Psalm 72

Of Solomon

1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.

2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mow grass: as showers that water the earth.

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

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.

14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.

16 There shall be an handful of corn 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.

17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things.

19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. (KJV)

As David opens up this psalm his first request is for God to give his son: thy judgments and thy righteousness. His desire for his son is for him to:

Judge thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgment.

To save the children of the needy.

To break in pieces the oppressor.

That the righteous flourish.

An abundance of peace so long as the moon endures.

The he shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

That those that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust, that all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

That he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

That he shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.

That he shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

That prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.

That the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

That his name shall endure for ever.

That his name shall be continued as long as the sun.

That men shall be blessed in him.

That all nations shall call him blessed.

As we can see these desires of David for his son were found in the characteristics of Christ to whom this psalm is probably written.

Reading this psalm I can also see the words of a man who love his son and want the best for him. David had many sons, and like Adam and every generation after him children do not always follow the dreams of their parents. As a parent of seven children and a former middle school teacher, I know how at an early age a child’s early focus is on self. This is the nature of mankind. The free will of a child to chose their future path may be influence by others, but the final decision will be theirs. We can as a parent or someone involved in an young person’s life can set an example and try to steer their path in the right direction. However, as David concludes in this psalm we must include prayer.

The freewill that God has given each individual to decide on the path they choose can be a difficult matter for us to understand. Why someone can choose a path that leads them farther away from a personal relationship with the creator of this universe to a total rejection of God is probably the same reasoning that this person has for someone that places their complete faith in a personal God. The godly and the ungodly can try to justify their beliefs to each other, but the foundation for each of their arguments is really base upon one issue. Is there a God who is the creator of all things, and can we really know Him?