Jesus was in need of prayer continually

JESUS WAS IN NEED OF PRAYER CONTINUALLY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Psalm72:15 15
Long may he live! May gold from Sheba
be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless
him all day long.
NOTE,This whole PsalmrevolvesaroundJesus,butwe donotsee it withoutthe helpof menlike
Spurgeon
Pray For Jesus By Spurgeon
“Prayeralso shall be made for Him continually.”
Psalm72:15
Our Lord is undoubtedly intended, in this passage,forHe it is in whom all
nations of the earth shall be blessed, and whose name shall continue as long as
the sun. It is quite easyto see how we could pray for Christ if He were still on
the earth. I suppose that when He was a Child His parents prayed for Him.
They needed not to pray some of the prayers which we offer for our offspring,
for He was sinless, but I canscarcelyimagine that a mother’s love could have
been restrained from seeking the richest blessings forher heavenly Child. And
when He grew up, and came among men, and His lovely Characterbeganto
be known, how could His disciples do otherwise than pray that He might be
speededin His goodwork?
Can we suppose them to have been loyal to the Masterif they did not often
join their prayer with His that His kingdom might come? Indeed, what is the
prayer which He has taught us, “Our Father which are in Heaven,” but in a
certain sense, prayerfor Jesus? “Yourkingdom come, Your will be done on
earth, even as it is in Heaven”–itis Christ’s kingdom, and Christ’s will, as well
as the will of the Father, and the kingdom of the Father. That greatcry which
went up in the streets of Jerusalemwhen Jesus, in the days of His flesh, rode
through them in state was a prayer–“Blessedis He that comes in the name of

the Lord.” Did not the multitude thus implore blessing upon the head of Him
who came in Jehovah’s name?
His disciples might have done well if they had prayed for Him and with Him
in Gethsemane, and it was a part of His griefs to find that they could not
watchwith Him one hour. It was ordained that He should tread the winepress
alone. I think we shall all see that the same spirit which made holy women
minister to Him of their substance–whichmade the daughters of Salemweep
for Him as He was led to His Crucifixion–must have prompted all His sincere
followers to sayAmen to this prayer, “Father, glorify Your Son”–andwhat
was this but praying for Him?
But it will be said, “None of these things apply to Him now.” My Brothers and
Sisters, think a little, and you will see that we can still pray for Jesus, and you
will remember that in our hymns we often do so!As, for instance, when we
sing–“Letall that dwell above the sky,And air, and earth, and seas,Conspire
to lift Your glories high,And speak Your endless praise."Foralbeitthat He is,
in one sense, exaltedto the utmost height of glory and reigns victorious over
His enemies, yet, in another sense He is here in the midst of His chosenhost
striving with principalities and powers. "Lo, I am with you always, evento the
end of the world,” is the blessedassurancethat Jesus is our Captain in the
greatfight of faith, and is still present in the battlefield.
His greatcause is here! His enterprise and business are here below!The work
which He undertook to accomplishis not yet accomplishedin the person of
every one of His elect. His blood has been fully shed and His Atonement has
been perfected, but those for whom the Atonement was made are not yet all
gatheredin. Many sheep He has which are not yet of His fold. We are
therefore to pray for Him, that the goodwork which He has undertaken may
be prospered, and that one by one those whom His Father gave Him may be
brought to reconciliationand to eternal life.
Brethren, the Lord Jesus Christdescribes Himself as being still persecuted
and still suffering. He said to Saul, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
He calls His people Himself! They are His mystical body, and in praying for
the Church we pray for Christ! He is the Head of the body, and you cannot
pray for the body except you pray for the Head! We must put them all into
one prayer. He is still struggling with the hosts of darkness in His Church. He
is still striving for the victory over sin in His people, and His people are
waiting and longing for His secondadvent which shall fulfill their brightest
hopes.

We must still pray for Him, not personally, but relatively–for His cause, for
His kingdom, for His Gospel, for His people, for His blood-bought ones who as
yet are in the ruins of the Fall–forHis secondcoming, and glorious reign. In
this sense, I take it, the text is meant that “prayer also shall be made for Him
continually.” And now, Brothers and Sisters, I want, keeping to the one
thought of the text, to show the light which gleams from it.
1. And, in the first place, if it is so, if we do, indeed, pray for Christ
continually, how this thought ELEVATES THE TONE OF OUR
PRAYERS!Think awhile–there are some prayers which are terribly
narrow, selfish, and contracted–the suppliant mentions nothing but his
own experience, or, at the widest, the trials of his household. He goes
through his ownprivate interests, and rehearsesthe sorrows ofhis own
little sphere. He repeats them. He never seems to getbeyond them.
At family prayer in such a case, “Give us this day our daily bread” seems to
be the major petition, and, “Forgive us our debts” is perhaps the only other.
The man prays like the blind horse at the mill–he travels round, and round,
and round continually the same circle of prayer. Now, if that Brother could
but getinto his mind once and for all that there were a greatmany others to
pray for beside himself and beside his family–if he could remember that Paul
wills, in the name of the Holy Spirit, that prayer should be made for all ranks
and conditions of men–if such a man could hearall the ministers of Christ
saying, “Brethren, pray for us,” and could remember that we are to pray for
all the household of faith, why that would tend to getthe man off his narrow
selfishness!
And if he could graspthe still higher thought that in coming to the Mercy Seat
we may come for Christ as well as by Christ, and may have a prayer to pray
even for Him who is the Apostle, and High Priest of our profession, he would
surely look upon prayer as being altogethera different thing from what he
had conceivedit to be! He would get out of that narrow rut and begin to pray
something more worthy of a child of God! Full conviction of this thought
would save us from selfishness in connectionwith those prayers which have a
wider circumference but have their secretcenterin ourselves.
We do pray for the conversionof sinners, but I have been afraid, sometimes,
lest I have been praying for sinners to be converted under my own ministry,
with the view of being thought a useful preacher. And it is not impossible that
some of you, in your classes, seeking to do good, may have desired usefulness
with the view of wearing it as a jewelto ornament yourselves–or, ifyou sought
not honor for selfexactly–it may have been for some honored person whom
your affectionhas made to be part of yourselves.

Now I do not think I ought to desire conversions for the sake ofmy minister,
even though his ministry may be very dear to me, nor for the honor of my
Christian Sister or Christian Brother, though their work may be exceedingly
precious in my sight. I must take care that I supplicate for souls to be saved,
and the kingdom of Christ to be advancedwith no sinisteraim mingling with
the prayer.
Now if I pray it for Christ, if I pray that sinners may be convertedfor His
glory, to show forth the powerof His Gospel, to let men see that the pleasure
of the Lord is prospering in His hands, then I shall ask for the mercies which I
need with a better Grace and be less likely to “have not, because”I “have
askedamiss.” And do you not see, also, how this would lift us beyond the
narrow hounds of sectarianism? Imean just this–there is a possibility of
desiring the extensionof the Savior’s kingdom only in one direction–namely,
in that direction in which we are most interested. It is right for a man to love
that body of Christians with which he is most intimately connected, and to
love them best because he believes that they are most faithful to the Truth of
God–but he should not desire their increase merely for the prevalence of a
party name!
He must desire it for the increase ofthe one greatuniversal Church of Christ,
and for the extensionof the Truth of God because it is the Truth of God–not
because it happens to be a Truth which he has received. I heard a speechthe
other day by a beloved WesleyanBrother, and it did me much goodto hear it.
He said, “If God is pleasedto scourge us Wesleyans forour sins, and to
withhold a large measure of success, I will then pray that he would bless you
Baptists, and make up through you what the Church may lose through us.”
When I heard him sayit and knew he meant it, I could not but feel my soul
knit to such a man–a man who loves the Church of Christ and loves it for
Christ’s sake, forthe sake ofsouls–andfor the Truth’s sake. This is just how
all of us ought to feel–that we wish to see all the Churches multiply and
increase–andwhereverTruth is preached, wish to see that Truth prevail.
DearFriends, if we adopt the thought that we must pray for conversions for
Jesus'sake,we shall be uplifted from the realm of jealous bickering!We shall
say, “No, I do not desire conversions becauseofthat Church, or that man, or
that body, nor even merely because ofthe whole Church itself! But I desire
the extensionof the Truth of God for Christ. I pray for Him.” Your minds will
be enlarged, your souls will be expanded, and you will have come to the
stature of men in Christ Jesus.
Moreover, I have noticed, dearFriends, that when we canask for any
deliverance as for Christ, we may pray very earnestlyagainstan evil without

any bitterness mingling with the prayer. It is the duty of every Christian to
pray againstAntichrist, and as to what Antichrist is. No sane man ought to
raise a question. If it is not the Popery in the Church of Rome and in the
Church of England, there is nothing in the world that can be calledby that
name. If there were to be issueda hue and cry for Antichrist, we should
certainly take up those two churches on suspicion, and they certainly would
not be let loose again, for they so exactly answerthe description.
Popery anywhere, whether it be Anglican or Romish, is contrary to Christ’s
Gospel!And it is the Antichrist, and we ought to pray againstit! It should be
the daily prayer of every Believerthat Antichrist might be hurled like a
millstone into the flood and sink to rise no more. If we can pray againsterror
for Christ because it wounds Christ, because it robs Christ of His glory,
because it puts sacramentalefficacyin the place of His Atonement and lifts a
piece of bread into the place of the Savior, and a few drops of water into the
place of the Holy Spirit, and puts a mere fallible man like ourselves up as the
vicar of Christ on earth–if we pray againstit because it is againstHim–we
shall love the persons though we hate their errors! We shall love their souls
though we loathe and detest their dogmas, and so the breath of our prayers
will be sweetenedbecausewe turn our faces towards Christwhen we pray.
We are to pray for Him.
Do you know, dear Brothers and Sisters, it seems to me to make prayer so
sweetto think that we can pray for Jesus!The Mercy Seatis inestimably
precious to us when we can pray there for ourselves. Whenwe canbring the
case ofa dear child or loving friend it is a blessing for which to be perpetually
grateful. Oh the blessednessofprayer! Our hearts might break for lack of a
way of expressing our love if we had not this method of telling it out before the
Mercy Seaton the behalf of those dear to us. But, Beloved, to think that I may
pray for Christ–that I may pray for Him who prayed for me, and plead on His
behalf who with sighs and tears pleaded on the behalf of poor helpless me–it
ought to be a very greatcomfort to some of you who cannot do much else
beside pray for Jesus.
I dare say you have thought, “I wish I could preach for Christ.” It is a very
laudable wish! Covet earnestlythe bestgifts. But if you feelthat you cannot
speak to edificationand are thus debarred from that honorable exercise, you
must seek anothermode of service. Then you have said, “I wish I could give to
Christ’s cause. If He would make me His steward. If He would trust me with
money, how willingly would I consecrate itto Him!” But you have no money
and you are, perhaps, so poor you cannot do anything in that direction–
though you would do very much if you could. Now, what a mercy it is that

