“KING OF KINGS”

Psa_72:1-11



Solomon’s reign opened as a morning without clouds. Much of the imagery of this royal ode is derived from the circumstances of his life. Compare Psa_72:1-4 with his prayer for the listening heart, 1Ki_3:9; the anticipations of peace, Psa_72:3; Psa_72:7, with his name, “the peaceful one;” the rule from sea to sea, Psa_72:8, with 1Ki_4:24; the presents from Sheba, Psa_72:10, with 1Ki_10:1-29. But Solomon’s failure to realize his ideals compelled men to anticipate with great desire the advent of a greater Prince of Peace. Of Jesus alone is this psalm true in its details.

Notice the foundations of Jesus’ reign, Psa_72:1-4; the perpetuity of His kingdom, Psa_72:5-7, and its universality, Psa_72:8-11. The poor are His care. The peace He gives is in abundance and it passes understanding. Sun and moon may fail, but His love is unaffected by the flight of ages. The rain on mown grass and the distilling of the dew are not more gentle than His work in human souls that lie open to His approach. Take this glorious psalm and claim it, verse by verse, as true for you.



“HIS NAME SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER”

Psa_72:12-20



How is it that lands so distant as Tarshish, by the Strait of Gibraltar; so rich as Sheba and Seba in south Arabia; tribes so wild as the Bedouin of the desert; and nations so imperial as those beyond the River, shall own the sway of Christ? The answer is given in Psa_72:12 -For! The world is full of sorrow and injustice, and He who can stanch flowing wounds and mete out justice to the oppressed, will win all hearts and become the acknowledged Leader of mankind.

He shall live! We cannot forget our Lord’s own words: “I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore,” Rev_1:18. Jesus is possessed of the ageless life of the eternal Word, of the human life which He bore through His sojourn on earth, and of that indissoluble life in virtue of which He exercises His priesthood, Heb_7:17, r.v. margin.

“We pray for Christ,” says; Augustine, “when we pray for His Church, because it is His body; and when we say, ‘Thy kingdom come.’” His name shall have issue, Psa_72:17, r.v., margin. It will reproduce itself. The children of “the Name” are found in every land, and will ultimately people the world.

For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments.