the results are described in an abundant production.

the righteous—literally, "righteousness."

flourish—literally, "sprout," or, "spring forth."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Shall the righteous flourish; as the wicked shall be discountenanced and punished, so good men shall be encouraged, and advanced, and multiplied.

So long as the moon endureth, i.e. as long as time and the world shall last; which neither was nor could be true of Solomon, who lived not long, and the peace of whose kingdom was sadly disturbed, and in a manner wholly lost, presently after his death, but was undoubtedly and eminently accomplished in Christ, who brought peace upon earth, Luke 2:14, and left it as his legacy to his disciples, John 14:27.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

In his days shall the righteous flourish,.... As the grass of the field, Psalm 72:16; the dews and rain of grace descending upon them; and as a branch, Proverbs 11:28. They being branches in Christ the vine, flourish and bring forth fruit; and as the palm tree, Psalm 92:12; which the more it is pressed with weights, the more it grows; so they, the more they are afflicted, as the Israelites, the more they grow in grace and experience, and become fruitful in every good word and work; which is owing to their being planted in a good soil, in the house and courts of the Lord, where the word is preached, and ordinances administered; to their being rooted and grounded in the love of God and grace of Christ; to their being watered continually with the dews of divine favour; enjoying the bright shining of the sun of righteousness, and the refreshing gales of the divine Spirit, like the south wind upon them, causing their spices to flow out. The Targum is,

"in his days the righteous shall be multiplied;''

when the forces and fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and the nation of the Jews shall be born at once: in the latter days of the Messiah, all the Lord's people shall be righteous; and none but righteous persons shall dwell in the new heavens and earth, Isaiah 60:21, 2 Peter 3:13. This is to be understood not of persons outwardly righteous only; nor that are so in their own conceit; nor that seek for righteousness by the works of the law, or depend on an external profession of religion; for such never flourish, nor grow in grace, who have no grace to grow in: but of such that are justified by the righteousness of Christ, have faith in him, and the seed of grace implanted in them. This is interpreted of the Messiah, by a Jewish writer (x); who observes, that in his days the priesthood shall return, and the rod of Aaron shall flourish;

and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth; alluding, no doubt, to the name of Solomon, which signifies peace; and to that peace and prosperity which were enjoyed under his reign, and was a shadow of what would be in the times of Christ: universal peace, in a temporal sense, was in the times of Augustus, in which Christ was born, and in whose reign the temple of Janus was shut, a sure sign of peace (y). Spiritual peace was made with God by his blood, and all things were reconciled by him, whether in heaven or in earth; Jew and Gentile were made both one, and reconciled in one body; and abundance of spiritual peace is enjoyed by those that believe in Christ: they are kept in perfect peace, and filled with it; and in the latter day there will be abundance of peace among the saints, There will be no disputes nor discord among them; no envying nor vexing one another; no animosities or contentions about religious matters; for they will then see eye to eye: and they will be at peace with the men of the world; there will be no more wars in the earth, nor bloodshed, nor persecution. And this shall endure till there is no moon, till there shall be no need of one; as there will not in the New Jerusalem state, in which there will be no night.

(x) Baal Hatiurim in Numb. fol. 169. 3.((y) Vell. Patercul. Hist. Rom. l. 2. Aurel. Victor. de Vir. Illust. Addit. c. 2. de Caesar. c. 1.

Geneva Study Bible

In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. flourish] The metaphor follows naturally upon that of the preceding verse. Cp. Proverbs 11:28; Psalm 92:12-13. For the righteous LXX, Jer., Syr. read righteousness, which suits the parallelism better.

so long as the moon endureth] Lit. as R.V., till the moon be no more; for all time. Cp. Job 14:12.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - In his days shall the righteous flourish. In Messiah's days, when his kingdom is fully established, the righteous will flourish and prosper, since the wicked will not be suffered to hinder them (comp. ver. 4; and see Butler's 'Analogy,' pt. 1, ch. 3). And abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth; literally, till there be no longer a moon (comp. ver. 5). Psalm 72:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The invocation of Psalm 72:1 is continued in the form of a wish: may they fear Thee, Elohim, עם־שׁמשׁ, with the sun, i.e., during its whole duration (עם in the sense of contemporary existence, as in Daniel 3:33). לפני־ירח, in the moonlight (cf. Job 8:16, לפני־שׁמשׁ, in the sunshine), i.e., so long as the moon shines. דּור דּורים (accusative of the duration of time, cf. Psalm 102:25), into the uttermost generation which outlasts the other generations (like שׁמי השּׁמים of the furthest heavens which surround the other heavens). The first two periphrastic expressions for unlimited time recur in Psalm 89:37., a Psalm composed after the time of Solomon; cf. the unfigurative expression in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple in 1 Kings 8:40. The continuance of the kingship, from the operation of which such continuance of the fear of God is expected, is not asserted until Psalm 72:17. It is capricious to refer the language of address in Psalm 72:5 to the king (as Hupfeld and Hitzig do), who is not directly addressed either in Psalm 72:4, or in Psalm 72:6, or anywhere in the Psalm. With respect to God the desire is expressed that the righteous and benign rule of the king may result in the extension of the fear of God from generation to generation into endless ages. The poet in Psalm 72:6 delights in a heaping up of synonyms in order to give intensity to the expression of the thoughts, just as in Psalm 72:5; the last two expressions stand side by side one another without any bond of connection as in Psalm 72:5. רביבים (from רבב, Arab. rbb, densum, spissum esse, and then, starting from this signification, sometimes multum and sometimes magnum esse) is the shower of rain pouring down in drops that are close together; nor is זרזיף a synonym of גּז, but (formed from זרף, Arab. ḏrf, to flow, by means of a rare reduplication of the first two letters of the root, Ew. 157, d) properly the water running from a roof (cf. B. Joma 87a: "when the maid above poured out water, זרזיפי דמיא came upon his head"). גּז, however, is not the meadow-shearing, equivalent to a shorn, mown meadow, any more than גּז, גּזּה, Arabic ǵizza, signifies a shorn hide, but, on the contrary, a hide with the wool or feathers (e.g., ostrich feathers) still upon it, rather a meadow, i.e., grassy plain, that is intended to be mown. The closing word ארץ (accus. loci as in Psalm 147:15) unites itself with the opening word ירד: descendat in terram. In his last words (2 Samuel 23) David had compared the effects of the dominion of his successor, whom he beheld as by vision, to the fertilizing effects of the sun and of the rain upon the earth. The idea of Psalm 72:6 is that Solomon's rule may prove itself thus beneficial for the country. The figure of the rain in Psalm 72:7 gives birth to another: under his rule may the righteous blossom (expanding himself unhindered and under the most favourable circumsntaces), and (may there arise) salvation in all fulness עד־בּלי ירח, until there is no more moon (cf. the similar expression in Job 14:12). To this desire for the uninterrupted prosperity and happiness of the righteous under the reign of this king succeeds the desire for an unlimited extension of his dominion, Psalm 72:8. The sea (the Mediterranean) and the river (the Euphrates) are geographically defined points of issue, whence the definition of boundary is extended into the unbounded. Solomon even at his accession ruled over all kingdoms from the Euphrates as far as the borders of Egypt; the wishes expressed here are of wider compass, and Zechariah repeats them predictively (Psalm 9:10) with reference to the King Messiah.