there is this which you can do–you canpray for Christ! You can come to the
treasury and drop in your prayers, and if they are all you have, they will be
like the widow’s two mites which were not precious to Christ because they
were mites nor because she was a widow–but because they were all her living.
Ah, if your prayers are all you can give God–and all your living–drop them
into the Church’s treasury, and say, “Well, I cannotdo much else, but my
daily constantprayer shall go up that the Lord would prosper the Gospelof
His dear Sonand make Him to rule and govern the wide world over.” Dear
Friends, here is room for questioning ourselves. Have you and I been
neglectfulin this form of prayer? If we have, I am persuaded that it will casta
flatness and a stalenessoverall our devotionalexercises. Ifyou have not
prayed for Christ, I am afraid, dear Friend, that much of your ownprayer
will have been displeasing to God. Remember that the same Christ who tells
us to say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” had first given us this petition,
“Hallowedbe Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as
it is in Heaven.”
Do not let your prayers be all about your own sins, your own needs, your own
imperfections, your own trials! Let them climb the starry ladder and getup to
Christ Himself! And then, as you draw near to the blood-sprinkled Mercy
Seat, offer this prayer continually, “Lord, extend the kingdom of Your dear
Son.” Such a petition, fervently presented, will tend to elevate the spirit and
tenor of our prayers.
II. In the secondplace, praying for Christ will suggestto us MANY THEMES
OF PRAYER. To pray for Christ is a very large topic, for it will bring before
us something fresh for every day in the week. I must plead for Christ’s cause
on earth according to its presentcondition and circumstances.ConsequentlyI
shall need to keepmy eyes open to see in what plight the kingdom of Christ is.
As a generallooks along the whole line of battle and sends reinforcements
where the line appears to be most weak, so will the true man who prays for
Christ look along the line of the Church’s work and pray most for that which
is in the worst state–offering up his prayers for Christ according as Christ’s
cause seems to need those prayers.
There are some topics which constantlyclaim our care–youmay always pray
for them. One is that Christ may have always enoughwitnesses forthe Truth
on earth. Your Lord has said, “Prayyou the Lord of the harvest, that He
would send forth laborers into His harvest.” It is a prayer much forgotten, but
it needs to be revived in the Church before we shall see much revival. There
are many Churches now that cannot find pastors. In some districts, especially
in America, there are Churches by the score without ministers, and

apparently they must remain so for years to come. There is a general
complaint throughout all denominations of a shortage ofearnestfirst-class
men who shall devote themselves to the ministry. And this shortage will be
and will increase until the Church takes it up and prays that He who ascended
up on high and receivedgifts for men would be pleasedto give her againher
Apostles and ministers, her teachers andher evangelists, eachaccording to his
proper station.
We must pray for men of God, and you need never be afraid that the prayer
will be needless in your lifetime, for if we had ten times as many witnesses for
Christ, the world needs them. Look at China with its millions, India with its
teeming masses, andeven our colonies wide and far spread with a fearful lack
of preachers of the Word! There are large companies of men who speak our
language and who left our shores, who, for lack of teachers, are almost
subsiding into heathendom and will perish for lack of knowledge unless there
is a fresh host raised up of preachers of the Cross ofChrist!
Pray, then, dear Friends, that God would find out and equip men to be
heralds of peace to the people, and help those of us who labor even beyond our
strength to aid young men whom God has called to His work to getthe
knowledge whichtheir office requires. Another prayer may always go with it,
namely, pray for those that are alreadyin the field. “Brethren, pray for us,”
said the Apostle. If you have nothing to pray for, for yourselves, here stands
one before you who needs all your prayers and feels that he needs them, and
humbly with his whole heart begs you to let him live in your private devotions.
Brethren, we are rich when you enrich us with your supplications!We are
strong when you strengthen us with your prayers! A few loving tears shed for
us in private will be of more value to us than anything else you can possibly
bestow upon us. Some of my Brethren are fainting from lack of success–
hundreds of them are growing cold because ofthe coldness ofthe church
members who surround them. Some of them are struggling with poverty–all
of us, alas, are too weak for the work we have engagedin! Pray for us! You
are praying for Christ, and if we are His servants–ifHe has truly sent us–you
pray for the Master’s business when you pray that the servants may do that
business well. You pray for the Ownerof the vineyard when you ask that the
trimmers of the vines may know how to execute their tasks.
And when these two prayers have passedfrom your hearts to your lips, there
is another–pray that Godwould open doors of utterance to us among the
people. Ask that God would send the spirit of hearing throughout this city to
begin with, and then throughout all England. It is poor gain that you have the
preachers unless the people will listen–the trumpet sounds in vain if men stop

their ears!God can, in a moment, as we know by past experience, influence
people to say, “Come and let us go up to the house of the Lord.”
I believe that through the last visitation of the cholera there is a spirit of
hearing in London such as has not been for many years. Thank God for this!
Ask that a desire to hear may be continued and increased. Intercede with the
greatLord of All that in every country the hearing earmay be bestowed–that
God’s faithful servants may be cheerfully receivedand be enabled to
accomplishtheir errand with a hundred-fold success. But, my Brothers and
Sisters, I have only opened the bag. I have only commencedthe list of matters
for which you could pray if you would really pray for Christ! I would ask you,
then, to pray especiallyfor the conversionof many souls. This is Christ’s
delight, His love, His heart’s joy.
You were told lastSunday morning that there was “joy in Heaven over one
sinner that repents.” The angels sing, but Christ is the Choirmasterthere. He
is the chief Musician, for He has the greatestjoy! It is His joy, His Heaven to
see sinners saved! Pray, pray for Him, then! You are praying for the
Shepherd when you pray for the lostsheep. You are praying for the King
when you ask that the lost jewels ofHis crownmay be found and settherein!
Oh that we loved souls as Christ loves them! Then we would hunger and thirst
after their salvation! Oh for the tender heart of the weeping Savior, that no
soul might go down to Hell not sprinkled with our tears!
Brethren, pray for those who are saved, or who make a professionof it, that
they may be kept from falling into sin. You are in an eminent degree praying
for Christ when you offer such an intercession, for He is crucified afresh when
professors fall. If I had an offer now of losing this right arm or having to
endure in this Church some such falls as we have had to mourn over, and as
the world has seenof late among high professors, Ido feelI can say without
hypocrisy I would choose to be cut limb from limb soonerthan see those
whom I have loved and honored fall from the faith. It is a bitter thing to us,
who are ministers of Christ–it is our curse and plague–itcosts us sleepless
nights and miserable days when we hear of those that apparently did run well
but turn back to the world!
Pray for professors thatthey fall not! And as you hope to be kept yourselves, I
charge you pray for every tempted soul that his faith fail him not in the trying
hour. Forgetnot to pray for the Church of God that it may be knit togetherin
one. Do not ask that it may be made uniform–that is neither desirable nor
probable–but pray that all Christians may be one as the Father is one with the
Son. That is, one in spirit, so that we, divided as we always shall be as to our
thoughts upon many points, may be one in the hope that animates us–in the

spirit that actuates us. Pray that we may be one in the life of God that pulsates
in our souls. Pray that the Churches may be knit togetherin holy love and
may strive togetherfor nothing but the advancementof the faith of Christ.
Nor have I done. When you have thus prayed for Christ, and I am sure it is all
for Christ if you so pray, then ask that the kingdoms of this world may
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Let no ideas of doctrine
check you in such a prayer–you are bound to pray it! The example of
Prophets and of Apostles urges you forward! Your allegiance to King Jesus
should constrainyou to it. You believe that He will come, but believe also the
Truth of God which is equally certain that He shall have dominion from sea to
sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
Though you may not be able to reconcile that universal reign with the other
Truth of His coming as a thief in the night, do not try to reconcile it! Believe it
because you find it in the Bible and, believing it, pray that you may see it. Do
not indulge the thought that Christ is not to reign in China. That He is not to
be King where the gods of the heathens rule. My Brothers and Sisters, He is to
be so! Do not think He has only suffered upon Calvary to gatherout a few
from among men! The day is coming when He shall gather out a multitude
that no man can number–who shall be His in the day of His appearing. Pray
for this. Pray for the all-conquering progress ofthe Gospelof King Jesus!
Do not restrict your thoughts and limit your desires. Be ambitious for Christ.
Nothing but universal monarchy ought to content you, as only it will content
the Master. The little stone cut out of the mountain without hands must fill the
whole earth, and every other image, though it is an image of gold or iron, shall
be broken in pieces before the dominion of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ! Pray for it, my Brothers and Sisters!Pray for it day and night, and let
the verse of Dr. Watts be true of you–
“ForHim shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head.”
Thus I have tried to show you that this doctrine of praying for Christ instructs
us in a variety of topics. I should againlike to ask the question, whether you
really have been up to the mark in this–whetherthere has not been a good
deal of negligence upon many of these points? I am afraid I shall have to
confess negligence myself, and perhaps most of you will. But do not let us
remain satisfiedwith confession!Let us ask for Divine Grace that our prayers,
from now on, shall be larger, wider, broader, more heavenly, more generous,
more like the thoughts of the Infinite Mind, while we chiefly, and above all

