Psalms 72:13

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE OF HIS REIGN

"He will have pity on the poor and needy,

And the souls of the needy he will save.

He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence;

And precious will their blood be in his sight:

And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold

of Sheba: and men shall pray for him continually;

They shall bless him all the day long.

There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains;

The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:

And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth."

"He will save ... he will redeem" (Psalms 72:13-14). In our opinion, these words simply do not belong in any treatise regarding King Solomon. The only way we can understand such terminology as this is to ascribe it to the prayer of David, at a time when he was almost on his death bed, anticipating the reign of his son Solomon, and applying the prophecies spoken to him by Nathan (2 Samuel 7) to Solomon, whom David mistakenly supposed would be that "everlasting king" of God's promise through Nathan.

Solomon never saved any souls, nor did he ever redeem anybody.

"And they shall live" (Psalms 72:15). The marginal reading here makes more sense, "He shall live," that is, the Christ shall live perpetually, and to him the gold of earth's remotest place shall be offered to him in worship.

"And men shall pray for him continually; and they shall bless him all the day long" (Psalms 72:15). This verse has been understood to deny the application of the passage to Christ, on the basic truth that Christ does not need anyone to pray for him. Of course, that truism is certainly a fact; but there is a sense in which men can and should pray dally "for Christ." "His subjects shall offer prayer for him continually, as Christians do when they pray, `Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.'"[16]

"Abundance of grain ... fruit ... like Lebanon ... flourish like grass" (Psalms 72:16). The psalmist is sure that in a kingdom where righteousness, justice, truth and compassion are in control that, not merely fertility but extraordinary fruitfulness would also be given to such a nation.

"Shall shake like Lebanon" (Psalms 72:16). There is hardly any way to be sure of exactly what this means; but the image is that of fruit trees so loaded with fruit that they make a dense forest like Lebanon.