A Brief Explication of the Other Fifty Psalms, Psalm 72
PSAL. LXXII. A Psalm for Solomon.
IN this Psalm under the shadow of King Solomons reigne, Christs gracious government is praised; and first, the Church is taught to pray for a blessing on King David and his sonnes government, including Christs, ver. 1. Next, the answer is given by the spirit of the Lord in a prophecie of the blessednesse of the Reign, and Kingdome of Christ the Sonne of David, from ver. 2. to ver. 18. Thirdly, the use hereof is …et down in thanksgiving unto God, ver. 18, 19. and herein is the accomplishment of all the desires of David, obtained by this satisfactory answer, ver. 20.
From the inscription and prayer; Learn, A King may command within his kingdom many things, but he cannot command a blessing on his own government; he must make suit for this to God: He may leave a kingdome to his childe; but because a kingdom is nothing without Gods blessing, he must pray for this blessing, and seek the assistance of the prayers of the Church for this intent: and this duty Kings may crave of the Church, and Gods people should not refuse it; A Psalm for Solomon.
Ver. 1. GIve the king thy judgements, O God, and thy righteousnesse unto the kings son.
From the prayer of the Church; Learn, 1▪ Gifts from God are necessary to fit a man for an office; and it is n…t every gift, which doth make fit for a particular office, but such gifts specially as are for the discharge of the place a man hath, and those must be asked from, and granted by God, and by this meanes sanctified; Give the King thy judgements, O God. 2. Nothing is more conducible to make a Kings government prosperous and blessed, then equity and justice, according to the revealed will of God; Give the King thy judgements, and thy righteousnesse to the Kings son.
Ver. 2. He shall judge thy people with righteousnesse, and thy poor with judgement.
3. The mountaines shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by rightoousnesse.
4. He shall judge the poore of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressour.
5. They shall fear thee as long as the Sun and Moon endure, throughout all generations.
6. He shall come down like raine upon the mowen grasse: as showers that water the earth.
7. In his dayes shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so l…ng as the Moon endureth.
8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river, unto the ends of the …arth.
9. They that dwell in the wil…ernesse shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the d…st.
10. The kings of Tarshish and of the Is…es 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 poore and needy, and shall …ve the soules of the needy.
14. He shall redeem their soule 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 mountaines; the fruit thereo… shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like grasse 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.
The Propheti…al answer given here to the Churches prayer, promiseth above twenty benefits of Christs government▪ all of them tending to the glory of the King, and good of the subjects; the shadow whereof was to be seen in David, and Solomons reign, …oyned with many imperfections; but the real accomplishment is onelyonly in Christ. The first is, Christs subjects shall have good rules how to carry themselves in all duties, how to behave themselves righteously, and how to be made righteous, by his direction and conduct; He shall judge thy people with righteousnesse. The second benefit or commendation is, Christ will see the nec…ssities of his subjects, his humble ones, his afflicted ones, to be supplied most discreetly, and the wrongs done unto them repaired; He shall judge thy poor with judgement, ver. 3. The third benefit is, Christ is not to take away civil Governours, nor Potentates places, nor the several orders and ranks of greatnesse of superiour and inferiour powers, Rulers and Judges; all these are to be fixed rather by him, for the good of the people: The superiour as mountains, and the inferiour as little hills, shall stand in their place for him. The fourth benefit is, Christ sha…l make such Magistrates as do embrace him, for their Lord and Governour, a blessing to the people under them; for by their righteous government the people shall live quier and safe in Gods service under them: The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills; but how shall the mountaines and little hills do this? By righteousnesse, ver. 4 The fifth benefit is, albeit Christ do suffer his subjects to be brought low in the sense of their own weaknesse, and in danger of being swallowed up by their persecutors, yet shall he take their controversie to his cognition, and deliver his people out of the hands of their adversaries: He shall judge the poor of the people: he shall save the children of the needy; he shall break in pieces the oppressors, ver. 5. The sixth benefit, Christ the true King of Israel, shall never want a kingdome, he shall never want subjects, but shall alwayes have a Church of such as shall worship and fear him, and do homage unto him, so long as the world doth stand, amidst all changes and revolutions that can come: They shall fear thee as long as the Sunne and Moon endure, throughout all generations. ver. 6. The seventh benefit, whatsoever sad condition his people shall be in, how farre soever spoiled of their lust…e and glory in the world, or in any other respects whatsoever, they shall be made as a mowen down medow possibly; yet Christ by his Word, Spirit, and effectual blessing shall revive and recover them: as grasse cut down being watered by rain, is made