things, remember the work, and interest, and cause of Christ! As He
remembers us, so let us remember Him.
III. Thirdly, it appears to me that if we were to look upon our prayers as
being in a greatmeasure prayers for Christ, this would tend to inspire us with
PECULIAR EARNESTNESS. Imust pray for Christ or else I am not
consistentwith my profession. I profess to be His servant. What? And not ask
for the successofmy Master? I avow myself to be His disciple–a disciple, and
not anxious that the Truths which I receive from my Teachershould win their
way? I call myself His friend. He calls me so in return–a Friend–and not show
myself friendly enough to put up a word of prayer for Him? He has saidI am
His brother–a brother who does not pray for his brother is most unbrotherly!
Moreover, He has deigned to call the collective body of His people His spouse–
a spouse that does not pray for her husband is most unwifely. We must not so
act if we are Christians in deed and in truth.
One of the first marks of Christians was that they met togetherand sung
hymns in the honor of one calledChrist. And another mark is that they meet
togetherand pray for the extensionof the kingdom of one whom they called
Jesus. I have a secondreasonfor so praying, namely, that gratitude dictates to
me to pray. Oh, what has Jesus done for me! When I am praying for His
Church I am apt to think of her faults, perhaps of her unkindness to me, and
my prayer lacks force. But when I pray for Christ, so good, so tender, so self-
denying, laying down His life for His sheep. When I think of His bleeding out
that life for me–for me a sinner and once His enemy–how can I but pray for
Him? Pray for You, Jesus? This is but a poor return for all Your groans and
bloody sweatand agonyfor me.
I think I shall love prayer better than I have ever done if I am able to
remember that I can speak a word in God’s ear for Him whose blood speaks
for me! It will be a delightful satisfactionforme in my times of communion
with my Fatherwho is in Heaven to say to Him–“and, my Father, there is One
whom You love, who died on my behalf, though I deserved it not, and I pray
You glorify Him. Increase His kingdom! Help me to honor Him. Cause human
hearts to feelHis power. Give Him dominion overtens of thousands of the
sons of men.”
Does it not, dear Friend, quicken the pulse of your prayer? Do you think it
possible to pray at a sluggishrate when you pray for Jesus? Ihave heard some
people say, “I could not speak upon any subject but one,” and that one subject
has been some kind friend who helped them in time of trouble. “Oh,” they say,
“I could speak abouthim! That is a topic I could always find words upon.”
Someone to whom you are grateful holds a key with which to unloose your

tongue. And if you cannot pray for anything else, surely you can, you must,
you shall pray for the Lord Jesus!As both our consistencyand our gratitude
will thus quicken us to prayer if we pray for Christ, surely our love to Him
will tend to do the same.
Loved of Christ from before all worlds, we love Him in return. We never pray
more fervently, I suppose, than for those whom we love best. He who does not
love sinners cannotpray aright for them. When we love sinners, then the
prayer is fervent. And when we love Jesus, thenwill the prayer be earnest.
Love is the flaming torch to kindle the pile of our devotions. Brethren, we
have something more than love to Christ. We are, if we are true Believers, one
with Him–members of His body. All that concerns Him concerns us, not
because we are partners merely, but because we are part and parcelof
Himself. There is but one Christ, and His Church is one with Him.
We, members of His Church, are eachone in living union with Him. No man,
says Paul, everyet hated his own flesh! Now, if I, professing to be a Christian,
were to neglectChrist, I should be neglecting myself since He takes me into
union with Himself. Do I ask that His kingdom may come? It is a kingdom in
which I am to reign! Do I ask that His glory may be increased? It is a glory of
which I am to be a partaker! Do I crave that His joy may be full? That joy is
to be in me! How canI but pray when I am one with the Saviorfor whom I
put up my supplications?
I am afraid I cannotput what I mean into words which carry it home to you.
But to my ownmind it is like a wafermade with honey which I canroll under
my tongue and enjoy in its sweetness,to think that I have the possibility of
pleading for Jesus!I feel convincedthat it has a tendency to blow up the flame
of prayer. I trust that the man who traveled slowlybefore will all at once put
on his speedwhen he comes to pray for Christ Jesus.
IV. Very briefly, in the fourth place. If I canlook at my prayers in the light
which has been mentioned, it will tend very much to give me SPECIAL
ENCOURAGEMENTin offering them at the Mercy Seat. He who has to
present a petition will go with greatconfidence when he feels that the person
for whom he makes intercessionis exceedinglywell worthy. Brothers and
Sisters, if I pray for a guilty sinner I may have confidence. But when I pray
for such a One as the Lord Jesus, my confidence canhave no bounds set to it!
Observe what He is! He is in constantfavor with God. “This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am wellpleased.”
From the excellence ofHis Character and the dignity of His Person, He
deserves to be the Belovedof His Father, and He is such. He is God’s well-

beloved. It is easywork, then, to plead for Him. Now, if I pray for my
minister, for the Church, for the conversionof sinners, I may feela little
difficulty. But when I can make sure that I am praying for these for Christ’s
sake and with a view to His honor–andam thus virtually praying for Christ–
why then, if enabled by the Holy Spirit, it becomes easyto pray because I
know I must succeedwhenI am asking honor for Him whom the King
delights to honor!
Brethren, when I think upon the merits of Christ in the matter of His
mediatorial sufferings, how it encouragesme to pray! I ask that He may be
crownedwho was obedient to death, even the death of the Cross. Canthis be
denied? Is not the crown well earned? Canthe reward be withheld? I ask that
the piercedhand may be filled with the scepter, and that the feet once nailed
to the Cross may be planted upon earth’s dominions as upon a footstool. Can
it be refused? Am I not asking that which His merit deserves? Which His
triumph claims and wins? In this case I have something more to plead, I have
God’s promise. It is written, “He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands.”
It is easywork to pray when we are grounded and bottomed, as to our desires,
upon God’s ownpromise! How canHe that gave the word refuse to keepit?
Immutable veracity cannotdemean itself by a lie! And eternal faithfulness
cannot degrade itself by neglect. Godmust bless His Son–His covenantbinds
Him to it. That which the Spirit prompts us to ask for Jesus is that which God
decrees to give Him! Brothers and Sisters, wheneveryou are praying for the
kingdom of Christ, let your eyes behold the dawning of the blessedday which
draws near when the Crucified shall receive His coronationin the place where
men rejectedHim! The cause ofChrist is downtrodden now–it shall not be so
forever.
We have been for centuries like soldiers that keepthe field againsta foe
inveterate and mighty. We have been wearily waiting in the trenches. We have
been mournfully standing behind the bulwarks. But the day is coming when
the Mastershallsay to us what the Hebrew Prophet said to Israel’s tribes at
the RedSea, “Forward, forward!” And then we will be no longer merely
keeping the ground but winning province after province for King Jesus!No
longerstoring our arrows in our quivers that they may be ready for the
onslaught–but fitting them to the string and sending them like a mighty
shower–weshallmarch to triumph and to universal victory!
Courage, you that prayerfully work and toil for Christ with successofthe
very smallestkind! It shall not be so always. Bettertimes are before you. Your
eyes cannotsee the blissful future! Borrow the telescope offaith. Wipe the

misty breath of your doubts from the glass. Look through it and see the
coming glory! Messiah’s kingdomcomes!The trumpet soonshall sound!
Peace shallbe proclaimed! His saints shall reign in joy! Before long the
millennial era shall begin and Jesus shallhave His own.
Behold Him reigning upon the throne of His father David. The kings of the
Isles bring him presents, Sheba and Seba offer Him their gifts. It must be so,
Brethren! Christ has not died merely to win this little island, and a few other
nations! He has died to redeem this whole round world as a jewelwhich He
will wearin His crown, and He shall have it! I say the whole round world yet
shall shine like a pearl in His diadem! He must, He shall reign over all nations
till every enemy is put under foot. The sails that whiten every sea shall bear
His messengers to the islands of the South. The caravans that cross the desert
shall convey His ambassadors to proclaim in the far-off oasis oramong the
wandering Bedouins His sacredname. The gates ofbrass which deny Him
entrance must be broken! The bars of iron that shut out His heralds from any
land must be snapped.
Hoary systems of superstition must crumble and the moles and bats shall yet
be the sole companions of the gods of heathendom. Rejoice, rejoice!The cause
for which you plead is one which Heaven ordains to bless!Everlasting decrees
stand like lions to guard the throne of Christ! The mighty arm of the Most
High is made bare to avenge His own elect. High shall the banner of the Cross
be lifted! Soonshall the shout of victory make Heaven’s loftiest arches ring
and Hell itself shall tremble at the dreaded sound–for the King immortal,
eternal, invisible, must reign and put down all dominion and power–andthen
shall He give the kingdom to God, even the Father.
1. In closing, the last thought which occurredto me was this–when we put
our prayer in such a light that we pray for Christ it DEMANDS
CONSISTENTACTION. I cannot pray for Christ and then rise from
my knees and go and sin againstthe very kingdom which I hope to
spread! I ask you what is it but damnable hypocrisy for a man to say,
“Your kingdom come,” and then to go out, and by inconsistentconduct,
pull down the walls of Zion? What shall I sayof that professorwhose
daily life in ordinary business is a continual splattering the Gospelwith
mud, and yet he says, “Your kingdom come”? Awaywith the
hypocritical lips which can honor Christ in public, when the hands, the
true tokenof the heart, will afterwards privately pluck down the Cross!
Ah, my Hearers, how many professors do this! How many who even give and
contribute liberally will afterwards, in the way in which they get their money,
or seek to get it, or in the conduct of their daily business, or in their families,

bring infinitely more discredit upon religion than their contributions can ever
bring honor to the Cross? If you pray for Christ, live like He lived! If you
profess to desire His prosperity, do not, I pray you, cause Him to be wounded
in the house of His friends!
But further, this is not enough. If I really pray for Christ I must take care to
be on my watch to know what to pray for, so as to make my prayer a sensible
prayer–a prayer of the understanding. Some members of the Church do not
know what the Church needs at the present moment. They could not plead for
Sunday schools, forthey never take the trouble to enquire into their present
condition. Could some of you pray for our own schoolas it should be prayed
for? You could pray a sort of generalhit-or-miss prayer, but you do not know
whether the Sunday schoolis well attended. You do not know whether the
teachers are godly young men and women and knit togetherin love, or
whether they are all divided and split into factions.
We ought to know, as Church members, it seems to me, something about all
the agencies–butall about some one agencyin which we take particular
concern. And we should getto be acquainted with the condition of the Church
of which we are members. And also, as far as our means will allow us, we
should be acquainted with the condition of the Church of God at large. We
should take interestin it, feeling that it is our ownconcern. And then when we
pray we should pray with better spirit, understanding what we are asking for.
Then, Friends, if we did this we are not afraid but what the lastthing would
be well attended to, namely, that we should take care that we add to our
prayers our continual personalservice.
The old fable of the priest who would not give the man a farthing but would
give him his prayers, is very like many professors.Theypray for the kingdom,
but what are they doing? Many young men who are quietly at home in
England ought to be missionaries abroad!Many others who are following
their calling successfullyought to have devoted themselves to the ministry.
And there are many Christian men who are making money for themselves
who have gotenough and ought to shut up shop for themselves and keepshop
for Christ–they ought to make money for Christ with as much earnestnessas I
would preach the Gospelfor Christ!
I have no doubt that many would thus serve the Masterfar more eminently
than do half the professedpreachers. Oh, if you are not doing something for
Jesus let your closets chide you! Let your hymns, which you have been singing
about His coming and His triumph–let them provoke you! But oh, my
Brothers and Sisters, insteadof appealing to all these considerations, I shall
put it upon this footing–byHim who loved you, if, indeed, He loved you! By

