Jesus was the eternal name

JESUS WAS THE ETERNAL NAME
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Psalm72:17 17
May his name endure forever; may it
continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be
blessedthrough him, and they will call him blessed.
The Eternal Name
“His name shall endure forever.”
Psalm 72:17
No one here requires to be told that this is the name of Jesus Christ which “shall endure forever.”
Men have said of many of their works, “they shall endure forever.” But how much have they
been disappointed! In the age succeeding the Flood, they made the brick, they gathered the slime
and when they had piled old Babel’s tower, they said, “This shall last forever.” But God
confounded their language. They finished it not. By His lightening He destroyed it and left it a
monument of their folly.
Old Pharaoh and the Egyptian monarchs heaped up their pyramids and they said, “They shall
stand forever,” and so indeed they do stand. But the time is approaching when age shall devour
even these. So with all the proudest works of man, whether they have been his temples or his
monarchs, he has written “everlasting” on them. But God has ordained their end and they have
passed away. The most stable things have been evanescent as shadows and the bubbles of an
hour, speedily destroyed at God’s bidding.
Where is Nineveh and where is Babylon? Where the cities of Persia? Where are the high places
of Edom? Where are Moab and the princes of Ammon? Where are the temples or the heroes of
Greece? Where are the millions that passed from the gates of Thebes? Where are the hosts of
Xerxes, or the vast armies of the Roman emperors? Have they not passed away? And though in
their pride they said, “This monarch is an everlasting one–this queen of the seven hills shall be
called the eternal city,” its pride is dimmed–and she who sat alone and said, “I shall be no
widow, but a queen forever,” has fallen.
She has fallen and in a little while she shall sink like a millstone in the flood, her name being a
curse and a byword and her site the habitation of dragons and of owls. Man calls his work
eternal–God calls them fleeting. Man conceives that they are built of rock–God says, “No, sand.
Or worse than that–they are air.” Man says he erects them for eternity–God blows but for a
moment and where are they? Like baseless fabrics of a vision, they are passed and gone forever.
It is pleasant, then, to find that there is one thing which is to last forever. Concerning that one
thing we hope to speak tonight, if God will enable me to preach and you to hear–“His name shall

endure forever.” First, the religion sanctified by His name shall endure forever. Secondly, the
honor of His name shall endure forever. And thirdly, the saving, comforting power of His name
shall endure forever.
1. First, the religion of the name of Jesus is to endure forever. When impostors forged their
delusions, they had hopes that perhaps they might in some distant age carry the world
before them. And if they saw a few followers gather around their standard, who offered
incense at their shrine, then they smiled and said, “My religion shall outshine the stars
and last through eternity.” But how mistaken have they been! How many false systems
have started up and passed away! Why, some of us have seen, even in our short lifetime,
sects that rose like Jonah’s gourd in a single night and passed away just as swiftly.
We, too, have beheld prophets rise who have had their hour–yes, they have had their day, as dogs
all have–but like the dogs, their day has passed away and the impostor, where is he? And the
arch-deceiver, where is he? Gone and ceased. Specially might I say this of the various systems of
infidelity. Within a hundred and fifty years how has the boasted power of reason changed! It has
piled up one thing–and then in another day it has laughed at its own handiwork, demolished its
own castle and constructed another–and the next day a third. It has a thousand dresses.
Once it came forth like a fool with its bells, heralded by Voltaire. Then it came out a braggart
bully, like Tom Paine. Then it changed its course and assumed another shape, till finally we have
it in the base, bestial secularism of the present day–which looks for nothing but the earth. If it
keeps its nose upon the ground and like the beast thinks this world is enough, or looks for
another through seeking this. Why, before one hair on this head shall be gray, the last secularist
shall have passed away.
Before many of us are fifty years of age, a new infidelity shall come and to those who say
“Where will saints be?” we can turn round and say, “Where are you?” And they will answer,
“We have altered our names.” They will have altered their names, assumed a fresh shape, put on
a new form of evil–but still their nature will be the same–opposing Christ and endeavoring to
blaspheme His truths. On all their systems of religion, or non-religion–for that is a system, too–it
may be written, “Evanescent–fading as the flower, fleeting as the meteor, frail and unreal as a
vapor.”
But of Christ’s religion it shall be said, “His name shall endure forever.” Let me now say a few
things–not to prove it, for that I do not wish to do–but to give you some hints whereby possibly I
may one day prove it to other people, that Jesus Christ’s religion must inevitably endure forever.
And first, we ask those who think it shall pass away, when was there a time when it did not
exist? We ask them whether they can point their finger to a period when the religion of Jesus was
an unheard-of thing. “Yes,” they will reply, “before the days of Christ and His Apostles.” But we
answer, “No, Bethlehem was not the birthplace of the Gospel. Though Jesus was born there,
there was a Gospel long before the birth of Jesus and a preached one, too, although not preached
in all its simplicity and plainness, as we hear it now. There was a Gospel in the wilderness of
Sinai. Although it might be confused with the smoke of the incense and only to be seen through
slaughtered victims, yet there was a Gospel there.”
Yes, more, we take them back to the fair trees of Eden, where the fruits perpetually ripened and
summer always rested. Amid these groves we tell them there was a Gospel and we let them hear
the voice of God, as He spoke to recreant man and said, “The Seed of the woman shall bruise the
serpent’s head.” And having taken them thus far back, we ask, “Where were false religions born?

Where was their cradle?” They point us to Mecca, or they turn their fingers to Rome, or they
speak of Confucius, or the dogmas of Buddha.
But we say, you only go back to a distant obscurity. We take you to the primeval age. We direct
you to the days of purity. We take you back to the time when Adam first trod the earth. And then
we ask you whether it is not likely that as the first-born, it will not also be the last to die? And as
it was born so early and still exists, while a thousand ephemera have become extinct, whether it
does not look most probable that when all others shall have perished like the bubble upon the
wave, this one only shall swim, like a good ship upon the ocean and still shall bear its myriad
souls, not to the land of shades, but across the river of death to the plains of Heaven?
We ask next, supposing Christ’s Gospel to become extinct, what religion is to supplant it? We
enquire of the wise man, who says Christianity is soon to die, “Pray, Sir, what religion are we to
have in its place? Are we to have the delusions of the heathen, who bow before their gods and
worship images of wood and stone? Will you have the orgies of Baechus, or the obscenities of
Venus? Would you see your daughters once more bowing down before Thammuz, or performing
obscene rites as of old?” No, you would not endure such things. You would say, “It must not be
tolerated by civilized men.”
“Then what would you have? Would you have Romanism and its superstition?” You will say,
“No, God help us, never.” They may do what they please with Britain, but she is too wise to take
old Popery back again while Smithfield lasts and there is one of the signs of martyrs there. Yes,
while there breathes a man who marks himself a free man and swears by the constitution of Old
England, we cannot take Popery back again. She may be rampant with her superstitions and her
priestcraft but with one consent my hearers reply, “We will not have Popery.” Then what will
you choose?
Shall it be Mohammedanism? Will you choose that, with all its fables, its wickedness and
libidinousness? I will not tell you of it. Nor will I mention the accursed imposture of the West
that has lately arisen. We will not allow Polygamy, while there are men to be found who love the
social circle and cannot see it invaded. We would not wish, when God has given to man one
wife, that He should drag in twenty, as the companions of that one. We cannot prefer
Mormonism. We will not and we shall not. Then what shall we have in the place of Christianity?
“Infidelity!” you cry, do you, Sirs? And would you have that?
Then what would be the consequence? What do many of them promote? Communist views and
the real disruption of all society as at present established. Would you desire reigns of terror here,
as they had in France? Do you wish to see all society shattered and men wandering like monster
icebergs on the sea, dashing against each other and being at last utterly destroyed? God save us
from Infidelity! What can you have, then? Nothing. There is nothing to supplant Christianity.
What religion shall overcome it? There is not one to be compared with it.
If we tread the globe round and search from Britain to Japan, there shall be no religion found, so
just to God, so safe to man. We ask the enemy once more–suppose a religion were to be found
which would be preferable to the one we love–by what means would you crush ours? How
would you get rid of the religion of Jesus? And how would you extinguish His name? Surely,
Sirs, you would never think of the old practice of persecution, would you? Would you once more
try the efficacy of stakes and fires, to burn out the name of Jesus? Would you try racks and
thumb-screws? Would you give us the boots and instruments of torture?

Try it, Sirs and you shall not quench Christianity. Each martyr, dipping his finger in his blood,
would write its honors upon the heavens as he died. And the very flame that mounted up to
Heaven would emblazon the skies with the name of Jesus. Persecution has been tried. Turn to the
Alps. Let the valleys of Piedmont speak. Let Switzerland testify. Let France, with its St.
Bartholomew. Let England, with all its massacres, speak. And if you have not crushed it yet,
shall you hope to do it? Shall you? No, a thousand are to be found and ten thousand if it were
necessary, who are willing to march to the stake tomorrow!
And when they are burned, if you could take up their hearts, you would see engraved upon each
of them the name of Jesus. “His name shall endure forever,” for how can you destroy our love to
it? “Ah, but” you say, “we would try gentler means than that.” Well, what would you attempt?
Would you invent a better religion? We bid you do it and let us hear it. We have not yet so much
as believed you capable of such a discovery. What then? Would you wake up one that should
deceive us and lead us astray? We bid you do it. For it is not possible to deceive the elect.
You may deceive the multitude, but God’s elect shall not be led astray. They have tried us. Have
they not given us Popery? Have they not assailed us with Puseyism? Are they not tempting us
with wholesale Arminianism? And do we therefore renounce God’s Truth? No. We have taken
this for our motto and by it we will stand. “The Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the
Bible,” is still the religion of Protestants. And the selfsame Truth which moved the lips of
Chrysostom, the old doctrine that ravished the heart of Augustine, the old faith which Athanasius
declared, the good old doctrine that Calvin preached is our Gospel now–and God helping us–we
will stand by it till we die.
How will you quench it? If you wish to do it, where can you find the means? It is not in your
power. Aha! Aha! Aha! we laugh you to scorn! But you will quench it, will you? You will try it,
do you say? And you hope you will accomplish your purpose? Yes. I know you will, when you
have annihilated the sun. When you have quenched the moon with drops of your tears. When you
have dried up the sea with your drinking. Then shall you do it. And yet you say you will.
And next, I ask you, suppose you did, what would become of the world then? Ah, were I
eloquent tonight, I might perhaps tell you. If I could borrow the language of a Robert Hall I
might hang the world in mourning. I might make the sea the great chief mourner, with its dirge
of howling pain and its wild death march of disordered waves. I might clothe all nature–not in
robes of green, but in garments of somber blackness. I would bid hurricanes howl the solemn
wailing–that death shriek of a world–for what would become of us, if we should lose the Gospel?
As for me, I tell you fairly, I would cry, “Let me be gone!” I would have no wish to be here
without my Lord.
And if the Gospel is not true, I should bless God to annihilate me this instant for I would not care
to live if you could destroy the name of Jesus Christ. But that would not be all–that only one man
should be miserable–for there are thousands and thousands who can speak as I do. Again, what
would become of civilization if you could take Christianity away? Where would be the hope of a
perpetual peace? Where governments? Where your Sabbath-Schools? Where all your societies?
Where everything that ameliorates the condition of man, reforms his manners and moralizes His
character? Where?
Let echo answer, “Where?” “They would be gone and not a scrap of them would be left. And
where, O men, would be your hope of Heaven? And where the knowledge of eternity? Where a
help across the river Death? Where a Heaven? And where bliss everlasting? All were gone if His