to grow again: He shall come down like rain upon the mowen grasse, as showers that water the earth, ver. 7. The eight benefit, all the true subjects of Christ are justified persons, and devoted in their hearts to righteousnesse, in the obedience of Gods will, and such as do endeavour to abound in the fruits of righteousnesse: The righteous shall flourish in his dayes. The ninth benefit, Christs justified subjects and students of holines, shal have peace with God, peace abounding and passing all understanding, lasting peace, without end, in all revolution of conditions, The righteous s…al flourish, & have abundant peace, so long as the world endureth. v. 1. The tenth benefit of Christs government, is the enlargement of the Church, and number of his subjects, according to the length and breadth of Gods promises made to his people Israel, whether Israel in the letter, or in the Spirit: He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth, ver. 9. The eleventh benefit of Christs government is more special; whomsoever he pleaseth to make subjects unto himselfe, how wilde and savage soever they be, yea how great enemies soever they have been to his Kingdome, he shall tame them, bring them in subjection to himselfe, and to most humble submission unto his commands: They that dwell in the wildernesse shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust, ver. 10. The twelfth benefit is yet more special; The Kings and Rulers of the Gentiles shall finde it a blessing to themselves, and to their dominions, to be under Christs government, and shall effectually contribute their riches, power, and authority, to advance the Kingdome of Christ, their sovereign Lord and protector: The kings of Tarshish, and of the Isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts, ver 11. The thirteenth benefit. of Christs government, is so great an enlargement of his Kingdome, by bringing of all Kingdomes and Nations someway under his Scepter, that the Prophecie of Iohn the Divine, Rev. 11. 15. shall be acknowledged to be fulfilled; All the kingdomes of the earth are become the Lords and his Sonne Christs, how improbable soever this may seem: for answerably hereunto is it said here, Yea all kings shall f…ll down before him, all nations shall serve him, ver. 12. The fourteenth benefit serving for the commendation of his government, is by way of giving a reason of the marvellous enlargement of his Kingdome, from his care of the meanest of his subjects, from his effectual pity toward them, love and estimation of them. The care Christ hath of his subjects is such, that the…e is not one so mean in all his Kingdome, of whom, and whose necessities, and of whose particular petitions he doth not take most particular and exact knowledge, whose petitions being presented in the sense of their need, he doth not grant: He shall deliver the needy, when he crieth. There needeth no Mediator be…ween him and his subjects; He heareth the needy when they cry. The man that hath nothing within him or without him to commend him to Christ, to assist, help, relieve, or comfort him in heaven or earth, is not despised by Christ, but delivered from that which he fe…reth: He shall deliver the poor also, and him that hath no helper; and this he doth by teaching his subjects to bear troubles, by strengthening them for the burden; by comforting them in their grief; by giving a delivery to their spirits by faith, and a full delivery at last, v 13. The fifteenth benefit and commendation of Christs government, he doth not exact any thing of his subjects, but that which he offereth to furnish and enable them to discharge: he lets none be tempted above his strength; he taketh small beginnings in good part, he spareth the rod in a great measure, mitigates the correction, and in midst of wrath he remembereth mercy: He shall spare the poor and needy; whatsoever hard exercise he put them to, he will give them their soul for a prey: They shall not perish, who in the sense of their need depend upon him: He shall save the souls of the needy, ver. 14. The sixteenth benefit and commendation of Christs Kingdome, albeit the Lord suffer his subjects to be tried with heresies and seducers, by oppressors and persecutors, yet he will assist them in the trial and bring them out of it: He shall redeem their soule from deceit and violence, and if for his own glory he put any of them to lay down their life for his cause, it shall be a point of special honouring of them, as of precious sonnes, whom he esteemeth much of, both living and dead; Precious shall their blood be in his sight, v. 15. The seventeenth benefit and commendation of Christs government is from his everlasting indurance; albeit other Kings die, and leave their kingdom to their successor, yet it is not so with Christ, he indureth for ever: his death for paying the ransom of our sins, did not interrupt his reign, but made way for his more glorious reigning, after his resurrection; he hath life in himselfe, as in the fountain; He shall live, he shall live conquering, and bringing in moe subjects, who shall pay tribute unto him; To him shall be given of the gold of Sheba. The eighteenth benefit and commendation of Christs Kingdom is this, Christ shall be well beloved of all his subjects, whose exercise it shall be to wish and pray for the prosperity of his Kingdome, Church, and mystical body, and who shall commend and praise his glorious and lovely Majesty; Prayer also shalll be made for him continually, and daily shall he be praised, v. 16. The nineteenth benefit & commendation of Christs government is, that a little seed of his precious Word sowen among men, of