Him who died for you, if, indeed, you have a share in His passion!By Him
who lives for you, if, indeed, you have been quickenedtogetherwith Him! By
Him who pleads for you this day before the Eternal Throne, if, indeed, your
names are on His breastplate–Ido charge you–live to Jesus!
Live now to Him! Live while you live! Live with all the possible energyof life!
Let the love of Christ be an allconsuming passionwith you! Find out some
way in which to increase His kingdom. Ah, my Hearers, I bless God for you
because the most of you are serving Him. I rejoice in you! You are the jewels
of my crownof rejoicing because youdo serve the Master!Many of you live
even Apostolic lives in your eagernessto spread abroad the Truth of God! But
alas, some of you I might speak of“even weeping,” becauseyouare indifferent
and almostdead to the blessedpowerof love within the soul!
May God revive us all! May the Holy Spirit constrain us to more consecrated
living! I am in hopes that the Prayer Meetings held every morning and
evening will be the means of bringing the Church into a warm-hearted,
happy, holy, earneststate and that there will not be one left among us whose
soul shall have been so dead as never to himself have said, “This is my work.
Christ is my King. And now I will live for Him and pray for Him in the hope
that I may at last die and be with Him where He is, and behold His glory–the
glory which His Father gave Him–and be one with Him in Heaven forever and
ever!”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Christ On The Throne
Psalm72:15
W. Forsyth If it may be said of the twenty-secondpsalm that it lets us see
Christ on the cross, it may be saidof this that it shows us Christ on the throne.
Instead of humiliation, there is exaltation; insteadof the mockeryof "the
purple robe," there is the homage of angels;instead of the wickedcries 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 Ezekielsaw came, there was life; and
so where the gospelof Christ comes, there is life. The mind that before was
dark has the life of truth; the consciencethat 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 wellbeing 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 itselfin accordancewith
its nature and needs. The mind that has light cries for more light; the
conscience, awakenedto a sense of sin, seeksdeliverance;the heart that has
been touched with the love of Godyearns for more love and nearer fellowship.
So it was with Paul. "Behold, he prayeth!" and so onward, through all the
toils and struggles ofhis noble life, he continued instant in prayer.
III. THAT WHERE THERE IS PRAYER THE SUPREME DESIREWILL
BE THE GLORY OF CHRIST. Self will be lost in love. Concernabout
ourselves will be merged in concernfor the glory of Christ our Lord. "Prayer
shall be made for him."
1. Forhis cause. Whatinterests him will interest us; what lies nearesthis
heart will be nearestours. There is unity of life.
2. Forhis 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. Forhis secondcoming. His first coming was the hope of Israel;his second
coming is the hope of the Church of the gospel(Revelation22:20;Titus 2:13).
"Prayerfor Christ" increases ourlove to him, binds us in closerunion with
the brethren, and enables us to transmit the blessedhope 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
And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba.
Psalm72:15
The greatnessofthe Redeemer's life
J. H. Hill.I. THE GREATNESSOF HIS LIFE IS SEEN IN THE
MAGNITUDE OF ITS INFLUENCE.
1. It is co-extensive with creation. Christ is to be the centre of universal
attraction. Analogy, the greatness ofthe agenciesemployed, and the Word of
God warrant the conclusion.
2. It is an abiding influence. "His name shall endure," etc. Men, emperors,
come and go like baubles upon the stream;but Christ lives for ever! Time
destroys not His power, but unfolds it. "He reigneth king for ever."
3. It is a blissful influence. "And men shall be blessedin Him." A worm may
make many miserable;but it requires a God-like nature to enhance the
happiness of one soul. The life of Christ fills creationwith blessedness. This
greatBenefactordoes this by destroying the sources ofmisery, and by calling
into exercise everyfountain of bliss in the soul.
4. It is reflectively glorious. "Dailyshall He be praised." He is the grand
objectof universal admiration and love.
II. THE GREATNESSOF HIS LIFE IS DEVELOPED THROUGHMEANS.
What are the means?
1. Truth. The Gospelcontains the greatbiography of Jesus, and this is .the
mighty instrumentality. "I am not ashamedof the Gospelof Christ," etc.
2. Wealth. "To Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba." Ye men of wealth,
remember that every piece of gold and silver ought to appear to you as if
stamped with the image of the Son of God.
3. Prayer.
III. THE GREATNESSOF HIS LIFE IS EXPERIENCEDIN THE
HEAVENWARD DIRECTION IT GIVES MANKIND. He makes men pray
to and praise Him. "And daily shall He be praised."
1. Such persons owe their existence to Christ. "We are His workmanship."

2. Such persons are the finest specimens of human excellence. The highest
types of characterhave always beenfound in men of earnestprayer.
Abraham, Noah, Job, Daniel, Paul, and Christ all prayed.
3. Such men alone fully give scope to their faculties to honour Him.
IV. THE GREATNESSOF HIS LIFE IS SEEN IN THE REALIZATION
THROUGH ETERNITYOF HIS WORK ON EARTH.
1. He will live in all that relates to man on earth; in such things as institutions,
literature, etc. His name will be emblazoned upon the page of every new work,
and His life will be the standard of all institutions.
2. He will live in the affectionate remembrance of a redeemed people.
3. He will live as the expressionof all excellence — love, benevolence, truth,
justice, authority.
4. He will live as the centre of all attraction to the glorified Church.
(J. H. Hill.)
Messiah's predictedlife
D. Young, D. D.We may view the text in a threefold aspect.
1. As a prophecy of the endless life to which our Saviour would be raised. "He
shall live." As "the high priest of our profession," He was to die. This was the
grand purpose of His mission; for it was by dying that He was to "finish the
work given Him to do." But having died, and thereby "put awaysin," and
"abolisheddeath," He would live again, Himself the most satisfying evidence,
and the most glorious example, of "the life and immortality He has brought to
light by the Gospel."
2. As a prophecy of the blessedness to which our Saviourwould be exalted.
"He shall live." To live in the more common acceptationofit in Scripture, is
to enjoy existence, to partake of true felicity, to be blessed. "Your heart shall
live for ever" (Psalm 22:26); that is, shall be eternally happy. So, "your heart
shall live that seek God" (Psalm69:32);and, "we live, if ye stand fast in the
Lord" (1 Thessalonians 3:8). In this sense the text is to be understood.
Messiah"shalllive": as He would be raised from the dead to die no more, so
He would be exalted to boundless and endless blessedness.
3. As a prophecy of the prosperity and the perpetuity of our Saviour's reign.
"He shall live;" and in what character? As Zion's King. He would not only be
raisedto an endless life, and exalted to the highest blessedness;but as the
King of the Church, His reign would be prosperous and perpetual. The same
idea is expressedin parallel prophecies (Isaiah9:6, 7; Jeremiah23:5, 6).

(D. Young, D. D.)
Prayer also shallbe made for Him continually; and daily shall He be praised.
Prayer for Christ
J. Harris, D. D.I. THE TEXT IS A PREDICTION;reminding us, in the first
place, that the Bible is distinguished from every other book, professedly
Divine, by the grandeur and the authoritative tone of its promises, and by the
multitude and splendour of its predictions. Human philosophy may be said to
have had three creeds;which might not improperly be distinguished as the
creedof the past, of the present, and of the future. The books of Pagan
antiquity sang only of the golden-agedpasta — of scenes ofpastoralsimplicity
and happiness never to return; while, for the future, they could saynothing —
their burden was despair. Then came the creedof the present. As early
antiquity faded from view, man became prepared for the philosophy of
Epicurus — for the optimism which professesto be satisfiedwith things as
they are; and which, insteadof aiming at human improvement, acts on the
animal maxim, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." But to this has
now generallysucceededthe creed of the future — a philosophical belief in the
perfectibility of the species — a persuasionthat man is, at length, on the high
road to perfection. Now, all these voices are but perversions of the greattruths
of the Bible as to the past, the present, and the glorious future. The Bible is the
true prophet of hope.
II. THE MEANS BY WHICH THIS PREDICTIONIS TO BE FULFILLED.
It is by prayer. Philosophy may object, but we rely on it as indispensable in
the order of means. For prayer is the condition on which God puts forth His
power. For with even more clearness thanthe law of the Divine
unchangeablenessis revealed, the law that prayer prevails with God is
revealedlikewise.
III. But not only does the text predict a change, and representprayer as a
means of realizing that change;IT DESCRIBES THAT PRAYER AS
PARTAKING OF A SPECIFIC CHARACTER — as prayer for Christ;
"prayer also shall be made for him continually."
IV. THE WISDOM AND GRACE OF THIS ARRANGEMENT. For —
1. It keeps us in our proper place, at the feetof God.
2. It gives us opportunity of afreshavowing our adorationof the scheme of
redemption by Christ.
3. It affords the strongestassuranceofsuccessin prayer.