name did not endure forever. But we are sure of it, we know it, we affirm it, we declare it. We
believe and ever will, that "His name shall endure forever”–yes, forever! Let who will try to stop
it.
This is my first point. I shall have to speak with rather bated breath upon the second, although I
feel so warm within as well as without, that I would to God I could speak with all my strength as
I might do.
II. But, secondly, as His religion, so the honor of His name is to last forever. Voltaire said He
lived in the twilight of Christianity. He meant a lie. He spoke the truth. He did live in its twilight.
But it was the twilight before the morning–not the twilight of the evening, as he meant to say.
For the morning comes, when the light of the sun shall break upon us in its truest glory. The
scorners have said that we should soon forget to honor Christ and that one day no man should
acknowledge Him. Now, we assert again, in the words of my text, “His name shall endure
forever,” as to the honor of it.
Yes, I will tell you how long it will endure. As long as on this earth there is a sinner who has
been reclaimed by Omnipotent grace, Christ’s name shall endure. As long as there is a Mary
ready to wash His feet with tears and wipe them with the hair of her head. As long as there
breathes a chief of sinners who has washed himself in the Fountain opened for sin and for
uncleanness. As long as there exists a Christian who has put his faith in Jesus and found Him his
delight, his refuge, his stay, his shield, his song and his joy, there will be no fear that Jesus' name
will cease to be heard.
We can never give up that name. We let the Unitarian take his gospel without a Godhead in it.
We let him deny Jesus Christ. But as long as Christians–true Christians, live–as long as we taste
that the Lord is gracious, have manifestations of His love, sights of His face, whispers of His
mercy, assurances of His affection, promises of His grace, hopes of His blessing–we cannot
cease to honor His name. But if all these were gone–if we were to cease to sing His praise, would
Jesus Christ’s name be forgotten then? No. The stones would sing, the hills would be an
orchestra, the mountains would skip like rams and the little hills like lambs. For is He not their
Creator?
And if the lips of all mortals were dumb at once, there are creatures enough in this wide world
besides. Why, the sun would lead the chorus. The moon would play upon her silver harp and
sweetly sing to her music. Stars would dance in their measured courses. The shoreless depths of
ether would become the home of songs. And the immense void would burst out into one great
shout, “You are the glorious Son of God. Great is Your majesty and infinite Your power!” Can
Christ’s name be forgotten? No. It is painted on the skies. It is written on the floods. The winds
whisper it. The tempests howl it. The seas chant it. The stars shine it. The beasts low it. The
thunders proclaim it–earth shouts it–Heaven echoes it!
But if that were all gone–if this great universe should all subside in God, just as a moment’s
foam subsides into the wave that bears it and is lost forever–would His name be forgotten then?
No. Turn your eyes up yonder. See Heaven’s terra firma “who are these that are arrayed in white
and from where they came?” “These are they that came out of great tribulation. They have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the
Throne of God and praise Him day and night in His temple.” And if these were gone. If the last
harp of the glorified had been touched with the last fingers. If the last praise of the saints had
ceased. If the last hallelujah had echoed through the then deserted vaults of Heaven, for they

would be gloomy then–if the last immortal had been buried in his grave–if graves there might be
for immortals–would His praise cease then? No, by Heaven, no!
For yonder stand the angels. They, too, sing His glory. To Him the cherubim and seraphim do
cry without ceasing, when they mention His name in that thrice holy chorus, “Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of Armies.” But if even these were perished–if angels had been swept away, if the
wing of seraph never flapped the ether. If the voice of the cherub never sung his flaming sonnet.
If the living creatures ceased their everlasting chorus, if the measured symphonies of glory were
extinct in silence, would His name then be lost?
Ah, no. For as God upon the Throne–He sits–the Everlasting One, the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. And if the universe were all annihilated, still would His name be heard, for the Father
would hear it and the Spirit would hear it and deeply graven on immortal marble in the rocks of
ages, it would stand–Jesus the Son of God–co-equal with His Father. “His name shall endure
forever.”
III. And so shall the power of His name. Do you enquire what this is? Let me tell you. Do you
see yonder thief hanging upon the cross? Behold the Fiends at the foot thereof, with open
mouths. Behold they are charming themselves with the sweet thought that another soul shall give
them meat in Hell. Behold the death bird, fluttering his wings over the poor wretch’s head.
Vengeance passes by and stamps him for her own. Deep on his breast is written “a condemned
sinner.” On his brow is the clammy sweat, expressed from him by agony and death. Look in his
heart–it is filthy with the crust of years of sin. The smoke of lust is hanging within, in black
festoons of darkness.
His whole heart is Hell condensed. Now, look at him. He is dying. One foot seems to be in Hell.
The other hangs tottering in life–only kept by a nail. There is a power in Jesus' eye. That thief
looks–he whispers, “Lord, remember me.” Turn your eye again there. Do you see that thief?
Where is the clammy sweat? It is not there. Where is that horrid anguish? Is it not there.
Positively there is a smile upon his lips. The Fiends of Hell, where are they? There are none–but
a bright seraph is present, with his wings outspread and his hands ready to snatch that soul, now
a precious jewel and bear it aloft to the palace of the great King!
Look within his heart–it is white with purity. Look at his breast–it is no longer written
“condemned,” but “justified.” Look in the Book of Life–his name is engraved there. Look on
Jesus' heart–there on one of the precious stones He bears that poor thief’s name. Yes, once more,
look! See that bright one amid the glorified, clearer than the sun and fair as the moon? That is the
thief! THAT IS THE POWER OF JESUS! And that power shall endure forever. He who saved
the thief can save the last man who shall ever live. For still–
“There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day–
O may I there, tho' vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb! That precious blood
Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.”
His powerful name shall endure forever.
Nor is that all the power of His name. Let me take you to another scene and you shall witness
something else. There on that deathbed lies a saint. No gloom is on his brow, no terror on his
face. Weakly but placidly he smiles. He groans, perhaps, but yet he sings. He sighs now and
then, but more often he shouts. Stand by him. “My Brother, what makes you look in death’s face
with such joy?” “Jesus,” he whispers. What makes you so placid and so calm? “The name of
Jesus.” See, he forgets everything! Ask him a question. He cannot answer it–he does not
understand you. Still he smiles. His wife comes, enquiring, “Do you know my name?” He
answers, “No.”
His dearest friend requests him to remember his intimacy. “I know you not,” he says. Whisper in
his ear, “Do you know the name of Jesus?” and his eyes flash glory and his face beams Heaven!
His lips speak sonnets and his heart bursts with eternity! For he hears the name of Jesus and that
name shall endure forever. He who landed one in Heaven will land me there. Come on, Death! I
will mention Christ’s name there. O grave! This shall be my glory, the name of Jesus! Hell dog!
This shall be your death–for the sting of death is extracted–Christ our Lord. “His name shall
endure forever.”
I had a hundred particulars to give you. But my voice fails, so I had better stop. You will not
require more of me tonight. You perceive the difficulty I feel in speaking each word. May God
send it home to your souls! I am not particularly anxious about my own name, whether that shall
endure forever or not, provided it is recorded in my Master’s book. George Whitfield, when
asked whether he would found a denomination, said, “No, Brother John Wesley may do as he
pleases, but let my name perish. Let Christ’s name last forever.” Amen to that! Let my name
perish. But let Christ’s name last forever.
I shall be quite contented for you to go away and forget me. I dare say I may not see the faces of
half of you again. You may never be persuaded to step within the walls of a conventicle. You
will think it perhaps not respectable enough to come to a Baptist meeting. Well, I do not say we
are a very respectable people. We don’t profess to be. But this one thing we do profess, we love
our Bibles. And if it is not respectable to do so, we do not care to be had in esteem. But we do
not know that we are so disreputable after all, for I believe, if I may state my own opinion, that if
Protestant Christendom were counted out of that door–not merely every real Christian, but every
professor–I believe the PaedoBaptists would have no very great majority to boast of.
We are not, after all, such a very small disreputable sect. Regard us in England we may be. But
take America, Jamaica, the West Indies and include those who are Baptists in principle, though
not openly so and we surrender to none, not even to the Established Church of this country, in
numbers. That, however, we care very little about. For I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but
let Christ’s name last forever. I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a
Baptist living. I hope they will soon be gone.
You will say, “Why?” Because when everybody else sees baptism by immersion, we shall be
immersed into all sects and our sect will be gone. Once give us the predominance and we are not
a sect any longer. A man may be a Churchman, a Wesleyan, or an Independent and yet be a
Baptist. So that I say I hope the Baptist name will soon perish. But let Christ’s name last forever.
Yes, and yet again, much as I love dear old England, I do not believe she will ever perish. No,

