“O worship the King all-glorious above, O gratefully sing His power and His love” —Robert Grant
We began our study of the breathtaking portrait of the King of kings in Psalm 72, noticing that Stanza 1 (vv 1-4) speaks of The King’s Righteous Reign. Stanza 2 (vv 5-7) presents The King’s Eternal Reign. Now Stanza 3 (vv 8-11) introduces The King’s Universal Reign. “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth” (v 8). It’s interesting that Solomon’s empire, the greatest territory Israel ever possessed, is described as follows: “For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River” (1 Ki 4:24). The furthest extent of Solomon’s kingdom will only be the starting point for our Savior! He died for the sins of “the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2), so it is only proper that His empire should reach to all of it as well. “Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him” (Ps 72:11). In Stanza 4 (vv 12-15), we have The King’s Compassionate Reign. What kind of a King will He be? “He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight” (vv 12-14). His palace will have an open-door policy: “Prayer also will be made for Him continually, and daily He shall be praised” (v 15). Stanza 5 (vv 16-17) finishes this exquisite portrait with The King’s Blessed Reign and transitions perfectly into the Doxology (vv 18-19). “And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen” (vv 17-19). Did we say, “Blessed”?