Matthew Henry's Commentary
On Psalms 72:2-17
This is a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ; many passages in it cannot be applied to the reign of Solomon. There were righteousness and peace at first in the administration of his government; but, before the end of his reign, there were troubles and unrighteousness. The kingdom here spoken of is to last as long as the sun, but Solomon's was soon at an end. Even the Jewish expositors understood it of the kingdom of the Messiah. Observe many great and precious promises here made,
which were to have full accomplishment only in the kingdom of Christ. As far as his kingdom is set up, discord and contentions cease, in families, churches, and nations. The law of Christ, written in the heart, disposes men to be honest and just, and to render to all their due; it likewise disposes men to live in love, and so produces abundance of peace. Holiness and love shall be lasting in Christ's kingdom. Through all the changes of the world, and all the changes of life, Christ's kingdom
will support itself. And he shall, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, come down like rain upon the mown grass; not on that cut down, but that which is left growing, that it may spring again. His gospel has been, or shall be, preached to all nations. Though he needs not the services of any, yet he must be served with the best. Those that have the wealth of this world, must serve Christ with it, do good with it. Prayer shall be made through him, or for his sake; whatever we ask of the
Father, should be in his name. Praises shall be offered to him: we are under the highest obligations to him. Christ only shall be feared throughout all generations. To the end of time, and to eternity, his name shall be praised. All nations shall call HIM blessed.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass. Blessings upon his gentle sway! Those great conquerors who have been the scourges of mankind have fallen like the fiery hail of Sodom, transforming fruitful lands into deserts; but he with mild, benignant influence softly refreshes the weary and wounded among men, and makes them spring up into newness of life. Pastures mown with the scythe, or shorn by the teeth of cattle, present, as it were, so many bleeding stems of grass, but when the rain falls it is balm to all these wounds, and it renews the verdure and beauty of the field; fit image of the visits and benedictions of "the consolation of Israel." My soul, how well it is for thee to be brought low, and to be even as the meadows eaten bare and trodden down by cattle, for then to thee shall the Lord have respect; he shall remember thy misery, and with his own most precious love restore thee to more than thy former glory. Welcome Jesus, thou true Bien-aime, the Well beloved, thou art far more than Titus ever was-the Delight of Mankind. As showers that water the earth. Each crystal drop of rain tells of heavenly mercy, which forgets not the parched plains: Jesus is all grace, all that he does is love, and his presence among men is joy. We need to preach him more, for no shower can so refresh the nations. Philosophic preaching mocks men as with a dust shower, but the gospel meets the case of fallen humanity, and happiness flourishes beneath its genial power. Come down, O Lord, upon my soul, and my heart shall blossom with thy praise:-
"He shall come down as still and light
As scattered drops on genial field;
And in his time who loves the right,
Freely shall bloom, sweet peace her harvest yield."
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John Gill
On Psalms 72:6
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass,.... That is, the King and King's Son, the Messiah, whose coming is compared to rain, and showers of it; see Hosea 6:3; and may be understood of his incarnation; when, like rain, he came down from heaven; not by an illapse or entrance of the human nature, which before was not in him; nor by local motion of his divine Person, with which that will not agree; but by assumption of human nature into union with him, as the Son of God; which was an instance of his condescending grace: like rain, he had no father as man; see Job 38:28; but was born of a virgin, through the power of the Holy Ghost; which was very marvellous, like the dew that fell on Gideon's fleece, when the earth about it was dry; which some think is here referred to. The word used signifies also a shorn fleece of wool; and so it is rendered by the Septuagint, and those versions which follow that: or, "shorn grass", shorn by locusts, as the Targum; rather by sheep, who, as by classical writers (s), are said to sheer the grass by biting it. Or, "like rain upon the fleece" (t); and as the rain is the gift of God to persons undeserving, in consequence of a decree, Job 28:26; sometimes comes suddenly, and is very grateful and refreshing; so Christ is the free