Britain! You shall never perish. The flag of old England is nailed to the mast by the prayers of
Christians, by the efforts of Sunday-Schools and her pious men.
But I say let even England’s name perish. Let her be merged in one great brotherhood. Let us
have no England and no France and no Russia and no Turkey–but let us have Christendom. And
I say heartily, from my soul, let nations and national distinctions perish, but let Christ’s name last
forever. Perhaps there is only one thing on earth that I love better than the last I have mentioned
and that is the pure doctrine of unadulterated Calvinism.
But if that is wrong–if there is anything in that which is false–I for one say let that perish, too
and let Christ’s name last forever. Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus–“Crown Him Lord of all!” You will
not hear me say anything else. These are my last words in Exeter Hall for this time. Jesus! Jesus!
Jesus! “Crown Him Lord of all.”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Christ On The Throne
Psalm 72:15
W. Forsyth If it may be said of the twenty-second psalm that it lets us see Christ on the cross, it
may be said of this that it shows us Christ on the throne. Instead of humiliation, there is
exaltation; instead of the mockery of "the purple robe," there is the homage of angels; instead of
the wicked cries of envious priests and a deluded people, "Crucify him!" there is the joyful song
of the redeemed, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" The saints on earth, as well
as the saints in heaven, are partakers of this joy; they know whom they have believed, and they
have had experience of his benign and righteous rule. We learn here -
I. THAT WHERE CHRIST REIGNS THERE IS LIFE. He is the Source and the Giver of life.
Where the waters that Ezekiel saw came, there was life; and so where the gospel of Christ
comes, there is life. The mind that before was dark has the life of truth; the conscience that
before was dormant has the life of righteousness; the heart that before was dead in sins is
quickened to the new life of love and holiness. Christ's rule ever tends to the well being of his
people.
II. THAT WHERE THERE IS LIFE THERE WILL BE PRAYER. The first sign of infant life is
breathing; and the first sign of the soul's life is the breathing of prayer to God. The life within
expresses itself in accordance with its nature and needs. The mind that has light cries for more
light; the conscience, awakened to a sense of sin, seeks deliverance; the heart that has been
touched with the love of God yearns for more love and nearer fellowship. So it was with Paul.
"Behold, he prayeth!" and so onward, through all the toils and struggles of his noble life, he
continued instant in prayer.
III. THAT WHERE THERE IS PRAYER THE SUPREME DESIRE WILL BE THE GLORY
OF CHRIST. Self will be lost in love. Concern about ourselves will be merged in concern for the
glory of Christ our Lord. "Prayer shall be made for him."

1. For his cause. What interests him will interest us; what lies nearest his heart will be nearest
ours. There is unity of life.
2. For his people. He identifies himself with them. He regards what is done to them as done to
himself. When "prayer was made of the Church" for Peter, they were, in a sense, making prayer
for Christ. Our sympathies should be as broad as the sympathies of Christ.
3. For his second coming. His first coming was the hope of Israel; his second coming is the hope
of the Church of the gospel (Revelation 22:20; Titus 2:13). "Prayer for Christ" increases our love
to him, binds us in closer union with the brethren, and enables us to transmit the blessed hope to
future generations. Think of the prayers made every Lord's day! What cause for thankfulness and
joy! Yea, "daily" prayer shall be made till prayer is consummated in praise. - W.F.
Biblical Illustrator
His name shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun.
Psalm 72:17
The name of Christ
James Parsons.I. THE SAVIOUR'S RENOWN. For by "His name" we understand His renown.
1. The source from whence this renown is derived. It is from His proper and essential divinity;
from His condescending and efficacious sufferings; from His exaltation and mediatorial glory.
What is all other renown compared to His?
2. The permanence with which it is invested. We have seen much of the essential perpetuity of
our Saviour's renown, from what has already transpired in the history and annals of the world. It
has endured the attack of heathenism when made under the elements of classic Greece or the
power of inferior Rome. It has endured the attack of modern infidelity, which uttered its hell-cry
from philosopher to king, and back again from king to philosopher, "Crush the wretch, crush the
wretch!" — by that wretch meaning the Redeemer, whose Cause and whose glory we plead.
II. THE REDEEMER'S INFLUENCE.
1. Its method. It is secured through His Spirit, His Word, His Church.
2. Its character — it is one of blessing and grace. The religion of Christ alone is the source alike
of national, of domestic, and of individual felicity.
3. Its extent — "All nations shall call Him blessed."
(James Parsons.)
The imperishable name

Homilist.We apply these words to Christ, although their literal reference may point to another.
What reason have we to believe that Christ's name will endure for ever?
I. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF AN IMMORTAL BOOK. Men's names come down through the
centuries by reason of the books they have written, although the time comes when the most
enduring of these become obsolete and pass away. Now, the Bible is Christ's book. He is at once
its Author and its substance. But, unlike other books, it has imperishable elements.
1. Its doctrines are true to the immortal intellect.
2. Its precepts are true to the undying conscience.
3. Its provisions are true to the unquenchable aspirations.
II. HE IS THE FOUNDER OF ENDURING INSTITUTIONS. Men's names come down in
institutions they have founded. Christ has instituted the Lord's Supper. And the Sunday
commemorates Him.
III. HE IS THE LIVING HEAD OF AN UNDYING FAMILY. Conclusion. Trust this name.
(Homilist.)
The eternal nameIt is the name of Jesus Christ. Text true of —
I. THE RELIGION SANCTIONED BY HIS NAME.
1. There was never a time when it did not exist here on earth.
2. If it were destroyed no other religion would take its place.
3. If another could, by what means would you crush this?
4. And if it could be crushed, what would become of the world then: would life be worth living?
II. THE HONOUR OF HIS NAME. As long as a redeemed sinner is to be found, so long will the
honour of Christ's name endure. And so of —
III. THE POWER OF HIS NAME. For it alone gives peace, purity, triumph in death. Let all
other names perish, as they will: but this never.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
The honour of the name of Christ
J. Bannerman, D. D.The language of this psalm cannot be confined to Solomon: it speaks of him
only as he was in office or character the type of Christ. The full meaning of the psalm belongs to
Christ alone. By the name of Christ, His chief greatness or excellency, His peculiar honour and
glory, is meant. Now, such glory has been given to Christ —
I. BY GOD THE FATHER.
1. In the eternal counsels.
2. At His baptism.
3. On the Mount Of Transfiguration.
4. By the Resurrection.
II. FROM THE ANGELS OF GOD. Their knowledge, their security, have been furthered by
Christ in His redeeming work.

III. FROM THE REDEEMED AMONG MEN. Through their justification and sanctification
they become witnesses to the glory and greatness of the Redeemer.
(J. Bannerman, D. D.)
Christ's renown
J. W. Adams, D. D.By the name of Christ is signified His renown. Now, this prediction was
uttered more than a thousand years before the birth of Christ, and when deep obscurity rested
upon all that pertained to Him. And when He was born and had entered on His ministry, there
was scarcely anything in His condition or circumstances to justify the anticipation of His endless
renown. He died ignominiously forsaken of all His friends. But after His death their love revived,
and they went forth to preach His name. But still there seemed little probability that the name of
their Master should endure for ever. Yet so it has been. The triumphs of Christianity are all
known. Time rolled on, and the fame of Christ widened and spread. And His fame and renown
are entirely different from that which belongs to all others. For —
I. WHERE ONCE CHRIST'S NAME HAS BEEN KNOWN IT HAS NEVER BEEN
ENTIRELY ROOTED OUT. Even in the place where the seven Churches of Asia withered
under the curse of heaven, His name is not lost. But other names, however great, are.
II. THE KNOWLEDGE WHICH MEN HAVE OF HIM IS MORE INTIMATE AND
PARTICULAR THAN THAT WHICH THEY HAVE OF ANY OF THE GREAT MEN OF
THE PAST. How little we know of these ." how much we know of Him.
III. And the knowledge of Him is POSSESSED BY ALL CLASSES. Not the rich and educated
alone, but the poor and the common people know Him.
IV. And HOW DIFFERENT THE FEELINGS WHICH WE ASSOCIATE WITH HIM FROM
THOSE WHICH WE HAVE FOR OTHERS. It is not mere admiration or respect, but we give
Him our hearts. Every mention of His name touches our deepest affections. What wonder that He
should receive the homage of a world! But what is He to us? That is the all-important question.
Has such a friend, such a Saviour, no beauty in our eyes? God forbid that we should refuse Him
that love which He asks for, and so richly merits from us.
(J. W. Adams, D. D.)
His name shall endure
W. S. Goodall, M. A.I. WHY MAY THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST'S NAME BE EXPECTED
TO ENDURE FOR EVER?
1. Because He is the greatest benefactor the world has ever seen.
2. Because He is a mighty conqueror. He achieved victory, notwithstanding fearful odds. Look at
two periods in the history of the Church. Look at the first three centuries. Emperors and rulers
combined to exterminate this new sect. The most determined means were adopted. Religious
teachers were put to death or cast into prison. Bibles were gathered together in response to
several edicts and burned in different squares and market places. Did these succeed? The very
means adopted to destroy the new faith were the means blessed of God for perpetuating it.
Religious teachers were scattered over the then known world. To their amazement, I can well
believe, they found that God had been preparing the world for their coming. Magnificent roads
had been made, so that they could pass easily from town to town. The Greek language was
spoken so that they could address the people in their own tongue. Verily it was only in the

