Psalm 72 is a prayer of David, asking God to bless his son Solomon as he assumes the throne over Israel.
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
- Psalm 72:1-4
But much of the psalm is similar to the prophetic verses about Christ elsewhere in the Bible. For example, the idea of all nations bowing in submission:
May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!
- Psalm 72:11
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”
- Romans 14:9-11
Or the promise of all nations being blessed:
May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun!
May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!
- Psalm 72:17
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
- Genesis 12:3
It gives an interesting perspective on the term “Son of David” used in reference to Jesus. He was David’s descendant by birth, but beyond that He was, in a sense, David’s “perfect son,” fulfilling the promise of bringing peace, righteous judgement, and blessing to the world that Solomon could fulfill only partially and imperfectly.
