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 forever: 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)

David opens up this psalm as a request to God to give his son Solomon the ability to make godly judgments and to live a life in 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 forever.

          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.  Solomon started in the right direction but started the process of following the desires of his heart instead of becoming a man after God’s own heart. 

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 choose 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.  There is really only one of two paths for us to choose in life, the way of life with Christ as our Savior, or the way of life that rejects Christ as Savior.  Another difference in these two paths is the acceptance of God’s Word in their life.  Those that reject Christ also usually also rejects the Scriptures.  For those who rejects Christ and the Scriptures their life will follow the path of Cain.  For those like Cain they do not heed the words of God “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not well, sin crouching at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” sin will take over in their life and they will set themselves up as the master of their life.    

And yet even the journey on these two paths can be hard to understand with the emotional highs and lows in a person’s life that comes along the journey that they take in this life.  For those that are saved and love the Lord it becomes difficult 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.  However, to the unbeliever they cannot understand how someone that places their complete faith in a personal God that they cannot see or handle.  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 and that is faith.  To the believer faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen.  This evidence of things not seen becomes stronger in the believer’s life the more they walk in God’s way.  To the unbeliever they reject God even when his invisible attributes and his eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in nature itself.  They like Satan will desire to set themselves up as master of their lives instead of God.