"fulness of time" that God "sent forth His Son." If you wish to see triumph in connection with the
preaching of the Gospel, study the first three centuries of the Gospel history. Look at the last
century of the history of the Church. In that century you see the history and the triumph of
missions.
II. HOW IS CHRIST'S NAME TO BE PERPETUATED?
1. In the hearts of His people. Take Christ and His teaching out of song. Take Christ and His
Cross out of poetry, and you take away their very heart and soul and life. No teacher has ever
received such tribute as Christ has done. The fact that you have the best geniuses in song, and
poetry, and painting, laying their offerings at His feet is one of the most convincing arguments in
favour of my text — "His name shall endure for ever."
2. By the character of His people. This is one thing that scepticism can never explain away. The
maxims and the example of the world can never produce a holy life. It takes Christianity to do
that. A holy life is therefore one of the best means by which the influence of Christ's name can
be perpetuated in this world.
3. By the ordinances of the Church.
(W. S. Goodall, M. A.)
Christ -- His enduring name
John Cairns, D. D.I. THE NAME OF JESUS OUR SAVIOUR IS FITTED TO ENDURE.
1. By virtue of the law which connects memory with greatness. The great are remembered —
great kings, great heroes, great sages, great saints — while the crowd must be forgotten. Jesus
does not refuse to be commemorated according to this standard. He does not struggle indeed for
fame, but for usefulness; but when He says, "Come unto Me," "Follow Me," He presupposes
transcendent greatness. Even on the human side the greatness of Jesus is unexampled, the
greatness of knowledge, of wisdom, of purity, of benevolence, of devotion — such greatness as
amounts to absolute perfection.
2. By virtue of the law which connects memory with service.
3. By virtue of the law which connects memory with suffering. Even destroyers and conquerors
are better remembered by disaster than by victory — as Alexander by his premature death,
Caesar by his assassination, and Napoleon by his exile. How much more have the great
benefactors of our race had their memories embalmed by suffering; so that they are cherished as
their works and endurances have cost them dear. But how imperfect is every such image of the
connection between the Saviour's sufferings and the enduring of His name! All others were born
to suffer, if not in that form in some other; they were sinners, and could not escape even by
labour and service to mankind. But Jesus was above this doom, and stooped to meet it —
stooped from a height beyond all parallel. "Though He was rich," etc. "The Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto,." etc.
II. IT IS DESTINED TO ENDURE.
1. The name of Jesus is identified with the existence of the Church. Take it away, and the Church
falls. Christianity is obliterated, or sinks in fragmental Take it away, and there is no pardon, no
sanctification, no fellowship with God, according to His own word, "No man cometh unto the
Father but by Me."

2. The name of Jesus Christ is hound up with the history and prospects of mankind. This name is
a key to the history of the world. It is not without reason that history is divided into two great
periods, before Christ and after Christ.
3. The Saviour's name is destined to endure, because it is committed to the watchful care of the
Godhead. God the Father sees here the brightest manifestation of Himself, for He thus reveals
the fulness of power, the depth of wisdom, the beauty of holiness, the tender radiance of mercy,
all shining in the face of Jesus Christ. The continued display of this glory to men and angels is
the last end of redemption, the fulfilment by the Father of the prayer of the Son, "Glorify Thy
Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee." Shall this last prayer, then, be defeated? Shall these
supreme manifestations of God, which, pent up from everlasting days, have at last broken forth
upon the universe, be recalled? And shall the word of promise that has gone out of His mouth be
made void" I will make Thy name to be remembered in all generations"?
(John Cairns, D. D.)
The universality and perpetuity of Christ's reign
W. J. Dawson., Footsteps of Truth.Buddha is reported to have said that he did not expect his
religion to last more than 5,000 years.
(W. J. Dawson.)Voltaire said he lived in the twilight of Christianity. He meant a lie; he spoke the
truth. He did live in its twilight; but it was the twilight before the morning; not the twilight of the
evening, as he meant to say; for the morning comes, when the light of the sun shall break upon
us in its truest glory. The scorners have said that we should soon forget to honour Christ, and that
one day no man should acknowledge Him. "His name shall endure for ever."
(Footsteps of Truth.)
And men shall be blessed in Him
What history owes to Jesus Christ
James Orr, D. D.I. THE MORAL AND SOCIAL BENEFIT. We need to take the simplest,
plainest facts that lie upon the surface of history, to see what a revelation was implied in the
entrance of Christian ideas into such a world as this. It brought, for one thing, a totally new idea
of man himself, as a being of infinite dignity and immortal worth; it taught that every man's soul,
even the humblest, poorest, and the most defiled, was made in God's image, is capable of eternal
life, and has an infinite value — a value that made worth while God's own Son's dying to redeem
it. It brought back to men's minds the sense of responsibility to God — an idea that had never
been possessed, or had been altogether or almost altogether lost. It brought into the world a new
spirit of love and charity, something wonderful in the eyes of those heathen as they saw
institutions spring up round about them that they had never thought or heard of in heathenism
before. It flashed into men's souls a new moral ideal, and set up a standard of truth, and integrity,
and purity, which has acted as an elevating force on moral conception in the world till this hour.
It restored woman to her rightful place by man's side as his spiritual helpmate and equal, and
created that best of God's blessings on earth, the Christian home, where children are reared in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. It taught the slave his spiritual freedom as a member of the
Kingdom of God, gave him a place there in Christ's kingdom as an equal with his own master,
and struck at the foundations of slavery by its doctrine of the natural brotherhood and the dignity
of man. It created self-respect, a sense of duty in the use of one's powers for self-support and for
the benefit of others. It urged to honest labour. "Let him that stole steal no more," etc. And in a

myriad ways, by direct teaching, by the protest of holy lives, by its gentle spirit, it struck at the
evils and the corruptions and the malpractices and the cruelties of the time.
II. THE RELIGIOUS DEBT TO JESUS. It was Christianity that overthrew the reign of those
gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome, and swept them so completely from the path of history
that no one, even in his wildest imagination, now dreams of the possibility of their revival. It was
Christianity that, still maintaining something of its youthful energy, laid hold of these rough
barbarian people in the Middle Ages and trained them to some kind of civilization and moral life.
It was Christianity that in England and Scotland lighted the light that by and by spread its
radiance through every part of the country. It is Christianity that to-day is teaching the nations to
burn their idols, to cease their horrid practices, to take on them the obligations of moral and
civilized existence. Whatever blessings or hopes we trace to our religion, whatever light it
imparts to our minds or cheer to cur hearts, whatever power there is in it to sustain holiness or
conquer sin, all that we owe to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
III. THE ETERNAL BENEFITS. "Jesus hath abolished death," we read, "and hath brought life
and immortality to light through His Gospel." And what was better, He not only taught men the
way of life, but stood there Himself, the great medium of return to God. He stood there not only
teaching men what the way of life was, but He Himself was there to place their feet in its paths.
He not only taught us about God, but showed us how to be at peace with Him — brought us back
to God, from whom we had wandered, and reconciled us with God. He not only warned us of the
dangers and the evils of the life of sin, of the ruin, the destruction which sin brought with it, of
the alienation, the estrangement from the life of God that was in sin; but He united Himself there
with us, with His infinite mercy in our lone, and lost, and condemned condition, took upon
Himself there, on His own soul, that burden we could not for ourselves bear, and through His
cross and passion opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
(James Orr, D. D.)
The benefits of Christianity
A. Duncan.I. THE BENEFITS WHICH CHRISTIANITY CONVEYS TO THE
COMMUNITIES AMONG WHOM IT IS PREACHED.
1. It has diffused among all classes of men the knowledge of God. "Nothing," says the son of
Sirach, "is so much worth as a mind well instructed"; but there is no knowledge like that which
respects the character of God, our obligations to Him, and expectations from Him. It is the only
effectual source of right conduct, and of true comfort, in every state and condition of human life.
2. Christianity has greatly purified and reformed the manners of men. Some of those vices which
marked and disgraced the character of heathen nations are scarcely known but by their name; and
others, which were openly practised in the face of day, are now hid in obscurity and darkness. On
the other hand, some virtues, of the obligation of which the heathens had no apprehension, are
not only to be found in the character of real Christians, but have risen into such general credit
and esteem as to influence the conduct of many who, in other respects, feel but little of the power
of religion.
3. Christianity has promoted among men a spirit of humanity and benevolence, unknown to the
heathen world.
4. Christianity has contributed essentially to the safety and prosperity of society.

II. THE BENEFITS WHICH IT CONVEYS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WHO BELIEVE AND
EMBRACE IT.
1. It effectuates their conversion to God, and to the obedience of His will.
2. The effects of Christianity upon the Christian's state of mind are not less important and happy
than its influence upon his character; it restores him to peace with God, and to hope in Him.
(A. Duncan.)
Blessed in HimI. A SINGULAR CONDITION.
1. By nature, men are not blessed. The trail of the old serpent is everywhere.
2. The text promises that men shall be delivered from the curse, that they shall be uplifted from
their natural unhappiness, that they shall be rescued from their doubtful or their hopeful
questioning, and shall even come to be blessed. God shall pronounce them blessed. He shall set
upon them the bread seal of Divine approbation; and with that seal there shall come streaming
into their hearts the sweetness of intense delight, which shall give them experimentally a blessing
to their own conscious enjoyment.
3. Let me tell you what Christ does for a man who is really in Him, and then you will see how He
is blessed.
(1)The man who comes to Christ by faith, and truly trusts Christ, has all the past rectified.
(2)He has present favour.
(3)His future is guaranteed.
II. A WIDE STATEMENT.
1. To make this wide statement true requires breadth of number. The text says, "Men shall be
blessed in Him," that is to say, the most of men, innumerable myriads of men shall get the
blessing that Jesus purchased by His death on the cross.
2. It implies great width of variety. "Men" — not merely kings or noblemen, but "Men shall be
blessed in Him." Men — not working men, or thinking men, or fighting men, or this sort of men,
or the other sort of men, but men of all sorts — "Men shall be blessed in Him." It is a delightful
thought that Christ is as much fitted to one rank and one class of persons as to another.
3. Our text indicates length of period: "Men shall be blessed in Him." Men have been blessed in
Him; these many centuries, Christ has shone with all the radiance of omnipotent love upon this
poor fallen world, but His light is as full as ever; and, however long this dispensation shall last,
"Men shall be blessed in Him."
4. The text suggests fulness of sufficiency concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a
wonderful depth of meaning in this passage when it says, "Men shall be blessed in Him." "Oh!"
says one, "Men shall be blessed by philosophy, or by Christ and philosophy." Not at all; it is,
"Men shall be blessed in Him." "But they shall be blessed in Him through trade and commerce
and the like." Not so; "Men shall be blessed in Him." Have not we, who are half a century old,
heard a great number of theories about how the millennium is to be brought about? I remember
that, at one time, free trade was to bring it, but it did not; and nothing will over make men
blessed unless they get into Christ: "Men shall be blessed in Him."
III. THE FULL ASSURANCE expressed in the text. It is a grand thing to get a sentence like this
with a "shall" in it: "Men shall be blessed in Him." It is not "perhaps they may be,"but, "Men

