Psalm 72 in one of the few royal psalms in the psalter. These psalms are ostensibly focused on the king, but given the symbolic status of the Israelite/Judean throne (the king represented God’s rule) the meaning is much deeper. These are not simply prayers for a temporal king but supplications for the eternal kingdom and ultimately the eternal divine king. Psalm 72 certainly expresses this greater scope in the way it envisages a universal kingdom under which all the earth will be blessed. This is a psalm, therefore, about Jesus the Messiah; it is a psalm that anticipates the spread of Christ’s Kingdom on earth and the establishment of justice and peace that his eternal reign will establish. Psalm 72 is a wonderful elaboration of the petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The goal is expressed in the terms of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:2-3) in verse 17: “All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.” The things described in this psalm are all happening now all around the world. Jesus reigns over the earth and is establishing his rule in the hearts of people everywhere. He isn’t doing this as a worldly power, through imposition and force. He does this through the humble witness of his people and in love and grace. Make sure that your life is in line with what Jesus is doing, because it is the only sure thing in this unstable world.
Commit yourself to God and ask him to draw you into his purpose.
Read Psalm 72