4. It enables all to show their love to Christ by aiding in the advancementof
His Kingdom.
V. But let us regard THE ESPECIALOBJECT OF OUR PRAYER in the
behalf of Christ: what are we to pray for? Our prayers cannot be necessary
for Him, in the same sense in which they are necessaryfor ourselves, and for
eachother. He knows no want, for all things are given into His hands. The
prayer, then, that is to be made for Him is not to be made for Him personally,
but relatively — on accountof His relationto other beings — His relation to
us. But not only is prayer to be made for the reign of Christ — the text
predicts its continuity, or uninterruptedness; "prayer also shall be made for
Him continually." Under the former dispensation, the fire which burnt upon
the goldenaltar was never allowedto go out — and the ardent desire of the
pious Israelites for the coming of Christ glowedcontinually on the altar of
their hearts — it never went out. Observe, again, that prayer for Christ is to
be offered conjointly with other things — "prayer also." In all conquered
lands, the subjection of the people was marked by two things — their money
was stamped with the name of the conqueror, and they were obliged to pray
for him in their public worship. In allusion to this fact, it is here saidof the
conquering Saviour — "To Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba, prayer
also shall be made for Him continually." The gold of Sheba — a portion of
our worldly substance is to be devoted to Him, in connectionwith our prayers.
For to pray in His behalf, without accompanying the act with this proof of our
sincerity, would be as profane as to use all other kind of means except prayer
would be impious. How many and how powerful the motives, then, which
should induce us to pray for the reign of Christ! A sense of consistency
demands it. A principle of benevolence to man requires it. A principle of
gratitude requires it. He has prayed for us with strong crying and tears, or we
should not, at this moment, be in a condition to pray for ourselves. He gave
Himself for us. His priestly robes are never laid aside. And shall we intermit
our prayers for Him? Let a sense ofour obligation induce us to pray for Him.
(J. Harris, D. D.)
Prayer for Christ
W. Jay.Is prayer, then, necessaryfor Him? Is He not above the reachof
danger, pain, want? Has He not all power? Therefore, ourprayer is not to be
for Him personally but relatively, and we pray for Him when we pray for His
ministers, His ordinances, His Gospel. Whatshould we pray for on His
behalf? We are to remember these four things.

I. THE DEGREE OF THE CHURCH'S RESOURCES:that there may be
sufficiency of fit instruments raised up.
II. THE FREEDOMOF ITS ADMINISTRATION — that all hindrances may
be put out of the way.
III. THE DIFFUSION OF ITS PRINCIPLES — that they may spread
everywhere.
IV. THE INCREASE OF ITS GLORY — that it may abound in all spiritual
excellence. Whatreasons there are for such prayer: how certain it is to be
heard if we be sincere in asking. Let our conduct prove this.
(W. Jay.)
Praying for Jesus
T. Spurgeon.We are, thank God, accustomedto praying to Jesus;we
approachHis footstoolgladly, and believingly, and we are never sentempty
away. We also pray through Jesus, appending His precious name to each
petition presentedto the Father. This it is that gives them worth. We cannot
fail to recollectthat He is now engagedin praying for us. It is perhaps
somewhatof a novelty to callto mind the fact that we are privileged, nay,
virtually enjoined, to pray for Him. It is a reversalof the acceptedorder of
things, a delightful change of programme. It behoves us to be as continual in
our prayer for Jesus as is our Mediatorupon the throne in His pleading on
our behalf.
I. WHAT SHOULD BE THE BURDEN OF OUR PRAYER? We do not want
in any case to utter vain words when our knees are bent before the throne, but
when we are praying for Jesus we must exercise very specialcare. We must
endeavour to discoverwhat Christ desires. We must pray intelligently,
reverently, lovingly, and to purpose. How may this be done? The best wayto
plead intelligently for Christ is to remember the promises that are given
concerning Him. Get hold of a promise and wrap our prayers about it; let the
Word of God be the nucleus of your petition, and then frame your own loving
supplications round the Spirit-breathed predictions. I have found, also, that in
this matter of praying for Jesus a considerationof the characterofHis work is
of considerable assistance. If you are wishing to do a friend a goodturn, or to
give a relation a present, you will naturally considerthe bent of that friend's
mind, the purpose of his life, the task that he may happen to have in hand,
that you may give an appropriate present, or offer acceptable service. Act
after the same manner with regardto Jesus. Contemplate Him, meditate upon
His character, reflecton His tastes and predilections. Try to discoverwhat
would please Him most. Why was He hero on earth? He said Himself, "The

Son of Man is come to seek andto Save that which was lost." Thenpray that
the lostmay be saved; that will please Him well. He was here to make
disciples;to gatherround Him and behind Him a fitting retinue, as became
the Prince of Life, albeit He was in disguise. Praythat the number of the
disciples may be increased, that those who profess to follow Him may follow,
not afaroff. He was here to sanctify the saints, to washthem with the washing
of water by the Word; He was here to make them cleanawayevery whir,
head, and hands, and heart, and feet. Well, pray that the saints may be made
holy and kept holy, for this will please Jesus;it will mean the completion of
the work that He came to earth to start,
II. HOW TO PRAY.
1. It must be continually, for so says the text, "Prayeralso should be made for
Him continually." Our interest in Christ should never subside; it should not
even know the changes that affectour prayers for others. I am not sure that
they should be so changeful, but certainly in our desire for Jesus there should
be no sort of variation.
2. Then pray loyally. "Vivat Rex!" "Long live the King!" "Hosanna!"
3. Then pray generouslyand practically, for the text says that the gold of
Sheba shall be given to Him. Praying and giving go well together. Let there be
self-denial with all your supplications. Give to Him gold if you have it, or
silver if you have nothing better. Give Him the bestyou possess.
4. Then pray praisefully, for those who pray continually are to praise daily.
"Daily shall He-be praised." Adore Him while you pray for Him. And with all
your praying let there be much of faith. Our prayers are wastedsometimes.
Why? Because theyare not prayers of faith.
(T. Spurgeon.)
Prayer a vital force
W. Y. Fullerton.I. PRAYER IS A VITAL FORCE IN THE KINGDOM OF
CHRIST.
II. THE SORT OF PRAYER SPOKEN OF IN THE TEXT EXPLAINS,
ILLUSTRATES, AND JUSTIFIES THESE STATEMENTS. Itis quite
certain that Christ is to live and to prevail: it is equally certain that prayer is
to be made for Him. Prayer is to be the greatmeans of bringing in the
kingdom: because Christ lives, prayer will be made: because prayeris made,
His kingdom will continue to grow. He Himself has taught us thus to pray:
when we sayto the Father, "Thy kingdom come," we are truly praying for
Christ, and the prayer is necessaryto the coming of the kingdom.

III. PRAYER FOR CHRIST IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAYER, It is
much more important that He shall prosper than I or you. He is greater. He
lives, I die. He lives not for Himself but for others; His prosperity will mean
that abundant grace shall come to others; and my prayer for Him will help to
hasten the day of His glory. So in praying for Him I am actually praying for
all His people. Surely such prayer is the highest.
(W. Y. Fullerton.)
Pray for JesusManypeople misunderstand such expression. If He were still on
earth we and if we pray for this we pray for Him.
I. SUCH PRAYER ELEVATES THE TONE OF OUR PRAYERS. We canbe
selfishin prayer, and narrow, and sectarian, and even bitter; but praying for
Christ will lift us above all this.
II. SUGGESTSMANY THEMES OF PRAYER — for fitting witnesses for
the truth; for those labouring in the field; for doors of utterance to be opened;
for conversionof many souls;for those who are saved; for the coming of
Christ's kingdom.
III. INSPIRES US WITH PECULIAR EARNESTNESS. Consistencywith my
profession;gratitude, love to Him — all prompt such prayer.
IV. GIVES SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT IN OUR PRAYERS. Forthe
worthiness of Christ and the promise of God encourage us.
V. DEMANDS CONSISTENTACTION. It will hold us back from sin; make
us thoughtful; diligent in service, etc. But let His greatlove constrainus.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15)And he shall . . .—Literally,
And he shall live, and shall give him of the gold of Sheba, and pray for him
continually; every day shall he bless him. This can only refer to the man
whose protectionfrom harm and redemption from fraud and violence is
mentioned in the lastverse. The subject under the just government of the
monarch will live, and will bring to his benefactordaily blessing, as wellas
rich gifts, with the gold of Sheba, and “with true prayers that shall be up at
heaven, and enter there.”
The PrayerBook version, “prayer shall be made to him,” is quite
inadmissible.

Gold of Sheba—i.e. (see Psalm72:10), of Arabia (as in Prayer-Book). A Greek
historian (Agatharchides), writing of the Sabæans, gives anadmiring account
of the quantity of gold used in adorning and furnishing their houses. This
wealth was probably acquired by commerce with India.
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/psalms/72-15.htm"Psalm72:15. And he
shall live — Solomon’s life and reign shall be long and prosperous:and He
whom Solomon typified shall live for ever, and his kingdom shall have no end.
And to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba, &c. — The longerhe shall live
and reign, the richer presents shall be brought unto him, as there shall be to
Christ from the easterncountries, Matthew 2:11; although such expressions
as these, used of Christ and his kingdom, are commonly to be understood in a
spiritual sense. Prayeralso shallbe made for him — His subjects shall be
obliged and excitedby his righteous and happy government to pray heartily
and frequently for him. Hebrew, ‫ללפתי‬ ‫ודעב‬ ‫,דימת‬ jithpallel bagnado tamid,
intercessionshallbe made on his accountincessantly:1st, On accountof
Solomon, that his life might be preserved, and the prosperity of his reign
continued and established. And, 2d, ForChrist; not indeed personally
considered, in which sense he did not need the intercessions orprayers of his
subjects, but for the protection of his truth, cause, andpeople, and for the
increase and consummation of his kingdom. And daily shall he be praised —
The highest praises and commendations of Solomon’s just and gracious
government shall continually fill men’s months; and daily shall Christ be
“praisedby his people for the riches of his grace, forall the comforts of his
Spirit, and for all the hopes of glory, which they possessthrough him.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary72:2-17 This is a prophecy of the
kingdom of Christ; many passagesin it cannot be applied to the reign of
Solomon. There were righteousness and peace atfirst in the administration of
his government; but, before the end of his reign, there were troubles and
unrighteousness. The kingdom here spokenof is to last as long as the sun, but
Solomon's was soonat an end. Even the Jewishexpositors understoodit of the
kingdom of the Messiah. Observe many greatand precious promises here
made, which were to have full accomplishment only in the kingdom of Christ.
As far as his kingdom is set up, discordand 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 mento
live in love, and so produces abundance of peace. Holiness and love shall be
lasting in Christ's kingdom. Through all the changes ofthe world, and all the
changes oflife, Christ's kingdom will support itself. And he shall, by the
graces andcomforts 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 gospelhas been, or shall be, preachedto all nations. Though he needs not
the services ofany, yet he must be served with the best. Those that have the
wealth of this world, must serve Christ with it, do goodwith it. Prayer shall be
made through him, or for his sake;whatever we ask of the Father, should be
in his name. Praises shallbe offeredto 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 BibleAnd he shall live - So far as the lanquage here is
concerned, this may either refer to the king - the Messiah- or to the poor and
the oppressedman. If the former, then it means that the life of the Messiah
would be perpetual; that he would not be cut off as other sovereigns are;that
there would be no change of dynasty; that he would be, as a king, the same -
unchanging and unchanged - in all the generations ofpeople, and in all the
revolutions which occur on the earth. This would accordwith the truth, and
with what is elsewhere saidof the Messiah;but, perhaps, the more correct
interpretation is the latter - that it refers to the poor and the oppressedman -
meaning that he would live to bring an offering to the Messiah, and to pray
for the extensionof his kingdom upon the earth.
And to him shall be given - Margin, "one shall give." Literally, "he shall give
to him;" that is, the man who has enjoyed his protection, and who has been
savedby him, will do this. As a tokenof his gratitude, and as an expressionof
his submission, he will bring to him a costly offering, the gold of Sheba.
Of the gold of Sheba - One of the gifts referred to in Psalm72:10, as coming
from Sheba. Compare Isaiah43:3; Isaiah 45:14. The meaning is, that those
who are redeemed by him - who owe so much to him for protecting and saving
them - will bring the most valued things of the earth, or will consecrateto him
all that they are, and all that they possess. Compare Isaiah60:5-7, Isaiah
60:13-17.
Prayer also shallbe made for him continually - Not for him personally, but for
the success ofhis reign, for the extensionof his kingdom. Prayer made for
"that" is made for "him," for he is identified with that.
And daily shall he be praised - Every day; constantly. It will not be only at
statedand distant intervals - at set seasons,and on specialoccasions -but
those who love him will do it every day. It is not necessaryto say that this
accords with the truth in reference to those who are the friends and followers
of the Messiah- the Lord Jesus. Their lives are lives of praise and gratitude.