shall be blessed in Him." Not, "perchance they may be blessed under certain conditions"; but,
"Men shall be blessed in Him."
1. They shall not try Him and fail.
2. They shall not desire Him and be denied.
3. They shall come to Christ and get the blessing.
IV. Now, with all your hearts, think of my text with a PERSONAL APPROPRIATION: "Men
shall be blessed in Him." Are you blessed in Christ? Will you personally answer the question?
Do not pass it round, and say to yourself, "No doubt there are many who think that they are
blessed, and who are not." Never mind about them; for the present moment, ask this question of
yourself, "Am I blessed in Christ?"
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Jesus: all blessing and all blestI. WE OURSELVES ARE LIVING WITNESSES THAT MEN
ARE BLESSED IN CHRIST. You and I do not pretend to be great sages, famous philosophers,
or learned divines; but we feel when a pin pricks us, or when a dog bites us. We have sense
enough to know when a thing tastes well or ill in the eating. We know chalk from cheese, as the
proverb hath it. We know somewhat about our own wants; and we also know when we get those
wants supplied. We bear witness that we have been blessed in Him. How much, how deeply,
how long, and in how many ways we have been blessed in Him, I will not undertake to say; but
this I will say most emphatically, for many of you now present, we have in verity, beyond all
question, been blessed in Jesus to the highest degree, and of this we are sure. We believe — and
faith grasps the first blessing — that we have received a great blessing in Christ by the removal
of a curse which otherwise must have rested upon us. If He had accomplished nothing but the
bearing away of our sin into the wilderness — as the scapegoat of old bore away the iniquity of
Israel — He would have done enough to set our tongues for ever praising Him. He has lifted
from the world the weight of the eternal curses; therefore, let all the bells of our cities ring out
His honour, and all the voices of the village sing forth His praise. The negative being removed,
we have had a positive actual experience of blessing, for God has blessed us in Christ Jesus, and
we know that none are more blest than we are. We are now not at all the men that we used to be
as to our inward feelings.
II. WE HAVE SEEN OTHER MEN BLESSED IN CHRIST.
1. What social changes we have seen in those who have believed in Him! He has blessed some
men and some women at such a rate that the devil himself would not have the impudence to say
it was not a blessing. Liar as Satan is, he could not deny that godliness has brought sunshine
where there was none: the blessing has been too distinct and manifest for any to deny it.
2. What a moral change have we seen in some! They could not speak without an oath, but the
habit of profane swearing ended in a minute, and they have never been tempted to it since. Rash,
bad-tempered men, who would break up the furniture of the house in their passion, have become
as gentle as lambs. Such furies usually become quiet, peaceable, and long-suffering: grace has a
marvellous influence upon the temper.
3. Then, as to mental blessing. What have we seen? This have I seen: here is one case out of
many. A young man, who had fallen into sin, came to me in deep despair of mind. He was so
desponding that his very face bore witness to his misery. I had tried to set the Gospel clearly
before him on the previous Sabbath, but he told me that he could not grasp it, for that by his sin

he had reduced his mind to such a state that he felt himself to be little better than an idiot. He was
not speaking nonsense either, for there are vices which destroy the intellect. I told him that Jesus
Christ could save idiots — that even if his mind was in measure impaired as the result of sin, yet
there was quite enough mind left to be made glad with a sense of pardon, seeing there was more
than enough to make him heavy with a sense of guilt. I cheered that brother as best I could, but I
could effect nothing by my own efforts. Soon the Lord Jesus Christ came to him, and he is now a
happy, earnest, joyful Christian.
III. This whole matter is to extend till THE ENTIRE WORLD SHALL BE BLESSED IN
CHRIST. Even at this moment the whom world is the better for Christ. But where He is best
known and loved, there is He the greatest blessing. What snatched many an island of the
southern sea from barbarism and cannibalism? What but Jesus Christ preached among them?
Men have been blessed in Him in Europe, America, Asia, and everywhere. Africa, and other
lands still plunged in barbarism, shall receive light from no other source but that from which our
fathers received it centuries ago — from the great Sun of Righteousness.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ's Kingdom: its progress and prospects
H. Grey, D. D.I. THE PERPETUITY OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM. extending from age to age
throughout all generations; for it is in connection with it that "His name shall endure for ever,
and be continued as long as the sun." Where are the mighty monarchies of the ancient world —
the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian — that seemed to have taken deep root in the earth, and,
matured by ages of vigour, to bid fair for perpetuity? Even the more modern States of Greece and
Rome have undergone a complete change, and their ancient characters are sought in vain in the
regions they once emblazoned with glory. Nor has the higher and less vulgar authority of
wisdom and legislation been more stable. The schools of ancient philosophy have passed away,
and the tenets of their sages have solved for us none of the hard questions suggested by reason
and conscience: one great name after another dies from the memory of fleeting generations, as
the stars fade with the rising morn.
II. THE FELICITY OF THIS KINGDOM: "Men shall be blessed in Him." Whatever blessings
have descended on the human race since the fall, have been communicated through the
mediation of Christ; for thus only, we are taught, can a holy God have friendly intercourse with
man. But the blessings that specially mark His kingdom are of a spiritual nature, and can be
rightly estimated only by a spiritual mind.
III. THE DESTINED UNIVERSAL EXTENSION OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST: "all
nations shall call Him blessed." And why, asks the infidel, was not this kingdom, and the
revelation that makes it known, universal from the beginning? Why did the God of the whole
earth confine His favour for many ages to the descendants of Abraham, and, leaving other
nations in darkness, restrict the light of heaven to the little province of Judaea? Is it to be
believed that, overlooking and despising the great, populous, enlightened empires of the ancient
world, He expended all His treasures on a people remarkable only for a bigoted and exclusive
superstition? Is this system of favouritism worthy the Sovereign of the universe, the Father of
mankind? But not to insist on arguments which, it may be said, are fitted to silence rather than
satisfy, it is an important fact, never to be forgotten, that Divine revelation was originally
universal, without limitation or selection, commensurate with the necessity that called it forth;
none of the progeny of Adam being exempted from the promise of a Redeemer who should

bruise the serpent's head, given to our first parents as a sacred trust for the benefit of mankind.
The truths embodied in these facts were designed to regulate the faith, worship, and hopes of all
mankind; and, had they been faithfully preserved, the blessings of the true religion would have
been in every man's possession. It was the careless forgetfulness of these things, and the wilful
preference of darkness to light, that introduced idolatry and wickedness into the world. If Divine
revelation was not universal in ancient times, those who incurred the loss must bear the blame.
For though the promise declared that "all nations should be blessed in Him," though the Saviour's
parting command enjoined that His "Gospel should be preached to all the world and to every
creature," have His disciples as yet acquitted themselves of the charge assigned to them in the
realization of this purpose? If the Gospel be not universal, who, we ask, are answerable for this
loss? where falls the blame of this delinquency? The commission given to them is continued with
us — the promises that supported them are those we rest upon — the purposes of God wait on us
still for their accomplishment; and those to whom He commits the fulfilment of His will, are no
other than the reclaimed sinners who, like us, have passed from death into life, who stand
obedient to His call, who are ready to start to any service in which His interests demand their
activity.
(H. Grey, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) Shall be continued.—Rather, have issue.
Literally, send out new shoots.
As long as the sun.—See Note on Psalm 72:5.
Shall be blessed in him.—Or, bless themselves in him. The meaning is clear, though the Hebrew
is rather vague. The monarch will himself be a source of blessing to his people, who will never
tire of blessing him. The psalmist’s prayer finds a genuine echo in the noble dedication of In
Memoriam:
“May you rule us long,
And leave us rulers of your blood
As noble, till the latest day!
May children of our children say,
‘She wrought her people lasting good.’ ”
For the doxology closing the second book, and for the note apparently appended by the collector
of this book, “the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended,” see General Introduction.
Benson CommentaryHYPERLINK "/psalms/72-17.htm"Psalm 72:17. His name shall endure for
ever — Namely, the honour and renown of his eminent wisdom, and justice, and goodness. This
agrees but very obscurely and imperfectly to Solomon, who stained the glory of his reign by his
prodigious luxury, and oppression, and apostacy from God, into which he fell in the latter part of
his days. His name shall be continued — Hebrew, ‫,ןוני‬ jinnon, shall be propagated, or
transmitted, to his children; as long as the sun — Hebrew, ‫לפל‬ ‫,ׁשמני‬ liphnee shemesh, before the
sun; meaning, either, 1st, Publicly, and in the face of the sun: or, 2d, Perpetually; as a constant

and inseparable companion of the sun; as long as the sun itself shall continue. Men shall be
blessed in him — In him, as it was promised to Abraham, shall all the true children of Abraham
be blessed with the blessings of grace and glory, and that by and through his merits and Spirit.
Hebrew, ‫,וכרבתי‬ jithbarechu, shall bless themselves. All nations shall call him blessed — They
shall bless God for him, shall continually extol and magnify him, and think themselves happy in
him. To the end of time and to eternity, his name shall be celebrated; every tongue shall confess
it, and every knee shall bow before it. And the happiness shall also be universal, complete, and
everlasting; men shall be blessed in him truly and for ever.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary72:2-17 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.
Barnes' Notes on the BibleHis name shall endure for ever - Margin, as in Hebrew, "Shall be
forever;" that is, "He" shall endure forever.
His name shall be continued as long as the sun - As long as that continues to shine - an
expression designed to express perpetuity. See the notes at Psalm 72:5. The margin here is, "shall
be as a son to continue his father's name forever." The Hebrew word - ‫נון‬ nûn - means "to sprout,
to put forth;" and hence, to "flourish." The idea is that of a tree which continues always to sprout,
or put forth leaves, branches, blossoms; or, which never dies.
And men shall be blessed in him - See Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18. He will be a source of
blessing to them, in the pardon of sin; in happiness; in peace; in salvation.
All nations shall call him blessed - Shall praise him; shall speak of him as the source of their
highest comforts, joys, and hopes. See Luke 19:38; Matthew 21:9; Matthew 23:39. The time will
come when all the nations of the earth will honor and praise him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary17. His name—or, "glorious perfections."
as long as the sun—(Compare Ps 72:5).
men shall be blessed—(Ge 12:3; 18:18).