whose conversion there might be least hope, like a handful of corn sowen upon the mountaines or most barren ground, shall have a glorious increase of the conversion of many notable Saints, like as corn in a barren place should grow up like Cedar-trees; There shall be an handful of … in the earth, on the top of mountains, the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and this blessing of the Gospel he can make it to be without prejudice of the manured land of Churches already planted, which are as cities inhabited; those he can blesse and will blesse at his pleasure, with the abundant growth of grace amongst them; And they of the City shall flourish as the grasse of the earth, ver. 17. The last commendation and benefit of Christs government, summeth up all that can be said in these foure generals; 1. That Christs Name, fame and honour, shall be perpetuated from one generation to another, for the running of his benefits to his subjects, and for the course of his judgements on his enemies: His name shall endure for ever; his Name shall be continued as long as the Sun. 2. His Gospel shall spread further and further among men, to deliver his own from the curse due for sin, to make them partakers of the blessing of full felicity; Men s…all be blessed in him. 3 It shall be in vain to seek blessednesse any where, except in him only, who is the procurer, applier and maintainer of true blessednesse; the way whereunto is, to come to God in and through Christ: In him men shall be blessed. And 4. Such a fulnesse of converted Gentiles at length shall be brought in, that the blessednesse of the Gospel of Christ, and of spiritual communion with him, and the riches of his goodnesse and grace shall generally be acknowledged in all the world; All Nations shall call him blessed.
Ver. 18. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doth wonderous things.
19. And blessed be his glorious Name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.
After this gracious answer of the Churches prayer in so glorious a prophecie of Christ, thanksgiving and praise is endited unto the Church, to be offered up to God for this mercy. Whence learn, 1. When the heart hath beleeved what the eare hath heard of the blessedness to be found in Christ, the mouth should be opened to praise and blesse God; Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel. 2. As the keeping of the race of David till the coming of Christ, distinct from other families, in so many revolutions of affairs, as were between Davids reigne and Christs coming, is very wonderful: so the enlarging of the Kingdome of Christ, since he came, is full of wonder also, whether we look to the King, o… to the subjects converted, or the way of converting them, by the preaching of his Word, or the preservation or continuing of Christs Kingdome in the world amongst so many Devils and wicked adversaries, all his subjects being so weak and sinful as they are; It is a matter of great wonder indeed: Blessed be the God of Israel, who onelyonly doth wondrous things. There are no wonders like the wonders done in the Redemption of men by Christ, … yea there is no other who can work any wonders, but Christ alone. 3. As the blessings of Christ are everlasting, so should the thanksgiving for them be; and no lesse can content the heart of a true beleever, who, the more he thinks of Christ, the more glory seeth he in him; and blessed be his glorous Name for ever, saith he. 4. Before Christ do put an end to his work, and give up the Kingdome to the Father, his glory shall shine in all the parts of the world, for the prayers endited to the Church, are not vanishing wishes, but reall promises, and certaine prophecies; …et the whole earth be filled with his glory. 5. As faith sets so its seal unto the truth of Gods Word, in special what concerneth the salvation of men, and the glory of God in Christ; so love to both the glory of God and salvation of souls se…s to its seal also; or both faith and love do subscribe the same truth of God in both respects, again and againe:
Amen and Amen
Ver. 20. The prayers of David the sonne of Iesse, are ended.
This clos…e of the Psalm is added by the Psalmist David himself, and is a part of the text; serving first, to shew that this was the last of the Psalmes, endited by the Spirit to him a little before his death, when Solomon was now reigning; howsoever in the order of providence it be not in the hindmost place of this book of the Psalmes. And next, it serveth to shew, that in this answer made to his prayer set down in this Psalme, all his desires were granted, both concerning himself and his house; for he could wish no more. And thirdly, it serveth to shew his mean estimation of himself, notwithstanding of the Lords lifting of him up so high, that so the grace of God in him may be the more conspicuous; for which causes he calleth himself, The sonne of Jesse. Whence learn, 1. As a man liveth, so readily he dieth: David was a worshipper of God all his life, and now when he hath given over the Kingdom to his Son, and is going his way, he is upon the same work of praying and singing Psalmes, for Gods glory and edification of his Church. 2. The meditation of Christ, contemplation of his glory, seeking after and foreseeing the inlargement of Christs Kingdom, is a noble and comfortable closing of a mans life, as here we see it. 3. It is the note of true humility and sincere love to God, to abase our selves, and acknowledge our low condition, wherein God did finde us when he did let forth his love to us, that thereby we may commend the riches of Gods goodnesse and grace unto us, as appeareth here in David.