Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, a prayer for the King of Israel. It may be a prayer of David that was preserved by Solomon. (John Calvin, for example, held this view.)
The prayer asks for the king to exemplify the justice and righteousness of God (v 1). The king would have the task of making a copy of the Torah for himself (Deut 17), with the goal that he would rule with God's priorities---helping the needy, for example (v 4). If the king ruled in this way, then the nation would prosper (v 3).
The prayer then asks that the king's rule would be extended in both time and space (vv 5-11). In the background is God's promise that David's dynasty would continue forever, culminating in the rule of the Messiah (2 Sam 7:12-16). The prayer is for that promise to fully materialize.
Verses 8-11 remind us of Israel's brief golden age under Solomon (1 Kings 4:21,34; 10), when Israel reached its greatest extent geographically and kings from around the region brought gifts. There is wordplay in verse 10 with "Sheba and Seba", and also a picture of a large empire since Sheba represents Yemen, and Seba is in Africa (Gen 10:7). The empire pictured here extends far in all directions.
Verses 12-17 repeat the themes of verses 1-11. Verse 17 ("may people be blessed in him") makes reference to the king's role in carrying out the Abrahamic blessing of Gen 12:1-3.
Verse 20 ("The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended") concludes Book 2 of the Psalter. The psalms that come next are attributed to Asaph and to the sons of Korah. There is also a sense in which this prayer is a fitting "last word" on God's promise-plan to send the Messiah.
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