Matthew Poole's CommentaryHis name; the honour and renown of his eminent wisdom, and
justice, and goodness; which agrees but very obscurely; and imperfectly to Solomon, who
stained the glory of his reign by his prodigious luxury and oppression, and apostacy from God,
into which he fell in the latter part of his days.
Shall be continued; or, shall be propagated or transmitted to his children; which suits much better
to Christ, from whom we are called Christians, than to Solomon.
As long as the sun, Heb. before the sun; either,
1. Publicly, and in the face of the sun. Or,
2. Perpetually; as a constant and inseparable companion of the sun; as long as the sun itself shall
continue. See Poole "Psalm 72:5".
Be blessed in him; either,
1. As a pattern of blessedness. When any man shall wish well to a king, he shall say, The Lord
make thee like Solomon. See Poole "Genesis 22:18". Or rather,
2. As the cause of it, by and through his merits and mediation.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHis name shall endure for ever,.... As a King; for he is
chiefly spoken of here in his kingly office: not merely the fame of him; for so the fame of an
earthly king; even of a tyrant, may continue as long as the world does; but the meaning is, that he
himself should continue in his office for ever: his throne is for ever and ever; of his government
there will be no end; his kingdom is an everlasting one; he shall reign over the house of Jacob,
and on the throne of David, for ever and ever: he shall have no successor in this his office, any
more than in the priestly office; which is an unchangeable one, or does not pass from one to
another: his Gospel is his name, Acts 9:15; and that shall endure for ever, or to the end of the
world; until all his elect are gathered in, notwithstanding the violent persecutions of men, the
cunning craft of false teachers, and the death of Gospel ministers and professors: as long as this
is preached, Christ's name will endure, since he is the sum and substance of it; and not only is his
name perpetuated in his Gospel, but also in his ordinances, those of baptism and the Lord's
supper, which are administered in his name, and will be unto his second coming;
his name shall be continued as long as the sun; or "shall be sonned" or "filiated" (r); that is, shall
be continued in his sons, in his spiritual offspring, as long as the sun lasts; as the names of
parents are continued in their children; so the name of Christ is, and will be, continued in him: he
has children which the Lord has given him; a seed that he shall see in all periods of time, to
whom he stands in the relation of the everlasting Father; these bear his name, are called
"Christians" from him, and these his seed and offspring shall endure for ever: for though
sometimes their number may be few; yet there are always some in the worst of times; Christ has
always had some to bear his name, and ever will have; and in the latter day they will be very
numerous, even as the sand of the sea. The Jews take the word "Yinnon", here used, for a name
of the Messiah (s), and render the words, "before the sun his name was Yinnon"; and so the
Targum,

"before the sun was, or was created, (as in the king's Bible,) his name was prepared;''
or appointed: for they say (t), the name of the Messiah was one of the seven things created before
the world was: it is certain that Christ was the Son of God, from eternity, or the eternal Son of
God: he was so before his resurrection from the dead, when he was only declared, and did not
then become the Son of God: he was owned by his divine Father, and believed in as the Son of
God by men before that time: he was so before his incarnation, and not by that: he, the Son of
God, was sent in human nature, and made manifest in it, and was known by David and Solomon,
under that relation; and, as such, he was concerned in the creation of all things; and was in the
day of eternity, and from all eternity, the only begotten Son of the Father; see Psalm 2:7; but the
version and sense which Gussetius (u) gives seem best of all; "his name shall generate", or
"beget children before the sun"; that is, his name preached, as the Gospel, which is his name,
Acts 9:15, shall be the means of begetting many sons and daughters openly and publicly, in the
face of the sun, and wherever that is;
and men shall be blessed in him; men, and not angels, sinful men; such as are by nature children
of wrath, and cursed by the law of works, yet blessed in Christ; even all elect men, all that are
chosen in him, whether Jews or Gentiles; for he is the "seed of Abraham", in whom "all the
nations of the earth should be blessed", Genesis 22:18; as they are with all spiritual blessings;
with redemption, peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life: they are in him, and blessed in
him; he is their head and representative, and so blessed in him; he is the fountain, cause, author,
and giver of all blessings; they all come from him, through him, and for his sake, through his
blood, righteousness, and sacrifice. Or, "they shall be blessed in him": that is, his children and
spiritual offspring, in whom his name is perpetuated. Or, "they shall bless themselves in him"
(w); reckon themselves blessed in him, and make their boast of him, and glory in him;
all nations shall call him blessed; as he is a divine Person; not only the Son of the Blessed, but
God over all, blessed for ever; and as man, being set at the right hand of God, crowned with
glory and honour, and all creatures, angels and men, subject to him; and as Mediator,
acknowledging him to be the fountain of all blessedness to them, and, upon that account,
ascribing all blessing, honour, glory, and praise, unto him.
(r) "filiabitur", Montanus, Vatablus, Michaelis. (s) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 2. Midrash Echa
Rabbati, fol. 50. 2. Pirke Eliezer, c. 32. fol. 33. 2.((t) T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 54. 1. Nedarim, fol.
39. 2. Bereshit Bereihit Rabba, s. 1. fol. 1. 2. (u) Ebr. Comment. p. 511. (w) "et benedicentes sibi
in eo", Junius & Tremellius; so Cocceius, Michaelis, Ainsworth.
Geneva Study BibleHis 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 {o} him blessed.
(o) They will pray to God for his continuance and know that God prospers them for his sake.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges17. May his name endure for ever;
As long as the sun doth shine may his name have Issue:
May all nations bless themselves in him, (and) call him happy.
The Psalmist prays that the king’s name may not perish like the name of the wicked (Job 18:19),
but may always have issue, be perpetuated in his posterity as long as time lasts (cp. Psalm 72:5).

The Ancient Versions however (LXX, Syr., Targ., Jer.) point to the reading yikkôn, shall be
established, instead of yinnôn, shall have issue, a word which is found nowhere else. Cp. Psalm
89:37; 1 Kings 2:12; 1 Kings 2:45. The LXX reads, “All the families of the earth shall be blessed
in him, all nations shall call him happy.” But each of these last three verses is a tristich, and the
words “all families of the earth” are introduced from Genesis 12:3. May all nations bless
themselves in him, invoking for themselves the blessings which he enjoys as the highest and best
which they can imagine (cp. Genesis 48:20);—an allusion to the promises to Abraham and Isaac
(Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4).
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 17. - His Name shall endure forever (comp. Psalm 45:2, 6; Psalm
102:12; Isaiah 9:7). "The eternity of the Name is based upon the eternity of the kingdom"
(Hengstenberg). His Name shall be continued as long as the sun (comp. ver. 5); or, his Name
shall be renewed - shall spring again to fresh life. Dr. Kay compares an expression of Renan's,
"Son culte se rajeunira." And men shall be blessed in him; literally, men shall bless themselves in
him (comp. Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4). All nations shall call him blessed. With these words
the psalm, properly speaking, ends. The doxology (vers. 18, 19) and the note (ver. 20) were
probably appended by the arranger of the book.
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old TestamentThis third strophe contains
prospects, the ground of which is laid down in the fourth. The position of the futures here
becomes a different one. The contemplation passes from the home relations of the new
government to its foreign relations, and at the same time the wishes are changed into hopes. The
awe-commanding dominion of the king shall stretch even into the most distant corners of the
desert. ‫יּיי‬ ni denimreted eb ot ,tresed eht tibahni ohw nem eht dna slamina eht rof htob desu si ‫ם‬
each instance by the context; here they are men beyond all dispute, but in Psalm 74:14; Isaiah
23:13, it is matter of controversy whether men or beasts are meant. Since the lxx, Aquila,
Symmachus, and Jerome here, and the lxx and Jerome in Psalm 74:14, render Αἰθίοπες, the
nomadic tribes right and left of the Arabian Gulf seem traditionally to have been associated in
the mind with this word, more particularly the so-called Ichthyophagi. These shall bend the knee
reverentially before him, and those who contend against him shall be compelled at last to veil
their face before him in the dust. The remotest west and south become subject and tributary to
him, viz., the kings of Tartessus in the south of Spain, rich in silver, and of the islands of the
Mediterranean and the countries on its coasts, that is to say, the kings of the Polynesian portion
of Europe, and the kings of the Cushitish or of the Joktanitish ‫לבׁש‬ and of the Cushitish ‫,ׁשבס‬ as,
according to Josephus, the chief city of Mero‫כ‬ was called (vid., Genesis, S. 206). It was a queen
of that Joktanitish, and therefore South Arabian Sheba, - perhaps, however, more correctly (vid.,
Wetzstein in my Isaiah, ii. 529) of the Cushitish (Nubian) Sheba, - whom the fame of Solomon's
wisdom drew towards him, 1 Kings 10. The idea of their wealth in gold and in other precious
things is associated with both peoples. In the expression ‫פנׁשה‬ ‫הליב‬ (to pay tribute, 2 Kings 17:3,
cf. Psalm 3:4) the tribute is not conceived of as rendered in return for protection afforded
(Maurer, Hengstenberg, and Olshausen), nor as an act repeated periodically (Rdiger, who refers
to 2 Chronicles 27:5), but as a bringing back, i.e., repayment of a debt, referre s. reddere debitum
(Hupfeld), after the same idea according to which obligatory incomings are called reditus
(revenues). In the synonymous expression ‫ׁשלקר‬ ‫הּכריב‬ the presentation appears as an act of
sacrifice. ‫ׁשלקר‬ signifies in Ezekiel 27:15 a payment made in merchandise, here a rent or tribute
due, from ‫,רכר‬ which in blending with the Aleph prostheticum has passed over into ‫רכר‬ by
means of a shifting of the sound after the Arabic manner, just as in ‫ׁשלקׁש‬ the verb ‫,רכׁש‬ to