gift of God to sinners, and by a decree of his; and his coming was suddenly, into his temple, and was welcome to them that looked for him; as he still is to all sensible sinners. Or this may be interpreted of the coming of Christ into the hearts of his people, by the communications of his Spirit and grace, which, like rain, came down from heaven; are dependent on the will of God, are free grace gifts, and given in abundance; and, like rain, refresh, revive, and make fruitful. Or else this may be applied to the administration of Christ's offices; as his prophetic office, his Gospel and doctrine, being from heaven, like rain, and falling, by divine direction, sometimes in one place, and sometimes in another; and like it in its effects, softening, quickening, and fructifying; and more especially it may respect the administration of his kingly office, since he is in the context spoken of as a King and Judge, and that in the latter day; whose administrations, though just and righteous; yet not cruel and severe, but mild and gentle; his commands are not grievous, nor his yoke heavy; though he will rule the wicked with a rod of iron, he holds forth the sceptre of grace and mercy to his own people; and when his kingdom shall come in all its glory, it will be times refreshing from the presence of the Lord; and his favour will be as the cloud of the latter rain; see Acts 3:19;
as showers that water the earth: signifying the same. The word is only in this place, and is used in the Talmud (u), in the plural number, for drops of water; and this sense of showers dropping on the earth is given by the Targum. Kimchi derives it from which, in the Syriac language, signifies to "cut"; and thinks the phrase is the same with the former, "as showers on the cut grass of the earth" (w). But perhaps the word rather designs the fissures and cracks of the earth through drought; and the sense is, that Christ's coming is like showers of rain upon the dry and parched ground, which are very acceptable to it.
(s) "Tondentes gramen oves", Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. "Tondentes gramina lanigerae pecudes", Lucret. c. 2.((t) "super vellus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus. (u) T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 87. 1.((w) In Sepher Shorash. rad.
Keil & Delitzsch
On Psalms 72:5-8
The invocation of Psa 72:1 is continued in the form of a wish: may they fear Thee, Elohim, עם־שׁמשׁ, with the sun, i.e., during its whole duration (עם in the sense of contemporary existence, as in Dan. 3:33). לפני־ירח, in the moonlight (cf. Job 8:16, לפני־שׁמשׁ, in the sunshine), i.e., so long as the moon shines. דּור דּורים (accusative of the duration of time, cf. Psa 102:25), into the uttermost generation which outlasts the other generations (like שׁמי השּׁמים of the furthest heavens which surround the other heavens). The first two periphrastic expressions for unlimited time recur in Psa 89:37., a Psalm composed after the time of Solomon; cf. the unfigurative expression in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple in Kg1 8:40. The continuance of the kingship, from the operation of which such continuance of the fear of God is expected, is not asserted until Psa 72:17. It is capricious to refer the language of address in Psa 72:5 to the king (as Hupfeld and Hitzig do), who is not directly addressed either in Psa 72:4, or in Psa 72:6, or anywhere in the Psalm. With respect to God the desire is expressed that the righteous and benign rule of the king may result in the extension of the fear of God from generation to generation into endless ages. The poet in Psa 72:6 delights in a heaping up of synonyms in order to give intensity to the expression of the thoughts, just as in Psa 72:5; the last two expressions stand side by side one another without any bond of connection as in Psa 72:5. רביבים (from רבב, Arab. rbb, densum, spissum esse, and then, starting from this signification, sometimes multum and sometimes magnum esse) is the shower of rain pouring down in drops that are close together; nor is זרזיף a synonym of גּז, but (formed from זרף, Arab. ḏrf, to flow, by means of a rare reduplication of the first two letters of the root, Ew. 157, d) properly the water running from a roof (cf. B. Joma 87a: "when the maid above poured out water, זרזיפי דמיא came upon his head"). גּז, however, is not the meadow-shearing, equivalent to a shorn, mown meadow, any more than גּז, גּזּה, Arabic ǵizza, signifies a shorn hide, but, on the contrary, a hide with the wool or feathers (e.g., ostrich feathers) still upon it, rather a meadow, i.e., grassy plain, that is intended to be mown. The closing word ארץ (accus. loci as in Psa 147:15) unites itself with the opening word ירד: descendat in terram. In his last words (2 Sam. 23) David had compared the effects of the dominion of his successor, whom he beheld as by vision, to the