Psalm 72 is a royal psalm—one of a distinctive group in the Psalter (Pss 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 132, 144) originally composed for the coronation, wedding, or victories of the Davidic king. In Israel’s theology, the king was God’s anointed “son,” the earthly viceroy of Yahweh’s universal reign, charged to execute justice, protect the poor, crush oppression, and (ideally) extend righteous rule over the nations.

Attributed to Solomon (“Of Solomon,” marking the close of Book II of the Psalter), Psalm 72 began as a coronation prayer asking God to bestow on the new king the very wisdom and righteousness granted Solomon at Gibeon (1 Kings 3). Yet its vision explodes every historical horizon: dominion “from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth,” justice that “flourishes,” peace “till the moon is no more,” and blessing for “all nations.”

Jewish messianic hope already heard these verses as pointing beyond Solomon to the final Davidic king. The Church, from the earliest centuries, has proclaimed their true fulfilment in Christ. The repeated refrain—“In his days shall justice flourish, and great peace for ever”—finds its amen in the Child of Bethlehem: the gentle Messiah who rescues the needy who cry out, pities the weak, redeems the poor, and establishes a kingdom of active compassion where shalom never ends.