interweave, passes over into ‫רכׁש‬ (Rdiger in Gesenius' Thesaurus). In Psalm 72:11 hope breaks
through every bound: everything shall submit to his world-subduing sceptre.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
Psalm 72 – The King and the King of Kings
The title of this psalm is A Psalm of Solomon. It is possible to translate the Hebrew here (and in
almost all the psalms which reference an author) as “A Psalm to Solomon,” and some have
regarded it as David’s psalm to and about his son Solomon and his Greater Son the Messiah.
Yet, the most natural way to take the title is as it is given, A Psalm of Solomon with the
understanding that the line about David in 72:20 refers to the collection of Book Two of Psalms,
which is heavy with David’s psalms, separating Book Two from Book Three, which begins with
11 psalms authored by Asaph.
It is possible that Solomon compiled Book Two of Psalms (Psalms 42-72) and composed this
psalm as a fitting conclusion for the collection of mostly David’s psalms. It is a fitting
conclusion, because it unexpectedly does not focus upon David himself, but on the Messiah – the
King of Kings and the Son of David.
“The New Testament nowhere quotes it as Messianic, but this picture of the king and his realm is
so close to the prophecies of Isaiah 11:1-5 and Isaiah 60-62 that if those passages are
Messianic, so is this.” (Derek Kidner)
A. Prayerfor a king.
1. (1-4) The king’s prayer for wisdom.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.
a. Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son:
Solomon began this psalm asking God to bless him as the monarch of Israel, and to bless him
with wise judgments and a reign displaying God’s righteousness. This was the same heart
behind his great request to God in 1 Kings 3:5-9.
i. These prayers “reflect the antique conception of a king as the fountain of justice, himself
making and administering law and giving decisions.” (Maclaren)

ii. “As a royal psalm it prayed for the reigning king, and was a strong reminder of his high
calling; yet it exalted this so far beyond the humanly attainable (e.g. in speaking of his reign as
endless) as to suggest for its fulfillment no less a person than the Messiah, not only to Christian
thinking but to Jewish.” (Kidner)
iii. “The Targum [an ancient Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible] at verse 1 adds the word
‘Messiah’ to ‘the king’, and there are rabbinic allusions to the psalm which reveal the same
opinion.” (Kidner)
b. He will judge Your people with righteousness: Anticipating the blessing asked for, Solomon
announced his intention to rule with righteousness and justice, even for the poor (who are often
denied justice).
i. “Righteousness dominates this opening, since in Scripture it is the first virtue of government,
even before compassion (which is the theme of verses 12-14).” (Kidner)
c. The mountains will bring peace to the people: Sometimes mountains represent human
governments in the Bible, and Solomon may have intended this allusion. He had in mind a
national government (mountains) that blessed the people and local government (the little hills)
that ruled with righteousness. This godly government would accomplish at least three things:
· He will bring justice to the poor: Though they are often denied justice, the king and his
government will make sure that justice is administered fairly.
· He will save the children of the needy: The king and his government will rescue those most
vulnerable in society.
· And will break in pieces the oppressor: The king and his government will protect Israel,
keeping the people free from external domination and from internal corruption.
i. Mountains will bring peace: We have connected the idea of mountains with human
government, yet there are different understandings of this. Spurgeon quoted three different
authors with three different ideas as to what these mountains speak of.
· Geddes wrote they spoke of messengers placed on a series of mountains or hilltops who
distributed news through a land.
· Mollerus wrote that it spoke of the fertility of soil on the mountains.
· Caryl wrote that it speaks of the safety from robbers who often infested mountain passes.
· Maclaren wrote of another sense: “The mountains come into view here simply as being the
most prominent features of the land.”
ii. Children of the needy: “The phrase, the children of the afflicted, is put for the afflicted, an
idiom quite common in Hebrew.” (Calvin, cited in Spurgeon)
iii. Break in pieces the oppressor: “The tale bearer, saith the Greek; the slanderer, saith the
Latin; the devil, say some. Over these he shall turn the wheel.” (Trapp)
2. (5-7) Blessings upon such a well-governed kingdom.
They shall fear You
As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.

In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
a. They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure: The answer to the prayer in the
previous lines would mean that the people of Israel – the king, his government, and the people –
would fear the Lord forever, throughout all generations.
i. “As the psalmist pours out his petitions, they glide into prophecies; for they are desires
fashioned upon promises, and bear, in their very earnestness, the pledge of their realisation.”
(Morgan)
b. He shall come down like rain upon the grass: God’s presence would then be with His
people as broad, as thick, and as good as showers that water the earth.
i. “The word zggez, which we translate mown grass, more properly means pastured grass or
pastured land; for the dew of the night is intended to restore the grass which has been eaten in
the course of the day.” (Clarke)
ii. “Refreshing and salutary, as the drops of heaven, to the shorn and parched grass, is the mild
administration of a wise and pious prince to his subjects. And what image can convey a better
idea of those most beneficial and blessed effects which followed the descent of the Son of God
upon the earth, and that of the Spirit, at the day of Pentecost? The prophets abound with
descriptions of those great events, couched in terms borrowed from the philosophy of rain and
dew. See Isaiah 44:3; 55:10; Hosea 14:5; Hebrews 6:7.” (Horne)
iii. The Scriptures often connect the ideas of righteous and just government and blessing upon
the ecology and produce of the land. “The Psalm as a whole, shows that what we call the ‘moral
realm’ and the ‘realm of nature’ form one indivisible whole to the Israelites. A community which
lives according to righteousness enjoys not only internal harmony, but also prosperity in field
and flock.” (Anderson, cited in VanGemeren)
iv. “Injustice has made Palestine a desert; if the Turk and Bedouin were gone, the land would
smile again; for even in the most literal sense, justice is the fertilizer of lands, and men are
diligent to plough and raise harvests when they have the prospect of eating the fruit of their
labours.” (Spurgeon)
c. In His days the righteous shall flourish: As God sends such a rich blessing, His people will
flourish and there will be an abundance of peace (shalom) that will last beyond comprehension
(until the moon is no more).
i. In a limited sense, this was true of Solomon. “In the kingdom of Solomon, through the
influence of his wisdom, good men were encouraged, righteousness flourished, and the land
enjoyed tranquility.” (Horne)
ii. In a greater sense, it points to Jesus alone. The connection between the righteous and peace
reminds us of Melchizedek, the One who was and is both the King of Righteousness and the
King of Peace (Hebrews 7:1-3).
B. The GreaterKing.
1. (8-11) Looking to a greater King, a greater reign.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
a. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea: Solomon began to lift his vision above a desire
for his own reign to be blessed towards the anticipation of the reign of a greater Son of David,
Messiah the King. This King would have dominion far greater than Solomon.
i. Under David and Solomon, Israel had its greatest extent of territory.
ii. “The messianic government spreads out over seas, rivers, and land. It is unnecessary to restrict
the meaning to a particular sea or river because 72:8 speaks of his universal rule, encompassing
seas, rivers, and lands.” (VanGemeren)
b. His enemies will lick the dust: To oppose the King with such a great dominion meant certain
defeat. His enemies would be brought low in a way associated with the curse upon the enemy in
Genesis 3:14-15.
i. “Bear in mind that it was a custom with many nations that, when individuals approached their
kings, they kissed the earth, and prostrated their whole body before them. This was the custom
especially throughout Asia.” (LeBlanc, cited in Spurgeon)
ii. “Tongues which rail at the Redeemer deserve to lick the dust.” (Spurgeon)
c. All kings shall fall down before Him: Solomon sang of a king far greater than Solomon ever
was. All nations shall serve Him, even those from faraway places and islands.
i. This was prophesied in a beautiful way by the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 7, which had in
mind both David’s immediate son and successor (Solomon) and David’s ultimate Son and
Successor (Jesus the Messiah). Both were in view in 2 Samuel 7:11-16, and both are in view in
Psalm 72. The fulfillment in Solomon’s day is described in 1 Kings 10:23-25.
ii. “The distant nations are the kings of the ‘distant shores’ (72:10): Tarshish (cf. Psalm 48:7),
Sheba (modern Yemen), and Seba (an African nation: cf. Genesis 10:7; Isaiah 43:3, 45:14).”
(VanGemeren)
iii. “Tarshish may have been Tartessus in Spain; it was in any case a name associated with long
voyages; likewise the isles or ‘coastlands’ were synonymous with the ends of the earth: see, e.g.
Isaiah 42:10.” (Kidner)
2. (12-14) The compassionate rule of Messiahthe King.
For 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.

