BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Psalms 72 — A Royal Psalm of Justice and Universal Peace
A psalm asking God to grant the king righteous judgment, justice for the poor, universal dominion, and an enduring name, closing with doxology.
Scripture
1A Psalm of Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, And thy righteousness unto the king's son.
2He will judge thy people with righteousness, And thy poor with justice.
3The mountains shall bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness.
4He will judge the poor of the people, He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.
5They shall fear thee while the sun endureth, And so long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6He will come down like rain upon the mown grass, As showers that water the earth.
7In his days shall the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more.
8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River unto the ends of the earth.
9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust.
10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; All nations shall serve him.
12For he will deliver the needy when he crieth, And the poor, that hath no helper.
13He will have pity on the poor and needy, And the souls of the needy he will save.
14He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious will their blood be in his sight:
15And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: And men shall pray for him continually; They shall bless him all the day long.
16There shall be abundance of grain 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.
17His 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 happy.
18Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things:
19And blessed be his glorious name for ever; And let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.
20The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
What this passage means
The psalm begins with a petition: give the king God's own judgments and righteousness (v. 1). The prayer asks that the ruler's authority reflect divine justice, not personal preference. The king is to be God's instrument, exercising righteousness on behalf of the people, especially the poor and needy (vv. 2-4, 12-14).
The scope widens from personal justice to cosmic and universal reign. The king is described like refreshing rain (v. 6), bringing flourishing and abundant peace (v. 7). His dominion extends from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth (v. 8), with foreign kings paying tribute (vv. 10-11). The language points beyond any single historical king toward an ideal figure whose reign fulfills God's universal purpose.
The closing verses (vv. 18-19) shift from petition to doxology: blessing the God of Israel who alone does wondrous things and asking that the whole earth be filled with his glory. Verse 20 functions as a colophon, marking the end of David's prayers, which is significant because it suggests this psalm belongs to the final collection of Davidic prayers.
Context
The superscription identifies this as 'A Psalm of Solomon,' and verse 20's colophon closes Book II of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72). The chapter depicts an ideal king modeled on Solomon, whose reign spans from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (compare verse 8 with Solomon's territorial description in 1 Kings 4:21). The psalm contains royal language exceeding what any single Israelite king fulfilled, which led later readers to see in it anticipations of a coming messianic figure.
Curated and cross-reference material in this dataset links verse 19 ('let the whole earth be filled with his glory') to Numbers 14:21, Habakkuk 2:14, and Isaiah 6:3, verses that likewise speak of God's glory filling the earth. The mention of Sheba and Seba (v. 10) connects to the later tradition of Gentile kings bringing tribute. The placement at the end of David's prayers gives the psalm a culminating, almost liturgical closure.
Key words in the original
- H4941 מִשְׁפָּט (mišpāṭ), translated 'justice/judgment.' Used twice in verse 1, it denotes a verdict or formal decree, the kind of authoritative ruling a king needs from God to govern rightly.
- H6666 צְדָקָה (ṣəḏāqāh), 'righteousness.' Paired with justice in verse 1, it denotes righteousness in both moral and relational senses: the right ordering of life that the king is to embody in his rule.
- H7965 שָׁלוֹם (šālôm), 'peace/prosperity' in verse 3. The mountains bringing shalom ties cosmic imagery to covenant blessing: peace as the visible outcome of righteousness filling the land.
Related verses
- Numbers 14:21 Verse 19's prayer that the whole earth be filled with God's glory echoes Numbers 14:21, where God swears that as surely as his glory fills the whole earth, the promise of judgment and mercy will stand.
- Habakkuk 2:14 Both Habakkuk and Psalm 72:19 look to a time when 'the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.' The shared vision ties royal rule to the universal recognition of God.
- Isaiah 6:3 The seraphic cry 'the whole earth is full of his glory' resonates with Psalm 72:19. Isaiah sees heaven's temple already full of God's glory, while Psalm 72 prays for that glory to permeate the whole earth through righteous rule.
Common questions
Who is the king in Psalms 72?
The superscription names Solomon, and the territorial description (sea to sea, River to ends of the earth) recalls Solomon's empire in 1 Kings 4:21. The royal portrait, however, surpasses what Solomon actually achieved, so many readers see in it anticipations of an ideal, ultimately messianic, king.
Why does verse 20 say 'the prayers of David are ended'?
This colophon marks the close of Book II of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72). It identifies Psalms 72 as the final prayer associated with David's collection and gives it a sense of liturgical closure rather than authorship by David himself.
What is the main theme of Psalms 72?
The chapter's main theme is justice for the poor through righteous royal rule that extends to all nations. The king is to embody God's righteousness, deliver the needy, and reign until the whole earth is filled with God's glory (v. 19).