fertilizing effects of the sun and of the rain upon the earth. The idea of Psa 72:6 is that Solomon's rule may prove itself thus beneficial for the country. The figure of the rain in Psa 72:7 gives birth to another: under his rule may the righteous blossom (expanding himself unhindered and under the most favourable circumsntaces), and (may there arise) salvation in all fulness עד־בּלי ירח, until there is no more moon (cf. the similar expression in Job 14:12). To this desire for the uninterrupted prosperity and happiness of the righteous under the reign of this king succeeds the desire for an unlimited extension of his dominion, Psa 72:8. The sea (the Mediterranean) and the river (the Euphrates) are geographically defined points of issue, whence the definition of boundary is extended into the unbounded. Solomon even at his accession ruled over all kingdoms from the Euphrates as far as the borders of Egypt; the wishes expressed here are of wider compass, and Zechariah repeats them predictively (Psa 9:10) with reference to the King Messiah.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
On Psalms 72:2-17
This is a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ; many passages in it cannot be applied to the reign of Solomon. There were righteousness and peace at first in the administration of his government; but, before the end of his reign, there were troubles and unrighteousness. The kingdom here spoken of is to last as long as the sun, but Solomon's was soon at an end. Even the Jewish expositors understood it of the kingdom of the Messiah. Observe many great and precious promises here made,
which were to have full accomplishment only in the kingdom of Christ. As far as his kingdom is set up, discord and contentions cease, in families, churches, and nations. The law of Christ, written in the heart, disposes men to be honest and just, and to render to all their due; it likewise disposes men to live in love, and so produces abundance of peace. Holiness and love shall be lasting in Christ's kingdom. Through all the changes of the world, and all the changes of life, Christ's kingdom
will support itself. And he shall, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, come down like rain upon the mown grass; not on that cut down, but that which is left growing, that it may spring again. His gospel has been, or shall be, preached to all nations. Though he needs not the services of any, yet he must be served with the best. Those that have the wealth of this world, must serve Christ with it, do good with it. Prayer shall be made through him, or for his sake; whatever we ask of the
Father, should be in his name. Praises shall be offered to him: we are under the highest obligations to him. Christ only shall be feared throughout all generations. To the end of time, and to eternity, his name shall be praised. All nations shall call HIM blessed.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass. Blessings upon his gentle sway! Those great conquerors who have been the scourges of mankind have fallen like the fiery hail of Sodom, transforming fruitful lands into deserts; but he with mild, benignant influence softly refreshes the weary and wounded among men, and makes them spring up into newness of life. Pastures mown with the scythe, or shorn by the teeth of cattle, present, as it were, so many bleeding stems of grass, but when the rain falls it is balm to all these wounds, and it renews the verdure and beauty of the field; fit image of the visits and benedictions of "the consolation of Israel." My soul, how well it is for thee to be brought low, and to be even as the meadows eaten bare and trodden down by cattle, for then to thee shall the Lord have respect; he shall remember thy misery, and with his own most precious love restore thee to more than thy former glory. Welcome Jesus, thou true Bien-aime, the Well beloved, thou art far more than Titus ever was-the Delight of Mankind. As showers that water the earth. Each crystal drop of rain tells of heavenly mercy, which forgets not the parched plains: Jesus is all grace, all that he does is love, and his presence among men is joy. We need to preach him more, for no shower can so refresh the nations. Philosophic preaching mocks men as with a dust shower, but the gospel meets the case of fallen humanity, and happiness flourishes beneath its genial power. Come down, O Lord, upon my soul, and my heart shall blossom with thy praise:-
"He shall come down as still and light
As scattered drops on genial field;
And in his time who loves the right,
Freely shall bloom, sweet peace her harvest yield."
Tyndale Study Notes
On Psalms 72:6-7
72:6-7 The administration of justice is refreshing like spring rain, enabling the godly to flourish (see Isa 45:8) like flowers. • until the moon is no more: This phrase means forever (see Ps 89:36-37).
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