a. He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also: The justice and righteousness
Solomon prayed for and aspired to regarding his own reign (Psalm 72:1-4) will be perfectly
fulfilled in the Greater King.
i. “All helpless ones are under the especial care of Zion’s compassionate King; let them hasten to
put themselves in fellowship with him. Let them look to him, for he is looking for them.”
(Spurgeon)
b. He will save the souls of the needy: His work will go beyond what is thought of today as
social work; the Greater King will also work to save the souls of the poor and needy.
c. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence: We can see this in both the
oppression and violence they are targets of, and of that which they inflict upon others. Both are
forms of slavery that require one to be set free from by purchase (redeem their life).
i. Oppression and violence: “Those two noted engines of all mischief to the poor, viz. privy
deceit…and open violence, fraud and force, craft and cruelty.” (Trapp)
ii. “The king is represented in Psalm 72:14 as taking on himself the office of Goel, or Kinsman-
Redeemer, and ransoming his subjects’ lives from ‘deceit and violence.’” (Maclaren)
iii. Blessed as it was, Solomon’s own reign did not live up to this fully. After his death they
complained of his oppression (1 Kings 12:4). “Solomon continues to speak more wisely than he
was ever to act.” (Kidner)
d. Precious shall be their blood in His sight: The lives of the poor and needy are often
considered to be of little value. The Messiah, the Greater King, will regard their lives as
precious. This is especially meaningful when we consider the cheap regard for life outside of
and before the world influenced by Christianity.
3. (15-17) The exaltation of the Greater King.
And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessedin Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.
a. He shall live: Commentators debate if the He spoken of here refers to the ransomed man of
the previous lines or of the King who ransomed him. Since the previous lines speak of a
multitude redeemed and this He speaks of One, and because the following lines fit much better
with the King, we regard He shall live as both a wish and a declaration for the King.
i. “How little this might mean is obvious from the address, ‘O king, live forever’, in the book of
Daniel; yet also how much, can be seen from the Messianic prophecies and from the way these
were understood in New Testament times.” (Kidner)

ii. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Solomon wrote things regarding Messiah the King that were
perhaps beyond his own understanding. It’s possible he never knew how wonderful it would be
to say of the King of Kings who laid down His life as a sacrifice for sins that after three days in
the tomb all would see and say, He shall live.
b. The gold of Sheba will be given to Him: The Greater King would receive gifts and honor and
praise. In turn He would bestow great blessing on the earth (an abundance of grain in the
earth) and upon His people (those of the city shall flourish).
i. “Poor as God’s people usually are, the era will surely arrive when the richest of the rich will
count it all joy to lay their treasures at Jesus’ feet.” (Spurgeon)
ii. Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon: “It shall yield such abundance of corn, that the ears, being
thick, and high, and full of corn, shall, when they are shaken with the wind, make a noise not
unlike that which the tops of the trees of Lebanon sometimes make upon the like occasion.”
(Poole)
iii. “Gold, grain, and fruit were ancient measures of prosperity. So this is a way of saying that
under the reign of Jesus there will be prosperity of every conceivable kind.” (Boice)
c. Prayer also will be made for Him continually: We can think of how prayer could and would
be offered for an earthly king, but we don’t often think of believers praying for Jesus Messiah.
i. We can say that we pray for Jesus when we pray for one of His people. There is a sense in
which we pray for Jesus when we pray for the spread of His gospel.
d. His name shall endure forever: Solomon sensed that this Greater Son of David, the Greater
King, would be more than a great man. He and His fame, and greatness of His character, would
endure forever.
i. “We see on the shore of time the wrecks of the Caesars, the relics of the Moguls, and the last
remnants of the Ottomans. Charlemagne, Maximilian, Napoleon, how they flit like shadows
before us! They were and are not; but Jesus for ever is.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “The perpetuity, which he conceived of as belonging to a family and an office, really belongs
to the One King, Jesus Christ, whose Name is above every name, and will blossom anew in fresh
revelations of its infinite contents, not only while the sun shines, but when its fires are cold and
its light quenched.” (Maclaren)
e. Menshall be blessedin Him; all nations shall call Him blessed: Solomon recognized that
this King of Kings was not only the fulfillment of the promise made to David in 2 Samuel 7:11-
16. He was also the fulfillment of the great promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3: In you
all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
i. “Christ is all blessing. When you have written down his name, you have pointed to the fountain
from which all blessings flow.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “To us the song of this psalm is a prophecy of hope. We have seen the King, and we know the
perfect Kingdom must come, for God cannot be defeated.” (Morgan)
iii. Psalm 72 speaks powerfully of the kingdom of the King of Kings and speaks of it in terms of
His personal rule, not ruling through an institution such as the Church. “In this Psalm, at least,
we see a personal monarch, and he is the central figure, the focus of all the glory; not his servant,
but himself do we see possessing the dominion and dispensing the government. Personal
pronouns referring to our great King are constantly occurring in this Psalm; he has dominion,

kings fall down before him,: and serve him; for he delivers; he spares, he saves, he lives, and
daily is he praised.” (Spurgeon)
4. (18-19) Closing doxology of praise.
Blessedbe the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessedbe His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
a. Blessedbe the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things: Solomon was
moved to praise when he considered the greatness of Messiah the King. The work in and through
Jesus the Messiah is the work of wondrous things.
b. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory: The thought of the greatness of God and His
work naturally led the heart to long that this blessing be extended through the whole earth and
that it not only be touched by but filled with His glory.
i. “We pray that the atheist, the blasphemer, the hardened rebel, the prodigal, may each be filled
with God’s glory; and then we ask for mercy for the whole earth; we leave not out so much as
one, but so hope and expect the day when all mankind shall bow at the Saviour’s feet.”
(Spurgeon)
ii. There is also a tragedy in this psalm. As high as it soars with the concept of the king and his
reign, we remember the sad disappointment of how quickly the monarchy in Israel declined after
Solomon. There were certainly some good kings after him, but the glory of the kingdom went
from Solomon’s gold (1 Kings 10:16-17) to Rehoboam’s bronze (1 Kings 14:25-28) in only
about five years.
5. (20) End to the Second Book of Psalms.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
a. The prayers of David: We take this as Solomon’s postscript on the collection of psalms
gathered into Book Two. David authored most of the psalms in Book Two, and Asaph composed
the first 11 psalms of Book Three, so this is a good marking point. We also note that these are
not only songs, but also prayers.
b. David the son of Jesse:Because this psalm so exalts the King of Kings, Solomon properly did
not refer to David with any royal title, though deserved. David happily takes the lower place
before the Greater Son of David and is simply the son of Jesse, a simple farmer of Bethlehem.
(c) 2019 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com
MACLAREN
The last part of the psalm (Psalms 72:16-17) recurs to petitions for the growth of the nation and
the perpetual flourishing of the king’s name. The fertility of the land and the increase of its
people are the psalmist’s desires, which are also certainties, as expressed in Psalms 72:16. He
sees in imagination the whole land waving with abundant harvests, which reach even to the tops

of the mountains, and rustle in the summer air, with a sound like the cedars of Lebanon, when
they move their layers of greenness to the breeze. The word rendered above "abundance" is
doubtful; but there does not seem to be in the psalmist’s mind the contrast which he is often
supposed to be expressing, beautiful and true as it is, between the small beginnings and the
magnificent end of the kingdom on earth. The mountains are here thought of as lofty and barren.
If waving harvests clothe their gaunt sides, how will the vales laugh in plentiful crops! As the
earth yields her increase, so the people of the king shall be multiplied, and from all his cities they
shall spring forth abundant as grass. That figure would bear much expansion; for what could
more beautifully set forth rapidity of growth, close-knit community, multiplication of units, and
absorption of these in a lovely whole, than the picture of a meadow clothed with its grassy
carpet? Such hopes had only partial fulfilment in Israel. Nor have they had adequate fulfilment
up till now. But they lie on the horizon of the future, and they shall one day be reached. Much
that is dim is treasured in them. There may be a renovated world, from which the curse of
barrenness has been banished. There shall be a swift increase of the subjects of the King, until
the earlier hope of the psalm is fulfilled, and all nations shall serve him.
But bright as are the poet’s visions concerning the kingdom, his last gaze is fastened on its king,
and he prays that his name may last forever, and may send forth shoots as long as the sun shines
in the sky. He probably meant no more than a prayer for the continual duration of the dynasty,
and his conception of the name as sending forth shoots was probably that of its being perpetuated
in descendants. But, as has been already noticed, the perpetuity, which he conceived of as
belonging to a family and an office, really belongs to the One King, Jesus Christ, whose Name is
above every name, and will blossom anew in fresh revelations of its infinite contents, not only
while the sun shines, but when its fires are cold and its light quenched. The psalmist’s last desire
is that the ancient promise to the fathers may be fulfilled in the King, their descendant, in whom
men shall bless themselves. So full of blessedness may He seem to all men, that they shall take
Him for the very type of felicity, and desire to be even as He is! In men’s relation to Christ the
phrase assumes a deeper meaning still: and though that is not intended by the psalmist, and is not
the exposition of his words, it still is true that in Christ all blessings for humanity are stored, and
that therefore if men are to be truly blessed they must plunge themselves into Him, and in Him
find all that they need for blessedness and nobility of life and character. If He is our supreme
type of whatsoever things are fair and of good report, and if we have bowed ourselves to Him
because He has delivered us from death, then we share in His life, and all His blessings are
parted among us.
Rev. David Holwick ZL Psalms
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 14, 2014
Psalm 72:1-4,12-14; Luke 2:13-14
I HEARD THE BELLS

I. Tragedy can be inspiring.
A. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem.
Four months after the beginning of the Civil War, the
Longfellow family, famous for their father's poetry, was in
their home near Boston enjoying a summer afternoon.
Henry's wife Fanny was using a candle when a breeze caused
her dress to ignite.
She raced into the room where her husband was and he desperately
tried to put out the flames.
She died the next day.
Henry did not attend her funeral because he was too overstricken
with grief and the pain from his own burns.
Most photographs show him with a long beard, which he grew
because he could no longer shave his face due to the scars.
A year after the incident, he wrote, "I can make no record of
these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence.
Perhaps someday God will give me peace."
Longfellow's journal entry for Dec. 25th 1862 reads: "'A merry
Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."
A few months later, Longfellow's oldest son Charles signed up
in the Union army without telling his father.
That November, Charles was severely wounded in the Battle
of New Hope Church in Virginia.
Coupled with the death of his wife, Henry Longfellow was
moved to write a poem on Christmas Day in 1863.
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
But it was something he heard that Christmas morning that
gave him new hope:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,

Jesus was the eternal name

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