From their dwellings daily praise ascends to him; from their hearts praise is
constant;praise uttered in the closetand in the family; praise breathed forth
from the heart, whether on the farm, in the workshop, on a journey, or in the
busy marts of commerce. The time will come when this shall be universal;
when he who can take in at a glance the condition of the world, will see it to be
a world of praise;when he who looks onall hearts at the same moment will
see a world full of thankfulness.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary15. In his prolongedlife he will
continue to receive the honorable gifts of the rich, and the prayers of his
people shall be made for him, and their praises given to him.
The Treasuryof David15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the
gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall
he be praised.
16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the
mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city
shall flourish like grass ofthe earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the
sun: and men shall be blessedin him: all nations shall call him blessed.
Psalm72:15
"And he shall live." Vive le Roi!O King! live for ever! He was slain, but is
risen and ever liveth. "And to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba." These
are coronationgifts of the richest kind, cheerfully presentedat his throne.
How gladly would we give him all that we have and are, and count the tribute
far too small. We may rejoice that Christ's cause will not stand still for want
of funds; the silver and the gold are his, and if they are not to be found at
home, far-off lands shall hastento make up the deficit. Would to God we had
more faith and more generosity. "Prayeralso shallbe made for him
continually." May all blessings be upon his head; all his people desire that his
cause may prosper, therefore do they hourly cry, "Thy kingdom come."
Prayer for Jesus is a very sweetidea, and one which should be for evermore
lovingly carried out; for the church is Christ's body; and the truth is his
sceptre;therefore we pray for him when we plead for these: The verse may,
however, be read as "through him," for it is by Christ, as our Mediatorthat
prayer enters heaven and prevails. "Continue in prayer is the standing
precept of Messiah's reign, and it implies that the Lord will continue to bless.
"And daily shall he be praised." As he will perpetually show himself to be
worthy of honour, so shall he be incessantlypraised: -
"Forhim shall constantprayer be made,

And praises throng to crown his head;
His name, like sweetperfume, shall rise
With every morning's sacrifice."
Psalm72:16
"There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the
mountains." From small beginnings greatresults shall spring. A mere handful
in a place naturally ungenial shall produce a matchless harvest. What a
blessing that there is a handful; "exceptthe Lord of hosts had left unto us a
very small remnant we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been
like unto Gomorrah;" but now the faithful are a living seed;and shall
multiply in the land. "The fruit thereofshall shake like Lebanon." The
harvest shall be so great that the wind shall rustle through it, and sound like
the cedars upon Lebanon: -
"Like Lebanon, by softwinds fann'd,
Rustles the golden harvest far and wide."
God's church is no mean thing; its beginnings are small, but its increase is of
the most astonishing kind. As Lebanon is conspicuous and celebrated, so shall
the church be. "And they of the city shall flourish like grass ofthe earth."
Another figure. Christ's subjects shall be as plentiful as blades of grass, and
shall as suddenly appearas easternverdure after a heavy shower. We need
not fearfor the cause of truth in the land; it is in goodhands, where the
pleasure of the Lord is sure to prosper. "Fearnot, little flock, it is your
Father's goodpleasure to give you the kingdom." When shall these words,
which open up such a vista of delight, be fulfilled in the midst of the earth?
continued...
Matthew Poole's CommentaryHe shall live, to wit, long and prosperously, as
Solomondid; yea, eternally, as Christ did. Other kings must lose both their
lives and kingdoms;but this King, whom Solomontypified, shall live for ever,
and his kingdom shall have no end.
Of the gold of Sheba; as a present, or tribute. This was done to Solomon, 1
Kings 10:15, and to Christ, Matthew 2:11, and afterwards as need required.
Although such expressions as these, being used of Christ and his kingdom, are
commonly understood in a spiritual sense.
Prayer shall be made for him; his subjects shall be obligedand excited by his
righteous and happy government to pray heartily and frequently for him;

either,
1. ForSolomon. Or,
2. ForChrist; not so much for his person, which needed not their prayers, as
for the protection and propagation of his kingdom, and gospel, and interest in
the world.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd he shall live,.... Either the poor and
needy man, savedand redeemedby Christ; he, though dead in trespasses and
sins, shall live spiritually, be quickenedtogether with Christ, and by his Spirit,
and live a life of faith and holiness;and though dead by law, yet, through the
righteousness ofChrist, shall have the justification of life, and live in the sight
of God; and so shall live comfortably by faith in Christ, being filled with joy
and peace in believing in him; and though he may lose his life for Christ's
sake, he shall find it again, and live eternally with him: or the Messiah, the
Saviour and Redeemerofthe poor and needy; who, though he was to die, and
by his precious blood redeem them; yet should live again, and never die
anymore; as he now does live at the right hand of God, where he ever lives to
make intercessionfor his people, as well as lives in their hearts, and supplies
them with all grace, and keeps alive his own work on their souls;
and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: or Arabia, as Apollinarius;
either to the poor and needy, to whom is given faith, which is more precious
than gold that perisheth; or the knowledge ofChrist, which is preferable to
gold and silver; and of the doctrines of the Gospel, which are of more value
than thousands of gold and silver: also the justifying righteousness ofChrist,
which is the free gift, and is calledclothing of wrought gold, and is signified by
gold of Ophir, Psalm 45:9; moreover, this may include all the riches of Christ,
his durable and unsearchable riches;his riches of grace and glory, which he
bestows upon his subjects;so that the poor and needy are not only savedand
redeemed, and live through him; but are made rich by him, become rich in
faith, and heirs of a kingdom: or to the Messiah, who had gold presentedto
him, in his infancy, Matthew 2:11; though rather it is to be understood
spiritually of the exercise of faith upon him, and every other grace, which is as
gold tried in the fire; and which, as it comes from Christ, it is given to him
again. A truly gracious soulgives Christ the best it has: it gives him its whole
self, body and soul, its heart and affections, and all its grace, andthe glory of
all;
prayer also shallbe made for him continually; or "he shall pray for him" (i);
that is, either Christ shall pray for the poor and needy man; not only save and

redeem, but make intercessionfor him, as Christ does for all he redeems: he
prays for them, that they may be enriched with all the blessings ofgrace;that
the goldhe gives them may be kept; that their faith fail not; that they may be
preservedfrom the evil of the world, and be with him, where he is, to behold
his glory: or the poor and needy shall pray for Christ, for the prosperity of his
church, for the increase of his interest, and the coming of his kingdom: or
"prayer shall be made by him"; or "through him continually" (k); as the
MediatorbetweenGod and man, the way of accessto God, through whom
petitions are offeredto him, and become acceptable withhim;
and daily shall he be praised; or "daily shall he bless him" (l); either Christ
shall daily bless the poor and needy, with spiritual blessings, as he stands in
need of them, and even load him with his benefits: or he shall bless Christ,
ascribe blessing, honour, praise, and glory to him; because ofhis perfections
and excellencies;because ofredemption and salvationby him; and on account
of the various blessings ofgrace, and the daily supplies of it, he receives from
him.
(i) "et orabit pro eo", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius.
(k) "Per ipsum", Genebrardus; "per et propter eum", Calvinus apud
Michaelim. (l) "benedicetei", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius,
Cocceius.
Geneva Study BibleAnd he shall live, and to him shall be given of the {m} gold
of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be
praised.
(m) God will both prosper his life and make the people willing to obey him.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges15. The connexionand meaning are
uncertain. The R.V. connects the verse with Psalm72:14, placing a colonat
the end of Psalm72:14 and rendering, and they shall live: lit., as marg., he,
namely, eachone of the afflicted ones. The literal rendering of the next clause
is, and he (or, one) shall give him, which is understood to mean either that the
poor man will grow rich and give presents to the king in gratitude for his
deliverance, or that the king will not only protectthe life of the poor man, but
give him a rich largess in addition. Neither of these explanations is
satisfactory. It is better to separate Psalm72:15 from Psalm 72:14. and regard
Psalm72:15-17 as a concluding series ofwishes or prayers for the king and his
kingdom.
So may he live, and may men give him of the gold of Sheba:

And may they pray for him continually, and bless him all day long.
May he live is an echo of the regular acclamation‘Vivat Rex,’‘Vive le Roi,’
which we render God save the king. See 1 Samuel 10:24;2 Samuel 16:16; 1
Kings 1:25; 1 Kings 1:34; 1 Kings 1:39. May the people not only greethim
with the customaryacclamationand offer him the choicestgifts, but pray for
his welfare and bless him as the source of their happiness and prosperity. Cp.
1 Kings 8:66. The P.B.V. ‘prayer shall be made ever unto him’ is untenable as
a rendering of the Heb. It was doubtless suggestedby the view that the subject
of the Psalmis the divine Messiah.
15–17.A concluding triplet of prayers, for the welfare of the king (Psalm
72:15), for the prosperity of his people (Psalm 72:16), for the perpetuation of
his memory (Psalm72:17).
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 15. - And he shall live, and to him shall be given of
the goldof Sheba. He (i.e. Messiah)"shalllive" - shall live on, and reign on, in
his everlasting kingdom; and men shall bring to him of the goldof Sheba (1
Kings 10:10; Ezekiel27:22), giving him of their best and rarest, in grateful
acknowledgmentof his goodness andprotection. Prayeralso shall be made for
him continually. His subjects shall offer prayer for him continually, as
Christians do when they pray, "Thy kingdom come" (Hengstenberg). And
daily shall he be praised; rather, all day long shall they praise him.
Keil and DelitzschBiblical 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 changedinto hopes. The awe-
commanding dominion of the king shall stretcheven into the most distant
corners of the desert. ‫םייצ‬ is used both for the animals and the men who
inhabit the desert, to be determined in eachinstance by the context; here they
are men beyond all dispute, but in Psalm74:14; Isaiah23:13, it is matter of
controversywhether men or beasts are meant. Since the lxx, Aquila,
Symmachus, and Jerome here, and the lxx and Jerome in Psalm74:14, render
Αἰθίοπες, the nomadic tribes right and left of the Arabian Gulf seem
traditionally to have been associatedin the mind with this word, more
particularly the so-calledIchthyophagi. These shallbend the knee
reverentially before him, and those who contend againsthim shall be
compelled at lastto veil their face before him in the dust. The remotestwest

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 Mediterraneanand
the countries on its coasts, that is to say, the kings of the Polynesianportion of
Europe, and the kings of the Cushitish or of the Joktanitish‫אבׁש‬ 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 wealthin gold and in
other precious things is associatedwith both peoples. In the expression ‫איב‬
,etubirt yap ot( ‫2מנח‬ Kings 17:3, cf. Psalm3:4) the tribute is not conceivedof
as rendered in return for protectionafforded (Maurer, Hengstenberg, and
Olshausen), nor as an actrepeated 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 ‫בייב‬
‫ׁשאׁשי‬ the presentationappears as an actof sacrifice. ‫ׁשאׁשי‬ signifies in Ezekiel
27:15 a payment made in merchandise, here a rent or tribute due, from ‫,רכי‬
which in blending with the Aleph prostheticum has passedoverinto ‫רכי‬ by
means of a shifting of the sound after the Arabic manner, just as in ‫ׁשאׁשל‬ the
verb ‫,רכל‬ to interweave, passesoverinto ‫רכ‬ .(suruasehT 'suineseG niregidR( ‫ל‬
In Psalm 72:11 hope breaks through every bound: everything shall submit to
his world-subduing sceptre.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
THE CHILDHOOD OF SOLOMON
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Psalm 72
6-25-61 7:30 p.m.
The sermon tonight is on the childhood of Solomon. Following these characters and these stories
through the Old Testament, we have come to the conclusion of the life of David, and now we
begin to follow the life of King Solomon. There is a psalm, number 72, that is dedicated to
Solomon. Let us turn to it:
Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the king’s Son.

He shall judge Thy people with righteousness and Thy poor with judgment.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
[Psalm 72:1-3]
Now if we have turned to it, 72, Psalm 72, beginning at verse 7, let’s read it together to the end
of the psalm, 72, one of the most beautiful in all of the Word of God. As you read it you can
easily see that Solomon is a type of the Lord Jesus our Savior. Now together, all of us beginning
at verse 7, Psalm 72:
In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River unto the ends of the earth.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall
offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him.
For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His
sight.
And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for
Him continually; and daily shall He be praised.
There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof
shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
His 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 Him blessed.
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
And blessed be His glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.
The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
[Psalm 72:7-20]
I repeat: that is one of the most beautiful psalms in the Word of God.
When this boy Solomon was born, we do not know. We do not know because we do not know
how old he was when he began to reign. All we know is that he was very young and of tender
years [1 Chronicles 29:1]. He was born evidently some time around 1035 BC.
Now he was the eldest, we think, son of David and Bathsheba. And the reason there would be
any doubt about it is because of 1 Chronicles 3:5, in naming the children of David, beginning at
Amnon, and Chileab or Daniel, and Absalom and Adonijah [1 Chronicles 3:1-2]—and then it
finally names these: “And these were born unto David in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and
Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua, Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel” [1Chronicles 3:5].

Now you would think, reading that, that there were five sons—the eldest of which of course died
when the child was born [2 Samuel 11:26-27, 12:13-18]—that there were five children born, five
sons born to David and Bathsheba; and from the list here in 1 Chronicles, you would think that
he was the youngest: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, of whom the line of Christ did come [Luke 3:31],
and Solomon [1 Chronicles 3:5]. Well, when we read of the birth of the child in 2 Samuel 12, it
seems to be almost certain that Solomon was the eldest of the living children of David and
Bathsheba, for after the death of the first son, “And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and she
bare a son, and he called his name Solomon; and the Lord loved him” [2 Samuel 12:24]. So the
explanation must be something like this: that in 1 Chronicles when the children of Bathsheba and
David are named [1 Chronicles 3:5], the name of Solomon is last because of importance, because
of emphasis. After naming the children, then Solomon is named last because he was the most
gifted and the most glorious of them all. And that’s the way that Josephus takes it. When
Josephus writes the story, he also says that Solomon is the eldest son of David and of Bathsheba.
Now his name has a beautiful meaning. David was a man of blood and of war [1 Chronicles
28:3], from his youth, from the time that he was a ruddy-faced lad [1 Samuel 16:12]. He came
into that first encounter with Goliath from Philistia [1 Samuel 17:32-50], and he cut off his head
with Goliath’s own sword [1 Samuel 17: 51], and from that day, David, even as a youth, was a
man of blood, and a man of violence, and a man of war [1 Chronicles 28:3]. And as he grew
older in his life, he began to long for the quiet and the peace that God could bring to his
kingdom. So when he named his boy who was born to him in Hebron, he called his name
Absalom, “the father of peace” [1 Chronicles 3:1-2]. And then when he named this boy born to
him in Jerusalem, he called him Solomon [2 Samuel 12:24], which means “the peaceful.” You
can see in David’s war-like reign a longing for the quiet and the rest that would be given to the
kingdom from God in peace. Now look at what David did with him when the boy was born:
And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and she bare a son, and he called his name Peaceful:
and the Lord loved him. And He sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and Nathan called his
name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
[2 Samuel 12:24-25]
Jedidiah: “beloved of Yah, Jehovah”, “beloved of the Lord.” Now almost certainly this word
translated “And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet” means this: “and he, David, sent the
boy Solomon into the hand of Nathan the prophet” [2 Samuel 12:25]. When the boy was born, a
beautiful son, endowed with every gift from heaven, David placed his tutelage and his
sponsorship and his instruction in the hands of the great prophet.
Could you imagine therefore the marvelous admonition and inheritance and training that he
received from the prophet Nathan? Nathan, being himself of the school of the prophets, Nathan
would have taught him all of the store, and the lore, and the history, and the story of Israel.
Beginning at the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis, he would have taught that boy all of
the things of the revelations of God. Then he would have taught him poetry, and psalmology, and
history, and the lore and wisdom of all of the East. And then the boy, being the son of David and
having inherited from David some of those wonderful musical gifts and talents, he must have
taught the boy and cultivated in him all of those rich inheritances that he received from his
wonderful father. So the lad, from the days that he was born, clearly the Lord loved him [2
Samuel 12:24], and Nathan teaching him [2 Samuel 12:25], and bringing him up in all of the
wisdom and literature of the ancient Hebrew race, what a wonderful, gifted boy he was! And
what a marvelous opportunity lay before him as Nathan guided his life, as he grew in wisdom

and in stature and in the favor of God and man, even like the great antitype, the Lord Jesus
Himself [Luke 2:52].
Now there is a secret that was kept hidden through all of the days of his youth, his childhood,
and you don’t see it until the time comes for him to accede to the throne. It is never mentioned
before, and when David did this we do not know. The first time the secret is revealed is in 1
Kings chapter 1, verse 13 and verse 17: “Nathan came unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon,
saying, Go and get thee in unto King David, and say unto him”—and this is the secret that for the
first time is revealed—”Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying,
Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth
Adonijah reign?” [1 Kings 1:13]. Then it is repeated: “And she said unto him,” according to the
word of the prophet Nathan, “My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid,
saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne” [1
Kings 1:17].
So somewhere, and we don’t know when, but somewhere, sometime after the birth of Solomon
and under the tutelage and training of Nathan the prophet [2 Samuel 12:25], somewhere David
swore to Bathsheba that that boy should follow him into the kingdom and should rule over the
people of the Lord [1 Kings 1:13, 17].
Now, there’s a very plain and simple reason why it should have been kept secret. There were
much older brothers than Solomon; Amnon, and Absalom, and Adonijah, and a dozen others
whose names have perished from memory. And had that boy been marked out as the heir
apparent to the throne, the imperious passions of an Absalom or an Adonijah or an Amnon
would have destroyed the boy from the face of the earth.
Even because of the jealousy of the eleven brethren of Joseph, they sought to destroy him, and
sold him to the Ishmaelites, who sold him as a slave down in the land of Egypt [Genesis 37:3-4,
11, 23-28, 36]. How much more would the imperious, contumacious, proud sons of David, like
cruel Amnon, like vengeful Absalom, like ambitious Adonijah, have destroyed this lad had it
been known that David had sworn that he was to follow him in the kingdom? [1 Kings 1:13, 17].
So it was a secret kept in the heart of Bathsheba, known to Nathan, and sworn by David before
the Lord God, that this boy, this lad, this child should follow him in the kingdom [1 Kings 1:13,
17]. And the Lord loved him [2 Samuel 12:24].
Now we’re going to follow, for the few minutes that remain, the childhood of Solomon. The boy
was born and the boy grew up as a child in a dark and troublous time, for the latter part of
David’s reign was affliction, and tears, and castigation, and punishment, and trouble, and sorrow.
Beyond anything that you could read, outside of the story of a Macbeth or a King Lear, is the
tragedy that overwhelmed, in tears and in blood, the latter reign of the kingdom of David. And he
was born in that era, and he grew up in that dark and fearsome hour. In the latter part of David’s
reign he was no longer the great soldier and the commander of his men, but more and more
David withdrew into the pomp of his palace and into the voluptuous seclusion of his harem. And
somehow the great king lost the affection of a great many of his people, and secretly there
burned against him a deep and violent indignation. For example, Ahithophel, his secret and wise
and marvelous counselor, the friend of his heart, Ahithophel, became his bitter enemy, and
finally, in the rebellion of Absalom, his open and avowed enemy [2 Samuel 15:12, 31]. And
Solomon grew up in that part of David’s life.

