The Psalms are divided into 5 books, some say to mirror the 5 books of the Torah (Pentateuch):
Psalms 1–41
Psalms 42–72
Psalms 73–89
Psalms 90–106
Psalms 107–150
The title of Psalm 72 can mean “of Solomon,” i.e., Solomon was the author (just as “of David” normally means that David wrote the psalm).
Or it can mean “for Solomon,” i.e., someone else (perhaps David) spoke these words about Solomon (cf. the Davidic covenant with its dual prophecy in 2 Sam 7).
If the latter, then it is a prayer for David’s son, beginning with Solomon, to rule and protect God’s people, defend the poor and needy, and bless all the nations of the earth—the “widescreen gospel.”
Similar to Psalm 2, it looks forward to the kingdom’s ultimate fulfillment in the son of David, the Messiah, who will sit on his restored throne.
The NET Bible on v. 20: Heb. “The prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded.”
As noted earlier, v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter. In the present arrangement of the Book of Psalms, not all psalms prior to this are attributed to David (see Pss 1–2, 10, 33, 42–50, 66–67, 71–72), and several psalms attributed to David appear after this (see Pss 86, 101, 103, 108–110, 122, 124, 131, 138–145).
Overall Theme: The Davidic King’s Status
The king holds the highest possible status on earth.
He serves as God’s earthly counterpart to what Yahweh (God) is in the heavenly realm.
He carries out on earth the same kind of rule and authority that God exercises in heaven.
In Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, Jesus tells his followers:
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,”
showing a similar link between earthly and heavenly authority.
Psalm 89, by Ethan the Ezrahite, echoes Psalm 72: the Davidic king receives worldwide authority from God, which explains his “godlike” description.
This will be ultimately fulfilled by his seed/son, the Messiah Jesus.
The Messiah is exalted above all kings and rules the nations, but he remains God’s Son and servant who receives authority from the one true God, the Father.
v. 19 – “Your godly one” = the prophet Nathan (2 Sam 7:17; 1 Chron 17:15). Compare the same LXX word “godly/holy” used for Jesus in Acts 2:27: “You will not abandon your holy one to the grave.”
- v. 20 – “I have found David my servant.” Compare “I found/elected Israel” (Hos 9:10).Israel is also called the suffering servant (Isa 49–53), later applied to Jesus by the NT. In Acts 3:13; 4:30 Jesus is described as the servant of God.
David is described as “mighty” (gibbor), like the “mighty men of David” (2 Sam 23:8). Compare the “mighty ones” of God (’ēlē gibborim) in Ezek 32:21 with Isa 9:6, where the child born is also called “Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
v. 25 – “The right hand of David” parallels “the right hand of God” (Exod 15:6; Ps 118:16).
v. 26 – The Davidic king says to Yahweh: “You are my Father, my God…” Compare Jesus’ words: “My Father and your Father, my God and your God” (John 20:17).
v. 27 – God says David is His “firstborn,” in terms of rank and status, not time. Compare the procreated son in Psalm 2:7–12; Romans 8:29 (“firstborn among many brothers”); Colossians 1:15 (“firstborn of all creation”); Revelation 1:5 (“firstborn of the dead”). All refer to status/rank rather than literal time, as in preexistence.
- vv. 29, 35–37 – The permanence of the Davidic throne is a metaphor for the eternal kingdom and its rulers. Cf. Ps 78:68 “He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently [the earth was made to last!].70 He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.”
Other Parallels
Righteous judgment
- Of David:“He will judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted ones with justice.” (Ps 72:2)
- Of God:“He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity (i.e., justice).” (Ps 98:9b)
Like life-giving rain
- Of David:“Let him be like rain on the grass, like showers that water the earth.” (Ps 72:6)
- Of God:“So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.” (Hos 6:3)
Name and fame among the nations
- Of David:“May his name endure forever; as long as the sun shines, may his fame increase. May all nations be blessed by him and call him blessed.” (Ps 72:17)
- Of God:“My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets.” (Mal 1:11a)
Shared Titles and Actions
The king acts as God’s personal agent, doing God’s work on earth, in line with the principle of agency.
But shared titles and qualities do not mean the same identity, contra Trinitarian claims.
Compare Psalm 45:6 and Isaiah 51:16, where God gives His servant the power to establish new heavens and a new earth. This is applied to the Son in Hebrews 1, where the eternal nature of God’s rule is applied to the king/Messiah.
The Revised Jerusalem Bible notes that “since judges are also similarly addressed [as gods in Ps 82:6], the small letter ‘god’ may be more appropriate” in Psalm 45:6.
NOTE: Most translations of v. 6 render the text with a capital “God,” which would imply two Gods, instead of lower-case “god.”
Back in 2020 I emailed the Catholic committee behind this translation to ask why they translated the verse differently across its editions.
In the 1970 edition the verse reads “O God.”
In the 1991 edition it was changed to “O god.”
In the 2010 edition it was changed back again to “O God.”
The Associate Director replied that it was changed back to “O God” to reflect the Letter to the Hebrews applying this verse to Christ.
So even on their own explanation, “O God” is driven not by the Old Testament usage, but by a later Christological reading from the New Testament.
What’s in a Name?
The prophetic hope repeatedly portrays the future Davidic ruler not merely as David’s successor, but as “David” himself raised up in the latter days:
Ezekiel 34:23–24; 37:24–25 — God will appoint “my servant David” as the single shepherd and everlasting prince over a reunited Israel.
Hosea 3:5 — “Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king…”
Jeremiah 30:9 — “They shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”
The name “David” is used typologically (cf. the name “Elijah” used for John the Baptist).
The Aramaic Targums consistently render these verses as “King Messiah” or “the Messiah, son of David.”
The point is: to serve/worship God is to serve His king, both placed on the same plane (cf. Ps 110:1). God and His king are inseparable, working as one (cf. “I and the Father are one,” John 10:30).
Jeremiah 30:21 goes on to describe the ruler as one who arises “from among them” (i.e., humans, not some preexistent being or angel!). He is a “majestic one” whose heart is bold enough to “approach” God on behalf of the people (cf. 1 Tim 2:5):
“For there is one God and one mediator between that one God and humanity, Messiah Jesus, who is himself human.”
1 John 2:1–2
And if anyone sins, we have an advocate [helper/comforter] with the Father — Jesus Messiah the righteous.2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the whole world.
David serves as the great biblical Messianic type: a deliverer-king rejected and persecuted (hunted by Saul; struck on the cheek, Mic 5:1) before final exaltation and enthronement.
The Messiah parallels David’s story: shepherding Israel (Ezek 34), executing justice and righteousness (Jer 23:5), reuniting the tribes, and reigning forever in a kingdom of unsurpassed glory (Isa 9:7; 11:1–10; 55:3–5).
This sets the pattern for understanding what Jesus preached, practiced, and who he was: God’s anointed Messianic king and uniquely procreated human Son!
So What?
Psalm 72, along with others, shows how a human king can be described in “God-like” terms without being God.
This is the same framework that should be applied to Jesus in the New Testament: the exalted human Messiah, the Son of God the Father.
G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible (1988), p. 181:
“So completely is the ideal Davidic king identified with the purposes of God that he can be dignified with the titles of God himself (e.g., Ps. 45:6). This practice of treating the agent as though he were the principal is of the greatest importance for New Testament Christology.”
https://thehumanjesus.org/2023/02/14/biblical-agency/
END WITH: Zech 12:8-10
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