Embrace the Word for Wednesday, June 3, 2026

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Psalm 72 is a prayer of dedication for David’s son, Solomon. The superscription simply states: “Of Solomon.” We can think of this statement to mean that Solomon is the author, or perhaps it simply pertains to Solomon. Thus, we might read the superscription as “For Solomon.” It seems possible that this is a Davidic Psalm in which he lays out the goals for Solomon’s reign as king. One reason for considering this as a possibility is that statement at the end of this Psalm: “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended” (72:20). Psalm 72 marks the end of Book 2 of the Psalter. Thus, Psalter 72 ends with a doxology that is fitting for both the end of Psalm 72 itself, but also for the completion of Book 2. While not every Psalm in Book 2 has David as its author, Book 1 and Book 2 of the Psalter each focus on David, while Book 3 will focus on Solomon and other kings from the Davidic line. Another possibility regarding the authorship of Psalm 72 is that while David composed it as a commissioning for Solomon, Solomon later had it put to music and promulgated. Whichever is the case, Psalm 72 has connections to both David and Solomon.

Psalm 72 shares several links with Psalm 71. These links include the theme surrounding the desire to see righteousness extending to future generations (71:18; 72:5); the LORD’s deliverance or salvation (71:2,11; 72:12); the term “continually” (71:3,6,14; 72:15), the phrase “all the day long” (71:8,15,24; 72:15) and the focus on the “wondrous” works of God (71:17: 72:18). However, there is also a significant difference in tone between Psalm 72 and Psalm 69 through Psalm 71. The positive confidence expressed in Psalm 65 through Psalm 68 returns in Psalm 72. Psalm 72 begins with prayer that God would give the king the ability to judge righteously (72:1-7); then it continues with prayer that God would give the king world-wide dominion (72:8-14); before concluding with prayer praising God (72:15-20).

Psalm 72 opens with what I suggest is David’s prayer for his son, Solomon: “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!” (72:1). David’s desire is for his successor to operate with God’s justice and God’s righteousness. Justice and righteousness are overlapping terms, which will dominate the first segment of Psalm 72. The term justice is derived from the term judge, indicating that justice is established through righteous judgments or decisions. The term righteousness refers to God’s upright character and the way that He is the very standard of right and wrong, upholding and enforcing His righteous standard in His world. So, justice is the applied rendering of God’s righteousness. God’s will is for kings and those who govern, do so by applying God’s justice, which is rooted in the God who is Himself righteous. We are provided a glimpse of what God expects as well as the standard of accountability for, not merely Solomon, but all kings and government leaders: “May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!” (72:2-4). As we can glean from these verses, when God’s justice and righteousness guide kings and rulers, not only are the poor and needy and oppressed cared for and defended, all the people flourish in greater prosperity. Thus, David is praying that Solomon be given the ability to bring God’s righteous character to bear in the decisions that he makes.

In praying for the king who will rule, David also alludes to the people who will be ruled: “May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!” (72:5). “They” are the people. Even as David prays for a godly king ruling in justice and righteousness, he also prays for the people that they be God-fearing citizens. And he prays that such an experience of a godly king governing a God-fearing people remains for as long as the sun and the moon stay in the sky, lasting from one generation to another. David prays that Solomon be like the blessing of rain: “May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!” (72:6). Just as rain gives growth to the crop in the field, so would a godly king nourish the lives of the people. But David is not just concerned about the economic status of an agricultural society, he is moreover concerned about the moral virtue of the entire culture: “In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!” (72:7). And while it is vital to a nation that the righteous thrive in their righteousness, the king is to be understood as a critical figure in cultivating and sustaining, even admonishing and correcting with the aim that righteousness abounds even longer than there is a moon.

As David prays for Solomon, the scope of his prayer expands beyond the boundaries of Israel and goes global: “May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!” (72:8). The LORD never had aims merely for one nation to flourish in righteousness; the LORD’s aims are global. In fact, David is reaching back to the creation mandate of Genesis 1:26-28, wherein Adam was given “dominion” over the earth. David is praying that God’s original purposes for humanity would be realized through the king from his line. Note the scope of the Davidic king’s boundaries: “May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!” (72:9-11). As the Psalter opened, we were alerted to the fact that Gentile kings would bring themselves and their peoples under God’s own rule and therefore blessing: “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (See Psalm 2:10-12). And while Solomon’s kingdom never fully realizes the scope of this reign, the prophet Zechariah, some four hundred years after David’s prayer, still alludes to it happening: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth” (See Zechariah 9:10).

When David’s prayer comes to fruition, it will not spell global oppression, but compassion: “For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight” (72:12-14). What a godly king who rules with justice and righteousness looks like in tangible ways is one who attends to the cries of the needy. Such a king will be concerned for the well-being of the poor, those who lack resources and those who have no one to help them. In attending to the concerns of these, the king will show forth care and defense for those from whom he will gain no benefit. The king will not use his power to increase his own status and standing, but will use his power to show compassion for the weak and needy. Such a king will rescue the oppressed and uphold the cause of the victims of violence. A godly king will look at the lowly as precious.

And the people of such a king will have a response: “Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!” (72:15). The people wish for a such a king to reign forever. The citizens bless, or speak well of, such a ruler who blesses them in so many ways. Such blessings include: “May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!” (72:16). The blessing of prosperity abounds as the people flourish under such a king. David even draws from the LORD’s promise of blessing to Abraham (See Genesis 12:1-3) to describe the state of blessing from which the people would experience: “May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!” (72:17). Even as the LORD promised to make Abraham’s name great in conjunction with him being a blessing to all peoples, so too would the king from David’s line.

But David realizes that ultimately, it will be the LORD Himself who must be praised: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!” (72:18-19). The God who raises up a king from the line of David who will rule in justice and righteousness is the God who has done wonders. Such a God has kept His promises and carried out His plans for humanity by raising up a godly ruler. Such a God is to be praised and that imperative is capped with a twofold Amen to exclaim, “I agree! May it be so!” This doxology not only completes Psalm 72, it also completes Book 2 of the Psalter. 

As we reflect on Psalm 72 we can consider the Lord Jesus Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of David’s prayer for his Son. We certainly can note a partial fulfillment of Psalm 72 during Solomon’s reign. Solomon blessed the nation, which prospered greatly. Note the testimony of the Queen of Sheba: “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness” (See 1 Kings 10:6-9). But Solomon was only a preview of a greater Son of David. The prophet Isaiah, sometime after Solomon, still pointed to a greater fulfillment of world dominion through a Davidic king in Zion: “And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising…the wealth of the nations shall come to you” (See Isaiah 60:3,5a). David’s prayer and Isaiah’s words find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, “who was descended from David according to the flesh” (See Romans 1:3b). John the Apostle records for us, the ultimate fulfillment of David’s prayer: “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations” (See Revelation 21:24-26).

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, June 3, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, June 5, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 73.