Another thing: David gave himself to the unspeakable practice of polygamy. Before David’s day
some of the patriarchs fell somewhat into that tragic mistake, but not like David. David is the
first one who opens the floodgates of that awful store of jealousy, and domestic bitterness, and
hatred, and envy, and ambition that rules every court that ever had, or does have, a harem.
He had two wives as he was a refugee in the wilderness [1 Samuel 18:27, 25:42]. Then he had
five wives in Hebron [2 Samuel 3:2-5]. And he had any number of wives, we do not know how
many—”He multiplied,” the Bible says, “multiplied his wives in Jerusalem,” and beside the
concubines who were attendant upon every eastern Oriental court [2 Samuel 5:13]. And into the
jealousy and into the awful ambition of the separate family groups in that multiplied,
polygamous situation created by David, in that this boy Solomon was born, and in it he grew up
as a child.
But mostly, mostly those dark and troublous times were made and created by the cruel bitterness,
and the ungovernable passion, and the hatred and vengefulness, the bloodthirstiness of David’s
sons. Amnon: Solomon was a boy, Solomon was a child when Amnon, in the cunning of his
cousin Jonadab, brought about the violence on Absalom’s sister Tamar [2 Samuel 13:1-19].
And then Solomon was a child, he was a boy, when he watched Absalom sullenly bide his time
[2 Samuel 14:20-22]. And after two years, when all suspicion was allayed, [Absalom] made a
feast, invited his father the king, and because David could not go, pled that then his eldest son be
sent to represent the king. And when David acquiesced that Amnon, this eldest son and heir
apparent to the throne—when Amnon came in that dark and awful night, Absalom murdered his
own brother [2 Samuel 13:23-33].
And the boy Solomon saw David, because he loved that eldest son, refuse to punish him [1
Samuel 3:13]. The indulgence of a father can destroy a man’s life and ruin a boy’s hope! And
David, of all fathers, was weak and indulgent with his sons. And when Absalom slew Amnon [2
Samuel 13:23-33], because David refused to do anything about the violent crime that Amnon had
wrought upon Absalom’s sister [2 Samuel 13:1-19], why, Absalom fled, and was in the court of
his maternal grandfather [2 Samuel 13:37-39].
Absalom’s mother was a king’s daughter, and her father was king of Geshur, which is a kingdom
north and east of the Sea of Galilee. And Absalom fled and lived three years there in the court of
his maternal grandfather [2 Samuel 13:38]. Then by a ruse of Joab he came back and for two
years lived in Jerusalem, never seeing the face of David [2 Samuel 14:1-28]. Then when
Absalom forced Joab to effect a reconciliation, why, David took Absalom back into his heart and
kissed his son, of whom he was inordinately proud [2 Samuel 14:29-33]. David loved the beauty
of Absalom, and the graciousness of the manner of Absalom, and the personality of that boy,
beyond anything in the world. And Absalom could do anything with David at the beginning, in
the middle, and at the end.
And Absalom began to steal the hearts of the people [2 Samuel 15:1-6]. Never occurred to
Absalom to look upon this child, Solomon, as an heir to the throne. He looked upon himself with
such pride and such imperious contumaciousness that everybody in the kingdom was as nothing
compared to the glory and the beauty of Absalom! I repeat: it never entered his heart that this
child would be someday heir of the throne [1 Kings 1:13, 17]. So Absalom stole the hearts of the
people [2 Samuel 15:6].
And then this youth, Solomon, lived through the days when David took his wives and his sons
and children and fled for his life before Absalom [2 Samuel 15:14-16]. When the Bible says that

David took his wives and his children and fled before the face of Absalom, that means that
Bathsheba was there, and that means, by the side of Bathsheba, Solomon pressed closed behind
[2 Samuel 15:16].
The day that is described with more words by far than any other day in the story of the whole
Bible—many, many times more than the description of the day of the cross [Matthew 27:32-
50]—the day that is described, the longest of any day in the Bible, is the day that David fled
before the soldiers of Absalom [2 Samuel 15:13-19:7]. And it begins with David standing under
the olive tree at the foot of Mount Olives, at the Brook Kidron, and watched the soldiers, and
watched the people pass by [2 Samuel 15:17-18], and weeping with them as they passed [2
Samuel 15:23].
Can you imagine the indelible impression made upon the mind of that boy as he stood that day
by the side of Bathsheba his mother and David his father, and saw the soldiers pass with bowed
heads and their tears falling to the ground? And as he watched the people pass by who were loyal
to David, with ashes on their head, with their garments rent, and with their tears falling on the
ground, the boy learned that day who were his friends and who were the friends of his father.
And when Solomon came into the kingdom, those men that he saw that day, who were following
with bowed and weeping heads his father David, those were the men that Solomon chose to be
his men in building the kingdom. He saw the Cherithites pass by, and the Pelethites pass by, and
the Gittites pass by, David’s bodyguard [2 Samuel 15:18]. And it was the Cherethites and the
Pelethites and the Gittites who stood by Solomon in the day that he seized the kingdom
according to the promise of David and Nathan the prophet [1 Kings 1:13, 17].
And then he saw Benaiah, the captain of the bodyguard. He saw great, fearless Benaiah pass by,
and made Benaiah the captain and chief of his host [2 Samuel 20:23]. And then he saw the
gibborim—that’s the Hebrew for the heroes, the six hundred—he saw the six hundred mighty
men of David pass by [2 Samuel 15:18], and they were the men who stood by Solomon.
And he saw Ittai the Gittite pass by [2 Samuel 15:19], and he saw David’s faithful men pass by,
and he looked upon Joab, and he saw as a child the awful, awful hold that Joab had upon his
father. And when the boy came to understand, Joab had in his pocket that letter that David had
written to the captain of his army Joab, saying, “And bring Uriah to the gate of the city, and then
withdraw from him, and let the sword of Rabbah Ammon cut him to the ground” [2 Samuel
11:14-15]. And Joab kept that letter and the dark secret of how the king had murdered Uriah his
soldier, faithful and true [2 Samuel 11:14-24]. And the rest of David’s life he was a pawn in the
hand of Joab. Solomon the boy saw that, and in the day when he came to the throne, and in
keeping with the last word of his father [1 Kings 2:5-6], he destroyed that fearless soldier, but
that unscrupulous and bloodthirsty man, Joab [1 Kings 2:28-34]. Solomon saw it as a youth.
Now we must close, except one other thing in the youth time of Solomon. Then next Sunday
night we’re going to begin with his ascension to the throne. Just one other thing that happened
especially in the youth time of the boy: he was a child, he was a youth, a teenager, he was a
teenager when David—for some reason that violated the word and presence and promise of
God—when David numbered Israel [2 Samuel 24:2], and when David had to choose between
seven years famine, or three months fleeing before his enemies, or three days of terrible
pestilence [2 Samuel 24:11-13]. And [seventy] thousand were wasted, died, of Israel, from Dan
to Beersheba [2 Samuel 24:15], as in the choice of David he fell in the hands of God [2 Samuel
24:14], and the pestilence wasted the people.

And then on the third day, like an army, the destroying angel came to Jerusalem, and the boy
Solomon was there in the king’s court when David saw, standing over Jerusalem, the angel with
the glittering sword drawn in his hand to destroy the people. And he saw his father fall on his
face and cry before Jehovah God, “O God, stay Thy hand, and let that sword be against me and
my house; but these sheep, what have they done? Spare, Lord, spare Thy people” [2 Samuel
24:16-17]. And the word of the Lord came from Gad the prophet to David, saying, “Get thee up,
get thee up, and there on Mount Moriah,” just beyond the king’s palace, “there on Mount
Moriah, where Abraham offered up Isaac [Genesis 22:1-12], there buy the threshing floor of
Araunah the Jebusite king, and build an altar [2 Samuel 24:18]. And in the sacrifice and
supplication and prayers of the people, God will stay the avenging hand” [2 Samuel 24:21].
Solomon saw that as a boy, and in the days of his manhood when he ascended the throne [1
Kings 2:12], it was in that place, and it was on that spot, and it was in that exact way according
to the word of the prophet that Solomon built the temple of God [1 Kings 5:5; 1 Chronicles
21:22, 22:1]. And there where he saw his father David erect the altar before the avenging angel
[2 Samuel 24:19-25], there did Solomon build the great altar of the burnt sacrifice, and there
supplication by day and night was made to God in behalf of the people [2 Chronicles 7:15-16].
Oh, what a story! and what an unfolding, as God prepares a nation and a family for the coming
of the Savior of the world [Hebrews 9:26]. The glory that was Solomon’s, and behold, a greater
than Solomon is here [Matthew 12:42]: the Lord Jesus our King and Savior [John 3:16; Titus
2:13].
Would you take Him tonight for your own, as we sing our invitation hymn? There is a stairway
at the back, at the front of the balcony on either side. While we make the appeal, come, come.
There is room and to spare. From that topmost balcony, come, come. On the lower floor, into the
aisle, down to the front: “Here I stand, pastor, and here I am. I give you my hand; I give my heart
to God. I take Jesus tonight as my Savior” [Romans 10:9-10]. Or “Here’s my family, pastor. All
of us are coming tonight.” Would you make it now, while we stand and while we sing?
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.

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