Psalms 72:9

THE EXTENT OF HIS DOMINION

"They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him;

And his enemies shall lick his dust.

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute:

The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

Yea, all kings shall fall down before him;

All nations shall serve him.

For he will deliver the needy when he crieth,

And the poor that hath no helper."

"All his enemies shall lick his dust" (Psalms 72:9). It is very difficult to credit anyone except David with a remark like this.

"Kings of Tarshish ... the isles ... of Sheba and Seba" (Psalms 72:11). Through his marriages to the daughters of many kings, Solomon did indeed bring many rulers of the world into the periphery of his power.

"Tarshish" was a Phoenician colony on the south coast of Spain, and there is no evidence available to us that Solomon's dominion ever extended to the westernmost nation of Europe.

"Sheba and Seba" might well have been under Solomon's dominion. "Sheba was in southern Arabia and Seba was in Ethiopia."[15]

All of the places mentioned here, at one time or another, have paid homage to the Lord Jesus Christ.

"All kings shall fall down before him" (Psalms 72:11). Nothing like this ever happened either to Solomon or to Christ; but it will yet be fulfilled, as in Revelation 6:15-17.

"He will deliver the needy ... and the poor" (Psalms 72:12). Again, this note of special concern for the poor and needy is sounded in this psalm. We do not have much information about how Solomon's kingship conformed to this pattern; but certainly, that of Christ is truly prefigured here. He announced great blessings upon "the poor in spirit," and upon "the poor," and "the meek," "the persecuted," "the fatherless," and "the widows."